----- Joe James – 04 Hi This is, a you probably know, a story. Fiction, not reality, and so no, it's not about you, whatever you might believe. As usual, if you shouldn't be reading this for whatever reason, or you don't like the idea of boys falling in love, then don't stay here and read this. If you enjoy this story, or anything else on this site, please donate at http://www.nofty.org/donate.html And finally, your feedback is always welcome, you can contact me at secret_writer@outlook.com. -----
Friday, date night. Not just any date night though. Date Night. For me. With Marcus. First Ever Date Night. And the entire day is a disaster. The week had been going slowly enough as it was, and by the time Friday finally arrived time was more or less at a complete stop. Thing's I'd managed to learn at college this week, approximately zero. My mind was constantly wandering, daydreaming, and then just waiting for the only thing that grabbed my attention, a message from Marcus. We had been texting and chatting online a lot, throughout the days and nights. Mobile phones in college must be responsible for a significant reduction in learning.
Usually, on Fridays, I leave college at 3:30pm. So loads of time to get ready, even for me. So how was it that at 4:00pm I'm still stuck in a conversation with my form tutor?
"Joe, have you got a minute?" These, and any such similar words are not what you want to hear on your way out of the classroom at the end of the day.
"Yes sir, of course." What else can I say?
'Actually Sir, no, I'm sorry, but I don't have a minute today. Any other day would be fine, I basically don't have a life and so time is abundantly available. But today, no, not today. Because today, I have a date. My first date, ever. And it's with a boy. Who is probably the most amazing boy in the world. So I have to go and get ready for that so that I'm in with any kind of chance to con him into believing that I'm in any way worthy of his attention.'
It crossed my mind. Of course I didn't say that. Apparently, I've been distracted all week. He's noticed, and so have a couple of the other tutors. This is unlike me, so I'm told. Is everything OK? Ha ha ha, everything would be so much more OK if you shut up and let me go! I suppose it's good that he noticed, and was bothered enough to ask me how I was. Obviously, I gave him minimal details, choosing instead to emphasise the 'really sir, no, I'm fine, thanks very much' elements. I finally managed to extract myself from college, and ran to the bus stop. But I'd missed the bus, and had to wait another agonising 25 minutes. Stupid busses. Even when the bus arrived it was three minutes late. I seriously think that I spent three minutes with something close to heart failure.
By the time I got home it was 4:50. Basically two hours before my date! I ran up to my room, throwing my college bag into the corner whilst trying to decide on the best order to do things. It should have been easy, shower, clothes, hair. I'd already chosen the clothes, or at least, I'd stopped changing my mind about the clothes, so that was one big decision already taken care of. There was no way I could wear the same as last weekend, which was unfortunate because that was my best T-shirt. It was like I'd wasted it on a less important day. Oh well. After many, many options, I'd settled late last night on grey skinny jeans, blue trainers, and red T-shirt. So they were all ready and waiting, hanging on my wardrobe door. Except they weren't. I spent the next fifteen minutes literally turning my room upside down looking for my clothes, getting more and more stressed out with every passing minute. Eventually Callum came to see what all the noise was about.
"You OK Joe?"
"Yes! I just can't find my grey jeans."
"Oh, OK. Yeah that's right, it's your big gay date isn't it?"
"Whatever, have you seen them? And it's not a 'big gay date', it's just a date."
"Yeah, with Marcus."
"Have you?"
"What?"
"Seen my jeans?"
"Oh, and that red T-shirt?"
"Yes!"
"It's unlucky though, getting that massive red spot right in the middle of your face for your first ever date."
"What!?"
I ran to the bathroom to check, already mentally indexing the possible excuses I could use to cancel. I never get spots, what have I done to deserve this? Thirty seconds of closely inspecting my entire face revealed absolutely nothing, and Callum's laughter as I ran back towards my room confirmed it. He was just taking the piss.
"Fuck off, it's not funny!"
Callum grabbed my arm as I stormed past him back into my room.
"Joe, I'm sorry, but calm down, it's all going to be OK."
"It's not!"
"It is. You put your jeans and T-shirt in the washing machine this morning, although I don't know why, they were already clean. Mum put them in the dryer earlier, so they'll be ready soon."
I could feel myself relaxing slightly. And then I realised that I'd need to go iron them. I left Callum standing in my bedroom, which was looking more like a small war-torn country. Mum was in the kitchen and insisted on talking to me as I retrieved my jeans and T-shirt from the dryer and set about ironing.
