“Hello. I’m not disturbing you, am I?” Vegas smiled broadly as he came to a stop in front of me. Pol veered back and gestured that he was going to go upstairs, so I gave him a nod in acknowledgment.
“Not at all,” I answered Vegas politely.
“I’m here to visit. You’re feeling better now, right, Porsche?” Vegas smiled as he held up his hands. Both held bags of snacks.
“Thank you.” I scratched the back of my head, resigned to the situation.
“Why the frown…? I’m disturbing you, aren’t I? Ah, I’m sorry,” Vegas said guiltily, visibly wilting.
“No, no, I’m just a little stressed about my school reports.” I pointed toward my room and Vegas’s gaze followed.
“Oh… Is there something I could help with, then? Excuse me,” he said, brazenly walking straight into my bedroom. I sighed inwardly and followed him.
Vegas set the snacks on the floor and started clicking away at the slides on my laptop screen. “General education requirements? My university has them too. I’ll help you, yes?” He looked at me expectantly. I slumped to the floor and nodded, giving him permission to help. Fine! If he’s volunteering and my work gets done, I’ll take it.
Vegas sank down next to me and brought the laptop to the edge of the bed, typing away. I watched him work for a bit, then opened a textbook to try and help. A strange nagging feeling still tugged at my mind. The report was partially why I was so stressed out, but a much bigger part was coming from the lingering sexual frustration. I shook my head to chase away those thoughts and tried to focus on the work in front of me.
Vegas turned to look at my face and scooted closer. “Are you still not feeling well?” he asked, placing his hand on my forehead. I backed away a little but allowed him to check my temperature.
“No, just a bit dizzy,” I said.
He smiled and pulled the bags of snacks over to me. “Eat something! Get your blood sugar up. This store sells some pretty good desserts,” he said, holding up a cream-filled pancake. He’d wrapped it in a napkin so I could hold it without smearing my hand. I took it from him with a small smile.
I wasn’t actually hungry, but it would be impolite to refuse. I didn’t want to look down on his kindness.
He turned back and continued working quietly, studiously helping me research and adding relevant information to the slides. His university was no less reputable than mine, so the content shouldn’t have been too different. Plus, this general education requirement included English—for someone terrible at languages like me, having someone to help was a huge relief.
“Are you thirsty? I brought boba as well. I didn’t know what kind you liked, so I got all four flavors…” Vegas pushed himself away from the laptop and handed me the boba. The cup had an open top because of the cheese foam topping. I slowly sipped the milk tea, my eyes on Vegas’s face. He really was a decent guy—helping me with my schoolwork and even bringing me a bunch of snacks.
“Oh! I almost forgot, Porsche, you’re still not well… You shouldn’t be having cold drinks.” Vegas took the cup from me. I looked at him in confusion before taking the cup back.
“It’s fine. I’m better now,” I said.
“No, you shouldn’t. If you catch another fever, I’d feel guilty.” Vegas tried to take the cup again, but this time I didn’t let go.
“There’s really no problem.” I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but I was feeling much better now. I wanted to go back to normal—I wasn’t that weak. I tried to pull the cup back, but Vegas held tight. Our tug-of-war caused the liquid inside to slosh and spill on his shirt.
“Ah!”
“Shit!” I exclaimed and let go of the cup. I quickly went to grab a towel while Vegas set the cup on the floor and looked down at his shirt, a little stunned.
“Sorry,” I apologized, sitting in front of him and trying to blot the foam out of his shirt. Vegas glanced at me and smiled, but I couldn’t pay attention to anything other than the mess on his clothing. Shit! He was wearing such an expensive shirt, too!
“You should change. You’re a mess,” I told him. Vegas nodded in answer, and took his shirt off right then and there. Shit! I hurriedly looked the other way. I wasn’t embarrassed or anything, but I was afraid what happened earlier when I was watching the porno would repeat itself. I didn’t want to start thinking of Kinn again.
“Err… Can I borrow a shirt, Porsche? I’ll return it after a wash.”
I nodded and got up to open the wardrobe, looking for a t-shirt for him. Shit! It’s just a guy’s chest. What is going on with me?! Fuck! Whenever I looked at Vegas, the image of him shirtless was superimposed with Kinn’s body. I was going insane. Did I need to see a psychiatrist?
“Here.” I shoved a shirt at Vegas and quickly turned away, picking up things in the room and setting them down aimlessly.
“Are you nervous, Porsche?” Vegas asked with a quiet chuckle. I’m not nervous about you! I just don’t want to see Kinn in my head anymore! It was like I was hallucinating!
“No, I’m just not used to it,” I answered.
“Not used to it? We’re both men! There’s nothing to worry about.”
I’m not worried about other men, I’m worried about Kinn! “I’m not worried about anything,” I told him evenly.
“Then turn around,” he said. I took a deep breath and turned around, then stopped short. Vegas had moved to stand directly in front of me, still shirtless, mere inches away.
“Uh… What is it?” I took a step back, looking at his face in puzzlement. Vegas was about the same size as Kinn, but Kinn was slightly more muscular. No, no, no, stop thinking about Kinn! I shook my head to chase the thoughts away.
“Porsche, is something wrong? You’re looking a bit flushed. Let me see…” Vegas used the opportunity to press up close and take hold of my waist. I froze, a shiver running through my body. Motherfucker! This was exactly like when Kinn was chasing me around! What was wrong with these guys?! Why did I always end up the victim?!
“You don’t have a fever… I think.”
Slap! I swatted Vegas’s hand away from my face and stepped back in surprise. In my hurry, I tripped over my own feet and tumbled backward onto the floor.