This is a work of fiction - names and places are elements of fiction.
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A Stepbrother's Desire - Josh and Tyson 41
So having gotten into the part time job, I was able to explain to the family what my day was like. There are three levels of car detail. Level A is when cars come in off the truck. They are typically very dirty and dusty from travel. They are covered in plastic to prevent dings which have to be stripped off. Level A is a big deal and it's all hands on deck. Level B is for cars that have sat on the lot for a while and are just dusty from the environment. They get a rinse and a dry. Then, there is level C and that is for the purchased car. That is really a big deal. I clean the car inside and out and then it's presented to the client in an unused garage bay where it "stands tall" and all that car talk. That's when I get to interact with the salespeople. They are typically really nice, very cool but when it comes to their sales and presentations, they do not play. The dealership has a reputation for massaging the client to ensure he feels he got the service he paid for.
Bill was rather impressed with my ability to lay out the job description in detail. Ty asked about the cars I had worked on and I had to say, which I hated having to do, that I was not allowed to comment on the cars I cleaned. The dealership didn't appreciate that and said that if word got back to them, blah, blah, blah. I did say to them that I had an even greater appreciation for mom's car now that I had seen one with the sticker price! Wow! Bill laughed.
"I sure wish I could get one of those detail wash jobs for it," mom said, with a laugh. "Would go a long way..." and that was pretty funny. Then Ty said he would like one too.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you, can you repeat that?" I asked. That was funny too.
"After driving you around for three weeks..." Ty chided.
Later, that Friday evening, I was talking to Ty and I told him how it made me feel that while this was a part time gig for me, it was a full time job for some of those guys. They lived off that income and it must have been limiting for them. He agreed. He said he felt that way about the guys who work at the club. That's their income. It was hard to talk about personal lives because the guys don't have the same advantages.
"You need to keep talk about how we live to a minimum, Josh," Ty advised.
"I'm glad I'm driving to work in a Toyota," I said and Ty agreed. "Imagine if I showed up to work with mom dropping me off in one of those cars. They wouldn't accept me anymore," I said. "They like me as I am and they know I was the quarterback. I'm leaving it at that."
"That's for the best. Just clean up the cars, get paid, and come home. That's all you have to do."
And on Saturday morning, having breakfast with Bill at the breakfast table, I told him I had met the owner of the dealership, his friend, John Burton.
"What do you think?" asked Bill.
"Well, he's a little fake, isn't he?" I asked.
"How so?" asked Bill. I don't know why I wanted to tell him about this, perhaps it was to call him out on people he considered his friends, but also because of something I said to him the first time we met.
"Well, when there are clients on the floor, he's shiny and polished, and has a really big smile."
"But," suggested Bill.
"When its just staff or if something isn't going his way, he's pretty terrible. Cussing like shit and yells at everybody,' and Bill laughed.
"You're one to talk!" he said with a grin.
"I use cuss words, I know. I have never cussed anyone out like that. Really don't intend to. Makes me uncomfortable," I said.
"I'm glad to hear that, Josh. We, meaning people like you and me, don't have to carry that temperament to achieve our objectives. That's why I wanted you to get a grip on your temperament. Find solutions, not create problems. I told you when we first met that I knew men like that and I wasn't one of them. They do what they have to do to get the job done and often it comes with little empathy."
"I see what you're saying. God help us if he flies off at me because your friendship with him might be over," I laughed.
"Two things," said Bill. "He's an acquaintance and a client of the firm. Not what I would call a friend. But he is influential in the city. Second, you should have enough managers to help you with what you need that you should never be in his line of fire, not even his line of sight. Remember what I told you? Work and pay attention. Don't get involved." I nodded in absolute agreement.
I went in to work and pulled my shift. I was getting off at 2 pm, just in time to make it to the basketball game. We were the usual crowd on the 6th row and, oddly, Ricky was back. This time, with some relief, he sat between Ty and me. His effort to restore his friendship with Ty was greatly noticed and very appreciated. We were really enjoying the game as well as the unbelievable winning streak. And then that dreaded moment occurred when Jordan faced the perfect storm of having the ball and several guys coming at him from different directions. He jumped and it was an amazing jump into the air and shot the ball toward the hoopl. It didn't make the goal but the offense from the other team all crashed into him, leaving him piled on the floor.
