Being True (18 page)

O
VER
THE
next few weeks, Javi proved true to his word. We continued biking to and from school together and hanging out under our tree or at one of our houses. I also went with his parents to see him play his preseason games, and Javi was right. His parents definitely taught me the ways of the true fan.

They hooted and hollered for Javi and ate a buttload of snacks Mrs. Castillo prepared for each game. It didn’t take me long to jump up and down like an idiot along with them. Most people in the stands stared crosswise at us, as if we were crazy. The Castillos only beamed in satisfaction that I’d grown to love watching Javi play as much as they did.

Of course, the games hadn’t mesmerized me. It was watching Javi standing on the pitcher’s mound in his tight white baseball pants that clung to his lower half like a second skin. They highlighted his firm butt nicely, and the front? Good Lord. I practically creamed my underwear the first time I saw the bulge Javi sported.

“What did you think of the game?” Javi asked as we headed back to his parents’ car. They walked a few feet ahead of us, chanting “Go Bulldogs!” since we’d won yet another game.

“I liked it,” I said, trying my best not to stare at the front of his uniform. I made sure my eyes scanned the ground instead.

“That’s it?” he asked, walking into me. I took several side steps to avoid falling over. Javi laughed before rejoining me at my side. He was so close, our arms practically touched as we walked. He’d been doing that for a while now. I tried not to read too much into it. Javi was just a touchy-feely kind of guy.

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say that the game was phenomenal, and I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

I stared blankly at him as his dark eyes glowed in amusement. “I’m not stroking your ego. You can stroke yourself.”

Javi busted out laughing while I blushed at what I’d inadvertently said.

“I do that every night,” he said with an eyebrow wiggle. “I am a growing boy, after all.”

Naturally, when I got home that evening I beat off to the image of Javi in his bed. I came so hard, I almost blacked out. But even after I came, my cock refused to go down. It took three jerk-off sessions before my body finally relented and let me go to sleep.

I had done my best to curb my attraction for my best friend, but it was proving harder and harder, pun absolutely intended, to ignore. Javi had gotten so comfortable in our friendship, he must have forgotten I was gay or that he’d once sat on my hard-on. When we were together, his arm hung around my neck or our legs brushed together.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Javi found reasons to touch me.

But I chalked it up to Javi’s divided attention and him trying to reassure me that nothing had changed.

He’d been trying to patch things up with Rance by spending more time with the guy who’d been his best friend. Rance, who’d broken up with Lucy shortly after the party, ate up the attention. He still didn’t like that Javi remained my friend, but he seemed determined to put on a show that it didn’t bother him.

Even though it obviously did.

Rance still hated me. That much was obvious every time he saw me. For Javi, he played nice. But I wasn’t fooled. Rancid was just biding his time. For what, I had no clue. But I’d learned enough over the years to trust my gut.

“I’m hanging out with Rance tonight,” Javi told me as we rode home from the park. It was Friday night, and we typically ate dinner with his parents and then watched movies till it was time for me to head home. From his downcast eyes, I could tell he felt bad. “He’s having a tough time with Lucy,” he said, trying to explain why he was breaking from our routine.

It had been almost a month since their split. “I still don’t understand why they broke up.”

“I’m not sure I understand it either,” he admitted. “I don’t think Rance does either, to tell you the truth. All he’s told me was that it was time. He just didn’t feel the same way about her anymore.” We rode for a few minutes in silence before he said, “I think there’s someone else.”

“Who?”

He shrugged. “He hasn’t said.”

“What are you two gonna do tonight?” I asked. I tried my best to hide the sadness behind the question. I loved being with Javi. Not being with him made me crazy. I moped around the apartment, sighing, counting down the minutes until I saw him again. I’d been driving my mother and Claudia crazy.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “I think we might play some Grand Theft Auto.”

Rance would love a game that included beating prostitutes and running down cops. “Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m gonna spend the night over there too. And then we’re going with some of the guys to Oscar’s father’s property out in Somerset. We’re gonna do some target shooting, eat barbeque, you know, shit like that.”

