Daydreamers - 16. Chapter 16

Dinner with my aunt's family was kind of awkward. Jared and I don't really get along and I don't really know my uncle all that well. All I wanted to do was get out of there and go spend some time with Sam.

I don't know what it is with him, but he makes me crazy; in a good way, of course. I just want to spend more and more time with him every day. The fact that he's all I could think about during dinner was him scared me and excited me at the same time.

I've never felt like this for anyone before and it was totally scary. But the possibility of love brought excitement from deep within me and it sent trembles through my entire body, causing my heart to beat really fast.

"So, are you excited for your senior years?" Aunt Nancy asked both me and Jared.

"Yeah," I answered.

Jared only nodded. He was twirling his fork in his spaghetti. When he was done, he stuck the pointy ends into a meatball. He stuck the entire thing into his mouth. What a Neanderthal, I thought. I finished as soon as I could without speed eating.

"May I be excused?" I asked.

"Yes," said Aunt Nancy. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I was gonna go see Sam," I answered.

"What're you hanging out with that faggot for?" asked Jared.

I could've punched him in the face right then and there. But I had a feeling that Aunt Nancy wouldn't really like that much. So, I didn't do anything. I had to keep my frustrations to myself.

The funny thing that I wasn't mad because he was saying faggot; I was mad because he was talking about Sam. I don't think it would've mattered what he said. I didn't want him talking about Sam.

"That's enough of that," said Aunt Nancy. "You're not going to use that language while you're in this house." She spoke more sternly than I've ever heard her talk while I've been here.

"What? I've used that word before. You've never snapped at me before. What's so different?"

I got up from the table, taking my plate to the sink. I knew that Aunt Nancy's face would give it away.

"Holy shit!" called Jared.

I put my plate in the sink and started to rinse it off. I could hear Jared walking into the kitchen.

"Don't tell me that my little cuz Travis is a homo. Ha! This is fucking hilarious."

"That's enough Jared! I mean it!" Aunt Nancy yelled.

"Jared, listen to your mother," said Uncle Martin.

Jared just kept laughing at me. I turned around and looked him straight in the eye.

"What's so funny?" I asked him.

"You," he answered. "I can't believe you're a fag."

Without waiting once second, I had my hand on Jared's throat and his entire body against the kitchen wall behind him. He was squirming, trying to get free.

"Travis, please..." Aunt Nancy pleaded.

"Hold on Aunt Nancy. There's something I need to say." I looked back at Jared who looked like he was about to shit his pants. "I've tried to be civil to you because it's what Aunt Nancy wanted and I care about her feelings, but if you call me or anyone else a fag one more time, I'm gonna have your head for an ashtray. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it," he answered with a groggy voice.

I let him go and walked out of the kitchen. He started to cough and hold his throat. Aunt Nancy was at his side immediately. I walked outside and sat on the small stoop of the front porch. I heard the door behind me. I turned around and saw Uncle Martin. He sat next to me and patted me on the back as he sat.

"Sorry about Jared," I said.

"No need. The little weasel deserved it."

I was shocked by my Uncle Martin's answer. I was sure he was going to be the stubborn bigot type. His answer was actually kind of funny.

"It's good that you can protect yourself," he said. "There'll be a lot of people out there that want to hurt you just because of the way you are."

"Actually, it's all just a front. My dad always said that it's always good to look really tough so you don't have to fight." I smiled. "I really don't know the first thing about defending myself."

"Well, you were strong enough to pin Jared to the wall."

"He's smaller than me, though."

Uncle Martin chuckled, "I guess you're right. He gets the short people gene from my side of the family." He sighed. "But don't you worry about him anymore. I'll straighten him out."

"That's okay. I can handle Jared. I just wish I didn't have to, for Aunt Nancy's sake."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Your Aunt Nancy's a sweet woman, but she lives in a fantasy world most of the time. She likes everyone to get along twenty-four-seven. She doesn't get that that's almost impossible."

"So, you and the Sullivan boy?"

I blushed. "Yeah," I answered. "Or, I think so. I don't know."

"What? You don't know if he's gay?"

"No, I know that part." I sighed. "Do you really wanna hear this? You seem so...calm."

"My best friend is gay. I'm quite used to this stuff by now. So, tell me."

His best friend is gay? That's kind of random.

"Well, it's really complicated because he isn't out. We like each other, but...I'm not sure if we're together together, you know?"

"Yes, I know. It was like that for me and your aunt when we first got together."

"What happened?"

