TJ - 7. Chapter 7

TJ

Chapter 7

It was Friday morning a week after Kevin’s dad showed up at the house drunk with a gun; that ended with Kevin’s dad getting shot in the shoulder after the sheriff’s department showed up and he refused to lower his weapon. He was arrested, and the judge set his bail at some ridiculous amount. There wasn’t anyone willing to bail him out, so it didn’t matter. That was also the night I met Sean’s Uncle Aaron. Imagine Sean about twelve years older in a tight-fitting uniform. I asked Sean if we could get him one and he said I wasn’t allowed to fantasize about his uncle while doing anything with him.

We all noticed the change in Kevin after the threat of his dad was taken away. He smiled more, talked more, and we discovered a wicked sense of humor under the gentle giant exterior.

Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah, Friday morning a week later. We were eating breakfast still in our sleeping shorts. Robert looked over at Josh and me and said, “Now, y’all finish up breakfast and get ready for school. Remember today’s Spirit Day theme is purple and white.”

“Okay. That’s fine. I’ll find a purple shirt to wear.”

Both Josh and Robert looked at me like I was from Mars or something. Josh said, “You can’t just wear a purple shirt and say that’s it. Seriously, aren’t you going to paint your face half purple and half white? Amber and Jenny are doing my face before school and I’m wearing my school shirt from last year with one white Converse and one purple Converse. If you just throw on a purple shirt, that’s totally phoning it in. Don’t you have any S-P-I-R-I-T?”

“Are you serious right now? Painting your face? Two different colored shoes? You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb. There’s no way I’m painting my face or anything else like that.”

Robert chuckled. “Teej, you have no idea. If anyone’s going to stick out today, it will be you. This town takes football and school spirit very seriously.”

“Yeah, right. Every school says that. The football players will be wearing their jerseys, the cheerleaders will be wearing their uniforms, and few other students and a couple of teachers will be dressed up.”

“You’ll see. You’re going to wish you didn’t phone it in by the end of the day. Maybe Jenny will take pity on you and paint your face.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to be wearing face paint today.”

Josh interjected, “It’s not called face paint, it’s war paint. You’re going to be surprised, I promise you.”

Well, let me just say, I stuck out like a sore thumb. There were only a handful of students who didn’t come decked out in purple and white with war paint on. This school was crazy obsessed with school spirit.

Thankfully, my caring, wonderful, loving boyfriend happened to have his war paint with him and sat me down in the cafeteria before classes and I officially acquired school spirit or something.

While Sean painted my face half purple and half white, I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. They were emerald green pools I could drown in and die a happy man. He noticed my stare and got a shit-eating smirk on him face.

“Babe, the way you’re looking at me right now is making my dick painfully hard. I don’t want to walk around here with a boner in my shorts and I don’t want to get expelled for public indecency. Besides, if I get arrested before tonight, I can’t come over after the game and spend all night with my lips on your skin.”

“Oh fuck!” I exclaimed as I surged forward and claimed his lips.

The kiss was mind-numbingly blissful until I heard Rogers’ voice. “Fucking faggots.” I looked his way to see him and Smith glaring at us. Surprisingly, Rachel was holding Smith’s hand. She looked nervous for a moment until she looked at me and glared.

Sean groaned and I was about to say something about finding new material when I heard Josh speak. “Seriously? What is your fucking problem? What did any of us ever do to you? What gives you the right to stand there and yell insults like that? Sean is your teammate and captain who put everything on the line to be honest with y’all. And you repay his honesty by calling him names and insulting him? How does us being gay affect you at all? We’re not hitting on you or checking you out. We’re minding our own business and not hurting anyone.”

I don’t think Josh realized he was saying “us” and “we” while he spoke. He had just unintentionally outed himself to the two biggest homophobic bigots in the school. I made eye contact with Sean and the look on his face was a mix of shock, awe, and admiration. I looked over at Kevin and could tell he was surprised but there were signs of moisture in the corners of his eyes. I notice Rachel looking at Kevin and she put two and two together. She looked back at me and her eyes almost softened. I stood and placed my hand on Josh’s shoulder. He looked at me and looked scared for a moment. I squeezed his shoulder and he looked back at Rogers before continuing.

“I don’t hear anyone complain when Castro kisses Jenny. In fact, I don’t hear anyone complaining about Sean and TJ kissing except you. Why is that? Are you jealous?”

I knew he had gone too far. Before I could react and pull him out of the way, Rogers grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“You little fucking…”

That’s as far as he got before we heard a primal roar come from Kevin. “Get your goddamn hands off my boyfriend before I put you in the hospital.”

