Perfection Is Overrated
by Bradley Scott

 

Chapter 4
Darren

Cappacino, Latte, Espresso, Mochiato, Frappacino…

Hmmmm, Darren thought.

It’s a pity I don’t drink coffee.

He walked on, past the coffee store. As nice as it smelled, and as warm as it was, he was on a mission.

He needed a new shirt.

He normally could get into shopping quite a bit, but he had setworks to read, so he couldn’t linger.

Plus, he was broke. And while he could have fun on empty pockets in a mall, he wasn’t in the mood right then. It always felt empty when he didn’t buy stuff – and he didn’t need anymore emptiness. Not after…. not after what had happend. He’d been going out of the apartment, at least. And staying out of it.

He walked into a store that looked like it had lots of fashionable stuff. Not really affordable, but hey, it was one shirt, and he’d find a sale rack or something. He had a credit card. for emergencies. He only had one clean shirt left, and laundy day was only the day after tomorrow. This was definitely an emergency.

He started browsing among the clearance rack. It was a brand store, separated into sections for each brand, so he’d have to do a full circuit, unless something jumped out at him.

Nope, nothing. All the shirts were tiny or size XXL anyway, so it wasn’t like he had a choice. He disentangled himself from the shirts he had been flipping through.

He saw some guy just standing there, holding about a million bags. Poor guy. Probably shopping with a girlfriend. Darren saw one of those “Do not iron” stickers stuck to the guys back – obviously the clothes he was wearing were new as well.

The guy turned, and Darren almost ran into a mannikin. Darren thought he had a pretty good idea of what porn-stars feel like when viewers spot them in public.

It was Ted.

Dammit, Darren thought. He’d really never expected to see that guy again – especially not so soon. Plus, he didn’t look like Ted – not from the behind anyway. His hair was all waxed and straight, and his glasses were gone. He looked… cute. But very uncomfortable.

Darren walked up to him. He knew he probably shouldn’t – he was king of giving guys the wrong idea. But he liked Ted – he was a funny guy. He wouldn’t mind another chat.

“Ted?” He asked, like he wasn’t sure. Not really necessary, but he had to show he wasn’t interested.

Now it was Ted’s turn to jump – he dropped half of the bags he was holding. Darren quickly helped him pick them up, stifling his laughter, which must have showed on his face.

“Um, Thanx.” Ted blushed. Blushing seemed like something he did a lot.

“You look great. Although, I’ve only seen you in PJ’s, so…”

“Yeah. I’ve kind of been made a make-over project. Again.” He grinned sheepishly.

“Well, it works for you.” Darren thought he might be coming on a bit to strong. He didn’t want to get anything with Ted. Not when he’d already had sex with the guys room-mate. That was geopgraphical incest. And kinda sluttier in appearance than sleeping with a different guy every night.

“TED! LOOK WHAT I FOUND-” A voice came ringing halfway across the store, behind Darren.

“Crap.” Ted muttered under his breath, looking like a trapped animal.

Darren turned around and came face to face with Kyle.

“Oh, god…….. Kyle.” He smiled as charmingly as he could, feeling very awkward.

“Hey,” Kyle smiled, moving past him towards Ted. “Here. Look at this jacket. And these JEANS! Go try them on. Now. Go.” Darren watched helplessly as Ted put down all his bags and shuffled off to the change room.

Darren took in Kyle’s appearance, now that he was far back enough to see. He looked great.

He was wearing a collar shirt that showed a nice portion of his chest and arms – not too much, but enough to let you know he was hot. Jeans that were tight in the right places, showing off the contours of his muscled legs and ass. High fashion, authentic leather shoes. The best that moeny could buy. And he knew how to use it. It was like the guy had stepped out of a catalog.

He took a step closer and Darren could smell the combination of obviously expensive cologne mixed with a natural scent that it made his mouth water. He remembered, the night before, one of the reason’s he’d gone for Kyle was because of how good he looked in his clothes. And he also smelled great, last night, in the bar.

“I’m sorry I lied to you.” Kyle looked down, biting his perfect bottom lip.

“What?” Darren snapped his eyes up to Kyles face.

“About guitar. I lied. I know you saw Guitar Hero.” He sighed. “You we’re just so hot, and so smart – I felt like a bit of an idiot. Honestly, the only thing I can play on guitar is smoke on the water.”

“Oh my god, on the top string? I hate that.” Darren laughed. “It’s fine. I’m sorry I made you feel dumb.” Wait, he thought, that came out wrong.

“It’s fine.” Kyle stepped a bit closer, only a few centimeters still separating them. “But the night wasn’t a complete bust, was it?” He smiled and gave one, suggestive chuckle.

Darren though about that. A few memories of last night had come back to him, as the hangover faded and the day got better.

“No… not a complete bust.” He smiled at Kyle, blushing. Now he knew how Ted felt. Darren had had sew with a lot of guys recently, but Kyle was…. well, he was definitely way up there on the list of top performers. WAY, way up there.

“Do you want to maybe…” Kyle bit his lip. “Do something tonight. We don’t even need to do the drinking part.”

“What if I like the drinking part?” He raised his eyebrows at Kyle. And he did. It was easier… not to think about….. everything.

“Then come drunk. You don’t have to be sober.” He leaned forward, breaking the physical barrier. His lip grazed Darrens ear. “You just have to be naked.” He took a step back, and grinned cockily.

Darren just stood there. That touch, that whisper, had made him hard. He didn’t know much for sure, but he knew he was going to Kyle’s apartment that night.

Ted came back, and Darren realised he and Kyle we’re just standing there, looking at each other.

He took a step back, and coughed nervously, almost to break Kyles spell.

“I’ve got to go. I have setworks to read. I’ll see you later.” He grinned at Kyle. “Bye Ted.” He walked off.

He made his way quickly out of the store, all thoughts of a new T-shirt forgotten.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” He muttered to himself.

But he couldn’t stop smiling.

 

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