Streak - 15. Chapter 15

September 28, 2002

Lafayette, CA

Zach

We were having a team meeting at our house. The coach liked to have these on Sunday evenings, when we were all getting our heads back into the week ahead. Or maybe it was to help us get our heads into the week ahead. Anyway, they relied on the players’ families, for the most part, to host these events, so Frank and Isidore had generously agreed to sponsor it tonight. Usually the parents cooked some food for us, but Isidore had insisted on having it catered. So we had a catering company here, barbecuing all kinds of shit, and providing all the side dishes and desserts. It was really good.

I’d been strategizing on how to deal with this shit Parnell and his fellow idiots were trying to spread around about Will and me. I didn’t think that our confrontation with Alabach was enough to do it, and anyway, this was like a termite infestation. You had to kill them all or they’d come back to haunt you.

I was pretty lucky that this team meeting ended up happening tonight, because that gave me the perfect opportunity to deal with their bullshit. First of all, our house was the bomb, and it was fucking expensive. Add to that the fact that we had a catered dinner and that sent a pretty strong message. Shit, one of the prior meetings was held in someone’s garage, with us sitting on folding chairs they’d borrowed from the church. Here we could gather in the Great Room, or even by the pool, and we’d have plenty of room to fit everyone, and we could requisition chairs from the other rooms to accommodate them. So what this should say to everyone was that my family was fucking loaded, and even though that wasn’t really true, they didn’t know that.

I really didn’t think that would make much difference to Parnell and his stooges, because they weren’t smart enough to figure it out, but it would make a difference to the other guys. I’d grown up as the son of a garbage man, in a big family where money was super-tight. We were all smart enough to know that you didn’t fuck with rich people. When Gathan had started going out with Kristen Hendrickson, her father was ready to run him out of town on a rail. The only thing that had saved Gathan was that JP and Stef were in his corner, backing him up. Most of these guys got that.

But that was just part of my plan. The other part, the one that would hopefully cut the balls off of Parnell and his stooges, was the actual meeting. During these meetings, the coach encouraged us to share shit about ourselves. Some of the guys couldn’t shut up, and told us way more than we wanted to know. Other guys were pretty quiet, and rarely said much. I was one of those guys. The only time I’d talked at one of these things was at the beginning of the semester, and I’d only done that after Coach Lad all but forced me to do it. Then I’d rambled on about how I’d found Jesus, and how that had transformed my life. Some guys, like Hensen, had probably gotten a hard-on listening to me talk about that, but most of them listened respectfully, even though they didn’t give a shit. Tonight I was going to talk again, but this time, the topic would be different.

We’d thought about having the meeting outside by the pool, but that was when it was 70 degrees outside. After it got dark, the temperature dropped down to 60, so we decided to have it in the Great Room. The guys helped me get chairs, since I was still limping around on crutches. That had gotten me some weird looks from Frank and Isidore, since they knew my ankle was just fine, until I’d explained what had happened. They weren’t all that keen on me lying, but they didn’t give me shit about it. So the guys grabbed chairs from all over the house, and put them in a circle in the big room.

The coach got up and talked about our game, and we had a discussion about our performance. It was largely a bunch of crap designed to motivate us, and help us overcome our weaknesses. When he was done, he looked around the room, which was our cue to talk if we wanted to. I didn’t want to go first, and I got lucky, since Hensen rambled on about how he’d fucked up this amazing pass that Cecil threw to him, and capped that off with a bunch of crap about how he prayed about it and got some inner strength, and now he’d do better. I didn’t think that a higher power would be willing to spend the effort it would take to make Hensen a decent receiver, but that was just my take on it.

As soon as he finished, I stood up, to show I wanted to talk; only it was awkward with my crutches, especially when I was faking my injury. “Is it OK for me to talk sitting down?” I asked. Seeing me hobble up, and having me ask to sit down, would remind all of them, especially the coach, that the reason I was injured in the first place was because of Alabach and these other assholes.

