Are You Christian - 13. Chapter 13

 

After getting home I was afraid that Mom would corner me into the living room to interrogate me. I had already told her what happened, but she’d want me to replay every little detail, like a detective. She would also be reading my reactions to things, something over the years I tried to mask, but she always seemed to guess right. I wondered if they took lessons on this sort of thing, but thought my mother would do more good in the world as an investigator instead of a therapist.

 

Instead of entering the house, I turned and started walking in the direction of the park, knowing it was the only safe place I could go. Though, in the opposite direction, I felt a pull as well. I couldn’t see his house from mine, but I didn’t dare turn around and start towards it. Being hidden behind the trees, I thought made it less of a desired direction. Then, I looked to the field that Jonathon and I had walked out of after spending the night in the tree. The dew hadn’t evaporated yet and I could distinctly see two paths through the wet grass, one of them had a larger stride, Jonathon had longer legs than me, being a few inches taller. He also seemed to walk in a small zigzag and I remembered his goofiness that also fit.

 

I walked around the field, still in my dress shoes. I didn’t want to get them dirty so instead I walked on the road that led to the spot we usually played roller hockey. No one was there, being early on a Sunday, most people were probably relaxing. I know Dad liked to take long afternoon naps in the living room. Mom would be sitting at the kitchen table talking to her patients that got comfortable enough to call her on the weekend, it hasn’t really happened yet and I wondered if it would. Back in Maryland Sunday was one of her busiest days, dealing with other peoples’ problems.

 

Landfalls is completely different. Stacey had changed and I had changed. It was the type of place that would change someone. She no longer jumped from guy to guy, stringing multiple people along. She settled on Adam not long after getting here and I wondered what was so special about him. The most significant difference though was the primary worry on my mind right now. I hadn’t thought it possible to find someone I could like here. That hadn’t happened in the larger community back home, but it happened here. It seemed like such different place on the outside held a lot of things we needed, but I still wasn’t sure at what cost.

 

Seeing the deserted tennis courts and baseball fields made me feel alone. Parks were never empty in Maryland. The silence almost overwhelmed me with the thoughts of Jonathon. Not seeing him without a smile on his face for longer than a minute, let alone crying with puffy sleepy looking eyes still haunted me. It also surprised me to feel helpless when it came to him. It made me wonder just how close I had let myself become with someone I didn’t really know and when it actually happened.

 

“Hey,” Jonathon said causing me to jump on the metal bleacher I had sat down on. When I turned to look at him, the effects from the basement weren’t on his expression. My reaction had amused him and he was biting on his lip to keep from laughing.

 

“Hi,” I responded scooting over on the bench so that he could sit beside me. When he sat down he leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder. I looked around as far as I could to see if we were still alone, until he let out a long sigh.

 

“I guess you’re wanting to know why I was late leaving the basement,” he whispered still resting his head.

 

“Not if you don’t want to tell me,” I stammered trying not to sound anxious. I wanted to know, but the whole situation seemed private to me so I fought the urge to prod further.

 

“I wanted to tell Gavin about me you know,” Jonathon said and I felt him tense after telling me, like he expected me to overreact.

 

“Don’t worry about that because of me, I don’t really care,” I lied forcing myself to smile, even though he couldn’t see it. It would worry me if we were out. His father wouldn’t accept him and would likely send him back to counseling, keeping me away from him. I already imagined the summer camp being a short term way of keeping Jonathon away from his friends. I felt myself getting angry with Gavin all over again, as well as Lacey. I hoped Gloria would keep what they talked about secret. Telling Jonathon’s father would be a mistake.

 

“Don’t lie it’s a Sunday,” Jonathon countered and I felt him laughing. I let myself smile, blushing slightly.

 

“We’ll not tell Gavin, but I understand,” I said and he finally sat straight up to look at me.

 

“I know they won’t accept me, you know?” He whispered frowning. “It’s lame to be friends with someone you know won’t accept what you are isn’t it?”

