Timothy’s Terrible Prompt Stories - 67. Prompt 712 What can I tell him?

“What can I tell him?”

Ryan kept his voice down, so only Rob could hear him. The blond jock didn’t reply at once, but dug out some money and handed it to his brother.

“Go buy the hot chocolates I promised you, and get me one too. Another coffee for you, Ryan?”

He nodded and was relieved to see Nelson accompany his boyfriend to the counter. The café was busy, and it would take them a while to get served.

“OK, Ryan, spill. What has gotten your panties in a twist?”

“Fuck off, Rob. What can I tell my cousin about them.” He indicated the departing couple with a wave of his hand, “and about your reason for being here?”

“You can tell him anything, as long as it’s the truth.” When Ryan cringed, Rob raised his eyebrows at him. “However, if you don’t wanna say we’re here as your support group, it’s OK if you pretend we met you by chance and kept you company as casual friends.”

“I don’t want Jordan to think I’m afraid of him or Caleb.”

“Are they scary dudes? Tell me about them.”

“Nah, Jordan is kind of laid back, even though he rides a motorcycle and has tattoos. You should hear my aunt bitch about how her sweet little boy turned into a Biker. I don’t really know much about Caleb; he was quiet and a little nerdy back then.”

“They must be around twenty-five years old?”

“Yeah, twenty-six actually. They’ve been living together for five years. Jordan is a mechanic, like his dad and mine. Caleb went to college and is doing something in marketing or sales, I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t really been in touch for years, and as I said, the family kind of ignores the whole Jordan-has-a-boyfriend issue.”

“Will it cause problems for you to be friends with them?”

Ryan shrugged. “Maybe, but who cares if anyone notices? It’s not as if I’m gonna bring them home or anything. And they’re much older and have their own life, so I doubt they’ll be interested in hanging out with a high school kid. Especially one who outed them and made Caleb’s folks throw him out.”

“For real? Dude, you’re not responsible for the actions of stupid parents who don’t appreciate their kids. If Caleb chose the guy he loved, and they’ve made a life for themselves, he and Jordan must be pretty cool. If you like, I can ask my dad to invite them home with us after the game. That would give you more time to talk.”

“Let’s see how it goes.”

“Sure thing. No matter what, we have your back, Ryan.” Rob gave his shoulder a gentle punch, and Ryan nodded his thanks. Rob Perry might be a nosy meddler, but no one questioned his loyalty or honesty. If he promised his support, you could count on him.

They sat back and watched as Eric and Nelson approached with four cups on a tray and a plate of sesame cupcakes.

“Here you go, Ryan. I brought milk and sugar separately.” Eric distributed the cups, and Nelson placed the cakes in the center of the table.

“Thanks, I use both.”

“I couldn’t drink coffee even using milk and plenty of sugar. I tried, but it’s still too bitter.”

“Yeah, it’s an acquired taste, but everyone drinks it at home. Only my sisters can get away with drinking tea.”

“Do you have brothers as well as sisters?” Nelson asked. “Jasper sometimes gets bummed about being the only boy.”

“Yeah, I have a twelve-year-old brother, as well as my two older sisters. I think my mom wanted more kids, but my dad said two of each were enough.”

Their talk was interrupted by the sound of a large motorbike cruising to a stop outside the café. Two guys in leather gear got off and removed their full face helmets.

“That’s Jordan and Caleb. They’re early.”

“Wow, nice bike. Let’s take a closer look.” Rob stuffed the last of his cupcake in his mouth and grabbed his coffee and coat, as did everyone else.

The boys piled out of the door with Ryan in front, yelling “Hi Jordan. Can my friends have a look at your bike?”

The two young men looked at each other and grinned. The tallest of them ran his hand over a dark crew cut before unzipping his leather jacket. The other guy had slightly longer, reddish-brown hair cut in a smart style.

“No problem, cuz. How about introducing us first,” the tall guy said.

“OK, this is Rob who’s on my baseball team; his brother Eric who does all our stats; and Eric’s boyfriend, Nelson. We all attend West Hill. Guys, this is my cousin Jordan and his boyfriend, Caleb.”

“Nice to meet you. I guess we’re all going to the game?”

“Yeah, Ryan and I have to be there an hour before the start. Perhaps you’d like to sit with Eric and Nelson in the stands?”

Caleb’s smile lit up his face and turned him into a very handsome guy. “We’d love that, right Jordie?”

Jordan put his arm around Caleb and nodded.

“Awesome,” Rob said. “So tell us about your bike. How long have you had it?”

After a long conversation, where Jordan demonstrated various features on his motorbike, he let each guy take a turn sitting on the bike to have their photo taken. Caleb offered the loan of his helmet, if they wanted to sit behind Jordan as he did a slow round on the parking lot, which of course they did.

As they went back into the café to buy lunch, Nelson walked next to Caleb while Jordan talked to his cousin. Eric and Rob spent a few more moments taking more shots as they posed in front of the bike.

“If Rob tells his parents he wants a bike when he goes to California for college, there may be a small eruption. If Eric and I did the same, I think we’ll have a DefCon 5 situation.”

“So your parents are OK with you being gay, but motorbikes are off limits?”

“Yeah, I think my mom is fan-girling a bit over Eric. But then, I suspect she secretly reads gay romance online. It’s a little weird.”

“Well, the second largest group of people who watch gay porn are mature women. And there are some female authors who write great gay romance. Stands to reason plenty of women read it too.”

“Why would women watch gay porn?”

“Well, why do straight men like porn with two women making out? Maybe they like to imagine themselves in the middle?”

“Eew, I don’t want to think of my mom like that.”

“Just pretend you don’t know, like she probably does about whatever you and Eric get up to.”

“Not much so far, we’ve only been dating for a short time. But I already got the ‘Be responsible’ talk because I’m older than Eric.”

“It’s better than the ‘Get out of my house, you pervert’ conversation some of us face.”

“Did that happen to you?” Nelson already knew a little of the story, of course, but he didn’t want to let on, in case he got Ryan in trouble.

“Yeah, when I was about your age.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. I know we’re lucky with decent families, friends and most people in school.”

Caleb nodded but didn’t say anything else, as they were now at the counter and waiting to order lunch. Nelson looked back, and when he caught Eric’s eye, he mimed buying for him too. His boyfriend had a quick chat with Rob and made his way over to say what they’d like.

“No problem. I’ve got enough to cover that.” Nelson leaned in to give his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before Eric moved back to their table. Caleb’s smile, as he watched them, made Nelson feel confident. These guys were worth knowing and could probably give good advice.

No, I wasn’t going to write a long motorbike chat, because @Carlos Hazday would be able to point out all my mistakes.