This story contains adult and sexual situations between males. If this is not to your liking....well you know the drill.
Three Roads: Chapter 24- Damn Your Love, Damn Your Lies
Toby walked out of his dorm building feeling high on confidence. Today was a day that he had been waiting for since last May, the first official tennis match of the season. He was eager to prove to himself that he could accomplish the goal he had had ever since he had thought about going to college and that was winning a college championship. It was a little cloudy outside which disappointed Toby, he loved to play in the hot weather. He was in tip top condition and knew that the hotter it was the more likely he was to come out the victor. As he walked through the gate of the tennis courts, he thought how strange it was that the fates had already decided what these next few months of tennis would produce. He wish he was privy to that information, he had worked hard, even harder than last year on making sure he was ready to go all the way, but would it pay off? But that was part of the fun, the battle and fighting. In the back of his mind, he was relieved that he and Richard were now on the same team. It was still possible that they would have to play each other if they both made it to the league championships, but he was much better prepared to deal with it if it came to that. Besides, Richard was too occupied with the QSA to be a serious threat to him this year. Toby had tried unsuccessfully for over 20 minutes to get his boyfriend out of bed for tennis practice, but nothing had worked. Richard had started to move around a bit when Toby started to go down on him, but then Toby became extremely annoyed when Richard responded more to sex than to his voice, so he decided to allow him to be late to teach him a lesson.
"You ready?" Coach Williams asked.
"Definitely, seriously Coach I could hardly sleep last night, I'm so excited."
"Toby, I'm all for exuberance, but you also need to be focused and have your mind at its most sharp. It's hard to do that if you have not gotten enough sleep."
"I'm good Coach really, I've just been waiting to get back out there."
"Alright, where's Richard?"
"I tried to wake him."
Coach Williams shook his head, "I don't know what to do about that boy. If we didn't need him, he'd been gone long ago...Tim, surprise seeing you here."
Toby turned around and saw Tim waving as he walked toward them with a big smile on his face.
"What brings you here?" Coach Williams said cheerfully.
"Oh, nothing, just though I'd come say hi to Toby."
"That's fine, as long as you don't distract him too much. I'll let you guys get caught up."
"What are you doing here?" Toby asked wondering if he had forgotten plans they had made.
"Just like I said, I'm just here to say hi."
"Oh, hi."
"Hi." Tim smiled.
Toby was trying to think of something to say, "Do you miss it?" he asked, pointing to his other team members playing tennis.
"No, not really. I miss you though."
"Tim..."
"What I really came by to say was that if you ever needed anything, I'm here for you."
"Thank you."
"I got to go meet Eric, but I'll see you later. I'm gonna come back and watch you play later."
A few minutes later, Eric waived his hand in the air to get Tim's attention when he saw his friend walk into the University coffee shop.
"I'm still in love with Toby."
Eric looked up from his bagel, "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I still love him."
"He kind of is already in a relationship."
"I know, but we still have so much chemistry and I still dream about him. What was I thinking, breaking up with him, I'm never gonna find anyone as good as him."
"I'm not exactly part of the Toby fan club right now."
"Yeah, why is that?"
"I can't remember the last time I said anything more than hi to him. He's always either with Richard or at tennis or doing something else, I don't know if Cooper has talked to him lately either."
"Interesting."
"Anyway, what were you supposed to do? He had strong feelings for Richard you were caught in the middle, he probably would have left you anyway."
"I'm starting to think he wouldn't have, don't they argue a lot?"
Eric laughed, "Me and Cooper argue a lot."
"And you guys would make a very cute couple."
"Ok, now I know you're on crack."
"No really. You guys would compliment each other very well I think. Plus, you guys have a little sexual tension going on."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Eric said looking at Tim as if he were a total stranger."
"You can't see it because you're in it, but everyone else can see it."
"I already sort of have someone thank you very much."
"How is that going with Jon?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know if I'm still single or not, maybe I should ask him."
"Yeah, why not. Have you guys kissed yet?" Tim asked curiously.
"No, I think we're slowly progressing along."
"You guys went out a long time ago, get on with it already! Do you even like him?"
"I do," Eric blushed, "but I don't want to rush into anything..."
"Well at the pace you're going you'll be 35 before you kiss him."
"Ok, wanna be home wrecker."
Tim laughed, "Why can't I fight for something I want?"
"Because you'll lose, you already have Tim. Plus you're a good guy, there are plenty of other guys who would love to go out with you. I don't want to see you get hurt again. " Eric said sincerely.
"But none of those other guys are Toby."
"That's kind of the point."
"No, I just need to find something that will show him how much I love him or how devoted I am to him." Eric rolled his eyes, "I think it's a lost cause."
"I said the same about Jon, but you're still...doing whatever it is you're doing with him.
A few hours later, Eric had finished his classes for the day and he was on his way to what was referred to as the R.A. Room, so that he could make a bulletin board out of construction paper to post rules that some of the residents had seemed to forgot. He hadn't seen Cooper since before the Thanksgiving holiday so he went by his room to say hi, but to also see if he needed anything from the RA room.