Rachel dropped Smith’s hand and looked at him, silently begging him to stop his friend. He just smiled at her. Rogers looked from Josh to Kevin and back to Josh. He laughed and threw Josh in Kevin’s direction. Kevin caught Josh before he could fall but never took his eyes off Rogers.

“Walk away now and you’ll still be able to breathe on your own. If you ever look at Josh the wrong way I will make you regret it.”

Rogers chuckled, but it sounded forced and full of false bravado. “Don’t worry Wilson, I won’t hurt your little butt boy. Just make sure he watches his mouth.”

Kevin all but growled, “Walk away. This is your last warning.”

Everyone, including Smith, could hear the promise in those words. He wisely said, “Come on Rogers. We gotta get to class. Leave the fags alone for now.”

Smith and Rogers started walking away. Rachel was looking from Kevin to Smith. It looked like she was trying to decide what she should do. Smith turned and said, “Rachel, come on babe. If you don’t leave with us now, don’t bother trying to talk to me again.”

For half a second, I thought she might do the right thing and choose her cousin. She looked at Kevin and Josh and whispered a pathetic, “Sorry y’all,” before turning and walking to catch up with the pair. Smith threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her forcefully to his side.

I glanced at Kevin, but he was too busy comforting Josh to care about his cousin’s actions. Josh looked at me and started to say something, but I cut him off.

“Robert’s going to be so fucking pissed and for once it won’t be at me.”

Josh barked out a laugh and sounded a little hysterical when he spoke. “I just came out. Oh, fuck me gently with a chainsaw. I just came out.”

“Yeah bub, you did. How do you feel? Are you okay?”

Kevin spoke softly in Josh’s ear. I could barely make out what he was saying. “I’m so proud of you. But, if you ever try to stand up to someone that much bigger than you again, I won’t be happy. It took all my willpower not to throttle him when he grabbed you. Now, I think we need to go talk to your dad and let him know what happened.”

“I guess we should. I’m not looking forward to this. Hopefully he won’t be too pissed. Thank you for not attacking Rogers. I don’t want you getting in trouble over his ignorance. Well, let’s get this over with before class starts.”

They started walking away and since this was normally the type of thing Josh and I handled together, I blurted out, “Hey let me grab my things. Wait up.”

They turned and looked at me. Kevin looked apologetic and Josh looked confused. Josh looked at me and simply said, “You don’t need to come. Kevin and I can handle it. I’ll see you in Drama Class.” He turned and started walking to the office.

My face must’ve fallen because when Kevin and I made eye contact, he started, “Teej, I’m sor…”

“It’s okay. Go on and catch up with him. I’ll see you at lunch.”

It looked like he was about to apologize again. I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle that, so I said, “Really Kevin, it’s okay. I’ll see you at lunch. Go on.” And then I added in whisper he could barely hear, “Please.”

He nodded and said, “It will be okay. I’ll see you later.” But his eyes were saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

As he walked to catch up with Josh, I rushed to my backpack, picked it up and tried to walk away. Before I could make it a few steps, someone grabbed me from behind and whispered in my ear, “Are you okay, babe?”

It took me a second to be able to answer him honestly. I nodded and said, “Yeah, I think I am. It hurts to think he doesn’t need me like he used to when we were young. Normally, this would be the kind of thing he would need me to be with him for. Just to stand next to him and encourage him and give him support. I guess he has Kevin to do that for him now and I think I’m okay with it.”

“You know he’s always going to need you too, right? He’s always looked up to you as a big brother. The only thing that has changed is now he has Kevin to help take care of him. Come on, let’s head to class, the bell is about to ring.”

“Oh, shit! I forgot some of my homework out in the car. Will you tell Mrs. Waters I’ll be a couple of minutes late?”

“Okay, hurry up. You know how she gets when someone comes in too late.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in bit.”

I quickly gave him a kiss and ran out to my car. Once I found the homework I was looking for, I headed back inside. The halls were eerily empty. It’s weird how a school hallway can go from chaos to abandoned in less than a minute. Anyways, I was turning the corner to head my English class and saw Rachel walking towards the classroom from the opposite end of the hall. This was not the overconfident, selfish bitch walking my way. Normally she walks like she’s the most important person in the room. I might not like her, but I will admit she has a presence about her and people notice when she walks in or out of a room.

The person I was looking at was looking down at the ground, almost shuffling her feet, and wiping at her eyes. Gods help me, I don’t know why, but I actually waited before entering the classroom to check on her.

