Paper Walls - 9. Chapter 9

I hear a knock on the door, and I get off the couch to open the door. Shawn is standing there, dripping wet from the rain outside. “Dude, you okay?”

“Can I come in?” he asks, avoiding my gaze.

“Yeah, um, let me grab you a towel,” I tell him and go to the bathroom to look for one.

I run back to the door and hand him the towel, “What’s going on, man?”

“Is Coach home?” he asks.

“No, my mom went to pick him up from the airport. His flight was delayed because of the storm,” I tell him.

“Guess that explains you just wearing the boxers, huh?”

I look down. Fuck, I stripped down to my boxers because I planned on getting some “me time” in since it’s been so long. “Ahhh…yeah, umm, excuse me, I will go throw on some clothes.”

He grabs my arm. “It’s ok,” he says.

“Yeah, but I feel rude,” I tell him.

“Ryder…stop,” he says, pulling my arm to make me face him.

“Shawn, please let go. You’re hurting me,” I say, trying to leave again.

He grips hard and pulls me into him. “I said no, because you look so fucking sexy right now.”

“What?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at me . Fuck, you have Renee all over your dick, but you don’t give her the time of day. Trust me, I’ve seen you, and I see what I want,” he says, cupping my face.

I open my mouth to respond, but he kisses me hard, and I can’t help but kiss him back. The hard kiss turns tender, and he starts moving me towards the couch. He shoves me backward over the arm of the couch. I watch him as he takes off his shirt and shorts leaving him in wet clinging boxers.

He falls between my legs, and our throbbing dicks are lined up with each other. I felt myself get hard when he was stripping. He runs his fingers through my hair. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I pull him down and mash our lips together. I feel his wet boxers against my own, and he does something magical. He grinds his hips against mine, and I let out a moan. His hands start to explore my bare chest and abdomen. “Fuck, I wish I would have done this sooner,” he whispers in my ear.

“Me, too,” I moan out, as he keeps grinding against my dick.

I start to grind back against him, and I hear him let out a moan as well. His lips frantically find my neck and he starts to suck on my skin. “Oh god, Shawn, I’m gonna cum soon,” I pant.

“Good, cum for me,” he says, and grinds harder against me.

I grind back faster against him, as I’m overwhelmed by the sheer pleasure of the heat radiating between us and him nibbling on my ear. “Ohhhhh god!”

I feel myself start to cum. I’ve never had an orgasm this hard ever. I’m breathless. I feel Shawn’s lips against my neck again. “You cum for me, babe?” he asks.

“Mhmm.” I say, and he keeps grinding against me, causing me to whimper.

I let him keep grinding against me, even though I want to scream from the sensitivity, but there is a flash of lightning followed by a huge clap of thunder, and a tree branch flies through the window.

I bolt upright at the sound of the crash and the glass breaking. I look around and my mom still isn’t home. I look to my crotch and I feel the stickiness. I can’t believe I just had the biggest wet dream of my life, and the branch coming through the window wasn’t part of it. Another clap of thunder and I jump off the couch and run to the kitchen. I find my phone on the counter.

“MOM! Are you almost back?” I yell, as I am trying to hold back the tears.

“Yes, Ryder, I just picked your father up. What’s wrong? Why are you yelling?”

I can’t hold back the sobs because the storm seems like it’s getting worse. “Please hurry. A branch just broke the living room window. Please hurry,” I tell her between sobs.

“Honey, its ok, it’s just a storm, and we can replace the window. I know you are scared. Just get to the bathroom, okay, and we will be home shortly,” she says.

I tell her okay and hang up. I sprint up the stairs to my room to grab a pair of shorts and tank top and new boxers, and run to my bathroom. I look in the mirror and I can see I am a mess - my eyes are swollen from crying. I grip the counter as a flashback hits me of being young and trapped….I shake it off, before it consumes me.

I turn the water in the shower on to hot and jump in. Feeling the tension ease up just a tad, I start to wash my body to get the dried cum off me. I can’t believe I had a wet dream. I haven’t had one of those in like two years!

I get out of the shower and get dressed. I hear another clap of thunder, followed by my father’s voice, “Ryder, where are you at?”

“Up here,” I yell. Coming down the stairs, I see my father, and I run into his arms.

“It’s okay, buddy, we’re back,” he says, hugging me.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him.

“For what?”

“For being so scared…” I trail off.

“Don’t be,” he says.

I look over to my mom and see that she has put a trash bag over the broken window. “It won’t fix it, but it will keep the rain out until the storm dies down.”

“I’m surprised we still have electricity,” my dad says.

