A Strange Start to a Friendship - 6. Games, Progress, and There's One in Every Crowd

Friday

The second Friday after school began was our first game. Most of the starting defense was on the kickoff team. We kicked off first, being the home team, we deferred to receive after halftime, so I was in right from the start. No return on the kick. Reaching the endzone near the middle of the field on the first kickoff was the best our kicker did all game.

Their first play was a run to the right. Craig Mathis stopped it for a two-yard gain. I guess they figured running at Craig didn't work, so they tried my side. No better. I stopped the run for no gain. 3rd and eight killed us. Long pass in the middle burned Eric Matthews. The right cornerback, behind me, caught up to the receiver after a forty-two-yard gain to our 33. A repeat of the same play burned Eric again. Touchdown bad guys. Their kicker wasn't very good either, missing the extra point. Six-zip.

Coach Enders saw their kicker was weak and put me in as the up man on the kickoff to us. Good move on his part. I caught the ball just beyond the twenty, broke two tackles and never looked back. Our kicker was wild. He could kick it long, but there was never any guarantee which way it would go. He was only playing the position because Ted Marks was out, probably in jail. So, coach called a run left for Andy Anderson on the two-point try. He followed Jerry Blaine and me into the end zone. Eight to six.

I got a bunch of high-fives when I got back to the bench, and probably twice as many strange looks when Cory gave me a hug. I didn't care, it felt good.

Most of the rest of the game went back and forth like the start. Their players tired sooner, so we pulled away a little in the end. We won 36-24. Neither team successfully kicked a single extra point. We made three two-point conversions. failed on two others. Never even trying the kick. They missed two extra points and failed on both of their two-point conversion attempts. I had three tackles, one of which was a QB sack. In addition to the kickoff return for a TD, I rushed six times for forty-one yards. Not a bad first game on a new team.

The next few practices coach tried a few more people out as a kicker. Jerry Blaine was the best of a bad bunch. He couldn't kick it far, but at least it went straight. So next game, I would take his place blocking on extra points and potential field goals. Anything more than forty yards on the latter would be a lost cause, so we would go for it on fourth down if we were outside of the twenty. That didn't turn out too well, but we really had no choice.

After our third game, which was on the road, Cory and I finally went past the jerking off together stage. His mom had to travel to Stockbridge, which is a little south of Atlanta, because her mother was ill. She would be gone from Friday afternoon until sometime Sunday. That meant Cory was sleeping over. With no guest room, that meant in my bed. After the game, dad called Cory and me into his office. Neither one of us was looking forward to that.

"I don't want to make a big deal out of this, but I just wanted to caution you two to keep the noise down if you do anything together. I would guess you're probably doing some things together, sexually, but I don't want Roger to be exposed to anything. I'd say the same thing if you were dating a girl, Roy, so don't think it's anti-gay. I suspect he knows more about sex than I did at his age, but that doesn't mean we can just ignore any sense of decorum. Okay?"

"Sure, dad. We're taking it slow anyway. I don't think we'll get loud."

After we left the office, Cory said, "that could have been a lot worse."

"I was expecting a lot worse. Like him handing us a few condoms."

"Ewww. Yeah, having your dad do that would have been embarrassing."

"On the plus side, he didn't say 'don't do anything.'"

"True. You going to shower?"

I pulled him in close and buried his head in my armpit.

"Why? Do I stink?"

"Gross. Yes. And thanks for the sweat up my nose."

"No problem. I have an idea though."

"What's that?"

I pulled him into me again and rubbed more of his body against mine.

"What the fuck, Roy?"

"Now you're stinky too. Join me in the shower."

"What about Roger?"

"He can shower by himself."

"That's not what I... oh, I give up. Lead on McDuff."

All three bedrooms that were actually used as bedrooms have an attached bath. Dad made the fourth his office since it didn't. Cory followed me into my bathroom. I started the water running.

"I want to undress you."

"Um. OK, Roy."

"If you don't want me too, it's OK."

"No, I'd like that. I'm just surprised."

