Gabe - Six

Gabe

 

            We basically spent Saturday sleeping off Friday night. It wasn’t even that we were ridiculously hung over; we were just completely out of energy. After the rush we got from our unexpected visit from Knight, we were absolutely beat for the rest of the day. Throughout the afternoon, we would periodically get up and have a smoke, grab a drink, then lie back down.

            Before I knew it, it was Sunday morning. It was cold in our room, and I had no way of knowing what time it was. I couldn’t go back to bed though, after the entire day of sleep we had pulled off. So I just lay there, chewing my nails and waiting for the other guys to get up.

            There’s no other way to describe it: Friday night had been insane. After being chased back to the room by the Wankers, we basically drank our way into friendship. And, as it turns out, it seems like I’m not the only one with a messed up past.

            However, I was essentially forced into telling them I was a virgin, which, oddly, was better than the alternative they offered when they found out I was inexperienced with girls. Nothing could have been worse than actually hearing the accusation actually come out of Hersch’s mouth. I would have made any other excuse, even if the one they offered was almost equally humiliating. Almost.

            And as weird as the whole thing was, I felt like I was a part of something. I’d never had a group of friends like them before; other guys had always intimidated me. So now, even if I was officially “The Virgin,” even if the idea of opening up to them terrified me, I was glad to have them around.

            The bunk above me shuddered as Erich sat up. I rolled over and faced the wall, feigning sleep as he climbed down out of bed. I heard him yawn and stretch, listened to him make his way across the room and open his trunk, shuffling around in search of an outfit.

            I heard his clothes hit the floor. I pulled the blanket tighter around me and squeezed my eyes shut, commanding myself not to turn around. I couldn’t look at him. What if he thought I was watching him? What if he thought I was… I had to get a hold of myself. In my mind, I repeated my hymn over and over again: I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this.

            “Gabe?” The word surprised me so much that I shot up in bed without thinking about it. Erich was standing, bare-chested, over me. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was the guy carved from stone? “Hey, kamerad, I’m out of shirts. Can I borrow one?”

            I closed my eyes and threw the sheets back over my head, as if he was only just waking me up. “Sure,” I muttered, “but I’m not sure I’ve got a clean one.”

            He glowered at me. “Forget that,” he muttered. I heard him shuffle around the room for a few more minutes before slamming the door on his way out.  Jim and Hersch both shot up in bed at the sound. They looked at me curiously. “Go back to sleep,” I grumbled, “Erich just…” I didn’t get the chance to finish, because suddenly he was back in the room. His eyes were wide, his face completely perplexed. We just looked at him, but he didn’t say anything.

            “Man, what the hell is going on?” Jim demanded finally.

            Erich opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a second. “There are dames out there.”

            Hersch’s eyes narrowed, Jim’s brightened, “Dames?” he asked, “How many?”

            Erich smiled, “Lots.”

            Jim was on the ground in seconds, rooting through his luggage. He came up with a mirror, a shaving kit, a comb, and a jar of hair product.

            “What the hell is that?” Erich asked as he threw on a shirt, suddenly not caring whether it was clean.

            “Ha! You’ll wish you had it, too, by then end of the day!” Jim replied as he swept the gel through his hair.

            Erich snorted, “Unlikely, wethead. You look like a moron.” It was true. His hair looked like it had just been tilled by a plow. “Gabe, come on!” Erich said, examining himself in Jim’s mirror.

            “Me? Why not Hersch?”

`           “Hersch is excused on account of his invisible girl,” Jim said, “but we promised to get you a broad to screw. What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t give it our all?”

            “Guys, I…”

            Erich pulled me to my feet, “Come on, little virgin,” he rubbed his fist into my hair, “it’ll be fun!”

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good chapter. I like the thoughts of the night before and then the opportunity of woman on the grounds. A very good ending to excellent chapter.
Coyote