Requiem of Lost Love - Part 1, Love's First Kiss

Max Thorne, Miami, FL., 1st January 1994

Not today, mutha fuckas!

My destination lay fifteen yards away. Running through the rain-soaked manicured grass, I pushed my body to its physical limits.

Ten yards to go…

Every other step, ragged breaths ripped out of me, leaving my lungs gasping for air.

Five yards…

The two remaining adversaries chasing after me, were intent on taking me down.

One yard…

Touchdown!

The crowd went nuts. Curling toward the goalpost, I raised my hands in the air.

Deafening cheers, multi-colored jerseys jumping up and down, turned the world around me a confusing blend of noise and harsh colors that were threatening to drown me.

The chaos around me amped up, and I was being swallowed whole.

As the game clock stopped at 1:17 in the 4th quarter, my teammates rushed me in the endzone.

“Yeah, baby!”

“Way to go, Thorne!”

They pounded on my helmet.

Out of breath, I hung on to the ball for another trophy.

By catching my second touchdown pass of the night, I had surely proved myself to NFL scouts with this showcase game. I’d ended up with a stat line of nine receptions for 134 yards with two touchdowns.

I’d heard people say Carpe Diem—Seize the Day, but in truth, I owned this night.

As time came to resume the game, I moved to the bench, trying hard to catch my breath. The trainers gave me some oxygen as I tried to relax my body and slow my heartbeat.

My mind began to close like the shutter of a camera. Slowly fading into tunnel vision.

The exhilaration I felt scoring the touchdown gave way to suffocation as people were still gathered around me, not giving me enough space.

The dense humidity of the Florida tropical weather wasn’t helping.

My nostrils flared as my labored breaths continued, unable to grant me any relief. My lungs were on fire.

Rocking back and forth, I clenched my fist to my chest where an anvil seemed to have landed. The deafening cheers of the crowd assaulted my senses like daggers in my skull.

My best friend and roommate, Fres Hernandez, knelt in front of me. With both hands, he grabbed my face and forced my eyes to his. “Max, look at me, bro. You’re alright. I got you, homie.”

I struggled to look anyone in the eyes, however, Fres was one of the very select few people whose gaze I could safely meet.

Fres motioned to Dr. Amy Richards, the team’s lead physician on staff, and she gave me a handful of Skittles to chew on.

They knew Skittles was my go-to snack to help when I was in sensory overload. A remedy for my condition very few others knew about.

My breathing started to calm down a bit, but the roar of the crowd was still too loud, the flashing lights, too bright. The world around me was just too much right now.

“Come on, big guy, let’s get you out of here,” Dr. Amy said.

She grabbed my left arm as Fres reached for my right. After lifting me off the bench, they both escorted me to the locker room.

My other friends, Willie and Chooch, two big offensive linemen, flanked us. They watched our backs, making sure no one followed us.

As we made it inside the locker room, the clock ticked down to :00. The cheers outside let me know I had scored the winning touchdown.

We had won.

“Guys, go out there, celebrate. You don’t need to be here with me. I’m all good with Dr. Amy here.”

Dr. Amy smiled. “I’m just hooking you up with an IV, so no questions are asked and you get your energy back faster, ok?”

I nodded at her as she got busy getting the supplies she needed.

Fres crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

“Nah, bro, we’re staying right here. We’re not celebrating without you.”

Chooch helped me remove my jersey and shoulder pads.

“Yeah, Max. It’s all good.”

I shook my head. “Guys, get the fuck outta here and go celebrate, I’ll be out there as soon as this IV drip is done. Right, Doc?”

“I promise.” Dr. Amy smiled as she patted my shoulder and gently forced me to lay down.

Willie threw his hands up in the air.

”Fine, you stubborn ass.”

He leaned over me, finger pointed at my face. “But we’re celebrating together this week.”

These guys.

I smiled back at Willie. “Whatever. Now go, before I get pissed and whip all your candy asses!”

I nodded to Fres and mouthed, Thank you.

He nodded back and gave me a fist bump, then walked out with Willie and Chooch as I heard them yelling and cheering.

Dr. Amy leaned over and smiled as she patted my shoulder. There was a little sparkle in her eyes. “Requiem Amicus Meus.”

“Huh, what? I didn’t catch that, Doc.”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Now, just relax and let this drip do its magic. I’ll tell the coaches you suffered from dehydration, and you’ll be just fine after this.”

“Thanks, Doc. You have no idea how much it means to me that you have my back on this.”

“Of course, Max. No one has to know this is anything else. Dehydration is common enough that we can use it any time we need it. So, get some rest and recover for as long as you need. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

She rubbed my shoulder by the collarbone, letting her hand linger a little longer.

A wave of calmness washed over me, like a slow-moving tide.

A minute or so later, she went to sit at her desk taking some notes, and the room became quiet.

My mind slowed down as the adrenaline wore off. The tension in my muscles released, so I was able to start processing everything again.

According to my friends, the party was just getting started. I was not interested in partying, however since we missed New Year’s Eve, I’d play along so my friends didn’t miss out on the fun.

I would play my part and pretend to enjoy myself, trying to fit in with the crowd because tonight was different, and I couldn’t get away with hiding like I normally did.

We are the National Champions!

When I woke up, my alarm clock read 06:38am.

Shit.

I was surprised any of us got any sleep. Especially with Fres entertaining guests in his room.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed.

The soft carpet fibers rubbing through my toes and under the arches of my feet sent tiny little pinpricks of comfort through me.

My nerves calmed and my mind cleared as I breathed in. I got up from the bed, grabbed a pair of my favorite knee-length training shorts and put them on.

I could put on a shirt for decency’s sake, but fuck it, this was my place, and right now, I needed some orange juice.

