angel baby (heavy editing)

46

  (A/N: so great news. This book will be completed on Saturday. There's less than ten chapters left. In the meantime, enjoy this well deserved chapter :))

      Warning: part of this chapter is mature and intended for mature readers only. It doesn't add or take away from the plot of the story. There will be indication when the scene starts and it will continue till the end of the chapter. 

“How do I look?”
Chris’ mother asked as she turned to face him. She stood in front of the full body mirror in a wedding gown. This was the third one in less than an hour, “It’s beautiful”. He repeated it again and his mother smiled wider. He had never seen her smile this much. He frowned when she turned to inspect the gown in the mirror.
“I think this is the one”, she whispered that Chris almost didn’t hear her. His frown deepened. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for her. He was. Ruth, his therapist, Dr Smith had had a long conversation in the last therapy session about why it was important to be happy for. A part of him understood that his mother deserved this happiness after everything she had been through but another part of him, a dominant part of him thought it wasn’t fair that she got over Kathy’s death so easily while he could potentially be diagnosed with PTSD, at least that was what the doctor his cognitive behavioral therapy said. Oliver had thought him it wasn’t that she had gotten over Kathy’s death but that she needed a lot of comfort and her wife to be would provide that. He still thought it was unfair.
Speaking of Oliver, since their first kiss, they had made out a lot more. In fact, they made out every day. That was almost three weeks ago. Their exams had long ended and winter break commenced immediately. While Chris tremendously enjoyed kissing Oliver, he wished he would take it further but every time, Oliver pulled back and settled with just kissing. Chris hated it. Sure, he didn’t know much about much but he wasn’t some virgin in distress. A virgin he was but he wasn’t in distress. He wanted to take things further. He was so pissed. He had no one to tell these things to. He missed Kathy so much. When would it get better? Part of him knew that the sudden anger he felt at everything was due to the pill (among many) he was made to take. It was some kind of anti depressants. Heightened emotions were one of the side effects. It was heightened anger now. He didn’t think he would be best company. Any minute from now, Barkis would pick him up. Their friend group had decided to hang out at a bowling alley.  His phone buzzed in his lap. It was a text from Barkis. Just in time.
               Barkis: I’m outside the shop. Coming in.
He frowned. He didn’t want her in here. Sure it made sense his best friend should be introduced to his mother in better condition but he just needed rescuing. He couldn’t imagine a conversation ensuing between them. Kathy would say he was exaggerating.  They would probably end up talking about Kathy. He didn’t want to hear it.
              Chris: Pls don’t. Not today. I’m coming out”
He hit the send button and stood up.
“Barkis is waiting for me outside”
He had already told her about his plans.
“I’ll stay at Oliver’s tonight” he added. He had moved back home last week but he still spent most of his time with Oliver.
“Oh, okay, that’s fine. Lena and I might end up going to that date after all”
“You don’t have to cancel your plans for me”
“I can't possibly leave you all alone at home, can I?”
Chris thought about it. She was right. That made sense.
“Okay, bye”
“Bye, my love”
He turned to go but stopped and turned to face her again. 
“Mom?”
“Hmm”
“I’m really happy for you”
Ruth said vocal assurance was important. He realized that it was easy to say because he was genuinely happy for her.
He couldn’t explain how but he noticed visible tension reside from her as she smiled at him. Had he caused that?
“Thank you, Chris”
He smiled back before leaving the shop.

