Legal Notice:
The following contains mild
descriptions of sexual acts between
young people. It is an original work of fiction, and has no basis in
reality.
Do not read this story if:
- You're not 18 or over.
- If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live.
- If you don't want to read about gay/bisexual people in love or
having sex.
The author retains Copyright ©
2005 to this story.
Reproducing this story for distribution without the author’s permission
is a violation of that copyright.
Dedicated
to Ren-You are always in my heart.
Perry and Jesse
The Incredibly Romantic (and slightly
kinky) Adventures of Two Boys
In Love
Part V Truths and Lies
Chapter 37: Jessica's Party Pt. 2
(Kyle's Story)
Kyle was standing there looking
singularly uncomfortable in his Sunday
suit
and tie. He had his hands stuffed clumsily in the front pockets of
his dress slacks.
"We were just making out," Jesse
explained calmly.
Good thing I'd just used the toilet,
otherwise I would've wet
myself for sure.
But Kyle only laughed. "Ha! Man,
Taylor. You gotta wicked sense of
humor.
Who woulda thunk? The bashful kid....Man, the way you had
Bainbridge
fuming in there...shit,
that was priceless!"
"We aims ta please," Jesse declared
with a quick bow.
"We were ah...just checking out the
backyard and stuff," I explained
for my own peace of mind. "It's
pretty cool. There's a waterfalls and cool lights and a big pool house
and...stuff." I swallowed the lump in my throat as best I could.
"Yeah, this whole crib is totally
high end," Kyle nodded approvingly.
"Where's Melissa?" Jesse asked.
"Oh, she's...you know...back yapping
with the other chicks. Somethin'
about wrapping presents and bows and ribbons and shit like that."
The three of us stood there in the
dim light, and I could clearly sense
Kyle's discomfort.
"Something on your mind?" Jesse
asked.
"Well...heh, heh...actually, I kinda
wondered if I could talk to Perry
for
a minute...like, alone?" he asked sheepishly.
"I guess," Jesse said teasingly. "As
long as you promise not to put
any of those famous 'captain of the football team' moves on him."
"Fuck man, you crack me up, Taylor,"
he chuckled, but his mind already
seemed to be elsewhere.
"Jesse?"
It was Merissa, her short, girlish
figure outlined in the light of
the hallway.
"Hey, good call, dude," Kyle
whispered. "Merissa's pretty hot,
even if she's only a 7th grader. She's turnin' into a serious babe.
Looks like them melons are coming along nicely. I bet she'll put out
for you at the drop of a hat."
"Well, I do have the hat," Jesse
noted with a sly grin.
"Actually, she is a little sweetie pie," he agreed.
"And, well...the night is young,"
he added with a wink that was obviously meant to emulate one of Kyle's
signature moves.
"Go for it, dude!" Kyle said in a
louder voice. He and Jesse smacked
their uplifted palms together and the sound echoed in the big room.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do,"
Jesse said, wagging an index finger
at me.
I nodded and watched him go,
smoothly slipping his hand around
Melissa's waist as they walked back toward the great room. I felt my
cheeks burn at the sight.
"Awesome party," Kyle said when we
were alone.
"Yeah, I think Jessica's really into
this sort of stuff."
"She's hot, dude," he declared.
"Still, I never thought she'd put
out for anyone in our class--she's such an ice queen. You know, she
likes to
have a good lookin' dude on her
arm, but when it comes to getting down to business...." He let his
voice trail off knowingly.
"Well, I don't really know what she
sees in me," I admitted. "But we
seem to be getting along pretty well."
"Is she takin' care of your needs?"
he asked pointedly.
"Well...um," I felt myself starting
to blush, "I think that's kinda
private."
"I hear ya, dude. That's totally
cool, not wantin' ta brag and shit.
I mean you and me, and Jess, we were just born with the looks chicks
dig, right? I mean watcha gonna do about it?"
"I dunno," I shrugged. "I don't feel
good looking or anything.
Sometimes I kinda wish people would just back off a little."
"No way, dude! You gotta take
advantage of the goods God gave you. I
mean,
shit, you could probably bag every chick in the class if you wanted
to--I mean, forgettin' about the bowsers of course."
"Um, Kyle, I'm really not
comfortable talking about this stuff."
"Heh heh, I hear ya. It's just that,
what the fuck else is there to
talk about other than
sports and chicks? Am I right?" He seemed totally sincere in his
declaration.
"Those are pretty important things,"
I admitted. "Um...sorry you guys
lost the other day," I noted, changing to the other subject.
"Yeah, total bummer," Kyle agreed.
"Guess I was a bit off my game," he
confided, although he didn't sound overly remorseful.
"You were short a couple guys," I
reminded him.
"Yup, such a small dick of a school.
No pool to draw from. Wish
you'da
joined up. You're so fast. You'da made a great wide receiver."
"I'm not a football player," I
assured him. "A little too wild
and
wooley for my taste."
"Gotcha," Kyle said with a wink.
"But you're goin' out for baseball
again,
right?"
"Yeah, it was fun last year. I think
Tom'll be the pitcher."
"Yeah, them Latinos, they just got
baseball in their blood, huh?"
I shrugged. "Tom's got a lot of
talents, but I think he pushes himself
really hard." I wished he'd hurry
up and get to the point. Clearly, Kyle was nervous
about something. I didn't think he had come out here to talk about
sports, which meant....
"Hey, about that game last week," he
said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"The reason I wasn't on my game--and
I ain't sayin' this is any kinda
legit excuse, just what's goin' on, ya know?"
"Sure."
"It's just that--"
We heard some giggling from down the
hall and it didn't sound like
Jesse
and Melissa. Apparently, some couple was having their own
private little party. We both froze guiltily (even though I didn't have
anything to feel guilty about at the moment), but Kyle looked downright
fearful.
"Shit," he cursed quietly. He
glanced around, and then opened one of
the french doors, urging me to go outside.
The evening was definitely chilly,
but not as cold as it would get in
January or February, and we did have our suit coats on.
"This is more like it," he noted
approvingly, crossing the
patio and
continuing on down the
stairs. He
seemed to relax a little once we were away from the house, but I gazed
about apprehensively, looking for any sign of an ashtray or flip
flops. I sniffed the air, but all I got was a strong whiff of chlorine.
Kyle sauntered slowly toward the edge of the pool. We
could hear the subdued roar of the miniature waterfalls along with the
muffled hum of the filtering machinery hidden off in
the landscaping somewhere on the other side. The pool house to
our right was dark.
"What did you want to talk about?" I
finally asked.
"Well, you remember when ya came
into the supply room the other day?"
He had shoved his hands into the front pockets of his slacks again and
was having a difficult time looking me in the eye.
I thought we'd just been talking
about the football game, but I
went along with the sudden shift in topic. "I'm really sorry about
that."
"No way, man. It was totally my
bad," he admitted readily. "Ya see,
it's
just that...it's just that...." Whatever it was he was trying to say
seemed to keep getting stuck in his throat. "It's just that, I
wasn't with Melissa." He finally glanced at me and his athletically
handsome face looked uncharacteristically strained.