I walked out of my room and into a wall of stench. Stale beer, testosterone-stinking people littered my living room.

Two guys were on the couch with a couple females draped over them.

Oh, brother!

Other teammates of ours, passed out on the floor, were snoring their asses off.

The full effect assaulted my senses.

My nerves twitched as heat rose in my chest. They were violating my sanctuary. This was my home, and they were… ugh.

I closed my eyes and took a deep cleansing breath, focusing on one thing… my orange juice.

Simple, right?

Stepping over a couple of guys, I made my way to the kitchen area. It was these little things that set me off.

I had issues with my temper. I liked things a certain way, when they were changed, I couldn’t control my anger. When my schedule changed, I became frustrated.

Some of these traits put me on sensory overload. Unfortunately, they were the reasons why I didn’t have too many friends.

That’s ok though, fake people annoyed the shit out of me anyways.

I grabbed a glass of orange juice, as I enjoyed the quietness of the room.

Of course, Fres’s door opened, ruining my peace and quiet, and out came Lisa, a pretty blonde with green eyes Fres tried to hook me up with last night.

When her eyes landed on me, they widened, and she dashed into the bathroom.

Whatever.

I couldn’t care less about her. It was not her fault I wasn’t interested.

Sure, she was pretty. And it’s not like she hadn’t tried her best to seduce me because she had pulled out all the stops.

Fres tried his best to encourage me, but I just wasn’t attracted to her. And having sex with her just for the sake of having sex wasn’t my thing.

Been there, done that, not my cup of tea.

I kept seeing my friends with all these women. They tried to hook me up a few times with several of them, but to this point in my life, I had never experienced any type of feelings for them. I felt… numb. Nothing.

Why was it so hard for me?

Lisa came out of the bathroom and sheepishly came across the room toward me.

Aw, shit!

We both avoided each other’s eyes as she walked up to me.

“Hey, Max.”

Her voice was quiet, almost apologetic.

Why was she even talking to me? Why hadn’t I gone back to my room while I had the chance?

My nerves started twitching, and I wanted nothing more than to ignore her and flee to my room, but I tried my best not to come across as an asshole to her.

“Hi… Lisa.”

There was no way she wasn’t aware of me being as uncomfortable as she seemed to be, so why was she still here?

“May I have some of that orange juice?” She tilted her head toward my hand holding the glass.

I nodded, hoping to god she would just leave me and go back to humping Fres.

She stepped closer to me, and I frowned and stepped back.

Avoiding any kind of physical contact, I reached for another glass and poured her a cup.

She seemed a little disappointed.

I hope she wasn’t expecting me to share from my glass. As if!

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Cheers!”

She smiled as my mocking gesture of a toast went unnoticed.

She leaned in closer as she took a drink, licked her lips, and tried to gaze into my eyes.

I looked away.

What the hell is she still doing here?

I sighed.

Her hand slid up, caressing my bare chest. “I’m sorry, Max.”

I should’ve put a shirt on.

Dammit!

I took yet another step back.

“Sorry about what? You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all good.”

My nerves were on fire, and not in a good way. I don’t like people touching me, another one of my quirks.

Lisa’s touch had burned through my skin as if it wanted to peel out of my body and shrivel to hide.

My brain was screaming at me to run. But I couldn’t. She was in my way, and I refused to touch her, even if it was to just get her out of the way.

She kept coming closer, and soon I was trapped between the counter and her.

She leaned in, my personal space more than invaded as she now pressed her voluptuous breasts against my abs and chest, making my skin crawl.

She was well endowed, and with only a thin tank top and no bra, her erect nipples were poking my chest.

Seriously?

She was pushing my buttons, but they were all the wrong buttons.

I was done with her shit. I had tried, I swear. I tried to be curt and standoffish, but even my blatant lack of interest in Lisa had no result.

So, asshole it was.

As I lifted my hands to physically force her to get her off me, Fres’s door opened again and he walked out, smile broadening as he spotted me.

“Hey, hey. What’s up, Max?”

Lisa jolted and moved off me.

I took my chance and left the kitchen almost as fast as I had run for that touchdown. Walking to my left to circle around the couch, I walked by Fres and handed my glass of orange juice to him.

“Here you go, bud. Have some orange juice.”

Fres narrowed his eyes at me, knowing full well I was in one of my moods.

“Bro, where you going?”

“To the lab, I have… so much to do. You know, all these theories running in my head.” I shrugged.

“Da… fuck? Bro, it’s Sunday morning… after we just won the national fucking championship last night! You can take a day off from your schoolwork.”

I went to my room, quickly got dressed, put on some pit-stick and bolted my room making a b-line for the door.

Fres followed me out onto the walkway of our second-story apartment.

“Max, what’s up? Talk to me. Are you mad about Lisa and me?”

I laughed quietly. “Nah, dude. You saved me last night. I owe you for that.”

“Then why are you pissed?”

I didn’t want to upset him, but I couldn’t lie to him either. “I just don’t like her. I’m sorry, Fres, but she made me feel uncomfortable forcing herself on me.”

Fres gave me a soft-hearted look. “Bro, you ok?”

“Yeah, all good. I’m off to my comfort zone, so… Yeah, I’ll be at the lab.”

Fres gave me a hug.

“Alright, bro. I’ll check in on ya later. We’ll go grab some grub tonight. I’m sure we’ll be able to eat free for a couple weeks around here.”

We both laughed out loud.

Fres was not my blood brother, but he was most certainly my brother from another mother. He was family through and through.

Heading down the walkway to the stairs, I began my walk to the BioMedical building.

Hopefully today, I could get some positive results with my blood samples.

For some reason, I sensed my time was slowly running out.