Ourselves : A BL Horror Novel

Chapter 19 - Pain is Waiting

Keaton woke first, his brown eyes blinking as he became aware of the presence of his boyfriend spooned against his front.  The sunlight of a Monday morning came through the window illuminating his dorm bedroom.  His long arms pulled the smaller man closer against him.  With a smile he remembered the cute trick Zhao had played to miss his dorm's curfew to spend the night at his dorm.  The man with cat like reflexes had dropped a glass right before it was time to leave.  Of Course Keaton had wanted to clean it but he had insisted.  A part of him wanted to stay in bed like this but his morning classes would go on without him.

He released Zhao so he could look over his shoulder at the bedside clock. He had an hour to get across campus.  Looking down at Zhao's unsuspecting handsome face he lowered his mouth to one of Zhao's large round ears and blew warm air into it.  The ear twitched and the gruff deep voice came from Zhao.

"Stop..."

"Gotta get ready for classes." Keaton said softly

"You do but I can sleep 'til midday." Zhao murmured, the white covers rising slowly up over his pointed nose.  Keaton felt his heart swell at the cute image before him but he pulled the covers down all the same.  A pair of annoyed crimson eyes peered at him.

"Walk me to class." Keaton said and Zhao's caterpillar eyebrows furrowed.

"Walk, yourself." Zhao rumbled, he turned on his lean stomach and Keaton's eyes traveled down the long back following the lines of him until they vanished into the covers. 

"What if I run into your ex," Keaton asked trying to make his baritone voice sound pitiful.

"Run the other way," came the muffled reply. With a grunt, Keaton kissed Zhao on the top of the head and rose from the bed.  Before Zhao had started sleeping over he had slept in loose boxers but now he wore nothing to bed.  His backside was a little sore from the pounding it had gotten the night before which had been one of the reasons he no longer felt the need to wear them.

In the shower he felt himself waking up beneath the hot spray.  Stretching he closed his eyes and dunked his head.  His thick dark hair matted to his broad forehead.  He rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, turning and leapt back in surprise. Zhao stood before him, naked and glaring at him. 

"Share the water," Zhao mumbled and Keaton pressed himself to the salmon pink walls so Zhao could slide to be before the spray.

"You gotta get over your anxiety towards Estelle.  You stole me from her, yes, but that was a while ago.  Me and her talk just fine. If you stopped making it weird she would talk to you as well. " Zhao said as he felt the wash towel move over his back and down to the small curve of his ass.  There was a pause at the word "stole" but the towel started again and with eyes closed he concluded what he had said. 

"She's a frightening woman." Keaton countered as Zhao took the towel from him.  Keaton reached down and took the shampoo bottle and squirted a bit into one of his hands. Rubbing it in with his other one he moved to Zhao's scalp and massaged the foam into his dark hair, he took care to keep the shampoo from his brows. 

"Least you're not the one she hates." Zhao mused.

"She's always so nice to you." Keaton replies

"She respects me. There's a difference between Respect and Kindness." Zhao speaks as he turns so his hair is beneath the water.  Keaton thinks on this while watching Zhao rinse the shampoo from his hair.

The two stand before one another drying themselves before they take turns with a hair dryer.  Keaton holds it at an angle that blows hot air into Zhao's face.  Zhao's crimson eyes open wide in surprise and he makes a grab for it but Keaton is faster and dodges his fingers.  Managing an innocent face is hard when the accuser is looking at you and the offending machinery directly but Keaton tilts his head to the left and makes a face that way.  Zhao glowers at him with a hand outstretched.  Finally after an intense and cute stare down Keaton relents and hands him the hair dryer only to have heated air blown into his face.  The two break into laughing fits.