20 – Yannick’s Mistake (4)

 

Stellaluna spent most of the day locked in her room, too afraid she’d run into Yannick. Who knew what he thought of her now. He was probably as disgusted by her as Barry. Not only that, but now he knew what her underwear looked like.

On the bright side, maybe this episode killed his feelings for her, and she no longer had to worry about that. She’d hate to lose his friendship though. Right when that Chatterley book was starting to get good. (There was no way she could finish it on her own.)

Around lunchtime, Barry barged into the room. He glanced at her. “You’re still in here?”

“It had to be a male servant?” Stellaluna asked into her pillow.

“He was the first servant I saw, and I wanted the matter taken care of promptly. Besides, it’s only laundry. It’s not like he was helping you change.”

“He saw me in my nightgown.”

“Barely. Now, come out of here. Nobody has seen you at all today and they’re going to make up rumors.”

“Just tell everyone I’m sick.”

Barry left the room, leaving the door open behind him. Stellaluna sighed, and followed. She’d go to the kitchen to get something to eat, show her face to a few people, and then go right back to her bedroom.

She didn’t have much of an appetite, so she only asked for a pastry. A kitchen worker handed one over, and she ate it as she roamed the halls, avoiding the areas Yannick typically lurked.

Stellaluna took the last bite of pastry, and headed back towards the room. She walked past a pair of restrooms. A servant had passed out in front of it. Hopefully it wasn’t Yannick. But as Stellaluna got closer, she saw it was Yannick. He spotted her, but didn’t move.

As much as she wanted to run away, she couldn’t just leave him there. Her heart raced as she held her hand out to help him up. “What happened?”

Yannick ignored her hand, and remained laying on his side, eyes on the baseboard. “I am sick.”

There were flecks of what might have been vomit on his shirt, though Stellaluna didn’t see a pile anywhere. Had her blood-soaked things disgusted him so much, that he had to rush to a bathroom to throw up? “I’m sorry.”

Yannick looked up at her. “Why?”

“You’re sick because of me.”

“Huh?” Yannick sat up at that. “I am sick, because I last night too much drink.”

“Oh.” Stellaluna’s muscles loosened. Thank God, it had nothing to do with that. But why did he drink so much? Was it because of what happened between them? Had she still caused his sickness, but in a different way? “You should have stayed home.”

“I need the money.” Yannick leaned against the wall, eyes half-closed. His hair was a mess, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

“You need rest.” Stellaluna offered her hand again. “Come on.”

Yannick put his rough hand in hers, and Stellaluna helped him to his feet. He let go, and followed her to the cottage. Normally they would simply meet there at a certain time, to avoid being seen together. But she wanted to make sure he’d be okay. So she was careful to stay out of sight instead.

No one stopped them on the way to the cottage. When they arrived, Stellaluna led Yannick to the tiny bathroom. It only had room for a toilet, sink, and shower.

“You can clean up in here,” Stellaluna said.

“Thank you.” Without any show of modesty, Yannick pulled off his shirt, and turned on the sink. Stellaluna flushed at the sight. She knew she should turn around. Knew she should shut the door. But she couldn’t look away. His body was far more pleasant to look at than Barry’s. He had a hint of muscle under his supple skin. A sudden urge to run her fingers down his chest struck her, making her knees weak.

Yannick ran his shirt under the tap, squirted the bottle of hand soap onto it, and continued washing it. He looked into the mirror, and smiled at Stellaluna’s reflection.

She quickly apologized, and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. What was she thinking? Gawking at him like that?

There was a bedroom right outside the bathroom, but Stellaluna went the other direction, into the sitting room. There was a kitchen in the back. While she waited for Yannick, she snooped through the fridge and cupboards out of curiosity. But they were all empty.

The bathroom door opened. Stellaluna turned around to see Yannick step out. He hadn’t put his shirt back on. She guessed it needed to dry.

Yannick rubbed his eye. “Do you want to the book read?”

“Are you well enough?”

“I need to lay, but yes.”

The only place he could really lie down was the bed in the bedroom. Stellaluna would probably have to lay next to him. Her eyes wandered to his hairless chest. Was that really a bad thing? “You can lay on the bed in there.” She pointed at the bedroom. “I’ll get the book.”

