Ch. 13 – Good at Hiding

Chapter Thirteen – Good at Hiding

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked and reached for his partner to caress his back.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The comeback wasn't snappy or anything, more like curious. It low-key annoyed Jamie nonetheless. He had expected Cottontail to show that he was at least a bit shaken by the experience.

"Cool as a damn cucumber, aren't you?" Jamie shook his head and then grabbed his partner by the shoulders. The camera was off, the streaming session was over. There was no one else there to pretend for, and yet, it looked like the masks still stayed on.

That was a problem, for sure. He caressed Cottontail's jaw and slowly brushed his fingers against the mask.

"You should take this off. Don't you think it's high time we should get to know each other properly?"

The bunny boy seemed alarmed by the suggestion. His hands shot up and pulled at the edges of the mask as if he was trying to make his entire face disappear behind it. "No way. Don't ruin the only thing I'm good at."

"How could I ruin your skill at giving head by unmasking you?" Jamie joked. It was pleasantly warm in the room, and they could stay as they were, facing each other without giving a damn that they were both sweaty and in need of a shower badly after exerting themselves to their limits. Had it been as intense for Cottontail as it had been for him? Jamie had a mind to ask, but, at the same time, it felt like he would lose face if he did that.

"You must have gotten better blowjobs in your life," Cottontail said.

"Fewer than what you might imagine. What's your big secret? What are you good at? And how can I ruin it?"

Cottontail let his shoulders slump. "I'm good at hiding," he said in a low monotonous voice. "Yeah, that's the one thing I know how to do like the back of my hand. Wherever I go, people don't even notice me. It's like I'm invisible."

"And? Are you in some outdated emo phase? I don't see what's so bad about being invisible sometimes." Jamie knew that his words were coming out wrong while he was actually trying to comfort Cottontail for his lack of social connections that seemed apparent seeing what he was willing to do to get some excitement in his life.

"It's not just sometimes. It's all the time in my case, but I'm sure you can't relate to that since you're so popular. I bet it's great to be Jamie Vayne."

"You're just assuming things now. Come here." He embraced the sweaty skinny body in his arms. "Have you ever thought that you're invisible because that's how you want it to be? I mean, right now, I want to see your face and get to know you, but you're pushing me away." He hadn't meant to sound so serious, but it was the truth.

"It's safer for me this way. Maybe you do have a point, but I can't think about it right now. Jamie, by the way, you've shown me a really good time. How can I repay you for it?"

"Repay? What am I to you? A prostitute?" He had a mind to give Cottontail a slap on his well-used ass to make things right.

"No, no, how can you misunderstand me like this?" The frustration in the other's voice was evident. "It's just that, under any other circumstances, I wouldn't have ended up losing my virginity to a guy like you."

"You're selling yourself short. But okay, if you don't want me to get to know you for real, it's fine. After all, I just wanted to make sure that you're really okay after I pounded your ass like that."

"Ugh, my ass is sore," Cottontail complained and rested his head against Jamie's shoulder. "I think I'm going to feel it for a while."

"That's good to hear. I was starting to think that I failed to make an impression on you." Jamie caressed his partner's back slowly.

"Really? Were you feeling insecure? Because of me?"

Jamie chuckled. "Maybe a little. I won't give you anything more than that. Now, since I'm such a kind host, I'll let you shower first. And tell me if you want a repeat performance. I'll look forward to it."

"I definitely do, but I'll have to take a break to get myself back together."

"Hey, don't tell me now that I broke your ass. I know that's not true."

"I think you have no idea how big you are, Jamie. The inside of my ass will never be the same again."

"Enough with the dirty talk. I need to get my beauty sleep tonight." Jamie kissed Cottontail on the lips, finishing with a loud smack. "Go on now, get out of here before I get itchy for fucking you outside the livestream."

"We can't have that," Cottontail said in the most serious tone possible. "I'm all for a repeat performance, as I said, but I must be careful of my own body. Thank you, Jamie, and I'll call you soon."

***

Finishing on such a formal note must have been a mistake, since the expression on Jamie's face changed. But he couldn't take the words and push them back where they came from because that wasn't how things worked in the real world. To admit to the truth was too much of a gamble. Throughout the whole thing, he had felt like he had been transported to another world, one of pleasure and only good feels. Now, he needed to return to his usual drab existence and continue doing the same things he always did.

He left Jamie's apartment quietly before his host got out of the bathroom. His head and chest were so full they threatened to expand to the point that their actions would become incompatible with life. That was his way of thinking that he was at the point of bursting.

The only shadow in that clear sky was his brother. He would surely want some results, and since his last stunt had actually made Jamie into an even more popular guy on campus, it looked like he wasn't any good at finding his mark's weak points.

If Jamie had a weak point, he'd love to find it. But not because his brother wanted to see him writing a piece of so-called journalism; he wanted to get to know Jamie, and this time, it wasn't just something he was saying. He wanted to get to know Jamie for real, weaknesses or not.