“Rachel? Is everything okay?”

She looked up and I could see she had been crying. When she answered me, there was ice in her words. “What do you care? Let me in, I’m late.”

“Hey, I was just making sure you were okay. I honestly don’t give a fuck. I gave my last one to Sean, so you’re shit out of luck.”

I started to open the door, when she surprised the fuck out of me and laughed. I looked up at her to make sure she hadn’t lost her damn mind, and she was smiling at me. The bitch further blew me out of the water when she said, “Thank you, I needed that.”

I was stunned and stammered out, “Umm…you’re welcome?”

“This doesn’t change anything. We’re not going to be friends. But thank you for asking. Just stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. I’m trying to get Smith and Rogers to back off Kevin and Sean, but I don’t think it’s going to work. I’m not sure what they have planned, but tell Sean and Kevin both to be careful. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. Get out of my way so we can go inside.”

“And the bitch is back,” I said with a slight smile.

She huffed and pushed past me loudly stating, “Get out of my way, you’re making me late for class. Just leave me alone. Sorry Mrs. Waters, TJ wouldn’t let me come into class. I’ve been trying to get past since the bell rang.”

I stood in the doorway with my mouth hanging open. Before I could respond to what was said, Mrs. Waters said, “Mr. Kennedy, please close your mouth before something flies in and take your seat, I’m ready to begin.”

After class, Sean wasted no time before he asked, “What was going on with you and Rachel?”

“When I came in from getting my shit out of the car, I saw her walking down the hall towards the classroom and I could tell she had been crying. Now, here’s where I plea temporary insanity because, me being the dumbass I am, asked her if she was okay. Basically, she asked why I cared and I said I didn’t because I had already given you my last fuck, so I didn’t have any more to give. She actually laughed at that. Scared the shit out me. I was half expecting her to start projectile vomiting split-pea soup and her head to start spinning around. Either that or start fucking herself with a crucifix screaming ‘Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, lick me raw bitch.’ Thank the gods none of those things happened. But, she did tell me she’s trying to get Smith and Rogers to back off you and Kevin, but y’all need to watch y’alls backs.

“Next thing I know she reminds me we’re not friends. No shit bitch! Then she pushed past me opening the door spouting off some bullshit about me not letting her past to get into the room. Like I was purposefully trying to make her tardy or something.”

“Wow, we really didn’t need to watch The Exorcist last weekend.”

“Really? That’s what you got from my rant? The Exorcist references? Wow, it’s a good thing you’re hot and I kind of like you because, hello? Rachel and I had a civil conversation and we both lived to tell about it. That’s like way epic, don’t you think?”

“You know, before I turned her down, she wasn’t that bad of a person. Just very persistent. Kind of bratty sometimes. Expected to get what she wanted. Never mind she was a bitch back then too. Alright, I’m going that way, you go that way.” He indicated which direction we were supposed to head, like I wouldn’t remember. This is the worse part of my day. I won’t get to talk to him again until lunch. Then I won’t see him after lunch until last period.

“Okay Brainiac. I know where I’m going. I have been going to school here for three whole weeks. I’ll see you at lunch. Love ya.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

I watched him walk away for a moment, smiled to myself while admiring the view, then headed for Drama. I immediately went to find Josh. He was talking to some of the other students when I walked over to them. One of the girls asked, “Kevin Wilson is really your boyfriend? Really? I mean he’s so…and you’re so…” When referencing Kevin, she held her hands as far apart as she could. When she spoke about Josh, she held her hands about six inches apart. An uncontrollable laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Josh turned around and looked at me. I noticed he had added Kevin’s number to his cheek. One look in my eyes and he knew what going on in my mind.

He stood up and put his hand over my mouth. To get him to move his hand, I started lick his palm knowing how much he hated it. “Eww, gross Teej. Keep your mouth shut, please.”

I shook my head and said, “What? What do you think I was going to say? I certainly wouldn’t make any references to a Chihuahua and a Rottweiler.”

Josh’s neck turned an adorable shade of red while the girl who made the hand gestures, whose name is Stacey, looked at me and started giggling. I decided to take pity on him and said, “Actually, Kevin is a sweetheart and I couldn’t want anyone better for my baby bro. You should see them together.”

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Since it was a game day, the football team didn’t have to be anywhere till 6:00, so Sean, Kevin, Josh, and I went out to grab a bite to eat. At one point during the meal, I looked at Josh and asked, “How did the rest of the day go for you? Anyone give you any shit over this morning?”

