Kicked Around

"No," Erik said. "He's just breathing heavy."

"Alright," Bret said looking back at Erik. "Thanks."

"Yeah," Erik said. "What do you want to do now?"

"I need to watch this fucker for the next few hours to make sure nothing bad happens," Bret said. "He's going to feel like shit for the next few days. But, he's fucking cutoff. After tomorrow, me and him are fucking done."

"OK," Erik said feeling strange about all of this.

"I'll watch him," Bret said. "Go."

"Where?" Erik said.

"Somewhere else," Bret said. "You don't need to be here."

"Alright," Erik said. "You want something to eat?"

"No," Bret said. "I'm good. Thanks."

"OK," Erik said. "I'll see you later."

Bret took a seat and pulled out his phone. Erik walked out of the room and closed the door.

Chapter 24

Erik had a strange morning. After he showered and ate, he didn't know what to do. Usually, on Saturdays, he could hang out with Bret and Steve, but that didn't seem to be an option for him today. Still, he thought he should go by and see how things were going with Steve. After Erik ate dinner, he grabbed a couple of cans of soda and a bag of chips and walked over to Steve's room. Erik knocked on the door.

Bret opened the door slightly and stuck his head out. "What's up?" Bret asked quickly.

"How's everything going," Erik asked.

"Fucker's sleeping now," Bret said. "What do you need?"

Erik held up the contents in his hands. "I brought some junk food," Erik said. "I thought it would be easier if you had someone to help you." Bret smiled, then stepped outside of the room with Erik, shutting the door behind him.

"Thanks," Bret said. "But, seriously man, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"I thought that you could use some company," Erik said.

"Do you hate pussy or something?" Bret asked. "Did that porn chick turn you gay? Why are you trying not to get laid?" Bret asked.

"What?"

"Look, I won't forget what you did for me this morning. I won't. You're a good friend Erik. But seriously man, you think babysitting this tubby fuck is fun? This isn't a game. This fucker could have died today, and that shit would've been on me and you."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Bret said. "Young college athlete, some kid gives him money to buy them drugs from a dealer. Athlete OD's and dies... Who's responsible? The guy that paid for the drugs and the guy that sold him the drugs. You and I go to jail, and we have no chance at a future."

"But that's not what happened," Erik said.

"It doesn't matter what happened," Bret responded. "It only matters what people think happened. And a fucking small town drug dealer and another kid from some bum-fuck suburb are going to get fucked badly to set an example."

Erik suddenly became ridden with anxiety. He hadn't thought about it this way the entire morning. Erik's posture shifted as if someone had just told him that they shot his dog.

"I'm not trying to be a dick," Bret said. "I'm just... That fucking asshole..." Bret looked toward the door for a second and then looked back at Erik. "What the fuck are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going to ask out Jessica again?"

Erik was caught off guard by this. "Well I... I just... Because what happened this morning... I thought... Well, I was just..."

"Trying to avoid a girl who wants to suck your dick?" Bret asked.

"She does?"

"Dude," Bret said. "You're killing me. I don't know what pisses me off more: that asshole jock in their or your dumbass." Erik's looked changed. "She likes you. Just make a move, and she won't say no."

"Really?" Erik said. Bret nodded. "So, what do I do?"

"Try to kiss her," Bret said. "And then try something else. She'll stop you if you go too far."

"But what do I say? Like, how do I... When she... Like, I can't just rush in and kiss her. Isn't she going to be upset with me if I do something she doesn't like?"

"I know you don't have a fucking clue what girls want," Bret said. "Seeing as that you bareback porn stars and give them facials and shit... Just don't try to do anything like that and you'll be fine."

"So, no sex."

"Yes, sex. No porn sex."

"Whoa, really?" Erik said surprised.

"What, you can't get it up with a regular girl or something?" Bret asked. "Is it like something you have to take a little blue pill for? I'm sorry man; I didn't know you had cock trouble." Bret cracked a smile.

"No," Erik said. "Dick. It's just... So she will, like, have sex with me? All I have to do is, basically ask her?"

