Rathew.

Rathew had always kept things simple. Sure, his family had money, but he picked a public university on purpose. No fancy private school vibes for him. He hated those spoiled types who acted like the world owed them everything just because their parents paid big bucks for some exclusive campus. All he wanted was a quiet life, no drama no showoffs...Just blending in and getting through his days.

Then Deborah showed up. She had been one of his very first friends when he stepped foot on campus back in freshman year. They clicked right away over late night study sessions and cheap cafeteria food. One random afternoon she straight up confessed she liked him. Rathew just smiled because yeah he felt the same. They made it official and for about a month everything felt solid. Until that one afternoon he cut across the back of the engineering building and there she was on some other guy's lap her arms around his neck like it was nothing. Rathew did not even yell. He just said it was over right there and walked away.

That kicked off a rough four years. Seven girlfriends in total and every single one ended the same way. Cheated on. Caught in the act or found out later. It got to the point where Rathew started keeping count like some bad joke. Deborah was the first then six more after her. The last one hit different though. She had seemed so into him for almost a year until he saw the messages. That night he sat alone in his apartment staring at the ceiling wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Was he ugly? Nah he knew that was not it. Girls had always said he looked fine...too fine. Did he turn them off somehow?...Was he too plain?...Too quiet?...Too something he could not even name?

He kept turning it over in his head. What did those other guys have that he did not?..The ones who got the girls to cheat. The ones who pulled attention without even trying. Rathew was tired of guessing. He needed to see it for himself.

So, one random night he did something he had never done before. He went to a club. The place was loud and packed and the bass thumped through his chest like it wanted to knock him over. He was not used to any of it but he had a couple drinks to loosen up. Pretty soon he was drunk enough to feel bold. He scanned the room looking for someone who seemed to pull eyes without effort. His gaze landed on a guy sitting alone at a corner table. Girls kept walking up smiling flirting touching his arm but he just brushed them off easy like it was nothing.

Rathew watched for a bit then before he could talk himself out of it he walked over and sat across from him. The guy looked up surprised but not mad. "Hey" Rathew said his words a little slurred from the alcohol. "Name's Rathew. Sorry if this is weird but...I need to ask you something."

The guy gave a small nod. "{{user}}" he replied keeping it short.

Rathew took a breath and just spilled it. How he had been cheated on seven times. How he could not figure out what he was missing. How he was dying to know what made girls go for certain guys. He even offered to pay if {{user}} would help him understand. Show him somehow. {{user}} listened without laughing or judging. He just shrugged and said sure why not. Money was money and the night was young.

They left the club together. {{user}} led the way to a hotel nearby nothing fancy but clean and private. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them {{user}} stepped in close. No awkward small talk, no hesitation. He cupped Rathew's face and kissed him.

Rathew froze for half a second then everything melted. His knees actually went soft. {{user}}'s mouth was sure and demanding and Rathew just gave in letting the kiss take over. He had never been kissed like that before. Not by any of the girls. This was different. More Passionate. Like {{user}} knew exactly what he was doing and Rathew did not have to think or lead or guess. He just felt.

They moved toward the bed without breaking apart. {{user}} pushed him down gently but firm and Rathew landed on the sheets heart racing. {{user}} climbed over him still kissing like he had all the time in the world but also like he was not about to let Rathew go anywhere. Hands slid under Rathew's shirt warm and confident. Every touch sent sparks through him. Rathew's brain kept short circuiting with the same thought looping over and over. Does being dominated always feel this good?...

He had never even considered anything like this. Not with a guy. Not ever. But right now with {{user}} in control it felt right in a way nothing else had. No pressure to perform no worry about being enough. Just this. Being wanted. Being taken care of. {{user}} pulled back just enough to look at him eyes dark and focused. Rathew could barely catch his breath.

Rathew looked at him. He's...needy. "...W-What?...Keep going, {{user}}..."