"Oh?" I said. "Well, that's
none of my-"
"It was Miss Zimmerman!" Kyle
blurted out.
Suddenly I understood why this was
such a big deal. It
wasn't that Kyle was
just admitting some minor infidelity with another girl at school. I
wouldn't have given that much thought since I already knew from first
hand
experience that Melissa was looking for any and all opportunities to do
the same. But an adult--a
member of the faculty?!
"Yeah," he laughed uncomfortably.
"Heavy shit," he conceded
dismally.
Then I recalled that Miss Zimmerman
had been at the last football game.
No wonder Kyle couldn't concentrate!
"Gees, t-that's something," were the
only words I could manage at
the moment.
"No kidding," he agreed readily. "Ya
see, it started out real innocent,
like with me just
helpin' her out. It was after school and I was lookin' for Mrs. Scott
to give her some note
from
my mom, and I seen Miss Zimmerman in the teacher's lounge, all alone
cuz the rest of the faculty's like at some
meeting or somethin'. And she's cutting all this colored paper into
circles and squares and shit."
I felt really apprehensive listening
to Kyle talk about this. I kept
looking
around, expecting--hoping really--that Noah or anybody would come
strolling out of the house
at any moment.
"See, she's helpin' out Mrs.
Coleridge--you know, the 1st grade
teacher. So's I ask her if she could use an extra hand--ya know, just
being polite and shit--and she's like,
yeah,
sure. And it's not like I got anywhere to go til my mom shows up.
Usually
I'm at practice or in detention anyhow. So next thing ya know, I'm
sitting there in the frigging
teacher's lounge cutting little colored circles and shit!"
"Kyle, this is really...weird," I
told him. "I mean, seriously."
"Yeah, I hear ya," he acknowledged
guiltily.
"And why are you telling me?
I didn't even see who you were with in the
supply room."
"Well, hang on. Let me just finish
up," he said hurriedly. I noticed
that he too was glancing around skittishly as he spoke. "So yeah,
like, she asks me if I wanna help her again some time and I say sure,
what the fuck? I mean, I don't say what
the fuck, but ya know what I
mean."
I nodded quickly so that he would
get this over with as quickly as
possible.
"This is like mid November I guess.
But it's like two weeks later, and
she
tells me at lunch that she could use my help again. So after school, I
pop into the teacher's lounge and it's empty. Then
Tracy--I mean Miss Zimmerman, she pops out of the supply room and
gestures for me to come in. Well, this time she's makin' parts
for some kinda fuckin' caterpillar or something, with little legs, and
bodies, and antennas and shit, and we like, stand around cutting and
just chatting about stuff, and she starts telling me that she has a
brother a few years older than me who's on the Varsity football team at
Escondido High. I say that's totally cool and she says I look
really great out on the field, and I say, it's like really awesome that
you come to the games, Miss Z.--that's what I call
her...uh...sometimes."
Now he came in a little closer so
that he could lower his voice
conspiratorially, even
though there didn't seem to be anyone else around. "So first, she gives
me a
little peck on the cheek and says I'm cute--like no big deal, right? I
get that all the time from older chicks, ya know?"
I nodded reluctantly, feeling my
stomach twist as Kyle told his story.
"It's like they can sense my
maturity," he added
thoughtfully. "Anyway, we just keep cuttin' and talkin' and I'm wincin'
once in a while
cuz my shoulder's being a bitch, and pretty soon, she's like
rubbing me there--on my shoulder. She says I feel tense and I tell her
it's cuz Reigert pushes me so much at practice. I mean, shit, it ain't
braggin' or
nuthin' to say that I'm really the only decent quarterback we got,
right?"
"Uh, yeah, you are good," I assured
him.
"Yeah, so she goes like, my brother
just loves it when I massage his
shoulders after a practice. Want me to do that for you?" Kyle said,
raising his voice in a ridiculous attempt to sound like Miss Zimmerman.
"Well, I'm like wondering if that's such a good idea or not, ya know? I
mean, she's like a
student teacher and shit, and even though she's pretty hot and gots
those
massive
melons, I'm like, whoa dude,
you don't wanna be getting yourself in hot
water. So I like politely decline even though I'm getting pretty horny
and we go on cuttin' and it's
getting late. I tell her my mom is comin' to pick me up in a few, and
she says, oh no, just a little longer and we'll be done, then I'll give
you a ride. And I'm thinking like, yeah, I bet you wanna give me
a ride, baby! But I'm all like, sure, whatever. My mom'll be glad for
the
break, ya know?"
The words were spilling out of
Kyle's mouth so rapidly now, I could
barely
keep up. And the way he would pinch his voice when he was quoting
Miss Zimmerman almost made it sound like he was having a conversation
with
himself.
"So after like an hour of cuttin'
and cuttin', my throwin' arm's really
bugging me, and she says, here let me,
and she starts rubbing it,
and man, she knows what the fuck she's doin' cuz it feels great!"
He
smiled a little as he recalled the memory. "I tell her that feels so
fuckin' good and she says my whole back is tense. I told her at
H.T. we'd have a whirlpool and maybe even a team masseuse, but this
was just a dinky little
middle
school so what's a guy to do? Then she asks me to help her take all
this
paper and shit back to Mrs. Coleridge's room, right? And when we get
there, the old crone ain't even there. In fact, the friggin' door's
locked and I'm thinking, shit, now we gotta haul all this stuff back to
the office. But she's got the goddamn key, and lets us in."
I glanced nervously at my watch.
Nearly fifteen minutes had passed
since Jesse and I had first slipped away. I was worried that Jessica
would be on the prowl, wondering where I had gotten off to. I didn't
flatter myself that she couldn't get
along without me or anything, but I knew she liked to have me around
for propriety's sake
since I was supposed to be one of the hosts.
As if reading my thoughts, Kyle
strolled even further from the main
building,
closer to the darkened pool house.
"So we get in the room and she says,
let me finish that massage, and I
say, that's okay, I'll rub some balm on my shoulder when I get home.
But then she says, if you take off your shirt, I can give you a serious
massage. And I'm like, whoa!
This is gettin' freaky! But fuck, it's
not like I can't see a great opportunity when it's dangling in front of
my
face. So I rip my shirt off and she's all like, ooh, Kyle, you're so
muscular; you look like a high schooler, and shit like that, and I know
I'm in pretty good shape but it's still hard to believe a college gal
would be so interested in a goddamn 8th grader, ya know?"
"Gees, Kyle. I'll tell you the
truth. This whole thing...it's really
scary."
"It's only scary if you get caught!"
Kyle pointed out, "and we were in
a
dark classroom after school and no one knew we were there. So she tells
me
to lie down on one of those long reading tables in the back of the room
and then she goes to town. Fuck, Perry, it was awesome! That gal really
knows what's she's doing! If she didn't wanna be a teacher, she could
be a goddamn chiropractor or sumthin'!"
I thought about the back rub Jessica
had given me this afternoon and
how good it had felt, and not only that, how worked up it had gotten me.
