Door Number Three - 9. Chapter 9

No one was in the locker room when we entered. Andrew and Chuck had already showered and left. I felt awkward as I went to my locker and started to undress. Adrian sat down about three feet away and pretended not to watch me, but I noticed that he kept sneaking glances occasionally.

When I had removed my clothing except for my runner’s briefs, I turned my back and dropped them to the floor. I didn’t want to look, but I knew Adrian was probably staring at my ass like I had him when he was naked in front of me.

I reached down and grabbed my towel. I took a deep breath and turned. Adrian’s gaze immediately dropped to my cock. I watched as he stared at it and then let his eyes roam upward until he was looking into my face.

“I...I got to go take a shower,” I managed to stammer as I wrapped the towel around my waist and headed for the shower. I felt like stopping by a stall and heaving into it. My stomach was doing cartwheels from standing naked before Adrian. I had taken hundreds of showers over the years with guys, but none had gazed upon my body like he had. If they did, I never noticed.

As I showered, I tried to figure out what I should do when I returned to the locker room. Should I walk in naked like I always did, or should I cover myself? For one thing, I was skinny. I didn’t know if Adrian would find that unattractive. Perhaps he liked guys who were more muscular like him. What if after seeing me naked, he didn’t like what he saw? Since he had gazed at me almost expressionless, I didn’t know what he thought. If he had smiled or nodded his approval, I wouldn’t have been so worried.

I decided I would go back into the locker room with the towel wrapped around my waist. I had become semi-erect thinking about him while I showered. When I entered, his eyes fell to the protrusion under the towel. I felt a sense of relief when he looked up and smiled. I also felt a renewed confidence when he reached down and rearranged his cock. It appeared erect inside his athletic shorts.

I turned my back and removed the towel from around me. I reached for my underwear and started to put them on when Adrian whispered softly, “Wait, please.” I covered myself with my boxers and faced him.

He glanced down where I was hiding my cock. “Let me see you.” His voice trembled nervously. “I’ve never been free to just look at a guy before.”

I knew what he meant. It was taboo to look at a guy’s body in the locker room or shower. It was an unspoken rule that you kept your eyes above the waist. To look down was dangerous, and you could be branded gay. Most guys didn’t appear to even care, but there would be the occasional guy who would let his eyes dart covertly around the room. If he was caught, the ridicule would be relentless.

I dropped the towel and stood naked before him. He looked at my smooth, hairless legs, and then he moved his eyes to my cock which was quickly filling with blood. Within seconds it stood at its six-and-a-half-inch length. His eyes widened as he watched it grow. I watched as his eyes traveled unashamedly up my chest. He then looked into my eyes and smiled.

“You’re beautiful,” he said hoarsely. His eyes quickly scanned my body one last time. “God, are you beautiful!”

I turned my back and put on my underwear. I made sure that I stayed bent over long enough so that he could see my ass as I had his seen when he dressed for me. After putting on my shorts and tee shirt, I sat down opposite him to put on my shoes.

He just kept looking at me and smiling. There was a really weird expression on his face. Then I realized what it was. He was…no, I couldn’t say it. It would be too presumptuous. He liked me, that I knew. After seeing me naked, he liked my body. But there couldn’t be anything more. Hope still lay in the bottom of the jar, though, right?

After tying my shoes, I stood up and faced him. “Ready?” He stood and moved nearer to me until we were just inches apart. I stared into his eyes, his brown twinkling eyes. They were no longer something I hated or feared. We both knew how we felt. I closed my eyes and leaned toward him.

When my lips touched his, he put his hands on my chest and stopped me. I opened my eyes, fearful I had misread his feelings. “Wait,” he whispered softly. He looked around the locker room, heavy with the smell of other boys. “This isn’t the place.” I nodded and followed him out of the room.

When we got in my truck, I asked him if he would like to go home with me and join us for dinner.

“Isn’t it too short a notice?” he asked worriedly. “Your mother won’t be expecting me.”

“Wait,” I said as I held up a finger, pulled out my cell phone and called home. After talking to her for a minute, I hung up and looked over at him.

“Do you like fried chicken?”

He started laughing. “Of course I like fried chicken.”

“Then you’re joining us for dinner,” I replied. “Mom said there’s plenty. Besides, my little sister is eating dinner at her friend’s house.”

“Okay,” he responded as he reached in this pocket and pulled out his phone. “Let me call my dad.”