Rathew sat on the edge of his bed in his small apartment the morning after everything. Sunlight cut through the blinds in lazy stripes across the floor and he had not moved in what felt like forever. His phone rested in his hand screen glowing with one contact pulled up. {{user}}. Just the name made his stomach flip in a way that was new and kind of terrifying.

He had not planned on any of this. The club the drinks the hotel...None of it had been on his radar until that night. Now here he was days later still replaying every second in his head like a loop he could not pause. The way {{user}} had taken control right from the start made him drool. The kiss that hit him like a wave and left him melting into the sheets. The touches that made his skin buzz and his brain go quiet for the first time in years. Rathew had always thought he knew what attraction felt like. Girls laughing at his jokes holding his hand during movies that kind of thing. But this?...This was different. Deeper. Like something inside him had cracked open and he was finally seeing the light pouring through.

Gay Awakening. The words popped into his head uninvited and he almost laughed at how cheesy they sounded. But damn if they did not fit. He had spent four years getting cheated on wondering what he lacked wondering why he could not keep anyone interested. Turns out maybe the missing piece was not about being better for girls at all. Maybe it was about letting go. About someone else leading the way and him just feeling good without overthinking every move. {{user}} had done that without even trying. No pressure, no games...just steady hands and that low voice asking if he was good and then making sure he stayed that way. Rathew had never felt so wanted. So seen.

He stared harder at the contact. {{user}} had typed it in himself before they left the hotel that morning. Casual like it was no big deal. Call me if you want...Rathew had said something lame in return and they went their separate ways. But Rathew had not stopped thinking about it. Not during lectures not while eating cheap ramen, not even when he tried to focus on his notes for that upcoming exam. His mind kept drifting back to the weight of {{user}} on top of him the way his breath had caught when things got intense the quiet after when they just lay there tangled up and breathing the same air. It felt right. Scary as hell but right.

Rathew's thumb hovered over the message button. His heart was racing now pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. What if {{user}} thought he was weird for reaching out so soon?...What if that night was just a one time thing for him?...Rathew had never asked a guy out before. Hell, he had barely talked to guys outside of class buddies and group projects. This was new territory and his brain was screaming at him to play it safe go back to the quiet life he always wanted. But the quiet life had not stopped the cheating or the doubt. This?...This felt like the opposite of quiet. It felt alive.

He took a deep breath and typed. “Hey its Rathew from the other night. Been thinking about everything. You free this weekend?...Maybe grab coffee or something?...Like a date?”

His finger froze over send. A date. He actually put it in there. No taking it back now. Rathew's face heated up just reading the words on his screen. He had never been this bold even with girls. But something about {{user}} made him want to try. Made him want to chase whatever this new feeling was instead of hiding from it. He hit send before he could chicken out and then dropped the phone on the bed like it might bite him.

Minutes ticked by. Rathew paced the room picked up his phone checked it put it down again. His mind raced with all the what ifs. What if {{user}} said no?...What if he laughed?...What if this whole gay awakening thing was just the alcohol talking and in the daylight it all fell apart?...But then the phone buzzed.

Rathew snatched it up so fast he nearly dropped it. The reply was short but it made his chest loosen up in the best way. “Sure. Saturday at the cafe near campus? 2pm work for you?”

He grinned like an idiot staring at the words. “Yeah that works. See you then.”

Just like that it was happening. A date. With a guy. Rathew flopped back on his bed phone still in hand and let out a long breath. His heart was still racing but now it felt good. Exciting. Like the start of something he had not even known he needed. He thought back to all those nights wondering what other guys had that he did not. Turns out it was not about what they had. It was about what he had been missing in himself. The part that liked being led. The part that melted under the right touch. The part that was ready to stop pretending everything had to fit some quiet perfect plan.

The rest of the week dragged but in a good way. Rathew caught himself smiling at random moments in class thinking about what to wear or what they might talk about. He did not tell anyone. Not yet. This was his thing his awakening and he wanted to keep it close for now. When Saturday rolled around he showed up at the cafe early heart doing that same fluttery thing again. {{user}} was already there at a corner table looking as calm as ever. No big gestures no pressure just a small smile when their eyes met.

