The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson (21 page)

“So fucking hot,” Kyle managed to say between kisses.

Micah pulled away and ripped off his shirt and jacket in one fluid motion. He shivered as the cold night air pimpled his skin. “Have at it.”

“You’re freezing.”

“Then warm me up.”

They both laughed at the cheesiness of the line.

But Kyle looked at him in appreciation. “You AFL boys are so ripped.”

“I bet you’re not too bad under there either.”

“You obviously haven’t watched much baseball.”

“Don’t leave me hanging.” Micah licked his lips. “Let me see.”

Kyle grinned and removed his shirt.

“Not bad,” Micah said.

“Not bad?” Kyle asked. His expression told Micah he knew he was more.

“I believe you said, ‘fucking hot.’” And Kyle was. He was stockier than Micah, but it was muscle. There was a fair amount of golden hair on his chest, much more than Micah’s paltry soul patch in the dead centre that he kept hoping would grow.

But Micah wouldn’t have cared if Kyle wasn’t muscled. Here in the moonlight—and, he was sure, in the sunlight—Kyle was perfect. And now he was back in Micah’s arms, chest to chest, skin to skin, gliding against each other, and Micah hadn’t felt something that good in a long time.

“If we keep doing this, we’re not going to stop,” Kyle said, caressing Micah’s neck.

“We’re two horny teenage boys half naked in a wood,” Micah reminded him, a trifle sarcastically. “Of course we’ll have enough willpower to stop.”

They didn’t. Although it was only touching, there were definitely touches that stumbled into R-rated territory, and neither of them felt unsatisfied at the end of it. But as to how far they went, that was a secret between them, the trees, and the possums in the branches above their heads.

THE DIRT
brushed off their discarded clothing, they made their way back to the car.

“Is my hair okay?” Micah asked.

Kyle laughed. “I didn’t know you were so vain.”

“You roughed it up a lot. I don’t want to look too obvious.”

“We didn’t do anything.” At Micah’s look, he actually blushed. “Okay, but not to the extent they might think.”

“Let’s not make them think anything.”

“Then stop looking so damn hot.” Kyle came to an abrupt halt and pulled Micah in for a kiss. They stood there, their surroundings completely forgotten again, until Micah pulled away.

“Uh-uh, come on.”

Emma was asleep and slumped against the car door as they came up to it.

“She looks half frozen,” Kyle said.

Micah watched her sleep and was astounded by the tender feeling he experienced for his friend. He knew he liked Emma, but it was only now he realised how important she was to him and how much she had done for him, just by being part of his life when he needed a friend the most.

He gently shook her awake. “Emma?”

She snorted, and when her eyes focused properly and she could see them, she looked mortified. “Was I snoring?”

“Yes,” Micah lied while Kyle told her she wasn’t.

Emma glanced down at her watch. “Oh crap. Soraya and I better get going.”

The two lovebirds were asleep, and just as much the picture of cuteness as Emma had been. Soraya and Jack shared a sweet and slightly histrionic good-bye that would have held more pathos bar the fact they would be seeing each other by the afternoon again, when the boys returned home from camp.

Emma took Micah aside as Soraya launched herself into Jack’s arms one last time. “I take it things went okay with Kyle?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Micah said.

“You have twigs in your hair.”

Micah’s hands automatically flew up to check. He maintained a poker face as he pulled them out. “They must have fallen in there.”

“Dropped by a koala, I bet.” Emma gave him a quick hug. “Good for you.”

“Don’t take any shit from Trish,” Micah told her.

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Emma turned to get into the car, but Micah saw the hurt look in her eyes again. It didn’t seem right that he felt so exhilarated now while she was contemplating a breakup. He would just have to be there for her when he got back home, if the inevitable with Trish happened.

The boys watched the car’s lights disappear up the road and started the long walk back to camp. Sensing something had changed, Jack walked a little farther ahead and let Kyle and Micah lag behind. Although neither of them would have worried had Jack seen them, their hands reached out for each other’s and didn’t separate until they reached the buildings.

