Hot Wheels - 5. Riding The Everett Express

Today I woke up lifeless. Marco was sitting at the edge of my bed with some of my clothes.

"Goodmorning. I unpacked your luggage and I got you a nice outfit for today. Remember we're meeting the rest of my fam today" Marco said. He got up and walked into our small kitchen that had a small stove and fridge which we never used.

"I bet you must be hungry. Bacon and eggs? I consider myself a good cook, but I'll let you be the judge of that" he said smiling. He then threw off his clothes as he strut to the bathroom, naked.

"I bet this is poison" I said as I started eating. "Shit's actually good" I said.

For a moment I thought I could escape but I lacked the energy. And I feared bumping into Everett. I got dressed and Marco and I left in his car.

"I was going to give you this yesterday" he said, throwing the same package in my lap that he hid yesterday.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Open it duh" he said.

"A smartphone? I can't accept this" I said, holding it back at him.

"Shut up. I noticed you didn't have one and besides it's not like I paid for it. It's my old phone that I got fixed, but I got a new one for me while waiting"

"Okay... thanks" I said a bit suspicious.

"Oh I loaded some stuff for you... naughty pics from yours truly and my number. But don't call me" I rolled my eyes at him. I turned it on and he started laughing devilishly.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh you'll see" he said. And I did. There on the home screen was a picture of him. He was fully naked.

"I took it this morning. I bet you got a bonner just looking at it. You can have it while I drive" he offered.

"No please!" I said disgusted. Don't get me wrong... Marco was sex. Sex in every sense of the word, he was hot. But that didn't matter to me at all.

"I can't keep these pictures how do I take it off?" Gosh why was I acting like a pre-teen school girl?

"No! Leave it so, stop being such a fag" Marco said in a less mean way than yesterday. Finally we made it to the park where his family was having a barbecue picnic.

He introduced me to his older brother Edward, who was handling the food with one hand and had a drink in the other. Edward was friendly and couldn't believe we were friends. He then introduced me to his sister Robyn. She was fourteen and annoying as... flees on a summers day. Then there were twins Carlos and Gabriel. Seven year olds who seemed to be in their own world. His parents asked me if I was feeling better so I guess he told them I was sick yesterday.

I went through the day smiling at everyone but mostly I just stood there with food in my hand. Marco ignored me completely the entire day. At about 6pm he finally spoke to me as we all sat spread out on a hill looking out at the sea.

"So you okay?" he asked, looking straight ahead.

"Yeah" I said and he left to get us drinks.

Edward jogged up to me and dropped beside me. "Why are you hanging out with someone like Marco?" he asked confused.

"He is nice" I said, lying to myself and him.

"No he's not" Edward said almost laughing. "He teased boys like you in high school. There is no way that you're his friend"

"He... I..." I didn't know how to reply to the truth, I couldn't.

"Listen" Edward said to me,this time in a low voice as if he didn't want to be heard. "I caught Marco with a guy when he was back in high school. His excuse? He was shagging the guy because that's what the guy wanted if he did all Marco's homework and tasks. I hope it's not happening again. He promised he'd stop" Edward said more worried for me than Marco.

"You'll get hurt" he ended as he got up and walked off.

"What did he want?" Marco said as he plopped down next to me.

"Nothing... just one drink?" I asked, pointing at the drink Marco had.

"Oh I forgot yours" he said as he swallowed down his drink. For some reason I decided to test Marco.

"Marco" I said, trying to sound seductive.

"What?" he asked with widened eyes.

"Kiss me" I said, trying to sound convincing as possible.

"What!? Now? Are you fucking mad? my parents are right there!"

"Kiss me now or I'll tell them everything" I threatened.

"Fuck!" he said, looking panicked. He looked out and around him and moved in quickly to peck me on my lips.

"You're just as much a fag as I am" I said as I gently punched his chin away like he did to me the other day. Before he could kiss me, I got up and left.

I told his parents that I felt uncomfortable driving with Marco seeing that he had a few drinks and so Edward drove us back and his parents followed us to campus. They said their goodbyes and Edward pulled me aside.

"Marco... is in denial... stay away from him, you don't need him to complicate your life" was Edward's final words to me. I was feeling all good until I realized I would be spending the rest of the evening with him and God knows how he'll react to what I did.

