Blue's Rose

Chapter 13 Boys Will Reconnect

Kool

Kulap sat inside the airconditioned car and watched as Blue caught sight of him, waved, and started loping his way over. Kulap licked at his bottom lip as he watched in admiration the tall muscular form jogging effortlessly across the paved portico. Adjectives filtered through his mind; sexy, hot, gorgeous! All of the words perfectly described Blue, and yet none of them were quite perfect enough. He was a striking figure and his face was stunningly attractive. Blue grinned at Kulap as he got closer. Kulap grinned back, suddenly thinking, except when he smiled like that. When he smiled, he crossed over into dazzling!

Realizing he was grinning like an idiot, Kulap took a deep breath and relaxed his lips. Act normal, he reminded himself. Friends don't stare at each other with hungry eyes and 'you take my breath away' smiles. He took another deep breath as Blue arrived at the car, swung the door open and climbed inside the Italian sports car.

Kulap's smile easily turned into a lopsided grin as he watched Blue carefully lower his large frame down onto the seat. His broad shoulders overflowed the leather backrests, his long legs bent awkwardly, cramped until Kulap maneuvered the seat backwards with a click of a button, giving Blue more room.

Blue glanced over at Kulap. "Sorry, Kool..." he started to say then stopped with a grimace before finishing, "I mean, Kulap."

A brief silence followed.

Kulap inwardly winced. They had apparently reversed their roles. All of those years ago Blue had treated Kulap poorly and now Kulap wasn't acting any better. Only this time Kulap had no real justification for his behavior. At least back then, Blue had been an immature teenager. Kulap was an adult. There was no excuse. No good one.

Correcting his mistake, wanting to maintain the relaxed atmosphere they had created the night before, he spoke. "It is okay. When it is just us, you can call me, Kool."

Kulap's eyes lingered on Blue long enough to see a smile appear and his eyes light up with relief and something else Kulap couldn't quite decipher. He wanted to stare a little longer into his eyes to gage his thoughts but he knew he couldn't and forced himself to look away. Giving himself a mental shake, he turned and looked out the front windshield. Pressing the gas pedal, he moved the car forward and entered traffic.

Never had Kulap been more aware of how limited a space this particular vehicle provided until tonight. As broad as Blue was, in such a tight space, his shoulders were almost touching Kulap's. The heat his body naturally radiated was significant and had raised the temperature in the car up a notch or two. Kulap pulled lightly at the neck of his collar, noting he was feeling pretty warm himself.

He thumbed the controls on the steering wheel to decrease the interiors temp. The almost instantaneous cold air systematically diffused the rising heat in the car. Funny enough though, Kulap noted, his nose twitching in appreciation and interest, it created an entirely new problem. The circulating air was bouncing and wafting around a lovely spicy yet citrusy scent that tantalized Kulap in a very physical way. The smell was subtle yet heady. Blue's cologne.

For just a split second Kulap imagined burying his nose in the spot between Blue's shoulder and neck, inhaling his fill. The lively and unexpected physical response of his lower body caught him off guard. His body clearly liked and supported the idea of having the sheer freedom of holding Blue in any way. Kulap gritted his teeth and threw a glance at Blue, his eyes finding and lingering a second longer than necessary at the very spot he had just been envisioning pressing his nose to.

Kulap knew the ensuing torment would become nothing more than a vicious cycle if he didn't get it and himself under control! He opened his mouth to speak but only a muted croak-like sound emitted. Closing his mouth quickly, he held his knuckles up to his lips and gave a light cough to clear his throat and swallowed a few times. His mouth was dry. The heat was evidently affecting more than just the lower half of his body, he thought.