"I think it's time to take things a step further."

"Just one step?"

"Yeah. Helping each other, rather than just watching. What better place than in the shower? No mess to clean up."

Cory responded by raising his arms. Green light, go. I took off his clothes, then I took off mine. I pulled him in tight for a kiss. The kiss did what I hoped it would. I stepped back to admire his boner. He did the same and we got into the shower. I had him turn around and I soaped up his back and butt first. I avoided his butt crack; I thought touching that might be a little much at this point. I spun him back around to face me, my hands now touching his dick for the first time. I leaned down to kiss him some more, then started stroking him. He took a pump of body wash and rubbed it on my dick. I quietly moaned into his mouth. We started jerking each other. It didn't take either of us long to cum. It was so great feeling his cock throb in my hand, shooting his seed on my thigh. I exploded onto his stomach, feeling like I would never stop.

"Wow. That was awesome, Roy."

"Mmmm, I agree. We've been in here a while. Let's actually wash before the water gets too cold."

We finished up in the shower and put on what we were going to sleep in, shorts and t-shirts. We went back downstairs to say goodnight.

"Goodnight mom, dad. We're going to play some video games before we go to sleep."

"OK, have fun. Goodnight."

Dad said goodnight too, then Cory did. Roger was somewhere else in the house, but saying goodnight to him wasn't necessary. We headed back up to my room. I closed the door. Cory looked at me, confused.

"It'll help mask any noise. Just in case."

I had more planned than just in case but didn't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. I started a race game that would allow us to alternate, rather than play at the same time.

"You can go first."

Cory picked up a controller and started playing. While he was taking his turn, I took my shorts and t-shirt off.

"What, I finish a lap and you strip? I didn't realize there was a strip version of this game."

"We can make any game have a strip version. I just wanted to get more comfortable."

Cory crashed and I took over. After a minute or so, he stripped too.

"Nooow you get it."

Another round of turns and we were both hard again.

"It's kind of distracting playing, when you have a boner."

"You can help get rid of it if you want."

That was the only invitation Cory needed. Shit, if it was distracting playing XBOX watching someone with a boner, it was doubly so being jerked off while playing. Needless to say, my player crashed quickly.

"Let's see who can survive in the game longer while the other is jerking him off."

"Challenge accepted, Roy."

Cory picked up the controller, I let him get started on the level and took his cock into my hand. It was like a tied hockey game; sudden death. We alternated for a while longer, neither of us having much success surviving long, but laughing about it. I finally dropped the controller while Cory was wanking me and reached for his cock. I pulled him down beside me and we kissed while jerking each other off.

Breathing hard, Cory stopped. "Roy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I..."

He looked at my cock and opened his mouth wide. It wasn't a very difficult hint to figure out.

"You sure?"

"Yes. I want to taste you."

I nodded and then was dropped into the pleasure zone. It felt amazing having Cory's mouth on my dick. I knew I wasn't going to last long, with all the jerking that had just occurred, but I fought it as best I could for maybe two minutes. Okay, probably thirty seconds.

"Cory, I'm gonna..."

His lips still wrapped around my dick, he mumbled "go."

I went.

"Mmmm, mmmf, mmm. Oh God, you taste great."

"Thanks Tony the Tiger. You did that great too. You sure you haven't done that before?"

"I'm sure. You're the first I've ever done anything with."

He looked a little dejected.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything. Just that for a first time, it felt awesome. But then, I wouldn't know what a bad blowjob felt like either, that was a first for me too."

"That's OK. It just sounded like you were accusing me of something."

"Never."

Looking down at his dick, he asked me, "Do you want to..."

I wasn't sure, but I liked Cory a lot and didn't want him to think our relationship would be a one-way street, so I leaned down, a little more hesitant than he was.

"You don't have to, if you don't want."

"No, I want to. I just have to convince my mouth of that."

I leaned all the way down, taking Cory into my mouth. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. In fact, it was pretty nice, knowing I was about to satisfy him in such a special way. I started moving up and down like he did. We both moaned quietly. As did I, Cory didn't last long either.

