Unintended Love - 16. Chapter 16

“So, are you coming to the game tomorrow night?” asked Zack.

“You don’t even had to ask. We’re all gonna be there supporting you. Me, Gabe, Carly, Eric, Greg, My mom, Jenna, and your parents.”

“Whoa, that’s a lot. I don’t think I can take all of that pressure.”

We were sitting on the couch in house. His parents went out for his father’s birthday dinner and we were babysitting Jacob.

“You’ll be fine.” I tried to reassure him.

“Well, I don’t know. How about you help me relieve some of your stress?” he asked with a devilish smirk on his face.

He immediately started to kiss at my neck. I had my hands on his shoulders, trying to pretend like I was trying to push him off. But, I liked him kissing on my neck way too much.

“Zack, come on. Your little brother is upstairs.” I said, blushing.

“But he’s asleep. We can be quiet.” he said, pleading.

“No, no…it’s not right.” I said.

He shut me up by moving his kisses to my lips. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and suddenly my resistance melted in his arms. But stopped when we heard giggling. I pushed Zack away gently. We looked over at the entrance of the living room and Jacob stood smiling.

“You guys are totally making out.” he smiled.

Zack quickly stood up. “Jake, you’re supposed to be in bed.”

“I’m thirsty.” Jacob explained innocently.

My faced turned red and I put my face in my palm.

“How do you know what making out is?” asked Zack.

“I heard you say it.” said Jacob.

“Well, don’t ever say that again. Come on. Let’s get you some water.”

Zack led Jacob to the kitchen and I stayed in the living room, flushed with embarrassment. I heard Zack and Jacob going back up the stairs. I grabbed the television remote and turned on the TV.
I started to flip through the channels. It was pretty late, so not much was on but informercials and re-runs of old seventies and eighties sitcoms.
When Zack came back, he sat on my lap. He wasn’t really that heavy. He’d sat on my lap tons of times. When he sat, he kissed my cheek.

“That was so embarrassing.” I confessed.

“I know. I can’t believe my little brother saw me making out.” he confessed as well.

“See, I told you.” I said. “What if we were doing more?”

“Okay, okay. You’re right.” He said with a defeated smile.

“I usually am,” I said sarcastically.

He laughed. “Is that right?”

“Oh yeah,” I smiled and nodded my head.

He got quiet and then smiled, looking at me.

“What?” I asked innocently.

“I love you so much.”

I smiled and blushed again. “I love you too.”

“Wanna go to bed?” he asked.

“Am I staying over now?” I asked in return.

“I would like you to. We don’t have to do anything. I just…I want to sleep next to you. I want to know what it’s like to wake up and see your beautiful face.”

Now, how could I say no to that? I couldn’t help but look up at his deep blue, puppy dog eyes and say yes.
“Great! Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait, can I call my mom first?” I asked. “You go ahead, I’ll be right up.”

He took my hands, pulled me close and kissed me so good that I felt a shiver go through my entire body.

“Don’t be long,” he smiled and then made his way upstairs.

* * *

It was six o’ clock in the morning. I had to get home and get ready for school. I looked over at Zack and he was sleeping peacefully on his stomach with his arm over my chest.
I carefully got out of bed, slipped my jeans on, and then my t-shirt. Then, I got my shoes on, walked around the bed to Zack and then kissed him gently on the forehead before I walked out of his room. I walked downstairs quietly. I didn’t want to wake anyone up. Then, I walked into the foyer.

“Good morning, Rain.”

Oh, great. It’s Mrs. Morgan. I turned around, sliding my feet on the tile. I smiled at Zack’s mom who was standing at the end of the foyer.

“Morning Mrs. Morgan.”

I could feel my cheeks turn bright red.

“You know, it’s funny. I don’t remember Zachary asking me if you could sleep over.”

Oh no. I’ve never heard her call him Zachary before. Did this mean that she was mad? My heart was pumping and I think I was sweating bullets.

“It…ah…it was sort of spontaneous…um…we didn’t…um…”

She smiled and then laughed. “Oh, you poor thing, I’m just joking. Of course he asked me.”

I smiled, but I was still a little in shock. “Oh my Gosh, you scared me to death.”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

“Well, I need to get going and get ready for school. Could you tell Zack I’ll see him at school?”

“Yes I will. Sorry again for scaring you.”

* * *

At school, State football championship banners were posted everywhere you turned. As well as banners rooting for Zack, with the number twenty-seven painted on them.
When I heard uproar at the front gate of the school, I turned around and saw Zack walking into the school. A throng of high school students was at his side, slapping his hand and patting his back. Zack was just smiling and taking it all in. They seemed to be trying to pump him up for the game that would be later tonight. But once Zack reached me, the pumping seemed to stop dead in its tracks.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, why didn’t you wake me up when you left?” asked Zack.