We expected him to hop up but he didn't. Then the floor slowed to a crawl and everyone took notice that Jordan Rose was down.
"Fuck!" yelled Bryce. "Get up, Jordan! Get up!" Ricky was staring in disbelief and we were all silent. We all sighed a breath of relief when Jordan lifted his head and the referees and the coach helped him sit up. They had to help him off the floor and lead him away. Ricky jumped up from his seat.
"I gotta find my mom," he said, looking very worried.
"He's ok, Ricky." said Ty. "You know JR is tough as hell!" he barked. As Ricky started down the bleachers, Ty went down behind him. Ricky looked off in the direction of the locker room. Ty took him by the hand and led down toward where his mom and Jordan's mom were. They were up and about to head out to check on Jordan.
"That Ty is a God in his own right, isn't he?" asked Bryce.
"You got that right," I replied. The game proceeded and the team won despite the loss of Jordan. It turned out that Jordan did bump his head but it was mild. He had a terrible cramp in his upper thigh but he was ok the next week.
That night was a really good night for us. The parents had the March Ball which was a big one. Ty and I were double dating with Jack and Tristan and we went to dinner at a nice place in Midtown. I really liked this. We looked like young adults out on the town. Money was not a problem and I didn't feel so self conscious about being on a date.
I loved how when we sat at the table, Ty would casually tap my leg when he was trying to make me aware of something. I liked how Jack took on Ty in a discussion about his tennis team and his spring schedule. Jack suggested he come with Tristan to a match. He thought that a real tennis match at the club would be fascinating. Tristan loved the idea. I liked how Ty's head casually rubbed my shoulder from time to time when I said something flirty. Tristan, who is running track this spring was wound up about his athletic schedule. I have mentioned before that he had very nice legs. Well, they will do him justice when it comes to sprints and hurdles. I suggested that I would like to watch a track meet if I didn't have to work.
The group thing was awesome. There was no competition.. The whole night was just amazing. Ty came up with the idea that Jack and Tristan should just stay over with us. The parents would be late coming home and we could knock out a bottle of wine before they got home. They agreed. Securing permissions from their parents, we headed back to the house. Ty opened the bottle, transferred it to an orange juice bottle, and buried the bottle in the recycle bin outside. We were both aware of Bill's eagle eye view of the house whenever he returned from an outing.
So, everyone should wonder what craziness took place with four horny teenagers and a bottle of wine. Well, none actually. Jack did ask permission if he and Tristan could have some "alone time" or if that was rude. They had struggled lately, aside from the weekend at the river, to get some "booty time." I laughed and told him I thought he should go for it. Ty agreed having had the same conversation with Tristan. Ty and I relaxed and watched TV while Jack and Tristan did their thing. We didn't need to get into it ourselves right then because we had plenty of alone time. It had been a repeated discussion between us several times, the fact that we lived together gave us so much more time than other people had. We concluded it made us closer as we had enough time apart to keep from getting sick of each other.
After they had done their "thing" in Ty's room, we all were watching some Saturday Night Live when the parents returned. They seemed pleased that we had retired at home after dinner, mom always making reference to having a house full of boys. To be fair to everyone, Jack stayed in my room with me and Tristan stayed with Ty. I was sure the parents appreciated this the next morning in that it didn't look like we had shacked up with our boyfriends for the night.
Sometime in the night I woke up and I was thirsty and my head hurt a little. Not because of the scar that was improving daily, especially now that my hair was growing over the scabs, but because of the wine. I didn't remember what kind it was but it wasn't my favorite. I went down in the kitchen and was pouring some juice when Tristan came down looking groggy.
"I'm thirsty," he moaned.
"I was too," I said. I poured him some juice in a small glass.
"What's up?" I asked. "We haven't talked in a long time."