"You know what? I'm going to stay out late, don't wait for me" I said as we stood in front of our dorm room. He looked pissed and thankfully didn't say anything. The night was still young and I had nowhere to go. I found myself walking towards the basketball court.

"Shit there's actually a ball here" I said as I found a random basketball beneath the bleachers. "Let's try and shoot some hoops" I said to myself. I'm used to trying to cheer myself up.The first shot hit the net and brought a smile to my face. "Good Job Andy!" I said to myself. All the other shots missed and I went on for an hour.

"Maybe you should focus on actually throwing it in" I heard Everett's voice say. His voice was printed in my mind by now so I knew it was him. I turned around and lifted my hand waving at him like a child before I stopped suddenly and dropped it again.

"What are you doing out here?" Everett asked as he rolled closer towards me. God he was beautiful.

"I couldn't spend another minute in that dorm" I said with my voice cracking.

"Aaaaand yet you could spend an entire day with him" Everett said, throwing his hands up in disbelief. Funny how he knew I was actually talking about Marco.

"Oh and by the way, next time you call a cab you should tell him you changed your mind and not leave him waiting" Everett said.

"Cab? Oh... how did you know about that?"

"Because after walking in on you choking on your boyfriend's tongue I left to go to a bar down the street. The cab driver thought I was you. I sent him away, hoping you would miss him, but I guess Marco already changed your mind" Everett said keeping a serious face.

"You left to go to a bar? I didn't know you drank" I said in disbelief.

"I don't drink, but I wanted to get out, besides one of my friends work there and he kept me company. I did have one drink, though. Never again" Everett said, pulling a face suggesting he didn't like it.

"So you didn't go back to your room last night?" I asked.

"Well I woke up with my head on a table and smelling horrible this morning so no" Everett said.

"So you didn't have a girl in your dorm room last night?" I asked.

"Andrew are you on crack? Didn't I just tell you that I SLEPT IN A BAR? Do you know how humiliating that is?"

"So you definitely most certainly one hundred percent did NOT have sex with a girl last night?"

"No! You do know that I have a roommate right?" I sighed in relief, but somehow I wasn't pleased.

"So why did the girl say that a WHEELCHAIR was in her way and why'd it end up on the floor?" I asked with my hand raised to my hip. I noticed this quickly and dropped it.

"Did it occur to you that maybe I had a spare? And obviously they knocked it over while fornicating in the place where I sleep! Disgusting bastards!" Everett explained.

There. I was finally convinced. The amount of relief that filled my body was refreshing.

"Want to play?" I asked and Everett tried not to smile. I threw the ball behind him and ran after it. I came back bouncing the ball, but Everett just sat there looking upset.

"Sorry I didn't mean to throw it so far" I said, but Everett didn't look pleased.

"You dropped this" he said and he picked something up from his lap. It was my phone and it was on like I left it, the bright screen shining in the darkened area, it still hadn't occurred to me that Everett saw Marco naked on my phone.

"Thanks I said" grabbing it and ripping out the battery. I felt horrible. I thought I fixed things with Everett.

"I understand he's your boyfriend, but I didn't picture you the guy to have his boyfriend's junk on the very front screen of his phone" Everett said disappointed. Everett was fuming, but he kept cool.

"This is nothing!" I said, trying to convince him. "Marco got me this phone and he put the picture there. I forgot to take it off"

"Oh? He gets you phones now? Wow he sure is a giver" Everett said in a bratty tone.

"Let me finish" I said, but Everett just looked away. "Okay? don't believe me?" I said and I smashed the phone squashing it under my feet. "He means nothing to me, absolutely nothing Everett" I said, hoping he'd believe me.

Everett was thinking hard and after what seemed forever, he finally spoke.

"Because... he just isn't the right guy for you Andrew" Everett barely cried.

"I know" I said, trying to make him feel better. Everett sighed and spoke again.

"Do you want to take a ride on the Everett express?" Everett asked almost blushing.

"The what?" I asked and he laughed before talking again.

"Do you want to sit on my lap while I drive us back to our rooms?" He asked and I felt he was a bit scared.

"Yes and No" I said, feeling like the happiest guy ever.

