Chapter 3 #2
I groan at that. The signs they make when they’re able to make it to my practices. I think they do it to humiliate me. I secretly love it, though. Not many people have a family that supports them like mine do. Paulie’s told me this before.
His parents are a bit shit.
“Please don’t put my head on a stick and wave it around. It’s just a practice, guys. We’re not even in game season.”
“Who cares if we’re not playing and just practicing? You should definitely do that. Yes, I’ve decided. Please do that,” Paulie says, and I kick him with my shoe.
“How about you put Paulie’s head on one and show him how it feels?”
My mom’s eyes glitter. “Oh, that’s a great idea. Hailey, you can wave one around.”
She blushes, but salutes, making Paulie grin. Oh, he’d love that. It would totally get his hopes up, thinking it meant something.
“I’m thinking we could make shirts, too. Witkoff Warriors. Or Witkoff Witches.”
“Oh, we could wear those witch hats and buy brooms!” Maya exclaims. “We could pull our tits out and flash everyone.”
“Oh god,” I groan.
Everyone starts laughing then, and I can’t help but join in. Fucking ridiculous family I have. But I’m lucky. I know it. I really do. And despite their being a pain in my ass, I love them.
“So, any new flings, Paulie? Son?” Mom asks.
“Don’t tell them anything,” I whisper to Maya, but she just waggles her eyebrows. This only makes my mom suspicious. She knows how close we are.
“Oh, you better tell me what that meant. You’re hiding something from us!”
“And me!” Hailey chimes in. “I’m your twin. I should know. I deserve to.”
“No one deserves anything. And I’m not telling you a thing.”
Paulie looks confused because I haven’t told him either. It’s my dirty little secret.
And one I plan to keep.
“Why not?” my mom asks as Hailey pouts.
“He doesn’t trust us.”
Paulie uses this opportunity to touch her. Patting her on the arm. She leans into him, setting her head on his shoulder. She has no idea what this is doing to him. She’s completely clueless.
“Maybe because you’ll blather it to kingdom come.”
“But you told Maya.”
“That’s because she’s Maya.”
“We’re your family,” Hailey says, and then pokes Paulie’s chest. “Tell him, Paulie. We should know all his business. I know you agree with me.”
“He has been quiet lately,” Paulie says, and I eye him.
“We’re no longer friends.”
His mouth quirks up. He knows that’s bullshit. He’ll be my friend until the end of time. It’s just how it is.
“That’s sad,” Hailey says. “I’ll be your friend.”
I know Paulie wishes it were more than friends, but he still blushes all the same.
“I’m not telling you anything, except that it’s…not someone I really like. And don’t get your hopes up. This isn’t turning into anything. He’s an asshole.”
Everyone freezes, and I realize my mistake. “Oh!” my mom exclaims, clapping her hands. “I finally have a gay!”
I sigh and rub my temples, hating that I’ve slipped up. Shit, I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have kept my mouth shut. Entirely.
“I’m not gay,” I manage to murmur.
“Of course you’re not, honey,” my mom coos, like she doesn’t believe me. Like I’m in major denial. “When you’re ready to accept yourself, you can tell me. I’ll love you no matter what.”
I sigh and see Paulie peering over at me. This is the first he’s heard of it, and I know it’s bugging him. He wants to know who, what, when, where, and why.
Possibly how.
Fuck if I know most of those answers.
“I’ll tell you later,” I tell him, and he nods, just happy Hailey is still sitting cuddled up next to him.
I see my mom clacking away on her phone. “What are you doing?” I ask, and she grins at me.
“Just buying Pride stuff.”
“Good fuck.”
“Oh, honey, make sure you’re using protection. Do you need condoms? Lube?”
Maya snorts so loudly she chokes, and I flip her off.
“I’m not discussing this with you anymore.”
“There is PrEP, too. Want me to get you in for an appointment?”
“Mom, no. Stop. Jesus.”
She huffs and then continues on. “Anyone else want a Pride flag? It’s buy two, get one free.”
“Oh, me! I have to support my twin,” Hailey adds, and I run a hand down my face.
“I’m leaving.”
“I’ll get you one too,” my mom adds, and I know that before next week, I’ll have Pride stuff in my mailbox at school.
Kill me now.
By the time Paulie and I leave that evening, I have a headache.
“So, who is it?” he asks me as we drive home.
“I don’t want to tell you. Not yet.”
He’s quiet for a moment and then adds, “I won’t judge you. You tell me whenever you’re ready.”
I nod, thankful he’s such a good friend.
I really don’t deserve him.
Or any of my family, really.
But fuck, I just wish they weren’t so nosy.