"Well, she wasn't really aloud to date when we met. Plus she was only fifteen and I was seventeen. It doesn't seem too bad now, but it was pretty shocking back then." He cleared his throat. "We liked each other a whole lot, but we had to hide it."

"What did you do?"

"We had to wait until she turned eighteen. Until then, our relationship was purely a secret."

"Oh, because by the time she could date, you were eighteen already and still weren't allowed to date her."

"Exactly," said Uncle Martin."So, if you like him and you think he's worth the wait; wait for him. It'll be worth it in the end; trust me."

"Thanks Uncle Martin."

*                      *                      *

That night I went to bed happy. Of course I planned to never talk to Jared ever again, but that was a given. I also apologized to my Aunt Nancy for what I did to him. She appreciated it and complimented me on my apology. She said that I was a bigger man for it. I didn't exactly know what that meant, but oh well.

The next day, I was determined to take my uncle's advice. I was gonna call Sam and ask him if he wanted to go swimming at the lake. He couldn't refuse that. Then, while we were there, I would tell him that he doesn't have to come out. He can do it when he's ready and that I'll wait for him for as long as it takes. He is worth the wait after all.

But when I called, he didn't answer. I just figured that he was still asleep and went on with my day. When I called him, I hadn't even taken a shower yet, so I did that. When I got out, Jared was waiting for me to get out. We glanced at each other and then went about our business.

When I got dressed, I figured that I'd get some cereal and then head out to see if Sam was awake and if he wasn't, I was gonna wake him up myself. When I walked down to the kitchen Aunt Nancy practically had a feast ready for breakfast. It was pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

"Whoa Aunt Nancy, this looks delicious," My eyes popped out of my head.

"Oh, good, you're just in time. I hope you're hungry."

"Yeah, I am, but I was just gonna get cereal."

"That's not breakfast." She pulled out a chair. "Come and sit down."

"What's all this for?" I asked.

"I just wanted us to have a nice breakfast after last night's dinner disaster."

I smiled. "Okay," I said. I sat and she sat in the chair next to me. "Where's Uncle Martin?"

"He's still asleep. Weekends are really tough for him since he works so hard all week."

I took some pancakes from the platter and Aunt Nancy helped me with my eggs. I took a couple pieces each other the bacon and the sausage. My aunt served herself and then Jared walked down. He sat down across from me. It was the same spot that he sat in the night before.

"It looks good, mom," he said.

"Go ahead and serve yourself. We don't have to wait for your father."

As Jared started to serve himself, I started to butter my pancakes. I poured lots of syrup on them and then Jared took the syrup from me after I was done.

"Aren't you gonna eat, Aunt Nancy?" I asked.

"Oh, I'll eat a little later. You boys eat first."

Jared and I ate silently while Aunt Nancy watched. The only sound was the sound of chewing and utensils against glass plates. It wasn't awkward for me at all. I was totally over wasting my time over Jared. It must've been awkward for my aunt though. I think she was hoping for Jared and me to make up, but that wasn't happening.

When I was done, I got up and went to rinse my plate in the sink. I walked back to the table and stopped to talk to Aunt Nancy.

"I'm going next door," I said.

"Aw, going to see your little boyfriend," Jared teased.

I narrowed my eyes at him and then looked back to Aunt Nancy. "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay, see you later."

I walked out of the house and over to the Sullivan house. I knocked on the door and Tyler answered the door.

"Hey, Travis, Sam's in the living room." I followed Tyler into the house. "Sammy, Mr. Wonderful is here."

I blushed and then my stomach started to do flips when I saw Sam sitting on the couch. I started to tremble when he got up to greet me. He's really tall, just a little taller than me. I'm pretty tall, so when a guy is taller than me is a huge plus for me. He smiled and then opened his mouth to say, "Hey."

"Hey," I said back. "I called earlier."

"I know. I got your message. I got distracted and forgot to call back."

"So, you wanna go camping with us?" Tyler asked.

I looked down at him and Julian on the couch. "What?" I asked.

"We're planning a camping trip. You should come," said Tyler.

"Yeah, it would be great," said Julian. "You have to come."

I looked at Sam and he smiled at me. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

I wanted to. "No, it sounds great." It sounded great because it meant alone time with Sam and with people that we don't have to hide around.

"We're going to Bridgeport. The lake is called Twin Lakes," said Tyler.

"Cool," I said. I looked to Sam. "You wanna go for a walk or something?"

"Um, sure; it'll be good to get out of here," said Sam.

Sam started towards the door and I followed.

"You two behave," Tyler teased.

"Shut up, Ty," Sam responded right away.

We started to walk down the street.