When he asked his father if he could eat dinner with us, I listened as he tried to explain who I was and why he was going home with me. His father seemed to have had a thousand questions. “Yes, Dad,” he looked over at me briefly, “he’s white.”

I began to feel sorry for him because his father seemed to be very controlling. My father would have joked about not having to feed another hungry mouth if I had called.

Adrian frowned and handed me the phone. “He wants to speak to you.” I spent the next few minutes trying to assure him that Adrian was invited to dinner. Finally, I had to give him my home phone number so he could talk to my mother. Adrian’s face was filled with anger when I handed him back his phone.

“He’s always doing this,” he said angrily. “I’m nineteen, and he treats me like a child.”

“At least he cares about you,” I said trying to make him more cheerful.

“No he doesn’t,” Adrian looked at me sadly. “You don’t know what I have to go through.” After talking to his father, I now had some idea what Valerie was talking about when she said that things were bad for Adrian at home.

A minute later his phone rang. He answered it and then handed the phone to me. I listened as a gruff voice snarled, “I want him home by nine.” He then hung up.

I looked at Adrian and attempted a smile. “I guess you’re eating dinner with us.” He smiled and then stared out the window as we drove to my house.

Billy and Lonnie were playing basketball in the driveway when we pulled up. I parked in the street so my car wouldn’t block them. “Hey!” Billy grinned when he looked at me and then Adrian. He tossed me the ball and I dribbled past him and laid the ball into the basket.

“Okay, Wise Ass!” he shouted as he grabbed the ball and threw it to Adrian. “You and Lonnie, me and Adrian.”

“Hey!” shouted Lonnie. “No fair. You took the good player.” I walked over and popped him upside his head.

“I’m not that bad,” I laughed.

He turned and grinned, “You’re not that good.” When I reached out to hit him again, he ducked.

As he did when we played before, Lonnie loved to get physical; not in a pushing and shoving kind of way. I had to smack his hand several times when he tried to grope me when I had the ball. He knew I didn’t like it, but he also knew I wasn’t going to say anything to him. After about the fourth time he got a handful of my crotch, I ‘accidentally’ lost control of the ball and threw it directly at his cock. He moaned and bent over holding himself.

“Geez, Lonnie,” I said as I ran to him and tried to help him stand straight. “I’m really sorry.” When he looked up at me, I had a shitty grin plastered to my face. He didn’t try it again. However, after that I noticed that he began to become more physical with Adrian. In fact, once he made it quite obvious when Adrian dribbled around him and he grabbed at his cock, holding it in his hand.

After Adrian made the basket, he tossed it back to me. I dribbled slowly over to Lonnie. As I passed him, I slowed down and whispered in his ear, “If you grab Adrian’s dick one more time, I’m going into the kitchen, get a butcher knife and cut your balls off.” His eyes widened as he placed his hands in front of him in a protective manner. He never did it again.

After playing for about thirty minutes, we sat down on the lawn to rest. I noticed that Lonnie moved behind Billy, so that he became a barrier between us. After my threat, I guess he was a little afraid of me. I was going to have to talk to Billy about his behavior. As far as I knew, Billy hadn’t told him that I was gay, and he surely had no reason to believe Adrian was. If he tried to grope straight boys at school like he did us, then someday someone was going to object and make more than an idle threat like I had. I realized that he was young and inquisitive; however, his actions could get him seriously hurt someday.

As we sat talking, a car pulled up across the street into Kenny’s driveway. In the car were a couple of baseball players I knew. They looked out the window and waved at me and Adrian. Lloyd Thompson, one of Adrian’s football teammates, started to walk across the street to talk to us, but Kenny came out his front door and stopped him.

“Better be careful!” he hollered out angrily to Lloyd. “That fag might try to fuck with you.” Lloyd stopped and looked back at Kenny before turning back to us with a puzzled look. It was obvious he didn’t understand what Kenny was saying. He knew we’d been the best of friends since we were little, and he didn’t know why Kenny was acting hostile towards me. He shrugged his shoulders and got back into the car. When they pulled out of the driveway, Kenny looked out the window and flipped us off.

“What’s his problem?” Lonnie asked. He was also puzzled by Kenny’s actions. The four of us had spent a lot of time together. Kenny was always wrestling around with them in the bedroom or yard. We had spent hours shooting basketball in the driveway like we had today. They considered Kenny a brother. Even though Billy knew what had happened between us, Lonnie didn’t. When I looked over at Adrian, he seemed just as puzzled.