I end up face down in bed when my phone buzzes. I pull it out and see a message from the same unknown number.
Unknown Number:
You wear my jersey yet?
Fuck, I didn’t answer him. I pretended he didn’t exist. And he does. He very much does.
Unknown Number:
Take a picture and show me.
With just that on and nothing else.
Like fuck I’m going to do that.
I so fucking won’t.
I throw my phone onto the chair next to my bed and turn onto my side.
I won’t do that.
Absolutely not.
His request sits in the back of my mind. I obsess about it. During class. During rugby practice.
He doesn’t ask for it again. And I don’t respond.
I can’t make myself.
My mom’s Pride flags and rainbow paraphernalia appear in my campus mailbox just like I knew they would, and I shove them under my bed. I’m not ready to display something like that. I don’t even know that I am gay, queer, or what.
Colton’s jersey sits with the other stuff as well.
It’s not until a day later that I realize I should give it back. Not the stuff my mom sent, but the jersey. I don’t want it. I don’t want it taunting me from beneath my bed.
The only problem is, if I show up at his place, he may tell me I need to suck his dick like he said he would. And I don’t want to do that. I really don’t.
So, I find a time I know he’s at practice and head over there. I don’t have much time. It’s almost over, so I’m just going to toss it on his bed and then leave.
But when I arrive in his room, I can’t help myself. I end up searching for my coin again. And my jockstrap. I know he has them somewhere in here. I fucking know it.
He’s definitely a thief. He takes what he wants when he wants it.
I just need to look harder. I want back what belongs to me.
I throw the jersey on the bed and get to work, scouring every nook and cranny.
I peer behind blinds and under the mattress.
I even run my fingers along the shelves to see if some secret compartment opens up for me.
I see a few new things there. A crocheted giraffe? Did Ferris make it for him?
I’m on my hands and knees, looking under his bed, when the door opens.
“Ha. Fucking knew it. Could smell you from the hallway,” Colton says smugly as the flick of a lock resonates in my ears.
I lurch up so quickly, I hit my head on the edge of the bedframe. My hand goes up to rub the sore spot as I push myself to my feet.
“Fucking hell,” I murmur.
“That’s what you get. Snooping around without permission.”
His eyes move up and down my body, and he wets his lips. He’s damp from the gym shower, his body still flushed from his workout.
“And no one forced you here. You came, Witkoff. On your own. You know what that means.”
“It means nothing. I’m just looking for the shit you stole from me.”
He takes a step toward me, setting his duffel bag on the ground.
“I didn’t take your stuff. You’re here because you want to get on your knees and suck my cock, aren’t you?”
“Hell no.”
My cheeks burn, and I feel a slight tremble in my hands, but I’m not scared. Fuck, I’m really not.
He bites his bottom lip as he comes to a stop before me.
His eyes flick to my mouth, and then he sighs happily, pulling me into him and slanting his mouth over mine.
I don’t mean to, but I groan into it. This kiss.
This fucking kiss. Why is it so good? Why is it bordering on the best fucking kiss of my life?
He seems to know this because his tongue pushes inside, and I can do nothing but hold on and let him take what he wants. Just like he did with my coin, with my jockstrap. My cum. What will he take from me this time?
I pull away, and he presses his forehead against mine.
“Take it off. All of it.”
“Hell no,” I breathe as his hands ruck up my shirt, his fingers lingering on my skin. It’s blazing, so fucking warm.
“Off.”
“No.”
He still manages to wrangle my shirt off my head, tossing it onto the floor. His eyes take in my broad shoulders and muscular chest.
“You sure are something,” he says lowly. “Fucking rugby.”
I shift on my feet as he drags his hands down my stomach to the waistband of my shorts.
“Off.”
“You know any other words?”
“Please.”
His eyes blink up at me, and I shudder at how hot he is. He’s the embodiment of sex.
Damnit. Maybe I should fly those Pride flags in my window.
“No.” It’s weak, almost a whisper. But he hears it. He knows it. His hands shuck them off easily, leaving me completely bare.
I’m standing in Colton’s bedroom—naked.
He reaches around me, his body nudging mine as he does, and a moment later, he returns with the jersey, his head cocked in amusement as he tugs it over my head. I don’t even resist.
“Mm, knew it would fit you.” His murmur settles somewhere in my groin, making me shift nervously.
I’m not getting on my knees for this guy. I’m not. Fuck that.
Instead, my hands go through the holes in the jersey, and he slips it down, leaving me with my cock erect and pressed out from my body right below his shirt.
“I’m gonna take a pic.”
I shake my head, but he’s already pulling his phone out and snapping one. I flinch as he takes another.
“Turn around, ass out. I wanna see my name.”