"Yeah, you can kinda guess what
happened next. She's massagin' away,
getting lower and lower until she's right at the top of my pants. If
you take these off, she says, I can get to the base of your
spine--that's
where all the tension really is. And she wasn't kiddin' about that--at
least about the tension being lower!" He gave me a rather
forceful
nudge that almost toppled me into the pool.
"Whoa, sorry, dude!" he said,
quickly catching my arm.
It was weird the way the lights
beneath the surface of the pool cast a
strange, shimmering light over everything--making it seem like nothing
about the moment was quite real.
But I knew I didn't want to hear about this anymore. Listening to other
people talk about sex was about the most unappetizing thing I could
imagine. And with a teacher?
"You should've gone to Mr. Cardoza
right away," I scolded him as I
started to turn away.
"Wait!" he said, probably louder
than he'd intended because he winced
and glanced around again. "Perry, I'm tellin' ya, it was great.
She gave me a fuckin' bj right on the reading table in Mrs.
Coleridge's room! Oh man, she makes Melissa look like a rank
amateur. I mean, she's probably blown like a dozen college guys!
Goddamn...." His voice trailed off in awe. Then he cleared his throat.
"After that,
we got together like maybe three more times, doing some work in the
supply
room and then sneaking off to the first grade class when no one was
payin' attention. Per, she let me touch her fuckin' boobs! I mean, hot
damn,
it's like,
you can't even get your hands around just one! And she loves it, dude!"
"Kyle, that's enough!" I said,
daring to raise my voice. I
knew what he was describing to me was called statutory rape, and I
didn't want anything to do with it. "I
don't wanna hear anymore. I think what you and Miss Zimmerman are doing
is really, really dangerous and-"
"But Per, check this out, dude. She
wants you too!"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, totally. See, after you
popped in on us unexpectedly the other
day, she said she'd had an eye on you for a while and you were so
fuckin' cute--those were her words, dude, and I said you were totally
cool and a great bud of mine and she wanted me to get you to
join us! I'm telling you, man, it's the most incredible experience
you'll ever have. I know Jessica's totally hot for a girl, but face it,
she's got like zero experience. Miss Z., man, she's like one hundred
percent
woman, dude. She ain't no nun, that's for fuckin' sure."
"Do you hear yourself?" I asked in
disbelief. "There's no way!" I
assured him bluntly, hoping that would put an end to this
extremely uncomfortable conversation. Thank God, it was the beginning
of Christmas vacation, and I wouldn't have to see Kyle or Melissa or
Miss Zimmerman for a good two weeks. At least that would give me some
time to
digest everything he was telling me and of course, talk to Jesse about
it.
"Don't be so quick to pass, dude,"
Kyle warned me. "First off, we'll be
really
careful. No one wants to get caught--no one's gonna get caught--got it?
And second, we don't have to go together. We can like, take turns or
whatever. Besides, you don't even have to make up your mind right now.
You can think
about it over Christmas, while you're freezing your ass off in New
York. But Miss Z. really wanted me to talk to you soon cuz she'll be
leavin' at the end of the semester. I told her you were
really bashful and probably wouldn't go for it, but she
insisted. She said every 8th grade boy is hornier than hell--they
can't help it."
What was wrong with Miss
Zimmerman, having sex with 8th graders? What was she thinking,
getting Kyle to ask me to get involved in something that crazy? Why
would she think that I wouldn't report her?
"Oh man, Kyle. I wish you hadn't
told me any of this," I said
despairingly.
"What Miss Zimmerman's doing is wrong."
"Hey, it's really easy to point a
finger, man, but think about it. I
mean, at our age, everything we
do is wrong. I mean, we're not
supposed to be havin' sex with nobody, not Miss. Z., or Melissa, or
Jessica, or Katy or even ourselves, so we're all guilty on that
account."
"It's not the same," I said,
pointing out the obvious.
We looked at each other illuminated
by the eerie light coming from
the pool. I
couldn't hide my disapproval and disgust and Kyle finally started to
look worried.
"Oh man, Thompson...You can't tell anyone
else
about this. Miss Z. and me, we'd be in serious, mondo shit--got
it?" He looked at me intensely and loosened his
tie.
"Yeah...I know. I honestly don't
want to get you in trouble." I
was already trying to think if there could be a way
to report Miss Zimmerman without dragging Kyle down. I mean, yeah, he
was foolish to get involved with a teacher, but clearly, she had taken
advantage of him.
"If you report Miss Z., I'll get in
trouble fer sure!" he said, as if
reading
my thoughts.
And maybe that's just what Miss
Zimmerman wanted him to say. Maybe she
was counting on what she thought was the camaraderie between two
close friends to keep her secret. Maybe she thought I'd come to the
game last week because
of Kyle, and not Gene. Maybe she thought all 8th grade boys were as
willing and able as Kyle. "This is all too much.
I don't know
what to think!"
"C'mon, Per. I know you're totally
cool. You'd never rat on us, right?"
he asked pleadingly. Seeing my indecisiveness, he pressed
me further. "I'm telling ya, Per. She could make you feel so good, you
just wouldn't believe it. And man, I bet if you wanted, she'd go all
the way with you!"
"Dammit, Kyle! Everything isn't
about sex!" I shouted. It was
odd the way standing near the water seemed to muffle our voices
somewhat, but right now, that was a good thing.
"I hear ya," he acknowledged quickly
and desperately. "It ain't. But
I mean, if you're not gonna do drugs and shit, what else is there? You
gotta have your needs taken care of,
right? Otherwise, how can you go
out on the field--or on the court, and give it your all?"
That was an interesting perspective,
especially since it seemed to me
now, that one of the reasons Morgan was so driven and focused was
precisely because he was frustrated in that particular area.
"Look, you can think whatever you
want, do whatever you want--it's
totally up to you...but the main thing
is," and Kyle got right up in my face, "the main thing is, you can't
tell anyone--no grown ups, natch, but not even Jessica, or Morgan,
or Jesse, or especially Melissa,
okay?" he pleaded.
I wanted to tell him about how
Melissa had tried to jump my bones at
the football game, but I bit my tongue. Apparently, my lack of response
freaked him out, because he suddenly grabbed the lapels of my jacket
and gave me a pretty vigorous shake.
"I'm not kidding, Thompson!" he
warned in a louder voice. "Please don't
tell anybody or I'm totally fucked!"
"You will be if you don't get your
fuckin' hands off him!"
I was shocked and bewildered to see
Morgan appear out of nowhere and
grab Kyle
roughly by the arm and
spin him around. Kyle even dragged me a long for half the trip since he
was still holding onto my lapels. I stumbled and then caught myself.
"What the fuck, Kipner?" Kyle asked
with stunned
surprise.
"Why're you hasslin' Perry?" Morgan
demanded. His body language
indicated that he was ready to get physical in a hurry.
"I'm not hasslin' nobody!" Kyle
retorted, regaining his self
confidence and straightening out his suit coat. "What the fuck are
you doin', sneakin' up on people?"
"I was just lookin' for Per.