I was also pissed at Kenny. He didn’t know if anyone knew I was gay. If Billy and I hadn’t come out to each other, I would have gotten up and confronted him. As far as he was concerned, Adrian was just a friend. We had, after all, been introduced to each other before the incident with Rachel occurred. One thing was obvious from his actions- he was going to make my life hell until school was over.

My worries about what he would do were now confirmed. Before, I thought that perhaps our friendship meant something to him. Maybe, just maybe, he could accept me as a gay friend, even if I wasn’t his best friend anymore. But somehow I knew that wasn’t possible. Kenny was, and had always been, homophobic. He had always made enough crude jokes about queers and faggots over the years. He was also somewhat of a racist. He was friendly with black teammates on the field, but he hardly ever associated with them off the field. A few times in middle school I had even suggested inviting a black student to come home with us to play a video game or shoot baskets. His response was, “Why would we want to do that?”

Now Adrian could become Kenny’s biggest nightmare. He was black, gay and a talented athlete. In Kenny’s world, these were opposing forces. He could accept a black athlete, but he would never accept a gay, black athlete. As I looked over at Adrian, I began to worry that Kenny, if he found out Adrian was gay, could make his life worse than he could mine.

Added to the fact that Adrian’s father seemed to share some of the same hatreds that Kenny did, I could envision a bigger Pandora’s box being opened, unleashing a torrent of evil down upon his world. Under such pressure, was Adrian strong enough to withstand it?

As I looked at him again, his body was extremely muscular and strong. But was his mind? He already seemed to fear his father. He had built a persona at school that everyone loved and respected. He was admired on the field and off by everyone.

I was almost destroyed by the evils that had been opened. I still was unsure if I could cope if Kenny outed me to my friends and teammates. Could Adrian handle the stress better than I could, or would his life come shattering down? Would his fall be harder and more dangerous than mine?

I looked into his eyes and it appeared he was thinking the same as me. He looked worried. His bright, brown eyes showed fear. His face was taut as he looked nervously at me. As I stared at him, a new fear emerged. Could our friendship survive? Was it over before it even began? I had opened Door Number 3 and found hope behind it. Was it about to be slammed in my face?

“Hello?” I blinked my eyes when Billy started waving his hand in front of my face. “Are you in there?” I could hear Lonnie giggling as I was awakened from my thoughts. Adrian’s face still continued to remain worried.

“What?” I asked as I looked over at my brother.

“Mom just called us in for dinner,” he stated. “Didn’t you hear her?”

“Yeah, sure,” I lied. I stood and extended my hand to Adrian. After helping him up, we trailed behind Billy and Lonnie as they ran hurriedly into the house.

As soon as we entered the kitchen, my mother approached Adrian with her hand outstretched. “And you must be Adrian,” she said cheerfully as she shook his hand. “I’m glad you’re joining us for dinner.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” he replied politely.

“I’m not a Ma’am,” my mother smiled. “Just call me Mrs. Barnes.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Adrian responded before catching himself. “I mean, Mrs. Barnes.”

“You are as polite as your father,” she said. “He’s a customer at my store. I’ve known him for years. He’s talked about his son before, but I had no idea our Zac knew you.” She looked over at me.

“You don’t know all my friends at school,” I replied sarcastically. “Some I have to protect from the Spanish Inquisition.” She laughed and threw the dish towel at me.

“Go clean up,” she said. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes.” I turned and headed upstairs with Adrian following closely behind me. I opened the bathroom door but Billy and Lonnie were already in there. They were standing at the sink washing their hands. We waited outside until they were done before we went in and closed the door behind us.

“I’ve got to take a leak,” Adrian announced as he began to pull his shorts down.

“I can leave,” I said as I started to open the door.

“Why,” he replied as he snaked his cock from his shorts and began pissing into the toilet. “You’ve already seen me naked.” I looked down at his cock before looking upward into his smiling face.

“You’re enjoying this,” I asked with a smile. “Aren’t you?”

“What?” he answered innocently as he shook his cock dry. I looked down and watched.

“Playing this game we’re playing.” I replied after he finished and turned to me.

