Eli
The first week of senior year was a blur of orientation assemblies, schedule changes, and the constant question: "How was your summer?" Most people accepted my generic "Good, pretty chill" response, but my best friend, Maya, knew better.
"Spill," she said as we sat across from each other in the crowded cafeteria on Friday. "You've been smiling at your phone all week. Who is he?"
I felt my face heat up. "No one."
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Eli Thompson, I have known you since we were in diapers "Spill," she said as we sat across from each other in the crowded cafeteria on Friday. "You've been smiling at your phone all week. Who is he?"
I felt my face heat up. "No one."
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Eli Thompson, I have known you since we were in diapers. You only get this look when you're crushing hard. Now, who is he and why haven't I met him?"
I sighed, knowing there was no point in hiding it from her. "His name is Jonah. We met right before school started."
"And?" she prompted, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Details. I want all the details."
So I told her—about meeting him at the bookstore, our coffee date, the library makeout session, the watchtower. I told her about him leaving for college, about our plans to make it work, about meeting his parents. By the time I finished, Maya was staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"Wow," she said finally. "Just... wow."
"Wow good or wow bad?" I asked, suddenly nervous.
"Wow... a lot," she replied. "He sounds amazing. But also... Eli, college? That's a big step for someone you just met."
"I know," I admitted. "But it doesn't feel like I just met him. It feels like I've known him forever."
Maya studied me for a moment. "You really like him, don't you?"
"More than I've ever liked anyone," I confessed, and the truth of those words settled over me.
Just then, my phone buzzed on the table between us.
Jonah: How's your day going? Surviving the first week?
Eli: Barely. Senior year is no joke.
Jonah: Tell me about it. My psych professor already assigned a 10-page paper.
Eli: Ouch. Sucks to be you. 😉
Jonah: Ha ha. Very funny. How's lunch?
Eli: Interrogation from Maya. She knows about you now.
Jonah: Oh god. Should I be scared?
Eli: Probably. She's very protective.
Jonah: Good. Someone needs to be.
Eli: How's your day? Met your roommates yet?
Jonah: Yeah, last night. They seem cool. One's a chemistry major, the other's studying engineering. Pretty quiet so far.
Eli: That's good. Right?
Jonah: Yeah. Just... different. I keep expecting to turn around and see you there.
Eli: I know what you mean. I keep looking for you in the hallways.
Jonah: I wish I was there.
Eli: Me too. Hey, I have to get to class. Talk after school?
Jonah: Count on it.
I set my phone down, smiling despite myself.
"He's got it bad," Maya observed, a knowing look on her face. "Almost as bad as you."
"Is it that obvious?" I asked, gathering my tray to leave.
"To me? Always," she replied. "To anyone else? Probably not. You're subtle, I'll give you that."
The rest of the day passed in a haze of classes and assignments, my thoughts frequently drifting to Jonah, wondering what he was doing, if he was thinking of me too. By the time I got home, I was exhausted but eager to connect with him.
Eli: Home finally. That was the longest day ever.
Jonah: Tell me about it. I just finished my first chem lab. My hands still smell like sulfur.
Eli: Sexy. Very sexy.
Jonah: Haha. I knew you'd think so. How was the rest of your day?
Eli: Long. Boring. All I could think about was you.
Jonah: Same here. I kept zoning out in my stats class thinking about that kiss in the library.
Eli: Me too. I think the librarian gave me a dirty look for smiling too much.
Jonah: Worth it.
Eli: Definitely worth it.
We texted back and forth for hours, sharing stories about our days, our friends, our classes. With each message, I felt the distance between us shrink a little, the connection between us strengthen despite the miles that separated us.
Later that night, as I lay in bed, I found myself thinking about him—about his smile, his laugh, the way his eyes crinkled when he was amused. I thought about the last time I'd seen him, standing on his doorstep, the moonlight catching in his dark hair as he promised to call.
Eli: Are you awake?
Jonah: Barely. Just got back from a welcome mixer. It was... loud.
Eli: Haha. Not your scene?
Jonah: Not really. Too many people, too much noise. I kept thinking how much I'd rather be with you.
Eli: Me too.
Jonah: What are you doing right now?
Eli: Lying in bed. Thinking about you.
Jonah: Yeah? What specifically?
I hesitated, my heart suddenly pounding. This was new territory for us, this digital intimacy that felt both safe and terrifying at the same time.
Eli: Just... everything. Your smile. Your laugh. The way you look at me.
Jonah: I look at you like I can't believe you're real.
Eli: That's how I feel about you.
Jonah: Eli?
Eli: Yeah?
Jonah: Can I tell you something?
Eli: Always.
Jonah: I've never felt this way about anyone before. Not even close.
Eli: Me neither.
Jonah: I miss you so much it hurts sometimes.
Eli: I know. Me too.
I took a deep breath, my fingers hovering over the screen as I considered my next move. This was it—the moment that would change everything, that would take us from an innocent crush to something more, something deeper, something more intimate and I want that now more than ever.
Eli: I want to show you something.
Jonah: Okay?
I propped the phone up against my pillow, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. The room was dark, the only light coming from my phone screen, casting long shadows across my body. I pulled my t-shirt over my head, tossing it aside before lying back against the pillows.
My hands trembled slightly as I adjusted the angle, making sure the lighting was just right. I took the picture, my heart pounding in my chest as I reviewed it—my torso, bare and smooth in the dim light, the faint trail of hair disappearing into the waistband of my pajama pants. It was intimate without being explicit, vulnerable without being obscene.
Eli: [Image attached]
I hit send before I could second-guess myself, my breath catching in my throat as the three dots appeared, indicating he was typing.
Jonah: Wow.
Eli: Too much?
Jonah: No. Never too much. Just... wow.