 

“No,” I reasoned still smiling. “Well maybe with Gavin, I’ve not really saw that much about him that I like.”

 

“He’s a good guy, just likes to joke,” Jonathon defended lightly, smirking when I raised an eyebrow. “It’s Matt that I’m more worried about, he’s my cousin and everything, if he found out.”

 

“Do you think he’d tell your family?” I asked, “your dad already knows really.”

 

“No he doesn’t,” Jonathon hissed glaring at me. The glare didn’t linger on his face and he looked apologetic, closing his mouth not wanting to continue the thought.

 

“So he thinks that place magically cured you?” I asked after a short silence fell on the two of us. The sun had become intense, beating down from directly overhead. I wondered if this weather was going to last much longer. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead and the metal bleachers were shining, causing us both to squint.

 

“Yes, remember he believes in miracles,” he said, “well I do too, but you know what I mean.”

 

“I guess,” I offered shrugging. He chuckled shoving my shoulder; I had to support myself with my elbow against the surprisingly warm bleacher. I recovered poking him in the ribs with my elbow. He pretended it hurt him until he was sure I wasn’t going to feel sorry about doing it, then he straightened up and let out another long sigh, looking straight ahead.

 

“Matt was my best friend until you moved here,” Jonathon said still not turning to me. I could tell he was worried about Matt more than anyone else. I didn’t know how close he was to him; they hadn’t spent a lot of time together with me around. “The others only hang with me because of him anyway.”

 

“I’m only their friend because of you,” I stammered before thinking. He shot me a look then rolled his eyes.

 

“You’re charming enough to be friends with everyone at school,” he commented putting his arm around my shoulders. This time I didn’t look around to make sure we were alone.

 

“I’m really quite shy,” I countered shrugging my shoulders. He didn’t remove his arm, but I felt him move closer to me on the bleacher our knees touching. He had changed into a pair of basketball shorts, and I still had my dress pants on, they were dark and collected the sun.

 

“No you’re not,” he argued shaking his head. “You can’t be shy coming from a family like your family, they would eat you alive.”

 

“I am shy,” I protested crossing my arms. “I barely had more than three friends in my old school and not counting you I have none, here.”

 

“There’s no reason to be shy,” Jonathon said and I rolled my eyes suddenly wondering where this came from. I didn’t like discussing me either, I had made the point to discuss what was troubling him. I didn’t argue any further, he was right about not having a real reason to be shy. It just wasn’t in me to be outgoing like Stacey, it seemed to come naturally to her. Jonathon had tried to drag me out of my shell the first week of school and to a point I let him, when I was no longer annoyed with him. I must not have seemed completely out of place around his friends though, or they were just being nice because of Jonathon. I didn’t really know where I stood with most of them, only Lacey and Jonathon and I wished I wasn’t as close to Lacey. I still had to break her heart before the next school dance came along. I had no intentions of putting Jonathon through another night like that or myself.

 

“What exactly did you pray about in the basement?” I asked after another long silence fell on the two of us. It wasn’t completely uncomfortable other than the heat of the day the sweat that seemed to be soaking my clothes making my under shirt and boxer briefs cling to my skin, it was becoming uncomfortable to be sitting in the sun.

 

“For Matt to come around,” he answered easily. I had expected him to not tell me at all as it seemed such a private thing for him to do. He glanced in my direction when I started fanning myself with my hand and he smiled slyly.

 

“You know we can cure your shyness really quick,” he whispered letting his hand slide down to my waist. I jumped when I felt his finger on the inside of my shirt rubbing at the waist band of my dress pants.

 

“We’re definitely not having any kind of thing out here,” I hissed forcing my voice, hoping it wouldn’t sound shaky.

 

“Well I had cooling off in mind, but your plan B seems…”

 

“Absolutely not,” I interrupted when his entire hand was now sliding under my shirts, my sweaty back caused me to blush. When I pulled his hand away he brushed his palm against the knee of his basketball shorts still smiling. “What about cooling off though?”