"Joe, you do know that's an ironing board?"
"Yes Mum, of course I know."
"But it's for ironing."
"I know!"
She looked on, amused I think, as I set about perfectly de-creasing my jeans.
"So are you going somewhere?"
"Yes Mum, I told you all week I'm going out tonight."
"Oh yes. With, errr, whats-his-name?"
"Yes Mum, with Marcus, like you don't know his name."
"What time will you be back?"
"I don't know."
"And where are you going?"
"I told you, I don't know."
"Hmmm, well, you will be.... errr, careful, won't you."
"Careful? You mean like looking both ways before crossing the road? Yeah Mum, I'll be careful."
"You know very well what I mean Joe. I know you're going on a date, and I also know what that means! Do you have condoms?"
"Oh my god Mum!"
I'm sure my face was turning as red as the T-shirt I was now wrestling with on the ironing board.
"Just because you're gay doesn't mean you don't have to take precautions."
"I can not believe we are having this conversation."
"We're having it anyway Joe."
"Mum, it's just a date, I'm not going to be.... doing that."
"I hope not, but if you do, just make sure you're safe."
"Yes, fine, OK! I'll be careful Mum. Can we please stop having this conversation?"
"I don't know. Have you got any?"
"Yes! OK, I have, it's all in hand, you know, just in case."
"Joe, if it was only going to be in your hand I wouldn't be so worried."
"What? Oh my god! We're not talking about this any more."
I'd ironed as much as I could, whilst enduring that total cringe-fest of a conversation. Checking the time on the oven, it was almost 6:00pm. Aaargghh! I took my now crease free clothes back up to my room, and also found my 'sexiest' boxer shorts, which were neither particularly sexy or easy to find. And I didn't even know if Marcus would get to see them, but I liked wearing them. Somehow, time was again escaping me. Washing my hair and scrubbing myself cleaner than I've probably ever been in my entire life had meant it was 6:30pm by the time I got back into my bedroom. I closed the door and had (another) check in the mirror. Yes, I could do this, I look OK, even wearing just a towel. I finished getting dry and was mostly dressed when I heard the doorbell. Shit. Surely it isn't that time already? Checking my alarm clock confirmed I still had fifteen minutes. But looking out the window also confirmed that Marcus' car was parked outside. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I was nowhere near ready, with T-shirt, and above all else hair still to go. But Marcus was here, at the door. And now Mum was going to have him all to herself, interrogating him, or even just talking to him, which was bad enough. The option of leaving him down there, with mum, and Callum, was not a good one. But what else? I could bring him up to my room, whilst I finished getting ready. Except my room looked like a total disaster. Oh well, that's probably still better than the alternative. I finished pulling on my T-shirt as I ran downstairs, almost falling down the last three or four because I missed a step, but determined to get there before anyone else.
Opening the door, I was greeted by a very serious looking Marcus. Who was, also, looking totally amazing, like a model out of a fashion magazine. Orange trainers, skinny blue jeans, and a striped T-shirt. As soon as our eyes met, he started to smile, which made me smile too. I was aware of Mum and Callum standing behind me in the hallway.
"Hey gorgeous."
"Hi." Oh my god, he called me gorgeous, in front of my Mum.
"I'm a bit early."
"Yeah, I'm nearly ready though. Come up to my room. I mean, while I sort my hair out." I just asked a boy to come up to my bedroom!
He followed me upstairs and into my room, closing the door behind us.
"Sorry about the mess" I said, as I tidied a space on my bed for him to sit.
"It's fine Joe. I just can't believe I'm allowed in your bedroom. Doesn't your Mum know what we might get up to?"
I thought back to the conversation I'd had with her.
"Actually, I think she has a pretty good idea" I said. I was going to say more, but Marcus was holding my face in his hands and kissing me oh so gently. And then not so gently because I couldn't help myself but try and eat his entire face.
"Damn you're sexy Joe."
"So are you. But you have to leave me alone so I can do my hair and look even sexier."
"I don't think it's possible, you look totally awesome just like this."
"That's great, but there's no way I'm leaving the house with this hair."
After ten minutes, because I was rushing, of blow drying, waxing, and spraying, my hair was good enough to go out. I mean, not great by any standard, but it would do, and Marcus said it looked good. I shouted bye to mum as we headed back downstairs and outside. Marcus opened the car door for me, which I though was a bit over the top but also really sweet, and then we set off.
