Such Great Heights - 2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I lay on my bed listening to music on my iPod. With my white headphones in my ears, I was able to drown out all the other noises around me. I was just staring off at nothing particular trying hard not to think about anything because when I did start thinking, I could only remember that boy. This was not normal. I had just asked Rachel Fisher out on a date and instead of thinking about her I was more concerned about the boy who had a locker next her. The worst part was that I didn’t know anything about him. I didn’t even know his name. Obviously, tomorrow I would have to do some sleuthing. I glanced at the clock and realized that since returning home from school, I had wasted over an hour in idle thoughts. I jumped up and went over to my desk to try to finish my homework before I headed to Zac’s swim meet.

It was exactly five o’clock when I pulled into the high school parking lot. I parked my car and then headed over to the aquatic center where the swim meet was underway. Once inside, I found Jake and Ashley sitting in the stands.

“Dude, just in time,” said Jake as he moved over a bit to make space for me.

“Uh, yeah, I got held up,” I said as I sat down. “So where is Zac?” I added quickly.

“Lane 6. What do you mean you got held up?”

“Oh, I see him,” I said recognizing Zac’s short bleached hair.

I was saved from further interrogation as the announcer started to call out the names of the swimmers. We gave a little cheer when they announced Zac’s name. As I watched Zac adjust his goggles and step up onto the starting block, thoughts about the day raced through my mind. Many things had happened in the past couple of hours. I had asked out Rachel Fisher who was the one of the hottest girls in school. I had also seen a boy who intrigued me in some unknown way. There was something about him. I watched the swimmers getting into position as I tried to think. There was something about him, which drew me to him, making me only think about him. Then just as the starting whistle went off and the swimmers jumped into the water, the answer hit me. I could be wrong, but I almost felt as if I was attracted to the boy.

“Fuck!” I said aloud as the realization dawned. It didn’t make any sense, I had never actually been attracted to another guy before. I always knew that I wasn’t the straightest guy in the world since I sometimes got off by watching gay porn but I had never thought of myself actually being attracted to another guy.

“Yeah, look at him go! He is so awesome!” yelled Ashley.

Ashley’s exclamation broke me from my thoughts and I turned my attention to the race. Zac had gained the lead and had left the competition behind. He seemed to just glide through the water towards the end. Cheers and applause broke out as Zac reached the finish. We jumped up and cheered along with everyone else but maybe a bit louder. Zac pushed up his goggles and after seeing his time, he pumped his fist in victory.

“Yay! Let’s go down and congratulate him,” said Ashley excitedly as the cheers and applause slowed down.

I followed Ashley and Jake down to the pool area where the swimmers and fans were milling around. Zac was talking excitedly to his parents. When he saw us, he left them and walked over to us. He was wearing only a pair of Speedos, which really showed off his toned body. I’m pretty sure because of the swimming, he was more toned than either Jake or me.

“Hey guys! Thanks for making it out here!”

“That was awesome, Zac!” exclaimed Ashley as she hugged Zac.

“Yeah, dude, great job,” said Jake, patting Zac on the back.

“No surprise, right?” I said. “You are amazing.”

Zac looked at me and smiled.

“Thanks, guys,” said Zac still smiling. “It means a lot.”

“That’s what we are here for,” replied Jake laughing.

“Yeah, we are really proud of you,” I added.

“Thanks,” said Zac. He was looking at me straight in the eyes. I just smiled. I was glad to see the usually reserved Zac so upbeat and excited.

“Well I expect my parents are waiting for me, so I guess I will see you guys later.”

We said goodbye to Zac and then walked out to the parking lot talking excitedly about the meet and Zac’s performance. The three of us then decided to get some pizza, as we were all hungry. Jake offered to drive us all over to the local pizza parlor. On the ride there, Jake and Ashley sat in the front talking while I sat in the back looking out the window and my thoughts drifted back to the boy. I had never really questioned my sexuality before. I mean, I got off on gay porn, but I had just always thought that there was a difference between watching gay porn and actually being gay and having romantic feelings for other guys. I had never felt anything special for other guy before so I just assumed I was pretty much straight. Now for the first time I was actually feeling something for another guy. Maybe I had been wrong and there was no difference. Maybe I just was bisexual or even gay. I shook my head. It was too early to jump to such conclusions. This whole attraction was probably just a fleeting thing and I would soon be over it. It wasn’t really a big deal.