He shook his. “No, not at all. I was asked questions all day, especially after I added Big Guy’s number on my cheek. Otherwise, if anything, people seemed supportive. I understand why Dad’s worried about us coming out. When he was in high school and college, things were different. But people our age tend to be more accepting when it comes to sexuality. Yeah, there are still bigots and homophobes out there, but they are not as common as they used to be.”

We talked a little longer, then decided to head to the school. The stadium filled up faster than I thought possible. This town is seriously dedicated to supporting the football team. Josh and I found seats next Jarrod and Mike. I noticed Jenny and Amber on the sidelines and waved. They came over to say hi. Since they were co-head cheerleaders, it was their responsibility to get the paper sign the football team runs through set up, so they couldn’t speak to us for very long. I kept noticing Mike and Amber glancing at each other and smiling. Mike surprised the hell out of all of us as they were walking away.

“Hey, Amber!” She stopped and turned towards us before Mike continued. “Umm…I was wondering if you wanted to maybe, possibly…umm…well…what are you doing after the game?”

She smirked at him. “Nothing, yet. Why?”

He was starting to blush. “Well, I was thinking that maybe, I mean, I thought you might be hungry after the game and wanted to see if you maybe wanted to get something to eat?”

Amber is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, but she isn’t above teasing someone. I think we all like to watch people squirm a little. So, it didn’t surprise me when she asked, “Mike Hebert, are you asking me out on date?”

Mike stammered out, “M…m…maybe? I mean, if you wanted to consider it a date. Or, we could just go as friends. It’s up to you totally.”

“I would love for you to take me out on a date tonight after the game.” She winked at him and ran to catch up with Jenny.

Jarrod, Josh, and I sat there in silence. I’m not sure how my face looked, but Josh looked like he was about crack up, while Jarrod’s face was a mixture of shock, amusement, and awe. I finally broke the silence when I busted out laughing. I managed to say, “You realize my boyfriend is going to threaten you with bodily harm if you hurt her, right?”

Mike’s eyes got comically huge. He managed to speak out an “Oh,” before I clapped his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let him hurt you. Too much. Besides, you being the big badass track star I’ve heard about, you can probably outrun him. Maybe.”

The game started shortly after that. Our team looked good. Sean looked fantastic. He tended to hand the ball off to Castro most of the time. When he did throw, he hit his target almost every time. There was one point where it looked like he had fumbled the ball when Smith “accidentally” allowed one of the defensive linemen past him. The ball came loose as he was being tackled. Luckily, the ref ruled him down, so the ball didn’t change possession. The final score ended up 38-21, in our favor.

As soon as the clock hit zero, we all ran onto the field to congratulate the team. I was going to give Sean a fist bump or a bro hug since there were so many fans surrounding us. However, once Sean saw me, he ran up to me, picked me up in a hug, and placed a light kiss on my lips. The crowd around us suddenly got eerily quiet. There were a few gasps when they noticed the same thing happening with Josh and Kevin right next to us. Most of the team, however, carried on like nothing was wrong, trying to encourage their parents to act like nothing was wrong. As far as Smith and Rogers went, they were glaring at us.

This is, until Robert and Lori came over and congratulated Kevin and Sean. Suddenly, Tweedle-Dee and Tweddle-Dum had somewhere better to be. Robert leaned over to me and asked, “Are y’all going to the party tonight?”

I looked at him questioningly. “What party?”

Robert chuckled. “The football team has a party almost every Friday night during the season. It’s normally at either one of the player’s or one of the cheerleader’s house. I’m sure Kevin and Sean will get invited in the locker room. If y’all go, have fun, be careful, watch out for your brother, and be home before one. That’s when the city curfew starts.”

I nodded. “Alright, I’ll call you and let you know whether or not we go to party.”

Robert smirked and me. “Maybe you should text me instead. I might not want to answer the phone.” Then he winked at me.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “I don’t want to hear about that shit. Will y’all be at Lori’s or at home?”

He slapped me on the back and said, “I’m following her to her place. I won’t be out all night. We’re just going to watch a movie. Y’all be careful. Call if it’s an emergency.”

As he and Lori walked away, I noticed him reach out and grab her hand. I’m happy he’s happy. I turned back around to find Kevin having a conversation with Rachel that looked a little intense while Sean and Josh talked to Stacey (the girl from my Drama Class) and some guy who was looking at Sean like he was God’s gift to the world. I could tell Sean was nervous, but when the guy put his hand on Sean’s forearm and started rubbing up and down on it, Sean stiffened up. I practically ran over to them. As soon as I made it there, Sean drew me into a tight hug. When I turned around, he grabbed me from behind and held me close to him.

