From Behind Those Eyes - 5. Chapter 5

I think I had been sitting in the library for an hour after school before I noticed that Jesse hadn’t shown up yet. I checked my watch realizing that I was getting anxious. He wouldn’t just not come, or at least I didn’t think he would do that, so something must have come up. At least I hoped that was the case, and not that he was mad at me about what had happened earlier at lunch.

I went back to the book I was supposed to be reading for English class and eventually he flopped down in the seat across from me and took a deep breath. I looked up at him curiously from my book that I was only half paying attention to anyway. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I got stuck fixing something before the paper gets sent to print.”

“Perks of the job?” I teased since he was obviously worried I would be upset that he hadn’t shown up right away. He looked at me slightly confused for a minute until he figured out that I was joking and then he smiled and sarcastically said, “Yeah, great perk.” I laughed and then asked, “So what happened anyway?”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Let’s not waste our time together talking about that.” I thought that sounded like a good idea so I asked him, “Ready to go then?” wanting to get to my house. He asked again, “Are you sure this is okay, I mean, with your Dad being there?” I nodded saying, “Yeah Jess, it’s cool, I promise.” He still looked worried so I asked him, “Are you sure you still want to come over?”

His eyes dropped to the table where he was playing with a paper clip, but he didn’t say anything. I silently wondered if there was something that he wasn’t telling me. I was trying to wait patiently, not wanting to push him, to give him the time he needed to say what he needed to say. “Jess, did something happen?” I asked him, really confused by his uncertainty. It wasn’t like him to be unsure or ashamed.

He still hadn’t said anything when I reached out and grabbed the paper clip he was turning over and over between his fingers. Instead of causing him to look up at me, he just put his hands in his lap and continued to stare at the table. Maybe he was pissed about earlier, maybe he thought I was more trouble than I was worth, I really didn’t know, but I needed to find out. What could be that bad that he was trying to avoid it altogether?

I sadly said in almost a whisper, “Are you breaking up with me?” I had gotten that terrifying question out, and then went on to say, “I mean, I guess I would understand if you are. It’s not really fair of me to expect you to deal with all of my crap and anxiety.” I really did believe that, he deserved a boyfriend who would be proud, one who could be open and secure enough to tell the world how he felt. I let out a despondent sigh as I grew sadder knowing that I wasn’t capable of giving him what he deserved, at least not yet.

“What?” he said in disbelief. “No! I’m not trying to break up with you,” he paused, “and you’re right it isn’t fair that I can’t tell everyone how much I like you or that you are my boyfriend, but that is a sacrifice that I am willing to make because I do like you, a lot, and because I understand.” I looked up, our eyes finally meeting, but only for a second, and said, “Well, if you’re not breaking up with me, then what is the problem? You won’t even look at me.”

He looked off into the distance, obviously trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind, but I was getting frustrated. I reached over and gently grabbed his chin, guiding his face toward me, till our eyes met. “Jesse, just say it, whatever it is it can’t be that bad, and this is killing me.”

“I really don’t want to cause you any problems. I’m the only one who knows you’re gay and we obviously don’t hang out together so…,” he trailed off. He seemed to be lost in thought when I asked him, “Do you want to talk about it Jess?” Hearing his name seemed to get his attention and he said, “Talk about what?” I sighed, knowing how to read him well enough that I knew there was more to this than he was letting on.

I took a minute to collect my own thoughts before gently saying, “Jess, I know you understand why I’m not ready to tell anyone yet, and I really do appreciate you trying to protect my image, but I also really like you a lot too, and so I’ll deal with whatever happens.” He smiled a small smile, not his normal contagious smile, but I took that as a good sign anyway.

“I really do want to protect you,” he started, “No one should be outed before they’re ready. Nobody should have to go through what I did,” he said the last part so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. I couldn’t even imagine what he meant and I didn’t want to push him, but I did know I couldn’t stand to see him like this, all sad and withdrawn. That wasn’t the Jesse I knew, but it was obviously hard for him to talk about this, and as badly as I wanted to know, I was sure he would tell me when he was ready.

I stood up and grabbed my backpack and said, “Come on, let’s go.” He looked up at me from where he was sitting with a pained expression on his face. “Please come with me, it’ll be okay Jess, I promise,” I said holding my hand out to him. He reached out and took my hand in his before he stood up. He dropped my hand when we got to a place where people could see us, and I looked over at him, forgetting that I was even holding his hand because it just felt normal to me to do that. We made our way out of the library and all the way across the school to the parking where I unlocked the doors before he spoke again.