Actually, Jessica was lookin' for him
and I ran into Jesse and he said he left him in the morning room with
you. And when I didn't see you guys in there, obviously I checked out
here."
"Okay, so you found him," Kyle said,
clearly angered and embarrassed to
be caught off his guard. "No need to get all anal about it."
"Why were you grabbing him?" Morgan
demanded. "Per, what was he doing?"
"Uh...."
"It's none of your fuckin' business,
Kipner!" Kyle spat.
"Of course it is. Perry's my friend!"
"Gees, I don't see your name stamped
on his forehead or anything. Shit,
he's my pal too, right?"
"Um...yeah...sure."
"So fuck off. We were just havin' a
private little chat--man to man.
Something you wouldn't know nuthin' about!"
"What the fuck's that supposed to
mean?" Morgan asked, getting right
into Kyle's face.
"It means you've been acting like
some kinda psycho lately, goin'
ballistic
at that game with St. Luke's and ragging on your team and always
lookin' like you're constipated
or somethin'."
"I'll constipate you right into the
goddamn pool filter if you don't
tell me
why you were hasslin' Perry!"
"Hasslin'? What the fuck are you
smokin', man?"
"I saw you shakin' him, God-damnit!"
Morgan bellowed. He grabbed Kyle by
the lapels of his jacket to demonstrate what he had seen.
"Morgan?" We all turned at the same
time. It was Katy, standing at the
top of the stairs in her long Christmas gown. Jessica came up hurriedly
behind her.
"Let go, you crazy fucker!" Kyle
blared.
"Tell me what you were doing!"
Morgan demanded with even greater
urgency, shaking Kyle violently.
"Get your fuckin' hands off me!"
Kyle demanded, and grabbed
Morgan's arms and tried to pry him off. They began to struggle
even as Katy and Jessica made their way down the stairs, a slow and
laborious task in their long gowns and high heeled shoes.
Now both jocks were locked in each
other's grip, staggering
around in a wobbly circle.
"What's gotten into you anyway?"
Kyle asked through gritted teeth. "I
seen the way you keep lookin' all moony at Thompson, like you got a
fuckin'
crush on him or somethin'. You a goddamn
fag or somethin'?"
If Kyle could've read Morgan's mind
in order to find out what
button to push to get the most violent possible reaction out of
him, he
couldn't have been more on target. Morgan let out a wordless cry of
anger and he
looked much the same as he had that night on the basketball court. He
ripped one
arm free of Kyle's grip
and balled his fist, preparing to clobber Kyle in the
jaw. But the other boy quickly grabbed the attacking arm and they
continued to struggle, their dress shoes scuffling noisily on the tiled
surface.
It was weird the way they seemed to
actually hover over the
surface of the pool for a long moment that seemed to defy the law
of gravity. Maybe it was just the shimmering, scintillating
illumination
being
cast up by
the submerged lights. But the huge splash sounded more like an
explosion, and I imagined the entire community of Coronado Hills
must've heard
it. Someone shrieked, probably Katy. In any case, as the two fully
dressed boys floundered around in the pool, I heard the clacking of
high heels.
I got on my knees and reached an arm
out, but both boys ignored me as
they clambered to the side of the pool, puffing and sputtering.
"What is this?!" Jessica screamed in
a near hysterical voice.
Kyle was the first to scramble out,
and I went and grabbed his sopping
wet shoulder and helped him along regardless of whether he wanted the
assistance or not. He just rolled onto the ledge and lay there panting
and coughing,
water dripping everywhere.
"Oh Perry, you're going to ruin your
suit!" Jessica declared.
I just shook my head and knelt down
to help Morgan haul himself out. He
seemed to want to stand up, so I let him lean on me as he lifted
himself. His woolen suit coat, button down shirt, and
dress pants were heavily weighted down with water, and he staggered
around for
a bit.
"You...crazy...fucker!" Kyle gasped,
picking himself up.
The two dripping boys stood there
glaring at each other, coughing and
shaking themselves, and I wondered
if we were about to witness Round Two.
"What got into-" Jessica began, when
she was suddenly interrupted.
"Bravo! Bravo!" It was Noah, slowly
clapping his hands as he came
strolling out from behind the
pool house. The sudden appearance of Jessica's brother seemed to throw
everyone for
a loop, and Morgan and Kyle both seemed confused enough to let down
their guard a
little. "And all I was going to do was to spike the egg nog. How puny
and uninspired my imagination is."
"Oh, Nobby. Don't make a joke of
this. What are we going to do with
these
two?" Jessica asked. Even though
she was clearly upset, it seemed like she was genuinely concerned about
the two soaked boys standing outside in the chilly December night.
"I suppose I might be able to
scrounge up some odds and ends for them
from
the back
of my closet," Noah offered.
"Yes...I suppose that will have to
do," Jessica said, obviously
flustered.
"Screw that--I'm outta here!" Kyle
declared angrily. He pried his
cell phone out of
his wet suit coat and tried to make a call. "Shit!" he exclaimed
when he discovered it wasn't functioning. He shoved it back into his
soggy pocket.
By this time, Melissa had come out,
a shawl wrapped around her
shoulders. A few steps behind her were
Jesse (sans the Santa hat) and Merissa.
"Call your bro and see if he can
pick us up," Kyle demanded.
"But he's at Cindy's...thingie,"
Melissa protested confusedly,
obviously bewildered by
the scene before her.
"Can't you see I'm soaked to the
skin?" Kyle replied angrily, shaking
himself so that fat drops of water splattered everywhere.
"Okay..." Melissa answered timidly,
and carefully extracted her
phone from her slender red and pink striped purse.
"As you wish," Noah said
dismissively to Kyle, who wasn't even paying
attention. "Mr. Kipner, if you'll follow me?"
"I'm really sorry, Per," Morgan
mumbled shamefully.
"What're you apologizing to him
for?" Kyle shouted incredulously.
I watched as
they started to go, Morgan leaving a dripping trail of water behind. He
turned back once, but I couldn't make out his expression clearly in the
dim yard lighting.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, at least get
yourself dried off!" Jessica
pleaded, more to Melissa than to her stubborn boyfriend. "The
pool house should be open. There's plenty of towels in there."
Melissa nodded in agreement as she
finished up her call. Kyle
squelched
along behind her.
"Where are the towels again?"
Melissa called back.
"Oh for heaven's sake--I'd better
come along!" Jessica sighed as she
threw her arms up theatrically. She led the way, going in first.
I
saw the lights go on
through the curtains.
"What was that all about?" Jesse
asked.
I wanted to tell him of course, but
Merissa was clinging to his arm as
if she was trying to protect herself from the eruption of senseless
madness that had just taken place.
"Well, Kyle and I were just talking
about...something--you know, just
stuff," I said
evasively. "And he just got kinda excited and grabbed my jacket. I
guess
Morgan was looking for me and when he saw Kyle grab me, he...well, I
guess he got kinda excited too."
"They're like animals!" Merissa
declared with a cluck of her tongue.
"You'd never do something so senselessly stupid as that, would you
Jesse?" she
asked, batting long, curling false eyelashes and giving him a saccharin
sweet
smile.
