Not my characters, and I make no money from them.

Unbeta'd.

Chapter 4

It was Jack's idea. While Ennis was still coping with the awkward aftermath of what had happened that afternoon, he was vulnerable to Jack's power of suggestion, and that's how come he end up splitting a taco platter with Jack. Ennis found he preferred beef to bean after all.

Jack, it seemed, was energized. Ennis felt like maybe he was seeing that boy for the first time. Every two minutes or so, his mind would run back to the texture of the hair in Jack's crack, or the color of his dick, or the way he felt inside. And Ennis would find he didn't have a single word he trusted on his lips to say to Jack. But that was fine becauise Jack seemed to have more than enough for both of them.

Focusing back on Jack, Ennis noticed he was talking about the basketball season still just ramping up, about the bowl games from the football season. That boy sure did like his sports, Ennis reflected. Very manly of him, Ennis approved, though he wasn't one for much sports himself. Jack was excited. It was his first fall semester in college, as apparently he'd been admitted in the spring semester the year before. When Ennis finally loosed his tongue enough to ask Jack why he hadn't been in fall admissions, Jack just shrugged him off. Whatever it was, Jack didn't want to talk about it.

By the time they'd finished the tacos, they'd torqued things back to where they'd been enough that it seemed like they hadn't had sex. They were still just two boys, a tutor and a student, friends, yeah, but nothing more. Except sometimes Ennis would catch Jack looking at him from deep eyes that said more, or Jack would catch Ennis turning red for no good reason. It was still there between them, but a secret even from each other, somehow. Ennis's private shame about fucking a boy still burned too strongly to admit it to anyone, even the person he shared the shame with. At least he hoped he shared the shame. He'd hate to think he was alone in this quiet agony.

Standing outside the little strip-mall restaurant, Jack lit up a smoke. Neither moved or spoke, just breathed in cool night air. Ennis was terrified of what was going to happen next. Either him and Jack would spend the rest of the evening together, or they wouldn't, and either outcome was damned near unbearable to him.

"You live around here?" Jack asked, still peering off towards the bustling commercial roadway running near the campus.

"Uh, yeah, 'bout two blocks south."

"Yeah?" Jack peered south. "Don't tell me you live in Laramie Heights."

"Yup."

"Shit, that place is a funk-hole, or so I hear."

"Well it might not be no fancy dorm, but I make due."

Jack nodded, threw his cigarette on the ground. Ennis couldn't see it then, but ideas were forming behind Jack's eyes. No way his roommate was going to stick around now. He'd have an empty bunk at least for the rest of the semester. Jack unconsciously licked his lips.

Jack really didn't want the evening to end, but he was sure he'd somehow pushed Ennis too far tonight. Not wanting to send that boy running like last time, Jack simply nodded once and said, "I'm gonna head on back ta my dorm, then."

Ennis nodded too. "See ya 'round I guess."

"Sure thing." And they parted ways.

Friday Jack sat though discussion with a much cooler temper. Turning to leave afterwards, the professor quietly called him over. Jack was concerned about what Pitt would say.

"Jack, you didn't do too well on the last exam. Do you need another tutor?"

Jack wanted to laugh. He really did. But he managed to contain himself. "No, uh, I got one."

"Oh you did? Good. I was hoping this wouldn't ruin your semester. I ought to report something, but I guess I won't." His brow furrowed.

Jack didn't know who he was supposed to report what to, but all he said was, "Yeah, Ennis is still tutorin' me." He didn't know why he decided ta tell Pitt that, but maybe it was just for the look on his face.

Which was, he had to admit, pretty priceless. The older man looked like he'd been tripped completely. "Uh. Ok. I... I don't see a problem with that."

"Thanks," Jack said, and he left the room.

It was Friday, and though it was early in the afternoon and not hardly evening, Jack wasn't too surprised to find Ennis waiting outside in the hallway. Jack nodded, and they walked outside.

"You got plans tonight?" Ennis asked.

"I got basketball tickets."

"Oh. Ok."

"I got an extra if you want ta come."

"Uh, sure."

"Cool. I was gonna head back to the dorm to do laundry. Wanna meet for dinner? Say, dining hall, five thirty?"

Ennis nodded, and they parted, but now with the sweet satisfaction of knowing they'd see each other soon.

The time passed pretty much that way. They did guy stuff, basketball games and food, maybe fucking in the back of Ennis's truck in the unlit parking lot late at night after, cold pushing in from all sides, but they managed. Watched some NFL games on TV, though neither was into the NFL, and always at Ennis's apartment, not at Jack's dorm. Fucked there, too, and sometimes handjobs in timeouts.