“Thanks,” was all he said as we climbed in my truck. The drive to my house was pretty quiet, but just being able to hold his hand while we drove made me feel like he knew I was there for him. I finally asked him, “Do you need to call home or anything?” He nodded saying, “Yeah, I guess I should let them know I won’t be there for dinner,” then paused before adding, “that is if you still want me to stay that long.”

“Jess, I hope that by now I have made it clear how much I want you around.” I said squeezing his hand for added emphasis. What I really wanted was to hold him in my arms and to never let him go, to protect him from whatever it was that was causing him to be so hurt and sad. “You have,” he said, “and I’m sorry. It’s just that I would give anything to make sure that you don’t have to go through what I did. Even if that means I have to give you up.”

We pulled up in front of my house and when we got inside I grabbed him, pulling him to me, and I wrapped my strong arms around him. We stood there, our bodies pressed together, and I said quietly, “You don’t ever have to give me up.” I felt the tension in his body melt away as he relaxed against me and I smiled, knowing that I could comfort him just like he could comfort me.

A couple minutes had passed with us just holding each other when he finally said, “So I’m guessing that your Dad isn’t home yet.” I shook my head saying, “Nope, not for another hour probably.” He giggled saying, “Yeah, I figured.” I pulled back a little so I could see his face and inquisitively said, “Oh? What led you to believe that?”

“Well,” he laughed, “maybe the fact that you’re feeling me up in your living room.” My mouth dropped open in shock when he said that and his smile returned brightly. “I am so not feeling you up!,” I said blushing, “cause if I was, I would have been doing this,” I said, reaching for him, as he screamed, “No!”, and ran off laughing before I could grab him. I chased him up the stairs and we were in my room before I caught up to him.

I looked over at him and said, “You better call home,” before I tossed my phone to him where he stood across the room. He looked at me curiously, obviously not what he had expected me to do, but made the call anyway. I used that time to take off my shoes and I sat down on the bed to wait for him to finish on the phone. When he had finished the call he tossed the phone back to me. I leaned over to put it on my nightstand and let out a deep groan as I was quickly reminded how sore my shoulder was from yesterdays’ practice.

He came and sat down next to me, a worried look on his face, and said, “Are you sure you’re okay? You keep doing that.” I nodded, reaching up to rub my shoulder where it hurt, saying, ”Yeah, I’ll be fine, I’m just sore is all,” Putting his arm around me, he placed his hand on top of mine saying, “Let me?”

“Sure, if you want to,” I said pulling my hand out from underneath his. “I do,” he said as he crawled around behind me. He sat with one leg on each side of me as he kneaded the tight, sore muscles in my back and shoulders. It hurt at first, but after a minute I started to relax under his touch and I let out a moan. “Feel good?” he asked. “So good,” was all I could get out before the next moan came. My eyes were closed, enjoying the feel of his hands working on my back, when he said, “Just relax.”

After about fifteen minutes he stopped and wrapped his arms around me from behind. I leaned back against him, content to be in his arms, and said, “Thanks, that really helped.” He whispered in my ear, “Anytime,” as he started to work the muscles in my chest. I melted into him, moaning again, as his fingers pressed firmly against the muscles that ran below my collar bone.

He laughed softly saying, “If you keep that up, we’ll have to massage something else too.” I was so lost in the feeling, relaxing in his arms and against his chest that I just mumbled, “Yeah,” not realizing what I was agreeing to. “This feels so good Jess,” I told him. His mouth right next to my ear, he said softly, “Yeah, it feels really good to me too.”

His touch was amazing. His soothing hands were roaming across my chest and down over my stomach, tracing the outline of the tight muscles through my shirt. My head had dropped back and was resting on his shoulder. I wasn’t sure what was turning me on more; his enticing scent, the feel of his hands on my body, or the way he was erotically whispering things in my ear.

“You’re so hot,” he said softly as his hands slipped under the bottom of my shirt. I gasped at the feel of his hands on my skin as they continued to explore my body. Feeling his lips on my neck sucking and nibbling at the sensitive skin there, a deep moan escaped from me as I gripped the sheets underneath us. “I love listening to the sounds you make when I touch you,” he whispered, causing my half hard cock to jump.

