The Stars In Your Eyes

Bai Yutang has been circling in this shopping mall for three hours and he still can't muster his courage to get his hands on the things he strives to buy. That thing was clearly hanging in the drug store and in the supermarket. Dangling, waiting for people to buy it. 

Those things were displayed openly, and people also looked at it as if those things were just a common thing. Nothing special. He also used to think like that, no shame or embarrassment whatsoever when he saw it for thousands of times. It was a common item. 

But now when he truly wants to buy it, he can't help but feel the shame rushing in his veins. He can't help to imagine what kind of faces the cashier will make when they register the items. He already planned to buy many things and just slipped those things among many that he will buy. That's the plan, but he can't execute it.

Bai Yutang finally just went inside a coffee shop and tried to calm himself with a good cup of coffee.. He liked the coffee here, and it seems today this coffee shop used a different mixed of beans. The earthy aroma of brown black coffee stimulated his nerves through his nostrils, and it calmed him a little bit.

His mind wander to the conversation he and his friends had on their holiday. It was the night before his lover came. After they had their dinner at the restaurant downstairs, they went to the lounge and relaxed themselves under the summer wind, inhaling the salty air from the ocean, bathe themselves under the moonlight.

They talk about many things. Their upcoming job hunting, lamenting the torture from their final project, sharing about their family expectation, revealing their hopes and dreams. They drank, and when they got tipsy they moved back to their room. They order for some more alcohol after they spent the alcohol inside their room. 

"Your boyfriend is rich, he won't even blink to see our bill later on." Liu Xiang shamelessly hugged Bai Yutang's shoulder when Bai Yutang said they have to pay for this alcoholic bill on their own.

"No, let's settle this bill now. I won't let gege pay for this unreasonable alcohol habit of yours."

Bai Yutang was tipsy, but he still asked for Yu Dong and Tang Yuxuan for the money before their beers and whisky came. Yu Dong and Tang Yuxuan guard their wallet like guarding their lowly life. He didn't notice Liu Xiang making a phone call before he heard his voice.

"Jian Geeee… We want to order alcohol, but your stingy boyfriend said we had to pay by ourselves. I remember you promised that you will treat us on this holidaaay…"

Bai Yutang startled to hear Liu Xiang's slurred speech. He hurriedly wanted to grab the phone in Liu Xiang's hand. But Liu Xiang dodged and turned the phone into speaker mode. He could hear his lover's amusing voice from it.

"I am. Just order it, no need to pay. I'll settle the bill when we check out. Just remember you promised me to take care of my boyfriend, and did not let any flies come near him."

Bai Yutang could feel his face heated when he heard those maniacal laughs his friends tried to suppress. Their faces were red with their hands on their mouth, trying to make no sound for Jian Kang Lu to hear. What on earth they promised his lover, and why he felt that they sold him to Jian Kang Lu.

"Thank you, Jian Geee… We will. Don't worry, not even a single mosquito or ant will approach him when he was with us."

Bai Yutang sure his face was now as red as a monkey's butt when he heard Jian Kang Lu's voice from the phone.

"Yes, my TangTang is too handsome. Just make sure no bugs will get near him while you're having fun there. I'll treat you guys for dinner tomorrow."

What the hell. What on earth they talked about behind his back. He could hear the maniacal laugh from three of them released like thunder when Liu Xiang ended his call.

"Ahahaha.. Ah.. Ah.. Did you hear it for yourself? Your boyfriend is the one who wants to pay for it. So don't try to rob our money. We're poor unemployed boys that still have to save our money for the apartment's rent and food before we get any job." Liu Xiang wiped his tears that formed on his eyes because he laughed too much.

"Seriously TangTang, I think I need to learn from you. How on earth you could make Jian Ge fall for you to this degree." Yu Dong said those words after he drank a glass of water. He was choked from his own laughter before.

Tang Yuxuan didn't say anything, but his laugh was the loudest of them all. Bai Yutang really wants to hit all of them. 

"What on earth are you guys talking behind my back? Why do you threaten Jian Ge like that?" Bai Yutang's voice turned into a dangerous high pitch, but his friends didn't seem to get that he was mad.

Three of them laugh even louder until they are rolling on their bed. "What threat? It was Jian Ge himself that told us to take care of you, and offer to treat us for the whole holiday. Ahahaha.."

Yu Dong was still laughing when he said after Liu Xiang, "Ah.. Ahahaha.. You don't know how I tried to calm my face in front of my parents when I saw his message. Jian Ge surely has a weird taste. I promised him and only joked when I said that, but he replied that you're so cute that many people will try to snatch you away from him if he didn't guard you well. Ah.. Ahaha.."

Tang Yuxuan's turn choked now after he laughed like crazy, he also drank a glass of water before he said, "You're my brother, but I still can't understand Jian Ge's taste. It makes me apologise to him again after I saw his message. Ah, I still feel so guilty to him. He really adores you, TangTang."

The bell door was ringing, a sign that their order was delivered. Bai Yutang can't refute their words, especially after Liu Xiang patted his shoulders before he opened the door. "Just let Jian Ge pamper us. It's his way to let us know that he loves you so much."

