Sleepover V: Exalting

The music was going on and Matthew was going from one move to another in rapid rhythmic and precise succession. He brought his hand to his shirt and took it off, Lauren cheered even harder.

Lauren: "It's getting hot in hereeeeeee"

Wyatt just stood frozen, his face twisted in slight discomfort. Matthew got really into his hip-hop moves; he was dancing like a professional choreographer. He brought his hands to his pecs and slowly lowered them to his abs then lower to his quite apparent V-line while looking at them with intensity then dropped to a slight squat while using his hands to spread his legs a bit then straightening up again to end with some rapid move. The music stopped and Lauren’s jaw was wide opened in shock. She snapped out of it and started laughing hard, unable to contain herself about the funny situation. There was no way Matthew did what he just did and so well at that considering his bulky stature. Lauren stopped her laughing and talked through a slight chuckle.

Lauren: "Bitch…What can I say?

She fangirled while Wyatt was speechless, it was hard to hide his wagging tail.

Matthew: "it was fun but Lauren, seriously WAP?!"

Lauren: "I didn't choose "

Matthew: "so it could have been worse"

Lauren: "What are you talking about? First of all, you said you didn't like dancing, but your moves were not that of someone who wasn't interested in dancing"

Matthew: "Well I don't like dancing in front of people..."

Lauren: "so we are trees?"

Matthew: "That's not what I meant"

Wyatt: "I think he is just shy but somehow doesn't mind in front of us"

Lauren: "Bitch the shy card doesn't work, didn't you see it? Bro just went magic mike on us"

Matthew: "huh I am not shy, i just said I don't like dancing in front of people, it doesn't mean I can't have fun with my friends"

Lauren: "Anyway, Wyatt you go next"

Wyatt: "wait why me?"

Lauren: "Because"

Wyatt: "Because what?"

Lauren: "Because I can"

Wyatt: "I don't even know how to dance"

Lauren: "I have a question, is all a man can do is lying? Gurl you literally danced with me at that party and your moves were smooth"

Wyatt: "I just followed you..."

Lauren: "Bitch don't be a kill joy, i am already ready to put the music so get your ass up thank you"

Wyatt was hesitant. Matthew wore his shirt again and sat while saying.

Matthew: "Come on Wyatt, if I had to dance on WAP, you gonna dance too"

Wyatt: "b-"

Lauren: "Be fast, we still have other games to play"

Wyatt sighed and got up. He awkwardly got in front of them and Lauren put another random song. It landed on "Angels in Tibet" of Amaarae.

Lauren: "No way you got like a super slutty song"

Wyatt: "Why do I feel like you enjoy that?"

Lauren: "you don't know this song?"

Wyatt: "I do..."

Matthew: "I don't know that one"

Lauren: "Don't worry you will enjoy it"

Lauren started the music and like in trance Wyatt started moving along the rhythm with a set of moves...quite good to look at. His breathing was slowing down as his moves became hypnotic going in sync with the music. Just like Matthew, it seemed that he had a prior knowledge of a choreography as he was moving quite well. Lauren was having a blast watching Wyatt going at it while Matthew was watching silently. Wyatt got to a point of the music during which he had to drop the key move of the choreography; he had to lean on the floor and buckle his butt up a bit while moving it in circles as if he was twerking but not quite. Lauren jumped from her seat and got on top of him and started waving her hand as if slapping his ass. Wyatt didn’t stop and went as far as waving his tail all the while. Lauren went back to her seat and Wyatt concluded with a kneel before them then bent completely backwards showcasing his flexibility. He stood up, breathing rapidly.

Lauren: “Bitch, all I know is that you both lied about your skills and I ain’t liking that. You should have tell me earlier that you guys were so good. Do you know how many music we have to dance on now?”

Wyatt: “I don’t remember accepting that”

Lauren: “duh, you have no say in it bitch, you lied so now I am going to assume what you say you can’t do is not always true”

Wyatt: “I didn’t lie…this was a special case. I liked the trend on this song and watched like dozens of videos of people dancing on it so I caught one or two moves.”

