Chapter 1: Eyes off of You

Kai’s P.O.V

If my best friend came up to me one day and told me he was gay…I’d probably be fine with it. I’d probably even support him…even though watching my friend with his ‘boyfriend’ in public might still be uncomfortable for me and it might even cause a strain on my relationship with him, no matter how progressive I try to be or how much the world has changed.

I’d always been firm in my beliefs. I’d always believed I was meant to be who I was and I knew exactly who I liked.

Trust me; I had nothing against the LGBTQ+ community, as long as they had nothing to do with me. I’d seen men kissing other men. I had seen girls getting down and dirty in the club. They had been a pleasant show. Especially when I watched two hot as hell women kiss each other in the club, it had low-key made me want to join them as well.

But watching two men kiss each other like they were doing now? Watching them explore and touch? It had never really been my thing. Maybe because it made me kinda uncomfortable?

There will always be haters, opposed to the change. And then there will always be people like me, who grew up hearing ‘boys don’t cry’ and ‘men will be men’ and had known that to be part of the ‘normal’ in society since the day we were born.

But they…why…?

Why couldn’t I keep my eyes off of him?

“Hey, Kai!” Cole, my best friend since middle school, gave me a shove on the shoulders after he was done washing his hands in the bathroom sink. “Stop staring, it’s creepy.”

“Huh?” It took me a hot minute to realize that I had indeed been staring at them…at him.

The stall door was open only slightly, probably because they had been in a hurry to get inside that they had forgotten to shut it properly, forgetting the fact that the tiny crack made in possible for everyone outside to have a peak at what was going on inside the stall, despite the low moans.

“I’m not staring.” I lied through my teeth. “They should be more aware of where they are, if they didn’t want people to-”

“Ah!”

The sound of that rough, husky voice made me pause with my hand under the running water. Why did it make me want to see his face? Why was I suddenly so curious as to who that voice belonged to?

“Let’s get out of here.” Cole sprang back from the sink and after wiping his hand on a bunch of tissues, threw them onto the trash can and all but ran out of the men’s washroom.

The blaring sound of the speakers in the club momentarily crept into washroom as the doors opened and closed, drowning out the sounds of the moans coming from the stall, but it wasn’t long before the room was quiet once again and the sounds resumed with full vigor, drawing my attention towards them once again.

Honestly…I didn’t quite understand if the reason my heart was pounding in my chest was due to the beat of the drums reverberating through the floor or the fact that I could see more than just a hint of what was going on inside the stall.

“Shit!” I cursed when I realized that I had gotten my sleeves wet from the running water.

Shutting off the tap, I moved back and took out a couple tissues from the dispenser to wipe my hands, my eyes once again going back to the little slit in the stall door where the two men were kissing each other passionately.

But by now…they were doing a lot more than just kissing.

The first thing I had noticed had been one hazel eye and a mop of dark brown hair. He had been leaning back against the opposite wall and for a second, I had thought my eyes had met his in a heart-stopping moment, before I had snapped out of my trance and tried to focus on anything else but those eyes.

But it had been surprisingly impossible to do. I kept looking back, even as I saw him close his eyes and throw his head back as the blonde man in front of him began kissing his neck and he brought up his hand to clutch at his hair.

His hands had been another thing I couldn’t keep my eyes off of. They weren’t smooth or feminine like I had expected, but strong with prominent veins. It looked like he worked out a lot.

But this time, I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of belt buckles being unbuckled and chains being drawn down, and I knew it was time to get the fuck out of here. Because I wasn’t even drunk to use that as an excuse if I got called out for my peeping.

However, I stopped short just before passing the stall. I couldn’t see what was going on inside from this angle, but I was still able to see his hand palms down on the stall wall. He wore a silver ring on his index with an intricate design on it…and even though I had no business being curious, I still couldn’t move my eyes from his hand…from that ring…until I reached out and shut the stall door as carefully as I could; preventing anyone else from enjoying the show they were putting on.

