Call me kitten (boyxboy love) ✓

1. The boogey man

"Jack, come on, you need to eat. You can't sit here all fucking day without any food."

Chris leaned over my cubicle making impatient faces. Seemed like he never learned. I don't like to be called Jack. My name isn't Jack, it's James. At least according to my mother. To my sister I'm Jamie or Jay. Never Jack. But that never stuck in Chris's thick head no matter how many times I reminded him. No point to even keep trying. I didn't like to be bothered when I worked, but that fact was ignored by Chris too. The problem was that he wouldn't stop until I did as he wanted and joined him in the cafeteria for lunch. I locked my computer and got off my chair. My back protested wildly from being hunched in front of the screen for hours, but I was used to it. I just stretched my arms to the ceiling and followed Chris.

My cubicle was situated in the far corner of the office, next to the copy machine room and the corridor with the bathrooms, leaving me blissfully without any neighbors that could potentially disturb me. Except Chris nobody had even tried to stop at my desk and start a conversation and that was just like I wanted it. I had never been one to small talk. I have no idea how to. Who cares about the weather or the football game the previous night? I was here to work, and I wanted to do it in peace and quiet, that was it. Chris hadn't given up on me yet though, he was always on about getting coffee, lunch or going out for a beer after work. The latter I had agreed to. Once. Two hours of me feeling misplaced and finally giving up by saying that I had a laundry appointment.

Now he was walking a couple of steps in front of me, going on about what food was being served today. I didn't pay attention at all. Food was served, that was all I needed to know. It was handy having a cafeteria in the same building, it was even a part of the same company I was working for, so I ate there morning, noon, and night. More or less. They had something for every meal, and it was deducted from the paycheck, making it almost feel like it was for free. It was convenient for me, that way I didn't have to worry about food when I got home.

When we sat down with our plates I mentally disconnected from Chris and looked out over the room. This was as much social interaction I needed. Just looking at people was enough for me. And that was something I liked to do. The distance made me feel safe.

"Wow, have they actually hired that guy?" I heard Chris say and I looked in the same direction as him. "Must be some form of charity case."

My gaze landed on a guy walking among the tables with a cart, gathering up trays and trash. At first, I just noticed him from behind as he navigated his way between tables and chairs, but then he turned and was going in our direction. Now I could understand Chris's reaction and his usual judgmental remarks. The guy had his hair dyed black in a messy hairdo, a black t-shirt that didn't hide his various tattoos, and worn black jeans. When he got closer, I noticed that he had numerous piercings and a hint of black eyeliner. His eyes were almost a glowing sapphire blue. When he walked past us, he looked at me and gave me a crooked smile. Immediately I lowered my gaze.

I had been gawking, no denying that. Embarrassing but true. But no-one could deny that he was a rare breed here, in a sea of suits. Granted, I didn't have a suit, but I always made sure to cover my own tattoos with long sleeved hoodies. He had been flaunting his, like it was the most normal thing to do. I couldn't help getting a bit envious of his confidence. Not that I actually wanted to show off my ink but sitting in a hoodie in the summer was sometimes unbearable.

I ignored Chris's comment about the guy and started eating again, but something in me couldn't let go of how the guy had looked. He didn't look like a charity case, something in his posture didn't match that. He looked too confident to be a person that needed that form of help. He had even smiled at me. Not that service smile, the mindless thing you could see everywhere. It had been a different form of smile and I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Why would he smile at me at all?