"I know. There is never any time." He studied me for a minute. "There is something on my mind, though," he said, taking a seat on a barstool at the island.
"What?"
"The weekend at the river house. Bryce fucked you, didn't he?"
"Well you all practically barged in on us. What did you think was going on?"
"Ty won't say a word about it. I tried to get him to talk about it. Was he ok?"
"Yeah, I think so. There was nothing secretive about it."
"I know. That's good. But I, well,"
"What's wrong Tristan? It's 2 in the morning. Spit it out."
"It made me feel very jealous," he snapped. "I mean, so far as I know, I'm the only person you have done anything with, um, I mean anything serious with. I hoped it would stay that way."
"Tristan! That's not fair. Bryce and I didn't plan that and I'm sure it was a one off thing. I don't think Bryce is going to go around fucking a bunch of guys. Come on," I said, taking a seat beside him.
"I know that. It's just that, I never forgot New Year's and I still get turned on by it. I won't say it in front of Jack but I always wanted you to do that, with me," he said. "Someone else doing something with you, well, I feel pretty fucking childish but,"
"Stop right there, babe. I liked it too and I will never forget. I don't care if it was your first time but you were amazing. But Tristan, I have been thinking a lot lately about relationships and I think there is a huge sacrifice to be in love, to be committed to someone. I mean, on one hand, you have someone who loves you and they're with you through it all. On the other hand, you don't get experiences. You don't get to see what other guys feel like. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Yes! Jack and I talked about that the other night. He wouldn't go for me doing something with anyone else. In fact, he was right damn sensitive about me kissing on Bryce that night. You were the only thing that kept him from going off the rails. But, you're right."
"I'm not going to sacrifice Ty for a minute of fun, not ever. But if I graduate high school with having been with you and Bryce, I am glad to have had those experiences. And the fact they were with people I care so much about? Well that's even better. I don't know what "hookups" are because I haven't really had one." I didn't include the blowjob behind the barn but I considered that to be elevated masturbation anyway.
"I know what hookups are and so, they're exciting while they're happening but not so fabulous afterwards. We didn't "hook up" did we?"
"Oh no, Tristan. That was no fleeting moment. I really loved you and I still do. Don't ever forget it," I said.
"You don't know how good that makes me feel," he said, in a whisper. "Jack is wonderful. I won't mess that up either but you're so incredible, Josh."
"I promised Jack I wouldn't mess around with you anymore and I should have made that agreement with Ty before that but a little moment won't hurt anything," and I leaned forward, he met me halfway and we kissed. It wasn't a long one and it didn't get heated but it was so awesome. "Now get back up to bed," I said. He laughed and blushed at the same time.
The conversation really made me think on things. Was it a luxury or a sacrifice to be with someone exclusively. I can't remember what it was like being alone and I heard Tristan's message that hookups leave you feeling empty afterwards. Porn makes it look so easy and I think that's what confuses us. I have strong memories about that night with Tristan and thank God for letting me have that. Same with Bryce. But I still couldn't imagine giving up Ty for a minute of fun. I wished I had someone to talk to about these things but I really don't. Maybe I could lure Keith into a conversation about this. Maybe that would be too much considering his position. He would know, I was sure.
Sunday morning I woke up with Jack heaped on top of me. Obviously we had no secrets but his morning hardon was pressed against my leg and it turned me on so much. I felt his warm breath against my neck. I turned to look at him, his mouth was slightly open and his lips were wet. Fuck, he looked so amazing. Deciding to play a little joke, I leaned over and gave his lip a quick nip and ran my tongue along them. He tried to kiss me back and I pulled away. He looked up at me and gasped.
"Oh fuck Josh! I thought you were Tristan!" and he cracked up.
"I think your dick does too," I said, cracking up.
"Oh dude, I'm sorry," he said, pulling himself away from me.
"Just a little fun, dude. It's hot though. You're hot," I said with an evil grin.
"Takes one to know one," he said. I crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I came out, he was snug in the covers. I put on a sweatshirt and went downstairs. The smell of bacon had filled the house. Mom and Ty were working around the kitchen.
