University Encounter

After the date I had with Luke this afternoon, I was taking the rest of the evening easy. While eating with Jake we talked about our plans for the next week. I just mentioned that I will continue learning with that fellow student in the future and that I will go home to visit my mom the next weekend. Jake just smiled at that and I was a bit confused.

After dinner, I sat at my desk wrapping up a summary for the last chapter of our course. I thought about sending it to Luke to let him read it through but I might do it tomorrow. I switched off the desk lamp and laid down on my bed. The thoughts were circling in my head and I was so confused and unsure about some things. Today I experienced emotions I never had before. I decided that it will be best to go to bed early and get ready for bed. I wished Jake a good night, went into my room, and fell asleep pretty fast.

Sunday

The next day I felt refreshed and thought that I should do something to get a bit more muscles so that I could match Luke a bit better and also for my health. So I sprang in the shower, lathered myself up, and washed my hair. My trusted safety razor was also used to get some parts smooth again. After partially drying my hair, I grabbed my swimming trunks, a towel, and a bottle of water and threw them in my backpack. I left a note for Jake who was most likely still asleep that I will go swimming.

I got my bike from the cellar and cycled to the pool. It was a rather long route as I was a bit picky and wanted to go to a newer facility. The weather was pleasantly cool, typical for an early summer morning. So I enjoyed the bike ride to the pool.

When I got there I thought about Luke and looked at my phone. No new message from him. I thought maybe I should text him first this time. I wrote:

Going to swim now. Getting in shape for you ;P
I really enjoyed yesterday and thought about it a lot. I think it will be best if I'm coming out to my friends and family.
It will be easier and more comfortable for both of us. Especially since you are already out it would be a bit unfair for you to play hide and seek again.

I'm one of those people who is always cold. So I decided to go into a heated pool and swam a few laps. I looked at my phone again but got nothing besides some new tweets. I laid down on a lounger and rested for a bit. I'm not used to doing sports. I usually only ride my bike to the university when it's sunny otherwise I take the tram.

Physically I'm rather slim. I wouldn't say I'm underweight but I'm on the skinnier side which I don't understand since I'm almost eating as much as my roommate. Jake was a good deal taller than me and looked way more "normal" than me. I have a really fast metabolism which meant that I could eat almost anything and didn't gain a lot of weight.

So I thought that doing some sort of sport or at least trying to do a sport is a good thing. Swimming could be good for me because I'm already slim and the swimmer's build could be a good complement to the more muscular build that Luke has.

I decided to swim a few more laps. Then I took a quick shower and headed back.

After working out I had hunger. I started cooking a simple chicken curry so I will have enough protein for muscle growth. I'm no expert at nutrition but I think I read that somewhere at some point.

During the cooking I looked at my phone and saw a new message from Luke:

Hey cutie, you are up early!
You don't have to get in shape for me. I like you how you are. If YOU WANT to work out I will support you. Maybe we can work out together sometimes if you want me to join you.
For the coming-out part, I think you can estimate the best if the reactions will be more moderate, or extreme and unexpected and also if they will be positive or negative. I don't want to pressure you into anything. I'm happy for every minute I can spend with you whether in secret or open. I miss you already. Do you already know when you have time next week?

I thought for a bit and then replied:

Yeah, I want to build up some muscles to not be so skinny anymore and also for my health. Since I'm always sitting in front of my computer or books, I think doing some sort of sport could be a good relief.
Also, I think I can't and don't want to hide you. At least in front of Jake since we are living together. We are good friends and are honest with each other, most of the time.
Tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday afternoon I usually have no plans. Also the next weekend I will be going home to visit my mom.

The curry was finished so I put my phone to the side and put a big portion on a plate. Just then Jake wandered a bit disheveled into the kitchen. The smell of the curry might have woken him up.

"Hi, sleepyhead!" I teased him because usually, I sleep a bit longer than him on the weekends. So I have to use every opportunity to tease him.

"Morning. The food smells amazing! But I can't eat something right after waking up."

"No problem. You can reheat it later when you have hunger. But put it on a plate so you don't reheat everything. It should be enough for tonight as well."

After eating my freshly cooked curry in front of my PC I organized my thoughts:

• whom I come out to
• when I come out
• which order

So I think I will first come out to Jake since he is my roommate and we see each other every day. Then I will talk to my best friend, he knows me the longest and the best. I think he might already know or at least suspect something. The last group would be my family. When I'm out to all these people I think that will be enough. Every other person doesn't need to know, will know eventually, or will see me with a man on my side eventually.

Should I start this afternoon or should I wait? I want to tell Jake as soon as possible but I still have a bit of anxiety. What will happen if he reacts badly. Where would I sleep tonight? I think I will ask him if he wants to go for a walk this afternoon, then it will be in public and he at least can't make a huge scene. If all goes well we can later chat a bit more about it if he wants to and if he is comfortable. If it goes badly I might have to ask Luke if I could spend the evening with him?

Hey Luke,
I think I will tell Jake this afternoon. I will do it during a walk in the park. If it goes well I think we can talk about it a bit more and he can ask me some more questions and we are in public. If it goes bad I might have to find another place to sleep tonight.
Do you mind having me over?

So that's hopefully taken care of. My best friend is currently so far away I have to video call him. So I can do that when I came out to Jake and when he is at uni so that would be Wednesday afternoon. So I wrote a quick mail to him to ask him if he has time to video call on Wednesday.

I can tell my mom when I go home the next weekend. My siblings might be home as well, I'll have to see.

Usually, I plan everything in minute detail but I think for this affair I have to be ready to improvise more than ever.

When I heard that Jake got into the kitchen I got up to get some water.

"Hey Jake, do you have anything planned this afternoon?"

"No."