Taking out my phone from my pocket, I checked to see if I had any miss calls or texts, because I knew that Cole was waiting for me right outside and he’s ask me why I was late. But the only calls and texts I had gotten were all from Ruby, my recent ex who was still trying to get back together with me despite her being the one who cheated first.

It didn’t matter anyway, because Ruby and I had never been serious and we weren’t planning to be. The only reason she was calling, was probably because she was ‘lonely’ and wanted me to keep her ‘company’.

It was another reason why I was laying low on the alcohol. I didn’t want to end up booty calling Ruby and then regretting it in the morning when she tries to use it against me to get back together again.

“Took you long enough.” Cole’s exaggerated voice had me looking up at him from my screen. “Who’s calling?”

‘Saved by the bell.’ I thought to myself as my screen lit up with Ruby’s face as the ID.

“No one.” I turned it off and placed my phone back inside my pocked, but not before Cole bent over to peak at my screen. “Stop being so nosey.”

“It’s that the chick you’ve been dating for over two weeks?” Cole whistled over the blasting of the speakers as we came back to greet our friends at the club. “Didn’t you break up with her last week or something?”

“I did.” Was all I said as we rejoined our friends from Uni.

The four of us had come out to celebrate the end of second year finals and probably to go home with someone from the club. By the looks of it, Joshua was already on the road to getting into someone’s pants wile Cole, Devon and I sat down, drowning in drinks and watching him flirt shamelessly in front of us.

When the woman finally caved in and called him over, we knew those two would be getting some action tonight.

“Shit!” I got up from my chair just as I saw the time. “Dorm curfew is at twelve. We have fifteen minutes to get back.”

“Motherfucker!” Cole cursed as he downed his last glass. “Guys, gotta go. See you at school tomorrow.”

“Drive safe.” Devon waved us goodbye. “See you.”

“Wait…how are you getting home?” I asked before we left.

“Don’t worry,” he waved us off, taking his phone out of his pocket and dialing someone. “I’m getting a ride.”

It was only after me and Cole were already in the parking lot that I remembered that we had driven by his car and both of us had had a good few drinks tonight.

“Shit…do we call an Uber?” I suggested.

“Don’t have time.” He took out his keys from him pocket and threw them at me. “You drive. You didn’t have more than one bottle of beer.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t a safe option, but neither of us were willing to get fined or reported for arriving late to our dorms. So I got behind the wheels and started driving to our dorms as soon as we were both buckled in.

“Made it!” I told Cole ten minutes later, almost panting from a panic attack as we hit the dorm parking lot and I saw the old guard close the large iron gates behind us.

But much to my dismay…Cole was passed out on the seat next to me, snoring soundly with his head at an awkward angle and his mouth wide open. Not to mention the fact that he was actually drooling as well.

“Fuck!” I groaned, not wanting to be the one to carry him to his dorm, but I knew there was no other way out of it. If I left him to a guard, the old man would definitely report to the Resident Hall Director when he arrived in the morning for drinking and arriving late and what not.

Freaking old hag hated our guts but he still got the job of guarding the boy’s dorm! Was he born old or did he never get to have fun as a kid?

“Hey!” I shook him violently. “Get up! I’m not fucking carrying you! Get up!”

Cole groaned and opened his eyes with much difficulty, before struggling to get his seatbelt off of him. Sighing, I undid the belt and got out of the car before rounding over to the passenger’s side and helping him out of the car.

“Fuck, you’re heavy!” I struggled to stay upright as Cole put all his weight on me. “Don’t fall asleep on me, you idiot!”

“Unnnmmmm….” Cole muttered something unintelligible under his breath before I heard him snoring once again.

“Fucker!” I groaned, locking his car and putting the key away inside my pocket safely.

Hoisting Cole’s arm over my shoulder, I made my way to the dorm lobby, dragging a sleeping Cole with much difficulty. But as I was about to press the button to the elevator, so I could reach his floor…another hand beat me to it as they pressed the elevator button before me.

“Ugh..Thanks ma-” And then I noticed the silver engraved ring on his right index finger…and my eyes shot up to meet hazel orbs staring back at me from face I could no longer look away from.