"Why, of course not," Jesse said,
patting her arm lightly. "I
hate fighting. Just ask Perry."
Merissa looked at me expectantly.
"I guess we should get back inside.
It's pretty cold out here," I
suggested.
"You got splashed," Merissa noted
with motherly concern. "You'll end up
with chlorine stains on
your jacket. You're mother won't be pleased."
No, I supposed she wouldn't, but I
really didn't need this
cherub-cheeked 7th grader pointing that out for me.
"Listen, Merissa," Jesse said in a
polite, respectful voice. "Why don't
you go back inside before you catch a chill? Maybe pour us some hot
cider? I just need to talk to Perry for a bit."
"Oh, but why can't you come with
me?" Merissa whined. "Jessica's
in the pool house anyway," she noted, looking pointedly at me.
"Run along, now," Jesse said in that
same polite voice, a phony smile
pasted to his face. Merissa attempted another scowl, but it quickly
melted into a girlish titter that reminded me of our brief encounter at
the football game last week.
"You're right, of course. You're so
thoughtful and sweet--always
putting
the needs of your friends first. I love you,
Jesse Taylor!" she said, rising slightly on her toes to give my
boyfriend a
quick peck on the cheek.
That sure sounded weird to my ears.
"I hope your friends will be all
right," she said turning to me with a
sincere look of concern before
scampering off.
"What was that all about?" Jesse
asked, once Merissa was out of earshot.
I told him about Kyle and Miss
Zimmerman.
"Wow, what a soap opera!" Jesse
exclaimed disbelievingly. "Miss
Zimmerman's in a shit load of trouble."
"So you think we should report her?"
"What she's doing is very wrong,
very illegal."
"But I don't think Kyle should get
in trouble...do you?"
"He went in with both eyes open.
Besides, it's not like they're gonna
throw him in jail or anything. Worst case scenario is he gets expelled.
He can go to Robertson, or if he's really desperate, St. Joe's."
"No, Jesse. We can't do that to
Kyle. I know he was stupid to get
involved with a teacher like that, but he's just a kid...just like us-"
"No, not just like us. He's
just getting sex every which way he can. I
don't see why you'd want to protect him."
"Let's think about it for a bit,
okay?" I pleaded. "I mean, school's
out anyway. We have time. Besides, I'm more worried about Morgan."
"He blew his stack again, huh?"
I nodded. "It's like he just came
out of nowhere, and he was totally
looking for a fight."
"Morgan's gotta get his head screwed
on straight," Jesse said, "or
something really bad's gonna happen and he's gonna end up in serious
trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"You name it: school trouble, legal
trouble, drug trouble,
kicked-out-of-his-own-house-by-his-dad trouble."
"It can't be that bad," I said
fearfully.
Jesse shrugged. "You saw him. You
saw the way he was on Tuesday. And
then
there was all that stuff he told you later."
If I really stood back and thought
about it, Morgan had planned to
torture me that day. He had made a special trip to the Home
Depot to buy the rope to tie me up. But it had just been a game, a
let's
pretend we're mental patients
game, and things had gotten a
little out of hand, or maybe a lot out of hand. I shuddered to think
what might
have happened if Jesse hadn't been there.
"I'm so scared," I shivered.
"He won't try anything as long as
I'm around," Jesse assured me.
"Not for me--for Morgan. I mean,
what's gonna happen to
him? How's he gonna become normal again?"
"I don't know. It seemed like we
accomplished some things the other
day, but then again, maybe we just opened a whole other can of worms,"
he noted uncertainly.
"Maybe we
can't help him, Perry."
For a moment, I felt like I had
taken an unexpected dip in the pool as
well, and my whole body shuddered. "We have to. He's our friend," I
insisted even though the words sounded a little hollow to my own ears.
"I know. But it might be that Morgan
needs serious
professional help."
"He just needs us to be supportive
of him--he just needs his friends!"
I repeated more desperately.
Jesse looked at me thoughtfully.
"You can't be so soft hearted all the
time, Perry. There are problems that friendship alone can't solve. You
have to face the possibility that, as much as we want
to, helping Morgan might be beyond us. And Kyle too. The best thing
for him might be to just face the music now, before he gets himself in
even bigger trouble down the line."
I couldn't accept what Jesse was
telling me. We did have to help
Morgan. We had promised him we would. And Kyle, as
misguided and horny as he was, he was just one of us as well. Maybe if
I talked quietly to Melissa, somehow, between the two of us, we could
get Kyle to stop seeing Miss Zimmerman. There would only be a few
weeks left before the end of the semester once we got back from
Christmas break.
"It's not about being soft hearted,"
I said, bristling a little. "It's
just that they're kids, just like us, and kids do dumb things sometimes
even if they
know they shouldn't. I just go around day after day making one stupid
mistake after another and then spend the rest of the time kicking
myself in the head about it. Even you
don't always make the right
decisions!" I
realized too late what had just poured unthinkingly out of my mouth
(head kicking time).
Jesse looked at me like a guilty
puppy who had suddenly been slapped
down and my heart sank. "Yeah, I'm totally fucked up," he said in a
small, tight voice.
"You know I didn't-" I began to
apologize, when the door to the pool
house opened.
Out came Kyle, naked from the waist
up and barefoot, dressed only in
his dark dress slacks with a contrastingly colorful beach towel draped
over his
shoulders.
His normally curly hair stood up like a badly trampled shag
rug. My attention went briefly to his broad shoulders, smooth pecs, and
well defined six pack, but there were too many other things swimming
around in my head right now to really admire Kyle's athletic, fourteen
year old physique. Melissa followed humbly, carrying a beach bag
bulging
with her boyfriend's
wet clothing. Lastly came Jessica, a permanent look of disapproval
embossed
on her delicate features.
"How's the water?" Jesse quipped.
Kyle first glanced puzzledly at
Jesse before his expression lightened a
bit. "Not bad," he
laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Oh Jesse, how can you make jokes?"
Jessica asked, clearly annoyed.
"This was just a horrible, horrible thing. The whole party is ruined.
What could have gotten into Morgan?"
"Well, they are kind of
competitive," Jesse noted. "Maybe he just
wanted to race Kyle across the pool."
I saw Jessica bristle.
"Okay, okay!" Jesse pleaded. "Don't
slap me!" He turned to me and
offered a small, forgiving smile. "Merissa should have that
cider waiting
for us."
"The party's not ruined," I said in
a hopeful tone. "It was just an
accident."
Jessica looked at me skeptically.
"You can go out the side gate," she
instructed Kyle and Melissa,
gesturing to the south end of the main house.
"Thanks, Jessy. I'm so sorry about
all this," Melissa apologized,
obviously not happy with the way the evening had turned out. She and
Jessica
embraced and then pulled apart quickly. "I'll call you in the morning,
'kay?"
"Just get him into some dry things
as quickly as possible," Jessica
suggested in a motherly tone. "Or Kyle'll spend his whole vacation sick
in bed."