He smiled as he recalled how gently Jamie had held him after the camera went off. It had felt like real affection, even if, most likely, that was Jamie's way of compensating for going at it too roughly earlier. Not that he had minded it; he hadn't minded it at all, because it made him believe that Jamie cared for him a little.

Next time, he would no longer be a virgin. That changed things a great deal. Right?

***

"So, you guys are experts in the topic I want to explore with you," Jamie said as soon as his dear friends started sipping on their drinks.

"I'm an expert in a lot of things," Rusty said promptly. "Don't tell me you've started experiencing premature ejaculation. That's come on a bit too late, seeing how old you are and everything."

"And you're an expert in that how?" Jamie gave Rusty a cross look. Since the coffee shop was empty at that hour, and this lovely couple never resisted the promise of free stuff, he had planned accordingly.

"Good point," Rusty replied promptly. "Now, tell mom and dad, what ails you?"

Jamie gave Matty a long look. Rusty's boyfriend was smiling as he followed their exchange, but he wasn't a particularly chatty guy unless he was included in the conversation. If anything, Matty was the highly observant type. Also, incredibly intelligent.

"Actually, I think it's more one of your areas of expertise," he said, turning toward Matty and away from that troublemaker Rusty. "Do you know any rabbits?"

"Rabbits?"

"Yeah, I mean seeing how you dressed as a cat to get Rusty's attention, maybe you know others who are into that."

"Into dressing up?"

"Yes, dressing up as a rabbit in particular."

"I'm sorry, Jamie, but I explored my kink on my own, without much help from anyone other than Zoey."

"Where did you get your costume? By the way, that thing was sexy AF."

"Hey, hey, no need to drool over my boyfriend. Get your own if you don't mind."

"I would, but he's hiding behind a stupid mask and the most horrible rabbit costume you've ever seen," Jamie joked.

"For real? This cosplayer stole your heart or something?" Rusty asked, wide-eyed. "But these days, you seem like you're tirelessly plowing the campus ground, sowing your wild oats like there's no tomorrow. Ah, don't tell me, this horrible rabbit told you off, and now you're having rebound sex left and right."

"No, what the hell? Nothing like that happened. By the way, I popped his cherry on stream."

Rusty let his jaw drop and made a show of pushing it back up with his hand. "That's wild. Did he know?"

"What do you mean, did he know? I'm not an asshole. I even offered to split the proceeds with him and he didn't want any of them."

"How did that come to happen?" Matty asked, looking as astonished as he could be.

"We've been playing a game of hide and seek," Jamie explained. "One thing led to another, and we ended up fucking for my subscribers."

"Wow," Rusty intervened. "How was he?"

Matty slapped Rusty's shoulder promptly. "Are you interested in rabbits now?"

"Only if you are the one putting on a bunny outfit. Although I like you naked best."

"You guys, you're here to help me in exchange for free coffee. Don't you think you could leave making doe eyes at each other for later?"

"It's difficult when you have such a guy by your side," Rusty explained, while draping one arm over Matty's shoulders and pulling him close.

Jamie smirked. "I suppose so. Now, do you guys have any idea who this cosplayer might be? He's definitely a student at Sunny Hill."

"We will ask around, pay attention to guys dressed as bunnies, that sort of thing," Rusty said, smiling with his whole face.

"I might have an idea, though," Matty said. "There's one guy who dabbled in cosplaying, but only briefly. I doubt it can be him, though."

"Your roommate?" Rusty asked. "He could be crazy enough, I reckon."

"Who's this guy?" Jamie asked, his ears perking up of their own accord.

"He studies all the time, and now that Connor's reign is over, I doubt he has anyone else to play in costumes with," Matty explained. "His name is John Smith."

"Was that dude Connor's boyfriend?" Jamie asked, wrapping one hand around his soda can and scrutinizing Matty and Rusty with curious eyes. "And that's like the most common name I've ever heard someone called."

"He wasn't Connor's boyfriend," Matty continued. "I agree that he has quite the unusual name in how common it is. Anyway, he did play dress up with Connor, but they--"

"They sucked at it, obviously," Rusty said.

"This John Smith, why do you think he can't be my Cottontail?"

"Cottontail?" Rusty guffawed like he'd heard the best joke in a million years. "What's with that nickname?"

"I agree, it's nowhere near as good as Matty's Slicky Coolplums," Jamie said promptly. "I had to call him something."

"Let me get this straight," Rusty said, leaning over the table. "You're fucking this guy, but you don't know his name and you've only fucked him in his costume?"

"I fucked him naked. I recorded the stream if you're interested."

"He's not," Matty said right away, wrapping one arm around Rusty's waist to show his ownership.

Jamie grinned. "Your loss. It's said I'm good at what I do."

