Magical Love con't
As Tristan walked the couple miles it took to get downtown from the school’s campus, he thought about the night before. He thought about his feelings about Zac in particular. It had started out as physical attraction, he admitted to himself. But the feelings had intensified so much by the time he’d been left standing outside that mansion that he was genuinely worried about Zac now. He was definitely not in love with the man, at least not yet, but Tristan cared about him enough to think that it could easily turn into love.
He finally reached Zac’s street after about twenty agonizing minutes and was relieved to see Zac’s Mustang parked midway down the street. At least he made it home. He counted the house numbers as he continued down the street. In front of number 69, he stopped and surveyed the front of the house. There were no lights in the windows and no outward signs of life, save for the black Mustang parked out front. Tristan rang the bell and knocked on the door several times, impatient for an answer. When no one opened the door, he tugged at the handle, figuring he’d better try all non-destructive options before he resorted to breaking the door down. To his surprise, the knob turned and he was admitted to a small foyer. Just beyond the entryway Tristan could see part of another room.
“Zac?” he called. He shut the door and walked into the next room. It was a small living room and the first thing Tristan noticed was Zac sprawled out on a sofa. Tristan crossed the room and was on his knees beside the couch in seconds. He took a moment to examine Zac. His eyes were closed and he had his head propped on one arm of the couch, while one foot was propped on the opposite arm. His other leg was stretched out and hanging off the edge of the sofa. One arm was bent against his chest as if he were shielding himself from something. He had removed his coat and it lay on the chair that sat beside the sofa. His blue tee shirt and leather pants were mussed and torn in a few places. Tristan decided that Zac had definitely been in some sort of fight. His chest fell and rose in a steady rhythm and Tristan relaxed, realizing that Zac was just sleeping deeply and not hurt. He gently brushed a hand across Zac’s forehead, pushing Zac’s dark hair away from his face.
Zac’s eyes fluttered open. “Tristan,” he said in a whisper.
“I’m here. Are you all right?” Tristan smiled at him, glad to see him awake and seemingly okay.
Zac nodded. “I’m okay.” He started to sit up and winced as he moved his arm against the couch. “I’m only slightly battered and bruised this time.” He smiled ruefully, thinking of the fight he’d had the night before. Turning to Tristan, who had by this time gotten up to sit on the couch next to Zac, his smile disappeared and a look of puzzlement crossed his face. “Why are you here anyway? And how did you get in?”
Tristan smiled again. “Well I was worried. I waited for you and Alexis to come out of class. We were hoping we could all discuss what happened last night. But you weren’t there and I got worried. Alexis gave me your address so I could come see if you were okay. Plus,” he paused, “I kinda wanted to see you again. As to how I got in here, well, you really need to learn to lock your doors from now on.”
Zac groaned. “Shit, I must have forgotten to lock up. All I was concerned with when I got in was getting to this couch before I passed out.” Turning back to look toward the doorway of the living room in order to avoid Tristan’s stare he asked in a quiet tone, “You were worried about me? And you wanted to see me? Why? I mean, we just met and don’t even know each other. We’re hardly what anyone could call friends.”
Tristan put a hand on Zac’s chin and turned his head so he could see his eyes. “Because, silly, I LIKE you. So what if we just met? We’ll get to know each other eventually. That’s sort of the point when you meet new people.”
Zac tried to pull away, to look away. Why does Tristan make me so damn nervous? He flushed as he realized he couldn’t pull out of Tristan’s grasp. “What exactly do you mean by like?” he asked finally.
“Well,” Tristan licked his suddenly dry lips. “I want to get to know you as a friend, of course, you seem to be a cool guy. I think we’d get along just fine.” He hesitated before going on, “But more than that, I find myself inexplicably attracted to you. Not just on a physical level, though I admit it started that way. I mean, you are a very handsome man, after all.” Tristan shook his head. “But it’s more than that too. I can’t explain it. All I know is that I’m dying to explore this and see what happens.”
Zac blushed ten shades of red and grabbed Tristan’s hand. Pushing with all his might, he managed to extricate his chin from Tristan’s grasp and he jumped to his feet. He was so nervous and had no idea how to respond to Tristan’s admission. The only thing he did know was that he had to put some space between them so he could think clearly. For some reason, every time that Tristan got close to him, his brain just seemed to stop functioning and his thoughts got muddled. He went to step away from the couch and as he put weight on his left ankle, it buckled beneath him and he groaned in pain.