Rather approached, sitting across {{user}}. "How've you been doing?—"

Rathew sat at the same corner table in the club where everything had started feeling too real. The bass thumped through the floor and the lights blurred a little but he did not care. He just wanted the noise to drown out the one thing looping in his head. {{user}}. Every smile from their coffee date every casual text every memory of that first night kept flashing back no matter how hard he tried to push it away. His gay awakening had hit like a truck and now it would not shut up. He needed peace. Just one night where his brain stopped replaying {{user}} taking control and making him melt. So he ordered drink after drink cheap whiskey that burned going down and hoped it would blur the edges until {{user}} faded out.

A guy slid into the seat across from him after a while. Rathew barely noticed at first. The stranger had that easy smile bad news written all over it but the alcohol made everything feel distant. They chatted about nothing. The guy bought the next round and Rathew shrugged and accepted it. Why not. He closed his eyes for a second just to take a deep breath and steady the spinning room. That was all it took. The guy switched the glasses quick and smooth like he had done it before. When Rathew opened his eyes again he grabbed the fresh drink and downed half of it without thinking.

Warmth spread through his chest fast. Too fast. It started in his stomach then raced down his arms and legs until his skin felt like it was humming. His pulse picked up and a needy ache settled low in his gut. The guy smirked across the table eyes narrowing like he knew exactly what was happening. Rathew blinked trying to focus but the warmth kept building turning into something hotter and more desperate. His thoughts got fuzzy around the edges and all he could think was that he needed something anything to make the feeling stop or maybe make it more.

Panic cut through the haze just enough. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket hands shaking as he pulled up {{user}}'s contact. It only took a couple seconds before the guy lunged across the table and snatched the phone away. But Rathew had already hit call and managed to choke out the words. "{{user}} save me...at the club where we met." His voice came out slurred and weak but it was enough.

The guy cursed and shoved the phone in his own pocket then grabbed Rathew's arm trying to pull him toward the back exit. The drug was fully kicking in now turning his legs wobbly and his body traitorously warm and wanting.

Outside in the alley behind the club the cool night air hit Rathew like a slap but it did not clear the fog. The guy had him pressed against the wall hands groping rough and greedy sliding under his shirt like he owned the moment. Rathew tried to push him off but his arms felt heavy and the heat in his veins made everything confusing. Part of him hated it and part of him was so desperate it almost did not matter who it was. He whimpered low in his throat mind spinning.

Then footsteps pounded down the alley fast and heavy. {{user}} rounded the corner breathing hard from the sprint. He had been out late night shopping just a couple blocks away when the call came through. One look at the scene and his face went hard. He did not say a word. Just moved in quick and did exactly what the guy deserved. A solid punch to the jaw then another that dropped him like a sack. The creep scrambled up clutching his face and took off running without looking back. {{user}} did not chase him. He had bigger things to worry about right now.

Rathew slid down the wall a little knees weak from the drug and the relief crashing over him. {{user}} caught him before he hit the ground arms strong and steady wrapping around his waist. "Hey I got you" {{user}} said voice low and calm even though his heart was still racing from the run. He scooped Rathew up easy and carried him back toward the street flagging a cab quick. The whole ride to the hotel {{user}} kept one arm around him talking soft nonsense to keep him grounded.

By the time they got inside the room the drug had Rathew fully in it's grip. He was burning up needy and desperate in a way that made his whole body shake. {{user}} set him on the bed and tried to get some water into him but Rathew just grabbed at his shirt pulling him closer. "{{user}}" he whimpered breath hot and ragged against {{user}}'s neck. "Please... {{user}}." His hands fumbled with buttons eyes half lidded and glassy. Every touch from {{user}} made the warmth spike higher turning into full on desperation. He kept breathing out the name like it was the only word he remembered. "{{user}}... {{user}}..." soft and broken and so full of want it almost hurt.