My bottom lip caught between my teeth as his fingers traced the waistband of my jeans, dipping slightly underneath at times as he whispered, “I like this, being here with you like this.” “Mmm hmm, me too,” I mumbled, lost in the moment with him. At some point his hands had stopped moving and I was just enjoying the comfort of being in his arms.

“So what are we doing tonight?” he asked me after sitting like that for a while. “I don’t know really, probably just eat and hang out, maybe talk to my Dad a little. Why?” I asked him, hoping he wasn’t still worried about meeting my Dad and all the other stuff from earlier. I felt him shrug, even though I couldn’t see it from where I was sitting, saying, “I don’t know, just wondered.”

As much as I loved being wrapped in his arms and inhaling his intoxicating scent as I leaned back on him, I forced myself to sit up and turn around so I could look at him when I said, “Jess, I meant what I said earlier. I will deal with whatever I have to so we can be together, and you don’t have to protect me, I’ll be okay no matter what happens as long as I have you.”

“You really mean that, don’t you?” he asked me in a tone that told me he was starting to believe it too. I simply nodded as I pulled him to me once again. I knew more and more that having him in my arms was something that I never wanted to give up, and I said, “Don’t ever give me up, okay, promise me Jess.” He held me tighter and said, “I won’t Stephen, I promise.”

He finally pulled away from our embrace and as I wondered why, he smiled shyly and said, “I can’t believe I’m meeting your Dad tonight.” I laughed a little, a nervous laugh, and asked him, “Are you sure this is cool with you, cause if it’s not, just tell me and I’ll take you home okay?” He smiled that amazing smile of his and said, “Well, I’ll admit I’m a little nervous I guess, but I really do want to meet him. Besides, to him we’re just friends, right?”

I laughed out loud at what he said before I replied, “We are friends Jess, and I’m glad you want to meet him because I really want you to meet the other important guy in my life.” I winked at him as I said that, and his smile seemed to grow even bigger, if that was possible. “Come on, let’s go downstairs, my Dad should be home soon,” I said standing up and pulling him up by the hand. He groaned, for effect I think, and I laughed at that before we headed downstairs.

We headed to the kitchen to get some drinks and were sitting next to each other at the counter; the gentle touches, the subtle looks, and the hidden smiles, and somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if my Dad would notice them. I guess at some point I would have to tell him that I was gay, but at the moment I think I’ll go with the ‘just friends’ thing, at least for now.

I had been thinking a while I guess, because he asked me, “Is everything alright? I mean, are you sure you are gonna be okay with this tonight?” My thoughts were halted abruptly as I realized I had been quiet for some time and then quickly said, “Oh, sorry, I guess I was just thinking.” He nodded, allowing me to get it together, and then asked me, “Do you want to tell me about it?”

I looked over at him, sitting there next to me, and wondered how I got so lucky. He was just… perfect. Aside from the fact that he was beautiful, he was also caring and giving, almost selfless, and I just smiled knowing that he was my boyfriend. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of hearing that. I asked him, “How did I get so lucky?”

“What are you talking about?” he replied starting to blush just a bit, seeing that I was looking at him affectionately. “I was thinking about telling my Dad….” I trailed off momentarily, and he cut in asking, “About you?” sounding almost shocked. I shook my head and said, “No, about us,” as my smile seemed to take up a permanent residence on my face. “I like the sound of that, ‘us’,” I said and felt my cheeks flush as I let my eyes drop from his.

His hand landed gently on my cheek as he said, “Me too, a lot.” I looked up at him again, always missing that contact when I wasn’t seeing his face, and he asked me, “Are you serious, I mean, about telling your Dad, because I don’t want you to do it for me, okay?” I was serious, but I didn’t mean tonight, that much I knew for sure. “I don’t mean tonight,” I said, “but I really do want to tell him soon. I want to be fair to you, and to us.”

“Only if you want to,” he said as he pulled me into an amazing hug and held me tightly. “I do,” I told him, “I want to be able to be with you all the time so I guess I’m gonna have to figure out how to do that.” I heard him let out a deep breath, and he said, “I really want that too, more than anything, but only when you are ready. I won’t push you, I want you to be ready when that happens, because it’ll be hard, trust me, I know.”