"Would you like to go for a walk? The weather is really nice today and I have to tell you something."

"Why do we have to go for a walk for that? Can't you tell me now?"

"Well if you don't want to, we don't have to but I think it would be a better idea."

I suddenly felt a bit more nervous. I thought this whole thing would be much easier. But Jake was always pretty pragmatic and questioning suspicious stuff.

"You want to tell me something? Is it because of yesterday?"

I was unsure of what exactly he was referring to.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I am currently meeting with a fellow student in my class. She was yesterday in the park."

I must have gone completely white. I didn't expect something like that.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied hearing the shakiness in my own voice.

He continued, "She saw a friend of her making out with another boy. She knew that her friend is gay and she might have recognized the other one."

At this point, I was totally red and sweating profusely, also feeling a bit dizzy from the emotional rollercoaster.

"She has seen you when we were grocery shopping earlier this month. You might remember her." I thought back, and sure Jake was once talking to a girl at the market. I thought she was pretty and asked Jake if he was dating her. He just laughed and denied it.

"Okay, so you kinda knew already. Well just for the protocol: Yes, I'm gay."

Jake had a huge smile plastered on his face and open his arms trying to hug me. I stumbled towards him still a bit unsteady from the stressful situation but Jake caught me and embraced me tightly. He was so much taller and quite a bit bulkier than my skinny stature so I got tightly clasped.

"I'm so proud of you and happy for you. You have to introduce him to me as soon as possible! And you have already kissed. OMG!" he reminded himself.

I felt so happy and relieved. And it was so bizarre to suddenly talk to someone about my secret after such a long time. Well, it was not the first time, that was with Luke, but with my good friend.

Suddenly I smelled something a little burnt. I tried to free myself from his embrace and looked over to the stove.

"Oh no, the curry!" Jake completely forgot the curry, that he was reheating.

"Don't worry, it should be fine. Just don't scrape the bottom!" I learned that from my mom. "How about we invite my friend over tonight and have a fun evening? I will have to ask him first though."

"OMG, yes! I'm so excited!" I snickered a bit. It seemed like Jake was more excited than I was. Giggling like a little school girl, he tried to get the curry out of the pan without scraping the burnt bottom.

When I got back to our living room to pick up my phone, I saw the message from Luke:

Well, you are quick to plan your coming-out!
I think Jake will react well. I don't know him personally, but if he is your good friend, I think you will be fine. He might be a bit reserved at first but that will be just as he is surprised.
If something goes bad I'm always here for you. Just call me and you can come over whenever you want, or I can pick you up when I'm free.

I had to smile at that message because it was already obsolete. I already came out to Jake and everything went splendidly:

Surprise! Everything went well!
I wanted to ask you if you want to come over this evening?
Jake wants to meet you, he was so happy for me!

I'm sometimes really impressed by how fast Luke responds. It sometimes even seems like he is constantly waiting if I write and then immediately knows how to answer the best possible thing to make me feel better:

What!? You already did?
I'm so proud of you and of course, I want to come over and meet Jake.
I hope that we both get along very well.
What did you plan exactly?

I had to smile at that. Luke knew me already that I had to plan out everything.
But today nothing was as usual:

Surprisingly nothing! Just come over when you feel like it!

After about half an hour the doorbell rang. I was a bit surprised and picked up the intercom speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Luke!"

Well, I thought that it must be him. I just wasn't expecting him so soon. I buzzed him in. I waited at the door and he was climbing up the stairs, two steps at a time. I heard Jake open his door as well. He must have heard the bell as well and got curious.

When Luke reached our apartment door he embraced me and I stumbled back into our hallway. Luke just took my head in his hands and kissed me so gently and sensuously. I completely forgot that Jake just stood beside us and just stared at us.

*cough* *cough*

Luke and I slowly separated ourselves and looked to the side the sound was coming from. Jake was standing there and smiled widely.

"You guys! I must admit that you are so cute! I really hope you two stay together."

Luke blushed a bit, "Oh, you are also here. Well, I hope I didn't make a bad first impression!"

I was surprised because I never thought that Luke would be so easily embarrassed.

Luke turned back to me and said: "You have to tell me everything that happened after our walk yesterday! I think you forgot some minor details!" and he looked at Jake.

"Well, we can sit together in the living room and I can tell you both what happened."

We all went to the living room. Luke and I got on the wide end of the couch and Jake sat on the corner piece. When I told the story I leaned my head on Luke's shoulder and I felt his arm embracing me again.

I was continuously smiling, as I was so happy to have both of them as my friends. When I finished, there was a small pause, which wasn't awkward at all as we just sat there and tried to comprehend what all happened in the last few days.

Suddenly Jake got up and said "Hey Luke, do you play video games as well? Ben and I play quite a bit!"

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm a gaming nerd. I played some in my teenage years and quite enjoyed them. But I had no fancy gaming PC as you two have, I had an Xbox."

I smiled and added: "No need to worry. Lately, I have been playing more artistic indie games. I could connect my PC and controller with our TV then you can try it yourself. It would be a bit more comfortable than sitting with three people in front of one monitor."

Jake and Luke agreed. So I got up and set everything up. I showed them a preselection of games that I really enjoyed playing lately. Luke decided by looking at the trailers and screenshots and I might have nudged him a bit in the direction of my favorite.

So when everything was loaded and the single controller was connected we started our adventure. It was so much fun to see Luke playing my favorite game and enjoying it.

And just like that we played and chatted the rest of the afternoon and into the evening...

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter just as much as the other two. It is a bit different as I wanted to incorporate a bit more of the internal feelings that Ben had and more of the usual daily routine and not just the relationship between him and Luke.

Currently, I have a bit more to do, because the new semester just started. So I think I will stick to about one chapter per week.

-kiroux