Not Yet Visible - 1. Chapter 1

This is just dumb.

No...forget it, I'm not doing this. I can't believe that I'm even considering this right now.

I was standing there in the kitchen, just after finishing my bowl of cold cereal and putting it in the sink...marker in hand. I don't know what it was that made me want to try it in the first place. It seemed awfully silly to me. I had been reading stories on this website for a few years now. It was sort of my 'release' from being so sexually frustrated all the time. Pun intended. See...I just so happen to work in a small college bookstore downtown, and all I see, all day, every day, are extremely cute boys that I neither have the skills nor the courage to ever talk to. So they come in, I stare at them until I'm practically drooling all over the register, and then I let them walk right out of my life again. My only salvation comes in the form of a few well written stories that I can somehow use to fulfill that missing 'something' in my life that I wish I could find with just ONE of the boys that shop at our store. Just one. I'm not asking for some supermodel gorgeous boy with riches and a twelve inch penis. I just want someone to hold, you know? And someone to hold me back. A little kissing and cuddles on the couch would do wonders for me right now. Unfortunately..being in the closet doesn't really afford many open opportunities for a relationship. Even in college.

Yeah, yeah...I know...18 years old, and still in the closet. Whatever. I know who I am and I know what I like...but TELLING people about it? Well, let's just say that I haven't gotten to that part yet. You might wonder how I could have gotten this far in my life without letting on that I was gay. It's not as hard as you might think. Especially when you live in a suburb where the very concept of a teenager being gay is so unspeakable that any tell-tale signs of me being a homosexual were probably just written off as a mistake on my part. To the people in my neighborhood, gay people are something you see on TV and read about in the weekend newspaper. They're not sleeping over in a tent in your backyard, staring at your son's tight ass as he ties his shoes. So it wasn't even a matter of hiding...they were just too blind to see me, I guess. Besides, being a TOTAL virgin in every sense of the word that doesn't involve masturbation helps to keep that closet door shut. No secret flings, no passionate suck fests in the high school shower, no experimental 'incidents' at boy scout camp...nada. I WANTED to, believe me! Oh GOD, did I ever want to! But...I don't think I ever found the right opportunity to really swallow my fear and just go for it. I never found somebody that I thought would keep it a secret. And most importantly...I wasn't really in 'love' with any of the people that I thought I might be able to have sex with. And the people I think I might have been able to really fall for....well...they were all 'hands off' as far as their sexuality goes. I don't know, maybe I'm just too emotional for my own good. That's why I read the stories. They tell things the way I wish they really were. Sweet...and cute...and 'possible'. It's almost enough to make me believe, you know?

Which brings me back to the kitchen sink and this dumbass marker.

The website sort of has this...well, this 'thing'. You know? It's like...you put a big letter "C" on the back of the hand you masturbate with, and wear it outside. Which sounded really strange to me at first, but the more the guy behind the site explained it, the more I started to wonder if it could really work. Like...what happens if I see one? What happens if I'm behind the register all day, and the cutest fucking boy in the WORLD comes in with a "C" on the back of his hand? What do I do? Do I show him mine? Will he see it and slip me his phone number or something? Or....or what if he sees it and totally 'outs' me in front of EVERYBODY??? What then? What if I see two of them? What if I see TEN? Oh man...what if I don't see any at all? What if somebody asks me what it means? My name's Cameron, so I could always say that it's for my name? Wait...why would I be writing the first letter of my name on the back of my right hand? In case I FORGET? Stupid!

Anyway, through it all, I think I hyped myself up more through my own crazy line of questions than anything 'reality based'. But...I just couldn't shake the idea. What if? You know? Seriously....what if?

Ugh! Why am I even THINKING about this??? Now I'm actually considering drawing on the back of my right hand just to get a date. How pathetic is that, right? You know what? Forget it. I'm not doing this. Nobody else is gonna do it. I'll be the only one, and I'll look like a dork. What is this, anyway? A CULT??? Next he'll be asking me to worship a head of lettuce and drink poisoned Kool Aid. Stupid. I'm going to work. I'd rather fantasize about something I'll never have, then create false expectations over something I know isn't possible.

I hopped on the bus with this weird feeling of paranoia going on. Like I said, my mind was going haywire over the possibilities here. I found myself staring at everybody's hand as I walked past them. Wondering if I'd see one. Just one. I couldn't stop myself, my curiosity was killing me. But not a single 'C' crossed my vision the whole bus ride to the store. Ah well, it's not like I really expected to see one...I just...I just thought that maybe...you know...whatever.

I walked into work to see a very frustrated Gina still working behind the counter by herself. There was a line of students in front of her, and she was looking flustered as she tried to answer the phone and help customers at the same time. "Gina...are you alright?" I asked, keeping some distance as she was practically ready to snap at any moment.

"CAM!!! Thank God! Will you PLEASE jump on the other register and help me get rid of these people???" She yelled.

"What happened?"

