Never too late to love

Manuel took a headache pill. He had gone too far with the drinks and, to make matters worse, he was dragged to the house of one of his suitors to give him a night of pleasure and lust.

A man with brown hair was sleeping next to him. Manuel looked at him with annoyance and thought: “I did it again. If Darío wasn't so persistent… at least he's a handsome man. Damn! I'm already looking like Milo!”

Your phone number is. Manuel answered the call, while he felt his lover move.

- Manuel! How was the night? - A happy and squeaky voice greeted him from the other side of the line.

- I have a headache - Manuel complained - It's your fault for making me drink so much. Where are you?

- I'm outside, waiting for you. You're going out?

- Yes, I already left. See you.

Manuel hung up, got dressed and left the room. Dario, her lover, seemed to still be asleep. He decided to leave it like that; he didn't want to be detained for even one more second.

Milo Pérez was waiting for him outside. Even though Manuel was two years younger, next to him Milo looked like his younger brother. He was small, thin and had a very fine complexion. Manuel, for his part, was taller and as he always wore a frown, wrinkles formed on his forehead.

- Don't make that face - Milo greeted him - He looks like an old man of forty.

- Manuel responded, hitting him on the head - I don't know why you’re dragging me down this path.

- I didn't force you.

- I know. Still, I wish I would stop doing these things.

Milo didn't comment. Deep down, he also wanted to leave that life of debauchery. He was going to graduate soon and had to look for a stable partner. However, she couldn't resist seeing a handsome man. That had always been his weakness and, in the end, he ended up completely regretting it.

- Did you say goodbye to Dario? - Milo asked him, trying to change the subject.

- No - answered Manuel - I was still sleeping when I came out.

- What envy! _ - Milo sighed - He looked very handsome. Furthermore, he seemed to be a man with money.

- I don't like him that much. It's too cold. He spends his time smiling, believing that this way he will attract the boys. But his smile is fake.

- Wow! You are very perceptive!

- And what about you, Milo? Did you spend with anyone last night?

- Actually yes. The problem is that I don't remember his name. I only know that he is an executive who insisted on giving me his phone number. But I'm not going to call him, I feel like he's become obsessed with me.

- He probably thinks you're a high school kid.

- Do not make fun! It’s genetics! I already made it clear to him that it would only be for that night and that we would never see each other again. Even so, he continued to insist about the phone.

They both sighed. They knew that sooner or later they would be followed by stalkers. They just hoped that they would get tired of them and leave for other conquests, as always. Still, if things got complicated, they promised to turn to each other to defend themselves.

Manuel López and Milo Pérez studied at the same university, but in different majors. While Manuel studied journalism, Milo turned to editorial design. They met in a bar, when Milo had a problem with one of his sneaky lovers. Manuel hit the subject and took Milo away from there. In the end, they both decided to share the same apartment, in case one of them got into trouble again. That was when they were in the first year of their respective careers. Manuel still remembered the time he was surprised when Milo told him his age. When she rescued him from the stalker, she had scolded him for getting into a dangerous place as a "minor."

- What will you do now? - Milo asked Manuel

- I will be working on my thesis - Manuel responded - but first I will have my breakfast at the café around the corner from home.

- I know why you’re going there - Milo told him, touching his cheek in a mischievous way.

- It's not why! - Manuel shouted, blushing completely - It's just… I like the coffee they serve! That's all!

- Do not lie to me! I know that, in front of the coffee shop, there is that pantry where that tall, handsome boy works.

- Well, yes, I admit it. I keep spying on him. But what do you tell me about you! I'm sure you're going to that bookstore now to spy on that guy who works there.

- It is not like this! - Said Milo, who also blushed - well, he's tall and handsome, but he's too “princely” for me. Plus, he's always surrounded by girls. So I have no chance with him.

- The boy in the pantry is the same - Manuel sighed, resigned - he is also surrounded by girls, although he is not “princely.” Rather, it conveys a mysterious atmosphere.

Milo laughed. And before Manuel dealt him another blow, he crossed the street at full speed and said to him before leaving:

- Then tell me how it went! See you at the faculty!

Manuel went to the cafeteria to have breakfast. The pantry had just opened and there in front of me was the boy I was spying on.

Actually, she hadn't told Milo that she met that boy a month ago. Manuel had just received the news that his best friend and former love, Sebastián, had become engaged to an English woman, and they would marry very soon in England. Although she already assumed that Sebastián would never reciprocate, the news made her heart hurt so much that she began to cry in the middle of a public square. Sebastián called him on his cell phone to announce the news and, in the end; he had no choice but to cry. This is how that boy from the pantry found him, who, coincidentally, was in the square with some friends playing ball. The ball hit Manuel in the head and caused him to lose consciousness. When he woke up, he found that boy with black hair, blue eyes and a naive look.

- Are you OK? You did not hurt? - The boy asked him.

- Moron! Be more careful! - Manuel shouted, standing up completely. However, he was surprised by how tall the boy was.

- Call the ambulance.

- N… it's not necessary. I'm really fine. Now tell me.

And he ran away from there.

After a month, he started spying on him from the coffee shop. The truth is that he felt like a bully and, at the same time, he felt like a hypocrite when criticizing Milo's bullies. In the end, he wasn't much different from the rest.

When he finished drinking his coffee, he received a call. It was from the library where he had registered. He had become friends with the librarian, so much so that he gave her his number so she could call him every time she had a new book available.

- Mr. López, I'm Celeste Marzorati - the librarian greeted him - I was calling to let you know that I already got the book you had been looking for so much.

- Really? - Manuel said, excited - I'm going to stop by tomorrow. Today I am very busy with my thesis and I must deliver some reports.

- Don't worry; I'll keep it for you. I hope your thesis goes well.

- Thank you. Have a good day.

When he hung up, he was surprised to find that the pantry boy was inside the cafeteria, staring at him with a smile.