SO THIS
was the end of training camp. Micah opened his eyes to the morning light filtered through the dirty window and the crisp winter air. Fog hung over the ovals, and he smiled at the sight. They could have been lost in time and space. Micah was almost sorry to go, after such an inauspicious beginning. But things had turned out pretty okay in the end.

“What are you grinning at?” Boyd snapped as he pulled his feet out from under his covers and winced as they hit the cold floor.

“Life, Boyd,” Micah replied. “It’s good.”

Boyd shook his head and stumbled off to the toilets.

Micah and Jack had made it back to bed without incident only hours before. The other boys were too exhausted from training and the stresses associated with recruitment to even stir as they came back to the room. Micah could only assume Kyle had been as successful, at least until Coach Marks beckoned to him to join his table in the dining room before Micah could even grab his breakfast.

With a heavy heart and an empty stomach, Micah sat in the chair opposite him. “Morning,” he mumbled.

“I’m surprised you can still function, seeing you’ve only had a few hours’ sleep.”

Although sweat pricked his temples, Micah feigned innocence. “What?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Micah. I caught Kyle sneaking in after three this morning. I obviously don’t sleep as heavily as your roommates.”

Micah regarded him coolly although inside he was a mess. He should have known he would get caught. And what would that mean for his draft prospects?

“I see you’re going to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. And Kyle won’t drop you in it either.”

The disappointment was evident in his voice. He thought Micah would just let Kyle take the blame because he wasn’t a draftee.

“I made Kyle come out,” he said. “It isn’t his fault.”

“My son has a brain and a mouth of his own”—Micah squirmed at the mention of Kyle’s mouth when he knew full well how he had been attached to it earlier—“so I don’t think there was any question of forcing him to do something he didn’t want to. My only question is, why would you jeopardise your chances of recruitment when you were making an obvious, although late, attempt at buckling down?”

Micah was tired and decided honesty was best. “Because I like Kyle. And I haven’t met a good guy like him in a while. At least, one who’s my age. So it was kinda like a date.”

“Did anybody else sneak out with you?”

Micah decided it was okay to lie a little. “It was a date, Coach, not a threesome.”

Marks sighed. “This is what I’m worried about, Johnson. You take one step forward, and then you jump about five steps back. You think rules don’t apply to you.”

“No more than anybody else. I’m not the only kid who’s broken rules here.”

“Probably not. But they didn’t get caught.”

“So if they’re better at being sly, that’s okay, then?”

“See, you’re also argumentative and stubborn. You did the wrong thing, and you’re deflecting.”

“No, I accept I did the wrong thing. So give me my punishment. Did the recruiters get told that I’m a rule breaker and add another black mark against my name?”

“They don’t know.”

“Will they?” Micah asked, dreading the answer.

Marks stared at the tabletop. “This has become a personal issue with me more than anything. My son was involved. Maybe it’s more an issue of parental discipline.”

“All we did was sneak out for a couple of hours and talk. In the scheme of things, it’s not world-shattering.”

“You’re a terrible influence, Johnson. Maybe I don’t want you around my son.”

This meeting was becoming more bizarre by the moment. “So this has nothing to do with camp rules. You just want your son to have a better boyfriend than me.”

“Are you going out?”

“Didn’t you ask Kyle?”

“He can be stubborn too.”

“So this is where you warn me off him?”

Marks laughed. “He’s eighteen. He makes his own decisions.”

“But you want to warn him off me.”

Marks sighed. “Look, Micah, I like you. But you’ve forgotten I know practically everything there is to know about you. I’ve seen the psychological tests they’ve run on you. You’re… troubled.”

“I’m a teenager. We’re all troubled.”

“Some more than others. You’re a worry, Micah. And any team that takes you on knows that.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m not going to be drafted.” Micah felt the hot flash of fear within him.

“No,” Marks said quickly. “I’m not. But as a father, I’m concerned about my son above all else. He’s got goals and ambitions too. I don’t want you dragging him down.”

“I would never drag him down. If you’ve read my files, you know I’m self-destructive. I only damage myself.”

“You honestly believe that, don’t you? Have you not learnt anything from the past year? You may think you’re only being self-destructive, but you affect so many others in the process. Your parents, your brother, your friends, even Declan and his friends have been caught up in your shenanigans. It’s time to think of them as well.”