"Aric called in late! He totally overslept, and he KNOWS that 2nd semester classes started this week! I'm SWAMPED here! I'm gonna kick his ASS when he gets here, I swear to God!" She said, snatching books out of the next customer's hands to angrily ring him up. Hehehe, well this is already turning out to be a fun day, isn't it?

Gina promised to clock me in later if I just ran right to the next counter and helped her fight the 'horde' of students wanting to buy books for their new classes. "I can take the next few customers." I said, once I got my drawer assigned to my number, and more than half the line came rushing over to my register instead. Understandable, since Gina looked like she was going to stab the next customer in the face with a sharp pencil if they so much as looked at her wrong. Lucky for me, I'm just getting started. So my bullshit tolerance was still pretty high at the moment. And would be for a few hours to come. So no biggie. At least I'd get to work with Aric today.

Yeah...Aric would be one of those really cute boys that I can barely talk to without going into convulsions of panic. Strange thing though, he's also one of those extremely cheerful people that is so friendly and approachable that you just can't help but feel comfortable around him. He's like...safe to be around. You don't have to worry about him rejecting your comments, or knocking your corny jokes, or shrugging away from you emotionally when you do something weird. You can pretty much talk to him about anything that comes to mind, and he'll be right there with you. His personality is FLAWLESS when it comes to making new friends and everyday chit chat. It's like he was just born to be completely comfortable in his own skin. I mean, he can't even pass a homeless person without making conversation and ending up with a new friend on the street. He's just...unavoidably sweet, and people can sense it whenever he's nearby. What can I say? It's a high level of addictive charisma and charm that I wish I had. I really do.

I had been ringing people up at that register nonstop for about fifteen minutes, involuntarily checking the back of every hand that gave me cash or dished out a credit card, when I saw a big blur pass by our store window. It was Aric, 'skating' in at the last minute to give Gina that boyish little pout of his to hopefully get himself out of, yet, another write-up for being extremely late. I doubt his usual distractions would work today though. Gina had stomped off to the back room a while ago, and she seemed pretty pissed.

At the door, Aric kicked his skateboard up into his hand, and hurried inside, backpack strapped over his slim shoulders. Small beads of sweat on his forehead. "Shit! Where is she?" He asked

"In the back room."

"She pissed?"

"Royally." I told him.

"Damn. Wish me luck." He smirked.

"Doubt it would help you this time, my man. But you want it? You got it."

Aric timidly walked into the back, where Gina was all ready to pounce on him at first sight for being almost an hour late to work. Even when he's flustered and in a rush...Aric was still beautiful. He was like this perfect, adorable Asian skater boy, with a baby faced grin that could level mountains at full potency. He had lightly tanned skin that was so smooth you just wanted to touch it every minute of the day. It had this mellow 'glow' to it that just made him look soft and warm to you from a distance. And he had these really thin lips that almost looked 'drawn on' his face, but were just as kissable as every other part of him. His body was slim and tight, sleek and flexible, with a soft flat belly that would only tighten up when I playfully poked him with my finger. He was extremely ticklish there, so it was always easy to make him smile. Not that it was ever all that hard to make him smile anyway. He was only shorter than me by about three inches, and he had this medium length black hair that would almost cover his chocolate brown eyes, but not quite. I think he wishes it would grow longer, but I believe that's about as long as his genes are gonna let it get naturally. Hehehe, that's ok though, it looked cute on him. Everything looked cute on him. Everything.

I started to get a little worried when the door closed, and I noticed that Gina and Aric were still in the back room after about five minutes of silence. Usually, no matter what the current offense, Aric just flashes her a few smiles, bats those long pretty eyelashes of his, and before you know it, she sends him out of there with his nametag and says, "Just get your ass on register, and don't let it happen again." He was witty enough to talk himself out of almost anything. Too lovable to actually get 'fired', you know? But this time seemed to be a bit more troublesome than usual for him.

Another five minutes went by, and I felt my fingers tapping nervously on the counter. It was hard to concentrate on ringing people up with me constantly looking back at that door. And finally, when I was getting ready to start tearing out handfuls of hair...I saw the door open, and Gina lightly shoved Aric back into the store to work the register with me. Thank GOD!!! This job would be SO much less exciting without seeing him two or three days a week.

He came up to the counter, putting his nametag on, and started to assign his register right next to me. "Hard time?" I asked.

He gave me a sheepish grin. "Um...a little, yeah." His smile was always so enchanting. It almost looked like he had braces, and had JUST gotten them off yesterday. Hehehe, hard to explain. But it was so cute.

"So what happened?"

"I got a write-up. No avoiding it this time."

"Hehehe, really? Wow...how many write-ups is that for you now?" I asked.

"Like...seven." He giggled bashfully.

"Aren't you supposed to get the boot after, liker, three?" I teased.

"Yeah, but she's diggin' me. What can I do?" He smiled. Skipping the 'formality' of counting his drawer out to make sure it was even, and just started taking customers.

"Good thing we weren't busy or anything during the first week of the second semester, jerk ass..." I said sarcastically.