Tristan was on his feet in an instant, catching Zac as he stumbled against the chair. “Your ankle?” Tristan asked.
“Y-yeah. I must have hurt it last night too. Damn it hurts so much I think it might be broken.”
Tristan scooped Zac up in his arms. “Then you need to get to the hospital and have it x-rayed.”
“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll splint it and stay off it for a day or two. I heal fast.” Especially with the help of my magic… but he doesn’t need to know that.
“No, hospital is where you are going.” Tristan started toward the door. He marveled at how light Zac was. Though he was so much taller than Tristan, he was so slim that it felt like he weighed nothing. Probably helps that I lift weights on a regular basis too, Tristan thought. He carried Zac out to the Mustang. Setting him down on the hood of the car he fished in pockets of Zac’s coat, which Zac had grabbed when he’d fallen against the chair. Finding the keys, he unlocked the car door and helped Zac into the passenger seat.
A few hours later, Tristan was once again carrying Zac, this time up the stairs to his room. They had spent a long time in the ER and after discovering Zac’s ankle was not broken but badly sprained instead, they had returned to Zac’s house. Although Zac insisted he could walk using the crutches the hospital staff had given him, Tristan had picked him up again and carried him inside.
Tristan found Zac’s room and crossed to the bed. He gently set Zac down on the edge and told him not move. “I’ll bring up something for dinner.”
“Good luck finding anything in my kitchen!” Zac called to Tristan’s retreating back.
Zac sighed and fell back across the bed. Finally, he thought, finally, I have a few minutes to myself to think. He closed his eyes. He still wasn’t sure he understood everything that had happened the past two days. He thought about all that had passed. He knew he understood the whole situation regarding Noel Bensen. No, the part I don’t quite get is the part with Tristan. What exactly is happening between us? He says he likes me and that he’s attracted to me, which is fine. I don’t really have a problem with someone liking me. Of course, I’ve never had another GUY like me that way but you can’t help who you like, I suppose. Ok, I get that he likes me and I get that he’s attracted to me. He’s gay or at least bi, I get that. What I’m not sure of, though, is how I feel! Do I like him that way too? I think I must, judging by the way he makes me nervous and the way I can’t help but melt at his touch. And with the way I reacted to that kiss… Zac flushed at the memory of being pressed to the wall by Tristan.
“You’re cute when you blush. Thinking about me?” Tristan teased as he sat a tray down on the table beside the bed.
Zac jumped and sat up, putting a hand on his chest. “You scared the crap out of me!” he complained.
Tristan smiled and sat down on the bed beside him. “Sorry. I thought I was making a lot of noise with the tray so I figured you heard me come in.” He turned to the tray and picked up a bowl of Ramen noodles. “Here, as you said, there wasn’t much in your kitchen. But, I found this and it’s better than nothing.”
Zac took the bowl carefully, trying not to touch Tristan’s hand with his own. He succeeded but Tristan leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek so his efforts were completely wasted. Tristan smiled, pleased to see Zac blush three shades of red from the chaste kiss he’d given him. It made Tristan very happy to see how much Zac was affected when they touched.
They ate in silence, both of them lost in thought again. Tristan was musing over what it was about Zac that made him act so boldly. He’d never been one to reveal his feelings so bluntly like he’d done earlier that afternoon, but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure he’d never had such intense feelings for someone in such a short amount of time either. His feelings scared him a bit but he was the type of person that liked to face his fears head on if possible, so he pushed that aside. Finishing his Ramen, he set his bowl on the nightstand.
Zac, on the other hand, was still trying to decide what he was feeling. All he could be sure of at the moment was that Tristan made him feel in ways he normally didn’t. And that fact scared him very much. However, it was not in his nature to run from things that he feared, instead he determined that he would see where things were going and face his feelings. Finishing his soup, he set his bowl aside with a yawn.
Seeing how tired Zac was, Tristan got up from the bed. He knelt down in front of Zac and reached for the hem of Zac’s shirt, intending to help him undress for bed. As he started to push the shirt up, Zac’s hands caught his and stopped them.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Zac growled.