"Morning sunshine!" said mom.
"Seriously mom? No one says that anymore!" and Ty laughed. She grinned and pulled me toward the island.
"Boys, I know you had fun with your friends staying over last night and we really appreciate your thoughtfulness. You know what I'm referring to, right?" Ty and I both nodded. I knew she would notice. The days of not noticing were in the past. Ty and I piled up in one bed with Tristan and Jack in another would have been really tacky to do to the parents. Glad we used some judgement and well, and a little loving with Tristan and Jack was kind of fun too.
Ty and Jack, smelling the bacon, came down. We were all digging in and mom and Bill were discussing some things they had to do this week when my phone beeped. I checked it and was really shocked at what I saw. The shock turned into infuriation in just a minute. Brett had sent a text of a pic of the four of us at dinner last night. Ty's head had just rubbed against my shoulder and I kind of knew the moment the pic was taken. It was from behind Ty and me. The text read, "what a cozy scene. Would have loved to be there! Happy Sunday!" So did he think this was funny?
Ty looked at me curiously and asked. "What's wrong, Josh?"
"Nothing," I said. "I'll tell you later," and proceeded to eat. I didn't respond. I mean, was this stalker shit? I was really unnerved. That fucking Brett was going to push me too far.
Later, after Jack and Tristan had left, I showed the picture to Ty. He gasped.
"Oh my God," he said quietly. "What the fuck is he doing? Do you think he's following us or what?"
"Honestly, since he wasn't there I think it was random that someone recognized us and took the pic and sent it to him. I don't remember who was sitting back there, I guess, since my back was to them."
"Yeah, I don't remember recognizing anyone either," Ty said. "Kind of scares me, Josh. I don't like this kind of stuff."
"I don't either. I'm going to run it by the group tomorrow."
"You going to text him back?"
"What do I say to that?"
"I don't know. Use your poker face thing and throw him off guard." After considering our options, I texted back and said, and we left it at that. I didn't want Brett to know I was upset and didn't want to put him on defensive, not yet. He texted back and said which basically was a nonresponse.
The next morning when we got to school, I had texted our friends and asked them to convene in the main hall so I could show them the pic. Everyone looked shocked, not knowing who would have taken the pic and sent it to Brett. While we were talking about scenarios, Brett himself walked in and eased past us. I know we were all staring at him and he noticed it. I knew he knew we were talking about the pic.
"Ha! Y'all look like the cast from Riverdale or some stupid show like that!" he barked and turned and headed down the hall. Bryce made a forward gesture and I thought he might go after him. I grabbed his backpack and pulled him back towards me.
"Not now, Bryce. Just leave it for now," I said.
"Josh is right," Ginny said. "In the end it might be more innocent than it appears."
"Still," said Lisa, "it's a bit terrifying. I mean I know someone who had pics taken of her when she was out. It's a very real problem."
"I think leaving it for the moment is best but I'm not taking anything for granted," and what I meant but did not say was that I wasn't letting Ty too far out of my sight if I could help it. We've dealt with crazies in the past. I don't trust it. We headed to class.
I made sure to get eyes on Ty between each of the classes but he was slippery. He moves fast between classes checking in with various friends. I was so glad when the day ended and we headed home. My car had been repaired and he took me to the body shop to pick it up. I'm not going to get into how it got paid for. There was a deductible and my parents were going to pay it but my dad got involved and said he wanted to. In the end, they split it and I offered to pay them back with my new job. Bill said he thought I had turned the corner with him and preferred I pay for my gas and put more into savings for school. Now that my acceptance was official, and UVA was expensive, they wanted me to save all that I could. The car looked brand new and the windows worked properly. The guy said all I had to do was drive away. Ty and I laughed.
"See ya later, babe," Ty said.
"If you head out, would you drop me a text?" I asked, not trying to scare him. He nodded and I drove away to the job. I clocked in just in time. I was in the process of drying off a tall SUV when the detail manager came out of his office.