"I know, I know...believe me. She ripped me up bad over all of that stuff already. But it was a totally legitimate mistake. I just slept through my alarm, that's all. It's not like I MEANT to come late."

"Must have been an entertaining night out."

"More like an entertaining night in, actually." He said.

"What did you do?"

"I was reading this thing online, and I just...I don't know. I got wrapped up in it. I couldn't stop until, like, 4 in the freakin' morning, and I finally forced myself to go to bed during one of the slow parts. I thought I could jus come in with only a few hours of sleep today...but I snoozed right through my alarm. I don't even remember waking up to turn it off. I was totally knocked out until Gina called my house this morning."

"Must have been a decent read. I thought you didn't even like reading books. You said it was DVD or nothing."

"Yeah...I know. Well, I guess I made an exception in this case. It was really engaging, so I changed my mind once I got started." That's when Aric said something that...sorta perked my ears up. "It was this totally weird vampire story, you know? I mean...it was like, 'different', you know? Lots of action and shit in it too. It was almost like reading Anime. I liked it. Pretty kick ass."

It sounded awfully familiar, but.....no. No way. I paused for a moment, waiting for my mind to actually start working again, and realized that I was holding a customer's change in my hand while she looked at me in confusion. "Um...can I have my change?" She said.

"OH! Right...yeah. Seven dollars and fifty cents is your change Thanks, and come back soon." My brain has been making up random shit all day, so I hardly had any confidence at all in my judgment at the moment This fucked up paranoia was KILLING me. But...I distinctly remember reading that story. Online. On the same site that told me to wear a 'C' on my hand today. A GAY STORY! A GAY WEBSITE But...I didn't want to get excited just yet. After all, for all I knew, he could be talking about Anne Rice. He could be talking about "Twilight", or...or...something completely different altogether. So I attempted to not let the weirdness invade my common sense, and tried to act normal. I took a few secretive glances at both of his hands as he was helping customers...staring hard to see if I could see any visible marks on the back of his hand. I didn't. Both hands were clean. Still...my mind was working double time. "So...what was the name of it?" I asked him a few minutes later as he was putting someone's books in a plastic bag for them.

"The name of what?"

"The story. The one you read all last night. What was the name of it?" I didn't even look at him when I said it. But I did notice a slight hesitation before he answered.

"Why?" He asked, also not looking in my direction.

"I just..." Shit..I didn't have an answer for that one. "...I might wanna check it out for myself. I like vampires." I said. "Unlike SOME people, I actually enjoy reading on a regular basis."

There was another pause, which he hid well by pretending to have a short burst of small talk with a girl buying a stack of Shakespearean Cliff Notes. Then, after asking him again, he said, "Oh...well, you know me, dude. I don't remember shit like that."

"You don't remember the name of the story you were reading until 4 AM?"

"Nah. Weirdest thing, huh?" UGH!!! He was LYING! He was SO lying! He had to be.

"Maybe I can find it online. Do you remember where you saw it?" I asked. Come on, Aric...give me an answer. Even if it's the 'hetero' answer. At LEAST stop my imagination from going into some fantasy world where you're staying up late to read homoerotic fiction from the same place that I am!

"Oh...that. Nah, you know what? You probably wouldn't like it. It kinda 'babbles' a bit in a lot of places. It's weird. It's not...really all that great..."

"Whatever. You just said it was 'kick ass'."

"Yeah...well..." He rang up one last person, and said, "Hey, I'm thirsty. I'm gonna get a fruit juice from across the hall. You want one?" Great...NOW he's changing the subject! Dammit, I wish I was better at this game.

He was almost out of range by the time I got to answer him, and before I knew it, he was out the door, leaving me with a line of customers. Okaaaay, so maybe I'm losing it, but that little interaction was definitely an added spark in an otherwise average day.

The store business didn't really slow down at all for the first four hours. Students poured into the place, trying to buy all the cheapest used books that they could before the initial stash was gone and they ended up having to pay full price for overpriced books that they'll never use again. But I didn't mind the business, at least it kept my mind occupied. Not to mention that this semester's kids were just as gorgeous, if not more so, than the last quarter. Blonds, brunettes, redheads, and an interesting array of dye jobs that fell into every color in between. There was even one boy with light green hair that I will DEFINITELY be keeping my eye on! He was a doll. But...out of all that beauty, not one mark on their hands. I kept looking, hoping to just randomly glance down and see a big 'C' staring back at me. But it never happened, and after a while, I got kinda bored with it. I have to admit feeling a bit silly, but hey...if we don't dream, life's a bore. So it didn't hurt.