"I don't doubt that for one moment," Matty said airily. "Now, the thing is that John is over the top but he struck me as a big coward, too."

"Except when he gave me your costume and got me thinking about what I was about to lose," Rusty said. "I thought that was pretty brave of him. I could have kicked him just for fun."

"You? You can't hurt a fly," Matty corrected him right away.

"Okay, it's true, but we shouldn't let anyone else know just like that," Rusty protested.

"I'm not your anyone else. I should look into this John dude. What's he like?"

Matty shrugged. "He's, um… Normal, I think? A bit skinny, and he wears glasses. He always has his nose in his books, studying."

"So, does he have like a perfect GPA or something?" Jamie doubted a guy who only studied all day long would have the time to prance around the campus dressed as a rabbit and perform live just to impress him.

"No, actually, seeing how much he studies, his results are pretty average," Matty replied.

"Is he a slow learner?" That was also something that went against Cottontail's description because the bunny boy had proved to be the opposite. Seeing how that had been his first time and performing in front of a live audience added to the pressure, he had behaved quite admirably. Jamie realized, without showing anything to his friends, that he thought Cottontail to be anything but average, unlike John Smith, who appeared to be as plain as his name suggested.

"I don't think it's about his mental capabilities," Matty continued. "It's more like this studying thing has been imposed on him by his family, while he doesn't have any particular interest in it. He's an average student, but that doesn't necessarily make him a slow learner. Just a disinterested one."

"That's quite the astute analysis. And does John Smith have other interests?"

To his surprise, Matty winced and looked away.

"What? Did I hit a nerve?"

Rusty was the one to explain. "Although I had to get Matty to admit it to me, it looks like John hit on him. So maybe his hobby was Matty, after all."

"Is Matty still his hobby?"

"Even if it is, he knows better than to go up against me," Rusty said, puffing his chest out. "And he chilled quickly, once Matty showed no interest in him. If your Cottontail is even a smidge an interesting guy, it can't be John. Or maybe the guy has hidden talents. What do we know? Clearly, we don't know him well."

"I'll keep my options open, though," Jamie said. "But later. How would you guys like seeing me jam with some cool people?"

"We'd love it," Matty said warmly. "By the way, the pic Xpress got of you, with that woman, was it real?"

"Yep," Jamie confirmed. "That was one thing Xpress didn't get wrong about me. Sure, they had to go off on such a tangent and say that I was suddenly bisexual, and that part's not true. By the way, the woman in the pic is called Melinda Black, and she's one of the cool people I like to jam with."

"We can barely wait," Matty said. "I hope you'll catch your Cottontail, Jamie."

"I will. It's only a matter of time," Jamie said with a small knowing grin.

***

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mitch the voice sounded terribly irritated at the other end, but Jamie had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Be more specific, and I'll give you an answer then."

"I'm talking about you turning into the village bicycle."

Now that was uncalled for. Plus, if Jamie wanted to pretend he was jumping from one bed to another all over the campus at Sunny Hill, that was his problem. His purpose was to make Cottontail jealous and provoke him into showing his hand. It had absolutely nothing to do with his music and his being part of the band.

"Hey, dude, chill," Jamie said, changing tack. "Whatever I do in my spare time doesn't concern you. In particular, I don't see why you should care who the hell I'm sleeping with."

"Are you sleeping with her too?" Mitch yelled so loud that Jamie had to pull the phone away from his ear to avoid suffering a rupture of the tympanic membrane.

"Her? Who the hell are you talking about?" Jamie asked, without hiding his irritation.

"Melinda Black. Does the name ring any bells, Judas?"

Jamie frowned. "Since when do you read Xpress?"

"What the hell is Xpress? I saw you in a picture with her in the local Rock Weekly. On stage with her. Playing the drums. Something you should only do when you're with us."

"You don't say," Jamie said wryly. "I'm looking to get better, so I need to expose myself to different styles, and yes, get to know people who make music. Outside the band."

"We're supposed to grow as a band, Jamie. I know you have it in your head that you're some sort of superstar and that we're holding you back, but let's tell it like it is. You're nothing special. You're a drummer like thousands of other drummers."

"Oh, really?" Jamie felt his blood boiling. "If that's true, why did I join your band? Why did you want me in?"

"You were the only one who stuck around. I thought loyalty was your strong point, but it looks to me like that was a big fat lie, too."

Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, Mitch, whatever you say. Do you want me to quit, or do you want to have the pleasure of kicking me out? Either way, I don't care."

"You can't quit," Mitch said in what seemed like a suddenly change in tone. "We have a gig on Saturday. Be there. But I want you to know that all the guys are disappointed in you, not just me."

"I can live with it. Where is it?"

"I'll send you the details. And we'll talk then."

Jamie stared at the phone for several moments. That had been his chance to say that he didn't want to be a part of the band anymore, but instead he had agreed to join the Mitches for the gig on Saturday.

What the hell did he want, anyway?

TBC