The guy was about my height and we had similar body types. What differed was his eyes were blue instead of hazel and his hair was dirty blonde. I simply smiled at him while he glared daggers at me. I stuck my hand out and said, “Hey, I’m TJ. And you are?”

He glanced at my hand and then back at Sean. He took my hand in an extremely loose grip and barely held it for a second. “I’m John. Stacey’s cousin.” I swear his purse fell out the second he opened his mouth. I’m not saying anything bad, I’ve met many guys who were extremely flamboyant and have no problem with them. (And yes, I am totally aware that is exactly like saying “I’m not racist. I have many friends who are black.”) I’m a firm believer in be who you want to be as long as nobody gets hurt; and if they do, as long as it’s consensual, have fun. But for some reason, I didn’t like this guy. He just seemed…too much.

I glanced at Stacey and she was looking from Sean to John and then back again. Nobody was saying anything, and the silence was getting uncomfortable; so, I said, “This is Sean, my boyfriend.”

To my surprise, John smirked and said, “Oh, I know Sean. Isn’t that right, hon?”

Josh giggled, and John glared at him and said, “What’s so funny? You know, for a short-stuff you’re hot.” Just then, Kevin walked over and joined us.

When he heard John’s comment he pulled Josh into a tight embrace and surprised me by saying, “And for a smartass, you’re fucking dumb.”

Stacey then spoke up. “I’m Sean’s neighbor and John spent last summer with us. They met, and we spent most of the summer in Sean’s pool. By the end of the summer, these two were hanging out without me. John’s just moved into our neighborhood. He starts school with us on Monday.”

“Really? What grade are you in?”

“I’m a senior. Hopefully, Sean and I will have some classes together. That way, I’ll know someone in my classes.”

We heard Coach Wilson call the team to the locker room. Sean placed a kiss on my cheek from behind and said in my ear, “Wait for me by the locker room doors. I shouldn’t be too long.” He then said to Stacey and John, “I’ll see y’all later.” He got Kevin’s attention and they jogged off to the locker room.

The tension in the air was intense. Nobody was saying anything. I was staring at John, while he glared at me. Josh finally broke the silence. “Come on, Teej. Let’s go wait for Sean and Kevin. We’ll see y’all later. Bye Stacey.”

Before we walked away, John sneered at me. “What a cute nickname, Teej.”

I spun around and crossed over to him and snarled, “Sorry, John. Only my friends and family call me Teej. You can call me TJ.”

Stacey had a shocked look on her face. However, she gasped loudly when John said, “You should ask Sean about me. You know, you never forget your first.”

I reached back, getting ready to hit the pompous ass, but Josh grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. Stacey said, “John! Stop being a bitch.” He smirked at me and turned on heels and walked away. She turned to me and said, “I’m so sorry TJ. I had no idea. He just asked me to come say hi to Sean with him. I didn’t know he was going to act like that.”

Without another word, I turned and walked to the locker room, leaving Josh behind. He jogged and caught up with me just before I made it to the door. I was about to storm in there when Josh once again grabbed my arm and asked me what I thought I was doing.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp and angrily said, “I’m going to ask him why he never told me about John. I can’t believe this.”

Josh grabbed my arm again and dragged me over to the side of the building. “You’re going to storm into the locker room and ask Sean, in front of all of his teammates, about the guy he supposedly lost his virginity to? Think how that will go over for a second.”

“Well, why didn’t he ever tell me about him? Huh? What is he hiding?”

Josh sighed. “How do you know he’s hiding anything? Did you ever ask him about his past?”

“No. I assumed he would’ve told me when I told him about Scott. He never mentioned anyone else; so, I guess I thought…I don’t know what I thought.”

“Look, you have nothing to worry about. You and I both know Sean loves you. In fact, when John walked up to us, the first thing Sean did was ask where you were. He noticed you were talking to Dad, so he didn’t interrupt. He pointed you out to John and told him you were his boyfriend.

“I was watching John the whole time. As soon as Sean told him, he didn’t stop watching you. Right before you turned around to find us, he shifted his gaze to Sean and got that stupid dreamy look on his face. When you started walking toward us, he started stroking Sean’s arm. He was baiting you. And you fell right into it.”

“That’s fine. But why didn’t Sean ever mention him before?”

“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him. But, you know you have no reason to be upset with Sean, right?”