“That’s fine,” the Coach said.

“Some of the guys on this team have been giving me shit about my cousin,” I said, and zeroed my gaze on Parnell, Arturo, and Baldwin. “They call him a faggot, and accuse me of being with him.”

“As I said on the field, I think that’s a pretty crappy thing to say about a guy whose grandfather paid to fly us all out to Hawaii and back. When you put on your new uniforms, remember we had money for them because we didn’t have to pay for the airfare,” the coach said. And then, in a really cool gesture, the guys all clapped, presumably for Will and Stefan. It was funny to watch Parnell, Arturo, and Baldwin clap halfheartedly.

“I’ll pass that on,” I said. “So I did a lot of praying about this, seeking the Lord’s guidance, and I think the problem is that you don’t know Will like I do.” Parnell guffawed at that potential double-entendre, and then withered under the coach’s evil eye. Just a look from that guy could vaporize you. “I want to tell you why we’re such good friends, in addition to being cousins.”

I looked around the room, waiting for a nod of acknowledgement, and then I went on. “On September 11^th of last year, Will was in New York, on the top floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, when the planes hit. The first one hit the North Tower, where his father and grandfather, Stefan Schluter, were supposed to be attending a conference. So just as he was looking at this tower burning, wondering if his father and grandfather were alive, another plane crashed into the South Tower. He was up there with his mother, his step-father, his step-mother, his sister, and his brother. As far as he knew, damn near his whole family was on top of those two buildings. His step-mother was a cop, and she wanted to wait for orders before trying to get down from the South Tower.”

“You couldn’t get out of the towers, either one of them,” one of the guys said.

“Yes you could,” I said firmly. “My uncle figured out that if one of the stairwells was passable, it would be stairwell A, because it was the farthest from where the plane had hit. So while all these people were dicking around, Will was the one who demanded that they try to get out of there. His mother and step-mother stayed in the Tower, while he led his brother and his step-father down the stairs, carrying his one-year-old sister with him as he went. They met some people who were going up, because the smoke was too intense, but Will demanded that they press on and they did. They went down forty flights of stairs until they got to the 81^st floor. The smoke was so thick, it was choking them, and the heat from the fires was almost unbearable. Will had to crawl down the stairs on his hands and knees while trying to hold a washcloth over his sister’s face so she didn’t breathe in too much smoke. When they got below the 79^th floor, the smoke and heat were pretty much behind them.”

“Holy shit,” Gehrlich said.

“Knowing for sure that the staircase was passable, Will’s step-father went back up through that inferno to try and help his mother and step-mother out of the building. Cell phone service was so jammed, they couldn’t get through to his mother on the phone. So Will, carrying his sister and leading his brother, worked his way down another eighty flights of stairs, and managed to escape from the building. If he wouldn’t have taken the initiative, and he wouldn’t have pushed ahead when others wouldn’t, he’d be dead.”

“That was brave,” Schmidt said. A bunch of the other guys nodded.

“Will’s father and grandfather never made it to the top floor of the North Tower, so they survived. They had to crawl out of an elevator shaft and down a bunch of stairs, but they got out alive. Will’s father was talking to his step-father on the phone as he was racing down the stairs in the South Tower with Will’s mother and step-mother. They made it down to the fourth floor, and then the building collapsed on top of them.” I stopped for a minute, and there was complete silence. Hensen was praying, of course.

“When I went to the memorial service for my uncle, Will was having a really tough time. How would you feel if you lost your mother, your step-father, and your step-mother, all at once?” Some of the guys shook their heads. “I decided that it was my job, as his cousin, and as an American, to do whatever I could to prop him up and help him get through that ordeal. I watched him go through hell. I went with him when he went back to his mother’s condo in New York to face the demons head on. When you guys see him, does he look sad to you?”

“No,” one of the guys said.