Aric was his usual jolly self, once Adrienne and Mike came in to work the store with us. But he kinda...I don't know...he felt kinda distant to me. I mean, every time I spoke to him, he responded, and he was all smiles and grins and bouncing around with cheerful energy like he usually does. But it wasn't the same. There was this sudden 'void' of communication between us that was subtle...but obvious at the same time. Again, I wondered if it was just this 'C' mark thing that had me all fucked up in the head. But his sudden evasion of contact with me after asking about that vampire story had me thinking all kinds of crazy things. Not to mention, it gave me a whole new series of erotic fantasies to entertain while I was lost in my thoughts at the register. Thoughts of me taking him into the public bathroom down the hall, kissing him deeply on his thin sexy lips, and sucking him off until he can barely stand anymore. Or maybe..staying here after we close, and turning off the cameras so we can make sweet love to each other on the floor for hours. My mind ran wild with a bunch of midday wet dreams an sensual scenarios...each one more explicit than the last. But as I looked over at Aric standing next to me, all of that sexual shit faded away, and I found myself wanting to just...'be' with him. You know? Is that denial? Or do I really love more about him than the fact that he's fucking cute as hell? I guess having a super sweet personality to go with the heartbreaker looks is a major plus in the grand scheme of things, huh?

I decided to go over and talk to Aric for a few minutes, just to pass the time, and left my empty register to joke around a bit. He was easily the highlight of my day whenever we worked together, so it's not like being 'buddy buddy' with him was anything out of the ordinary. "So, what's up, you've been awfully quiet today." I said. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye at first, and that ready made smile of his spread out on his lips in the most adorable way. He showed the very slightest hint of a blush, but he hid it well.

He grinned and said, "Aw, dude...I'm sorry. I guess I'm still just tired, that's all. I don't mean to be an asshole, k?"

I told him, "You're not being an asshole, Aric, I just wanna talk."

"Hehehe, ok." He smirked, and instantly, it was like all forms of tension were dropped immediately. "Well....in that case...can you do me a BIG solid, dude?" He asked me.

"What is it?"

"I'm, like...seriously starving right now! But I'm afraid to ask Gina for a lunch break. She's gonna totally flip out on me if I even suggest taking a break to get something to eat after skating in late today. I just KNOW it."

"You want ME to ask?" I said.

"Dude...would you? Please? If it looks like we're just going together, then it won't look so bad."

"How do you figure THAT?" I asked, and he just grinned a bit to himself. "Hehehe, you asshole! You're just being a chicken shit, aren't you?" Aric gave me the most merciless 'poor orphan' look, puppy dog eyes and everything. "Ugh! FINE! Hehehe, but you suck for this. You know that, right?"

"I'll be forever grateful. Serious. I'm literally imploding at this point." He answered, sucking in his already sleek stomach and rubbing it with both hands, an adorably pout-lipped look on his face. He puppy whimpered softly and fluttered his eyelashes to get me to laugh, causing me to cave in immediately.

"Hehehe, bastard." I grinned, letting him know that I'd pretty much do anything he asked me to if he offered the right amount of slightly engaging entertainment. Like he didn't already know that by now.

Aric could be so undeniably cute sometimes.

I did as he asked, and walked back to the back office to see Gina listening to some 'office friendly' music and doing paperwork with her hand on her head in frustration. I approached her with the kind of caution a trainer uses to approach a lion in the wild. She was still visibly upset from her deadly collision with chaos this morning, and hardly in the mood for any shenanigans...even of the 'harmless' employee request type. She looked up from her giant folder of papers, and raised an eyebrow, as she saw me inching closer with the obvious intention of asking her for something. "Yes?" She asked me, not really wanting to hear it, I'm sure.

"I was just getting hungry...so, I thought about, maybe going out to get something to much on." I paused for a second, and then added, "...Do you want anything?" It seemed like a polite enough request, you know? And asking her if she wanted something made me seem like I was being more than considerate.

"No thanks, Cameron. I appreciate it though. Go, eat, relax. I'll jump on register in a minute, and Sylvie should be her soon to take over the shelves and start straightening things up."

"Cool....thanks." I replied. Now for the difficult part. "So...me and Aric are gonna run out real quick, and we'll be back soon. Ok?"

Gina looked up at me again. "Aric?"

"Um...yeah. Well...we were kinda going out together. You know...not for too long or anything. We just..."

"He sent you in here to ask for a lunch break, didn't he?" She asked, and I...honestly didn't expect her perception to be quite that sharp.

"Uhh...well..."

"Dammit....you two..." She said, shaking her head. "Whatever. Go. But you guys had better be back at THREE O'clock! On the dot! Not ONE minute later, you hear me?" She said, and I couldn't help but let a momentary smirk spread out across my lips. "I MEAN it, Cam. If you're not back in 45 minutes, it's write-ups for you both. So don't bullshit me, ok?"

"You got it. Three O'clock, no problem." I said. "Thanks, Gina. You're awesome!"

"Clock's ticking, Cameron!"

"Right! Gotchya!" I said, and I backed out of her presence before closing the office door. SWEET! So not only do I get to go on break, but now I get to spend lunch with Aric too. Which is ALWAYS a bonus! You won't get any complaints out of me, that's for sure! Aric's hopeful eyes were searching for mine the second that I left the office, and I gave him a smile to let him know that the operation was a 'go'.

"YES!" He hissed happily, and quickly pulled his uniform apron over his head and tossed it to the floor in mock frustration while I laughed at his wild antics. "Yeah! FUCK this place! Hehehe!"

