Page 3 of Can't Stop Now

“Yeah you really must. Are you an athlete or something?” Will asked, curious.

The guy paused while he got the ball out of a complex spot, then answered.

“Uh, yeah, I’ve played soccer for years. Pinball’s just fun, though,” he answered. Will laughed, and leaned over. He decided to be bold.

“Well, you certainly do look hot playing it,” he said, flirty.

The guy made eye contact with Will for the first time, shocked, and his pinball flew down the bottom of the machine, losing him the game.

“Huh?” he said, looking at Will questioningly.

“Sorry, sorry, I know I’m too forward. I should have known you were straight,” Will said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s just so hard to meet cute guys around here, especially now that everyone’s gone.”

The guy looked at him, and seemed really uncomfortable.

“Uh, yeah, sorry man, but I’m not into dudes,” he said. Will looked into his eyes, which were a beautiful deep brown. He really was cute for a jock, he thought.Too bad.

“Yeah, I figured. It’s okay. Have a good night!” Will said, and turned away. He looked around the bar, finishing his beer. He saw mostly couples hanging out, with a few pairs of women and professors in their fifties. There was no one who looked like they might be willing to go home with him tonight.Well, that’s my cue to leave, he thought, and went to put his empty beer on the bar.

He walked home, the night now clear with a cool breeze. His heart ached. He was lonely, and was sure he would never find success after college, let alone love.

When he got home, he splayed out in bed and masturbated, though he had hoped he wouldn’t have to that night. He found the image of the beautiful brown-eyed jock floating into his fantasy, and as he came, he pictured coming into that straight guy’s mouth.

He drifted off to sleep afterward, alone and exhausted.

Three

Jacob

Jacob woke up with a start the next morning, drenched in sweat. He checked his clock and saw that it was already 10am, later than he usually woke up. He turned over in bed, realizing how bad his head hurt.Shit,he thought. He was hungover. His muscles ached and head lightly pounded at his temples. Slowly, the previous night came back to him.

He had gone to the Old Town bar last night – the bar where he and Carrie, his now ex-girlfriend, had always loved to go to together. Carrie had broken up with Jacob a few weeks ago. It was somewhat mutual, because they knew that Jacob would be moving out to San Diego for work, and Carrie would be doing some traveling after college before settling down. But it didn’t surprise Jacob at all when Carrie had broken it off with him. He hadn’t been putting much effort into the relationship, and he knew it.

For some reason, it had always been like this for him. He had had two other girlfriends before, and the same thing happened – it was fun at first, but after a month or two, things would fizzle out and the relationship would become a low priority for Jacob. Needless to say, his ex-girlfriends hadn’t appreciated it.

So last night at the bar, Jacob had felt especially lonely. Carrie used to stand by and watch as he played pinball, cheering him on. She had liked to watch him play. And while he didn’t necessarily miss her, he felt sad realizing that he had failed in yet another relationship.

He sat up and slowly rolled into a seated position at the edge of the bed. He groaned, massaging his neck with his hand. He remembered how hehadactually gotten hit on last night – but by a dude. It had taken him aback. He couldn’t remember ever having been hit on by a guy before, definitely not so overtly.

“You certainly do look hot playing it,” the guy had said, teasingly. Jacob hadn’t been angry about it, but just shocked. The guy had been watching him just like Carrie used to. But before Jacob had a chance to say anything, the guy had freaked out and left the bar. He felt badly about it.

Guy probably thought I was a homophobe or something,Jacob thought,but oh well, I’ll never see any of these people again after this week.

He leisurely stood up and made his way to the bathroom at the end of the hall to take a shower. The shower rejuvenated him completely, and almost even made his hangover feel better. He dried off and walked back to his room with his towel around his waist. He was almost to his room when he heard a knock on the front door.

Damn mailman won’t just leave our packages at the doorstep, he thought, and went to go get the door. He opened it, and felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him as he saw who was on the other side.

“Hi! I’m Will…” Will said, slowly trailing off as he realized who he was talking to.

Holy. Shit.Jacob thought.This is the fucking guy who hit on me last night!

“Ohshit. I mean, hi. Uh, I’m Jacob. God, sorry, let me go put some clothes on! Come in,” Jacob said, blushing and stammering. He was completely embarrassed and could not believe that the guy from last night was Will, Freddie’s friend who would be staying with him for a few days.

Jacob quickly walked back over to his room, holding his towel close to his hips. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought he heard Will laughing to himself quietly.

Jacob slammed the door to his room, pausing for a second to take stock of what had just happened. He shook his head, and chuckled quietly himself, before throwing on a white t-shirt and shorts. He picked up his phone.

“I thought you told me this dude was coming TOMORROW?! He’s already here!”he texted Freddie.