As soon as he says it, there’s a crack of thunder and lightning and the lights go out. “Well, shit.” he says.

I grab my phone and turn on the flashlight app, as I hear the front door open. “I don’t think we are going to have electricity for a while. I just saw a transformer blow sparks,” someone says.

I snap my head to the front door because I’d know that voice anywhere. “Jeremy?”

“Hey bud,” he says, dropping a few bags by the door.

“You’re here? Why? How?” I ask, walking up to him, and he hugs me.

Jeremy is a whole lot taller than me, he has a medium build, plus he is pretty damn defined in the muscle area. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes; he gets his eyes from his father. For as long as I can remember, Jeremy always looked out for me and protected me. He’s pretty much my adopted big brother.

He hugs me back. “I missed you, too, bud. I don’t really want to get into it right now, but I will tell you everything tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you boys get some sleep. I know Jeremy has had a long few days. You don’t mind sharing your room until we can get the guest room set up for him, do you, Ryder?”

“No, sir,” I tell him.

“Come on, Jer.” I tell him, motioning for him to follow me.

We make it to my room. I shut the door once Jeremy gets in, and I can’t help it. I close the distance between us and I wrap him in a hug. I feel his arms wrap around me. “I’ve missed you so much!” I tell him.

“I missed you too, bud.”

“You don’t mind sharing the bed with me? I mean, if you do, I can take the floor,” I tell him, unwrapping my arms from him.

He looks at me, his hazel eyes studying me. “Dude, I have no problem with it. It’s the same bed we used to share back home. What’s gotten into you, man?”

I shift from one foot to another and hug myself, “Nothing, I just didn’t know if you wanted to or not…”

“Come on, man, let’s lie down. I am wiped.”

I crawl into bed, taking the inside, like I always do. I watch him strip down to his boxers, and he’s as ripped as ever. He gets into bed, and he pulls me close to him and wraps his arms around my waist. NO, there was nothing ever between us. Jeremy is straight as can be. He’s always done this to me. Especially on bad nights or when my anxiety is elevated.

“Rye, what’s going on with you? Where’d the confident little brother I had go?” he asks.

“This is going to sound so stupid, but I am just lost here. I don’t know anyone, and it’s hard to make friends, and I feel insecure all the time. Most of the football team doesn’t really like me, and then there’s Garret who tries his best to humiliate me any way he can. They don’t like that I am a freshman on varsity. Dad just doesn’t get it. I’ve only known my old house since I was adopted, and I always had you at our old school. That, and I am so fucking lonely, Jeremy…and then there is Shawn….”

“Hey, you have me, man, and you’ve got me now ‘til I graduate, and even after that, you have me. I think Coach understands more than you think he does. He talked about you a lot, and he knows something is wrong. He is hoping now that I am here, you will get your confidence back and get to be the old you. Who’s Shawn?”

“Shawn’s the quarterback…and he’s….”

“You have a crush on him, don’t you?” Jeremy asks.

I feel myself blush. “Yes….”

“Is he gay?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him.

“Well, you need to find out then!” he says.

“I will,” I tell him, knowing I probably won’t.

Lightning flashes and a clap of thunder shakes the window and I jump, only to feel Jeremy pull me closer to him. “It’s okay, buddy, I got you. Nothing is going to happen.”

I curl into him and feel the warmth that is radiating off him, I start to breath easier. I can feel the anxiety I was having start to fade away. I put a hand on his arm just to make sure he is still there which is stupid because I know he is, but it just makes me feel better.

“Jer…what happened? Why didn’t you text or call me this past weekend? Why are you here?” I ask.

I hear him sigh. “My dad started his stuff again…it got pretty bad this time, man, and well, he got drunk and he went to hit my mom, so I stepped in, and he hit me square in the jaw, so I hit him back. He left the house and went to a bar, and proceeded to get piss drunk…he ran a red light and t-boned a car, killing the whole family…. He’s in jail, man.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Jer… what about your mom? Where is she?”

“Mom went to go live with my aunt in Jersey. I didn’t want to go. I would lose my scholarship, so I called Coach, and well, my mom gave him guardianship over me, and here I am.”

I turn to face him. “I’m sorry this has happened, but I am so fucking happy you are here.”

This time, lightning flashes and the thunder that follows scares me so bad I am almost in tears. Jeremy pulls me in closer, so my head is resting on his chest. “Rye, nothing is going to happen to you. You’re safe with me here, bud.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him.

“Hey, it’s okay, Rye.”

I don’t know when I fell asleep, but I pop up and look over at Jeremy, who is fast asleep, his dirty blond hair shining in the sunlight. I look at the time and see it’s past eight. I get out of the bed slowly so I don’t wake him, and grab some shorts.