"Hahaha! Quit it! Gina's gonna see you on camera! You're gonna fuck it up for both of us!" I giggled.

He just jumped down from the register and threw a friendly arm over my shoulder. "Dude, don't worry. I know where ALL the camera blind spots are in this place. And this is one of them, so we're safe." He said, giving a middle finger to the camera that was turned, ever so slightly, in the other direction.

"Hehehe, whatever. If you say so."

"I DO say so. Now, lets punch out and scramble before I freakin' starve to death." He said, and just looking at his smile up close, the sparkling color of his bedroom eyes shining right in my face...I nodded silently in agreement. Aric's affection was always delivered as some kind of 'friendly' display...but it always meant so much more to me. So much more than I could say. So much more than anyone could say, considering the unmerciful limit of words when it comes to an emotion so deeply implanted in our genetics. That never-ending search for someone to love. And more importantly....for someone to love you back. "Come on, let's go." He said. We, then, walked to the back to punch out on the time clock, and made our escape the second Gina emerged from her office, just in case anyone decided to change their mind about letting us go.

Being away from that place and out in the fresh air and sunshine of a Chicago afternoon was such a blessing for us. Well...at least it was for me. Aric was pleasant and cheerful ninety percent of his day, so I never know if I'm that 'special' thing making him feel good, or if he's just being...Aric, and I'm just another random person for him to smile at. Still, I occasionally like to imagine that this particular smile was one he designed just for me.

We went to this small place right down the block. Not necessarily a fast food joint, not necessarily a sit down restaurant, but some weird hybrid that was the perfect place for a relaxing lunch break. We grabbed some form of unhealthy sizzled meat each, and picked a table over by the window in the corner. Seeing the sun shine on him was a breathtaking experience. And it seemed to make his eyes glow with this beautiful aura when he looked at me. It was the brightest, most spellbinding, shade of brown that I had ever seen. And when he smiled...they became even more radiant than ever. It was hard to come up with stuff to say to him today....I was too busy staring.

Then, after about five minutes, I glanced down at his hands again, wishing that I could see a mark somewhere. Even a trace of one being there earlier, and he had washed it off or something, would be a plus. I kept looking to see if I could just....see a HINT of a mark. Just a hint. Hell, I was staring so hard that I practically burned a 'C' into his hand with my vision alone. But I got nothing. Nothing at all. I guess sometimes wishful thinking isn't enough.

"Dude...do you see what I see?" Aric asked me, snapping me out of a daze.

"What?" He nodded towards a sign on the table next to us. It said 'Two Dollar Margaritas On Tuesdays' on it, which caused Aric to smile wickedly. "Hehehe, I don't think so." I said.

"C'mon! We'll just get ONE!"

"What, and share it?" I joked.

"No, doofus! One EACH!"

"Just one problem, genius...they're gonna card us. Hellooo? You barely pass for 18, I doubt you're gonna get them to sell you alcohol."

"So we slip a couple of extra dollars in the tip jar when we go up. It's food service, you think they're gonna care? Hell, they'd probably be sucking down margaritas themselves if they could get away with it."

I shook my head in disbelief, but once Aric raised his eyebrow, my heart fell into the same damn trap that it always did when it came to him. "Why are you so EVIL?"

"I'm only as wicked as my partner in crime." He grinned. "So should I do it? Come on, I'm not gonna do it unless you're in it with me."

"Aric..."

"Seriously! Either we both do it, or we don't do it." He insisted, waiting for only a few seconds before pushing the issue. "Soooo...?" An actual choice didn't exist here. I was merely a matter of how long do I hesitate before saying yes.

"Fine. But YOU go up there and ask! I'm not doing it."

"My thoughts exactly." He smiled, and popped up from his seat to go talk to the lady at the counter. I got a bit nervous, not wanting to look over and screw up the plan. But I stole a few peeks anyway, and saw Aric working some of that irresistible magic on the poor girl. Hell, I know all of his tricks and I'm STILL helpless against him That lady didn't stand a chance.

Sure enough, a minute later, I see her shaking up her supply of margarita ingredients, and she pours us two plastic cups full. Aric is grinning from ear to ear when he gets back to the table, and I couldn't help but giggle. "Only you could pull that off, Aric."

"Damn straight." He said, handing me a drink and a straw. "She says we have to put an extra two dollars in the tip jar for every drink, but hey, four bucks ain't bad."

"For every drink? What happened to just getting one each?"

"Hehehe, the day is young, my friend."

"Yeah, but our lunch break isn't. Gina says if we're not back at exactly three o'clock it's paperwork for the both of us. I don't think I'd be quite as skilled at talking my way out of losing my job as you are."

"I could talk to her for ya."

"You are SO not getting the point." I smirked.

"And you're not drinking. Come on, we've only got, like, 25 minutes left." He said, and we both grabbed our straws and took a few healthy swallows of our drink.

My GOD! Did they make these things extra strong or what? Jesus! It took a few minutes to get used to it, but when I looked up again, Aric was quickly sucking it down to the bottom of the cup. "Hahaha! Dude...you'd better slow down."