Jack's roommate was indeed getting out of his room, or tryin', so Jack had a few meetings with the RA he had to attend. Brett maintained that he'd caught Jack having sex on his beanbag chair, without nothin' hanging on the door to indicate he'd be welcomed home to such a sight. Brett came off as a prude, maybe, but the RA said it was too late in the semester to rearrange rooms, so Brett packed his things and moved in with his girlfriend for the rest of the semester. Jack paid him $25 for the beanbag chair, knowin' that'd smooth the way a little bit.

Tutoring continued too. Ennis didn't never touch him while tutoring, though he'd moved his chair right up next to Jack's to lean over the physics book. One such Wednesday as December was starting an' Jack was conscious of fall semester comin' to a close, Jack mentioned feather-light that Brett was de facto vanished. "Ennis, I got an extra bed, extra desk, extra closet. You should come live on campus, decent housing."

"Don't think that's such a good idea?"

"Well I do."

"What if he comes back."

"I told ya, he moved out."

"Still has a key, though."

"An' trust me, he wouldn't use it without knockin'."

Ennis blushed. "I said no. Can we just leave it be."

"Alright." Jack couldn't shake a feeling of disorder, like they were on some journey, and the sleepin' arrangements hadn't even been discussed nearly a month in. Jack knew he been accused of procrastinatin' a time or two, but now he was ready to go.

Just the followin' Wednesday, though, Jack was puzzlin' over a physics problem.

"Come on, now, you just gotta keep track of what frame your in."

"Shit. This doesn't make no sense."

"You gotta calm down. Now look, the observer in the S prime frame sees it doesn't conserve energy. You see?"

"No, I DO NOT fucking see! This is shit! When the hell am I goin' a be traveling at nearly the speed a light ta care about this shit!?"

"Well, now, some things move that fast."

"Fuck you."

"Just think a all those little particles out in space a yours."

"Fuck you."

"Jack." Ennis laid a soothing palm against Jack's back. "You like space, right? What 'bout sometimes in space a particle goes a lot further than it should 'cause a goin' so fast?"

Jack was calming under the palm, focusing on Ennis's words, and not in the frame of S prime, or physics, or any of that shit. Was Ennis still talkin' 'bout physics? Course he was. He was talkin' 'bout that problem the professor said in class, 'bout the free neutron. 'Bout a free neutron decaying. Decaying. But it gets closer to the center a the galaxy because it was goin' near the speed a light.

"Alright," Jack said, "let's move on in with S prime if that's what you wanna do." It was the first time Ennis touched him while tutoring, and Jack thought maybe if he managed to go fast enough, he could get there before he decayed. But he didn't want to go fast enough to scare Ennis, so he sat on that for a little while.

Turns out he didn't need to sit on it for too long. Friday afternoon Ennis showed up at his place with a duffel bag, hat in hand again.

"Ennis, what in hell are you doin' here?"

"Heat's out in my buildin'. If your offer still stands, was hopin' I could bunk up here for a few days?"

Jack motioned him in and made Ennis the bottom bunk with his secondary pair a sheets. "Alright," he muttered when he was done, placing his hands on his hips. "Alright. Well..."

It was an awkward moment, but it passed quickly, as Ennis took him right there on Brett's bottom bunk.

The semester was finishin' only three weeks later, an' though Ennis's apartment really had had a heat problem, it had been fixed within twenty four hours, an' Ennis wa still living with Jack. They saw sight nor sound of Brett, so Ennis didn't spook, and bein' a boy's floor, no one noticed. Jack even told people he got a new roommate, but they were havin' problems with his key, and the boys got to know the quiet guy who came and went with Jack a lot. They let him tailgate into the building without any problems. Living on campus, Ennis even started to improve in his own classes and work more on research. He got to see Jack plenty, and thought maybe he'd be sick of his new friend by now, but in fact his desire to be around Jack only growed, and soon they were meetin' for lunches, he was stealing food through Jack's meal plan, and they actually managed to settle in at night and do their homework. They shared Jack's computer, though they slept in separate beds after the sex was done. It felt better somehow that way, in case someone come in the middle of the night, Ennis told himself. But also it was pretty gay to sleep holdin' another man. Was ok to do during the day 'long as you were watchin' sports or Seinfeld.

But the end of the semester came too quickly, and one day Jack had taken his finals and was packin' up his stuff to head back home with the folks for Christmas. In the spring he'd have a new roommate and this blissful time would be all over, and Ennis would be cold again, and alone, alone, because Jack would be livin' with someone else.