“Well, you’ll be there with me, so…,” I trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. “I will be,” he said firmly, “and I don’t want to scare you, so I’m sorry if I’m doing that.” I wasn’t really scared. I mean that wasn’t the right word for what I was feeling, maybe more like frustrated or worried, but not scared. “I’m okay,” I told him, and surprisingly, I was. I mean it’s not everyday that you decide you should tell your Dad that you’re gay, but I was gay, and I was Jesse’s boyfriend, so I owed it to myself and to him to give this all I could, to be honest.

I hadn’t even heard the door so it startled me when my Dad came walking into the kitchen. “Hi Son,” he said causing me to jump a little as his hand came down on my shoulder. “A little jumpy tonight?” he asked me. I laughed nervously and said, “Nope, I just didn’t hear you come in.” I hoped that I wasn’t acting strangely because my Dad would know something was up, he knew how to read me, and I wasn’t quite ready to have that talk yet.

“Dad, this is my friend, Jesse Green. Jesse this is my Dad,” I said, introducing them and maybe, secretly, hoping to take the spotlight off me for a minute so I could get it together. “Hi Mr. Cooper,” Jesse said, extending his hand toward my Dad. My Dad laughed and said, “Please call me Steve, and it’s nice to meet you,” as he shook hands with my boyfriend. “Stephen doesn’t really bring many friends home,” he continued when I interjected exasperatedly, “Dad!”

He laughed, “Okay, okay, I get it, I’ll be cool,” he said walking into the kitchen. “So how do you guys know each other?” he asked, his voice coming from behind the refrigerator door as he was bent over searching for a drink of his own. My eyes met with Jesse’s and he shrugged, letting me take the lead with my Dad, so I replied, “Well from school. Jesse is the kid I have been tutoring,” I shrugged at Jesse and then continued, “and he had to do an article about the team so he had to interview me.”

“The school paper?” he asked Jesse sounding far too interested for my taste, and Jesse nodded. “Are you the sports reporter or something?” my Dad asked him. “No,” Jesse responded saying proudly, “actually I am the editor.” My Dad grinned and said, “Wow, impressive.” He walked back over to where we were seated and then asked, “Will you be joining us for dinner Jesse?” Jesse nodded his reply and then said, “Yeah, thanks I will.”

“How about pizza then?” my Dad suggested and I looked over at Jesse to see what he thought about that idea. “Sounds good to me,” Jesse said. “Yeah me too,” I added. “Okay, I’ll order it,” he said. “What do you like on your pizza Jesse?” “Whatever you like is fine, I’m not picky,” he said and I smiled at him.

My Dad left in search of the phone, and I let out the breath I had been holding since my Dad walked in. Jesse laughed and said, “Well that wasn’t too bad, Junior.” I looked at him curiously before I realized that he was referring to that fact that my Dad’s name was Stephen too. Everyone called him Steve and that is how I got Stephen I guess, so we could tell the difference.

I rolled my eyes at him, thinking that he would be teasing me forever about that, but said, “Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that.” He burst out laughing, although I didn’t know what was so funny about that. Maybe it was all the nervousness or tension, but then I started laughing too, and it felt good. My Dad walked back in saying, “Okay all done. Pizza should be here in a bit,” but then stopped when he saw us and then we started laughing all over again.

“Okay, stop!” I pleaded. “My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.” My Dad shook his head at us both, confused still, but then asked, “So will you be at the game tomorrow Jesse?” We tried to collect ourselves enough to carry on a normal conversation, and Jesse said, “Yes, I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it.”
That’s because his hot boyfriend would be there in his hot baseball uniform, but my Dad didn’t need to know that.

The pizza came and we ate and talked a little more before I said, “Well, I better take you home, it’s getting late.” Jesse nodded in agreement and I stood up saying, “Come on. I have to get my keys and stuff though,” and headed for my room with him following close behind me. Once we were out of sight and headed up the stairs, I felt his hands on my ass and I jumped, giggling.

“Shhhhh,” was all he said as we made our way into my room. He immediately shut the door behind him and then before I knew what was happening I felt his mouth come down over mine. It didn’t take but a second for me to quit worrying about the fact that my Dad was sitting just downstairs before I totally gave in to the emotion in his kiss. He let out a low moan from the back of his throat as he explored every part of my mouth holding my body tightly against his.