"NO!," Bret said sternly. "NO! Do not ask her to have sex with you. Christ. Don't you ever ask a girl that. That's a god-damn guaranteed way not to get laid." Bret calmed his tone. "So you sat with her to watch a movie, big fucking deal. But that's the start of everything else. Everything needs to look like it's happening naturally. You need to make them feel like they don't want to do anything else, but fuck you, and you're just going with the flow. But, you have to start it, so they don't feel guilty about it. Like it was their fucking idea, to take your dick, balls deep into their mouth because you stuck a finger in her pussy, and just keep going until, well I dunno, something else happens... And then you're fucking them, and they're fucking you, and everyone is happy." Bret smiles a big toothy smile and gives Erik two thumbs up.

Erik looks at Bret awkwardly, trying to process everything Bret just said. "Just text her," Bret continues. "See what she's doing right now. Ask her over to watch a movie and chill, and do that. Watch a movie, with a cute girl, that likes you, and chill... the fuck... out..."

"OK," Erik said. "I'll go do it." Erik turns to leave.

"Wait," Bret says. Erik stops. Bret takes the soda and chips. "I need these more than you do right now. Thanks for the help. Now, stop talking to me and go get laid."

Erik walked back to his room. He took out his cell phone and opened the texting app. He texted Jessica, "Hey, do you want to watch a movie tonight?" Erik paced the room waiting for a response. Nothing. After a few minutes, he sat down and held his head in his hands, still waiting for a response. Still nothing. Erik decided that his room should look "cleaner," so he dumped his wastebasket in the hallway trash can, wiped off any dust on his desk, and picked up anything that was lying around the room. All the while, he was continually checking his cellphone.

Erik's mind wandered back to earlier this morning when Erik and Bret worked to save Steve. Erik remembered that the whole thing started when Steve burst into Erik's room. "I could have sworn I locked the door," Erik thought. Erik looked at the door latches. He closed the door, and it latched correctly. Then, he strong-armed the knob and pulled it quickly. The door opened. "Wow," Erik said. "That's great."

Erik looked at the strike plate on the wall. He watched as the door closed, and he could see that the latch would catch on the strike plate, but wouldn't insert fully into the hole. The latch would just stick, but a small amount of pressure would force it past the strike plate.

Erik took out his toolkit and unscrewed the strike plate slightly. Then he forced the strike plate in towards the room so that the latch would have more room to insert into the strike plate hole. Then, Erik closed the door and tested it. The door latch could now fully insert into the hole, securing the door when it was locked.

After this quick distraction, Erik continued to keep checking his phone every 10 seconds. He checked the phone while taking out the garbage, he checked the phone while making his bed, and even checked the phone while he was urinating in the bathroom. Finally, Erik sat in his room and just stared at the phone. An hour had gone by, and he was beginning to lose hope.

"Fuck this," Erik said. Erik turned on his console and started GAB. He saw a notification that "HeadCase is online." Normally, Erik would send a message to one of his "Prodigy" teammates and start playing with them, but since he has kicked off the team, Erik didn't want to talk to them. Erik started up a game on his own and then received a message from Case asking him to join his chat party. Erik put on his headset and entered the room.

"Hey K," Case said.

"Hey," Erik responded.

"How have you been?" Case asked.

"I'm good," Erik said. "Just keeping busy with school and all."

"That's cool," Case said. "You playing on another GAB team?"

"No," Erik said. "I haven't played much. I haven't had much time. How's everyone been doing?"

"I'm not sure," Case said. "Roge kicked me off the team when my scores kept dropping. I twisted my wrist real bad, and I just couldn't keep up. I had to miss practices and tournaments so, Drags had a friend that just got GAB and Roge recruited him. It was messed up, cause I saw it coming. One day, he introduces this guy called Kingslayer and says he was going to sit in on practices. And a week later, Roge tells me not to show up for the Sunday tournament, because King is taking my place."

"Whoa, that sucks," Erik said surprised. "What's up with Rats?"

"I still talk to Rat now and then," Case continued. "But, him and Roge are fighting now. I guess Drags and King know this other player named Ghost who is going to sit in on the next practice. It's like Roge is trying to change up the whole team."

"Damn," Erik said. Erik felt comforted that he wasn't the only one targeted by the old man, but it made him angry that Roge turned his back on all his "teammates."

"Yeah," Case said. "Nothing I can do about it now. Anyway, if you're ever online and you want to play, drop me an invite. Hit up Rat too. He's been asking about you. Maybe the three of us can form something up just for fun. You know, like it was before Roge tried to make it all serious."

"That sounds good man," Erik said. "That would be a lot of fun."

"Cool," Case said. "I gotta head out now. Keep in touch K."

