Chapter 6 Steak and Tears

"What wrong with him?" whispered Foy as he nudged Danai's arm and pointed at Ken with his chin.

"I don't know," whispered Danai with a shrug. "He's been like that for two days."

Ken, for the umpteenth time, sighed again and closed the book, then lay his head on his book.

"Ken, what are you doing?" asked Foy, shaking Ken's arm. "You're not feeling well?"

Ken raised his head and looked at his two friends with a languid look. "I haven't been able to sleep the last two nights and my body hurts like hell."

"You need to see a doctor, Ken," Danai said. "The last time you were like this was when your parents divorced. You must be stressed about something."

"I'm not stressed, I'm just tired. This week's quiz series is draining my brain like crazy," Ken argued.

"You're right, Ken. If I knew medical school was tough, I'd better major in English," Foy grumbled.

"You're going to turn English into the language of the planet Mars, Foy," Danai teased, pinching Foy's cheek.

Ken laughed as Foy tried to hit Danai's head, but his friend who was as tall as a giraffe held Foy's hand above his head.

"Uh, I'll just go home," Ken said a moment later. "I'm so sleepy and my whole body hurts. I need to lay down."

"Go home. I will collect your assignments later. Fortunately, the next class professor has said he will not come and just told us to collect assignments," said Danai.

"I'll buy you dinner tonight," said Foy. "You should drink lots of water, Ken."

"Don't forget to take vitamins too," added Danai. "Don't let your pain continue or you have to go to the doctor tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom, Dad," Ken said as he packed the books into his bag. "Foy, will you take my car home? I'm too sleepy to drive. I'll call a taxi."

"Yeah, I'll bring it later," Foy replied. "Give me the key."

Ken threw the car keys into Foy's hands and walked out of the cafeteria. Two girls with sexy bodies and beautiful faces intercepted Ken as he passed them.

"Ken, you're getting more and more handsome lately," said the first girl. She pressed his body against Ken.

"Would you like to have some fun with us tonight? To celebrate the end of quiz week?" asked the second girl, stroking Ken's arm.

Ken smiled and shook his head. "Not now, pretty girls. I have other things to do now."

"Ohoo, you let us down, Ken," the first girl snarled.

"You'll call us if you need a date, won't you?" added the second girl. "You know our phone number, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

Danai and Foy looked at each other, when they saw Ken continuing to walk past the two girls who were now staring at his back with a disappointed look on his face.

"He's really sick, Dan," said Foy.

"Yes. Ken has never turned down a date offer from a beautiful and sexy girl like that," replied Danai. "Let's see tomorrow. If he's still like that, we'll take him to the hospital."

Meanwhile Ken stood at the campus gate, waiting for the online taxi he ordered. Ken quickly got into the taxi when the car came. He closed his eyes for the ten-minute walk from the medical college to his dorm and staggered from the taxi to his room on the second floor when he arrived.

Ken climbed into bed, only bothering to take off his shoes and socks and pulled the shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned the top two buttons of the shirt.

He was tired and sleepy, but he had a hard time closing his eyes. Last night he had fallen asleep, but a strange dream woke him up in a cold sweat and made him unable to sleep again until it was time to leave for college.

Ken's phone rang. He grabbed it from the nightstand and examined it. Incoming message from unknown number.

[Hi, doc, are you done with your quiz? How about you join us at Cloud Nine tonight?]

Ken's hands trembled. He gripped the phone tightly. He knew who sent the message.

[Max? Is this you?]

[Ah, I forgot. I asked for your number from Danai yesterday when I met him at your faculty dean's office.]

[You came to my campus yesterday?]

[I'll tell you later. So, Cloud Nine, 8 o'clock tonight?]

Ken bit his lower lip. He knew his heart didn't want to resist, but he knew if he pushed himself he might fall on the pool table and Max would see how weak he was.

[I can't, Max, sorry. Next time maybe.]

Ken stared at the phone screen, but Max didn't return the message. After ten minutes of waiting, Ken sighed and saved Max's number in his contact list.

Ken took a small dose of sleeping pills in the nightstand drawer. It had been a long time since he had taken the medicine, but this time he had to sleep because his head was starting to feel heavy too.

It felt like Ken had just closed his eyes, when he heard the sound of water drip and the sweet smell wafted his senses.

Ken groaned and felt something blocking his view. Something damp and cold. Ken raised his hand and grabbed the object on his forehead. A damp towel.

"Are you awake, Sleeping Beauty?" a voice woke Ken completely. Ken turned his head and was astonished to see a familiar figure standing in front of the bathroom door drying his hair with a towel. "I borrow your shampoo to washed hair. My head itchy from the smoke smell."

Ken got up quickly, sat down and then groaned clutching his suddenly throbbing head. Max approached the bed and touched Ken's forehead.

"Hey, watch out! Ah, your fever has gone down," said Max.

Ken took a deep breath, trying to calm his sudden heartbeat decided to beat faster.

"Max? Why are you here? How did you get in?" Ken asked nervously. He grabbed the blanket and realized that he wasn't wearing his uniform anymore. He wore a white shirt and blue shorts. "This... you took my clothes off?" Ken asked frantically. Oh my God, what happened?

Max smiled and reached out his hand, brushing Ken's hair off his forehead. "I went to your campus, when you declined my invitation. I thought you wouldn't refuse if I asked you directly," Max said while rubbing Ken's forehead with a compress towel. "But you weren't there and Foy said you came home because you weren't feeling well. Foy also asked me to take your car home and bring you dinner because he and Danai had to take care of a report for one of your lecturers."

Ken was stunned. Of course Max can come in. On his car key ring, Ken also put his spare key to his room. Danai had scolded him many times because it was dangerous, but Ken always forgot to remove his room key from his car key ring.

"You slept in wet clothes because of a fever, so I wiped your body and changed your clothes."

"You shouldn't have to," Ken said quietly. His face blushed.

Max looked at Ken with a smile. "Why? We're both men and what's in you is with me. It's just a matter of size."

"Oh, you pervert," Ken cursed when he realized what Max meant. Ken threw a hand hitting Max's arm who was laughing out loud.

"Come on, doc, don't be shy. For a man of your stature, you are quite large and well shaped. No wonder so many girls are after you, Mr. Casanova."

Ken was stunned. "I... don't call me that."

"Hey, that's great! You got those girls in line behind you without even move a finger. They crazy about you. If I don't have a girlfriend, I might as well be your rival."

Max laughed and pinched Ken's chin. He then stood up and left the room. "Wake up, Ken. You should eat before you go back to sleep. I made a salmon steak with mashed potatoes and a vegetable salad," Max called from the kitchen.

Ken slowly came out of the room and saw Max standing with his back to him, preparing something on the kitchen counter. He wore a shirt and black shorts.

Ken walked over to the dining table and sat down on one of the chairs. "Max, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at Cloud Nine? What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock. I canceled the event to Cloud Nine tonight," Max replied cheerfully. "I'll take you there later, when you get better."

He walked to the dining table carrying plates and cutlery. Ken stared at the dish that was served in front of him in amazement. "You made this yourself?"

"Sure," Max answered proudly. "My mom loves to cook and I've been her assistant every weekend since middle school. This is my signature dish and I made this special for you."

Ken stared at his plate with hazy eyes. How long had it been since he hadn't eaten anything specially cooked for him?

Max stroked Ken's hair. "Hey, eat. You're an aspiring doctor. You should take better care of your health, because someone like me needs you, Ken."

Ken caught Max's hand in his hair and looked up, looking at Max with a tear-stained face.

Max was very surprised. "Oh my God, Ken!"

***