 

 

“In the creek,” he answered standing and pulling his t-shirt over his head revealing his tanned, slightly toned chest and stomach. He had a dusting of brown hair in the middle of his chest and a trimmed trail that disappeared behind his shorts. I didn’t try to hide the fact that I was looking at him either and laughed when he struck a pose.

 

“I don’t know about that,” I hesitated when he offered me his hand. “I’m in my dress clothes and everything, I would be killed if I got them dirty.”

 

“Well you don’t have to worry about that,” he said, “because you won’t have them on.”

 

“What do you mean?” I asked standing when he grabbed my crossed arms and pulled me to him. He let me go; still smiling he turned his back to me and started walking towards the bridge. I followed him noticing how toned his calves were and how the shorts showed off the roundness of his butt. I had to look away to keep from blushing further and walked faster so that I was beside him.

 

He didn’t talk, but we walked around the bridge on a smooth trail to the creek. In this spot it wasn’t even knee deep, but he took off his tennis shoes. I took off my dress shoes and socks as well. I wasn’t going to skinny dip, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to see Jonathon. I wondered if he was just playing around, as he hadn’t stopped smiling. He didn’t even seem brave enough to get naked and go swimming. We both stepped carefully over the uneven rocky surface, but the flowing water was crystal clear only becoming cloudy for a brief second after our foot touched the bottom with each step we took.

 

“It's warm isn’t it?” Jonathon asked slightly ahead of me. He didn’t turn to see if I was still following him, he could hear my slight splashing.

 

“Yes,” I answered noticing the water didn’t get any deeper. “But it’s not deep enough to go swimming in.”

 

“Well not here, no,” he said reaching down with his free hand and cupping the water in his hand. Then I saw him rub his bare chest. I suppressed the urge, I had to shudder and wondered why I was suddenly so out of control of my thoughts.

 

Deeper into the woods in the creek it started getting deeper and when Jonathon stopped I walked beside him and saw a break in the black slate rock to reveal a clear pool. It was just large enough for the both of us to be in at the same time and in the clear water the fish seemed to congregate. Jonathon walked to the bank and slid off his shorts and briefs in one move, it surprised me and I couldn’t stop staring at the roundness of his ass and the strength of his lower back. He had a distinct tan line from the hem of his shorts to his thighs, his body was smooth and when he turned around I forced my eyes away from his body. I heard him smirk then sigh as he glided into the small pool. The sediment at the bottom swirled around him then was caught in the current, if he sat still the water would be clear in a few seconds and I could see him completely naked again, but I still tried to focus on his face, which was beginning to show more animation as he watched me hesitate.

 

“Are you sure its safe to do this?” I asked looking around and expecting someone to show up at the creek.

 

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” Jonathon answered moving his hands at his side the water swirling in small whirlpools against the current. He then reached up, the water being just waist high and rubbed his wet hands over his chest and stomach. It made his skin glisten in the sun and I let out a small shudder. “Come on in Christian.”

 

“I don’t know…” I whispered still staring at his strong chest, the dusting of hair clinging to his wet skin. His blue eyes were brightly staring into mine and his smile didn’t show any nervousness, like he was used to being naked in front of people. Probably showering with the football team led to his ease, but my heart was hammering in my chest and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks when I finally started to unbutton my dress shirt. I didn’t have quite the definition Jonathon had, my frame looked thinner and I didn’t have as deep of a tan he had, Baltimore didn’t have any place like this where someone could be free with themselves. I wondered how many opportunities Jonathon took to do this.

 

“I discovered this spot in middle school, it’s pretty nice right?” Jonathon asked watching me fumble with my buttons. He looked like he was about to help me, but I finally released the last one and slid the shirt from my shoulders. I tossed it to the bank and was relieved when it made it. Then I slipped off my undershirt and I noticed Jonathon looking me over, the same smile on his face but less extreme like he was concentrating on me.