"No, you gotta speed up. Let's see how many of these we can get down before we have to go back."

"Noooo, we cannot get liquored up and go back to work!"

"Who's getting 'liquored up'? In twenty minutes? I hardly think that's possible." He finished his drink, sucked on an ice cube, and I saw him getting up to get another round, for both him and me. I actually laughed as I hurried to finish mine off too, and then saw Aric race back to the table with two more, his face turning bright red. He was giggling like crazy, and asked me for money since I forgot to give him some. I saw him run back to the counter to give the lady the money and extra tip, and then nearly trip over his own feet as he ran back to the table, causing both of us to burst out laughing in unison. I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this! Gina is gonna literally 'execute' us both when we get back to work.

Aric is DAMN lucky that his company is so addicting.

I think we sucked down about four margarita's each by the time it was time to go back. And even then Aric was trying to get me to do just ONE more. I refused. One more swiftly guzzled cup of alcohol, and I was gonna end up bringing that food I just paid good money for right back up to spill all over the sidewalk! So we tried to get our balance in working order as we stood up and dealt with our instant head rush. The lady behind the counter, while once looking dead and bored in the face, seemed to really get a kick out of making our day so much more 'entertaining'. We tried to say goodbye without giggling, and walked out through the front door together.

Was the sidewalk this hard to walk when we went in there? Everything was tilted, and warped. And FUNNY! Jesus...everything in the WORLD just seemed funny at that moment! Aric and I were walking with an arm over each other's shoulders, and just looking at him made me want to laugh even harder. The thing is...when Aric laughed, he would get weak, and would have to lean on me for support. As though I was a stable source of balance! And at one point, we both fell against the wall and slid down to sit on the concrete, our stomachs aching with a harsh fit of giggles. We were in the middle of the Loop, with business men and women stepping over us by the dozen, trying to hold back our laughter long enough to get back on our feet. I looked at my watch, and we had only three minutes to get back to work. We could easily make it, but we had to get up now.

"Come on. We've gotta go." I tried to pick Aric up, but he smiled at me, and I started giggling again. "QUIT IT!!! Hehehe!"

"WHAT???"

"You're making me...hehehe...you're making me laugh!"

"Hehehe, no I'm not!"

"You ARE! Come on, we gotta...we gotta go" We held it in as best as I could, and made it back to a standing position.

"WAIT! Wait...I'll be right back!" Aric said, and rushed into the convenience store next to us. I didn't know what the hell he was up to, but he came back out a minute later with a pack of gum and two bags of Jolly Rancher candies. "Ok...ok, here." He said, unwrapping a stick of gum and putting it up to my lips. I took it in and chewed it, hoping that it would quickly hide the scent of alcohol on my breath. And then he said, "Ok, we've gotta keep sucking the Jolly Ranchers, one after the other, so all Gina smells is candy. K?"

"Dude, this is never gonna work..."

"Yes, it WILL! Just...hehehe....just try to act normal. Ok?" He straightened out my shirt a bit with his hands, and then did his own. "Ok..tell me. Do I look intoxicated?"

"Hehehe, yes!"

"Hehehe! Fuck off! I do NOT! Come on, we're late. Walk straight!"

We went back into work, walking in with perfect balance, and poise, and dignity. No visible signs of being 'tipsy'. However, just walking past Gina in the back room to punch in on the time clock turned out to be a difficult mask to wear. Just seeing her face caused us both to giggle childishly to ourselves.

"What the heck are YOU two so happy about?" She asked, and we made sure to suck extra hard on our Jolly Rancher candies to further hide our 'liquor breath' from her in such a confined space.

"Hehehe.....Um.....Hahaha! Nothing, really. Just...hehehe!" I said, and Aric swatted me in the stomach with the back of his hand to shut me up. Even though he was laughing himself.

Gina shook her head again, and let us punch back in and go to work without any problems. I swear...the whole world might as well have been full of cart wheeling clowns the way I was feeling at that particular moment. I had to literally put my hand over my mouth to stop it. And even THEN a few giggles escaped here and there. Aric tried to stop me, but my smile always set him off, and his smile would nearly cause me to explode. Sylvie, the girl who came in to help us work the evening shift, just looked at us like we were insane. She asked what the joke was, but we managed to convince her that it was just a bout of silliness that really didn't have a rhyme or reason, and she didn't put any further effort into trying to understand us. Who knows...maybe she knew better. Everyone at that place knows that Aric and I sorta have our own 'thing' from time to time. And today just happened to be our 'thing' on steroids.

Trying to go back to work wasn't easy. Aric kept looking over at me, and would laugh as I tried to wait on customers without cracking a smile. And our only defense was to not make any eye contact whatsoever until we were certain that we could handle it. Still...thinking about him kept me smiling anyway. Not because of the fit of giggles bubbling inside me...but just because I was, once again, thankful for the quality time that I got to spend with someone that I thought the world of. It was rewarding...knowing that someone so beautiful could possibly enjoy themselves while having lunch with me. It was a piece of him that nobody else could have today. And this time I KNEW that his smile...was designed just for me.