I didn’t like the way this was going. From the sounds of things, I wouldn’t see Javi until school on Monday.

“But I was thinking,” he said as we turned onto my street. “How about I come over tomorrow night after I get back from Oscar’s, and we have a movie marathon?”

I perked up right away. “That sounds great!” I said. I was so pleased, I almost lost control of my bike, weaving back and forth before regaining control.

Javi laughed. “You’re going to need to get better at that, or you’re gonna find yourself flying over another rock.”

I flipped him off before hopping the curb and skidding to a stop on the small lawn in front of my apartment. “I can ride just fine.”

He didn’t look convinced. “I’ll take your word for it.” He winked before pushing away and riding off. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I shouted back as he sped away.

I’d be counting down the minutes.

E
VEN
THOUGH
Javi and I spent almost twenty-four hours apart, he called me twice to check in. He wanted to touch base and make sure I was doing okay and having some fun. I thought the gesture exceptionally sweet. All I’d done was homework, and he made me promise to have it finished by the time he arrived. He wanted my full attention.

When he walked in, it was like Javi hadn’t seen me in months. He drew me into a big hug and squeezed. I had to make sure our groins didn’t touch. Otherwise, Javi would once again feel my boner against him. He’d been cool about it once. I didn’t want to chance a second go around, no matter how much my cock strained to reach him.

After he reluctantly released me from his embrace, we made popcorn and watched horror flicks.

My mother, who was definitely
not
a fan of people being dismembered on the television screen, retired to her bedroom to read. She planned on heading into the twenty-four-hour clinic where she worked to get started on a few projects her new boss had mentioned. She clearly wanted to make a good impression.

“More blood,” Javi chanted as he shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth. He sat next to me on the small couch that took up practically the entire floor space of the anorexic living room. The pitiful surroundings never bothered him, and neither did he mind when our legs sometimes brushed together while we sat on the cramped couch.

The gentle tickling of his dark leg hair against my smooth skin certainly got a reaction out of me. But I did my best to keep my erection from tearing through my shorts. Javi was my friend. My cock had to learn that eventually, right?

It throbbed once as if saying, “Bitch, please.”

“Are you deaf or something?” Javi asked as he fished his hand into the giant popcorn bowl on his lap. “I said more blood!”

Dawn of the Dead
had just finished, and before that we’d seen
Night of the Living Dead
. Since we had a theme going, why stop now? “How about
Planet Terror
?”

Javi’s eyes lit up. “I love that movie! When Rose McGowan’s character loses her leg and straps that rifle to her stump to kill zombies, man! That is
badass!
”

I agreed and fumbled to open the DVD case.

“Hurry up and put it in!”

I snickered at Javi’s comment and grinned over at him. “I bet you say that to all the gay boys.” Recently, our banter had gotten a bit risqué. But with the way I sometimes heard the jocks talking about tits and such, sexual humor among guy friends seemed par for the course.

Javi groaned and tossed a handful of popcorn at me. “Nasty boy!”

“Yes, well, you’re the one who’s so convinced I’m a slut. Seeing as how I kissed a boy in second grade.” I placed my hands on either side of my cheeks and pretended to scream in horror.

Javi chuckled. “That’s Tru,” and then he broke into hysterics over his pun. I scooped up some of the popcorn that littered the area around me and hurled them. Most didn’t even get close, but one managed to land back in the bowl. Javi’s nod told me he was impressed. “You’re getting better. Now you just need to master that form with actual balls.”

At that point, we both lost it and fell into fitful laughter. We got so loud, my mother came out to see what was going on.

“Are you two okay?” she asked. She pulled her blue terrycloth robe about her and eyed us suspiciously. She believed us to be up to no good.

“Yes, Mom,” I said between gasps. “Javi just said something stupidly funny.”

“And what was it?” she asked.

Javi’s cheeks burned red. “I’d rather not say, Mrs. Cobbler,” he said after a snort and a snicker.

Mom glanced at the digital clock that sat on the small table beside the couch. “It’s really late.”