"Hey." Cooper said opening the door. Eric looked at him carefully as it looked like, and smelled like, Cooper hadn't been out of the room in several days.
"Dude," Eric said catching a whiff of something that smelled like a combination of sweat and spoiled milk, "Open a window!"
Eric walked in and stepped over the clothes that were strewn about the room. He opened the window and breathed in the fresh air quickly. "You room is a mess, are you ok?"
Cooper was suddenly very embarrassed that Eric was seeing him and his room in the condition they were in, "Do you want me to clean it?"
"Uhh...if you're up for it...what have you been doing these past few days?"
Cooper finally cracked a smile, "I found this amazing site! It's so...there's not even a word to describe it, it's so great."
Eric walked over to Cooper's desk and leaned over to see what had appeared on the screen, "Bi-space.com?"
"Yeah, it's fuckin awesome. Once you set up a profile, you can make different designs on your page, you can have friends, send messages, put music on your page, plus you get to meet these hot bi guys. I've been here...I don't know if I've been on another site since you guys left for the holiday."
"Cooper, you're not bi." Eric said matter of fact tone.
"I know, but they don't have to know that."
"Is this about Kevin, are you trying to find him on there."
Cooper's demeanor changed to what it was when Eric first entered the room, "He's not on here and before you ask he hasn't e mailed me or called me or anything. But it's only been a couple of days, right?"
"Right. I'm sure he's just busy saying goodbye to his family."
"But yeah," Cooper said quickly, "This is a really cool site." He looked back at Eric who was just over his shoulder and Eric smiled. Cooper dropped his eyes to the floor and noticed a queasy feeling in his stomach.
"Are you ok?" Eric asked concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. How was Thanksgiving with your mom?" Cooper asked, thinking it very wise to change the subject.
"Oh," Eric said walking away. He didn't see Cooper breath a sigh of relief, "we hardly were together. She had to work at the store, but we did have dinner together."
"And....."
"Nothing, the big pink elephant was ignored. I don't think either of us is ready to talk about it face to face yet."
"Well, I'm gonna get back on bi -space now...Oh yes! I have a new message."
"Well ok...umm...I just came by to see if you needed anything from the RA room."
"No," Cooper said absentmindedly, "I'm good." As Eric closed the door to his friend's room, he heard Cooper laugh heartily about something he had read on the screen in front of him.
"What are you doing here?" Delta asked as Tim walked into the President's office, "I thought you were going to watch your friend play tennis?"
"I am, but it's payday. Nothing gets in the way of that."
Delta gave him a smile as she handed over his check. Tim turned around as he heard the door to Nancy's office open. It wasn't Nancy, it was the President followed by someone Tim instantly recognized as the guy who had shown up to the QSA booth a few weeks ago, Jack. Jack saw Tim at almost the same time that Tim saw him and his face registered a deer in headlights expression that told Tim there was something about this encounter that Jack was hiding.
"Tim," The President smiled, "Have you met my son Jack?"
"Your son?!" Tim glanced quickly at Jack and couldn't read the expression on his face, "Yeah, we met at the University coffee shop."
"Oh, good. Tim's a good one to talk to," Dr. Brown said looking at Jack, "He's a very good student and a hard worker."
"Thanks." Tim said dryly still looking at Jack, "Well I have to head out. But it was nice seeing you again, Jack." Tim said as if it weren't his real name. He began walking down the hallway, when he heard footsteps running behind them.
"Tim!" Jack was whispering loudly, "Stop!"
"What?!" Tim said annoyed.
"Let me explain, I only have a few moments cause I'm supposed to be going to the bathroom."
"Another lie, must be a habit for you. How old are you really?"
"16...but I turn 17 in a couple of weeks" Jack said hopefully.
"You're a junior in high school, go play with legos or something."
"Please, don't tell my dad I'm gay."
"He doesn't know?" Tim asked sincerely.
"No...I haven't figured out a way to tell him yet."
"Your dad's a good man, I'm sure he'll be ok."
"Maybe...I'm sorry for lying."
"Don't mention it, look I really got to get going."
"When can I see you again?"
Tim laughed, "Jack, I work for your dad and I'm keeping a secret from him, I'm not sure it's a good idea for us to be friends."
"Please, I like you a lot and I don't know what to do with all these feelings."
"Let's just let it take it's course, ok."
It was late afternoon, and Toby heard the familiar beep that told him his access card had worked and that he would be allowed entrance into his dorm building. As he walked through the lobby he saw Richard coming down the stairwell towards him.
"Dude, where the hell have you been?"
"I was asleep...and I'm not feeling so well. I think I'm catching something."
"You still should have shown up. Coach was pissed off. You need to start putting more effort into tennis if you want to stay on the team."
"Alright, I get it!" "I'm just saying."
Toby still had his tennis racquet in his hand, he pulled a ball from his pocket and began bouncing the ball with his tennis racquet on the dirty carpet of the dorm lobby.
"Did you win?" Richard asked.
"Yeah," Toby said, his eyes staying on the ball, "It felt so good to be back out there. Coach was telling me about a mini amateur tournament their having back in LA during the Christmas break, I think I'm going to enter for some extra practice."