This really seemed to hit Melissa in
a big way. "Hurry, Kyle," she
urged, tugging his bare arm. "Eddie said he'd be right over."
But Kyle held his ground long enough
to give me a meaningful glance
full of weight and worry. "Sorry about all that, Per," he said in
a humble voice. "Don't know what got into Kipner, but...anyway, guess
I'll see ya
next year, huh?" He gave me the good ol' captain of the football team
wink that didn't quite mask the look of concern on his face.
"It was just an accident," I
repeated apologetically.
"Yeah, right," Kyle snorted as he
headed for the gate.
Melissa, still leading her boyfriend
by the arm, turned and waved
cheerfully at me. "Goodnight, Perry. Have a wonderful trip--see you
when
you get back!" as if nothing
weird or dramatic had just happened. She blew me a kiss.
I just gave her a little wave.
Jessica saw them out and then
caught up to Jesse and me as we entered the house through the morning
room.
"What a nightmare!!" Jessica
exclaimed. "What was that all about,
Perry? Why were they fighting?"
"Well, it was really just a
misunderstanding," I explained
ambiguously.
Seeing that I wasn't going to give a
more detailed explanation, Jessica
once again threw her hands in the air as she took the lead heading back
toward the
great room. "Boys! Why do they always have to get so physical?"
"We're just touchy feely kinda
people," Jesse remarked with a straight
face.
Jessica stopped so suddenly, that we
almost
bumped into her.
"Perry, would you be a dear and go
see how Morgan and Nobby are doing?
I really need to get back to the party. It must be utter chaos by now!"
"Deanna's probably eaten all the
tablecloths and Artie must be swinging
from the crystal chandelier in his boxers by now!"
Jesse said with exaggerrated concern.
"Oh, Jesse. Can't you be the least
bit supportive?" Jessica groaned.
"I just think you're getting
overexcited about nothing," he commented
with a shrug.
"Nothing? Two boys having a fight
and falling into the pool? You call
that nothing?!" she asked,
gesturing toward the
great room. "All the planning, the expense, the effort of so many
people?" Jessica was really flustered now. Remembering that I had
a twenty dollar candy cane stuffed in my pocket, I actually tensed,
hoping that Jesse would back off.
'Hey, just chill," Jesse assured
her.
"I'm not saying Morgan and Kyle were right to do whatever it was they
were
doing, just that it isn't the end of the world. You've done a great job
and it's an awesome party--everyone says so."
This seemed to mean something to
Jessica, because her expression
relaxed a little. "Will you help me get the Christmas caroling
started?" she asked with a hesitant smile.
"Me?" Jesse asked with
self-conscious surprise.
"Perry says you have a wonderful
voice."
"He does, does he?" Jesse said,
giving me the evil eye. "Why I
oughta...." He shrugged and brushed past us. "What the hey," he sighed.
"Here we come
a-caroling...." he began to sing in that light, pure tone that sent
thrilling little shivers through my body.
Jessica smiled fully now. "He's the
craziest boy I ever met," she
giggled. "And cute," she added thoughtfully.
"Cuter than me?" I asked with a
pouty face, realizing the last thing in
the world I wanted was for Jessica to start chasing after Jesse.
"No, of course not. You are
the most beautiful boy in the world and no
one else even comes close." She leaned in and gave me a peck on the
cheek as Jesse disappeared around a corner.
"Even Kirk Vandriss?"
"Well, he is pretty hot, and rich,
and successful, and eight years
older than you...." she teased.
"But can he do this?" I asked, as I
grabbed Jessica by the shoulders
and kissed her full on the lips. Our tongues slid across each other as
we chewed furiously.
"Wh-what was that for?" Jessica
asked when we finally pulled apart.
Actually, I didn't know what it was
for. Maybe I felt sorry for her
because of the pool incident, or because her brother was gay, or
because Jesse was needling her. Or maybe, and this made me shiver, I
just liked doing it--a lot.
"Go see if Morgan is okay and come
join us as soon as you can," Jessica
requested in a quiet voice after she had partially regained her
composure.
"Which room is it?"
"Two doors down from mine on your
left," she said, gesturing for me to
head back toward the library staircase.
I turned to go when she half
whispered, half called my name. She beamed
at me and twisted her ankle, suddenly a bashful, gawky young schoolgirl
overly dressed in her long, flamboyant ball gown. I gave her the
trigger finger and wink and quickly headed off, not wanting her to see
my
eyes right now. I was confused, and I sensed that my confusion was
growing deeper by the minute. I kept thinking how good it felt having
Jessica's delicate fingers around my hard dick, how good it felt to
hold myself against her small, yielding breasts, how good it felt to
press my lips against her tender mouth.
And then I felt myself bristle
again, wondering why Jesse had to be so
flippant all the time, making little sarcastic remarks and silly jokes
as if he enjoyed seeing Jessica's party go bad. He had made quite a
scene tossing that mistletoe all around the room. I cringed as I
realized that I was
guilty too, thinking that it was all so funny at the time. Now it
seemed like nothing more than a childish disruption, a disrespectful
display in
front of Jessica, who had gone through so much trouble to plan this
extravagant evening.
I hadn't even realized that I had
stopped and was leaning against the
staircase in the library. I was breathing heavily and knew well enough
by now that I was on the verge of a panic attack. Fuck! What was
I doing, kissing Jessica, letting her play with my dick, pretending to
be her boyfriend, feeling sorry for her? Jesse was the one I loved, and
that love was deep and real. We didn't hide anything from each
other, and I would just as soon cry on his shoulder as suck his
beautiful boyhood. This charade had to end, and soon! Somehow over the
break, I had to come up with a legitimate sounding reason to break up
with Jessica, not just for my sake, but hers as well. I wanted her as
my friend, but not as my lover. I knew now that I was capable of being
with a girl just as much as I was with
a boy. It felt good being intimate
with Jessica. That must mean I was
bisexual--just like Morgan! Oh man, there was another headache to deal
with....
I got to the top of the stairs and
started looking for the door with
Arthur's banner on it. From there, I could figure out which one was
Noah's. I spotted the colorful sign quite a ways down. As I passed a
half open door, I
heard some agitated but muffled noises. I stopped and peered in.
The blood ran cold from my face as I
saw entangled on what looked like
a daybed in a Victorian styled guest room, Deanna and Artim,
floundering
about like their clothes were full of ants. She was basically on top of
him and he was kicking his long legs
in the air.
"Thompson--shit--help me, dude!" he
gasped as he spotted me at the door.
Before I could even say anything,
Deanna, in an impressive display of
tae bo, kicked out with her foot, slamming the door shut. I
moved on quickly; the last thing I heard before I got out of earshot
was Deanna's muffled
voice, scolding Artim for being such a baby. Well, at least I
could put to rest all the rumors about Deanna being a lesbian.
I was just passing Jessica's room
when a door down the
hallway opened and out stepped Morgan. He actually looked pretty good,
in an open collared white shirt, gray, pleated dress slacks with a
black belt
around his slender waist, and black loafers that looked a trifle too
big on his feet. Even his short hair was neatly brushed. He was
carrying a beat up looking knapsack that
presumably held his wet things.
