Disowned
by Victor Thomas
Chapter 5
Javier
I stared at the guy standing in front of me, wanting to shake my hand for some reason. Since the hand apparently wasn't going away, I took hold of it, noticing his firm grip.
Joshua was a bit taller than me and had blond hair, and there were a few freckles on his nose and cheeks. I scanned his body, which obviously belonged to a jock. If I wasn't mistaken, he was on the basketball team.
"I've heard a lot about you," he said.
"Like what?"
My body became tense.
His eyes flickered down to my chest and jeans.
"There aren't many gays who play sports."
My blood ran hot. One asshole on the football team should have been enough, but now it seemed that the basketball team had sent their own ambassador to tell me I wasn't welcome on the team. Like it was their business. The basketball team sucked big time anyway.
"Most gay guys are so feminine…" he continued.
"No, they're not!" I interrupted, raising my voice. "And I don't fucking care what you think about me."
"Relax, dude." He rested his hand on my shoulder. "I'm gay too."
There was a moment of silence in our discussion. I narrowed my eyes and studied his face. He was smiling, but it was hard to say whether it was sincere or if he was just messing with me.
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
The expression on his face got more serious.
"I just wanted to meet you."
"Okay."
"And I'm sorry for what I said." He laughed. "I thought I was the only gay athlete here and then I heard about you."
Now he was making more sense. It hadn't been that long ago that I felt the same. Also, the first moments in the locker room after I had come out were vivid in my mind. Even though it had been much easier than I had expected, I was still thankful it was over.
"Do your teammates know?" I asked.
"They're cool with it," he answered. "Yours?"
I told him a short version of my coming out story, leaving Kenny out of it. Many of the students, probably too many, knew about our relationship, and Kenny had even kissed me publicly a few times. Still, we had agreed to keep a low profile so his mother wouldn't find out.
While I explained how I had helped Chris get back on the football team, the bell rang. The students who were still lingering in the hallway began to move toward their classes. Joshua, instead, stood there holding his sunglasses in his hand; he had a friendly smile on his face.
"You need to tell me your whole story sometime," he said.
"Um, sure."
I wasn't sure what else to say.
"Cool. See you soon."
He poked me on the shoulder.
I stood there watching him walk away, still trying to figure out what just happened. He wore a black t-shirt that hugged his body nicely, with skinny white jeans. No matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn't help stealing a glance or two of his butt. My eyes were staring at the totally wrong place when he suddenly looked over his shoulder.
"Oh, one more thing," he said. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Um, no. I'm not seeing anyone."
Despite our agreement, it felt like I was cheating on Kenny. I was dating the cutest and smartest guy in school, and it was odd, even wrong to deny it. On the other hand, why should I tell some random guy about our relationship? It was nobody's business.
He tilted his head.
"What are you doing after school?"
"I've got some stuff to do," I said, breaking eye contact.
"Hmm… that sounds suspicious."
"It's nothing. Just some boring stuff."
We were alone in the hallway and he walked back to me. Our eyes met again, and he looked forward.
"Any chance you have some time between all that boringness to meet up?"
I made the mistake of hesitating too long. Joshua straightened his books under his arm.
"Relax. I'm not trying to steal you away from your secret lover," he said.
"I don't have a secret lover," I snapped. "Besides, we really need to head to class."
"I'll take that as a maybe then?"
I sighed. "Yeah."
"Sweet." He flashed a mouthful of perfectly straight white teeth. "It would be great to talk to you more."
Perhaps talking with the guy wasn't such a bad idea after all. We were both on a sports team, and gay. We shared something unique, and I had to admit that I was curious to know more about his experiences. Besides, he seemed quite cool, and we would just be talking. What harm could that cause?
The bell rang again, and I knew I was in trouble. My school day started with geography, and the teacher didn't like late comers. None the less, I stood still and watched Joshua stride down the hallway, each step firm and strong. The amount of lean muscle on that guy was crazy. He must go to the gym every day.
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