Five o'clock rolled around, and Gina was getting ready to leave for the day. The alcohol had definitely worn off for the both of us, but the 'buzz' seemed to still be there. I'm starting to think that the light headed, giggly, sensation in my belly wasn't caused by the margaritas at all. I looked over at Aric, and found myself getting hard over the weirdest of details. The smooth side of his neck as it glided gracefully into the collar of his shirt...the slim perfection of his fingers as they exchanged money in and out of the register. And that one odd wrinkle in his shirt that seemed to stretch across his sleek stomach, almost folding as his trim waist inhaled and exhaled in an almost erotic way. His lips looked really cute today. And his ears. And his shoulders looked really soft too. I would be honored to lick ANY part of him right now. I swear to God!

"Cam, I'm depending on you to get this place clean before you lock up tonight. Alright?" Gina said as she grabbed her bag from behind the counter.

"No sweat. I got it."

"You leaving, boss lady?" Aric asked, and she gave him a playfully stern look.

"You be on your BEST behavior! You're on thin ice as it is, mister."

"Hehehe, yes ma'am." He grinned, straightening his back and giving her a salute. Gina couldn't help but grin at his adorable antics, she never had the ability to actually get angry with him. None of us did.

"No closing early tonight. It's semester week, and that means people are watching me. Which pretty much means that I'm watching you." She said, and we nodded as she left to enjoy what was left of her evening.

Aric couldn't wait until she was gone to say, "Thank God! Let's close this place and get out of here!"

"Hehehe, shut up! We're staying until 7!"

"Suck up!" He smiled, and went back to his register on the other side of the room.

I have to admit I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. My inner fantasies went from sexual, to sensual, to just an everyday shared experience of his charming smile. And at one point, I actually entertained the idea of just...maybe asking him out. It was outright CRAZY for me to even consider it! What happens if he's not gay and just totally blows me off! I'm sure that he'd still be...'polite' when he saw me next. But...if anything about our friendship changed because of this...I couldn't take it. I'd literally want to DIE if we couldn't go back to be cool once he found out that I liked him.

Still...the 'pull' was intense. Something about today just made things worse than they ever were before, and after thinking about his late night reading that 'unnamed vampire story that he can't remember'...I couldn't help but see just the slightest glimmer of hope. So..as silly as I felt doing it...I took a chance. So I searched the nearby drawers behind the front counter for a marker, and found a dark green one that we us for making announcements on the bulletin board. And, I drew a big letter 'C' on the back of my right hand.

I didn't make any attempts to really 'show it off' or anything...in fact, I think I was blushing just from knowing that I had this big visible 'beacon' of gayness on my hand for anybody and everybody to see. But as nervous as I was on the surface...I secretly hoped and prayed that he would notice. And maybe...he'd know what it means.

Was it five minutes? Ten minutes? Maybe an eternity and a half, from the feel of it. But finally..just by accident...I looked up and saw Aric staring at the marking blankly. It was a look that I had never seen on his face before. He almost looked like a completely different person. And I don't know if that scared me, or if excited me. I felt my body temperature drop about 30 degrees instantly, and I looked away from him, instantly hiding my hand beneath the desk.

What the hell was I doing? I mean...I WANTED him to see it, right? I mean...if he knows what it means, then...he likes boys too, right? And that's a GOOD thing! I mean....ISN'T it? What the fuck am I hiding from??? I timidly turned around to look back at Aric and see if he was still looking. He wasn't. He was staring at his register with a heavy blush coloring his face a deep shade of red. He still looked as though he was lost in an intense fog of confusion. And that frightened me even more. PLEASE don't tell me that I fucked this up! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!

Another ten minutes went by. I remember, because looking at the clock was the ONLY ay that I could keep myself from looking anywhere else I was thankful for an occasional customer coming up to buy a book or two, but business was slow. I attempted to strike up a short conversation with Sylvie, but she, for once, didn't seem much like talking. College studies had her stressed out. Shit. But once the ten minutes were up, I took a very secretive peek back over to Aric, who...I guess was peeking back at me at that particular moment. And when our eyes connected, it was almost like being hit in the chest with a shotgun blast. We both jerked away, but...little by little...we attempted to look at one another without freaking out.

It wasn't easy. But he kinda waved at me with, by far, the fakest smile that I've EVER seen cross those sweet lips of his decorating his face. I hope the one I gave him in return was at least a LITTLE bit more convincing. And then...with just a little bit of hesitation...he looked under his register for a marker as well. And he scribbled a 'C' on his hand too. He just...kinda tilted his hand at first...but once he saw me looking at it, he smiled, rolled his eyes a bit, and blushed sheepishly as he held it up for me to see more clearly. Omigod...was this really...was he....?

"I need to get out of here. What time is it already?" Sylvie asked me, nearly scaring the shit out of me as I didn't expect her to be standing right in front of me at that particular moment.

