6. Everyone Loves Dinos

I'm currently sitting in my bed sweating my balls off.

Not literally I hope.

Gritting my teeth, I flick open my messages and start typing, then I hit send and flop my head back against the wall to wait for a response.

It's Tuesday night, and I've had a busy couple of days. Two projects were due, one of which was for my metalworking art class which had required my pyroweaving. That's on top of normal homework and studying. I worked at the cafe Sunday, was off Monday, and then worked again today.

It's nothing too crazy I guess, it's a pretty typical student schedule. It was just suckier since a few of my classes involve my weaving and I'm not completely used to using it at the cafe as well.

So I'm pretty pooped. And overheating. A steaming pile of fresh shit.

My phone dings and I pull up the conversation.

Aiden: I'm hot.

Wren: yeah you are! 😉

Wren: kidding. You ok?

Aiden: yeah... I've tried everything I usually do. I was thinking of texting Kal

Wren: ok?

Aiden: is it too soon though? It's only been like two days

Wren: Aiden. You're acting like you just had your first date or something 😑

Wren: just text him, you stubborn ass. He told you to didn't he?

Aiden: alright, alright

I close out of Wren's conversation and pull up Kal's. Oh fuck it, I'm desperate.

Aiden: hey, are you busy?

I wait a few moments, and every second that passes makes me more and more paranoid that I'm probably bothering him.

Aiden: if you are NBD

Of course, as soon as my thumb presses send his message pops up, making me feel like a complete idiot.

Kal: nope, I'm just hanging in my room. What's up?

Aiden: it's about our deal...

Kal: did you want to chill?

Kal: ...see what I did there... 'chill' 😂

Aiden: har har. That would be great actually, if you don't mind I could really use it

Kal: NP, Ronan is kicking me out of our room for a while anyway, can I come to your room?

Aiden: sure

Kal: we should have a movie marathon, pick something out! I'll see you in a minute 😘

Ok shit. This is actually happening. I stand up and glance around. Nothing's too crazy messy: a shirt and socks here and there, a few knickknacks laying around, my desk is littered with books and half-finished metalwork, but it's all pretty average. I double check my nightstand— the last thing I need is to leave lube or some other embarrassing shit sitting out. All clear.

I start to pace again and make a few laps before there's a knock on my door.

I open it and Kal stands there with a wide grin.

"Hey Hotstuff!" He starts, but I notice the moment he loses track— when his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and his eyes bore into my stomach and chest.

"Don't even start," I interrupt his train of thought. "I can feel your eyes. I hate walking around half-naked but I'm hot as hell, so you'll have to deal with it. I took off everything I morally could."

I'm not surprised at his reaction. Among other solutions like taking a cold shower, one of the most logical ways to battle overheating is to take off your clothes. Considering I was locked in my room by myself I was, at one point, entirely naked. I did put my shorts back on before texting Wren; However, I can imagine that Kal was not entirely expecting me to answer the door completely shirtless, with only my mid-thigh athletic shorts on. Oh, and I guess my glasses count, since I was too lazy to put my contacts back in.

My state of undress is also in direct contrast to his attire: his hair is thrown up in a lazy bun, and he's wearing a red worn-in sweatshirt, grey sweatpants, and yep, fuzzy socks again.

He doesn't seem to mind though, as he's blatantly checking me out. I'm pretty sure I see drool on his chin.

"Ooooh, everything? Does that mean you're going commando under there?!" he exclaims.

"Oh gods... I'm not answering that," I mumble. "You coming in or what?"

He chuckles as he follows me in. "I'll take that as a yes..."

He looks around my room curiously until his eye catches on Jasper's bed, which is neatly made in the opposite corner.

"Your roommate's not here?"

"No, he rarely is. We're good friends but he usually stays at his girlfriend's place. While they're together at least; it's a bit off and on sometimes."

"Damn, I was kind of hoping to finally meet him... and see what kind of person doesn't mind living in a negative twenty degree bedroom!? Seriously it's freezing in here!"

"Well he can't mind since he's not here... and it's a perfect temperature, thank you. In fact, if it wasn't already at the lowest setting I'd love it to be even colder."

He looks at me, stricken. "Shit, I would die."

