CHAPTER 12

Late one night, I was in the washroom doing the week's laundry -- consisting mainly of undergarments and items normally not encouraged to be sent to the school's laundry service -- when Adrian walked in with an armful of dirty socks and underpants. His face broke into a smile when he saw me.

"Oh good. I'd hate to be alone in here this late at night," he said, half laughing.

"Why, a cool dude like you ought not feel afraid..." I teased.

"Not afraid, it's just that it gets a little lonely, and when it gets like that, one starts imagining things...."

"Chicken!" I stole a look at him, to see his reaction, but he was already busy kneading his dirty load.

Later, after we finished hanging our clothes on the wash line, I said my goodnight and started to walk off towards my room.

"Gabriel, wait," Adrian called after me.

"Yeah..?"

"Could you walk me to my room? Please?"

"Why, Adrian, you are really chicken!"

Once we reached his room, I jokingly asked whether he would like me to tuck him in as well. If I wanted to, he said. Yes. I wanted to, and did.

So, our relationship started that night. I found that we were compatible, in almost every way. I liked the way our bodies moved, the way they responded to our touches, as if we were meant to be together, always.

My attraction to Adrian, however, was purely physical. I felt no emotional attachment, and found it disturbing although Adrian was quite nonchalant about it. In fact, it seemed to suit him just fine.

I thus came to a very confusing period in my life. I loved Nick, I thought about him all day, all the time. But when night came, I longed for Adrian, to feel his warm body pressing against mine, his breath hot in my ears. I was in a dilemma, and consulted Ben, who was at the time was very "involved" with Tommy, a "big and great" guy in the school's rugby team.

Ben's advice was, stick with Adrian. "From what I've heard and seen, he is some piece. You can't seem to get enough of him," he said, closing the discussion by burying his face in a book.

I stared at him, not quite believing what I had just heard. My nocturnal activities with Adrian had not gone unnoticed, it seemed. Too embarassed to argue, I too picked up a book and pretended to read, and waited for the dinner bell to ring.