        “Ugh, I’m so terrible at this”, Ken lamented as his ball failed the meet any pin for the fourth time that night.
“You’re terrible at everything”, Vivi said from where she stood.
"Shut the fuck up, whore"
"Right back at ya, waste of space"
"God, you two are infuriating sometimes. Just date already", Charlie said from here he sat before drinking from his can of coke.
The duo in question looked at each other for a moment before making gagging sounds saying words along the lines of "I would rather place my tongue on the door of a moving train", "a fate worse than death, I think"
Chris watched the interaction from where he sat with some kind of contentment in him. He felt significantly better than he did when he left the shop. The issue with Oliver still worried him and lingered at the back of his mind though. Barkis took a seat next to him and smiled at him.
"Those two are one for the books. Charlie's right. They'll end up dating one day"
She moved and took a chip from the many chips on the table few inches away from them before chewing on it. While chips were delicious, Chris hated the crunchy sounds.
"You're very quiet day which is quite ironic cause you are normally quiet. So spill, what's going on?
He wanted to ask how she knew but Kathy had once said that he was easy to read as a good book and could also be hard to read. She called him a contradicting human being.
"Oliver won't take things further with me"
Barkis blinked at him, then blinked again.
"So you two are serious, ey? When you say that, you mean he won't have sex with you"
"Yes but not just that, he just kisses me. I'm willing to take things further. It's like he's scared he'll hurt me"
"Oh...I don't know what to say. I'm hardly the person to give you advice on this topic. I'm the virgin in our group.  Charlie probably gets more action than me.  We can ask the others"
Chris nodded. He needed answers.
"I would say we ask Ken, the biggest slut but as we speak, he still has a massive crush on your boyfriend. So Vivi will have to do"
He nodded again.
"Vivi, come over here for a second, we need your help", Barkis called gaining her attention.
"Can I come too?" Ken asked.
"Bitch, ain't nobody needing you here. Go find something else to do"
"Fuck you Vi"
"Ooh nicknames already", Barkis whispered to him giggling. He didn't understand the joke.
Vivi finally arrived and took a seat at the other side of Chris. If he wasn't already comfortable with his friends, this moment would have been so traumatizing.
"What's up?"
"Can I speak?" Barkis asked him. He nodded.
"Oliver is hesitating with Chris. He's not taking things further and before you reply, drop your prejudice against him. He matters so much to our friend"
Vivi let out a loud sigh.
"Fine. So Oliver won't take things further with you, is that right?"
He nodded. It wasn't that he was so eager to lose his virginity or something but it was that every time things were starting to progress, Oliver would pull back. He hated that part of his mind that told him that Oliver still saw him as a child like everyone else.
"Personally I think he just feels guilty"
"Vivi?" He heard the change of tone in Barkis's voice.
"No, seriously, hear me out. I think he still feels guilty about the things he said and did to you in the past. Maybe he's scared that he'll hurt you. I've known Oliver since 3rd grade and I've never seen him dote on someone as much as he dotes on you, ever"
"I thought you hated Oliver and are skeptical of him" Barkis questioned her.
"I kind of do hate him and yes I am skeptical of him but I also have eyes. I think he's just scared he's going to hurt you again"
But- but Chris trusted Oliver and everything that happened happened in the past.
"If you really want things to progress, you have to take matters into your own hands", Vivi continued.
"Wait, like seduce him?" Barkis said.
"Yes, precisely. Chris, you can do that, can't you?"
Chris thought about it.
"I don't know. I haven't seduced anyone before"
"It'll come naturally. You like Oliver, right?"
No. No.
"No, I love him"
"Whoa that's a big word to throw about"
But it was the truth.
"But if you need tips, I can give you some. First..."
  
          Chris entered Oliver's room and saw him sitting on a chair in the very large room. He appeared to be using headphones so he hadn't noticed him yet. After their bowling session, Barkis had dropped him here. He walked towards Oliver and once he got close enough, he realized Oliver was sketching something on his iPad. He fought the urge to giggle, it was terrible. He taped on  Oliver's shoulder to get his attention. Oliver's sudden flinch had him taking a step back. That startled him.
Oliver removed his headphones and turned to face him.
"Fuck, baby, you scared me"
Oliver had take to calling him baby and Chris loved it, a lot.
"I didn't know you were coming over. I would have picked you up", Oliver said.
Chris stared at Oliver. Oliver was the most handsome person he had ever seen.
"One, be touchy, initiate intimacy. Get his attention. Sit on his lap if you have to" Vivi had said to him.
He could feel his pulse drumming wildly and his heart beat at an irregular pace but he wouldn't back out now. He moved to stand in front of Oliver and before either of them knew what was happening, he had straddled him.
"Whoa"
Chris got himself comfortable on his laps as he placed his hands on his shoulders. At the first touch of Oliver's hand on his waist, he almost moaned.
"Are you hesitant to take things further with me because you still see me as a child?"
Oliver's eyes widened at that.
"What? No"
"Because we're the same age but on the same day. I might even be older than you. And I know sometimes I could be childish but I'm in therapy now and I'm going to get better"
Oliver's hand tightened on his waist.
"You don't need to get better. There's nothing wrong with you"
"And Vivi also mentioned that you might think I used you as a replacement for Kathy. I didn't, okay?"
And he didn't. He also felt easier talking about Kathy with Oliver. Oliver made things easy.
"Of course not"
"Then what is it?" He was whining now.
"I'm just scared you might think I'm taking advantage of you but I'm not. What I feel for you is real"
"What I feel for you is real too. So do you promise to do all the naughty things you once whispered you would do to me?"
Oliver smiled at him, "Yes"
"Okay. I'm not a doll, Oliver and I'm not glass. I can take it. You can wreck me if you want to"
Oliver suddenly laughed at that. His laugh was music. He would say music to his ears and he wouldn't be exaggerating.
"What?"
"Vivi told me to say so. Said you might like it"
"You told your friends about us"
"Yes and kiss me, please"