And like that, they slipped their way to order some more food. After laughing so much that night, they were hungry again. And somehow their talk was diverted from the latest anime, donghua, games, and comics they missed because of their busy schedule, into a conversation every man will have when they hang out and drunk together.

It was Liu Xiang who started it. "DongDong, just spill it. I know that you kissed Xiaoya many times. Have you done it?"

Yu Dong's face was red from the alcohol, "Just the first base. We don't have a chance to do second base even if we want to. I don't want to bring Xiaoya into a hotel just because i want it. I want to wait for her graduate."

"Wow, daddy can't believe DongDong is a beast under that innocence's face." Tang Yuxuan poured another glass of whisky mixed with his coke. He sipped it lightly.

"This young master believes that you have much more experience than me." Yu Dong threw the pillow at Tang Yuxuan.

"It's so hard to control myself given the fact that my MianMian was so pretty. But unfortunately just like you said, it's hard to find the chance. My nasty roommate won't leave us alone."

Liu Xiang hit Tang Yuxuan on his back. It was surely painful given the loud smack echoed in their room. "It was already sour to see you guys openly hugging and kissing in front of me, don't you pity this wife being single among all of you lovers birds. I can only hug my pillow."

Yu Dong was nudging Bai Yutang's waist when he teased him, "We all were nothing compared to this one. Spill it out TangTang, how many times per week you did it with Jian Ge?"

Bai Yutang was also tipsy. In normal circumstances he won't let his mouth uncover their bed activity. But somehow tonight he can't control his own words. "We did it three or four times a week."

"Wow, look at this master. So when did you and Jian Ge did it for the first time? I should note it for my reference if later i have chance to do it with MianMian." Tang Yuxuan's elbow landed on Bai Yutang's shoulder.

Yu Dong also tickled Bai Yutang who refused to answer it, "True, I want to make it special with Xiaoya. I can't ask Jian Ge about this, so just spill it out for me."

Bai Yutang tried to dodge them all, "Why don't you wait until your wedding day if you guys want to make it special?"

Three of them were silenced for a few seconds before they were bursting in laughter. Tang Yuxuan even almost stumbled from the bed. "You yourself didn't wait, how could you expect us as healthy men to reserve ourselves until married?"

Yu Dong wiped his tears, "Ahhaha.. If it were up to me, i'll marry Xiaoya now. But still have many things to do and save before it. And look at yourself, the one who did it four times a week."

"Me and Jian Ge did it many times, but only first base." Bai Yutang stuttered.

Now the three of them really showed their foolish faces and stared at him with a weird look. Liu Xiang drank all the whisky on his glass before he said, "I think I misheard you. Only first base? Didn't you live together? Sleep in the same bed? Don't tell me you live in a separate room for this whole time."

"We sleep together, but we never go to second base." Bai Yutang's voice was low and he couldn't help to let the embarrassment wash all over him.

Tang Yuxuan also drank the whole whisky coke he had on his glass. "This makes me want to apologise once again to Jian Ge. Woah, i admire him so much. How could he manage to handle it? Sleeping together with you all these times but never goes into the second base."

Yu Dong was already drunk, so he just sipped his water. "I'm sure I can't hold myself if I live together with Xiaoya, and sleep with her everyday."

Liu Xiang almost choked from his laugh, "Don't tell me you didn't want to go for second base because you wait until both of you got married. I can't believe you guard your chastity even tighter than the whole maiden out there."

Just like that, three of them teased him until they collapsed and awoke the next day with a headache. When his lover came and they spent their steamy time together that night, Bai Yutang knew exactly what his friend's meant. He himself also wants to go for their second base. But he knows why Jian Kang Lu never does that.

He knows exactly that his lover is waiting for his permission to do it. His gentle lover may take his time to pleasure both of them every time they do it, and he also knows that his lover sometimes shows the gesture that he wants to go to their second base badly. 

How could he not know it when his lover's hard member pokes his hole every time they do it. But his lover always manages to calm himself and only use Bai Yutang's hand, mouth, or thighs to please him.

They have been together for one and half years. And after their drunk conversation that night, Bai Yutang can't get rid of his friend's words. He knew that his lover truly had magnificent self control, patiently waiting for him. 

That's what led him to go to the shopping mall alone today. He wanted to buy something, to show his lover that he was ready for second base. Today is August 15th, their anniversary day. And today, he will give his lover those things for their anniversary gift. He only needed courage to grab those things, which he didn't imagine to be this difficult. 

Bai Yutang tried to calm himself, and looked at his phone. His lover's texting to let him know that today his lovers will finish his practice faster since they will have their dinner outside to celebrate. He smiled to see his lover's profile picture. It was a kidney shaped keychain, modified to look like a heart. Bai Yutang gifted that for their last month's anniversary. Bai Yutang designed it himself, and printed it on his 3D printer.

After Bai Yutang finished his coffee, he bravely walked to the supermarket, bought their daily needs, and steeled his heart to walk over the shelves displaying the things he wanted to buy. He tried to maintain his face and calm his heart when he finally grab them and put it inside his cart. 

No matter what, he wants to go to their second base tonight. He knew his face was red when the cashier registered those things. He could only calm himself by imagining his lover's face when he received these things as his anniversary gift. He hoped his lover would be happy to receive it.