We soon reached the local pizza parlor. This place had been our favorite hangout since Jake and I had found this place in the eighth grade. This place had come to hold many memories of great times spent together.

"We’ll have a large pepperoni pizza and three cokes," Jake told the waitress who came by to get our order after we sat down in our favorite booth.

"Okay, it will probably be fifteen minutes," said the waitress before walking away.

After she left, Jake and Ashley turned towards me expectantly.

“So?” asked Jake with a smile on his face.

I just shook my head. “She said yes, of course.”

"Congrats," said Jake happily.

"Well, I hope this will calm her down," said Ashley. "She has been kind of hung up on you for the past few weeks."

"More like months," said Jake laughing.

“I hope she isn’t expecting too much.” I was getting slightly worried that I was going to go out with a girl who really liked me, while I only sort of liked her. It was more on Jake and Ashley’s persuasion that I was asking her out. Plus, I hadn’t been on a first date in a long time.

“Dude, chill. Trust me you’ll be fine. Where are you taking her?”

“We’ll probably go to that Italian restaurant for dinner and then go watch a movie. That’s okay right?”

“It’s perfect for a first date,” replied Ashley. “Plus, Rachel loves Italian food so it’ll be great.”

The fact that Rachel enjoyed Italian food relieved a bit. Our pizza soon arrived and we started to eat while continuing to talk about Rachel. By the end of the meal, I felt increasingly better about the whole thing. I guess I just needed a little reassurance that I could pull this off. I had also completely forgotten about the whole episode with the boy.
I finally returned home around seven o’clock, humming some tune that was stuck in my head. As I entered the house, I ran into my mother, who had her purse slung over her shoulder and was fumbling with her set of keys.

“Oh sweetie I am so glad you are here. I just got a call from Beatrice so I will have to go to the office to look over some paper work. Amber needs to go over to her friend’s house to work on a group project. I would have dropped her off myself but I think her friend’s house is in the opposite direction. Do you think you could drop her off?”

“Um… sure, I guess.”

“Thanks sweetie, and you can order whatever you want for dinner.”

“I already ate,” I replied.

“Oh, wonderful. Well I should be back in a few hours. Bye.”

With that my mom stepped outside and closed the door behind her. I hadn’t gone two steps further when my sister accosted me.

“Mom said you have to drop me off at a friend’s house so we can work on our group project.”

I sighed. This was the one downside of having my own car. Before buying my car, my mom had made me agree to drive my sister anywhere she needed to go and my sister made full use of it. In fact, I was sure she even made up group projects for excuses to get me to drop her off at her friends’ houses. It was even more annoying that my mom actually believed her. Knowing that arguing would be futile, I agreed.

“Okay, get your stuff. I’ll meet you in the car.”

I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. I took a few sips and then took it with me to the car. Amber showed a few minutes later with her backpack.

“I know that you don’t actually have a school project,” I told my sister as I pulled out of the driveway.

“It’s none of your business so just drive,” my sister replied.

Damn! She was impossible. I turned up the volume on the radio and started driving while my sister gave me directions. In a few minutes, we ended up in a nice upscale neighborhood where the houses were definitely much bigger than the houses in our neighborhood. We lived in the average suburban neighborhood where all the houses looked pretty much the same. This neighborhood was anything but average. My sister finally made me stop in front a very nice looking two-storey house with a perfectly manicured lawn and very nice landscaping.

“We haven’t been to this house before. Is this a new friend?” I asked looking at the house.

“No, it’s just that most of the time we hang out at Annie’s house but Annie is on vacation with her parents.”

“Well, your friend seems to be well off.”

“Yeah, both of Michelle’s parents are doctors. She is so spoiled. Her parents buy her all the things she wants. She has all these awesome clothes and like a million shoes! And the best part is that she even let me borrow one of her expensive dresses for the last dance.”

I laughed. My sister was so obsessed with clothes. She spent half her time at the mall shopping. I, on the other hand, was not so fond of shopping. It just wasn’t my idea of fun and excitement. However, I did like to look decent and therefore some stops at the mall were necessary.

