Josh - 2. Chapter 2

Saturday came, Dad and I went into the city and brought a rugby ball for Dawson. I was surprised to see that they even had one in stock. The salesman told me that a lot of colleges play rugby, that surprised me. I also bought a rugby shirt for Dawson.

“Have fun, try to make some friends.”

I took my gifts for Dawson and headed to his house. Knocking on the door, Dawson opened it with his sister behind him, “Happy birthday. I bought you this, it’s a rugby ball. I hope you like it. I wasn’t sure what to buy you, we don’t exchange gifts at home, unless you’re family. “

I guess he could tell I was a little nervous, “It’s great, I’ve been watching that disk of yours. I can’t wait to play.”

“Hello Mrs Chester.”

“Hello Josh, come on in. Everyone is in the back yard.”

Samantha whispered, “Your the first one here.”

I just smiled as I followed her to the back yard patio. Mr. Chester had the grill ready so I guess there will be more hotdogs. Dawson and I started to throw the ball around. I showed him how to hold it for a kick. He did kick it. “Not bad Dawson, you might make a good rugby player after all.”

“I think I’ll like this game, I’m sure my buddies will as well.”

It seemed like everyone came at once. Dawson ran to answer the door and then about fourteen kids came to the back patio. Dawson introduced each one to me, but I knew it’d be a while before I could attach face to name.

“Guys this is Josh. Josh these guys are my friends from school. I’ve known most of them since first grade.”

As I spoke to them it was obvious I wasn’t American. “Are you from England?”

I laughed, “Yes, I’m from England and only moved here.”

Then the usual questions, how old are you, what grade are you in, how do you like living here, is there much off a difference compare to England. That didn’t stop, the next set where more along the line of have you ever seen the Queen, what about William and Kate. I tried to answer them all, but you never really do.

“I can’t get over the funny accent you all have.”

“We have an accent, you have an accent.”

That set off the mimics. “Josh, show us how to play rugby.”

For the next two hours we played rugby. There were seven guys to a team and I acted as referee. We had no goal posts, but we had fun. By the time the food was ready, we were ready to eat. Sitting around the table eating gave me a chance to look over the guys. I hadn’t really noticed them when they came in but now sitting here eating, I could look them over. The boys talked about girls, they all seemed to have a girl friend except one boy who more or less sat a little off from the rest.

I watched as some of the boys put an arm around him and gave him a squeeze. He’d pull away and move a little further away. He was good looking, nice smile, blond hair with a slight wave and sea green eyes. Dawson must have seen me looking at him, he winked at me. I’m not sure what that meant. I just smiled back at him.

Over the next few weeks, we played rugby every Saturday. Same fourteen boys and of course my shy friend was there. I found out his name was Roger and his brother was one year older than him, closer to my age whereas Roger was closer to Dawson’s age. But all fourteen boys were in the same grade.

School was to start in a few weeks. Dad and I went to register for classes. He had my transcript from my old school. Changing schools has its problems, even when your changing within the same country. When you’re changing from a different country, it’s an altogether different matter.

School started the last week of August, which for Dawson was normal. I had a split schedule, some classes were with Dawson and the boys and some of my classes where in the next higher grade. I have one class with Roger and I made sure I sat next to him. By this time, we were friends, so we chatted before class began. I was beginning to like him as a friend. Peter was still a part of me and we talked or emailed each other every day.

I talked to the gym teacher about starting a rugby team. I was surprised he was all for it. But I had to get the players. I knew of fifteen guys who wanted to play I just need a few more. It didn’t take long for the coach to help round up enough guys for two teams, we were a little short of back-ups but we had enough to play. The football team joined right in, since the game is similar, the coach thought it would be a great opportunity for practice.

Thanksgiving holidays was something new for me. All my friends were excited, I didn’t understand the holiday but Roger explained it to me. As he talked, I kept looking at his lips, I wanted to kiss them. Then Peter’s image flashed in my mind. I was developing feelings for Roger but I was confused, since I still had feelings for Peter.

The coach told us that we would have a rugby game with a school on the other side of the state. He explained that the school was close to a college that had a team and wanted to find another high school team to play. We were very excited, we now had to put together a team that would win. This meant that some of the players would not be chosen, but they all seemed to accept it. “Ok guys, the game is on Saturday, following Thanksgiving, We’ll need drivers and supporters.”