“That’s because he worked his ass off to get through that, to move beyond it. We talk about being tough, and winning games, but that isn’t shit compared to what he had to deal with. When I look at him, I’m proud of him and his courage, and I’m happy that I got to help him get over it.” I zeroed in on Arturo, Parnell, and Baldwin, who were shitting a brick. “So the next time you guys call him a faggot, and sneer at him, ask yourself what you’ve done that’s even close to being that brave. Ask yourself how you would have gotten over losing three-fourths of your parents. Ask yourself who’s really the pussy.” I spat out those last words, and then I sat back in my chair and looked at all of them.

“Wow,” Cecil said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Wow.”

“Just as we as a team need to band together, so do we, as Americans, need to be united. There’s no place for that kind of shit,” the coach said. “The next time I hear about someone slandering this kid, and talking crap about him, the guy who does it is in for one hell of a rough time. You got that?” He asked that question as he focused on Parnell, Arturo, and Baldwin, who nodded weakly.

The meeting ended, while Gehrlich and Schmidt stayed behind to help put all the chairs back. “Dude, the next time I see Will, I’m gonna shake his hand,” Gehrlich said. “And I don’t even care where it’s been.” That was hilarious, so we laughed about it, and then they left. I went to my room and kicked back, smiling. I’d handled the deal with Will. At least for the rest of this school year, I wouldn’t have to worry about any nasty rumors. I laughed at how stupid these clowns were.

September 28, 2002

Boston

JJ

We sat at a really nice restaurant, finishing up our dinner. Alex had been pretty uptight tonight, so unlike his usual self. I’d tried to be charming, and to make this fun, but it wasn’t working. I began to wonder if my father had called him, or if Wade or Matt had talked to him about us. I was determined to find out if they had, so I could line up some hit men to kill them. OK, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I hadn’t been kidding when I told Matt I’d lose it if my family interfered in my relationship.

When we got in the limo to go to the symphony, I finally broke down and said something. “You seem pretty uptight. Is something wrong?”

He smiled at me weakly, and then seemed to be fighting with himself behind his stoic shields. “I’m worried that us going out like this isn’t good for you.”

“I think it’s very good for me,” I said, smiling at him. “It’s what I look forward to the most.”

“I look forward to our dates as well,” he said, grinning back at me. “I am not sure that your family agrees with you.”

“Did someone say something to you?” I asked.

“No, but there is a general ambiance at home, one that suggests the others are unhappy with me. The only explanation for that, that I can see, is that they are uncomfortable with our relationship.”

“They may be, but it doesn’t matter to me, and it shouldn’t matter to you,” I told him.

“They seem quite protective of you.”

I nodded. “It’s a problem. They think I’m too young and inexperienced to handle being with someone.”

“I would never have guessed you were inexperienced,” he said. “You kiss very well.”

“That’s all I’ve done with anyone,” I said, even though it was a lie. Will had told me a long time ago that what I’d done with my coach didn’t count, so I was falling back on that as a truth. I’d read up enough on this complex Alex supposedly had to know that the more virginal I was, the more he’d like me. I wanted him in the worst way, and if that meant playing on his weakness, that’s what I’d do.

“That’s hard to believe, for someone as handsome as you are,” he said.

“I’m in good company,” I told him. “Don’t worry about my family. I can handle them. I’m going to spend some time Monday with my father, and after that, I think things will be fine.”

“I don’t want to cause problems,” he said. “And I don’t want to stay there if I make the others unhappy.”

“Screw them,” I said flippantly. “Having you there makes me happy.” He chuckled, but he wasn’t convinced. “I’d rather we went out together, and have them be annoyed; than to not go out with you.”

“I am generally obedient when it comes to my family,” he said. “I fear that is guiding me in this situation.”

“I’m generally like that too, but not this time,” I told him. I stared at him until he looked back at me. “If you decide to move out, we’ll do it together.”