“I thought you needed some sleep.” I said. “You have a big night tonight.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet,” said Zack.

“Um, did you talk to your mom before you came to school today?”

“Yeah why?” he asked.

“Oh…um…no reason.”

He smiled in a suspicious way. “Okay...” He stayed silent and just smiled at me.

“What?” I asked.

He took both of my hands and held them by the tips of my fingers. He swung them by his sides and looked down, blushing.

“What?” I asked again.

“I love you so much,” he said.

I blushed as he took my hands and wrapped them around his waist, bringing me up against his body. I laughed as our bodies gently clashed and he held me close. I buried my face into the crook of his neck. I couldn’t let the entire school see me blush, because like it or not, they were watching us.
I felt his arms wrap around me shoulders and my heart started to beat and body started to tremble. It was a feeling like I’ve never felt. It was complete and undeniable love.

“I love you too,” I finally said to him, with my face still muffled by his neck.

The first bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class. He let me go and I looked into his eyes.

“See you at lunch?” he asked.

“Yup,” I said with a smile.

I turned around and started down the hall and other students looked at me as I passed. But once I turned the corner, as if in slow motion, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Suddenly, I was flying towards the wall. I hit it with my face and some of my shoulder. Before I knew it, I was on the floor and the entire right side of my body was sore and throbbing.

“Faggot!”

It was Tommy Andrews, the captain of the baseball team. Everyone around laughed when I hit the ground and he yelled the most played out obscenity about homosexuals that there is. I glared at him as he walked away. I started to lift myself up when I saw a hand in my face. I stopped to look up. It was Gabe. I took his hand and he helped me up.

“Guess it’s not so easy being the boyfriend of the king of the school, huh?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Ready for the game tonight?” asked Gabe. “It’s gonna be weirder now that it’s at another school, especially if we win.”

“I guess we’ll just have to take it as we go.” I said. “Thanks for helping me up.”

“No problem, but we should really get to class.”

I didn’t say anything more and I just walked to class. But all day, what happened in the hall was bothering me. It didn’t seem to be happening to Zack, but then again, I wasn’t with him 100% of the time. But, I think it’s pretty safe for me to say that he wasn’t being called a faggot in the halls.
Lunch was better. No one was calling me a faggot, but I think it’s because people are too scared to call me that in front of Zack. I tried to focus on him, but I just couldn’t.

“So, I’ve been waiting for you to tell me something all lunch, but I guess you’re not going to tell me.”

“What?” I asked.

“Gabe told me you got pushed this morning,” said Zack.

“Oh, that,” I said, getting up and taking my trash to the trash can. He followed me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I knew you would make a big deal out of it.”

“It is a big deal, Rain. I’m not gonna let people treat you like that.”

“I can take care of myself. You just need to focus on the game tonight.”

He smiled a defeated and worried smile and the put his hand on mine. The rest of the day, for some reason, was a lot easier to handle.

* * *

Jenna arrived just in time for us to leave to the game. The school was an hour away and we gave ourselves another forty minutes to allow for traffic. It would be her and I going to the game. I imagine that Eric, Carly, and Gabe were going as well, but I felt like I wanted to spend some time with my sister. We hadn’t spent much time together in the last few months.

“So, how are things with you and Greg?” I asked as she drove.

“Things are going really great. We’ve even been discussing moving in together.”

“Really, that’s great. I’m glad you two are happy.”

“Speaking of happiness; how are you and Zack?” asked Jenna. “Greg tells me that the amount that he talks about you is almost sickening.”

I blushed. “Yeah, we’re doing really good.”

“So…I know that this is sort of a weird subject between siblings, but…Greg is AMAZING in bed and I just wanted to know if it runs in the family.”

I couldn’t believe she was actually asking that. I think my entire face turned red at that point, but she had a devilish smirk on her face. “Seriously, Jenna, are you asking me that right now? That’s just…ew…I’m not discussing that with you.”

“Aw, come on. What good is a gay brother if we can’t talk about guys?”

“Okay, okay…I have to say…with my limited experience…” I took a deep breath. “Zack is really good…in that area…”

Jenna started to laugh pretty loudly. It almost hurt my ears. “Ah! I knew it! It totally runs in the family.”

“Jenna, if you tell anyone what I just said, I’ll kill you!”

“I cross my heart. I won’t tell anyone,” she said.

“I’m serious, Jen. Not even Greg. Especially not Greg! He’ll tell Zack for sure and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Okay, okay…” She said. “I get it.”

