18 Weeks of Twoey - 12. Week Two Friday September 12, 2014: Discovering Danny

After our run and shower, it was shirt and tie time. Coach always insists the team dress on XCountry race days. I decided on a black shirt and red tie. It looked sharp! During our walk to school Twoey seemed to be walking closer to Danny than to me. Thank goodness! Maybe he wanted to join gymnastics! HA ...that would piss off the wrestlers!

Terri was all smiles in Math. I guessed the feud with Ron must be over. So I was able to spend some minutes at Kathy's desk until I heard Elcher clear his throat! Ooops. I guess I didn't hear the bell. But he just gave me a knowing smile as I went back to my desk. Twoey was holding in a big laugh. I could tell! Don't worry Twoey, I'll get you back.

No I wouldn't. What was I, crazy?? Remember, you’re a nice guy now David ...haha!

At lunch Matty fixed my tie and straightened my shirt. Jeez, keep your hands off me kid! I'm not gonna join the wrestling team! Being so nervous about XCountry, I only ate about two bites of my lunch. Probably a good thing or I'd be hurling during the race. That didn't seem to stop Gary from eating though. I didn't understand how he could eat so much lunch and never stop talking for even one second!

Well there it was.

In gym today we began wrestling instruction. Didn't I predict it?? I told you I was smart.

So now Matty and me had our hands wrapped around each other for most of the period. Great! Well, at least it wasn't Twoey. I probably couldn't have survived that.

The XCountry meet was tiring, but we won our first race! Gary came in second, and I came in First Place! Mr. Elcher (he's also the JV coach) pulled me aside and said he would be sorry to see me go, but knew I'd be moving up to Varsity pretty soon!! Oh, WOW!! The bus ride home was raucous. Everyone except cheating-Cal was congratulating Gary and me.

Tommy gave me a big hug when he found out. I was so hungry by then, I'm glad his mother saved a little supper to reheat. Even though it was awful, I gagged it down. Then my dad gave me a pat on the back! Now that was Impressive. I was always surprised when he noticed I was one of the kids who lived in his house.

Kathy didn’t bother to congratulate me on the phone, but we only talked for like a half-hour because I was falling asleep. I told her I would call her tomorrow as soon as I got back from Syracuse and we would finalize the movie plans. This was not a date.

Twoey

David looked hot this morning in his black shirt and red tie ...well he looked hot no matter what he wore. I talked to Danny a bit on the walk to school. Just small talk.

“Twoey, how are ya adjusting?”

“Adjusting?”

“Yeah, from big bad Syracuse to sleepy ol’ Daleville.”

“Oh ...hehe. I think I’m starting to like it here. Pretty soon everybody will think I’ve lived here all my life. But Syracuse isn’t big or bad.”

“Well, some of the places I’ve been to sorta-torta are.”

“Really? Where have you been?”

“If I told ya I’d hafta kill ya.”

“Ok, well we don’t want that ...hehe.”

“Absofuckinglutely not!!” With that he put his hand on my back.

“Hey Twoey, do you ever go down to the lake?”

“Well, I was there Sunday, found a new place and did some thinking.”

“Yeah, I do that a lot down there. It’s sorta easy-cheesy for me to think in front of water. Someday I’ll show you my thinking spot.”

“It’s a deal!” He kept giving me a sly look and seemed to want to say something else, but didn't.

David got himself in trouble with Elcher in Math by chatting with Kathy after the period started. I don't think he even heard the bell. I was suppressing a big giggle, but I didn't think he noticed. He’d been friendly all week and I didn't need to give him any excuse to be mad at me.

Lunch was uneventful, if you overlook all the flirting Matty was doing with David. Jesus kid, he's straight! Leave him alone. He's mine to drool over!!

In gym we started wrestling. It was sorta fun to be paired up with Erik. Hard not to get hard though. Maybe I should reconsider going out for wrestling ...hehe!

BUT THE BIG NEWS was after school! I was leaving my locker ...ready to walk home alone, when Danny and I hit the door at the same time!

He said, “Walking home?”

“Yeah, you too?”

“You got plans for after school?”

“No. Nothing, nothing at all.”

We walked together. It was nice. Wow, walking with delicious Danny twice in one day! When we got to where we would split, he suggested we go to the lake.

“I'll walk with you to your house. You can drop off your books and hang a change, and then we'll do the same at my house. Bring a jacket though, it'll be lots cooler down there.”

When we got to my house, he came in and I introduced him to Mom, who gave me a look like ‘what ...are you hanging around with elementary school kids now?’ Then we went to my room and I asked him what I should wear.

“Just jeans and a sweatshirt and old sneakers if you have any; don’t forget the jacket.”

So I changed right in front of him, right down to just boxers and socks. It was fun. And Danny checked me out!! OMG

Then we went to his house. I got to see his room and all the things he liked and his music and posters and about a million trophies. Shit, not only did he have a gymnast’s body, but he must be pretty damn good. Thank God his mom and dad weren't home. From what Gary said, I don't know if I'd fit into their rules. He even changed in front of me for a bonus. Did I tell you about his body?