"I'm gonna cum."

I didn't say anything, just kept going. He started squirting into my mouth. I wouldn't say tastes great, but it wasn't like eating mushy broccoli or anything. I swallowed what was in my mouth, then swallowed again after his last spurt.

"God, Roy. That was. Damn, that was fucking awesome."

"Yes, it was. I'm kind of sorry we waited so long to move further."

"I'm not. The anticipation made it more worthwhile; I think. Plus, we got to be really good friends first. If we did that right away, it may have changed things between us."

"Oh, it definitely changed things for us. Sooooo much better, now."

We laid down together, holding on to each other. Then things went south. Roger barged in.

"What are you pla... Holy shit."

We obviously didn't have time to cover up quick enough, but I pulled the covers up over us anyway.

"Don't you know how to fucking knock?"

"Sorry, we never worried about knocking before."

"That's because we almost never closed our doors. Shit. What do you want?"

"Mom said you were playing video games, I just wanted to see if I could play too. But I don't want to play whatever game you guys were playing."

"Wise ass. Well, you already saw us. Not much point in asking you to leave while I get dressed."

I was actually hoping that standing up naked would make him uncomfortable enough to leave, It didn't. Cory wasn't as brave.

"Can you hand me my shorts, Roy?"

I did. He put them on under the covers. I told Roger we were taking turns racing and just decided to take a break. He didn't believe me, but that was my story, and I was sticking to it. Cory was still uncomfortable after getting caught naked. We weren't doing anything but lying together. I was hoping ignoring what happened would make things better. After a few minutes of playing the game again, this time in multi-player mode, the temperament in the room cooled and it began to be fun. After playing for ten more minutes or so, I could tell Roger was distracted. He had something on his mind. I was right.

"Roy?"

"Yeah?"

"Um. Daniel, uh, shit."

"Just ask it. Or do you want Cory to step out?"

"No, he's OK." He took a deep breath. "Daniel wants to try giving a blowjob on me. He's like, tied for my best friend, but I don't know if I want him to. No offense, but that's gay."

"Then say no."

"I don't want him to stop being my friend if I say no."

"If your saying no makes him stop being your friend, then he really isn't a good friend. Be honest. Tell him you're not comfortable doing anything like that. If I think I know him well enough, he'll just say OK, and nothing changes. But be prepared to get asked again. He may not give up trying so easily. But I doubt it will kill your friendship."

"OK. Um. Do you guys do that?"

Cory looked like Freddy Kruger just entered the room.

"That's for us to know, and you to never find out."

"OK. I had to try. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to tell him no. Hopefully you're right. Nite."

"You're welcome. I'm sure everything will be OK. Goodnight."

Cory was still struck speechless by Roger's question. He couldn't have said goodnight if he was offered a million dollars.

Saturday

Cory and I hoped everything would be the same between us, publicly, after what we did last night. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop looking at each other. I tried to look away after a short glance but wasn't always successful. After practice, Craig Mathis sat down next to me. He spoke quietly.

"If I'm wrong, I apologize in advance, but is there something going on between you and Cory?"

"Why?"

"You guys look at each other like my girlfriend and I look at each other. I don't care, but some of the other guys might not like it. A lot of guys have suspected Cory was gay for years. Finding out it's true, and that you are too; well, I don't know what will happen. But if it is true, I'm happy for you guys. My older brother is gay, and it was nearly impossible for him to find someone until after he graduated. Not to mention the verbal abuse he took."

"Shit. OK, yeah, we're gay and like each other a lot. I hope you won't say anything, knowing what your brother went through."

"No, I won't say anything, but know I've got your backs if anything happens. Cory's a pretty cool kid. He helps coach out a lot. To be honest, I think he'd be a better head coach than Enders. I know we're a better team this year and that he definitely has something to do with that. I like winning more games than we lose. Two and one is way better than the zero and three we started out last year. Just, try and tone down the goo-goo eyes and I think everything will be cool."