“Fuck you and your logical mind. I can be upset if I want.” And I wanted to be mad. I wanted to be angry, pissed, vengeful, fucking raging through the streets kicking kittens and eating babies. But, I wasn’t sure who to direct it all at. John for being a disrespectful, pompous asshat. Sean for not telling me about John. Stacey for bringing him back into Sean’s life. Josh for being friends with Stacey. Kevin for being a silent, gentle giant of a Kevin. I realized I was stretching by that point.

I sighed out my misfocused ire. Desperate for a change of subject, I said, “Robert is letting us stay out till city curfew tonight if we go to the party. He told me to text him if we were going home earlier than one. He’ll be at Lori’s most of the night. I’m not sure I’m in a ‘woohoo let’s party with jocks’ mood. You can go with Kevin if you want. Sean will probably want to go too.”

I then heard my boyfriend’s voice answer, “Not if you’re going to be somewhere else. Besides, Kevin and I were distinctly not invited to tonight’s party. It’s at Smith’s house. Castro and few others have already said they’re not going. Is it okay if him, Jenny, and maybe Amber come over for a little bit?” He turned to Josh and asked, “Are Jarrod and Mike coming over? I thought they might like to hang out too.”

Josh smirked and said, “Jarrod might come over, but Mike has a date with a senior varsity cheerleader named Amber.” Sean let out an amused chuckle.

I turned and looked at my freshly showered, wet-haired, emerald eyed, muscular, fit, tank top and athletic shorts wearing boyfriend looking yummy as hell and all my anger disappeared. I was about to say something witty and charming and perfect when I heard, “Mmmm, love me a jockcicle. And it’s my fave flave, Sean!” from behind me.

Before I could turn, Sean grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him and hugged me. In a very even, controlled, almost angelic voice, he said, “John, I told you I’m with Teej.”

John giggled light heartedly. “I’m just playing around. It’s harmless flirting. Can’t he take a joke or is his head too far up your ass to hear one in the first place.”

I turned, still in Sean’s embrace and spat out, “No, not yet. Maybe later, though. However, if you don’t stop running your dicksuckers and shut the fuck up, my boot will be so far up your goddammed ass, you’ll be tasting leather for the next year.”

He had the nerve to look offended. He huffed out a breath and said, “I don’t think Sean appreciates you talking to his friends like that. He’s looking a little pissed off right now. You should show some respect to his friends and learn to take a joke.”

“Well, I don’t give a flying fuck what Sean thinks right now. What I do know is I don’t appreciate you hitting on my boyfriend right in front of me. I don’t appreciate how little respect you show to our relationship and to me. Respect is a two-way street fuckface. When you show some, you’ll get some.”

“Whatever. Look, Sean. I was just coming over here to say I’ll see you, I mean y’all, at the party, right?”

I answered before Sean could speak. “No, sorry. We’re not going to the football team’s party. The person hosting has a strict no fags allowed policy. You should go though. I’m sure they’ll loath you as much as I do.”

Sean whispered in my ear, “Teej, we can’t let him go to that party. You know that. If everyone else is coming to hang out, let’s at least invite him and Stacey. You know you have nothing to worry about. I love you. I’m with you. It will be fine. Trust me, please.”

“Fine. Do what you want. I don’t want him to get hurt too much, so I guess he shouldn’t go to the party. But he stays away from you and me and you’re not allowed out of my sight. I trust you completely. I don’t trust that snake for shit.”

I could tell he was smiling when he nuzzled my neck. “Thank you, babe. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He raised his head and said to Stacey and John, “Why don’t y’all come hang out with us.”

To say John was surprised would be an understatement. I locked eyes with him and said in as even a tone as I could muster, “Don’t read too much into it. The second you look at me or Sean or a fly on the wall wrong, you’re gone. You say one thing remotely out of line, you’re gone. Fuck, now I need to call Robert and let him know Josh is having a party.”

Josh laughed. “Oh, hell no, Teej. We’ll blame this on Sean and Kevin. Tell him they forced us to have a little get together against our wills. Or better yet, blame Alex. He’s normally in trouble anyways.”

Jarrod, Castro, and Jenny had walked over while Josh said that. “Sure, blame the Mexican. You gay guys are vicious. I haven’t been in Mr. Kennedy’s office once this year.”

Sean chuckled. “It’s only the third week of classes bro. You’ll land your ass in there for something sooner or later.”

“Probably. Go ahead and say it was my idea. What am I taking the blame for this time?”

I spoke up. “A little get together at my place. Robert’s going to be at Lori’s watching a movie.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed Robert’s number. He was laughing when he picked up. “Hey, Teej. What’s going on?”