The book was hiding in a closet. She pulled it out, and hurried into the bedroom. Yannick stood next to the bed, kicking off his trousers. He wore only a pair of black boxer briefs, but didn’t seem to care.

Stellaluna slapped her hand over her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“It is more comfortable.” There was a hint of playfulness in Yannick’s voice. “Is that a problem? I am in the bed now.”

Stellaluna lowered her hand. Indeed, Yannick was under the covers. She let out a breath, and laid next to him. On top of all the blankets.

Yannick took the book from her, and opened it. It was too far away for Stellaluna to read. She’d have to scoot closer. A lot closer.

Would he want her to though? He knew her current condition. Barry avoided her whenever she was on it, sleeping as far away from her in the bed as possible. Her own father had been the same way. It was perfectly normal for men to keep an arm’s length away from a woman during that time of month.

“Can you from there read?” Yannick asked.

“Umm…”

“Or is it me?”

“No. It’s not. It’s just… You obviously know. This morning. Do you want me any closer?”

“I understand not.” Yannick’s voice sounded confused. “How together hang these things?”

Stellaluna had to scratch her head at that one, but got the gist of the meaning. “You’re not… disgusted by me? Because of that?”

“Why would I be?”

“All the men I’ve known are.”

“You know not many men. Come close. You can not from there see.”

“If you insist.” Stellaluna complied. Her body brushed against his, but neither made no move to pull away. She found the contact quite comforting. “Where were we?”

 

~~~~~

 

Sebastian sat in a wicker chair on Raylon’s porch. Angus on his left, and Raylon on the other side of Angus. He didn’t know how it happened, but he found himself dumping his life story on the two men.

“And that’s why I’m good at fighting,” Sebastian said.

Raylon let out a whistle. “Damn. You’ve been through the wazoo and back.”

“Really?” Sebastian always felt he was overreacting.

“Yes, really. That’s fucked up. Because, what? You like men? Big whoop.” Raylon took a dramatic chug of his bottle of Hendi. He had given one to Angus and Sebastian.

This was the first time Sebastian had heard such words coming from someone who wasn’t already gay. “You’re okay with gay people?”

“As long as they don’t come onto me.”

Sebastian fought back a smile. “I won’t. You’re not my type anyway.”

“Why? Cuz I’m Black?”

Sebastian froze. Was that why? Was he being racist? Had he offended Raylon?

Raylon laughed at his expression. “I’m just fuckin’ with you.“

“I think it’s shitty too,” Angus piped up, bottle in hand. “I mean, I’m not gay or anything. But I never understood the hate. You’re not hurting no one.”

A wave of emotion struck Sebastian’s chest. These two men he’d just met showed him more acceptance and validation than his own cursed father. Than any straight person he’d ever known, save for his mother. He distracted himself by taking a few sips of his Hendi.

“Now I have new reasons for hating your father,” Angus said. “Putting you through that. I’m definitely voting for Clark Black. No offense.”

“None taken,” Sebastian said. “I am too.”

Raylon leaned back. “I hope he’s able to bring in more jobs. It’s rough out there.”

“Or at least make unemployment checks a thing.” Angus fiddled with his bottle. “I’ve heard about those. They sound nice.”

“I doubt that,” Raylon said. “This ain’t the ES. Nobody’s gonna give us free money.”

“How do you survive?” Sebastian asked.

“It’s not easy,” Raylon muttered. “I’m lucky my son has a job. He lives with me, helps out a lot. I don’t know what I’d do otherwise.”

“My wife gets welfare for the kids,” Angus said. “It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. Sometimes she whores herself out. That’s what we were fighting about. I was mad that she’s back to doing that, and she’s mad at me for not working.”

How to respond to that? Even Raylon was speechless. Sebastian finished the last of his drink, and set the bottle on the table. He checked his watch. Over an hour had passed. “I need to get back home. It was nice meeting you.”

Angus and Raylon returned the sentiment. “You can stop on by anytime,” Raylon said.

“Give your dad a good kick in the nads for me.” Angus grinned.