That was all that was said. Drivers weren’t a problem, I think every boy said they would get their dad to drive. Some of the football players had their own cars and said they would be glad to take some boys. The coach had the PTA fund uniforms and I think we looked sharp. Practice every day, rain or shine.

Thanksgiving, the Chester’s invited us for dinner. Dads brought two bottles of a very expensive wine and let us all have a small glass. Dinner was delicious, I’ve had turkey before but this tasted different. Mr. Chester said he brined the turkey before he cooked it. I didn’t understand what that meant but it did taste good.

Friday I spent with the guys practicing. Of the original fourteen, only six were on the team with three as back up. The rest of the team was from the football squad. I felt confident we would win.

Friday night Dad packed the car with my equipment. Dawson brought his over Saturday morning early and we picked up Roger on the way. Roger wasn’t playing but he said he’d be cheering us on.

The drive to the field took four hours, I was glad we left early. “Josh, the weather doesn’t look good. I think it’s going to rain. Leave your clothes in the car and then you can get them after the game.”

Dawson and I followed the coach into the girls locker room to change into our uniforms. Roger followed and took Dawson’s and my clothes to the car. One of the guys said it’s going to rain. “It’ll be fun, just don’t be afraid of getting wet and muddy, because you will.”

The other team seemed to have bigger boys but I knew that speed was more important. Then the coaches started the game. The referees where college students who played for the college team. We were lucky and got the first scrum. I ran toward the goal as Dawson tossed the ball to me. When he saw I was being pursued and about to be taken down, “Josh” I knew and tossed him the ball.

He scored, 2 to 0 than Eric score the kick and now the score was 4 to 0. We lost the following scrum but the kid was slow and John took him down, the ball game loose, picked up by Gary. Gary started to run toward the goal, I ran along side of him but a little forward so he would have to toss the ball in front rather than to the side. He saw me and tossed the ball, I headed for the goal but before I could get there I was tackled. I did manage to toss the ball to Gary before I fell. There was a scramble as Gary dropped the ball, the referees called a dead ball and another scrum was formed.

Then the rain started to really fall. Now we were not only wet but cold. We lost the scrum and they were able to kick a goal for 2 points. The next scrum, we took possession of the ball. I watched as Dawson was viciously tackled, after passing the ball to John he just laid there. The coach came and took him off the field, he was replaced with one of the back ups. The other team stopped to see what was the problem, which allowed John to kick a field goal for 2 points.

From that moment on the game got rough. The other team didn’t like the idea they were losing and started to hit us harder than necessary. We were wet, cold and now we were hurting. The coaches conferred and decided the weather was too bad to continue. Game called, we won even if we did not played the full time.

Roger asked us if we wanted our clothes, “No, Dawson and I will take a hot shower with our clothes on. It’ll wash away the mud and maybe provide some warmth. Tell Dad that we’ll be wet, he has a tarp in the trunk which he can put over the seat.”

The coach came in and said although the game didn’t go the full time, we had played well. I looked at the guys, some were bleeding which I couldn’t understand until one of guys mentioned that some of their team members had shoes with cleats. “I think half of them played in their football shoes.”

I was wet and hurt. As we were leaving the locker room, some of the kids from their school started to call us names and hurl mud pies at us. Within 15 minutes, the cops came and put a stop to it. I let the rain wash the mud from me. Dad had the car running and the heat on. Dawson and I ran to the car and jumped in. Roger was in the middle which left it easy for Dawson and I to get in quickly.

“Thanks Roger, could you get our towels out of our bags?” Roger just reached behind the seat, open the bags and gave me my towel and Dawson his towel. After drying our face and hair, “Mom is going to have a fit when she sees this towel.”

“Leave it at my place. I’ll wash it with mine.”

“No, that’s ok, she’ll understand, I hope.”

I set my damp towel across my lap. Roger picked its up and started to wipe some blood from my knee. I didn’t even noticed I was bleeding. “I didn’t know I was bleeding, thanks Roger.”

He just smiled. Once again I felt something for him. Tonight I’m going to have to tell Peter.

Later that evening, “Dads, what would you say if I told you I think I’m gay?”

“Josh, what do you think we’d say, we’re gay.”