Eric, who had been sitting at the front desk making a poster, had heard Toby and Richard, but he had tried to ignore them, or Toby anyway, but Toby's insistent bouncing of the ball was driving Eric crazy.
"Can you stop that please, there's not any hall sports in the building anyway."
"I'm not playing a sport right now."
"Look at you're the rulebook that was given to you when you moved in. Bouncing a ball inside of the building is considered a sport, now stop or I'll write you up."
"Jesus, calm down." Toby said rolling his eyes at Eric.
"Well when I tell you to do something you need to do it."
"Um, you're not my fuckin dad, you can't tell me what to do."
"Let it go." Richard whispered to Toby.
"Actually, I can, I'm an RA that's my job." Eric said coming around the front desk and now walking quickly towards Toby.
"We're supposed to be friends, you don't have to be all bitchy when you say it."
"Toby, we haven't hung out in forever. You haven't tried to be my friend since he came up here," Eric said gesturing at Richard.
"What's wrong, why are you yelling?" Cooper said coming down the staircase with Joey.
"He's being uptight about a simple rule..." Toby started.
"Stop saying that! I'm not uptight!"
"Then why does everyone else on the floor think so? I've tried to defend you but I'll stop from now on."
"Everyone else on the floor thinks I'm uptight?" Eric asked, his voice betraying his hurt feelings.
Toby could hear the hurt in Eric's voice, and he wished he could have taken that back, but Toby rarely ever backed down, especially when he was angry, "Yeah, a lot of them."
"Alright," Cooper said getting in the middle of them, "Let's stop before we say something we don't mean."
"No, let them go, I want to see what happens." Joey said.
Eric threw him a dirty look. Toby and Richard made their way upstairs, "Stay away from me, Toby." Eric yelled after them.
"Calm down." Cooper said putting his hands on his friend's shoulders.
"I'm fine, let go," Eric said bucking his shoulders to knock Cooper's hands off of them, "I just want to be by myself right now." Eric raced up the stairs, and even three floors down, they heard the loud crack of him slamming his door.
"That was entertaining, why'd you stop em?" Joey asked Cooper.
"That's not funny." "Ok, whatever." Joey said walking towards the lobby door. He noticed that Cooper wasn't behind him, he was standing in the same spot, they both had been a few minutes ago.
"What?" Joey asked, "You don't want to go get ice cream?"
"I kind of want to stay here and make sure Eric is ok."
"He's a big boy he'll be fine."
"I know, but in case he wants to talk or something."
"It's a twenty minute walk there and back to the place on campus, I'm sure he won't kill himself in that time." Joey said extremely annoyed.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I should feel this way, but I do."
Joey rolled his eyes, "It's understandable. He's a good friend."
"Yeah, but...I think it might be something more...than that."
Joey smiled widely, "Do you have a thing for Eric?"
Cooper walked closer to Joey, as he became suddenly aware that they were in the lobby where anyone could come by and here what they were saying, "I don't know," he whispered, "Lately anytime he touches me or gets close to me, I get all weird, I feel weird. That never happened before."
"It's just because Kevin's gone. I'm sure it's just a rebound thing. Plus that whole I'm innocent act is pretty hot."
"You don't think my feelings for Eric are real? You think I'm just moving on to something else?"
"What feelings? You've had a couple of awkward moments, that's not anything really. And what would I know, moving on is my M.O."
Half an hour later, Eric was letting Jon in through the lobby door. "Is everything alright?" Jon asked.
Eric smiled at the British accent he loved so much, "I'll explain when we get to my room."
They walked into Eric's room, and sat down on the bed, Jon had absentmindedly left the door cracked open just a bit, "So what's up?"
"I called you cause I've been having a rough couple of weeks, with the QSA event and the stuff with my mom and I just had a fight with Toby, and I didn't know if it was ok to call you." Eric's voice cracked several times, but he fought the urge to cry.
"Of course it's ok, I like you a lot and want to be there for you."
"What are we though, I mean, are we just friends or dating or what?"
"I thought we were dating."
Eric smiled, "Dating sound really good."
"Seriously Eric, I like you a lot, and I want you to know that you can call me night or day and I'll be there for you...if you let me."
"I think I can do that."
"Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you right now."
"Yeah."
Eric watched as Jon changed positions, leaned forward, and kissed Eric lightly on the lips at first, and then a little more forceful. After a few seconds, they broke the kiss.
"That was my first." Eric giggled.
"No way?! Wow, I just took your lip virginity." Jon laughed.
Eric laughed too, he leaned forward and took the initiative this time in being the aggressor during the kiss. Cooper watched from a small slit through the door. He was trying to keep his face as emotionless as possible, but inside he was burning. He wanted to rush into the room and quell this incredible and sudden urge to beat the shit out of Jon. He turned when he felt someone move in uncomfortably close behind him. It was Joey.
"That bitch." Was all Joey said.
Hope you enjoyed this update. As always your questions, comments, and your thoughts and theories on the characters or even for just some good discussion is always welcomed. E mail me at tenniswiz12@msn.com.