Then we walked down to the lake. He took me to a different spot from where we swam. It was like a little inlet or cove and it had what looked like a dead tree stump emerging from the water, but there were a few small branches sticking out of it that were still alive, and even had some leaves changing color on them. Sort of like life and death at the same time. I had a sudden chill, like a premonition. I had to shake my head to sort of clear that out. There was also a little dirt outcropping under another tree. It was sorta squishy in places, that’s why he had me wear old stuff I guess. The sky was mostly clear; the sun getting a little lower; a few small, puffy clouds drifting above and the lake bright blue but darker with this angle of reflection. It was totally beautiful here, my premonition aside.

Danny said, “Well here it is. This is my thinking spot I told you about this morning.” I picked up a small flat pebble and skipped it out into the lake. Then Danny did too. He looked at me, smiled, and I could feel my face blushing. I smiled back at him. Then he turned to face the lake and just stood silently for a while. His feet pawed at the dirt a few times.

“Twoey, I’m really glad you moved here. I don’t think I ever told you that.” He was looking at the water. Then Danny squatted, sorted through the pebbles until he found just the right one and skipped another stone. Edging over, he got pretty close to me. I sort of turned and our eyes connected. We stayed like that for a while. Danny was talking to me with his eyes. But my mind was churning. Erik outed Danny to me, but Danny didn’t know I knew he was gay. Was he feeling me out? Did Erik out me to him? Do I make the first move?

So I took a little gamble. “You know, every day I get a bit happier that we moved to Daleville.” I locked on to his eyes again. “Today is one of the happiest, Danny.”

“Yeah.” He shyly looked away, but moved imperceptibly closer.

Danny was shorter, the top of his head came up to my neck. I slowly reached down, gently placed my hand under his chin and turned his freckled face up toward me. Our eyes locked again. “I like boys Danny ...I’m gay.” I was watching to see if he registered any surprise, but he didn’t.

“Yeah, I kinda-sorta figured that.”

“Let’s find a bench.” And we walked back into the park and took the very first one we saw, which was nearly on the water’s edge.

While staring out over the intense blue lake, I told Danny all about Syracuse--every detail.

“I can’t believe your best friend did that! That must make you sooo extra sextra cautious about who knows.”

Remembering what I had been thinking earlier in the week, I decided to ask him. “What about the rest of the gang? Should I tell them?”

I could see he was mulling this over. Then he said, “If you want my advice, I’d say don't tell them ...yet. You'll know if or when you feel you have to. And when that time comes, do it one-on-one, like you did with me.”

“Okay, I think I agree ...and Danny, thanks.”

We exchanged glances and I asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

Danny paused, you could see he was considering how to word his reply. “Just that I like you Twoey. I like you a lot.”

“But?”

“But I sort of have a flush-crush on someone.”

“It’s David. I know Danny, and--me too.”

That magical stare into my eyes got stronger. He knitted his brow and got suddenly serious.

“Twoey, I've know David almost all my life and when they ask, and they always do, I tell my gay friends he’s straight.”

“But?”

“He’s different. I thought everybody was either straight or gay. I know about bisexual people, and have even hooked up with a couple of them, but that doesn’t seem to be him either. He’s got me a little confused, but I’ve had a crush on him since we were like 10. I have a really hard time. I mean, I like him so much just as a friend and I don't want to luck-fuck that up. This is sooo hard for me.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

So we agreed to let David be himself, as we certainly should have. But then Danny slid even a little closer to me.

He put that sly smile back on his cute freckled baby-face.

“This doesn't mean we have to be totally crappilly-sappilly miserable in the meantime, though. Right?”

That's all it took. I leaned over and gave him a light kiss on his lips. He smiled and said, “Thanks Twoey. I'll have to think of a way to repay you. But not out here in the open.”

“OMG I forgot we were out here in public!!”

He just chuckled. “I don’t think anyone’s paying attention to us.”

I quickly looked around, and the few people scattered about on this cold afternoon were all staring at the lake.

“You know, since my father got promoted, he and my mother are always on the Base or out of town at different functions. That gives me a chance to get out and about. He always gets drunk and she has to drive him home. They never pay attention to whether I’m in my room when they’re like that, so I usually come home and sneak in the back door real late, or even early in the morning if I find a wood-good place to have some fun. I don’t like to be alone, so I’m hardly ever home. Tomorrow they’re going to be at some military affair in Rochester, so they’ll be gone most of the day. Do you think you could find your way over to my house around 10 tomorrow morning?” He gave me another sly look. “You know, to keep me company, so I’m not all one-and-alone?”

I think my smile must have broken out ear to ear. “You bet. I'll be there Danny!”

So I walked him home and then continued on to my house and the inevitable inquisition. The only important thing that came out of that go-around with Mom was that I convinced her Danny was truly 15, and not 10.

Check out my Gallery Album Eighteen Weeks for a photo of Danny's thinking spot.
Other relevant stuff will be posted there from time to time