When Javi saw the time, he nodded. “You’re right. I should probably head home.”

“You don’t have to,” I said. “We can stay up late watching movies, and then you can crash here. It’s not safe to bike home this late at night in this neighborhood. Right, Mom?”

What could she say? It was true. The Projects didn’t exactly have the safest reputation in town. Drive-bys were as common as having a SWAT team suddenly barge into your neighbor’s place. It would be irresponsible of us to send Javi home now.

“I’ll be fine,” Javi said as he placed the popcorn bowl on the table. “I’m a big boy.” He validated the statement by flexing his bicep and flashing a cheesy smile.

I gawked at my mother. This was the point where, as the adult, she spoke with the voice of reason and responsibility. Why did she just stand there scrutinizing us? “Mom?”

She finally sighed and nodded. “Tru’s right, Javi. It’s not safe for you out there. If I had a car, I’d drive you home. Why don’t you call your parents and see if it’s okay that you stay the night?”

“I don’t want to be a bother.”

She shook her head. “A friend of Tru’s is never a bother.”

He smiled. “Okay, then. Let me just use your phone. My cell died this morning, and I forgot my charger.”

“You know where it is,” she said with a nod to the kitchen area behind her. “While you call them, Tru and I will get sheets for you.”

Javi headed for the phone, and when he was out of sight, my mother pointed at me and jerked her head toward my bedroom. She wanted me to follow her. I did as she silently commanded. When my mother appeared this determined, it was best not to argue.

When we entered my bedroom, she closed the door behind us.

“What’s up?”

She gazed at me as if I were a silly little boy who’d just been caught with his hands in the cookie jar. “You can seriously ask me that right now?”

“I don’t understand,” I said, which was the God’s honest truth.

“You’ve just asked the boy you have a crush on to spend the night.”

Oh, was that the source of her concern? “Mom, it’s okay. Really it is. Javi knows I’m gay, and he doesn’t care.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Worry lines once again tracked across her forehead.

“Mom, Javi’s not gay. He’s just a boy who’s a friend.”

She still wasn’t convinced. “If you were a girl, I would never allow a boy you liked to spend the night in the same house as you. You realize that, right?”

“You realize I can’t get pregnant, right?” I’d hoped she’d see the humor in my joke. Boy, was I wrong! She crossed her arms, and her eyes turned into thin slits. I’d done it now.

“I don’t find that funny at all. Gay or straight, the same rules apply. I’m your mother, and I don’t want you to have sex before you’re out of high school, much less before you turn eighteen. You’re not mature enough to handle such an intimate physical commitment as that, and I’m certainly not going to provide the bedroom for your first time. This is my house, and you will respect my rules.” She lowered her voice to a deadly serious parental whisper, which was always a thousand times worse than yelling. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I uttered immediately.

“Javi has my permission to stay tonight because I’m as guilty as the two of you for not keeping a watchful eye on the time. I can’t chance sending him out this late, but this won’t happen again. In the future, I expect Javi to go home at a decent hour, and if you are at his house, for you to come home at a respectable time.”

I nodded. Although I understood her concerns, I found them silly. Nothing was ever going to happen between us.

“My dad said it was fine for me to stay,” Javi called down the hall.

“Good,” my mom called back. “Just finishing up in here. We’ll be right out.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen, Mom,” I said. “I swear.”

She shook her head and smiled at me. “I know you truly believe that,” she said as she drew me into a hug. “But you’re both teenage boys, and your hormones are bouncing around uncontrollably inside you. It’s my job to set up the rules and the boundaries that keep you in line. You may not like me for it, but you don’t have to. That’s part of the job too.”

“I don’t like you,” I told her as I kissed her cheek. “I love you, and even if you have nothing to worry about, which you don’t, I promise to respect your wishes.”

She nodded. My mother knew me well enough to know once I made a promise, I didn’t go back on it. “Good. Now let’s get everything ready.”

As we took the sheets out of the closet and made a pallet on the floor, where I would sleep, I still had trouble understanding the source of my mother’s worry.