“We’ve only had a few dates, and now you are suggesting that we live together?” he asked, but he was mostly teasing me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, acting all embarrassed and virginal. “That was probably really out of line. It’s just that when I’m around you, I find all of my normal controls fading.”

“It is not out of line at all,” he said. “I was just teasing you.” Like I didn’t know that.

“You know, at Nebelhorn, I was in fourth place going into the long program. That’s how crappy I did when you weren’t there. But when you got there, I managed to move up two spots to second place.” I took his hand and held it gently. “I really need you to be there for me.”

He leaned in and kissed me, and I felt myself being absorbed into him through his mouth. God, he was sexy. “I’ll be there for you,” he said. The limo pulled up to the Symphony Hall, and we went inside and took our seats. We’d had a longer dinner than we’d planned, so we got there just as it started. We were both entranced by Verdi. It wasn’t the most romantic of programs, but it was to me, just because I was with Alex. By the time we walked out of the symphony, I was ready to do anything I had to do to be with Alex.

We were pretty quiet on the way home. When we walked into the house, we found Matt and Wade sitting in the great room. Matt was watching television, while Wade was reading. “Hello,” Wade said cheerfully. Matt merely nodded at us.

We walked past them to the elevator, but I didn’t get in. “I need to talk to Wade for a minute,” I said to Alex. “Would it be alright if I stopped by to see you when I’m done?” This was my way of getting around his closed door, and not looking pushy.

“I would like that,” he said, and then he got in the elevator.

I walked back into the great room, and noticed that Tiffany was there too. She must have been in the bathroom. “Do you know if Victoria has any plans on Tuesday?” I asked Tiffany. Victoria Gladstone was the realtor who found this place for us, and Tiffany dated her occasionally.

“I don’t know her schedule,” she said, and seemed annoyed, which probably meant she and Victoria weren’t seeing each other right now. “Why?”

“I want her to show me some condos around here,” I said. I had a feeling that Wade and Matt weren’t paying attention to me, and Tiffany wasn’t really taking me seriously. They were now.

“Why do you need a condo?” Matt asked.

“To live in,” I said to him, like he was an idiot.

“You’re planning to move out?” Wade asked me.

“I am,” I said firmly. “I went to the symphony tonight, and Alex told me that he was feeling uncomfortable here, as if you all didn’t want him to be here.”

“I’m sorry he feels that way,” Wade said, and seemed horrified.

“I’m going to see if I can talk Nana into giving you people lessons on your manners,” I said rudely, which was somewhat ironic. “Or maybe Grandmaman.”

“We’ll try to do better,” Wade said.

“I don’t think you will,” I said. “I don’t think you want to.”

“Your father may have a problem with that, with you living by yourself,” Tiffany said.

“After Monday, that won’t be an issue. I’m going to Connecticut to meet with him.”

“You are?” Matt asked.

“I am. Meanwhile, the three of you’d better be nice to Alex,” I spat, and then I zeroed in on Wade. “You make it seem like you’re so cultured, and so refined, and here you are, treating our guest like total crap. How does that fit into your nice, fancy world?”

“I didn’t mean to make Alex uncomfortable,” Wade said firmly, and even though I wasn’t going to let him off the hook, I believed him. Most of the attitude Alex picked up on probably came from Matt. But I was making sure Wade knew he was responsible for making Matt behave himself.

“Looks like you failed at that too,” I said, being snarky. “I’ll buy some acid, just in case you don’t figure it out.” That was a direct reference to Will’s rampage, when he’d trashed our house in Malibu. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room.

I got in the elevator and breathed heavily as I went up, forcing the air in and out of my body, and making it take the stress with it. I went into my room first and took off my symphony clothes, then tried to decide what to wear to go see Alex. I could wear just boxers, but that seemed slutty, and that’s not what I wanted to do. I decided to wear boxers over briefs, along with a T-shirt. That seemed to be proper enough for going over to see him in his bedroom.

There was a knock on my door. “Come in!” I said, wondering if it would be Alex. Instead, it was Matt.