"So where are we going?"
"It's our first date, so I thought we'd keep it low key and just go over to Megaplex."
"OK, cool."
Megaplex was basically a shopping centre with restaurants and a multiplex cinema about thirty miles away on the edge of the nearest city, and was a popular date option. This was great, because it meant I was actually going on a proper date. The down side, because it's basically the only place around here, we could easily see people we knew. I don't now why that worried me, but I found myself lost in thoughts of how I'd deal with that. What if I bumped in to someone from college? I'd never made any effort to hide being gay from people, but actually telling them, now that it comes to it, is different.
"Joe? You OK there?"
"What? Oh, yes, good."
"You went all spaced out."
"Sorry, I'm fine."
Just hearing his voice was apparently enough to make me feel better.
"I thought we'd see what films are on, and then go for food later? That sound good?"
"Sounds great Marcus."
'Great', how stupid. He could have said anything at all and I'd still be happy with it.
Friday nights at Megaplex were busy, most of the shops stayed open late, so there were quite a lot of people around. Which only added to my gushing excitement, inwardly only of course, as we walked into the centre and Marcus took hold of my hand. For as much as it felt like everyone could surely see us, and notice us holding hands, like there was a searchlight following us around, in truth most people didn't seem to notice. Unfortunately this makes it sound much more cosmopolitan than it really is around here, so I expect that lots of people noticed but also chose to ignore us, or realised that it was at least socially inappropriate to express their displeasure. Times are moving on, but in some places, it's really slow progress.
We stood in front of the cinema listings for ages, trying to decide on a film to go and watch. Nothing with subtitles, that was easy, but after that, well, even before that, the selection wasn't great. Finally we settled on the latest Star Wars which was still showing and neither of us had seen. I'm in no was a big Star Wars fan, I've probably seen all the other films, but I couldn't distinguish any of them from the rest in my memory. I know there's one where someone flies along a corridor and blows up the big round thing. That's Star Wars isn't it? Marcus bought popcorn for us to share. Sweet and salty. It's the only viable option. Walking in to the cinema I was pleased that it wasn't too busy. I don't know why but I prefer a not full cinema. I usually choose a seat in a relatively quiet area, in the middle, towards the back, but Marcus was walking towards the front in a purposeful way. I hadn't noticed, but he'd bought VIP seats, which means you basically get a big sofa in a private booth. It was pretty luxurious by my usual cinema standards, and it also meant that no-one could see us as he pulled me towards him and kissed me all through the trailers. Contrary to apparently popular belief, the teenagers did not spend the entire film making out. But the fancy ticket price did mean I could watch the film with Marcus as I leaned against him, on him, and lay my head on his shoulder and chest with his arms around me. I totally missed several sections of the film because I was too distracted by how incredible I was feeling just being with him. The sensation of proximity, safety, security, and total happiness with his arms encompassing me. Being able to feel not just his breath but his very breathing as his chest gently moved up and down. If it hadn't been so loud I would probably have fallen asleep like that.
I made Marcus stay right to the end of the credits, because I think it's just rude to leave before then. All those hundreds of people who have spent months or years making a film, and people don't even have the decency to acknowledge them by staying for another five minutes. Usually this means I'm one of the last people to leave a cinema, and this was no exception. We stood in the lobby for a few seconds when Marcus thought he'd left his jacket inside the cinema so went back in to look for it. I didn't have time to tell him that he didn't have a jacket with him. And I knew this, because I notice everything about him. Not that this was a difficult thing to notice. I stood there waiting for him, feeling slightly awkward, wondering if I should go and find him. I didn't time to finish deciding before I heard the words I'd been both dreading but sort of expecting.
"Hey Joe."
My heart sank a little. There was a group of four or five girls from college, apparently heading in to see something. But one of them, the one talking to me, was Alison. She's a nice girl, but I'm fairly sure she had a bit of a thing for me last year. She used to keep finding me, and talking to me, and asking me things, and telling me stuff about herself. Whilst I'm all about being a nice guy, it was also quite annoying. She seemed to give up after a few months, but still always made a point of talking to me if she sees me.
"Hi Alison."
"What have you been to see?"
"Star wars."
"Oh wow, how was it? Would I like it?"
How should I know if she'd like it?
"It was fun, really good actually." I wasn't sure if I was talking about the film, or my experience of watching the film.
"Cool. Who are you with? You're not on your own are you?"