"Yeah well, it's like this so I don't die... but it only helps so much, hence why you're here."

"Don't have to ask me twice, I need your heat as much as you need my cold."

He walks to my bed, plops down cross-legged in the center, and proceeds to cocoon himself in my sheet. Like literally, sheet over his head, wrapped around so only his face is showing.

I try to resist the urge to laugh, but I chuckle anyway. "Please, make yourself at home."

"I will, thanks. Godsdamn it's freezing, don't you have anything more than a sheet? A blanket, comforter... hell, I'll take a towel?"

"Just hold your horses, did you forget why I asked you over here in the first place? I'm scorching."

"Perfect, my own personal furnace, get in here."

He looks at me expectantly.

I stare back apprehensively.

"I know this is all new, but what'd you expect, we'd sit side by side, hold hands, and sing kumbaya? The more surface area, the better. Get. In. Here."

Kal leans forward, and since he can't move much else, gestures with a twitch of his head to the empty space behind him. I climb in with a sigh, sandwiching myself between him and the cool wall. Kal pulls the sheet out from between us so he can lay directly against me, the sheet now just covering his front, tucked under his chin.

It's weird. I'm not used to someone touching me at all, let alone someone nonchalantly laying against me. But I resign myself to it anyway and reluctantly admit that I don't completely hate this.

The tv across from my bed is already on so I grab the remote to play the movie.

"Alrighty then, what are we watching?" Kal asks.

"Jurassic Park?"

"Hell yeah, bring on the dinos!"

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Everyone loves dinosaurs.

And if you don't, you're probably a boring loser who hates puppies too.

I mean, come on, they're awesome. And there's a dino for everyone: feathered, armored, leaf-loving, meat-loving, land or water-dwelling, tiny, huge, long neck, short neck, horned, beaked, you name it!

It totally brings out the inner kid in people too. It's just a common subject we can all nerd out to with zero shame. It's a safe topic.

Hence, Jurassic Park as my movie of choice.  Classic.

I listen to Kal's commentary throughout the beginning of the movie. "Yeah, you should definitely do that, couldn't go wrong."  "What were you even thinking??" Humming the theme song, even a squeal when the first dinosaur comes on screen.

Normally, I hate when people talk during movies, but I've seen this enough times that I'm not really missing anything, and it's actually pretty funny to hear his reactions.

Turns out, as he informed me, this is one of his all-time favorites. "My sister and I used to watch this all the time when we were kids. I was that obsessed kid with dinosaur toys and we'd act out scenes from the movies. Ahhh, it's been a long while since I last saw it though, good choice!"

I'm still sitting stiff as a board. I don't think I've moved once and my back is starting to ache at how straight I'm holding it. I'm also still hot. I'm pinned between him and the wall, which would normally be suffocating, but his sweatshirt is cool to the touch so it's helping to ward off my sweltering heat, but it's not as much as I had hoped.

I shift a little and push a small hot breath out. He moves with me and then pulls his sheet up tighter under his chin.

"You can put your hands on me if you want, they would feel amazing right now," he says quietly.

I pause at the playfulness in his voice.

"Because of their heat, I mean," he finishes.

I can feel him laughing lightly against me, the sly little shit.

I breathe out a sigh. "You said it like that on purpose, didn't you?"

He laughs again. "Maybe."

I shake my head, smiling. I want to try, but—

"Hey, don't think too much about it," I swear it's like he's reading my mind. "Just do what you think will help. As I've already mentioned, this benefits us both; I'll be fine with whatever."

I hesitantly move my hands to his sides, his sweatshirt chilly under my palms.

"Not exactly what I meant... Here, try this..."

I pull away when he suddenly grabs my hands.

"Afraid of some skin?" He chuckles. "If it's too much, that's fine. But if it helps I think it's worth it, right? I'm just moving them under my shirt... I can't imagine this is the first stomach you've ever felt, and it's not like I'm jamming your hands down my pants." A second later, flippantly he adds, "I mean I can if you really wan—"

"Shut up, idiot." I chuckle with him, shoving my shoulder forward into his. "I get it, you're right. It would help, I'm just being immature about it."

"It's fine, it's kind of cute."

My cheeks burn. "I don't think I've ever been called 'cute' before," I ponder.