“I talked to Wade, and we wanted to meet with you and Alex to clear the air,” he said.

“No.” He blinked at me.

“JJ, I just want everyone to feel comfortable,” he said, almost a whine.

“No,” I reiterated. “Not tonight.” He probably thought this was some big protest on my part, when I was just trying to stop him from cock blocking me yet again. He looked at me and didn’t move. “Good night.”

“Night,” he said, frustrated. I stood in the doorway to make sure he got on the elevator, and then I closed my door, and knocked on Alex’s.

“Enter,” he said.

I walked in and found him lying in bed, reviewing his notes from our trip to the gallery. He was wearing boxers, and nothing else. He looked so sexy, my mouth started watering. “I hope I’m not bothering you,” I said.

“You’re not bothering me at all,” he said. He scooted over on his bed to make room for me. “I was hoping you’d stop by.”

Our eyes met, and I remembered to make my eyelashes flutter a bit to seem nervous. We moved toward each other slowly, until our lips met again. I ran my hands through his hair; reveling in how silky it was, even as our mouths danced together. We were lying side by side, and I felt his hands move down my back. When he grabbed my ass, I moaned, and then broke off our embrace. I didn’t want to, but I wanted him to think I was a delicate flower. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s alright,” I said. “I liked it. I’m just a bit nervous.”

“We don’t have to do this,” he said, making me wonder what ‘this’ was.

“I want you,” I said. “I know that sounds so wrong. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“It doesn’t sound wrong at all,” he said, his voice purring into my ear.

“I’m such a novice,” I told him. “I haven’t done anything, but I want to. I want to with you.” I buried my head in his shoulder, acting embarrassed. “You probably think I’m a terrible person, throwing myself at you like this.”

“I think you’re very attractive,” he said, and kissed me gently. “Just relax, and let me show you what to do.”

He grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt and pulled it up and over my head, then pushed me onto my back. He kissed my lips, then my neck, and nibbled on my ears, driving me insane. All I could do was moan. Then his mouth went lower, as he planted soft, delicate kisses all over my chest. When I felt his tongue flick my nipple, I just about lost my mind. “Yes!” I moaned.

“You like that?” he asked. I nodded. “It’s OK for you to tell me if you enjoy something. That’s how I learn what you like.”

He sucked on my other nipple, and I moaned again. “I like that,” I said, making him chuckle. Then he moved his mouth down my body, lower and lower, still kissing me lightly. It felt like he was worshiping my body.

He got down to my boxers and paused. “Is it alright to take these off?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said urgently, then tried to rein my lust in. I lifted my hips and he pulled my boxers and briefs off all at once, leaving me lying there, naked and exposed.

“You are so beautiful, so perfect,” he cooed. I felt his hand moving up my leg until it got to my balls, which he played with so gently. Then he moved his hand up my dick, using just his fingertips to make contact. His mouth moved lower, and I felt his tongue lick the head of my cock. When he actually wrapped his lips around the head, the stimulation was just too much.

“You’re gonna make me cum,” I whimpered softly, and then I did. I had never had an orgasm like that. I was completely unhinged, rocking my hips as I shot my load into his mouth, while his lips nursed the head of my cock for the entire time. When I was done, I relaxed back into the bed. I doubted I’d be able to walk, I was so spent. “That was amazing. That was even better than my wildest dreams.”

“So you’ve dreamed about this?” he asked.

“Oh yeah,” I said. “Every night, all the time.”

“You are truly exquisite,” he said. I looked down and saw his hard cock poking out of the slit in his boxers. I reached down and touched it, getting a moan from him.

“Is this OK?” I asked nervously, to keep up my virginal act. He pulled off his boxers and lay on his back.

“It feels nice.” Then I did to him what he’d done to me, gently kissing every part of his magnificent torso, working my way down to the prize. I took his cock in my hand, and lowered my mouth onto it. I’d sucked a lot of dick when I’d been molested by my coach, so I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t want him to know that. I made sure he could feel my teeth a few times, just so I seemed amateurish.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, as I looked up at him...