His expression immediately turned
tense and guilty when he spotted me
standing there just a few yards from Noah's room. He glanced back and
Noah was standing at the door, a look of accomplishment on his face.
"None too worse for the wear,
wouldn't you say, Perry?" the lanky
college student called out.
"You look great!" I said with an
encouraging smile.
But Morgan didn't seem to be buying
it. "I fucked up, huh?" he asked
quietly when we were face to face.
"Well, Kyle wasn't attacking me, if
that's what you mean."
"Noah said the same thing."
"He heard what we were talking
about?" I whispered with alarm,
glancing past
Morgan's shoulder to see Jessica's brother still standing at the door,
his hands on his hips. His smile vanished as soon as he saw me
looking at him and that was a little chilling.
"I guess he heard some of it.
Wouldn't tell me what it was about...."
Morgan said in a leading way, apparently hoping I would shed more light
on the subject.
"It was something sorta...private,
okay? I can't really tell you about
it," I admitted, "at least, not right now."
Morgan didn't look too happy, but he
nodded understandingly. "Did
Kyle split?"
"He and Melissa."
Morgan nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm
gonna bail too. I feel pretty stupid
about what happened."
I shrugged. "It was a
misunderstanding. That's what I told Jessica."
"She was pretty upset though?"
"Yeah, claimed her party was all
ruined, but Jesse told her she was
overreacting."
"Good for him. Sometimes I think
Jessica would make a great general.
She loves to give orders and she loves to see her toy soldiers
all
in a
row, obeying her commands." Then he looked at me awkwardly.
"Oh...uh...sorry, that wasn't very cool."
"I know she can be bossy sometimes,
but she has a...a softer side too,"
I
assured him. "You don't have to go," I added.
Now it was Morgan's turn to shrug.
"Yeah, I think I should. People'll
be talking. At least, I don't have to see any of them for a couple of
weeks," he laughed self-deprecatingly.
"What about Katy?"
"She'll be fine. She and Jessica are
like sisters. Wouldn't mind if
you'd keep an eye on her though. Wouldn't want Eric trying to move in
on my territory."
I couldn't tell by his expression if
he was serious or not. "Sure, I
can do that."
Morgan looked at me pensively.
"Look, Per. I'm really-"
"You don't have to say anything--to
me anyway," I assured him quickly.
"I think
it would be very cool if you apologized to Jessica, but it's up to you."
"Yeah, you're right," he said,
rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll do
that. And I suppose I should give Kyle a call. I think the guy's a fat
headed jerk, but...he didn't deserve that, I guess."
"Well, if you do call him, you'd
better try Melissa's number. His
cell phone got soaked."
"Yeah, mine too," he noted
sheepishly. Morgan kept looking at me. "We
both have a lot to think about over the
next couple of weeks, huh?"
I nodded, finding it hard to
maintain eye contact. There were just too
many weird things between us now. If it had all just ended with that
slap in the face, I could've forgiven him and we could've gone back to
the way things used to be. But now....
Morgan raised his arms to give me a
hug, but hesitated when he saw me
stiffen. He got that worried look on his face again so I moved in and
embraced him. "Things'll be better," I assured him.
"Oh man, I hope you're right," he
said, wrapping his arms around me
briefly and then nodding his head in farewell.
Now I was left standing in the long
hallway, facing Jessica's brother,
who still stood just outside the open door to his bedroom. The look of
smugness that he'd carried most of the afternoon had been replaced by
something more intense. He gestured with a quick turn of his head for
me to join him
before he disappeared into his room. I realized I could just turn
on my
heels and head back to the party and Jesse, to tell him how much I
loved him and how much I wanted to get out of this relationship with
Jessica, but the fact was, Noah had overheard Kyle and me talking about
Miss Zimmerman. There was too much at stake to just let it slide.
I knocked politely on the half open
door and peered in. I'm not
sure what I was expecting, but it was a rather simply decorated
room--nothing like the extravagantly appointed chambers of his kid
sister.
There were shelves holding various sized trophies both of the academic
and athletic varieties, a high school diploma on
the wall, a few music posters of groups I'd never heard of, and a small
TV in one corner. The plasma screen computer monitor was slowly
dissolving from one Bay-area scene to another: Golden Gate Bridge, the
Presidio, Ghiardelli Square, the Berkley campus itself, and so on.
The full size bed that dominated
most of the room was neatly made. The
bedclothes, walls, and carpeting were all done in muted earth tones.
For some reason, I had been expecting a garishly colored room filled
with psychedelic remnants of the sixties. Noah stood leaning on
his simple oaken desk, arms folded.
"Do come in," he said as I hesitated
at the open door. "Please,
sit," he said, gesturing to the bed.
The last thing I wanted to do was
touch Noah's bed, so I shook my head.
"I'll just stand," I said.
"As you wish, but please close the
door. I do believe a handful of your
schoolmates are using some of the spare rooms as bordellos."
I nodded and closed the door.
"So...you heard what me and Kyle
were talking about?"
"Yes, mostly. I was out by the pool
house...thinking," he
admitted. "And
you did give me much to think about today."
"Really?"
"Some of the things you said of
course, but also, the whole way I
handled myself...but, I'll get to that in a moment. I did gather that
young Mr. Richardson is sexually involved with a member of the faculty
over at St. Bonnie's."
"She's just a student teacher," I
explained. "She'll be gone
at the end of the semester anyway."
"Still, serious enough to get on the
evening
news."
"So, you're gonna tell?"
"I think, if we were talking fifth
or six graders, I wouldn't hesitate,
but I do believe that people your age should have enough sense, and
enough
will
power, to resist such overtures."
"Well, I don't think any of us are
experts about...sex," I noted
defensively. "I mean, it's still kinda new to us, ya know?"
"My sense is that Kyle, despite his
young age, has had some experience,
some of it apparently with Melissa Doering." He suddenly
snickered, momentarily disrupting the tense mood.
"What?"
"Coincidentally, I do know the older
siblings of both Kyle and Melissa.
Joel, who was one year behind me, is much
like his brother: a no-frills, square-headed jock--although not nearly
as dashing as his younger sibling. Now Eddie Doering, he's quite
another story."
"What do you mean?"
The knowing smirk made a momentary
comeback on Noah's long face, and
then vanished. "It's not my place to tell tales out of school," he
said dismissively. "Anyhow, to answer your first question, I
believe I will
leave it in your hands, Perry. If as you say, this young lady will be
departing the school at the end of the semester, then perhaps it is
best
to leave things be. I understand your consternation about not wanting
to
implicate a fellow student, although frankly, he doesn't seem like the
kind of fellow I would expect you to be overly concerned with."
I shrugged. "We're not really
friends, but he's never done anything
mean to me, or anyone else for that matter. It seems like Miss
Zimmerman is the one who seduced him, and for sure she should know
better."
"I see your point and I don't get
the sense that there's anything more
to it beyond breaking a few sexual taboos, therefore I leave the
decision in your hands," Noah repeated. "However, inadvertently
overhearing your conversation regarding the overzealous college gal,
caused me to reflect on my own behavior today.... I really need to
offer my sincerest apologies."