"Warner!" he shouted. I jumped to attention. He led me into the garage. "Listen, when the towel guy comes by, he's going to drop off fresh towels and pick up the dirty ones from last week. Take the fresh towels and put them on that shelf," pointing to an empty shelf just right of the door. "Give him that barrel of dirty towels and he'll take off. Got it?"
"Yes sir," I said. He headed back out into the back lot to inspect what was in line to clean. These were "rinse and dry" cars that were in line.
Shortly after 4:30, a white and blue van pulled up. I figured it was the towel guy. A young, super hot guy jumped out. He was my height, with neatly combed brown hair, parted and brushed back. He was super cute with nice eyes and mouth. I was a little surprised in that I expected the "towel guy" to look like something else. He said, "Hey!" and came over to me. I stood dumbfounded for a moment.
"Hey there, you must be the towel guy!" I said, like a moron. He looked at me curiously then laughed.
"You can address me with something more respectful than that!" he said, with a grin.
"So sorry! I'm so stupid. I'm new and I don't know the..."
"Don't know the lingo. I get it," he said. "Well, Josh Warner, I guess if you had taken a moment and looked me up, you would already know who I am!" he said, easing closer to me.
"Sorry, have we met? I don't remember, I mean recognize, I mean, how do you know me?" I asked. I could not remember where I would have met this guy except to say he was so cute, I wouldn't have forgotten him.
"Josh, I'm Kyle. Kyle Davis," and before he could say anything my heart leapt and the stomach sank.
"The previous quarterback!" I yelled. "Oh my God!" I shouted.
"Yeah, that's me," he said with laughter. "If you had just looked me up, you would have known," he said.
"I didn't. I was so caught up in things, I didn't look you up at all. But you weren't at school, you never came back. What happened to you?" I asked.
"Well, after surgery, my dad had some issues and he's, well, he's tough so mom let me go to South Carolin to stay with a cousin and I finished school there. I graduated back at Christmas so I"m all done til college." I wondered if he had one of those "close cousin" scenarios like Mr. Burch had. Ok, that would be a big turn on for sure!
"So you're just working till then? You got a part time job picking up towels?" I asked, again sounding totally stupid.
"My dad owns the company," he said, which surprised me. "He owns three linen services, one for dealerships, one for veterinary clinics, and one for hotels who don't have an in-house service and we own ACE Dry Cleaners, with eight locations to serve you!" he added and then laughed.
"Oh! We go there almost every Saturday," I said.
"You and half the city."
"Oh wow, so your dad must be a big guy in the city," I said.
"Yeah, and he knows it too. Asshole." Kyle said, quietly. "Anyway, that's family business. So how goes it with you? Part time job? Glad the curse didn't do you in!" he said.
"Curse?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know. The quarterback curse. Surely you've heard about it?" he said, surprised that I was unaware.
"What curse? I don't know anything about a curse!" I said. My heart rate was going up and I wasn't sure what I was walking into.
"Are you friends with Bryce?" he asked.
"Of course. We're best friends!" I said.
"Well, he should have told you about the curse. That's all I'm saying."
"You need to tell me about this curse. I mean, curses sound pretty ridiculous, don't you think?"
"Josh, have you not tallied up the last four years? The quarterback from our freshman year is in prison for dealing drugs. The quarterback from sophomore year died in a car wreck coming back from the beach."
"Jamie? Yes I knew about that. That was pretty big news back in the day."
"Right. Then I was quarterback junior year. We had a decent season but my dad thought I had "deficiencies" so he sent me to a camp that summer. It was a good camp and I learned a lot but it was aggressive and I ended up throwing my shoulder out and damaging the muscle. So I had surgery and, well, then there were some issues."
"Rabbit holes?" I asked.
"Oh yes," he replied.
"Know them well," I said.
"I bet you do. Then senior year, you step in and get hit by a car! The curse!"
"Clipped," I corrected.
"Same damn thing, man," Kyle said. "The fact is, Josh, no quarterback from Brumfield High has gone on to play college football, not in like five years! It's a curse." I looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.
