Struck By You: Players by I.M. Hicks

be upset at me for coming here. I heard about it yesterday,” I said.
         He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at the grave.
    “Okay, I’m very sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself Mason”, I said and turned to leave.
    “Don’t go,” he said softly.
    He changed his stance and looked into the distance.
    “When we were kids barely hitting puberty,” he began, “my dad took us on a camping trip on one of his weekends. He thought it would be a good idea to give us the bird and the bees talk from a man’s perspective.” He laughed “He told us the biggest regret of his life was falling for a woman. He said men are hunters, predators – we go after our prey, we take what we need, and we move on to the next. We needed to start thinking that way, master it and we’d have it all. We’d never be alone as long as we focused on ourselves and our careers – women would drop their panties at our command, and he was right” he cleared his throat.
         “Ironically enough, my father died alone. Had he croaked a day later, no one would have found him until tomorrow.”
         I held his arm.
    “Thank you for coming Riley, this means a lot to me. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again after what I did and said last weekend.” he began to say but I hushed him.
    “Mason, we’re still friends, regardless” I said.

     “I’m sorry I keep hurting you, I just don’t know how to handle this insane jealousy I feel,” he said, shifting his gaze toward me.
I smiled and nodded. Words failed me.

“Where are you staying?” he asked.
    “I was going to drive home, actually.”
    “The law firm put this dinner thing together to celebrate his life, but I’m tired and I just want to forget today,” he said. “Will you stay with me tonight? I just want your company, nothing else.”
    I agreed and we drove my car to the inn he was staying at.
    We picked up some cheap Chinese takeout and watched movies on pay-per-view.
    By the time we went to bed, it was close to midnight. We lay in bed in what had become his favorite position: his arm around me and my head on his chest, and we stayed up talking in the dark.
    “So I got that job at the small firm,” he said.
“That’s great, when do you start?”
    “A week from now. So don’t think I’m trying to avoid you, I just can’t make it during the times you teach.”
    “You don’t owe me any explanations,” I replied.
    “Okay,” he agreed and kissed my forehead. We talked a bit more and drifted off to sleep.
    He woke up early Sunday morning to me stroking his massive erection. He grabbed my face and kissed me deeply rolling over on top of me, kissing my entire body. He came back to my lips and looked into my eyes. “I want to make this work,” he exhaled.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I can’t lose you again, Riley.”
    I ran my fingers through his hair and caressed his face. “You won’t, just as long as you treat me right and we stay out of each other’s business.”
         He sighed and buried his head down on my chest.
    “That’s just it, I don’t want to do this anymore, and I’m done with all of it,” he began and looked into my eyes. “I feel things, emotions when it comes to you. I think about you all the time. When something good happens, it’s you who I want to call. I like hanging out with you, watching you sleep, watching you prance around your condo wearing next to nothing. The way you listen, you see me, the way you call me out on my bullshit, holding you, the lust in your eyes when you’re in ecstasy, the way you want me, but most of all I like this, spending this time with you, talking, last night, watching stupid funny movies and you genuinely care for me. I’ve never had that – my mother just spoiled us. That was the extent of her love. Threw money at our problems should we ever have any. When Carl came in the picture, it was out of control. He gave us everything my father wouldn’t.” He shook his