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- 03/19/2016
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Timothy’s Terrible Prompt Stories - 46. Prompt 392 What the hell are you watching?
“What the hell are you watching?” Rob asked Tobias. “Your toenails grow, or how the tiles have been laid out?” His voice was low, but Mitchell on the other side of Tobias in the showers heard him and chuckled.
“I bet he’s being considerate and giving everyone else a chance to check him out.”
“Ha, as if they would look at him, when I am on display.”
Rob did an exaggerated soaping of his chest and underarms, almost worthy of a porn movie, and Jasper let out a wolf whistle from across the aisle.
“Someone is practicing their seductive skills, eh Rob? Anyone specific you have in mind right now?”
“Nah, but I was checking out colleges the other night, and I came across one place in California which looked interesting. They even have a baseball program with a few scholarships.”
“What does that have to do with you displaying your body in the showers?” Jasper sounded genuinely confused.
“I thought you were going to a college here on the East Coast?” Mitchell joined the conversation, and Rob noticed how Tobias started to act more natural now that the attention was on the blond jock next to him. Most of the baseball team members had finished their showers, but there were four or five people left.
“I can widen my search now, and I wouldn’t mind going farther away from home and being in a place with sun and pretty open-minded people.”
There was a short silence as his audience tried to work out the implications of that statement. Rob had the feeling Jasper understood the first part and was pleased with the compliment to his best friend. Nelson would take care of his little brother from now on; he was already the main person responsible for Eric’s happiness and confidence, and Rob had no doubt this would intensify as their relationship developed. He had every trust in Nel – and Jazz too – as support and protection during the coming school year. Once Eric was a junior, and hopefully popular as GSA president, he should have few problems.
It freed him to a large extent, although he would of course always be there for his brother if needed. But he no longer had to limit his search and applications to colleges with programs suitable for Eric’s academic interest, or close enough to home for frequent visits in the next years. In fact, moving farther away would increase the likelihood of Eric stepping out of his older brother’s shadow. Of course, it would also enable Rob to stand on his own feet away from his Mom and Dad. He loved them, and they were great parents, all things considered, but the urge to stretch his wings and experience life without them hovering close had intensified lately. Losing the girlfriend shackles had been another important step.
“Did you mean ‘pretty’ as in good looking, or were you thinking of ‘fairly open-minded’ people?” Tobias asked, and Rob turned to grin at him. He was pleased to see the return of the clever, calm catcher who often caught the small signals of players about to steal bases, or at least attempt to do so.
“I meant handsome guys and beautiful girls with liberal minds, free spirits and a sense of humor.”
“I guess we all prefer those to ugly, intolerant, boring idiots.” Tobias managed to sound casual instead of sarcastic, but Jasper chuckled wickedly, while Mitchell and Rob high-fived each other as well as the catcher.
“Hey buddy, I’m meeting Amy and her sister for a bite after this, why don’t you join us?” Mitchell said as he and Tobias walked over to their towels.
“Older or younger sister?” Tobias asked.
“Younger, and Veronica likes baseball, so you’ll have that in common. She’s a freshman here, actually.”
Rob smirked at Mitchell not mentioning Veronica liked baseball players or at least one specific teammate.
“Hmmm, I don’t know, Mitch,” Tobias was saying as they walked from the showers.
“I’m not trying to set you up, dude. In fact…” The remainder of his words was lost in the general noise from the showers and the locker room.
Rob rinsed the last soap from his legs, switched off the water and walked over to his towel. Everyone was done now, including Jasper who joined him and began his own drying process.
“What does going to college in California have to do with you doing the sexy shower routine?”
Damn, the redhead was almost as stubborn as Rob, and clever at teasing too. He contemplated saying ‘So, you think I’m sexy,’ but decided it would cross the line to no purpose. Asking Trevor the same question might be fun, if only to see whether he could rattle the cool dude.
He tried a dismissive shrug. “I dunno. I guess I have this idea of L.A. and San Francisco as places where it’s OK to flirt and maybe…push the borders a bit. Get some attention and compliments with no strings attached. I mean, what’s the fun of working hard to get fit, if no one appreciates the effort?” He flexed his arm to show off his muscles.
Jasper gaped at him for a few moments, while Rob did his best to keep his face straight. A twitch of his mouth gave him away and both jocks started howling with laughter.
“Jeez, man, you’re unbelievable,” the redhead gasped. They were the last ones in the locker room, Rob saw as they entered from the shower area.
“Do you actually want guys to hit on you?” Suddenly, Jasper’s voice was low and serious. “Because I’m betting it will happen if you act like that in the right – or wrong? – places. Will you be OK with it?”
He gave the question proper consideration. “Why should I mind guys admiring, flirting or hitting on me; it’s a compliment, isn’t it? I would mainly worry about leading people on which is uncool, whether it’s a girl or a guy.”
The junior pitcher nodded. “True. But I’ve never heard any girls complaining about you, in spite of what Carolyn calls ‘Rob’s charming ways,’ and the high school crushes you’ve inspired.”
Rob suppressed a wince at the new reminder of Amy’s sister Veronica having a crush on him. “So, she thinks I’m charming, eh? Well, I always thought Carolyn has excellent taste, and she’s sensible too. You’re lucky having her, Jazz.”
“I know.” He grinned. “And she reminds me if I’m about to forget.”
“I’m sure she appreciates your looks and brains too.”
“Dude, are you flirting with me?” Jasper hit Rob’s shoulder and both of them laughed until the redhead suddenly exclaimed, “Shit, look at the time, I promised to pick up Nelson and Eric like five minutes ago.”
“I’ll go with you. I want to hear how the drama club meeting went.”
“Nelson wasn’t worried about it. Nobody there has ever made any big deal about him being gay.”
“Yeah, I think Eric was mainly worried about more Tina excitement. He hates being the center of attention.”
“He has that in common with Nelson, but hopefully the news value of them being a couple will fade fast.”
“Bet you there was some kind of drama at the meeting.”
Jasper smirked at him, and they said together, “It’s a drama club, after all.”
If you want to see JohnAR’s version of Rob in action at college in California, check out Meta book 6 (MetaProphecies): the second half of chapter 5 and the first part of chapter 8 and of chapter 10.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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