Roman - Part 3

All characters involved in sexual scenes are 18+

"This is really good, Mrs..."

"Oh, please" my mom replied bashfully, "call me Jane".

Roman wiped his mouth with a napkin and beamed at her. "That was delicious, Jane" he said, and I rolled my eyes as my mom's cheeks flushed.

"Are you sure you don't want to take some over to your dad, Roman?" My dad asked him, "Jane likes to think she's cooking for an entire village, there's plenty left".

"He's out with a friend tonight" Roman said, "but thank you".

My dad beamed now, and for some reason it was beginning to get on my nerves.

"Have you played with the Carnage skin, Roman?" Alex asked, and I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Can you all let the guy breathe?! I snapped, and every head turned to me.

"I'm just saying" I sighed, "it's..." My voice trailed off as Roman's hand landed gently over mine and he smiled warmly at me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw my mom and dad look at each other.

"Anybody for desert?" My mom asked, trying to hide her smile as she stood up.

Once again I rolled my eyes.

When the pretentious dinner was over, Roman followed me upstairs to my bedroom. Maybe I was jealous of the attention he was giving everyone else, or maybe I was just in a bad mood. I stormed inside and when I turned back, Roman was laughing.

"What?!" I spat, and the handsome young man shrugged.

"Nothing" he said, his eyes scanning the room.

"So why are you laughing?" I pressed, feeling both frustrated and somehow excited by his perfect smile.

"Because it's cute" he said, walking over to the trophy case.

"What's cute?"

"You"

I felt my cheeks burn.

"Your little tantrum"

"It wasn't a tantrum" I growled, "they were firing questions at you like it was a damn game show".

"You swim?" He asked, ignoring my previous statement.

I walked over and took the trophy out of his hand before slamming it back into the case.

"No" I told him.

We were inches from each other once again, and suddenly the anger I felt a moment before seemed to drain from me.

"Why did you stop?" He asked me quietly, his face just inches from mine.

For a moment I forgot how to speak. How could anybody be so damn hot? I stared into his beautiful eyes and spoke without even realising it.

"Bullies".

When the word left my mouth, I instantly regretted it. I'd never told anyone that, not even my parents. A knot formed in my stomach and as I turned to walk away, Roman took me by the arm and held me in place.

"I don't wanna' talk about it" I told him sharply.

"You don't have to" he replied, his voice as calm and soothing as it always was, "I'm sorry that happened to you".

Our eyes met again. Why did our eyes keep meeting?!

"Yeah" I half coughed, "well it was a long time ago".

"Time doesn't heal everything" he smiled sadly, and I felt a punch in my heart.

"Shit, Roman" I sighed, "I'm sorry, I forgot".

His hand released my arm, but clasped my cheek a moment later. He was strong, yet gentle at the same time and as I gazed at him, his shining white teeth appeared again, and I would have given anything in the world to lean in and kiss him.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He asked out of nowhere.

"Uh... S... School" I replied

"After school"

"Nothing".

"You are now" Roman nodded, and turned to my drawer, pulling it open before I could stop him. "We're going swimming".

I cringed as he turned his head toward the contents of the drawer and sniggered.

"A guy with that many swimming trophies, and you don't own a pair of swimming trunks?" He asked, picking up multiple pairs of tighty whities as my cheeks burned.

"I guess these will have to do" he continued, holding out a pair of them against my waist.

"Get'off!" I snarled as he laughed, and a moment later, I was laughing, too.

"Your dad's back" I told him, looking out the window toward his house where I could see Mike sitting in the living room with a beer in his hand.

"Oh, yeah" Roman nodded, "so do you know any good swimming spots?"

"The water" I told him, "where did your dad go?"

"Smart ass"

"Your dad, you said he went out", I continued, looking back at Roman who wasn't smiling anymore.

A silence fell between us, which was rather unusual for him. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as he sat down on the bed.

"He doesn't go out anymore" the young man said, and I could hear the pain in his voice, "hasn't left the house properly since... Since mom".

"Oh... That must be tough on you" I replied and he shrugged.

"It was when I was a kid" he half smiled, "I'm used to it now".

"I'm sorry"

Roman stood up once more and reached for my shirt, a second later, he was pulling me into him and now we were closer than we'd ever been before.

My breath became frozen in my throat, the warmth of his washed over me, and our lips were now so close to touching that I could feel it.

"We've both been awfully sorry this evening" he whispered, his strong hand still clasped around the neck of my shirt, "we should work on that".

All I could do was nod. I'd never been this close to kissing someone before, and the feeling was electrifying.

"Goodnight Davey" he breathed, and lightly tapped my face.

Roman released me, strolled toward my bedroom door and disappeared. My heart fluttered in my chest, and the butterflies danced around my stomach. A smile, larger than any I've had before, crossed my face and I fell backwards onto my bed.

"Goodnight Roman".

I couldn't get my head around it. Was Roman playing with me? He really didn't seem like the type of person to do that, but it still felt too good to be true. He was so god damn hot, and was easily the nicest guy I'd ever met, so why the fuck would he be interested in a loser like me? It made no sense at all, but that didn't stop me from fantasising about him.

When I woke the next morning, I did so with a spring in my step. I rushed to the shower, washed quickly and grabbed the pair of underwear that Roman had selected from my drawer. It was stupid, I know, but something about him knowing what I was wearing beneath my clothes was driving me a little bit insane.

"Hey Alex" I said as my little brother dribbled milk from his cereal down his chin. "Sorry for being such a dick to you the last few days, when I get home tonight, how about we play Fortnite?"

My dad glanced up from his newspaper, nodded slightly and smiled to himself as Alex choked.