“Tonight’s party is going to be at Smith’s place. Obviously, Sean and Kevin didn’t receive invites. Castro and Jenny said they weren’t going. So, I was wondering if I could have a few people over to hang out with us. It would be about fifteen people max. Oh yeah. Castro’s taking the blame for this.”

“That’s fine. No drinking or drugs. Period. I know exactly how much is in the bottles in the liquor cabinet. If I come home and one drop is missing from any of it, it’s your ass. If I smell anything remotely like weed, it’s your ass. I know you don’t do drugs, but you never know who does. Watch everyone. That means no disappearing with Sean to your room while more than the four of you are there. Watch your brother. I’ll be home around 1:30 or 2:00. If I’m too tired, I’ll call y’all and let y’all know.”

“Alright. Now, please tell me not to harm or maim or kill this one guy who won’t stop flirting with Sean.”

“Teej, don’t harm, maim, or kill the guy who is flirting with Sean. I don’t want to deal with a dead body tonight and I’d rather not have the cops at my house two weeks in a row. Go, have fun and be careful. Everyone except Kevin, Sean, Josh, and you gone by 12:45. That should give everyone time to get home. Now, I’m going back to my date. Love you, bye.”

And he hung up. I turned back around to find John standing so close to Sean there wasn’t visible space between them. And dickbreath didn’t move when I came back over. I might have accidentally stepped on his foot while taking my place next to Sean. Petty? Yeah, you’re damn right. I pulled Sean’s ear next to my mouth, so I could whisper, “I going to fucking murder his face before the night’s over. I swear to whatever deity is wanting to help me invoke justice for the wrongs being done to my person.”

He must’ve thought I was joking because he chuckled and told me to calm down. I was being provoked and my boyfriend laughed. I pulled away from Sean, grabbed his hand, and started walking towards the parking lot. Kevin had ridden with Sean that morning and Josh rode with me. Jenny had her car and Stacey was driving her and I thought John. However, I had to stop the parade of cars and trucks from leaving the parking lot because somehow, John had weaseled his way into Sean’s truck. With just the two of them. Josh and Kevin were in my car with me and Jarrod. I apologized to Kevin and Josh because there were only a few ways this train was heading out. Either John riding with someone else, like his cousin who he rode to the game with, or Josh or Kevin was going in Sean’s truck. And riding bitch. Josh grudgingly agreed to ride with Sean. Sean rolled his eyes and sent me an emoji that was doing the same. So, I sent him the angel emoji to show my total innocence. That earned me a laughing and crying one in return. I sent him the middle finger one and put my car in drive. Kevin and Jarrod claimed they had to listen to me bitch and complain the entire way home. I told them I was merely voicing my concerns and letting them know that I just didn’t like the shitstain.

At least Sean had a “please-save-me-from-this-hell” look on his face when he got out of his truck. Josh was wearing an “I’m fucking awesome at cockblocking” smirk. I love my little brother. Once we were all gathered in the living room, I sat on the love seat and made damn sure Sean was by my side; and since the love seat was only big enough for two, John had to find somewhere not near Sean to sit. He still glared at me, but at least he wasn’t being as snarky as before. Maybe that was because he was sitting across from us and couldn’t talk to us.

Castro and Jenny let me know Mike and Amber would be coming over after they finished dinner at Chili’s. I looked over and noticed Stacey and Jarrod were deep in conversation and smiling at each other. About fifteen minutes later, Amber and Mike arrived holding hands. A couple of Sean and Kevin’s teammates followed them. One was a senior defensive lineman named Mark and the other was a junior named Patrick, the backup quarterback. I’d met him but hadn’t really interacted much with him. I noticed Josh curled into Kevin a bit more when he saw Patrick come in and Josh glared at him. I whispered in Sean’s ear, “What’s Patrick’s story? Josh doesn’t seem to like him too much and Josh likes everyone.”

“Remember Josh telling you how he became my Little Buddy?”

“Yeah, you stopped someone from bullying him. Y’all never said who it was.”

“There you go.”

“What the fuck? Why is he here?”

“Calm down. Patrick isn’t the same kid. He’s been talking to Kevin and me and wants to set things right with Josh but doesn’t know how. He picked on Josh for a long time. He feels horrible about what happened. He’s avoided talking to Josh for over four years because he doesn’t know what to say. Kevin and I kind of set this up. Give him a chance to talk to Josh. He needs this. And I promise, Kevin won’t let anything happen to him.”

