Bad Stereotypes - 9. Sunday 11th December 2010

I punched the air as I crossed the finish line, six lengths ahead of the nearest runner, a guy who attended the other major school in town. I jogged ahead a little, curved off to where I could see our coach, my parents and the rest of the school’s supporters cheering. I won, and I won well, five miles of cross country through fields and woodland and I came in a safe first. Coach was ecstatic, clapped me around the shoulders before anyone else and told me how proud he was. After that it was all hugs and shouting as the others came in and our school took third, fourth and eighth. New kid Sarver was gonna get cut from the team. Despite that, we scored enough points to win the race outright, but only just.

I stretched out, pulled my sweats on over my running shorts and zippered up a team hoodie as my came-in-third running buddy Alex handed me a bottle of water.

“Jesus Bay. I honestly thought you were never gonna stop.”

I raised an eyebrow at him and grinned, which seemed to be answer enough. I liked Alex, and Alex liked to talk.

“I could barely keep up with you after the first two miles. All of coaches ‘Just keep your eyes on his shoulders and follow’ was starting to get a bit useless there. You took off like a rocket and just kept going.”

“Thanks?”

“Course I wasn’t looking at your shoulders.”

I snuck a glance at Alex, and watched him look me quickly up and down, a cheeky sort of smile tugging at his lips. His lips were really pink. I felt myself start to blush, and hoped that my panting sweating post-run flush covered my reaction. I swallowed audibly.

“Um…”

“You wanna come over later Bay?”

“Yeah,” my voice caught in my throat, “I better ask mum though.” I could feel my heart start up again. Having just run five miles anyone would have thought that my adrenaline would be more sluggish.

“You’re expected.” Alex smiled at me, winked, and I could feel him watching me as I drank my water.

After being handed a big shiny gold medal on a blue and yellow ribbon, my parents were more than happy to let me go and spend the evening with one of my teammates. At fifteen, we were still young enough to be able to handle our evenings being called ‘sleepovers.’ I showered when I got home, hung my gold medal on my wall, where it took pride of place next to the collection of others I’d amassed over the last few years. Plenty of bronze, a host of silvers, and a small handful of gold medals. There was also a little silver cup, third place and team win for last year’s county finals. I dressed in jeans, a red t-shirt and a thick knitted black jumper with a chunky ribbed texture. Mum had bought it for me for the winter, and last time Alex had seen me wearing it he’d looked at me in a way that had made me blush. Lots.

I grabbed my toothbrush and a change of underwear (nice boxers, not ones that mum had bought for me, black and sort of satiny) and waved to mum as I left for the evening. Alex lived across town a little bit, and it was an alright sort of walk, even if it was chilly out. I texted him as I walked, but I was surprised when I reached the end of his road to find him waiting for me.

“Hey there running man.”

“Hi Alex.”

“You look nice.” Alex checked me up and down as I got within arm’s reach, “Tasty.”

“Alex…” I wanted to whine, to make him stop. The hot, tight, uncomfortable and fucking amazing feeling in my crotch and heart and abdomen blooming and making me dizzy. And at the same time, I so didn’t want him ever to stop looking at me like that.

“Come on then buddy,” Alex nudged my shoulder with his own, and the contact sizzled electrically all down my arm. “Dinner time.”

Winners get treats, and Alex’s mum laid on pizza and crisps, chocolate and all sorts of fizzy stuff for her ‘winning boys’, and we got left alone in Alex’s roof-room to enjoy our success. Alex stuck on a DVD, neither of us paid attention, and we sat on the bed and ate pizza, chatted about the run and every time Alex’s knee touched mine I froze and shivered.

“You’re jumpy tonight.”

“Sorry.” I looked up from the food, “Alex?”

“Bay?”

I did know how to ask for what I wanted. I walked my hand over to where our knees touched and picked at the ridged fabric of Alex’s corduroys. His hand found my own, the hot press press of skin on skin. My heart leap up a few gears, my erection wasn’t far behind.

“Hey…” I looked away from our joined hands, to find Alex watching me softly, with shuttered eyes, the blue shaded with long lashes, “This is nice.”

“Yeah.”

The film finished and the credits faded into darkness while we sat staring at each other on the bed. Alex was the first to swallow nervously.

“You wanna watch another film?”

I think I nodded.

Alex went to the computer and scrolled through for a film. I shuffled on the bed, and went he got back, the food was cleared and Alex sat down against the headboard and moved his body in such a way that meant that the only obvious place to sit was right by his side. Alex dropped his arm around my shoulders and I took that as permission to curl into his side as the title’s showed us a dreary London suburb and a title in fantastical colours.

“What are we watching?”

“It’s called ‘Beautiful Thing’ I like you’ll like it.” Alex’s hand was warm and soft on the back of my neck where my jumper was open and Alex’s fingers plucked at the chunky knit of my jumper. “It’s about these two boys who… oh you’ll see.”

Watching the film was hard with Alex warm and soft and hard down my side and though he was distracting neither of us moved much. I kept my hand resting on his abdomen, focusing on the rise and fall of his breathing, and wondering if the tightness in my trousers was ever going to go away.

“Bay…” I turned to look at him, and found Alex’s eyes inches from my own, his breath hot and moist on my cheek, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes…” it was more a breath with shape than a word, and Alex closed the space between us and pressed his lips against mine. Pink lips tasted like salt and vinegar, but Alex was soft, even though my heart was going a million miles an hour, and when his lips moved against mine, I opened my mouth to him. The explosion in my mind was worth every half started blush and nervous touch during school or training. Alex’s kiss was tasty and perfect.