Jonah: You're so beautiful, Eli.
Eli: You too.
Jonah: I wish I was there.
Eli: Me too.
Jonah: I'm thinking about you in that picture. In your bed. Alone.
Eli: Not alone anymore.
Jonah: No. Not alone anymore.
We lay there in the darkness, miles apart but closer than ever, our words a bridge across the distance that separated us. I could feel the heat spreading through my body, my pulse quickening as I imagined him there with me, his hands on my skin, his lips against mine.
Jonah: Eli?
Eli: Yeah?
Jonah: My cock is so hard.
My breath caught in my throat, a jolt of electricity running through me at his blunt admission.
Eli: Mine is too.
Jonah: I wish I could see you. All of you.
Eli: Maybe someday.
Jonah: I'm holding you to that.
Eli: Good.
We fell into a comfortable silence after that, the space between our messages filled with everything we wanted to say but couldn't quite find the words for. I could feel myself drifting off to sleep, my phone still clutched in my hand, his last message a promise of things to come.
Jonah: Goodnight, Eli.
Eli: Goodnight, Jonah.
I set my phone aside, my body humming with a mixture of exhaustion and arousal. This was new, this digital intimacy that felt both safe and terrifying at the same time. But as I drifted off to sleep, I knew with a certainty that settled deep in my bones that this was just the beginning of something real, something lasting, something worth whatever challenges lay ahead.
Jonah
The first week of college was a whirlwind of orientations, welcome events, and the constant feeling of being slightly out of place. Everywhere I looked, there were new faces, new experiences, new opportunities. But all I could think about was Eli—about his smile, his laugh, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about music.
My roommates, Mark and Luis, were nice enough, but we didn't have much in common beyond our shared living space. Mark was a chemistry major from Oregon with a girlfriend back home, and Luis was an engineering student from Southern California who seemed to live, breathe, and dream about code. They were perfectly fine people, but they weren't Eli.
Every time my phone buzzed with a message from him, it was like a lifeline, pulling me back to the person I was when I was with him, the person I wanted to be. His texts were a reminder of home, of familiarity, of a connection that transcended the miles between us.
The picture he sent Friday night changed everything.
I was lying in bed, scrolling through social media and feeling increasingly disconnected from the world around me, when his message came through.
Eli: I want to show you something.
My heart rate spiked immediately. I propped myself up against the pillows, my roommates' snores a steady rhythm in the quiet room. When the image loaded, my breath caught in my throat.
There he was, bare-chested in the dim light of his bedroom, his smooth skin seeming to glow against the dark sheets. The faint trail of hair disappearing into his pajama pants was an invitation, a promise of more to come. It was intimate without being explicit, vulnerable without being obscene. And it was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
Jonah: Wow.
I couldn't think of anything else to say, anything that could adequately capture the rush of emotion—the desire, the affection, the overwhelming need to be there with him.
Eli: Too much?
Jonah: No. Never too much. Just... wow.
Jonah: You're so beautiful, Eli.
I meant it with every fiber of my being. He was beautiful—physically, yes, but also in the way he carried himself, the way he thought about the world, the way he made me feel seen in a way no one ever had before.
Eli: You too.
Jonah: I wish I was there.
Eli: Me too.
The conversation that followed was unlike anything I'd experienced before. We'd crossed a threshold, moved from innocent crush to something more, something deeper. With each message, I could feel the distance between us shrinking, the connection between us strengthening despite the miles that separated us.
Jonah: Eli?
Eli: Yeah?
Jonah: I'm really hard for you, E.
I almost didn't send it. It felt too forward, too intimate for this early stage of our relationship. But something told me he needed to hear it, needed to know the effect he had on me.
Eli: Me too.
His response was immediate, unequivocal. And in that moment, I knew—knew with a certainty that settled deep in my bones—that this was real, that what we had was worth whatever challenges lay ahead.
The next morning, I woke up with a smile on my face, the memory of our late-night conversation a warm glow in my chest. Mark was already up, making coffee and scrolling through his phone.
"Rough night?" he asked, nodding toward my bed.
"Late night," I corrected, sitting up and stretching. "Talking to my... guy."
Mark raised an eyebrow. "The high schooler?"
"He's not just 'the high schooler,'" I said, a little more defensively and aggravatedly than I intended. "His name is Eli."
"Right, Eli," Mark replied, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry. Didn't mean to offend."
"It's fine," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "It's just... new. And he's not here, which makes it harder."
"Long distance sucks," Mark agreed. "My girlfriend and I did it for a year before she transferred here. It's tough, but doable if you're both committed."
"Are you two still together?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
Mark's expression softened. "Yeah. Three years now. It was worth it, though. The distance made us stronger in a lot of ways."
His words offered a flicker of hope, a small beacon in the uncertainty that had been clouding my thoughts since I'd arrived in Davis.
Jonah: Morning ❤️. Hope you slept well.
Eli: Better than I have in a while. You?
Jonah: Same. My roommate says long distance sucks but is doable if you're both committed.
Eli: He's not wrong. Are we committed?
Jonah: I am. Are you?
Eli: Completely.
Jonah: Good. Then we'll be fine.
Eli: I like the sound of that.
Jonah: Me too. How's your Saturday looking?
Eli: Basketball practice in the afternoon, then dinner with the family. You?
Jonah: Exploring campus with Luis, maybe checking out the gym. Then homework, probably.
Eli: Boring. You should come play basketball with me sometime.
Jonah: I'd like that. Though I should warn you, I'm terrible.
Eli: I'll teach you. It's a date.
Jonah: It's a date date.
Eli: The best kind.
I set my phone down with a smile, the uncertainty of the past week finally giving way to a sense of optimism, of possibility. Whatever challenges lay ahead, we would face them together. And that knowledge made all the difference.