Lauren: “One or two moves? That was way more than just that but anyway, Matthew, your verdict?”

Matthew was not really reacting, he was just staring at the breathing Wyatt with a thoughtful gaze. Wyatt looked back at him and turned his head quickly looking at Lauren who turned to the gator as she didn’t get a response from him. She snapped her finger before his eyes and he got out his somewhat trance.

Matthew: “Huh? You said something?”

Lauren: “Huh duh, I was asking if he did well enough or if we should have him dance some more.”

Matthew: “oh huh, I think he did r-really great huh yeah”

Lauren: “I don’t feel convinced by that answer but anyway, moving on the next ga-“

Matthew phone vibrated and he looked at it to see a text. He read it and sighed before speaking.

Matthew: “Huh sorry guys I forgot something important, so why don’t you guys keep playing while I go deal with it ASAP”

Lauren: “What could be so urgent on a Saturday?”

Wyatt: “Nothing bad I hope?”

Lauren: “Well that’s one thing that could be urgent. You okay gator?”

Matthew was not looking at them, he was focused on replying with slight annoyance at the text.

Matthew: “Huh? No, it’s not that kind of urgence. Anyway, I will be gone for roughly 2 hours maybe more, but I will be back for the movie”

Wyatt: “What movie?”

Wyatt looked at him confused then turned to Lauren who sighed.

Lauren: “The horror movie Matthew wanted so bad to make you watch”

Wyatt: “Oh…I forgot”

Matthew: “yeah I gotta go, later”

In a hurry, Matthew went out. Wyatt then noticed something on the table, a pair of keys, those were the gator’s ones. Wyatt took them and rushed to the door.

Wyatt: “He forgot his keys”

Lauren: “Typical bitch”

The shepherd chuckled and got out. Matthew was already climbing on his bike.

Wyatt: “Hey Matt!”

The gator turned his head as he was about to put on his helmet.

Matthew: “Wyatt? Is something wrong?”

Wyatt: “Oh huh you forgot your keys”

The gator looked at it for a second before chuckling in embarrassment while Wyatt got to him extending the keys.

Matthew: “T-thanks”

Matthew took the keys from the shepherd’s hand, slightly brushing it causing the latter to look away for a second before retracting his hand when the gator took the keys. Matthew looked at him and smiled.

Matthew: “Thanks again, you shouldn’t stay outside too long, it’s freezing”

Wyatt only noticed so when he said that and replied while looking at a tree. Its leaves turning to a mix of yellow and orange announcing fall to soon reach peak. Temperatures were dropping each day. Although for cold built species like Wyatt’s one, it wasn’t too much of a trouble now, for cold blooded species like Matthew’s, it must be a real pain. Wyatt remembered they had a class on main group biology and he remembered reptilians having no real thrill for winter. Wyatt looked at some leaves that fell from the tree with a soft breeze that ruffled his fur and sent a slight shiver down his spine then he looked at Matthew who had that same expression he had during the game. Staring yet seemingly absent and deep in thoughts, eyes piercing through him.

Wyatt: “I-I will get back in, it is freezing.”

The voice of Wyatt betrayed of his fluster but also made the gator get out of his trance and speak.

Matthew: “Yeah. I will go as well, I will be fast promise.”

Wyatt: “Not too much either, don’t want you to have an accident”

Matthew smiled and ruffled Wyatt’s head fur before speaking.

Matthew: “Don’t worry, I will be careful”

With that, he put on his helmet and started his engine, looking one last time at Wyatt before storming off while Wyatt kept looking at the horizon where he went. A smile crept on his face and his tail was wagging softly. He went back in and Lauren was on her phone. The closing of the door made a noise that got her attention and she lowered her phone.

Lauren: “took you long enough, was he already gone down the road?”

Wyatt barely understood her words, his face still hot. He replied absent mindedly.

Wyatt: “Nah he was not going anywhere without the keys.”

Lauren: “ah yeah true. So, what do we do now? The rest of the games won’t turn out as well just the two of us”

Wyatt grinned and did some vocals.