"Thanks Craig. Having someone figure it out and say something, and not being an asshole means a lot."

"I like living. That first day when you ran me over. Whoa. I know you're not a guy to mess with. Did you really take out Stellars, Marks, and the goon brothers?"

"Yeah, but they didn't all come at me at the same time, so it wasn't too hard."

"Cool. They're all fucking assholes and I'm glad they're gone. I wish we had a better kicker, but that's not the worst trade-off. Stay cool."

"You too. See you."

After showering and dressing, I drove Cory and myself back to my house. On the way, I told him the news.

"Craig knows."

"Knows what?"

"About us being gay. Apparently, we look at each other the way he looks at his girlfriend."

"Shit. Is he going to cause trouble?"

"Nope. An older brother is gay. He said he'd have our backs if there were problems."

"Well, I guess someone knowing, who's cool about it, isn't all that bad."

"I hope not, but he seemed really cool about it."

Monday's practice will prove that without a doubt.

That night, we had a partial repeat of Friday night's activities. No shower, and no Roger, but the trading of blowjobs did occur. Somehow, it was even better the second time. If it keeps getting better, gee, I wonder if you could die from an amazing orgasm?

Monday

We had a pretty complete practice in music class. It seems weird to be singing Christmas songs when it's not even October yet. We'd spent a lot of time learning how to sing from our diaphragms, practicing scales, and other basic singing skills. Today Ms. Hinton handed out lyrics to 'Jingle Bells' and 'O Holy Night.' But they weren't just the lyrics, they also pointed out who would solo what sections. I freaked out a little when I saw the 'ha ha ha ha' with my name before it. Well, I guess being in the spotlight for four words wouldn't be terrible. I could be Cory. He had four lines of 'O Holy Night.' That one looked like a real production number:

Sopranos and Tenors
O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth

All
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth

Cory Stone
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn'

All
Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night, O night divine

Sopranos and Tenors
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease

All
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
With all within let's praise His holy name

Cory Stone
Christ is the Lord!
His name forever praise we

Sopranos and Tenors
Noel, Noel
O night, O night divine

All
Noel, Noel
O night, O holy night

She played the melodies twice on the piano so anybody who wasn't completely comfortable with them got a refresher. 'Jingle Bells' was pretty easy. Everybody sang the whole thing, except for my ha has. During 'O Holy Night' the class was deathly silent when Cory sang his lines. Even Ms. Hinton played the piano softer. He sounded like he'd been singing that song his entire life. I was already impressed by his voice, but watching the class look at him in awe made me proud to be his friend. I think that was the moment I actually fell in love with him. Usually, that would be a good thing. Right before football practice? That was not an emotion that carried over well. If Craig thought I looked at Cory too much before...

It became obvious to everyone when I missed a couple tackles because my eyes drifted to Cory on the sidelines. I dropped a couple handoffs on offense. The funniest one, for everybody else, anyway, was when I took my eyes off the pass coming to me and it hit me on the side of my helmet.

"Patterson. Get over here!"

I moved toward the coach as slowly as I dared. It wasn't fast enough.

"Pick it up. Double time."

I sped up.

"What the hell was that? You're losing your focus constantly."

One of the backup linemen decided to be a wise ass.

"He keeps looking at his girlfriend, Cory."

"Zip it, Garlington. Well, Patterson?"

I couldn't think of any reason in the fifty milliseconds I knew the coach would wait for an answer.

"I don't know, coach. My head's just not into it today, I guess."

"Well, let's see if four laps around the track changes your focus. Start running."

I guess I deserved that. As I was running the track, I saw Mathis talking to Ian Garlington at every opportunity. It didn't look like they were making plans to go for pizza later. At one point, Ian looked toward the coach, and apparently seeing that he wasn't looking, took a swing at Craig. Craig dodged it, and I don't read lips that well, but I'm pretty sure Craig's response included the words 'fucking dead.'

Next up - "A Missing Lineman, and One More Step Taken"