Chapter Thirty-One

JJ checked the printouts of his favorite stroke stories, straightened the towels on his bed, and fiddled with the bottle of K-Y Jelly on his nightstand. His insides were abuzz at the thought of Travis's touch. But he was also conflicted. 

What if I do something wrong? What if this is a setup, and once I drop my guard, he'll take pictures of my junk and post them to the school's WhatsApp account? What if we do this, and he decides he doesn't want to be friends anymore? What if he was joking and freaks out when he sees all this? What if...

"Ah!" he said when Travis's voice came over the intercom. JJ told him he'd be right out. With a long sigh, he gave his bed a final glance.

They exchanged their typical greeting of "Sup," bumped fists, and one-arm hugged. JJ shot him furtive looks as they sat on the couch and vegged out to YouTube videos.

"Something the matter?" Travis said, looking a bit squirrelly.

JJ had two options: tell him nothing was wrong or ask if they were going to jerk it together. Swallowing the lump in his throat, JJ tugged at his right ear. 

"You ready to be the masters of our domains? he said, forcing a smile.

Travis paused, staring at him. "I mean if you want to? It's cool with me."

It was an out, but when would JJ get another chance like this? "It's cool with me if you don't want to. If you're scared, I get it."  

  "Nonsense. Let's go."

Upon entering JJ's room, they kicked off their shoes, chose a story, dropped their shorts, and got to it. JJ sneaked peeks at Travis, longing to touch him. A few minutes passed before Travis huffed and asked to borrow JJ's laptop so he could watch porn on it.

"Sure," he said, his voice husky. JJ stopped reading and watched Travis load an MFM scene and spread out on the bed, propping himself up with pillows. While JJ was no stranger to gay porn, he'd never seen bi porn before and was curious. 

Edging closer to get a better look, he rested his knee against Travis's. "Those guys are totes hot and hella hung."

"Yeah. The girl isn't too bad-looking either. Pass the lube."

When their hands touched for the briefest of moments, it took JJ's breath away. He watched a second, mesmerized by the hypnotic movements of Travis's hand, the urge to touch him growing. Soon, all thoughts of the porn left him and, more scared than any time in his life, he grabbed Travis's erection.

Travis froze, looked at JJ wide-eyed, and leaped from the bed.

"Hold up," JJ called to him as Travis dressed, but it did no good. As soon as Travis was clothed, he teleported away.  

***

JJ tried texting and calling Travis, but they went unanswered. For the next several days, Travis ignored JJ and refused his invites to hang. JJ's worry ate him, and he didn't eat or sleep much, which Dr. Dull brought up at their session. 

"I think I fucked things up with Travis," he said and explained the situation.

Dr. Dull tutted at him. "I know it's hard dealing with your feelings, pun unintended, but it is paramount that you have the other's affirmative consent before engaging in any sexual activity. You broke Travis's boundaries and trust by not asking his permission. Don't do that again, with him or any of your other partners. Understand?"

     JJ's stomach roiled at the thought of violating Travis like that. He would apologize to him and do whatever it took to make it up to him. 

They spent the rest of their session going over what was and wasn't affirmative consent, and JJ left with several book recommendations on the topic. Once home, he kicked Operation Romeo into high gear. Seeing as how Travis might not be around to see his prom, JJ had decided to throw him a prom for two, and he had been looking at prom boards on Pinterest for inspiration. He made a list of everything he'd need and ordered them. Then he set about contacting their principal, Mr. Malo, who was sympathetic to his cause. 

As the days passed, JJ finalized the setlist, got his tux and their boutonnieres (white roses), and researched promposals. Unlike himself, he suspected Travis wouldn't be into a huge public display, so he'd have to be lowkey about things. 

The Fourth of July came and went without a word from Travis, so JJ decided he'd have to restart things. He cornered Travis in the kitchen at St. Michael's, blocking him from washing dishes until he agreed to talk with him. Huffing, Travis nodded and told JJ he could come over to his house after his shift ended.

 JJ smiled. "Thanks. And so sorry for . . . you know. Won't happen again."

A panicked look came over Travis's face. "Yeah. Ask next time."

Hope swelled in JJ's chest. "There will be a next time?"

Travis smirked. "Maybe. If you're a good boy."

"Ass," JJ said and moved aside.

***

JJ had asked Travis to teleport them to Travis's house and was regretting it as he hurled into the trash can. Once it passed and he'd washed out his mouth, and Travis had cleaned out the trash can, they sat on his bed. 

"About what happened," JJ began, "I'm sorry for not getting your permission. It was wrong of me."

Travis stared at him hard. "Good. Honestly, I liked what you did."

"Then why'd you leave and freeze me out?"    

"Generally, I don't like to be touched, especially not somewhere that intimate. It was a shock, so I ran before my powers got the better of me."

"How do you mean?"

Sighing and face going red, Travis said, "Ever since . . . I've been having nocturnal emissions about us doing more stuff."

Smiling, JJ patted Travis's leg. "Ain't nothing wrong with that, dude."

"You don't get it. When I explode, I explode. I've caught my bedding on fire twice and now sleep with a fire extinguisher."

Realization dawned on JJ. "You've been avoiding me this whole time cause you're afraid of us going further and hurting me?"

Travis nodded. "I've been meditating more and abstaining from onanism until I can get a handle on things."

"That's rough. I doubt I could go a day without spanking it."

"Now do you understand why I had to cut contact with you?"

"Look, we don't have to mess around. We can just chill and play video games like before."

Travis growled. "It's not that simple. Every time I see you, I want to . . . never mind."

JJ wanted to press Travis on what he was about to say but let it slide. They gamed until Travis's parents arrived home and told JJ he had to leave.

"Want me to teleport you home?" 

No. I'll take an Uber.

***

 With the end of summer fast approaching, he got on Group Chat with the Squad and told them to spread the news he wasn't throwing another party for a while. Henry, Lance, and Matt were a bit butthurt, but Brianna and Rachel understood once he told them why later. They demanded to help him plan and set up the prom for two. 

The trio met up every day after JJ got home from Travis's, and by the end of July, everything was ready. And not a moment too late since Travis's condition worsened, requiring him to use oxygen at night to ease the strain on his lungs and heart. His cough was near-constant now, and JJ worried they didn't have much time left. It saddened him to think of never seeing Travis's smirk or hearing him laugh again as they watched kaiju movies. 

A week before school started, JJ convinced Travis to let him blindfold him and ride with him in a Lyft. He was cryptic, only telling him to wear a suit, preferably a tux.

"Is this really necessary?" Travis asked as they rode along.

"Yes," JJ said, slapping at Travis's hand as he reached for the blindfold. "We're almost there."

"Meanie."

"You'll thank me later. I promise."

"We'll see about that."

The car arrived in front of AP Prep. JJ helped Travis out and guided him to the gym, where they'd set everything up. "You can take your blindfold off."

Travis looked around, his eyes wide, a smile splitting his face. "What's all this?"

JJ hugged him tight. "Welcome to Prom." 

 

Author's note: Next chapter, the boys have their prom and grow closer.

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