At the game we met up with Greg and Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. The roar of the crowd was so loud that we couldn’t even talk to each other.
We watched as the team ran out to the sidelines and the bleachers shook with excitement. When I saw number twenty-seven, my entire body tingled with pride and I cheered louder.
The game didn’t start off too good for the huskies. The opposing team, the hawks, scored on their first possession along with a two point conversion. This gave them eight points to start the game. I could tell it was difficult for the team to get back into their winning rhythm, but they got it back. At the half, they were up 10-8.
Greg and I walked to the concessions stand at halftime to get refreshments for everyone. The talk on the way down to the lines was pretty typical. We talked about the game and some of the great plays that Zack had completed. But then, he changed it to our relationship.

“You know you make my brother really happy. He’s never been happier.”

I blushed. “Well, he makes me happy too.”

“I’m glad and with things going so well with Jenna and I…it’s like we’re becoming one big family.”

“Yeah…I guess.”

“What I’m trying to get at, I guess…I wanted to ask if it was okay…I want to ask your sister to marry me.”

I couldn’t believe he was actually asking me that. I guess it made sense. He wanted to be a real gentleman and I’m pretty much the only man in Jenna’s life at this point. For a little while, I was speechless.

“You can go ahead and say something now. You’re kind of making me nervous.” Said Greg.

“I’m sorry. I just never thought I’d be in this situation.” I said. “But…I know that you’re a really good guy, Greg. And if you want to ask Jenna to marry you; you have my blessing.”

Greg smiled and then hugged me. Then, the line moved and we finally we got to the front of the line. We ordered the sodas that everyone likes. I carried four back on a drink holder and Greg carried Jenna’s drink.
I felt really happy for Jenna, but at the same time, I felt sort of sad. I knew that it was possible that I would never be able to truly marry the person that I love. Then, I thought about Zack. Was he the one? Was he the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with? I couldn’t really know. All I knew was that he was pretty special to me. I love him and that’s all that I really have to know.

* * *

After halftime was when I started to really worry. Paradise High scored again, giving them a 15-10 lead. I could see the frustration on Zack’s face when he would come off of the field, taking his helmet off after a drive that led to not scores.
But I do have to give the huskies defense some credit. After the hawks’ last score, they were pretty solid. They didn’t let Paradise high anywhere near the scoring area. They didn’t even let them get close enough for a field goal.
Going into the fourth quarter, I could tell that our huskies’ spirits were certainly low. I could see the coach giving them a pep talk and hoped that it would work. Winning the state championship his senior year is Zack’s dream and I wanted it so badly for him.
The score had stayed the same for most of the fourth quarter. The two teams would just go back and forth with the ball, not letting the other even get close to the end zone.
But finally, with ten seconds left in the game, Zack caught a pass that put them just ten yards away from the goal. His energy was zapped into overdrive after that play. I could tell just by his body language.
When our offense got out of their huddle, the entire bleachers on our side started to scream “Zack Ah-tack”. I never really used to scream that before. I knew there was no need to, but I just couldn’t help myself in this instance. I went along with the chant.
The play started and Zack ran for the end zone, trying to swat away his defenders. Kevin dropped back and tossed the ball. Watching the ball float in the air was torture. It was as if in slow motion.
Zack leapt into the air with one sift motion, and miraculously caught the ball even with three defenders hounding his every move. The buzzer signaled the end of the game and a roar came upon our crowd that I’ve never heard before. It was a mixture of screams and the marching band blasting their victory song from their horns.
The entire team rushed onto the field towards Zack and the crowd quickly followed. I ran as well. I couldn’t help it. There was a feeling of happiness that came over me that I couldn’t really explain. When I got to the field, there was a crowd surrounding Zack and they lifted him up. Once again they were chanting “Zack Ah-tack”.
I stood at the side and so did Greg. Jenna and Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were waiting back in the stands. I felt pride as I saw Zack’s wide smile. Then, he spotted me, and his smile turned into a smirk. I saw him mouth the words “Put me down,” but I couldn’t hear him say it from all of the noise.
I saw Zack disappear into the middle of the crowd. He pushed his way out of it to get to me. He had his helmet in his hand and he was all sweaty, dirty, and full of grass stains, but he was still, somehow, extremely sexy.
He grabbed me, picked me up by the waist, and twirled me around. I laughed and blushed as everyone watched. They still celebrated. When he brought me down, he planted his lips onto mine. His lips tasted salty, like sweat, but I didn’t care. They still tasted like Zack; sweet, funny, smart, drop dead sexy Zack.
THE END