There was no place I enjoyed being more than right where I was at that very moment, but eventually he pulled back and I groaned in agony, feeling the loss of his lips on mine. My head fell down on his shoulder as he held me close. “I just wanted to kiss you goodnight while I had the chance to do it properly,” he said. I nodded and said, “We better get going,” although I made no move to leave his arms. He said, “Yeah, we should,” not moving either. I laughed after a minute before backing away from him saying, “At this rate you’ll never get home.”

We went back downstairs and Jesse thanked my Dad for dinner. “Nice meeting you Jesse,” my Dad said, “I’ll see you at the game tomorrow I guess.” Jesse nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll see you there. Goodnight.” “I’ll be back soon Dad,” I said, “I’m just going to drive him home now.” My Dad nodded, mumbling, “Yeah, okay,” since he was already engrossed in the show he was watching on TV again.

I laughed at him as we headed for the door. On our way to my truck I spotted Jules walking up to my house. I tried not to get nervous, I wanted to just be honest with her, but I couldn’t. Not yet anyway, so I just settled for saying, “Hey Jules, what’s up?” Jesse shot me a look that said he was worried, but I just ignored that for the moment. “I was just coming to say hi,” she said pouting in the way she thought was cute. “I was bored at home.”

“Oh,” was all I managed to say. “Are you going somewhere?” she asked noticing my keys in my hand. “Yeah, I’m just going to take Jesse home,” I said while he remained silent. ”I see,” she said as she looked over at him curiously. He tried to remain unphased by her scrutinizing eyes when I volunteered, “We were just studying.” I frowned at the sound of that lie coming out of my mouth and looked at him with apologetic eyes.

He smiled at me, understanding why I was acting the way I was, and I said, “I should be back in a half an hour, if you want to wait, or come back,” eager to get away from the uncomfortable situation I was currently in. She seemed as though she couldn’t decide if she was more hurt that I didn’t invite her to come along for the ride or more worried about being seen with Jesse. Maybe I was reading her wrong, I hoped so at least, but I couldn’t be sure.

After a minute of careful contemplation on her part she said, “I’ll be back then,” before she turned and walked back the way she came. I breathed a sigh of relief that that was over, for now at least, and I opened the door for Jesse before walking around to get in myself. Once we were safely alone and on the road I said, “Thanks for understanding Jess.” He smiled at me and squeezed my hand saying, “I do. Besides, I had fun tonight. You were right, your Dad is pretty cool.”

I smiled at his admission and then asked him, “What are you doing after the game tomorrow?” He looked at me curiously but hopeful and said, “Nothing much really. Why?” I shrugged and replied, “Well we all usually go out after the game and hang out. I just thought it would be fun if you came.” He looked a bit shocked at that idea, and then after trying to decide what to say in response, managed to get out, “Really? sounding full of disbelief.

“Yeah really,” I laughed, “I want to be with you, so you should come.” He was still in shock I think, when he said, “Um, yeah, well I guess so.” He sounded unsure, and I didn’t blame him, I mean this would be our first public appearance as friends, but I was serious when I said that I wanted to be with him. In my eyes, this was the first step to getting to a place where we could be together and I owed it to him to try.

“Good,” I stated firmly as I squeezed his hand in return. We got to his house and I shut off the engine and climbed out of the truck. He obviously was wondering what I was doing but he didn’t say anything as a shy smile appeared on his face. When we finally reached the door he turned to me and said, “You could have just dropped me off.” I laughed and said, “I wanted to walk you to the door, that’s what a boyfriend is supposed to do, right?”

The sound of his laugh was amazing as I watched him light up with happiness. Maybe I wasn’t ready to come out yet, and maybe it was hard for us to spend time together as a couple, but it was my way of showing him I cared. The little things that I could do to make him feel good made me smile, and it made me happy that he was happy too.

He glanced around before stretching up on his toes and placing a soft kiss on my cheek and saying, “Goodnight Junior.” I rolled my eyes again and said, “Night Jess. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that I walked back to my truck and he went inside.

I realized about the time I turned the corner into my neighborhood that Jules was coming back. I wondered how many questions she would have for me about Jesse and I wondered if I would be able to answer them all without her suspecting anything. She was sitting on the front porch waiting for me as I drove up, like Jesse had been that night after the dance, and I smiled remembering him sitting there.

