Dilemmas

23

Holy. Shit.

Now Shaun couldn't go hack to sleep. He lay down on the bee and stared at the ceiling. He raised the middle finger.

He looked over and saw Brandon, Gio, and Ryan asleep in their respective beds. It was still three minutes past five in the morning. Thursday.

Shaun cursed under his pillow. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Then he took a deep breath. "Calm down, now. Calm down."

How did the guy get hold of it? Shaun's mind swirled with questions. He took the phone and texted back.

How do you know about the kiss?

The reply came faster than Shaun anticipated.

DID I SAY IT IS ALL ABOUT THAT KISS? IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE.

Shaun smirked as he let his fingers fly on the virtual keyboard.

You're bluffing. Is this Kaden? Because it's kinda obvious it's him.

He shuddered at his own reply. "It should be Kaden. . .right?"

But after minutes, there is no reply. Shaun turned off his phone and groaned. Oddly, someone groaned back. Giovanni.

Shaun climbed down and got ready for the day. Before that, however, he went to Ryan's bed. He was shirtless once again, the military tag he wore around his neck shimmering against the light. Shaun leaned to him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Good morning."

Shaun stepped back as Ryan moved to face away from him, his back turned. The other sighed and went to his locker, pulling out some of his stuff almost unconsciously. He was already used to his routine, after all.

But his regular routine did not involve a stranger who knew about the drunken kiss he and Ryan had. Why is my life like this? he thought. It was a question he would ask himself a lot of times, and yet, no answer.

Shaun took his towel from the hanger in his locker and closed it before heading to the bathroom. He sighed and slowly took off his shirt, revealing his flabbiness for the four walls to see.

He hung his shirt on the stall. But then he heard the door creak open behind him. He almost jumped.

"Shaun?" Ryan muttered sleazily. "What are you going here?"

"I'm going to take a bath!" Shaun shouted back, many emotions swirling in me. He took a step backward. "Get out! You're drunk, aren't you?"

Ryan stepped into the room and looked around dreamily. "This will be okay." He closed the door. "Give me a kiss. On the cheek."

Shaun faltered. "Not now!"

But Ryan grabbed him by the arms and made their lips come together. Shaun's heart beat faster. It was quick, but he closed his eyes and wrapped his hands around Ryan's neck. Their chests touched, and it was like they set off loads of sparks.

Shaun pulled away. Then at the corner of his eye, he saw Giovanni wide awake, gaping at them.

Now he wanted to die. "You did not see what you did see."

Gio didn't mutter much. "Holy. Shit. You guys kissed?! This is insane!" He was excited and shocked, but what Shaun worried the most was that he was happy about it.

He grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. "Do not tell anyone about this. Please. I've had enough stress for the week, and I don't want it to get any worse!"

"You've been hiding things lately," Gio admitted, raising an eyebrow.

Shaun made a pushing gesture with his two palms. "Let's get out of the bathroom. I want to talk without Ryan here around to listen."