"Oh...it's um...well...we've got 40 minutes left, and that's all." I told her, and she sighed...still whimpering over time that she could be spending at home getting her assignments done. I looked back up at Aric, who had somehow achieved a much more genuine smile than the one he had a few seconds before. "Hey Sylvie?" I said, and she turned around, a slump in her shoulders. "Listen...if you've really gotta go...I mean, if you just wipe down the counters really quick...you can go."

"REALLY?" She asked.

"Totally. I mean...it's dead in here anyway. So, might as well let you get back to your homework or whatever. The faster you finish, the faster you leave. Just make it look good, k? Gina wants it spotless."

"Definitely! Thanks Cameron! You're the best!" She said, and sprinted off to grab the Windex and paper towels. I looked back at Aric again, who giggled happily at the thought of me getting rid of our third wheel.

I swear, it seemed like it took her FOREVER to wipe everything down! But it gave me time to think. I wondered what I'd say to him. Or how I'd begin a conversation about homoerotic stories online and a website that we might have both been looking at while indulging in a typical same late night 'spank fest'. But once she was finished, I offered to just punch her out when we left, and I lost all of my previous 'planning'....and watched her rush out of the door without knowing WHAT to do with Aric now that she was gone and the store was empty.

We took a few sneaky peeks at each other, and eventually started giggling out loud. Aric decided to give up the act, and he walked over to my register. He smiled so warmly at me, and said, "You son of a bitch."

"You're one to talk."

"Did you know? I mean....um...about me?"He asked.

I shook my head. "Not at all."

"Well I certainly didn't know about you, that's for sure."

"Hehehe....good." I grinned. Then asked, "Soooo....what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...like...uhhh...." I sort of fidgeted for a few seconds, feeling that irresistible pull on my emotions as I tried not to fall all over myself trying to do this. "...Well..."

"Hehehe...loss for words?" He asked me. And I suddenly swallowed as much pride as I could to ask a simple question.

"Would it be...weird, if I said that I was TOTALLY into you, Aric?" I think I was actually trembling when I said it, but I didn't have anything to lose. Not now.

"Really?" He smirked.

"Yeah. Really." I told him. "For...like...EVER."

"Hehehe, um....cool?" He looked down at his feet, and another customer walked into the store, ruining our moment. But we just sorta wiggled and squirmed in place until he got his book and brought it up to me. I quickly rang him up, and sent him on his way, quickly returning to the ultimate highlight of my day.

"So...do you wanna, like...go out sometime?" I asked him. "Like...on a date, or something?"

"Well, I'll have to check my schedule. And I'll have to clear it with all of my other man-sluts first..." I instinctively slugged him in the arm, and he giggled cheerfully in response. "Yes! I'd...love to go out some time." He said.

"Maybe this weekend?"

"Sure. Sounds major."

"Alright then. It's a date." I said with a smirk. "Um...this isn't, like, gonna make things weird between us, is it?"

"Not unless you show up naked with a teddy bear full of candy."

"Hahaha, WHAT?!?!" He said, and wrapped his arms around my neck to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"Dude...are we CLOSED yet?" He asked, nodding towards the door.

"No...but we soon will be." I hurried over and locked both doors while Aric turned of the lights. "Wait...I need lights to count up the deposit."

"In a minute." He said walking towards me.

"In a minute? What do you m..." But before I could finish my sentence...Aric had pushed me back a few steps, draped his arms over my shoulders, and gently began pulling my head down a few inches to connect his yearning lips to my own. It was a level of contact that I had always dreamed about, but never, in a million years, thought I'd be able to have with him. As thin and sweet as his lips were...they definitely delivered one HELL of a heart bursting kiss! My whole body was locked into his embrace, and after a few seconds, I had to stop him. "Wait...we're...still on camera, aren't we?"

"Hehehe, nope. I told you...I know where ALL the camera blind spots are in this place." And I looked up to see all of the security cameras pointed 'just' out of range from where we were standing. So I relaxed a bit, took a moment to make sure that this wasn't just some wet dream that I was going to wake up from any minute...and I let my hands rest softly on the soft little sides of his waist. He felt so good in my arms. And when our lips met for a second time...I could almost feel my very soul turn to warm butter and leak out of my shoes into a puddle on the floor. I wanted to touch every part of him that I ever admired, kiss every piece of him that I ever imagined...and when we were done...we could still share that same smile that we always did when we were together. That was the real miracle. That...was the beginning of love.

We stood in that dark room for a long time. Kissing, caressing, gently swaying back and forth as we each tried to keep our balance on weak knees. And when all was said and done...I left that place with a boyfriend. A boyfriend that I could keep by my side forever Never get bored, never feel let out, never want anything more than his charismatic company.

He was more than I wanted. More than I ever thought I could have the audacity to hope for. And I would happily live the rest of my life, powerless against his charms...for as long as he'll have me.

For as long as he'll have me.

I hope you guys enjoyed this story! Two stories in the "7 C's Update"...FIVE more to come! Let me know what you think! And stick around! Because there's much more to come! :)