Wyatt: “Just the two of us”

Lauren laughed and shook her head.

Lauren: “You are so dumb”

Wyatt: “And you are a witch”

Lauren: “Shut up, cunt”

Wyatt faked to be offended.

Wyatt: “you didn’t dare say that”

Lauren smiled proudly.

Lauren: “I did”

They laughed it off then Lauren said.

Lauren: “There’s that new K-drama everyone is talking about, Attorney trainee”

Wyatt: “I think I saw a post of it”

Lauren: “Yeah, it’s said to be really interesting annnnnnddddd”

She started giggling while saying.

Lauren: “There’s my husssssband, Ha-joon”

Wyatt: “Who now?”

Lauren: “oh my gaaaaaad, bitch you are so lame you know that? Lemme show you”

Wyatt simply shrugged his shoulders while Lauren typed on her phone in slight frustration from him not knowing. Then she turned the phone to show him a picture of a tiger with a really cute face and a suit holding a gun. He was fairly built while not being buffy and his eyes were a bright gold hue.

Wyatt: “hm I still don’t know who that is”

Lauren: “Wyatt, go fuck yourself. Anyway, we could watch that drama while the gator’s out.”

Wyatt: “I guess yeah, I was tired of moving anyway”

They sat on the couch again and Lauren was scrolling with the remote to find the drama while Wyatt’s phone vibrated. He took it out and saw a text from the same unknown number.

“I know I am being persistent, but could we perhaps talk? Please I am really sorry for what happened. Just tell me when you are free”

Wyatt’s heart was beating faster, flashes from what happened popping again in his mind and his sight blurred for a second, but he recomposed himself. It’s true he hadn’t really taken the time to think about what happened, let alone process it…he wasn’t sure of how to take this. He didn’t remember much of the conversation he had with Jorgen but the thing that came after, he couldn’t erase it from his mind, it was as if despite the cloudiness he had in his brain at that point, he could still be aware of the situation. While he thought of it, Lauren threw a pillow at him.

Lauren: “What got you so stunned?”

Wyatt put his phone away and threw the pillow back at her.

Lauren: “You are so childish”

Wyatt: “Yes and?”

Lauren: “oop sorry mister sassy. Anyway, you good? Can we start?”

Wyatt: “Yeah yeah”

Lauren then pressed play and the drama started, Wyatt’s mind was not really into it, drifting from one thought to another. And for a second, the image of the shark’s tool popped randomly, and he felt weird, the fabric of his boxer stretching to his growing erection. He was uncomfortable with that; how could he get hard from a man’s …let alone of a man that even tried to …He shook his head and adjusted his position so that his hardon won’t be too noticeable. He tried thinking of something else, but his mind was objecting against his will and randomly sent him images of really questionable lewd content including the shark. Lauren noticed he was making a weird face.

Lauren: “Bro, you, okay? You look like you are going to pee your pants.”

Wyatt: “huh…I need to use the bathroom”

Lauren: “bruh were you holding it in. you are really stupid. Go, I will paus-“

Wyatt: “N-no it’s fine…keep watching I need some time”

Lauren: “oh so it’s the number two…poop well”

She turned back to her drama while Wyatt got up awkwardly trying to push his member on a more suitable position while he ran upstairs to his room shutting the door and falling to the ground in a sitting position. He looked down at his bulge and was cursing under his breath that was hectic. “Why the fuck am I hard?” he thought as he tried thinking of something else.

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Monica didn’t have the chance to attend college when she was younger so of course she was being proud of her daughter not only being smart but also able to attend the best school there was at such a young age. Emma was indeed always ahead of her peers; she had a whole year of advance so she was younger than most of students. Monica was really happy her daughter could have what she couldn’t…but she was sad she couldn’t give her more; in fact, she was frustrated she couldn’t give her anything at all. She wasn’t really working the big bucks, so she wasn’t helping her daughter much aside from a pocket money that was barely enough to get a meal once a day…As they were on the sidewalk, she was looking at Emma from behind, the latter had her eyes glued on her phone. Monica wished she could do more for her daughter, that she could protect her from her father…They passed next to a great building with many glass windows, she could see her reflection. She couldn’t afford anything fancy to wear but she tried her best to look as presentable as possible. They finally reached the place, a fast-food chain restaurant that opened few years ago in Eastpave. Before the incident with Emma’s little brother, they had spent time here as a family…it seemed like a long lost memory, a chill in the spine from a wind that washed on her face…She couldn’t help but feel terrible, she always felt guilty for what happened to her son…if only she was stronger, smarter, if only she was a good mother…She didn’t realize she was just staring at the door until Emma put a hand on her shoulder.

