Knots - 2. Chapter 2 - Matt

Matt

The Next Day

I rushed to the swimming hole the next day, parked my bike, and heard voices when I got close. My step slowed as I approached and looked through the trees. Andy had brought boys and some girls from our class. My heart thumped, then skipped a couple beats. I jstood there, hurt. He’d taken something special between us and shared it with everyone.

“Matt, I see you. Come on out,” Andy yelled.

I sauntered out and smiled at everyone. “What do you think of our swimming hole?”

Gina Lockhart waved from mid stream then swam out and came up to me. “This place is too cool. Why you guys been hiding it from us?”

“We weren’t hiding it. We were getting it ready for you. Just put the rope up yesterday.”

She pointed and me and smiled. “Get your clothes off and get in.”

“Uh. Uh. I didn’t bring a swimming suit.

She grinned and pulled at my belt to check for a suit. “Guess you’re telling the truth. How’d you expect to swim if you didn’t bring trunks?”

“He was going to swim naked,” Andy yelled. Everyone laughed.

I hated him at that moment. I dropped my eyes for a second, then looked up at the laughing crowd.

Gina smiled like she understood. “So swim in your underwear. We don’t care. Almost as good as a swim suit.”

“Well, almost as good as swim trunks unless you’re wearing boxers,” Jack Givens said.

I sat down on a grass patch at the side of the pool “Naw, I’ll just watch.”

Andy started out of the water and waved the guys behind him to follow. “Come on Matt, get in.”

He grabbed my wrist as I gave him a dirty look and held my ground until the other guys joined him and grabbed my arms and legs. Jack Givens pulled my shoes and socks off, Andy pulled off my pants, and Stephen Jackson my shirt, leaving me naked except for my boxer briefs. The guys grabbed my wrists and ankles and swung me three times before letting me fly.

The girls screamed and laughed. Everyone who’d been out of the water jumped in and good naturedly rolled me in the water and dunked me when I came up for air. Once they let up, I laughed as if I wasn’t embarrassed, when in fact I planned to stay in the water until the skin on my body shriveled and I disappeared.

Everyone swang on the rope. Andy swam over and whispered, “Come on Matt, swing. It’s not like you’re naked.”

I didn’t move. “Andy, you’re an asshole.”

“What? I put up the rope and invited all our friends and I’m an asshole.”

“Yeah, this was our secret place. I even thought of it as a sacred place. I wanted it to be like yesterday.”

He splashed water in my face. “Yesterday is done Matt. Today is another day. I just wanted to share it with our friends. They love it.”

“Obviously they do, but I liked it when it was just the two of us.”

“Me too. There’ll be other days. Be cool.”

I splashed some water at him. “You could have at least told me about it. It’s our place and it’s something we should have decided together. Why didn’t you ask me?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

Givens yelled, “What’s going on over there between you two?”

“Nothing,” I said and then hit Andy in the shoulder where a red mark appeared. “I was surprised all right.”

“Looks like a quarrel to me.”

“Zip it Givens.” I turned back to Andy, “I don't have my suit and now you guys throw me in with just my shorts. I’ll never be able to get out. What if I sprout wood or something?”

Andy laughed and swam off as he turned back and said, “Guess that’s your problem.”

Gina swam over. “Come on Matt. Swing on the rope.”

I blushed. “Naw. I’m going to stay in the water.”

She gave me a sneaky smile. “We won’t look.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bank. Go on. Get out. I was afraid she was going to put her hand on my butt and push me out so climbed out, looked down to make sure my dick was tucked inside my shorts, and walked over to the swing which Billy Martin was holding for me. “Okay stud, show us what you got.”

I gave him a dirty look, grabbed the rope, climbed on the knot, swung out, gave a loud hoot, did a somersault, and dropped in. Everyone was clapping and cheering when I came up. So with all that encouragement, I did it over and over again as the day wore on until I suddenly found myself with an erection. I stayed in the water, waiting for it to settle down when Andy yelled. “Something wrong Matt? Having a little tightness in your shorts?”

My eyes closed and my head shook. “No, just waiting for the water to go down.” I swam around waiting for my wood to magically turn to rope just as is had magically turned to wood. I climbed out once the cycle was complete. The sun felt good on my back as I put my pants on over my wet shorts. No one even looked at me as we all dressed and began to head for home.

“Thanks for coming you guys,” Andy said. “We’ll have to do this again. Matt and I need to talk, so see you later.”

They all waved as they said thanks and left Andy and me standing there at the edge of the pool. He was still in his swim trunks. My eyes scanned him like meat at the check out counter. He acted like he didn’t notice.

“I guess I should apologize. I didn’t think about you not having swim trunks,” he said as he put on his pants and shirt. “I’m sorry.”

I ran at him as soon as he was dressed and knocked him in the water. “Yeah, and I’m sorry too.”

He came up smiling. “I guess I deserved that.”

“You damn well did. Next time talk to me first.”

He started out of the water, his body heavy with wet clothes. “Okay. Okay. I will. You’re my best friend and maybe I acted a little crazy today. I wanted to be cool with everyone and make a good impression.”

“You can’t be serious. You’re the best looking guy in our class and the most popular. Why would you have to do that?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I just needed to..”

I slapped him on the back and I remembered the touch of his skin underneath my hand as I pushed him on the swing the day before. The thought and the feeling didn’t seem right. But his skin didn’t feel any different than the skin of the girls I’d pushed on the swing that day. It was just that Andy was special. We were still only fourteen year old boys and I got to tell you, I found myself looking more at the guys than the girls. My feelings confused me.

I removed my hand, “You know something, you’re all wet.”

With that, he turned and pushed me in the water. “Yeah, now you’re all wet.”

I jumped out and rolled him into the water and we wrestled and tumbled laughing and shoving until we were out of breath, the sun was low in the sky, and it was time to head home.

*****

Andy jumped on his bike as we came out of the woods still wet. “I’ll race you.”

I jumped on my bike and lined up next to him.

He said, “Go” and was off.

“That’s no fair. I wasn’t ready.”

He ignored me as I sped after him and started to catch up until we came to bend in the road. He kept going at full speed and I slowed.

“Chicken,” he yelled.

We always raced from the exit of the woods to his house, which was two houses down from mine. I sped up as we came out of the curve, but there wasn’t anyway I was going to make up the distance. He stopped in front of his house and shrugged his shoulder like he did every time he beat me. “I beat you again.”

“Yeah, because you cheat. You’re supposed to say ready, set go.”

“Right, if I wanted you to have a chance.”

This always happened. My love for him walked out on me when he did things like this. I hated him. He was no longer handsome and everything I wanted to be, but ugly and mean. “I got to go,” I said, “See you tomorrow at 9:00 AM. We’re scheduled to mow the Hemstead’s lawn.

“Okay, see you then,” he said as he walked to his back door.

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