"No?" Everett asked confused.

"I'll gladly ride the Everett Express but I don't want to go to my room" I said.

"Get up then" he said and I carefully sat on his lap.

"You comfy?" Everett asked quietly.

"Yeah you?" I asked now nervous. I've never been this close to Everett... to any other guy. Yes I shared a bed with Marco but I didn't feel close to him at all.

"I'm peachy" Everett said and he slowly strolled us off the court.

"You know, I could get used to this... mind driving me around campus?" I joked with my hands folded in my lap fearing I'd tip over.

"Nope!" Everett said. "Just put them around my neck"

"What's that now?" I asked.

"Your sitting awkwardly. Put your arms around my neck so you'll feel comfortable. I won't let you fall. It's a wheelchair not a motorbike after all" Everett joked and I blushed as I put my arm around his neck.

"Don't get too the comfortable. Right now your warming up my lap and I can't help it if a certain organ responds to that" He said and I looked at him confused.

"I still have full use of my penis" He blurted out and the bluntness almost sounded too much but he laughed and I laughed too.

"You should have seen your face!" He joked and I got flushed and found it difficult to keep eye contact.

"Wait around the corner" He said as we made it to his dorm room. I wasn't sure why we were here. Oddly enough, Everett knocked on the door and a very sleepy looking guy opened the door in nothing but briefs.

"Oh hey dude" The guy said.

"You slept with a girl here last night right?" Everett asked the guy who was now shivering.

"Yeah..." the guy said.

"Well that's against the rules. I'm going to report you if you don't do as I say" Everett demanded.

"Dude anything geez, why so stuck up?"

"Go and find another place to sleep, tonight I want the room to myself" Everett said firmly. The guy wanted to object, but Everett wanted to hear nothing. The guy went back and threw on clothes. What we did not expect was that he would leave passing me and not the other way. He glanced at me and back at Everett and left.

"That was Dave... you can stay here for the night" Everett said.

"Okay" I said and I entered the room.

"Unless you want to sleep in his DNA I suggest we share" Everett offered.

"No thanks I'm okay with sharing" I said and I stood awkwardly in a corner of the room. Everett lifted himself out of his wheelchair and got onto his bed.

"Hey you can lift yourself out of your wheelchair!" I said like a little kid who's been cheated out of candy.

"Oh!... uhm... I was particularly tired that day..." He said and I guess it was a plausible excuse.

"Hey come over here" He said a bit nervous now. "Every now and then I struggle with this and I never ask Dave for help but you see... My jeans get sweaty and it clings and it's difficult to take them off"

It made me sad knowing that this was a general struggle for Everett and one of many. I couldn't imagine how he must feel.

"No problem" I said as I helped Everett remove his pants. It was quiet until he spoke.

"In my drawer over there is long pj pants, it's pretty cold at night" He said and I got him a pair and again helped him get dressed. He pulled himself up into his bed and placed his laptop onto his lap, he lit up the lamp next to his bed and put on a pair of reading glasses.

"Shhhh... I started reading books a few months ago. Back in high school, I hated books" He said.

It was weird looking at him. I don't believe I've ever seen a sexy nerd, I told myself because I didn't have the guts to crack that joke to Everett. I debated with myself whether or not I should get undressed before getting in next to him but I decided against it.

"Oh you finally decided to join me?" Everett said and I smiled. He kept reading and I sat there getting comfortable.

"Just one chapter and I'll be done for the night" he said as he scrolled down his screen. All I could see was small lettering against a blue backdrop.

"Read to me" I said and he looked at me surprised.

"Are you sure? It's just a story I found on this website. I had no idea it's about a gay guy" Everett said seeming a bit nervous.

"What's it called?" I asked, trying to sound interested but my eyes were almost shut.

"Tales That Toby Tell" I believe he said. "Read it" I said and I laid my head down gently against his shoulder and he began to read.

"... After those words The Hamilton family started crying and laughing. Josh was like a little boy again. During all that was going on, I managed to lean over him and I whispered into his ear, Maybe the big bad world isn't so bad at all. He smiled at me and I smiled back and in that moment our own personal force field seemed stronger than ever..."

I couldn't have said it better myself, I though before drifting off into a blissful sleep.