 

“Yeah it's nice,” I answered walking over to the bank to take off my dress pants. I had held them up to keep them out of the water on the way, but the bottom was still moist. When I was down to my underwear I turned my back to him clenching my eyes closed silently trying to talk myself into taking the next step.

 

“You know I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to,” Jonathon said, “so you can borrow my boxer briefs if you want to swim in your underwear.”

 

“No, I’m okay,” I countered as convincingly as I could, turning to smile at him. He bit his bottom lip, looking amused, but I finally slid my underwear down and they joined his on the pile of clothes.

 

“I must say you have the cutest butt,” he whispered when I slid into the pool, being slightly shorter it was at my navel. I blushed laughing at him. He broke the ice and I didn’t feel as self-conscious. I didn’t know if that was what he was trying to achieve or if he really meant it. I rolled my eyes when he couldn’t stop looking at me and splashed him. He snapped out of it and splashed me, the water was cool in this spot, but the warmer water from the more shallow parts of the stream would slide across our bodies if we sat still, not churning the water.

 

The sediment at the bottom was soft and I wasn’t scared of snakes anymore. It just seemed peaceful in this spot. We were sheltered from the intense sun by the shade of the trees that would also conceal us from anyone walking by. The place gave the impression of quiet, like the people here should whisper instead of talk to maintain the serenity of the place. We were both still glancing at each other’s body smiling when we would look up, eyes meeting. I never looked down to see how visible I was under the water, I was scared to ruin the moment if I looked and saw that nothing hid me. I still refused to look below Jonathon’s waist as well, but it took a lot of will power and concentration to keep from it. I also had to keep thinking that he wasn’t looking at me like that either, but I could feel a lingering blush across my face. It wasn’t easy to forget about being naked in front of him.

 

“Come here,” he whispered motioning me forward with his right hand. We had stayed on our own edge of the small pool. He could easily reach out and pull me closer to him, but he instead invited me on my own terms. When I took a step closer though he reached out and slid his hand down my chest, dipping into the water to my navel. I let out a shudder and goose bumps raced across my skin. He took his free hand and grabbed one of mine, placing it on his own chest and held it there until he was sure I wouldn’t pull it away. I watched him close his eyes and I rubbed my hand down through the dusting of hair to his treasure trail. Like me, he shuddered and I could feel the bumps forming on his skin. I took a few more steps closer, off to the side and he leaned into my shoulder kissing my neck. I nuzzled my nose into his, smelling his cologne mixing with the smell of the water.

 

“This is nice,” I said and I felt him nod still placing small kisses on my neck, each one of them causing another intense wave of goose bumps down my body. His other hand then found my side. It had been in the cool water and was a shock when it touched my hot skin. He stopped kissing my neck and moved to my jaw line and then found my mouth. I was too nervous to return the first kiss, but then when he became more persistent I met his lips with mine.

 

“Shh,” he sighed smiling into my lips then kissing me again. I was afraid at how far he wanted to take this, but I didn’t stop him when he kept kissing my lips. We hadn’t been able to be like this for such a long time that I wasn’t going to fight it anymore. He moved his hands over my body seeming to glide with his wet hands.

 

The breeze was blowing slightly which cooled the water on our skin, every once in a while one of us would shudder causing us to laugh , but we kept kissing until he started kissing down my body again. He bent his knees moving to my chest. I closed my eyes thankful that the water provided a natural barrier to my dick, which I could tell was becoming hard despite the cool water.

 

It was when he touched me with his hand that I jumped. My eyes flew open when he started jacking me off and I backed away from him causing the sediment to cloud the water. I sucked in a breath when his hand was persistent. He smiled at me and I was about to protest, but the intense feeling kept my mouth shut. It was then that I understood what Stacey said to me that day in the driveway. That I wouldn’t stop him when it came down to actually doing something like this and the sensation was too strong.