“Is that what you think it is?” He appeared hurt by my words. “We’re playing a game?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed as I stared into his eyes. “I don’t know what we’re doing. Nothing makes sense any more. I don’t make sense. You don’t make…”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. “Sense,” I muttered into his mouth. He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him as he forced my mouth open and gently shoved his tongue inside. I could feel our cocks hardening as we ground our bodies into each other.

After what seemed like years, but was probably no more than thirty seconds, he pulled away and smiled gently at me. “That was nice,” he said softly. “Actually, much better than I dreamed it would be.”

“You’ve dreamed about kissing me?”

“Ever since I first saw you sitting on the bleachers last week,” he said as he leaned in and kissed me once again. It was quick and gentle, not as passionate as the first. I started to kiss him again, but he pulled away.

“We’d better get downstairs before people start to wonder what we’re doing,” he said worriedly. We quickly washed our hands and headed downstairs.

“There you are,” my mother said. “What took you so long?” I looked quickly at Adrian as we took our seats at the table.

“Yeah,” giggled Billy as he raised an eyebrow. “What took you so long?” He looked away when I shot him a deadly look.

My father introduced himself to Adrian and then began with a torrent of questions about his athletic skills. My father followed sports avidly, and he knew more about Adrian than I did.

“So you’ll be going to State next year?” he asked Adrian.

“Yes, Sir,” he replied in this usual polite manner. I could tell by the look on my mother’s face that she admired Adrian’s gentle disposition. He was a stark contrast to Kenny’s loud and crude behavior.

My father looked proudly at me. “Did Zac tell you he’ll be attending State on an athletic scholarship in track?”

Adrian looked at me and smiled. “Yes, Sir, he did.”

“Zac’s going to run in the Olympics!” My little brother, Josh, shouted excitedly. “Ain’t he Dad?”

“I think we’re putting the cart before the horse,” my father responded. Josh gave him a puzzled look.

“We aint’ got no horses,” he giggled. “We don’t live on a farm.”

My mother gave him an angry look. “What do they teach children at school these days? Ain’t ain’t a word.” She admonished him. He started giggling.

“You just said it, Mommy,” laughed Josh.

My father let out a roar of laughter. “He got you there, Dear.”

“Yes, well,” she huffed as she continued to eat as everyone laughed at the embarrassed look on her face.

My father continued to talk about sports. He bragged about my skills on the track and his hopes that I’d do well this year. Several times Adrian looked over and smiled.

When he started telling him about Billy’s interest in baseball, he stopped and looked over at me. “That reminds me,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to ask you where Kenny is. He hasn’t been over here in a week.”

I looked quickly over to Billy, hoping he’d say something. He looked away and took a bite of his chicken. “Um,” I hesitated, trying to come up with a believable lie. “He’s been busy with baseball.”

“Well, so is Adrian,” my father replied, “but he managed to join us for dinner tonight.” I quickly looked back over to Billy. He took another bite of chicken without lifting his head.

“I’ll, uh,” I stammered. “I’ll tell him you asked about him tomorrow and tell him to stop by.”

“Maybe I’ll call his father tonight and make sure everything is all right,” he said as he lifted his coffee mug.

A new fear emerged. If Kenny had told his father I was gay, then my father would soon know. He and Mr. Fletcher played golf every week. I’m sure he would find a way to ‘casually’ mention it.

I looked at my father and mother. I wondered how they would take me being gay. Even worse, what would they say if they found out Billy was gay also? Would they think that maybe I made him gay? We do sleep in the same room, and Billy has always looked up to me. Would they think he was trying to be gay to please me?

I thought it must be hard on parents to have a child who is gay or lesbian. But two? Fortunately, we have a large family. My brother, Jimmy, is definitely not gay. He lives in an apartment with his girlfriend. It is only a matter of time before his girlfriend, Tamara, gives my mother and father a grandchild.

My sister, Marilou, already has a child; but she wants to wait a few more years before having another. She is back in school and wants to complete her nursing degree before she and her husband, Doug, have any more children.

As I looked at them, I felt comfortable that they wouldn’t be too upset if I came out to them. I knew my mother would be all right. You know, that thing about different colored flowers. Dad would be okay, too; however, he has always viewed me as an athlete. I wasn’t sure if he would handle it better if I wasn’t athletic. It is possible that he thinks the same way Kenny and many of the other guys feel. Gay guys shouldn’t be allowed in the locker room.

My father gave me a puzzled look when he noticed me staring at him. I hadn’t even consciously been aware I was doing it. “You all right, Son?”

