Incendiary Hearts

Chapter Nine

Kevin: Working tonight?

Michael: No, have the weekend off. Why?

Kevin: Just wondering if maybe you'd be up for a jog this evening?

Michael: You not going out with the lads?

Kevin: No, have to study this weekend. Big test on Tuesday.

Michael: Nerd!

Kevin: Hey, you never go out on the weekends, coffin-dodger!

Michael: I always went out in college ;)

Kevin: I bet you did.

Michael: Someone had to be the designated driver...

Kevin laughed out loud, only to remember that he was still in class. He looked up from his phone and found most of the students staring at him. That included his teacher.

"I'm so sorry," he managed to meek, sinking down in his seat. "Please continue."

"Why thank you, Mr. Hart," Miss Miller said with a nice hint of sarcasm and Kevin grew smaller still, his whole face turning red. "As I was saying," Miss Miller said and continued with her lecture on immunology.

Savannah leaned closer to Kevin, eyes curious. "Who are you texting with?"

"No one." Kevin turned his phone upside down and spent the remainder of the class listening extra carefully to what Miss Miller had to say.

Kevin and Michael had been texting quite a lot these past couple of days; ever since Kevin had given him his phone number at the bar, in fact, which had been exactly a week from today. It was mostly innocent texts like asking how the other one was doing. But also some pics had been sent. Like the one Kevin took with a dog holding its own leash in his mouth while on a walk with its owner, or a couple of cute ducklings in Michael's arms that they'd had to rescue since they'd fallen through a well grid. So yeah, he could hold on to answering the text. But he did read it as soon as the lecture was over.

Michael: How bout 7 o'clock?

Kevin: Perfect.

They hadn't met since last Friday, Michael's workhours had been insane this week, and Kevin was growing impatient. The evening couldn't come fast enough, and for once in his life, luck was on his side; time didn't move at the speed of two snails fucking.

He left his apartment with a skip in his orange trainer-covered feet and was by Michael's door at exactly seven p.m., just as Michael opened the door from his apartment. They greeted each other with smiles and went straight for the jog.

As they kept a façade of conversational pleasantries, something had changed since their night at the bar. An unspoken shift had infiltrated the atmosphere, a subtle yet detectible transformation, palpably altering the dynamic of their interaction. Within the air, an electric charge lingered, a tingle that crackled with tension, and along with it, an undercurrent of desires fervently suppressed yet achingly present. It was as though their words danced on the surface, while beneath it, unspoken yearnings and unexpressed emotions lay suspended within the space they shared.

Indeed, something had changed, yet they both tried their best to ignore it. Michael knew he was playing with fire, but it was like he couldn't help himself. The flame that was Kevin kept luring him in.

"So, big test on tuesday, huh?" Michael soon asked.

"Yeah, its about the anatomy of the human brain along with neurotransmitters and their functions," Kevin explained, and it was close enough to the truth.