I run down the stairs and see my mom on the phone and my dad at the table. “Dad, we are late for school!” I tell him.

“Settle down. They cancelled school for the day. There was some damage from the storm, and they couldn’t get the power back on,” he says, drinking a cup of coffee.

I take a seat across from him, and just look at him. I can tell he’s got a lot on his mind. He finally looks up at me and smirks. “What, Son?”

“So, Jeremy is here to stay?” I ask.

“Yes, he is.”

I grin wider. “So does that mean you’re going to put the dream team in during a game?” I ask, wagging my eyebrows.

He just looks at me and shakes his head. “You are hopeless, kid.”

“Come on, Coach, you know you want to see what we can do!” Jeremy says, walking in and sitting next to me.

I see my dad grin from behind his coffee cup. “Don’t you boys have something else to do besides harass me at eight in the morning? Why aren’t you asleep still?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Why aren’t you still sleeping?”

“Because I have things that I need to do,” he says.

“Like make new plays since you have the best wide receiver and the best quarterback living with you now!” I say, fist bumping Jeremy.

“Honey, what have I done?!” my dad says, getting up and walking over to my mom and kissing her.

“Oh, don’t bring me into this. This was all your doing,” she says, smiling.

“Jeremy, I need to know what you will need so we can go get it from the store,” my mom says.

“I don’t need anything, Mrs. K,” Jeremy says..

My dad snorts. “Horse shit, Son. You brought two duffle bags down here. If you are anything like Ryder, you are going to need more clothes. Plus, we have to get you a bed for your room. We haven’t had time to do that yet. Now just tell her what you need and we will get it. This is your house now, too. If you thought I was hard on you last year, think again, Son. We have to secure the scholarship with UT, and I have a meeting later to explain to the UIL about why you moved here, so they’ll allow you to play ball this coming Friday.”

“Yes, sir.”

I walk into the kitchen to get some eggs my mom is cooking, and I hear the doorbell ring. “Jeremy, can you get the door, sweetie?” my mom asks.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I follow him, because I want to know who is at the door at this time of the morning. A voice asks, “Who are you?”

“Well, the question is, who the hell are you? You are the one who showed up here,” Jeremy says.

“I just wanted to know if Ryder was home.”

“Well, he might be, but you didn’t answer the question. Who are you?” Jeremy asks again.

“Jeremy, it’s cool. That’s Shawn,” I tell him, walking up.

I can see relief flood through Shawn’s face. “Quarterback Shawn?”

“Yeah, that one,” I tell Jeremy, giving him a look.

“My bad, man, just kind of protective of Ryder,” Jeremy says, stepping back so Shawn can come in.

“It’s cool, I don’t blame you,” he says, blushing a little.

“I’m Jeremy.”

“Shawn. And trust me, I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are, man. You are the number one receiver in Texas.”

Jeremy laughs. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

My dad walks around the corner with his briefcase. “Shawn.”

“Coach, how are you?”

“Busy, you good?” he says.

“Yes sir, I was just wanting to see if Ryder wanted to hang out, since I’m off work and school.”

“Good, keep him out of trouble. Oh, Shawn, tell your brother there is an art show next weekend I want to take him to.” Jeremy, I will call Mrs. K later to let her know how it all goes, he says on the way out.

“Yes sir,” Jeremy says.

“Jeremy, are you ready?” my mom asks, walking up to us.

“Yes ma’am, let me grab my wallet.”

“No need to. Oh, hi Shawn, how are you? Where is that adorable brother of yours?”

“Hi, Mrs. K. He is at a friend’s, and I am doing great, just came to hang out with Ryder.”

“Did y’all want to come along?” my mom asks.

I look over at Shawn, and he gives a look like he isn’t really wanting to. “If it’s cool, Mom, can we stay here, toss the ball around, maybe watch some TV?” I ask.

“That’s fine, just don’t burn the house down. If you need anything, just call me.”

I kiss her cheek. “Will do. Don’t wear Jeremy out too much, Mom.”

She laughs, and Jeremy gives me a fist bump and a wink. I instantly blush. “Douche bag!” I say.

“Ryder!” my mom scolds.

“Sorry!” I tell her.

“Shawn, make sure he doesn’t burn my house down!” my mom says.

“I won’t let him.”

“Good to meet you, Shawn,” Jeremy says.

“Yeah, you too, man.”

Jeremy pulls him into a bro hug and whispers something in his ear, and Shawn gets a more serious look on his face and nods his head. I watch as Jeremy leaves the house with my mom, and I turn to Shawn, who looks like he is a little uncomfortable with it just being us….