“You should come inside and check out their awesome pool,” said my sister. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind and her parents are never home.”

“Um, okay,” I replied. “I am kind of curious how it looks like from the inside.”

I had been inside fancy houses before. Rachel lived in a huge mansion that was much larger than this house and even Jake’s house was quite large. Nonetheless, I was still curious to check it out so I got out of the car and followed my sister up to the front door. My sister rang the bell and after a few seconds, the door opened.

“Amber!” exclaimed a girl who I assumed was Michelle.

“Michelle!” my sister exclaimed hugging the girl.

“Hi, you must be Kyle, Amber’s brother, right?” Michelle asked after Amber let her go.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you Michelle,” I said as I shook her hand. “You have a really nice house. My sister told me that I should check it out.”

“Thanks. You are definitely welcome to stay. I think my brother is around here somewhere,” she said showing us in to the elegant entrance of the house.

“Who is your brother?” I asked.

“Colin, he’s a junior. Don’t you know him?” Michelle asked.

“I don’t think I know any Colin,” I replied after thinking through the people I knew.

“Oh, I just thought you might since you were both in the same grade.”

“Oh” I replied not knowing what to say.

“Hey, do you want something to drink?” Michelle asked breaking the awkward silence.

“Ah, that’s okay I should be going anyways.” I replied.

“Okay, well it was nice to meet you, Kyle.”

“Yeah, it was nice to meet you too.”

The two girls then turned and headed for the grand staircase that led up to the second floor.

“Oh, Amber, when do you want me to pick you up?”

“I’m spending the night!” Amber called back as the two of them disappeared upstairs.

I turned around and started walking slowly back towards the front door while looking at some of the paintings hanging on the walls. I got to the front door and was about to open it when it flew open, hitting me in the head and making fall back onto the floor.

“Damn!” I said rubbing my forehead, which started hurting really badly.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?” said someone.

“Yeah, I think so,” I said getting up. I then looked up to see who was talking to me and was quite shocked to see the boy who I had seen next to Rachel’s locker. He was still wearing his school uniform with that black tie, which matched with his black hair.

“Hey, it’s you!” I said looking at him.

“Uh, yeah it’s me. What are you doing here?” he asked looking slightly confused.

“Oh, I was just dropping my sister, Amber, off. She’s friends with Michelle,” I replied. “I don’t think we have formally met. My name is Kyle,” I continued extending my hand.

“I’m Colin,” he replied shaking my hand.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. Your sister was just telling me that you’re a junior also. It’s funny that we haven’t met before. I guess we just don’t run in the same circles.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he replied still looking confused. “Your forehead seems to be bruising, let me get you some ice before it bruises too badly,” he said changing the topic. “You can come in and sit in the living room,” he said pointing to a set of double doors on the right. “I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks,” I replied as he headed down a hall to the left. I turned to the set of double doors. I cautiously opened one door and walked forward into the living room. The living room was quite large with a vaulted ceiling and a large fireplace. I looked around before I sat down on a leather couch. I was looking at all the paintings and decorations on the walls when Colin returned with a pack of ice. He sat down on the sofa next to me, which caused my heart to start beating faster and I felt tingly all over. These feelings I was getting from just being this close to him were not normal. The thoughts from before came rushing back.

“Here put this on,” he said sitting handing me the ice pack.

“Thanks,” I replied taking the ice pack and pressing it against my forehead.

I sat for a while holding the ice pack and just feeling Colin’s presence right next to me before I spoke up. “You have a lot of nice paintings here.”

“Um yeah, my mom is very much into art. She put up most of these paintings.”

There was silence again and I was thinking of what to say next when my cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket to see who had texted me.

It was from Bryan. “Come over to my house to celebrate Zac’s win.”

I took the opportunity to get up. I had to get away from these feelings that I was having.

“Well, I have to get going,” I said handing the ice pack back to Colin. “It was nice meeting you and I guess I will see around at school.”

“Okay, well see you later then,” Colin replied getting up as well.

I walked to the front door and after saying bye, I quickly opened the door and stepped outside. I stopped on the front porch of the house as a smile crept across my mouth. This was much worse than I had thought. There was definitely something about this Colin Stone. I wanted to stay away from him but there was a part of me that was just yearning to see him again.