It might have been my imagination, but I'm certain she looked a little bit more like a hunter about to finally capture her so far elusive prey.
"No, actually I'm here with..."
Marcus burst through the double doors from the cinema. He'd found a pair of shades in the leather jacket that he was wearing, and was the total epitome of cool, as the strode confidently towards me, put his arm around me and said 'sorry ladies, he's with me'. Disappointed, in awe of his very being, and jealous of me, the girls sighed loudly, swooning slightly. Obviously, this only happened in my imagination, but it was fun none the less. In reality Marcus came back through the doors looking slightly distracted, still looking behind him as if his jacket was somehow going to appear out of thin air, and not really paying attention to the now small group of people I was now part of, or at least near.
"Sorry babe, I can't see it but now I think maybe I didn't bring one. Did I have a jacket when I picked you up?"
"I'm here with Marcus" I both re-stated and finished the sentence. Furth introduction of Marcus seemed unnecessary as he came and stood next to me and put his arm around me. Finally he noticed there were more people. Although I liked the idea that I was the only person he was paying attention to.
"Oh, hello." He smile and tone were both genuinely warm and friendly, as always.
"Enjoy your film, I'll see you around" I said, trying to bring an end to the about to be weird conversation.
As we walked away Marcus again took hold of my hand, and I couldn't help but feel that the silence behind us was a little loud. So that was it then, everyone at college on Monday would now be fully aware of the situation. It had to happen one day. Heading towards the restaurants Marcus interrupted our casual review of the film.
"So who were those people?"
"Oh, just girls from college."
"Right, OK. Sorry if I made it awkward."
"No, it's fine."
"I feel like I've totally outed you and I didn't mean to do that."
"Marcus, it's fine. They would have found out soon enough. Honestly, it's not a problem."
I didn't really know if that was true or not. Either that they would have found out, or that it wasn't going to be a problem. It had at least saved me the trouble of trying to decide whether or not to tell people about Marcus. But I didn't want him feeling responsible for that stuff, I had to deal with that myself. There was a slightly awkward silence as we continued walking, and I knew what I had to do, and wanted to do. I put my arm around his and held his hand. I did it. Not him. He looked at me and smiled like I'd just given him a million pounds. So adorable. We were both feeling hungry so we went to this fake American diner place, known for big portions of mostly deep fried food. No health value at all, but really good when you're hungry. We ordered a few things that we ended up sharing, sat either side of the table, our legs brushing, feet touching each other. This was really like a proper date. No, not 'like' a proper date, it was a proper date. We talked and laughed and occasionally held hands over the table, and more often rubbed our legs against each other under the table.
It was after 11 by the time we were walking back to the car, in the now much emptier car park. Marcus again came around to open the door for me, but this time, we somehow ended up kissing. Somehow, how stupid, it happened because we both wanted it to. He gently pushed me back against the side of the car as we kissed, gently at first, and then with increasing passion. His tongue exploring mine, our lips tasting each other, and also just a little bit of ice-cream from dinner. My arms around him, not exactly pulling him closer because he was already doing that, but wanting to feel the unity of the two of us together. His hands holding my head, mine finding his beautiful arse and pulling us hard against each other, both hard and thrusting into the other. It was the most intensely sexy moment of my life. Which I know I've said before, also about Marcus. After a few minutes, or probably fifteen minutes, we stopped, reluctantly acknowledging that we had to go home. And that meant leaving each other, eventually.
The drive home was quicker than the drive out due to less traffic, and also that feeling of not wanting something to end usually makes it seem to happen faster. I was still feeling massively turned on, and I think Marcus was too, but I also knew that probably nothing else was going to happen that night, which was oddly OK. As much as wanted a lot more to happen. It would, eventually, I was sure. We parked outside my house, neither wanting the inevitable separation.
"So? How was it? Have you had fun?"
"Marcus, it's been amazing."
"Amazing? OK, well that sounds like a good first date then."
"I guess, I mean, I don't really have a comparison so maybe we'll have to do it again a few times?"
"I think I could manage that."
We kissed again, I don't know if anyone was looking out or not.
"So, what are you doing next Friday?"
"I'm not sure, I was hoping to be going on a date with this really sexy amazing boy, but I'm not sure how into it he really is."
I punched him playfully on the arm.
"Goodnight Marcus. And thanks, it's been seriously amazing."
"Night Joe."
I stood there watching him drive off. I was so in love.