"I buy it. That's a long streak, definitely defies the odds," I said.
"Why have we not met if you've been here in town?" I asked.
"I kept my distance, sort of. Everyone moved on without me and I just let them keep going. I didn't want to rehash everything I went through. It was just a lot of things so I haven't been in contact with anyone." He was speaking so quietly I could barely hear him. I was feeling so much for him.
"Dude, Bryce has to know you're in town. You should have told him by now. You just living with the parents in some big house or something?"
"Hell no, I'm not living with my dad. They live out in West End, by the river. We have a place up on the lake and I stay up there. He didn't like the idea until I gave him a plan for all the things that I would repair and upgrade. He liked that idea so I stay busy when I'm not driving the van for deliveries."
"Oh wow. Wait til I tell I Ty, do you know..."
"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that. You live with Ty Breck. Stepbrothers! How ever do you manage that?" he asked with a chuckle.
"I proceed with caution, always!"
"I bet you do!" he said and we cracked up.
"Ty is amazing, don't get me wrong. We're...close," was all I could manage.
"That's cool. Ty was always amazing," and it made me feel good, comforted, that he would say so. "Listen, Josh, tell Ty you met me if you want. Tell him I said hey but don't name drop me. I'm not at all ready for that. Meeting you is incredible but I can't face a bunch of other Brumfielder's right now. Ok?"
"Ok man, I respect that but I want to see you again. Can we meet sometime? I promise I won't meddle anymore than you let me." He smiled and crossed his arms.
"Yes, we can meet. Coffeeshop?"
"University?" I asked.
"Oh no. Close quarters. Dover."
"Deal!" We exchanged numbers and the towels and I saw the manager looking out of his office at me. I walked Kyle back to the van and as he climbed in, I said, "Kyle, this has been the most fascinating ten minutes I've had in ages. I'm really thrilled." He smiled at me and said, "remember, not a word to Bryce and the gang. Please." and he drove the van out of the lot.
To say I was stunned was an understatement. First, there was another quarterback who lost his shoe like I did. Then there was a really nice guy, who apparently was going with hardly any friends. Then there was a guy who would know my village. He thought Ty was amazing. I really liked this guy. "Please let him be a fit to the inner-circle," I said to myself.
The manager came out. "You two know each other? He played football, you know," Mr. Duffy said.
"I didn't know him before but apparently we both took a hit. That was interesting," I said.
"Yeah, he's a good boy. The crew here loves it when he pulls up. They like you too, Josh. I know you're stepdad and well, you've maneuvered well into the group. Move that car out of line," he said pointing to a C300 sedan. "That one is sold and is getting the treatment first thing in the morning then take off. It's about quitting time."
"Thanks Mr. Duffy. See you tomorrow," and he headed back to his office. I could not wait to get home and tell Ty about this. I hoped it would be good news for him. I hoped there was no previous drama or anything that would create any issues. If all was good, I would have to find a way to bring everyone back together. Fingers crossed!
When I got home, we had dinner with the family. Bill was going into another lengthy legal issue for a client and would be pulling the long hours. Mom asked that we help around the house as much as we could and said she was proud of me being responsible with work. It was a good job, really didn't mind it. I then led Ty upstairs to the den.
"I met someone today," I said.
"Who?"
"Kyle Davis!" I said, looking a bit pissed, no one had ever mentioned him before. Ty looked stunned.
"Kyle Davis? Like THE Kyle Davis, quarterback? Where?" he demanded with wide eyes. God I loved it when it made that look.
"At the dealership. He drives a van for his dad."
"Oh my God! He's back? Is he coming to school?"
"No, he graduated in South Carolina. He's just working for his dad's company now," I said.
"Holy crap. I can't believe that. I can't believe he just showed up. How did you know who he was?"
"He knew me. I was so embarrassed because he called me out on not looking him up or recognizing him."
"That sounds like Kyle."
"Was he cool?"
"Hell yeah he was cool. He was super awesome. He ran with the football gang until he hurt his shoulder. Then he just fell out. I heard he had some depression."