She followed me into the house and said hi to my Dad on the way past the living room to the stairs. When we got to my room she flopped down on my bed like always, making herself at home, and I smiled knowing that we had been through a lot together. “So what have you been up to?” she asked me, “I haven’t spent much time with you lately. I miss you,” she pouted.

I laughed and said, “Well I’m sure Sean has kept you occupied,” and she rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” was her reply when I laughed again. “Come on Jules, even you have to admit he is a good guy,” I went on, hoping that talking about something else would keep her mind off of the fact that Jesse was here earlier. I guess I would see how long that would last.

“Yeah, he is a good guy, it’s just…,” she paused thinking of how to say what she was thinking, “he’s not who I always pictured myself with. I guess what I mean is, that he isn’t someone I would have really considered before, but now, I don’t know.” That was shocking news. I tried to remain calm, although the smile that was trying so desperately to make an appearance on my face was making that very difficult, as I said, “You like him, don’t you?”

She didn’t respond, but I could see the pink rising in her cheeks when I said, “I can tell, admit it.” She giggled a little and said, “Knock it off Stephen, I don’t know alright. I mean, I have been thinking about the possibility, but you better not say anything. I mean it.” I shook my head teasing her, “Don’t worry Jules, I wouldn’t do that to poor Sean, the poor guy might pass out or something.”

“So what do you want to do?” I asked her, glad that she still hadn’t brought up Jesse. “I don’t care,” she said, “what do you want to do?” I was so relieved that this hadn’t turned into a huge ordeal. We were actually just hanging out, like old friends. “How about a movie?” I suggested and she agreed. I let her choose what we watched, as usual, before I put the movie on.

We got comfortable on my bed and watched the movie; no awkwardness, no stress, just two old friends having a good time together, and it was great. We laughed and made jokes about what we were watching, and when the movie was over, I walked her home.

“See you in the morning,” she said as she walked to her front door. “Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning,” I mimicked. “Hey Jules,” I said, causing her to turn around and look at me, “thanks, I had a really good time tonight. I’ve missed hanging out with you.” She walked over and hugged me, her standing on the top step of her porch and me on the ground below, and said, “Me too. Goodnight,” and then she went inside.

I walked back home and was ready to get some sleep, but I thought I better call Jesse and tell him that everything went fine with Jules, I’m sure he was worried. Besides, I kind of wanted to hear his voice and say goodnight before I went to sleep. I stuck my head in my Dad’s room and said goodnight before I headed to my own room.

Once I was in bed, comfortable and relaxed, I picked up the phone and dialed Jesse’s number. After two rings he answered saying, “Hello.” I couldn’t help it, the smile that appears on my face when I hear his voice, as I said, “Hi Jess.”

“Hi,” he said almost shyly, and I could imagine his smiling face.

“Hi,” I said, causing him to laugh.

“You already said that,” he laughed, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, it is,” I said, realizing that the night was about over and that everything had gone really well.

“Good,” he said, “I have to admit I was a bit worried about what would happen when you got back home with Julianne.”

I laughed a little, not used to hearing her full name used like that, and he said, “What?” wondering what he had said that was so funny.

“I haven’t heard anyone call her that in so long,” I said.

“Well that is her name, right?” he pointed out, defending his choice of words.

“That’s true, it is,” I said.

“I guess all her friends must call her Jules then?” he asked, his tone changing, sounding almost sad.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true too,” I said. “So, are you as excited about tomorrow as I am?” I asked him, hoping to get his mind off of Jules. Besides, I really was excited.

“Well, I’m definitely excited to get to see you in that hot uniform,” he said seductively, “and I want to be with you, but I’m a little worried to tell you the truth.”

“Me too,” I said, “but it’s the right thing to do, for us.”

“Yeah,” he agreed uneasy with the idea, “if you’re sure that’s what you want, then I’ll go with you.”

“I am sure Jess, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you to come,” I said trying to reassure us both I think.

“Okay then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. “Goodnight Stephen.”

“Night, Jess,” I said, and we hung up.

I was confident, I knew I wanted to be with Jess, that much I was certain of. How it would all turn out or how my friends would react to him, that part I wasn’t too sure about, but I hoped that they wouldn’t let me down. They were pretty good people for the most part and if they were really my friends then they would accept the fact that I was friends with Jesse too.