“And that’s what I’m starting to do.”

“Well, pardon me if I don’t believe you just yet.”

“If it’s any consolation, I might be shipped off to another state. That means I’ll only be a short blip on your radar of trouble and destruction.”

“Cyclones are short-lived, but look at what they do in that time.”

“Cyclone Micah. I guess that’s apt. Are we done?”

Marks nodded. “By the way, you may not be the only person heading out of state. Kyle’s most likely going to get that scholarship for the AIS. He’s Canberra bound.”

“Like I said, it’s a consolation for you, I guess.”

Marks didn’t reply.

Micah didn’t feel like breakfast anymore. He headed off to the lake.

Kyle was there, waiting for him. Their meeting hadn’t been preordained—they had both arrived there by chance while thinking of each other.

“Oh no,” Kyle said as Micah stomped over to him. “I’m guessing Daddy Marks got to you.”

“Please don’t call him that. And, yes, he did.”

“Let me guess—’Stay away from my son, you incorrigible scourge!’”

“Not that wordy. He said I was a terrible influence, and he didn’t want me to infect you or something.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I have a brain of my own or anything.”

“Well, he did admit you have that, at least. But I’m still going to corrupt you.”

“Like he has any say in who I see. It’s my life. It’s not like he asked me for permission to marry my stepmother. So fair’s fair.”

“Are you saying you’re Cinderella?”

Kyle gave a small smile. “No. I’m just saying that he doesn’t get to choose who I go out with.”

“Lucky for me, then. Because I think I just got red carded.”

Kyle snorted. “You would stay on the field to argue your point anyway.”

“Probably. Anyway, he must be glad that I might get sent out to another state in a couple of months.”

“Don’t talk about that.”

“It’s a fact. And he made sure to rub it in that you’ll be gone too.”

“Well, that’s not definite.”

“It’s not definite for me either.”

“We have to make a decision. Do we want to keep seeing each other? Despite what could happen in a couple of months?”

“I don’t know,” Micah said, although he knew what he wanted. “What do you think?”

“I asked you first.”

“It’s gonna be like that, is it?”

“Yep.”

“Why me first?”

“I told you, because I asked you first.”

“This is a test, right?”

“Why would I be testing you? Are you that paranoid that you think everybody is trying to catch you out in something?”

Micah shrugged. “Maybe it’s because I’m always fucking things up, so I know it’s going to happen anyway.”

“Great way to go through life.”

“See, so why would you want to be with me?”

“Y’know, I’m starting to think that.”

Micah grabbed him before he could leave and kissed him passionately, oblivious to the other boys coming and going from the building. If Kyle was pissed or upset about being outed in such a spectacular fashion, he didn’t seem to care, as he returned the kiss eagerly. They could hear some hoots and catcalls, and buried farther in the background, a few unhappy rumblings. Both boys filtered them out, concentrating on each other instead of what other people might possibly be thinking of them.

The way it should always be.

“Of course I want to keep seeing you,” Micah said, finally pulling away, a trifle breathless.

“Was
that
a test?” Kyle asked.

“Why would I want to test you?”

“Because I can never tell what you’re doing.”

“I get told that a lot.”

“Then I guess maybe we better plan a date for when we get back to the city.”

“Sounds good,” Micah said, “but I better go pack or else I’ll never make it back to Melbourne. And that would be a tragedy.”

Kyle laughed. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to your boyfriend!”

“You’re my boyfriend now, are you? You move quick!”

“Damn straight. Not that I am. Not that we are. Damn queer, then.”

“Damn queer,” Kyle agreed.

Micah left him before they made as much of a spectacle at their good-bye as Jack and Soraya had only a few hours before.

TIME SEEMED
to be one giant blur from then on. Joanne and Rick found that Micah returned from camp with a whole new attitude—and a whole new boyfriend. They didn’t know which one was more of a shock as both things had seemed pretty unlikely before Micah left. Thankfully, they liked Kyle—after all, who wouldn’t? He was a nice guy—but they couldn’t help voicing the same fears and doubts that Micah and Kyle were already fully aware of. Their time together might be short, the future was uncertain, blah blah blah.