"He did. He said it was awful. He lives at the lake now at his parents' place."
"I should have known! Holy crap!" Ty repeated.
"I can't believe he didn't reach out to anyone. Not even Bryce?" Ty asked.
"Nope and he asked me not to name drop. He said I could tell you but he seems intent on keeping his privacy."
"But you're scheming aren't you?" Ty asked. I had to laugh. "I know you, babe." and we both laughed. Taking a serious tone, Ty said, "and Josh, you remember how I had a total love infatuation with Jordan back then? Well Kyle was Tristan's. They were pretty close. It tore Tristan up when he left and that's another reason why we didn't bring it up again. Tristan would tell you the sun rose and set over Kyle. So please, don't bring that up with Tristan, at least, until you have permission to do so. Ok? Tristan really took it hard."
"Do you think they..."
"I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if Tristan didn't convince him to "have a go", so to speak. He never would say anything but I didn't either. Fair is fair, I guess."
"That would be so hot!" I snapped, not thinking.
"God you are like a total horn dog! What did you and Tristan talk about Sunday morning? Was he with you?"
"Wow, that was a total change of subject!"
"I meant to ask you yesterday but that pic thing distracted me," and he raised one eyebrow.
"We just had some juice. He kind of surprised me, and don't you make a thing out of it. But he told me he was a bit jealous of Bryce and our "weekend" activities. It floored me. He said that up until then he had been my only "other" and now that there was Bryce, he said he felt really jealous. It was odd, I thought."
"I suspected that but I didn't push the subject. I think he and Jack are in good shape but I think he carried a torch for you but would never undermine our relationship. The thing with you and Bryce, well it affected us all a little. Things seem back to normal so I don't want to stir it up again. Knowing how he felt about Kyle, well you would have been a close replacement. You know?"
"Fuck, is everyone in love with me?" I asked.
"You keep believing that, babe, if it builds your self esteem," and he pinched my cheek. Then he climbed onto my leg and put his arm around my back. "But I'm in love with you and I'm the only one who counts. Do you agree?" he asked, and I could feel his breath, hell I could smell his breath he was so close.
"I agree," I said and he kissed me with his soft lips and wet tongue. Well, that was a close call because I wanted to rip his clothes off and do it right there. We would make up for that during our "midnight run."
"Gotta go. Going to meet Kyle!" I said and I hurried down the steps and out the door. The drive over to Dover had some traffic but I got to the coffee shop and went in. Kyle was sitting at a table having a cold coffee. I ordered one and took a seat across from him.
"You were able to get away. That's cool," he said. "I haven't met anyone "out" in a long time," he said.
"Dude, nothing was keeping me away from meeting you. I told Ty, and well, I understand a bit more. He was so thrilled to hear you were around. He said he would respect your privacy too.'
"Thanks. If word got out, there would be a lot of cleaning and patching," he said.
"So Kyle, I'm going to do this differently than I have in the past. I'm going to make this all about me!" I said.
"Please do. I need a good story!" which sounded like Gigi, Ty's grandmother in Asheville, North Carolina.
"So Kyle, I'm really inexperienced with this so, given that you have asked for privacy, I can expect the same from you."
"Shoot," he said.
"I'm gay," I announced, quietly.
"So?" he asked. "That's it? That's your big announcement?"
"Well, maybe I expected something a little more revved up than that!" and we cracked up laughing.
"Dude, that is no big deal to me. If you were frightened of my response, well, you don't need to be."
"Ty is my boyfriend," I said and left that out there to stew.
"Holy fuck now that's a story!" and he laughed. "Ok, can someone please tell me how this works? You move in with your new stepdad, fall in love with his son, and what, fuck like rabbits? What the hell porn scene did you get that from? Is it true?"
"Yes, it's, something very much like that," I said. His legs were shaking under the table and I could tell I had led him into something very fascinating. I gave him a high level view of how Ty and I came out to each other after the accident. He pieced together that element some people get. I got Ty in place of football. Would I have done so if I had kept playing. No answer to that question.