“Yeah, Dad,” I replied embarrassedly. I looked over at Adrian to see if he was finished eating. When I noticed he had cleaned his plate, I asked, “You want to go up to my bedroom for a while?”

He looked at the clock on the wall. “Sure,” he said. “But it’s almost eight. I’ll have to leave soon.” We got up from the table and headed to my room.

“Here it is,” I said as I opened my arms and showed him around.

“I know,” he laughed. “I was here with Kenny last week.”

“Yeah, right,” I responded. “I forgot.” I walked over to my computer and downloaded a video game. Adrian sat beside me, letting our legs touch lightly.

We began playing, but both of us were too nervous to concentrate on the game. I kept looking at him, wondering what he was thinking. He put the control down and smiled at me. I closed my eyes when he leaned in and kissed me passionately. I moaned and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

I jumped when he reached down and ran his hand over my cock. He then grabbed it and squeezed it gently. I dropped my hand and felt his erect cock through the thin material of his athletic shorts. He moaned into my mouth.

Just as I had pulled back the elastic band and was ready to snake my hand into his shorts, the bedroom door flew open. We jumped apart. Billy and Lonnie were standing in the doorway with shocked looks on their faces. Lonnie’s eyes quickly darted back and forth at the obvious bulges in our pants.

“God, Zac!” exclaimed Billy. “I’m sorry! I forgot about the knock twice and wait thirty seconds rule. I didn’t think you guys would be doing anything.” He pushed Lonnie out the door before closing it.

Adrian jumped from his chair and started pacing around the room. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” he muttered nervously. I stood, and walked over and wrapped my arms around him.

“It’s all right,” I tried to assure him. “Billy’s cool. He won’t say anything.” He looked at me worriedly.

“What about Lonnie?”

“Billy will handle him,” I said. “No one will know.”

Adrian faced me with a worried look. “I can’t take any chances, Zac,” he warned. “If anyone finds out I’m gay, my life will be ruined.” Tears began to appear. “I’ll lose everything.”

He walked over to the window and stood looking out. I walked up behind him and tried to wrap my arms around him, but he pulled away. He looked nervously at the door. “We got to be more careful,” he warned.

“It will be okay,” I assured him. He looked over and frowned.

“Can you take me home?” I looked over at my alarm clock. It was only 8:10. I wasn’t planning to take him home until around 8:30.

“We still have a little time,” I said. He walked over to the door and opened it.

He turned and said, “I really need to get home.” He left and headed downstairs. When I entered the family room, he was saying goodbye to my parents. He didn’t even look at Billy and Lonnie who were sitting on the love seat. I glanced over and Lonnie was staring intently at me.

I wondered how Billy was going to handle this. Lonnie had no idea I was gay. As long as I had known him, I had been dating Rachel. He heard Billy talk about her all the time. I’m sure he was confused about seeing me locked in a kissing embrace with Adrian. I just hoped that Billy would be able to keep him quiet. Boys his age have trouble keeping secrets. If he let it slip to another student at school what he had seen, it could be disastrous for Adrian and me.

Adrian was silent on the ride to his home. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. There was no way we could maintain a gay relationship without others finding out. It was only a matter of time before it was exposed. Too many people knew I was gay, and it seemed the list was growing larger every day. I was becoming accustomed to the idea of being gay. Once I told my parents, then I thought that I could deal with telling my close friends and perhaps my teammates. Marty had made me realize that I could live my life happier if I was true to who I was.

But as I glanced over at Adrian, I realized that he didn’t have that option. Like he said, he could lose everything. His confidence on the football field didn’t match the confidence he had in himself. He could take on the defensive line of an opposing team, but it didn’t appear he could stand up to his father. Valerie had said that I couldn’t understand what his home life was like. Watching his reaction tonight, I realized it may be far worse than I had imagined.

And I also had another worry. Would he walk away from me if the pressure became too intense? Would he close Door Number 3 in my face before I even had a chance to open it?

“Let me off on the corner,” he said as I pulled onto the block leading to his home. He didn’t even want me to drive him to his house. When I looked down the street, I understood why. There were two cars parked on the street outside his home. About six guys were sitting on the hood or standing around talking. If I had driven Adrian to his home, then he would have to answer to them why a white boy was bringing him home.

“See you tomorrow,” he said as he got out and walked away without looking back.

Depression overtook me as I heard Door Number 3 slam shut.