Goatee of evil
Vic
Vic was in a sour mood, and Vic in a sour mood meant Vic hitting the gym especially hard.
It was not that he was unused to rejection. That sort of thing happened all the time. He'd been dealing with it since he first began dating: if you got turned down, you wrote the girl off as an arrogant bitch and moved on. Nothing to it. But somehow the appellation died on his lips when it came to Khalilah. She'd been firm but polite. Demure, even. Ladylike. If there was one thing Vic wanted more than anything in the world for himself, it was to be someone's knight in shining armour. And there was something about Khalilah that reminded him that a knight was also a gentleman. Only a true lady could do that.
She could reject him a thousand times, and he would never be able to write her off the same way he'd written off the countless girls who'd refused him in the past. This confused him, and therefore it upset him.
And then on top of that, he'd come home -- he was staying with his cousin Kate until he found a place of his own -- to find Kate discussing his romantic entanglements with her friends. He'd distinctly heard them say "...so they've both fallen for Khalilah, but she prefers Ben..." before they noticed him in the doorway.
Ben? That pencil-necked Papist?
Vic had seen Ben a few times before at the gym -- there he was now, as a matter of fact. The little twerp struggled under 150 lbs on the bench press. What did Khalilah see in him? What did Ben have that Vic did not? Vic watched Ben as the latter did his rounds on the weight machines, and even volunteered to spot him on the bench. Really, what was so special about this guy?
Of course, Ben had the advantage of a longer acquaintance. That was a head start. But Vic wasn't going to give up that easily -- not for the first woman who'd ever made him want to be a real gentleman. On the other hand, how did you convince someone of your better qualities if she wouldn't give you the time of the day? That was where personal appearance and first impressions came in. He'd have to impress her somehow, get her to look at him twice ... and quickly, before she and Ben really hit it off with each other.... Vic asked himself again, what did she see in Ben?
Well, Ben did have that goatee. Vic knew jack-all about Islam, but all the pictures he'd seen of Islamic communities showed men with beards. Maybe Khalilah had a thing for goatees. Vic remembered that one of the friends gossiping with Kate had been Ben's clean-shaven twin brother ... yes, the goatee must make the difference....
Benj, one week later
Benj had started spending more time at the YMCA gym once he knew that Victor had gotten a membership and was working out regularly there. Of course Victor was the sort who worked out regularly. A body like that didn't just happen out of nowhere. Benj didn't think he'd ever get tired of watching Victor shift all those weights around....
Benj was in many ways an innocent, and it had never occurred to him to peek at the object of his affections in the showers. But a week ago, he'd happened to look up at just the right moment to catch Victor looking in his direction. Victor had looked away rather too quickly ... only later did it occur to Benj that Victor might have been observing him.
And now, here was Victor in the gym again, this time with a goatee nearly identical to Benj's own.
Benj, to put it mildly, was delighted.
Vic was in a sour mood, and Vic in a sour mood meant Vic hitting the gym especially hard.
It was not that he was unused to rejection. That sort of thing happened all the time. He'd been dealing with it since he first began dating: if you got turned down, you wrote the girl off as an arrogant bitch and moved on. Nothing to it. But somehow the appellation died on his lips when it came to Khalilah. She'd been firm but polite. Demure, even. Ladylike. If there was one thing Vic wanted more than anything in the world for himself, it was to be someone's knight in shining armour. And there was something about Khalilah that reminded him that a knight was also a gentleman. Only a true lady could do that.
She could reject him a thousand times, and he would never be able to write her off the same way he'd written off the countless girls who'd refused him in the past. This confused him, and therefore it upset him.
And then on top of that, he'd come home -- he was staying with his cousin Kate until he found a place of his own -- to find Kate discussing his romantic entanglements with her friends. He'd distinctly heard them say "...so they've both fallen for Khalilah, but she prefers Ben..." before they noticed him in the doorway.
Ben? That pencil-necked Papist?
Vic had seen Ben a few times before at the gym -- there he was now, as a matter of fact. The little twerp struggled under 150 lbs on the bench press. What did Khalilah see in him? What did Ben have that Vic did not? Vic watched Ben as the latter did his rounds on the weight machines, and even volunteered to spot him on the bench. Really, what was so special about this guy?
Of course, Ben had the advantage of a longer acquaintance. That was a head start. But Vic wasn't going to give up that easily -- not for the first woman who'd ever made him want to be a real gentleman. On the other hand, how did you convince someone of your better qualities if she wouldn't give you the time of the day? That was where personal appearance and first impressions came in. He'd have to impress her somehow, get her to look at him twice ... and quickly, before she and Ben really hit it off with each other.... Vic asked himself again, what did she see in Ben?
Well, Ben did have that goatee. Vic knew jack-all about Islam, but all the pictures he'd seen of Islamic communities showed men with beards. Maybe Khalilah had a thing for goatees. Vic remembered that one of the friends gossiping with Kate had been Ben's clean-shaven twin brother ... yes, the goatee must make the difference....
Benj, one week later
Benj had started spending more time at the YMCA gym once he knew that Victor had gotten a membership and was working out regularly there. Of course Victor was the sort who worked out regularly. A body like that didn't just happen out of nowhere. Benj didn't think he'd ever get tired of watching Victor shift all those weights around....
Benj was in many ways an innocent, and it had never occurred to him to peek at the object of his affections in the showers. But a week ago, he'd happened to look up at just the right moment to catch Victor looking in his direction. Victor had looked away rather too quickly ... only later did it occur to Benj that Victor might have been observing him.
And now, here was Victor in the gym again, this time with a goatee nearly identical to Benj's own.
Benj, to put it mildly, was delighted.