"Well, I doubt you ever been in this exact situation before either."

"I've been called a lot of things: hot, attractive.. an asshole, a dick... but 'cute' is not one of them."

"Just take the compliment, asshole."

I think he keeps talking then— something about calling me Cutestuff instead of Hotstuff or something along those lines— but I was majorly distracted when he takes my hands in his own again and brings them under his sweatshirt and shirt to his bare stomach.

The icy contact instantly makes my skin tingle and I breathe a deep sigh of relief.

The chill he emits is intoxicating. I've been boiling under the surface for so long, and all of a sudden he comes in and ices me down like it's nothing. It's not nothing. My heat controls my entire life, and the possibility of it being under control for even just a few moments is crazy new to me.

His skin is so, so refreshing as my fingers press in on him.

Luckily he's not a gross, clammy type of cold, like a vampire or something... Have you ever worked out or spent the day in hot humid weather, and when you take a cold shower it just feels amazing? Yeah. It's like that. I imagine it feels just as good for him too, like sitting in a hot tub outside in dead winter.

And this is just my hands on him, it makes me wonder at the possibilities.

Huh. I'm gonna get off that train of thought, at least until he's not leaning against the whole front half of my body— my lower portion in only thin shorts.

He closes his eyes for a moment and rests his head back against my shoulder in bliss. I just nod against his hair. "Yep... good call."

We lay like that for a while, the movie rolling on before us, Kal's occasional commentary, and my hands placed delicately on his stomach with his overtop mine. My concentration is split between following along in the film and observing the sheet-covered man before me.

He seems comfortable using me as a pillow, and the sheet has slipped down so it's only covering his legs now. I take that as a sign that this whole thing is working and he's not as chilly as he was before.

It's helping for me too— I can feel my eyelids and body relaxing now that I'm not internally fighting my own heat. There's probably only about 30 min left, so I decide to wait until it finishes to go to bed instead of kicking him out early.

I totally just want to see the rest of the movie, it definitely has nothing to do with wanting him to stay longer.

Kal randomly breaks the stillness. "I like your tattoo... I have one too actually."

"...huh?"

"I saw the rest of the tattoo on your shoulder and chest when I came in, it looks great. Thought I'd share that I actually have one too."

Ah, my tribal flames, that's what he was talking about, I assumed it was that one. I thought I understood him the first time, but it was just so completely random I had to make sure.

"Oh, thanks... that's pretty cool though, can I see?"

He laughs. "Maybe one day... only the luckiest people get to see it since it's not exactly in an obvious place."

"Dare I ask where?"

"You can ask but I won't tell."

I don't bother responding to that. I'm intrigued, but I can tell that's exactly what he wants and I don't want to give him the satisfaction.

He seems to pick up on my silence and asks instead, "I thought I saw some words within it, can I ask what it says?"

I smile, reminiscing about when I decided to get it done after high school. When I was free from those bullies called classmates and moved out of my mom's house for a fresh start. I was fed up with the constant judgments and ridicule. I wanted a permanent reminder that I can't change who and what I am, can't run from it, but I can learn how to better live with it.

"It says 'You can't live without the fire, it's the heat that makes you strong.'"

He turns slightly to look at me, holding my gaze for a moment and somehow I get the feeling he can see the hurt that used to lie there.

"That's beautiful. Very fitting, I like it."

"Glad you approve, it's there to stay."

He turns back around to the tv, smiling. I'm smiling like a dumbass too, cheeks surely red.

When the end credits roll, he slides off me and my bed. I feel his absence almost immediately, making me wish he somehow didn't have to go.

He makes double sure that I'm not going to "explode, or implode, or catch on fire or something" for the rest of the night before heading back to his own room, promising we'll continue the series the next time we "chill".

I fall asleep almost instantly, my sheet smelling of peppermint and my last sleepy thoughts drifting back to the newfound possibilities.

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[A/N]

Aw, aren't they just so cute? Their first chill session was a success!

If anyone's curious, Aiden's tattoo quote is actually some of my favorite song lyrics, Iron by Within Temptation. More into the rock genre, but I love the lyrics and I think it fits Aiden's story well.

Thanks for reading ❤️ it only gets better from here- are you also thinking about all the possibilities?? 😉