“That’s fine,” he said, as he ran his fingers through my hair, putting gentle pressure on my head to guide it back to his dick. He’d been loving and gentle before, but I could sense his urgency, his need for release. He held my head in place and began to pivot his hips, thrusting into my mouth. He went faster and faster, and deeper and deeper, but I knew the trick about wrapping my hand around the base of his cock, so that prevented him from choking me. This was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought he’d be all gentle, but he was definitely letting himself go with me. My spirits soared, thinking that maybe he would be different with me, and then he came. He jammed his cock down my throat, choking me as he did, and I tasted his salty essence as it came shooting out of his rock hard dick. I swallowed as fast as he blew, until he lay back on the bed, as spent as I had been.

“I hope I did that OK,” I said, maintaining the façade that I was clueless about giving head.

“You were amazing,” he said. “Marvelous.”

“I feel like I don’t know anything, but when I’m with you, it all seems so natural,” I told him. “My body just responds to you on its own.”

He pulled me to him, so my face was on his chest, and ran his fingers through my hair. I lay there, more content than I’d ever been, and just drifted off to sleep.

September 30, 2002

Connecticut

Brad

It was still early in California, but I knew my father got up around this time, so I went ahead and called him. “Hello,” he said crisply.

“I hope I didn’t wake you up,” I said.

“You did not,” he replied. “What can I do for you?”

“Help me not completely fuck up this deal with JJ,” I said.

“You are referring to your determination to interfere in his relationship with Alex?” he asked.

“I am. I just want what is best for him, and I want to try to save him from getting hurt, but I don’t know how to do that without totally pissing him off.”

“You cannot,” he said. “He is almost seventeen years old. You are going to have to give him the freedom to make his own decisions, and to make his own mistakes.” I cringed at that, even though I knew it was inevitable.

“That’s hard to do.”

“It is,” he agreed. “But it is still something you must do. Have you talked to him?”

“He’s driving down from Boston to meet with me today at 2:00,” I said. “In the meantime, he’s gone off on Wade, Matt and Tiffany, and told them he plans to move out. He claims they’ve been so rude to Alex, they’ve made him uncomfortable living there.”

“As Alex is their guest, it is unfortunate they have behaved that way,” he said frigidly, to show how much this breach of etiquette annoyed him.

“Will called me last night and read me the riot act again, telling me to butt out of JJ’s life,” I said. That had been incredibly unpleasant; bad enough that I was planning to go back to Paly early in order to try and set things right between us. “Then Darius called and said the same thing.”

“What does Wade think?” JP held Wade in high esteem, so it made sense he’d want his opinion.

“He agrees with Will and Darius, but he’s being tougher on this to humor me,” I admitted. “Matt isn’t happy about JJ going out with Alex, so that’s probably where that negative ambiance at their home is coming from.”

“JJ is being very clear with you, in demanding that you stay out of his relationship with Alex,” JP said firmly. “He has been backed up in that course of action by Will and Darius, and that conclusion has also been validated by Wade. I will add my voice to that chorus, and while I cannot speak for him, I would guess that Stefan is coming around to that point of view as well.”

“You’re telling me that everyone thinks I’m being an ass,” I grumbled.

“I am,” he said, chuckling. “I live for these rare moments.” That made me laugh.

“I guess I need to back off and let him make his own choices,” I said, even though every fiber in my body screamed for me not to.

“You do,” he said. “And when he stumbles, you should be there to help him up. In that way, he will learn, and he will grow.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I said. I shook my head in frustration with this whole situation, then distracted my mind by focusing on the project I was evaluating for Triton. Everyone was telling me to let JJ make his own decisions when it came to Alex, but my own instincts were screaming at me to protect him. I wrinkled up my lips as I thought about the upcoming meeting with him, and felt my anxiety soar.