Tristan looked up to see Zac’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Helping you get out of these clothes so you can go to bed, what else?”
“I don’t need help undressing!” Zac swatted Tristan’s hands away and tried to pull his shirt off to prove to Tristan he wasn’t as helpless as the other man seemed to think he was. Halfway through the maneuver, however, he was forced to stop and gasp in pain. Looking down, he now realized that he had a nasty looking bruise running down his left side. He’d known he’d hurt his side because it had been tender earlier that day but now it hurt twice as bad after the sudden movement of pulling at his shirt.
Tristan saw the bruise a split second before Zac gasped. “See, you do need help. Let me help you. It won’t make you any less of a man to accept my help.”
Zac shut his eyes. “My ego isn’t the problem.” He shivered slightly when he felt Tristan take his hands and slowly pull them away from the shirt. He let Tristan help him finish taking the shirt up over his head.
“Then what exactly is the problem?”
He shrugged. "I don't know," he said quietly.
“But it has to do with me, right? Somehow, I get the impression that you aren’t usually so jumpy or so emotional.” Tristan lightly touched the purple bruise on Zac’s side. “You’re obviously a very strong person, to put up with this pain. And you’re not afraid to fight, and from all I’ve heard from Lexi, you’re pretty quiet but decisive. So maybe I don’t REALLY know you yet, but that’s the impression I’ve gotten so far.”
Zac looked down into Tristan’s green eyes. “You’re pretty right on the mark. That’s me in a nutshell. Quiet, decisive. I don’t like to fight but I don’t back down either. And you’re right, I’m not usually so jumpy. In fact, people usually tell me I’m nothing but a cold bastard.”
“But you’re not. If they took a moment to look in your eyes, they’d see what’s beneath all that. They’d see what I see,” Tristan paused. “Hmm…” he said slowly, “on the other hand, I’m kinda glad no one’s seen what I have, otherwise I’d have some serious competition.”
Zac looked away, embarrassed by Tristan’s flirting. Tristan rose slowly to his feet and placed his hands on Zac’s shoulders. He gently pushed the tall man back onto the bed. Zac moved with him, shifting to lay his head back on his pillow and put his feet up. Tristan followed him down, planting a soft kiss on Zac’s bruised side before stretching out on Zac’s right side.
“Tristan…” Zac started.
“Shh…” Tristan said, sliding up the bed to lean against the headboard. He gathered Zac against him. Feeling Zac stiffen a bit at his touch, he said, “Don’t worry. I’m just going to sit here and hold you.”
Zac relaxed. “That wasn’t really my worry.”
“Ah, so you were afraid of what you might do to me, huh?”
“No!” Zac protested.
Tristan chuckled. “Hey, relax, this is the first time I’ve been with a guy too. Heck, it’s the first I’ve felt like this about anyone so I’m kinda nervous and scared too.”
“You sure don’t act like it,” Zac said grumpily, sliding down a bit so he could snuggle his face against Tristan’s side. It felt strange lying against Tristan this way but Zac decided he was too sleepy and way too comfortable to care at the moment.
Tristan shrugged. He started running his fingers through Zac’s long hair. “But I am. I’m only following my instincts and emotions. It feels right to me to be here with you and to talk about what’s happening between us, so I do.”
“And what do your instincts tell you we should do now?”
“Well, I think first we should have a date. After all, isn’t that the normal first step in a relationship? Going on dates, getting to know each other, having fun together?”
“A date? But… but… well I know it’s done but same sex couples still aren’t the norm.”
“Does it bother you that much that we’re both guys?”
Zac paused for a moment, considering. “Well, yeah, I guess it does. But not because I’m offended by it, but because it’s new to me. I’ve been on dates before, but never with a guy so… I guess I’m nervous about it all.”
Tristan was quiet for a long moment. “Well then, let’s make our first date to a place that doesn’t seem date-y. Somewhere that people won’t automatically assume we’re on a date. How about we go to the amusement park next Saturday?”
Zac looked up at Tristan. “Okay. That doesn’t seem so… intimidating I guess is the word.” He yawned and snuggled against Tristan again. He was suddenly very sleepy and there was something very comforting in the way Tristan was holding him. He was asleep in seconds. Tristan smiled down at him and brushed his hair back from his face with a careful hand.