Confused - Until Bart Met Noah - 1. Where Did He Come From?

Senior Bart Hamilton had a large lead when he started to go around the wooded area of the course the cross-country team was racing on that day. He'd just cleared the woods when he heard a rustle behind him. He carefully turned to look, because he didn't want to stumble and fall. Even though another win was practically in the bag, he didn't want to get hurt. What he saw surprised him.

A teammate, freshman Carlo Marini, broke free from the woods about twenty feet behind Bart. Bart knew cutting through wooded areas was allowed, but never felt the need to do it. Not to mention, this particular wooded area looked to be thickly covered with trees and brush. Carlo was the only other runner on the team that could almost keep up with him. Paul Stanford, another senior, was always about a minute slower, but this was the fourth time Carlo was a large object in his rear-view mirror near the finish. Carlo was closer today than he ever was before near the end of the race. Bart liked Carlo, but two things prevented him from trying to get closer. One was him being three years older. The second was Carlo's best friend Karl; mainly it was fear that prevented him from getting as close as he would have liked. Karl looked out for Carlo. If Bart overstepped some boundary, he didn't want to picture the consequences.

Bart faked a stumble and slowed down just a bit. Carlo closed the gap.

"Are you okay?"

Bart was shocked. Almost three miles in, and Carlo wasn't even breathing hard.

Huffing himself a little, "Yeah. You startled me a bit coming out of the woods. Twisted my ankle a bit."

"You can finish though, right?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Looks like you may get your first win. Don't worry about me. Close this one out."

"Sorry about your ankle. See you at the finish line."

Bart kept up his slightly slower pace, still not seeing anyone within a hundred yards behind, and easily finished in second, seven seconds behind Carlo. Combined, it was their fourth 1-2 finish in the four races they'd had so far.

Bart was winded, but still was able to talk to Carlo, "How did you get through those woods? They looked pretty tightly packed."

Carlo showed him a few scratches on his arms, "Yeah, it was tight in a few places, but I felt I could get through there quicker than going around. Almost came out of them in front of you. Sorry I scared you out of the win."

"No sweat. Cross-country may be a mostly an individual sport, but I know the rest of the team likes winning the dual meets. Shit, here comes Paul."

Paul Stanford was neck-and-neck with a runner from the other team. Bart and Carlo cheered him on. Paul beat the other runner by less than a second. It was Rockaway High's first sweep of the top three this year. Bart couldn't even remember another time when that happened. The three of them traded high fives all around.

They overheard their opponent mumbling to himself, 'I haven't finished as low as fourth in ages. These guys are good. Next week's invitational is gonna suck.'

That brought even bigger smiles to their three faces.

*********************************************

Carlo was close enough twice more that season for Bart to act like he was out of gas near the end and let Carlo have the win. He knew Carlo suspected he was doing it on purpose. If the coach suspected, he never said anything. Bart felt the coach had to, because Bart was otherwise consistently just a little faster than Carlo. It didn't matter to Bart. He liked winning, but he liked Carlo more.

Carlo's best friend, Karl Marlow, had a sister that was graduating with Bart. Since the weather was nice that early June day, the ceremony was held outdoors, so there were no limits on how many guests one could have. Bart was happy to see Carlo with Karl in the audience. Bart had gone out with Janet Marlow a couple times, but they both agreed there was no magic. He walked up to Carlo and the Marlows.

"Congratulations, Janet. Looks like we finally get to say goodbye to RHS."

"Thanks, Bart. Congratulations to you too. Third highest GPA in the class. I'm impressed."

"Eh, it's just hard work."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're one smart cookie. Kind of sorry things didn't work out between us. I suspect you'll make some girl a fine husband someday."

Bart blushed, "Yeah, um, I guess."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It's cool. Carlo, can I have a word?"

"Sure."

Walking away a short distance, Carlo looked back at Karl and shrugged, not knowing what Bart was up to.

"You're a good runner. I hope you can kick some ass next year and keep giving the team wins."

"Thanks. And thanks for your help for the three wins I got this year. You really didn't have to do that."

"I know. But the team got 1-2 either way and I like you. I wish I'd gotten to know you better, so you would have opened up. I think we could have had fun together."

Carlo frowned, missing Bart's hidden meaning, "Um, yeah. Well, I like you too, and not just because of the wins. You have college all lined up?"

"Yeah. I'm going to the University of North Florida for Business Administration and Management. Need to stay close to home to help out my mom when I can."

"That's cool. But UNF isn't a bad school. You'll do well there."

"Thanks. Well, I'll let you get back to your friends. Again, good luck next year."

"Thanks, you too. Well, see you around, maybe."

It wasn't until many years later when their paths would cross again.

*********************************************

Bart had a few boyfriends and girlfriends throughout his college years. None ever got serious enough to become long-term. He was okay with that. He knew his confusion about his sexuality might prevent him from ever finding someone to spend his life with. He only dated a few different people right after college. He'd landed an assistant manager's position at a small hotel chain after graduation and focused on his career. He hoped to manage one of the larger chain hotels in just a few years, eventually overseeing management of a number of hotels.

His first manager's position came a few years later from Hyatt Small Luxury Hotels. At the time they were the tenth largest chain in the US and growing. They had a way to go before reaching ninth, having roughly a third of number nine's locations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. But Bart was relatively happy. He'd even met a man that he liked an awful lot, Graham Zimmerman. Graham was two years older than Bart, but at thirty-one and twenty-nine, that wasn't a hurdle. The hurdle made its appearance after they'd been seeing one another for almost five months. They'd progressed to oral sex, and Graham was dropping hints that maybe they should take the next step in their relationship. Bart wanted to, but was anxious. His father had drilled into him that men shouldn't be together that way. That fact created a severe mental block for Bart.

After Graham's latest and very obvious hint about their possibly doing the deed, Bart decided he needed to break it off. The breakup was emotional.

"Graham, we need to talk about that."

"I thought we were."

"No. What I mean is, you're starting to look at this relationship as having long-term possibilities. I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I can't let you believe we have that kind of future."

"Why? We get along great, right?"

"Yeah, we do. But..."

"But, what?"

"I have, um, intimacy problems. I don't think I can ever be there for you in the way you want me to."

"Like, sleeping together?"

"Yes. Having sex, and not just oral."

"Why?"

"Daddy issues."

"You were molested?"

"No. God, no. My father just didn't believe men should be together like that."

"But didn't you say he left while you were in junior high school?"

"He did, but I still heard like eight years of that, ever since I started school. It's a mental block I haven't been able to get past. I like you and all, but I don't want to lead you to believe we have a future. I'm sorry, but, I need to break up with you."

"We can work through it together. I can be patient."

"I've chickened out so many times when a relationship even started looking like it would happen. This is as long as I'd ever let it go on. But patience won't cut it. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready. That's why I have to say goodbye."

"What if I don't want to say goodbye?"

"I don't know. Hopefully you'll get over me quick. I need a complete break. I'm sorry, but this is the last time we'll see each other."

"I can't believe this. Give me a chance, at least."

"No, Graham. Goodbye."

Bart turned and walked away. To limit the possibility that he would see Graham again, he phoned a district manager for Hyatt Group who had been asking Bart to come to one of their hotels. Two weeks later, Bart was moving from Miami to Melbourne, Florida. He'd taken the manager's job at Hyatt Place Melbourne Airport.

Five years later and six more similarly failed relationships, Bart took the manager's job at the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront. It was a move that would change his life forever.

Next Up - "No, Not That Noah"