Emma: “Mom? Are you okay?”

She turned to her daughter and wiped rapidly a tear on her face and smiled.

Monica: “Nothing to worry about sweetie. Let’s get some of those burgers”

Emma: “You know, we don’t have to do this…it’s totally fin-“

Monica: “No! I…I want to give you something you like for once”

Emma: “Mom…I don’t need anything…I just need you”

Monica held her tears and hugged her daughter.

Emma: “Let’s get burgers”

They got in the place and the warmth of the place rose old memories of happiness in Emma’s heart and she smiled genuinely…it felt like ages since she felt happy. The smell of fries filling the air made her drool as they walked to a spot next to the window. They sat one across the other and Emma looked at her mother with a smile and toke her hands.

Emma: “Thank you mom, I love you”

Monica: “I love you too my little angel…I wished I could do more, I hope this new job will help me with that.”

Emma smiled before looking a bit concerned. She remembered of her conversation about that mysterious wolf dude who helped her and offered her a surveillance job…it was weird but she didn’t want to think of it right now.

Emma: “It’s fine mom, really. This is perfect”

Her mother smiled and she did too when a young waiter approached their table to take their orders.

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Matthew walked to the door of his apartment and rang the bell. Few seconds later, the door opened with Maya on the other side.

Maya: “Aaron, you were fast. Just let me take my shower and we can go”

Matthew entered with a sigh and looked at her in mild annoyance.

Matthew: “Why didn’t you had your shower before texting me…?”

Maya who was walking around in a hurry shouted.

Maya: “Sorry, I was busy trying to fit in my stuff in the suitcase.”

Matthew: “You will only be gone for a weekend…”

Maya: “You can’t understand, I need to have options on what I have to wear to go out and my skin care is a must.”

Matthew growled a bit and sat on the couch.

Matthew: “Be fast then, I ain’t got only that to do”

Maya: “Hey no need to e mad at me, Mom would have taken me to the airport but she was busy”

Matthew: “yeah yeah, just get that shower.”

Maya simply stormed to her room. Matthew took out his phone and saw a text notification. He opened it and saw it was from Haufiku. “Hey buddy, sorry to bother you on a Saturday. With the guys we wanted to have a game party, fun night you know so we wanted to know if you were up to oh and you can bring friends if you want, just bring booze and snacks. It’s latter tonight at my dorm so if you wanna come just let me know and I will fetch you, have a nice afternoon.”

Matthew was reading and a bit surprised, they just had a party like yesterday…Uni was definitely something else. Matthew just put his phone in his pocket and lied his head back and closed his eyes, he didn’t realize how tired he really was. He didn’t get much sleep last night; he had that nightmare again. They say that nightmares are ghosts of your past that come back to torment you…Matthew was raised in a religious home…yet he wasn’t just to accept things he couldn’t see or touch like that. He was fairly aware that not everything could be explained rationally but it didn’t mean that what couldn’t needed to be supernatural or something. His belief took a huge shot when he lost his father…he couldn’t grasp the real meaning of a world said to be protected by a force invisible but all good and all powerful but still unable to save his father. Latter on he even lost someone he held dear to his heart…so his level of belief kept dropping, to be true to himself, he wasn’t even that much of a believer if it weren’t for his mother teaching him some important values…he respected those and tried to be a good man. But what could a man’s heart do if not bleed from a loss…He can’t forget what happened…he couldn’t protect her, he couldn’t keep his promise…he lost her, and it still haunts him. He wondered if one day he would forgive himself...