"So I guess it was our freshman year," Kyle said, "Bryce and I agreed that Ty and Tristan would have to be protected. I was full on with Bryce. We told all our teammates "hands off and not a fucking word to them. If you don't like it, then leave it! We were only freshmen but noone challenged us. Maybe they wouldn't have anyway but we thought we were doing the right thing. I was friends with them from early on. Tristan and I used to have the same sitter for christ's sake!" I was listening intently, so relieved at what I was hearing.
"Who all knows?" he asked. I ran down my little "inner-circle," and he was impressed. He figured Bryce would be in on it. Surprised about Lisa but I explained how she had transformed and he said that was incredible. He asked if I was like Dr. Phil or something. He smiled when I mentioned Ginny because he said she was an awesome gal. I told him about Jack and Jason and Jack being Tristan's boyfriend. He frowned just a little. Then we talked briefly about Jordan. He was ok since his fall Saturday and the team was on track for another win this week. And of course, with Ty comes Tristan so Tristan was the first to know.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Josh, but I miss me some Tristan Lane. We were, well, we were good friends. Even though I'm straight, I just think, I don't know, well,.."
"Let me spell it out for you, Tristan is special," I said.
"Yes he is. Well said," he replied. "Fuck Josh, you have just mentioned some incredible people and, crap crap crap, I'm getting..."
"Emotional," I said.
"Right again. You're finishing my sentences for fuck sake!"
"I can feel you, Kyle. I know what you're thinking already," and some tears were streaming down his face.
"I miss those people so much, good God!" he exclaimed, covering his face with a napkin. I stood and took him by the arm and picked up his coffee. "Let's get out of here, man. You need some air," and he took his coffee and I picked up mine and we walked out into the cool night air.
"I didn't expect to have feelings about all this, but good God, I look like a girl, crying like this." We stood against a storefront.
"It's ok, brother, I have been there and it's amazing how much clearer everything is after you knock out the drama. If you and Bryce were close before, you need to reconnect with him. I'm not going to make you, Kyle, but these are special people. If you head off to school in the Fall with these people behind you, you will be so much happier," and then I was quiet for a minute. "Where are you going anyway?"
"University of South Carolina. I love it down there and I got my acceptance."
"That's great. I'll see you when UVA faces off with USC! Now, I'm not going to push but I'm going to encourage you. I promise I won't harp on you but until you decide on them, I want to be your friend," I said. He looked at me, with red watery eyes. He smiled, and even in this condition, he looked so handsome, so attractive, just so loveable. What is it with these fucking dads who make their son's lives so miserable? Just the same sentiment I feel about Caleb and his dad.
"Now you sound like a girl!" he said and I cracked up.
"And you look like Bryce because you know he cries at commercials!" and having just taken a sip of his coffee, Kyle choked and spit the coffee out on the street. I'm glad I wasn't standing in front of him!
"You are hilarious," he said. "I will give it some thought."
I told Kyle I had to get home and he needed to drive back out to the lake. He asked if there was going to be a story to go along with the place on the side of my head. I told him that would have come later, a bit dramatic for tonight. He looked excited. I was excited to tell him too. He took the news about my life and Ty's very well. I know he could be a trusted friend. Maybe he needed some trusted friends. I almost felt giddy on the drive home. If I could create this "homecoming" for him, it would not only be a noble thing to do, but it would be a triumph. I would have to be careful because, as I learned with Diesel Gray, you can't always predict outcomes.
Before we turned in for bed, I told Ty what had transpired over coffee and how much he seemed to respond to the "inner-circle" names. Ty agreed, his need to connect may increase if we leave him alone about it. Ty was pleased that I came out so easily to him and that he was ok with it.
"I just hope he doesn't fall in love with me since that's the effect I have on people!" I said excitedly.
"You come to my room at midnight, sweetie, and I'm going to give you one reason why you don't need him to fall for you," Ty said, with an evil grin.
"What's that?" I asked, already knowing the answer. He dropped his sweatpants and gave me a quick flash of his ass, as he proceeded through the bathroom to his room. That's a good enough reason for sure!