"Will do," Erik said. "See you around." Case left the chat and signed off the network. Erik kept playing GAB on his own. GAB now felt more comforting to play than when he started 30 minutes ago. It felt like a game again, not a job or a contest.

After every round, Erik checked his phone. After three straight games, he pulled out of a game lobby and decided he was too frustrated to play video games. So, Erik walked over to his computer, opened his porn folder, and began masturbating. After three straight orgasms, he pulled his shorts back on and walked to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When Erik came back to his room, he sat down in front of the TV and picked up the controller to play another game. Erik leaned back to get more comfortable and then quickly checked his phone again before the next game started. There was a new text message. Erik sat up quickly and dropped the controller. Jessica responded and said she could be there in about 20 minutes. It was almost 9 PM now. "YES!," Erik yelled. Erik responded, "see you then."

Erik shutdown his video game console and did a once over to make sure the room still looked good. "OK," Erik thought. "What do I need? I've got water, soda, popcorn... But then what? Do I just put a condom on the bed? Oh shit! Condoms! Fuck... Where did I get condoms bef... Lara... Lara had the condoms. Shit! Shit! Where am I going to get condoms?" Erik remembered the convenience store across the street was open until 9 PM. "I can make it," Erik thought. Erik ran out of the room and flew down the steps of the dorm. He shot out the front door as fast as he could and ran across the street. Erik was sweating and panting when he finally made it to the front door of the convenience store with 5 minutes to spare.

Erik walked in and quickly went to the medicine aisle. As Erik walked toward the aisle, it suddenly hit him that he had no idea what he was doing. Erik had never bought condoms before, so he didn't know what size or type to get. As Erik walked down the aisle looking for condoms, he noticed there was a sign that said "Condoms available at the counter." "Fuck!," Erik thought. "Now I have to talk to the fucking clerk about what kind I need? Jesus..."

Erik walked back to the counter. The female clerk looked up from her phone. She looked to be in her early twenty's with a metaphorical "Fuck you" sign on her face. Her cold look made Erik even more uncomfortable, but Erik was determined to get what he came for. The potential for sex with Jessica was too great of an opportunity to pass up. "Hi," Erik said to the clerk.

"Yeah?" the clerk said in a cold voice as if Erik was bothering her.

"I, umm, need to buy some condoms?" Erik said in a soft voice, in a tone that sounded like a question instead of a statement. He could feel his face turning red.

"What kind?" the girl said matter of factly, not changing her look or posture.

"I don't know," Erik said. "Umm... Is there like a popular kind that everyone gets?"

The girl stared at him, completely deadpan. Erik could feel his eyes widening. He was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"They're condoms," the girl responded. "They're like cigarettes. It's your choice."

"Umm... OK," Erik said. "What kind do you have?"

"All kinds," the girl responded not budging.

"Uh... Alright. Is there one you would recommend?"

The girl paused again staring a hole through Erik. Her facial expressions did not change.

"Are you asking me what condoms I use?" she finally responded.

"I... Umm... I was..."

"Do you think I'm a fucking tranny or something?" The girl's tone began to change, and she sounded angry. "Is this some fucking joke?"

"No! I need..."

"You need to get the fuck out of here!" She started to look back down at her phone. "Fucking kids."

"But, I need some con..."

"WHAT KIND?" She screamed out as she looked up from her phone.

"I don't know."

"You little piece of...," the girl started to say. She reached down and pulled out a small box and slammed it on the table. "There, extra small. That's what I recommend for you." She mocked Erik.

"I... Um... think I need something bigger," Erik said.

"Oooooooooh! So you've got a huge dick huh? Well then, excuse me, Mr. Johnson. Here's the extra large condoms." She slams down another box on the counter. "You could fit a small baby in one of these."

"Um... Can I just get some... Um... like regulars?" Erik asked. He was scared and his voice was trembling.

"WHAT KIND?"

"Just give me one of each," Erik was upset and tired of being shamed. The girl reached under the desk and pulled out ten boxes of condoms of different brands, sizes, and colors.

"Seventy-five dollars," she said coldly.

"What?" Erik asked. "For condoms?"