"YEAH!" He gasped, wiping his mouth.

I turned on my heel and headed for the door.

"David" my dad called, and I looked back. "Watch your language" he winked, and I beamed at him.

"Can I talk to you later, dad?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Anytime you want, son".

School had never gone as well. The entire day was one of the best I could recall, and there was simply no reason for it. I didn't win anything, I didn't even really do anything, yet I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. A smile that Roman had given me.

When the final bell rang, I almost ran all the way home. I dropped off my back pack, kissed my mom on the cheek and informed her that I'd be home later as I rushed from the house and bounced toward Roman's, and when I reached it, my smile faded.

Roman had two bags over his shoulders and was walking solemnly out the door.

My eyes widened and a feeling of sharp sorrow washed over me.

"No" I groaned to myself, "where are you going!?"

The young man looked up at me and shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Davey" he sighed, "I really am, but... I have to" He gestured toward the bags, and my eyes began to well with tears.

"We spoke about it last night" Roman explained, "decided that it was for the best, and I guess I agree".

"You agree?!" I shouted, and I watched as Roman's frown twisted into a grin.

"Yeah" he nodded, "I think it's about time that we donated all this stuff".

I cocked a brow as Roman shoved the two bags into the trunk of his car and leaned on it. He beckoned me forward with his finger, and even though my entire body still felt numb, I walked over and stood in front of him.

"You made me realise something last night, Davey" he said, "I've been feeling sorry for years. Sorry for myself most of all, and it's time to move on".

He placed his hand on one of the bags, and I could see the hint of a tear in his eye.

"My mom's stuff" he said, and I wasn't sure if my heart hurt or soared. "She was beautiful, you know? Dressed real nice, broke my dad's heart and wallet" he added with a laugh, "I think these will make someone real happy".

I placed my hand on his broad shoulder and squeezed.

"I think you're right" I nodded, and for the hundredth time, we stared into each other's eyes.

"Hope you're ready to get your swim on" he smirked, and I nodded.

"Yeah" I told him, "and you're an asshole by the way".

Roman laughed and closed the trunk, and as he opened the car door for me, I placed my hand on it and stopped him.

"Can you wait for just a minute?" I asked him, and he nodded.

I walked back toward Roman's house and I'm sure he wondered why. When I got to the door, it was still open but I knocked anyway.

"Forget something, chief?" Mike called, and I could hear from his voice that he'd been crying.

"It's me, Mike" I answered, "I'm wearing clothes, can I come in for a minute?"

He sniffled and laughed.

"Course you can, son" he said, "but Roman already left".

The house was quite dark, and I realised that it was always like that. As I walked inside, I could see that Mike had a woman's necklace in his hands and his eyes were red and puffy.

"It's actually you that I wanted to talk to" I told him, careful not to be too forward, "if that's okay?"

The man nodded and hid the necklace in his pocket.

"I've never lost anybody" I told him, "not anybody close to me, anyway".

His eyes were identical to his son's, and they seemed to see through me as I spoke. I cleared my throat and continued.

"I had a dog when I was twelve" I explained, "he was real old and stuff when we got him, but I loved him". Even speaking about Dingo was making me tear up. "I used to swim, and I was pretty good at it. When I was thirteen, I told my best friend that I had a crush on him, and he told the entire school".

I couldn't look at Mike as I spoke. I don't know why I decided that he was the best person to tell, but it just felt right.

"The boys on my swimming team didn't let me change around them anymore, said that I had to wait until they were finished because they didn't want me watching them. Then the names started, faggot mostly, queer, homo, they got pretty creative with it" I laughed, but there was no humour in it. "When they started pushing me around, hitting me, spitting at me, that's when it got too much and I quit the team".

I stole a glance at the man, and he simply watched me with no expression at all. I had no idea if he cared, or if he was just like them, but I continued anyway.

"The reason I'm telling you that" I swallowed, "is because Dingo was always waiting at the door when I got home. Even when I had tears in my eyes or blood on my lip, Dingo would lick my face, wag his tail and he loved me no matter what names I was called in school. Eventually I convinced my parents to send me to a different school, and I kept my secret pretty safe, but one day I came home and Dingo wasn't there to lick my face and wag his tail".

I choked up, but managed to continue.

"He was real old by then, but I just never thought it would happen. For years after, all I could do was cry whenever I thought about him until I realised that even though we only got to spend a few years together, and those years were hard for me, they were the best years of his life, and I know that because of you and your son, your wife's last years were the best years of her life, too"

I took a deep breath and looked over at Mike who now had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"So you're comparing my wife to your dog?" He asked.

"Shit... I... I'm sorry" I said, "I didn't..."

He wheeled himself over to me and before I had a chance to say another word, he grabbed me and dragged me into the most bone crushing hug I had ever gotten. I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do a thing, and after almost a minute, Mike released me.

"I'm just fucking with you, son" he sniffed, "that's one of the nicest things anybody has ever said to me".

He wiped his eyes and squeezed my hand.

"Whoever gets you" he said, "is one very lucky boy"

I smiled back at him.

"One more thing, Mike" I said as I wiped my own eyes, "there was a guy on my swimming team, he was in a car accident when he was a kid and ended up paralysed from the waist down. Best damn swimmer on the team".

Mike cocked a brow.

"Roman and I are going swimming today. We'd both love if you came with us"

After fifteen minutes, Roman glared at me as I walked back out from his house.

"Did you go for a fucking nap?" He laughed, leaning on the hood, and when I grinned at him, he looked past me and his eyes widened as Mike wheeled himself out of the house.

"Watch your language, chief" he chuckled.