Patrick walked up to Kevin and Josh and in front of everyone said, “Josh, I need to say something that I should have said four years ago. Actually, I should never have had to say anything, but I was an asshole and afraid of who I was. Who I am. I’m so sorry I was ever anything but a friend to you. We were friends once, but I got confused. Me, you, Jarrod, and Mike used to hang out all the time. I started liking you and, at the time, I thought it was too much. So, I pushed away my three best friends.

“What I’m saying is I miss y’all. I’m sorry for the way I acted years ago. Can you ever forgive me?”

Josh looked misty-eyed. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Paddy, I’ve missed your face asshole.”

Jarrod and Mike walked over to him and Jarrod asked, “So, Paddycakes is back?”

“Ugh, y’all know how much I hate that nickname. But if it means y’all forgive me, then yeah, Paddycakes is back. I’ve missed you fuckers.”

Josh looked at smirking Kevin and then looked at Sean, who was wearing a similar smirk. “Y’all had this planned out didn’t you.”

Patrick sheepishly nodded. “I’ve been wanting to apologize and beg you to forgive me for years. I just didn’t know how to go about doing it. I didn’t think I could handle it if I knew you flat out hated me. After the day Sean stopped me, he kind of took me under his wing. That’s why I went out for QB. He also helped me realize picking on anyone is wrong. You guys remember how my brother was; so, I thought it was okay to pick on kids smaller than me. When Sean and Kevin came out, and then you and Kevin started hanging out together, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the rest. So, I asked Kevin to help me out. When Sean vouched for me, Kevin agreed. I’m just glad Kevin didn’t kick my ass, thinking I was still in love with you.”

“Still in love with me? Whoa! I mean I thought that was where you were going with the story. But hearing it said out loud is weird. So, you’re not in love with me?”

“I was kind of bummed Kevin got you first, but naw, I got over that two years ago when I met Ethan.”

“Who’s Ethan?”

“Ethan Marsh. He’s my boyfriend. He’s a sophomore. His family moved down here from Mississippi about two years ago, but we’ve only been together for a year and half. They moved into the house next to mine. He’s about your height, has black hair and blue eyes, which you can’t see because he wears glasses. He’s shy and doesn’t talk a lot. He has a stutter and even though it doesn’t bother me, he’s self-conscious about it. The amazing thing is, he can sing beautifully. He’s even in the choir.”

They continued their reunion, and everyone seemed to be having fun. Except John, who sat on the other side of the room staring daggers in our direction. I really needed to use the restroom but was way comfortable in Sean’s arms. Finally, my bladder won out and I told Sean I would be right back and asked him to keep an eye on things. On my way back, five minutes later, I checked the time and it was just past midnight. We still had about thirty minutes before everyone needed to head out.

When I entered the living room, I immediately noticed two things and my stomach felt like a lead weight had settled in it. First, the love seat was empty. Second, John wasn’t in the room, but neither was Mark.

Kevin answered my first unasked question. “Sean’s dad called, so he stepped outside. He should be in the backyard.”

I nodded and turned towards the kitchen. I looked through the door and could see Sean out by the fence talking on his phone. I slid the back door open and he turned my way when I stepped onto the patio.

“Oh, my god, Dad. Is he alright? He’s alive, right? ...Okay, good…Alright, you call Mr. Kennedy and call me back…Do you know how long y’all will be gone? Are y’all driving or flying out there? Well it’s a twelve-hour drive, so let Uncle Aaron drive half. Y’all be careful and call me tomorrow and let me know how he’s doing. I can’t believe this. I love you too.”

After he hung up the phone, he started walking towards me. I met him half way and pulled him into a hug. I looked up at him and asked, “Where’s your dad and Aaron heading? Did something happen?”

“They’re heading out to El Paso tonight. My grandfather had a stroke last night and they need to head out there and see what needs to be taken care of. Dad was about to call Mr. Kennedy to see if Kevin and I can stay here till he gets back. I guess I’ll know more sometime tomorrow when they get there. All I know right now is my grandfather had a stroke and he’s alive.”

“I hope everything turns out okay. I’m here for you if you want to talk, vent, whatever.”

He placed a light kiss on my lips and said, “I know. Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

Before he could answer, we heard a barely audible moan come from the side of the house. I held my finger to my lips and quietly walked that way. There was no one on this side of the gate, but I could hear some heavy breathing from the other side. I looked at Sean questioningly and just shrugged his shoulders. I decided not to give any warning and opened the gate quickly.

We heard, “Oh, fuck! This isn’t what it looks like. I swear. I’m not gay.” The image we were greeted with was Mark leaning against the house with his pants down around his ankles, and John on his knees bobbing his head on Mark’s rather impressive cock.