Straight as Guitar Strings

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝟯 [𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵] 🔞

WARNING: This chapter contains mature content with explicit language which may not be suitable for very young readers.

I DIDN'T know which number this was or how many stuffed toys I had tossed into the fire drum while helping Leo burn the belongings Colleen returned to him. Those were the contents of the storage box he had brought earlier when I saw him outside with Sirius.

He claimed he didn't realize he had brought them over to my place earlier; all he knew when he broke up with Colleen was that he had to come to me. I was the first person he thought of, and he himself said he chose me.

After a few minutes, we had burned all the gifts he had given to Colleen since they were together. I never thought I would do this with him. I watched as their pictures together turned to ashes.

"Are you hurting right now?" I asked, deliberating for a while whether I should even ask him that.

"Isn't it more agonizing to endure the pain of loving someone who doesn't value you?" His voice trembled as he spoke.

"But you love her," I replied softly, attempting to understand his turmoil.

"I realized I should love myself more. Along with that, I realized there's someone who sees all my efforts and genuinely appreciates me," his eyes glistened with unshed tears, revealing his vulnerability behind those words.

"This will undoubtedly be hard for you, Leo... are you sure about this?" My brows furrowed with worry as I voiced out my genuine concern.

"There's nothing too challenging as long as it's you, Liam. Everything is worth it, and I'll definitely work hard for you," his determination shone through his black eyes, his gaze fixed as he made his pledge.

"But what if..." I began, but he cut me off, his hand reaching out to gently silence my words.

"Let's go to the pool," he invited, grabbing the cooler box. He walked ahead, not saying another word.

I simply followed his footsteps. I saw him sitting on the edge of the pool, already taking out the drinks; he neatly arranged them. Then he realized he forgot to bring a knife to peel the fruits.

I told him it was fine; we had hands anyway.

We were sitting by the edge of the pool, our feet dipped in the water as we clinked our bottles together. The drinks flowed freely, and while our conversation had been serious earlier, it didn't take long for us to start laughing and sharing funny stories from our lives.

"Remember that time during our first semester when I fell asleep during the class presentation?" Leo chuckled, taking a sip of my drink.

I had been slipping into English here and there, and he was following suit, which meant trouble. It just meant one thing – I was getting drunk.

I burst into laughter. "Oh, how could I forget! You were snoring so loud, the professor had to wake you up in front of everyone! You probably thought Miss Donna was still our professor at that time."

"Yeah, that was embarrassing, baby," Leo admitted, shaking his head. "But what about you? You must have some memorable moments too."

I grinned mischievously. "Well, there was this one time at a family reunion when I accidentally spilled spaghetti on my aunt's white dress!"

Leo doubled over with laughter. "No way! What did she say?"

"Of course, she was not happy," I laughed, recalling the memory. "But hey, at least my dad didn't scold me because I scored 100 points in the karaoke showdown! I beat my cousins, even my aunt's kid who I accidentally spilled spaghetti on."

We continued talking until it shifted to our school's security guard, reminiscing about the times we had to sneak in late at night because Leo had forgotten my lunchbox in the classroom.

"And remember that one time we had to take a shower in the other department's building because our floor was flooded?" Leo chuckled, shaking his head at the memory. I knew he remembered that vividly too. I mean, who could forget?

I laughed in agreement. "Yeah, the whole floor was soaked! We had to tiptoe around to avoid slipping." No one could use the restrooms in the CMBT building because we flooded the floor too.

I continued laughing at our reminiscing, but as time passed, my cheeks felt warmer despite soaking my legs in the swimming pool; I still felt quite hot. I think another bottle of alcohol and I'll be down.

I grabbed a slice of orange from the fruit pulp, and as I sucked on it, I noticed Leo staring at me, quietly.

Is he craving for an orange fruit?

I wish I could read his mind.

But...

When he gets this quiet, I get nervous.

I knew it; he was planning something. Suddenly, he took my hand, fortunately, I had already swallowed and was munching on the orange fruit pulp.

Things happened so quickly, and all I felt was his hand caressing the back of my neck. He pulled me closer to him, and with his lips, he helped me suck the juice from the orange pulp in my mouth.

It wasn't enough. After it was gone, he grabbed another slice and fed it to me, then kissed me again. I accidentally bit into half of the orange pulp in his mouth, sucking on it.

After we finished the juice in our mouths, our lips continued to relish the remaining sweetness, freely battling tongues and tightening his grip on my face, his kisses growing more fervent.

Leo pushed me down the swimming pool, and he followed suit, pressing me against the corner of the pool, our passion still burning despite our bodies being soaked in the cold water. We continued kissing, our tongues dancing and exploring each other's mouths under the vast night sky, where the moon, stars, and the universe were our only witnesses, or maybe Smeagol, if he happened to be hanging out on the rooftop or balcony.

Leo's hands trailed down my chest, teasing my wet nipples brushed by the cold water from the swimming pool, sending shivers of cold and heat mixing in my core.

I moaned into his mouth, my fingers tangling in his hair as I guided him lower.