"We are closing," she said. "And I'm not supposed to be here tonight. I'm supposed to be at a bar drinking my ass off. So, buy them or get the fuck out long dong." Erik pulled out his credit card, and she ran it. Then, she pulled a plastic bag from under the counter and started bagging up the boxes. There was a box of candy that was on the counter, and the girl picked that up as well and put it in the bag. Erik was about to tell her that it wasn't his, but he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

The clerk handed Erik his card back and moved the bag across the counter toward Erik. "Thank you! Come again!" she said with a condescending, forced, cheesy smile before looking back down at her phone. Erik quickly grabbed the bag and ran out of the convenience store. Erik checked the time on his phone and realized he was going to be late getting back to his room. Erik sprinted across the street and back into the dorms. Erik took the elevator up and ran out toward the hallway. As soon as he turned the corner, he noticed that Jessica was there. She noticed him down the hall and watched him as he approached. Erik stopped running and walked to his door.

Erik was gasping for air from the run, and now that he slowed down, he was trying to calm his breathing. Jessica raised her eyebrow and as she watched Erik walk toward him. "Are you alright?" Jessica asked.

"Wha... Ah... Yeah...," Erik said through gasps of air. "I just... needed to... Um... Run out... and get some... thing... real quick..."

"What did you need?" Jessica asked.

Erik paused for a second, trying to think of a response, as he continued panting. "I... um... Yeah...," he stuttered out of his mouth. Erik remembered the candy box. "Candy!," Erik exclaimed. "I wanted some... candy... for the movie."

"O... K...," Jessica said slowly. "Do you want to go inside?" Erik's eyes went wide, and a slight smirk appeared on his face. Erik's mind went blank, as the phrase immediately made Erik think of sex with Jessica. He froze as he fought with his mind to retake control of his body, but the fantasy was taking over right here and now. They were both naked, and Erik had Jessica bent over his bed as he eased his cock inside her, Erik began to giggle and nod yes. Jessica stared at him, waiting for a response. Finally, Erik snapped back to reality as he blinked, shaking off the daydream and returning to the present.

"Yes," Erik said. "I do." He continued nodding over and over again, still frozen in place.

"Do you want to open the door?" Jessica said to Erik. This finally returned Erik to "here and now."

"Yes!," Erik said. "I need to open the door." Erik walked forward and put his hand on the doorknob. He attempted to turn it as he continued walking forward. The door was locked, so Erik walked face first into the door. The impact of the door against his forehead bounced him backward with a loud "thump."

His left hand with the bag went to his head; his right hand went to his pocket which pulled out his key for the door. Erik unlocked the door and walked inside. Jessica entered the room behind Erik. As she walked in, Erik's left hand moved down from his head, and he put the bag down on his desk. Once he was no longer holding the bag, he finally noticed the sweat that had beaded all over him.

"Oh fuck," Erik thought. "I probably smell like shit. I'm fucking wet with sweat." Erik looked at Jessica and noticed she was wearing a tight dark blue shirt with tight white shorts. She looked amazing.

"Hey," Erik said. "I need to change real quick. I'll be right back." Erik grabbed a plain black t-shirt, his pair of cargo khaki shorts, some boxers, a new pair of socks, and a checkered navy blue and red shirt. Then, he walked to the bathroom. Erik undressed as quickly as he could and washed his face in the sink. He used the old shirt to pat his body dry but still felt hot and sweaty. He turned on the shower to cold and jumped in. He instantly went from hot to cold and let out a high pitched yelp as the water moved over his body. "I've got to hurry," he thought. He washed off all the sweat the best he could in 5 seconds and then walked out of the shower shivering. Again, he patted himself dry with the old white t-shirt and the shorts he was wearing when he walked in. Then, he dressed and left the bathroom.

Erik rushed back to his room. Erik noticed that Jessica was sitting on the chair in the middle of the room. She had the box of candy from the convenience store in her hand, and she was eating some of it.

"I opened the candy," Jessica said. "I hope you don't mind." She smiled at him.

Jessica's smile calmed Erik, and he smiled back. "No problem!" Erik responded. As Erik walked into the closet to put his dirty clothes in his laundry bag, he remembered the candy was in the condoms bag. Erik froze again.

"Oh no," Erik thought. "She had to see all those condoms in there. She probably thinks I'm going to like, kidnap her, and use her as some sex slave for the next six weeks. Fuck! Goddamnit!"

"I love these," Jessica said. "How did you know?"

"Wait," Erik thought. "Maybe she didn't see the condoms. Maybe the candy was sitting right on top. She's still here. She didn't run out of the room or anything." Erik finished pushing the clothes into the laundry bag and then walked toward Jessica, staring over at the bag, trying to see if anything was sticking out.