 

The water caused a natural lubrication as his hand kept a slow pace. I couldn’t control my breathing and when he thought I was holding my breath too long he would stop and I would let the air out of lungs then take a deep breath. I didn’t dare open my eyes when I felt his mouth back on my neck. He only lingered there before moving back to my mouth. It was when I felt my orgasm coming on that I felt the urge to stop him, but it was too late and I let out a low moan, my body shaking. He backed away from me, slowing his rhythm feeling my body tense. He didn’t stop or let go until I relaxed, my knees felt like they were about to buckle but I recovered opening my eyes.

 

“Sorry,” he said, “couldn’t help myself.”

 

“I didn’t stop you, did I?” I countered causing him to laugh, but then we both fell silent. I wasn’t brave enough to reciprocate then, but I moved forward and place a kiss on his collarbone moving my cold hands over his chest. He let out a shudder and I felt his own dick slide across my thigh. He hugged me close to him and I finally slid my hand down to his dick. When I took hold of him, like me he went rigid and sucked in a breath. Unlike me though he stood strong and when I started jacking him off his breathing became even, but deeper. His eyes were open, looking at me, but as I kept going he closed them and started to chew on his lower lip. Being afraid of this didn’t keep me from feeling closer to him, doing this. When he let out a moan and I felt the pulsing of his dick in my hand I followed his earlier technique and slowed letting the feeling wash over him until he began to go soft in my hand. I let go and his breathing slowly returned to normal.

 

It was after that I felt nervous all over again. We were both silent, and I kept thinking that he was feeling second thoughts about what we had just done. His smile didn’t seem to fit that though, but we were now standing a foot apart just looking at one another. I knew though that he had done things with someone else, so I wondered if he was just afraid that he had caused this uneasy feeling. Over all though I didn’t feel ashamed and when I smiled he let out a breath I wasn’t aware he had been holding and took my hand pulling me across the small pool again to kiss me.

 

“It’s going to suck when it's winter and we can’t come here,” Jonathon said hugging me tightly against him.

 

“We can’t come here a lot we’d pollute the creek,” I whispered and I felt his laugh.

 

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to kill the fishes,” Jonathon offered not sounding a bit worried about the fish. “I wished we were older.”

 

“Why?” I asked pulling away from him to look at his face.

 

“So I could take you away from here and be close to you whenever I wanted,” he answered frowning. “We’re kind of stuck here in Landfalls.”

 

“Don’t speed up time,” I said, “I know I like this right now.”

 

“I do too,” he said then smirked. “Kind of gives a wild edge to it now, right?”

 

“Like we’re sneaky,” I agreed and he laughed.

 

“When I get my driver’s license I’ll be sure to steal you away whenever I can,” Jonathon said his blue eyes bright.

 

“We don’t really have to hide though, not really,” I said then wished I hadn’t. He frowned and immediately told me he disagreed.

 

“Even with your weird parents we have to be careful,” Jonathon said forcing a tight smile. “I definitely don’t want to be given a sex talk from your Dad.”

 

“You got that right,” I said shaking my head, remembering that awkward talk. “At least they’re okay with the whole thing.”

 

“You’re lucky,” he said still holding me close to him. I wanted to get him off the subject, but couldn’t think of a way to do that.

 

“I like to think we’re both lucky,” I countered, “even with our situation we still can have stuff like this creek.”

 

“Well your cute butt is definitely a perk,” he stated and I felt him move down to rub his hands across my lower back to it. I let out a sigh, but his hands didn’t linger there and returned to my back, cooling it with his wet hands.

 

“You all around are a perk,” I said, “completely unexpected here in Landfalls North Carolina. You even have a hot accent.”

 

“Oh and your accent is a turn on too, just so you know,” Jonathon added and I rolled my eyes then nudged him playfully.

 

It was then we heard a crash in the thicket beside the creek, and then we heard footsteps running through the woods twigs cracking with each step. I turned to see the look of fear cross Jonathon’s face. He let me go and slightly pushed himself away from me, I reached for him when he started towards his clothes in a hurry, but he shrugged off my hand. I didn’t know who had seen us, but it wasn’t going to be good.