"You already said that," I reminded
him.
"True, but perhaps I didn't entirely
mean it. Truth be told, after I
uh...took care of my rather urgent needs up here in my room, with
visions of
you in
your bath towel
causing me to have a climax the likes of which I haven't experienced in
a very long time, I wandered back down to the pool house, trying to
figure out a way to...well, seduce you."
"That sucks, Noah!" I said angrily,
in no mood for more of his sleazy
sexual
games. I started to head for the door.
"Please wait," he begged. "I realize
that it's totally
deplorable, and that's why
I once again offer my most humble apologies. Sometimes, it's easier to
see the mote in another man's eye than the log in your own. Overhearing
you and your friend talking about Miss Zimmerman helped me put things
in their proper perspective. And while I hope our
various
encounters today won't leave a bad taste in your mouth, I do want to
tell you that you have indeed made me think seriously about my own
situation, and my own need to comes to terms with it. Therefore, I have
decided that, before I head back to Berkley for the spring term, I will
sit down with Jessy and tell her...about myself." He stopped and
waited for me to respond.
"Everything?"
Noah hesitated. "Certainly about my
sexual orientation. But as far as
my relationship with Georgie, we'll see. I suppose it depends on how
she reacts and what
sort of questions she asks. Chances are, once given the fact of my
homosexuality, she will probably be able to put two and two together."
"I think that's the right thing to
do," I offered encouragingly.
He nodded hesitantly. "I suppose it
is. You'd be surprised what a
difficult subject that is to bring up...even with someone as close as
your own sister."
"I think I understand," I said,
recalling the traumatic afternoon I had
spent with Tom as he had finally built up the nerve to come out to me.
"Thank you, Perry. I learned a lot
about myself today, not all
of it good. But I'm glad I was able to share with you about Georgie and
me. In all honesty, I can't wait to speak to him again."
"That's great!"
"Well, I'm not expecting love to
bloom again...at least not instantly.
He's a far better man than I am...but we'll see."
"Okay then," feeling suddenly
anxious to get back to the party and my
beautiful angel. "I'm glad you're gonna talk to Jessica. I know she'll
be
okay with it. She's a really smart and thoughtful person."
"Indeed she is."
"So I better get back to the
party...."
"Perry?" Noah asked in an uneasy
voice.
"Yeah?"
"Morgan Kipner is your friend?"
"Yeah, sure. One of my best friends."
"I see...."
"Why?"
"It's just that...his behavior might
bear closer scrutiny on your part."
"What do you mean?" I asked
cautiously.
"Well, look at the way he bore down
on Mr. Richardson. Clearly, he was
much more interested in striking first and asking questions later."
"Yeah, Morgan does sorta have a
temper," I admitted reluctantly.
"But not only that. It's his
motivation that bears some consideration."
He paused thoughtfully, looking at me with knitted brow. "When
we were alone, he hardly spoke of Kyle. His main concern was how you
would react to his...impetuous behavior."
"Well, like I said, we're pretty
close."
"Perry, this may come as a complete
and total shock to you, but chances
are quite good that there are boys in your class that are attracted to
other boys. It's simply a statistical likelihood."
Strange how his words eerily echoed
those of George Rauch's brother
just a couple days ago. But this wasn't the time to get into a
speculative discussion about Morgan's sexual orientation. I
felt decidedly tense but tried to brush the comment off with a shrug.
"That's none
of my business."
"Perhaps in a perfect world," Noah
said. "But the reality is, you are
an exceptionally handsome young man...."
I was about to protest when he
quickly continued.
"And not only that, you're a very
sweet, kind hearted, trusting person,
perhaps too much so if I may be so bold."
I didn't say anything, not wanting
to lead him any deeper into a very
uncomfortable conversation.
"It's just that, it's very possible
that Morgan Kipner may be one of
those boys."
"No way!" I bristled.
Noah held up his hands. "Now, I
don't know for certain, and you are all
very young yet, but think it
through, Perry. Look at the way he came so quickly and emotionally to
your defense. Recall Mr. Richardson's comment about Morgan looking all
'moony-eyed' around you or
something along those lines. And there's the
fact that all he was concerned about in the aftermath, was how you
would respond to his behavior."
"Just because you're gay, doesn't
mean everyone else is," I pointed
out irritably. I knew it was a mean thing to say, but there was no way
I was
going to share anything about Morgan and his problems with this
arrogant cad.
"Of course," Noah said patiently.
"But it's something you need to be
aware of," he added quietly.
It felt to me like Noah was sticking
his large nose where it didn't
belong and that made me angry. "I mean, gees, what if he is? He's
still my friend, and you don't just a dump a person because...because
they're a little different than you are."
"Yes, again you remind me of how
incredibly enlightened you are for one
so young," Noah said carefully. "But thinking back on my own imprudent
behavior today, and seeing how quickly Morgan lost his temper...." His
voice trailed off uncertainly. "Would it come as a complete shock to
you, if I admitted that I care about you, Perry?" he asked in a small
and
humble voice.
I snorted. "Yeah. I got that message
loud and clear."
"Not that way...not in the sense
that I'm physically attracted to you
as a beautiful, fourteen year old boy. But it seems, quite to my own
bewilderment, that I care for you as a person. I find many qualities to
admire in one so young. You are, after
all, my kid sister's boyfriend--her first serious boyfriend, in case
you
weren't aware. And if you were a classmate of mine, or simply closer to
my own age, I would be most proud to be your friend."
The correct response there was the
old adage: with friend's like him,
who needed enemies! But I kept it to myself. Noah was trying to express
something that had more to do with what was in his heart than in his
pants, and that was certainly a welcome change.
"Well, thanks for your concern,
really, Noah," I said, trying to keep
the anger from my
voice, "but I can take care of myself. Morgan's my friend.
He'd never hurt me, no matter what."
"I applaud your conviction in your
comrades," Noah declared in a flat
tone.
"Okay, so I should be going."
"Yes, of course. This is good bye
then--for now," he said, slowly
approaching me with an extended hand.
I only hesitated for a moment, and
then took it and grasped it firmly.
I started to pull away but Noah was
still holding on. I felt a split second of panic but was
relieved when he suddenly let go.
"I'm sorry for that," he said.
"For what?"
"For making you frightened of me.
What a fool I was. And what a loss
for me."
"Loss?"
"Like I said, under different
circumstances, I would have hoped that we
could be friends."
"Well, who knows," I said evasively.
"I mean, if you and George get
back together...."
"No promises, Perry. But we do go
way back, Georgie and I. The
friendship is still there, if slightly tarnished. And the world is full
of possibilities."
"Yeah, it is. Okay, well, have a
good semester. Maybe I'll see you
again sometime." Even as I said that, I realized that, if I broke up
with Jessica, there would be no need for me to deal with this impudent
college brat again. Of course, if he and George Rauch really did get
together again....
****************************
Special Thanks to my
editor-in-chief, AJ!
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