“In a way I was hoping you wouldn’t be, not because there’s anything wrong but the road you’re walking is a hard road. There’re a lot of obstacles and they can hurt you.”

“What Dad Jim is saying is true. It’s easier in some countries but unfortunately America isn’t one of them. Do you have someone you might be interested in?”

“Yes, Roger”

“Roger, I thought you were going to say Peter?”

“I like Peter but what I feel for Roger is different from what I felt with Peter.”

“Are you going to tell Peter?”

“Yes, tonight, I hope he takes this well. I really don’t want to hurt him and I still want him as a friend.”

“Good, that’s the mature thing to do.”

As I headed to my room, my phone rang, it was Roger. “Hey Roge, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to know how you’re feeling. You were pretty bruised up.”

“I’m ok, a little sore and a little disappointed. It’s too bad that they were so cruel just because they were losing. A lot of our players got hurt and wearing cleated shoes was really evil. It was suppose to be a friendly game, but they were after blood.”

“They appeared to be ok until we scored. Then they got angry and tried to turn it into a football game. Your dads were a little upset. They were afraid you were going to get hurt.”

“Well, I’m a little sore. I think the cold numbed the pain. I’m beginning to feel it now.”

“Maybe I should come over and help ease your pain.”

Laughing, “That sounds like a great idea, Doctor.”

“Ok, I’ll call you after dinner. Maybe I’ll stay the night.”

“That would be great. You could tend my wounds all night.” Saying that we said goodbye, now I must call Peter. I wasn’t looking forward to this but I had to be fair to Peter as well as to Roger.

FaceTime is too easy. Within less than a minute, there was Peter smiling at me. “Hey, Josh I was just getting ready to call you. How did your game go?”

“We won, but it wasn’t a good game. The weather was rainy and cold. The other team wore football shoes which were cleated and so a lot of us came away with a few mementos. How’s it on your side of the world?”

“It’s the same here. I wanted to call you to tell you something. Since you have been gone, I have been feeling a little lonely, I guess the guys noticed. Do you remember Pinky Evans?”

“Yes, that wasn’t his real name. We called him that because he used his pinky a lot. Remember his goodbyes, waving at us with his pinky finger.”

“I have been seeing him a lot and we sort of are dating.”

“I’m glad for you Peter. I know it can be lonely. Tell Pinky to take good care of you or I might have to come over there and break his fingers.”

“You aren’t upset?”

“No, actually I’m happy because I called you to tell you I may have found someone as well. Now that you have found someone I can pursue my friend with a clear conscious. And so can you. You’re my best friend and all I want for you, is for you to be happy.”

“Thanks Josh, it’s a relief to get this off my back. Send me pictures of this new interest. If I come over, I’ll bring Pinky with me.”

“What do you mean ‘if’ it’s ‘when’ and you must bring Pinky. It’ll be like old home week. I have to go, dad is calling me for supper. The next time we FaceTime, I’ll have Roger and you have Pinky, we’ll have fun.”

“We’ll you look happy. Did you talk to Peter?”

“Yes, he wanted to tell me the same thing. Do you remember Charles Evans, we called him Pinky?”

“Yes, was’t he the one who said goodbye with his little finger?”

“Yep that’s the one, Peter is dating him.”

“That lets you off the hook. Did you tell him about Roger?”

“Yes, he’s happy for me and I’m happy for him. I told him when he comes over to bring Pinky with him. By the way, Roger is coming over tonight to spend the night. He should be here after dinner. That’s ok isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s ok”

Dinner was great and now the evening will be great. I wonder what sleeping with him will be like? Will he like to cuddle? What if he wants to do some sexy stuff? I’m sure I’m not ready for making love like the dads do, maybe a hand job, I’m not sure about sucking. Kissing and cuddling I’m all for. Maybe he has had other boyfriends and is expecting more, I hope not. The only thing Peter and I did was kiss.

As I sat and thought about these things, I began to get nervous. Dad Ron picked up on this, “Josh, relaxed. If he’s as shy as you say, it’ll be all right.”

“What if he’s experience in gay love, you know I’m not. What should I do?”

“Just relax, do what you’re comfortable with and stop when you are uncomfortable.”

I thought that was good advice. One thing about having gay dads is that they know exactly what you’re going through. The doorbell rang, “I’ll get it”