I think I have a boyfriend.
Holy shit.
A week ago I was fully convinced that I had a snowflake's chance in hell of having any sexual (let alone romantic) encounters until college. Until AT LEAST college.
Over the years, I had learned that relationships were for other people. I was the only gay kid in school as far as I knew.
And even then, I only had about 1 leg out of the closet.
My mom reminded me as often as she could that straight boys were not to be messed with. That expressing interest in the wrong person was the surest way to get beaten to a pulp.
So I basically took that as, if a guy didn't have a flashing neon rainbow sign hanging above him, then he was off limits.
Celibacy wasn't all bad. Based on the hookup horror stories from my friends, I may have even been better off.
Then Wesley Houston moved back to town and turned my whole world upside down.
One look at him while back-to-school shopping with my mom and my entire life changed.
I could spend all day describing his looks—tall, dark, and handsome doesn't even begin to cover it. He's a football player, offensive line. His shoulders are broad, his body is ripped, his thighs are like sculpted tree trunks. And his cock... don't get me started...
His deep brown eyes electrify me when they sparkle with mischief—even more when they harden with lust.
But the more time I spend with Wes, I realize I can't get enough of the little moments. Like when he's lost in thought. When he's concentrating on something but doesn't think I'm looking. When his eyebrows scrunch together and a small line forms in the middle of his forehead and he sticks his tongue between his teeth.
Or when he's holding my hand. Or when I look up at him at the end of a soft kiss.
He's my strong, dominant, somewhat kinky alpha male. But he's not just a hot piece of ass—he's also my friend.
And he's frustratingly, maddeningly, stubborn as all hell.
Like I said, I'd kinda gotten used to living my life mostly alone. Then he swoops in and fucks up all my plans.
Like our first day at school after we'd had "the talk" about our relationship.
I had my routine. I'd get to school, met up with the guys next to the front steps, and we'd shoot the shit until the first bell rang.
Apparently this wasn't what Wes had in mind.
He waltzed over to our group that morning and grabbed my hand. He sent a charming smile to my friends Jared, Kevin, and Steve before pulling my arm nearly out of the socket to drag me over to HIS group. Though we'd attended the same school for years, I'd never talked to most of the football players, cheerleaders, and other groupies that Wes normally hung out with. I wouldn't even know what to say to them.
I glared at him as I realized where we were heading. Wes either didn't notice or pretended not to notice.
"Hey everybody! This is Ian. Ian, this is everybody." Wes shouted to the large group cheerfully.
I saw a lot of confused expressions from the others. Their faces looked even more alarmed when Wes moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Uh. Hey," a few kids grunted at me. Most of them didn't seem to care, but I saw a few looks of disgust scattered through the group.
Panic rose in my chest. My head felt dizzy and my legs felt like jelly.
The other kids resumed their conversations, but I couldn't get the judgmental stares out of my head. Even if they had known I'm gay, they didn't know that Wes and I were together. I imagined them all holding pitchforks, coming after me for "turning" their golden stud.
It was so fucking awkward and uncomfortable. The seconds ticked on and it became even more obvious that they were deliberately ignoring Wes and I. Especially considering his grand announcement of our presence.
I couldn't handle this. I wasn't ready for this.
Maybe if I'd had time to prepare. Maybe if he gave me a fucking clue that he was gonna pull something like this.
I turned to Wes, pushing his arms off of me. A fire was burning in my belly.
And for the first time, this fire he caused was not driven by lust.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" I whisper-shouted at him.
He looked amused. That made me even more pissed off. "Excuse me," I mumbled to no one in particular as I shoved past Wes towards the school. I shoulder-checked him as forcefully as I could.
He probably didn't even notice. The big oaf.
He did follow me though, "Ian. Ian, come on." I ignored him and continued walking. "Ian, STOP!" His loud voice boomed through the school yard, echoing off the walls.
I turned on my heels, face reddening with anger. I pointed a finger into his chest, "Look, I don't know who THE FUCK you think you are, but I'm not playing your games right now. I've got class." I turned back toward school and didn't dare look back.
I ignored the series of text notifications that buzzed on my phone during my first few morning classes. Fuck him. He doesn't get to just pull shit like that without discussing it with me first.
And what? I'm just supposed to forgive him over an "I'm sorry" text?
Did he think he could just win me over that easily?
Okay, okay. Deep down, I knew he COULD win me over just that easily. And if I was really honest with myself, that's why I wasn't checking my phone. I knew the second I saw his messages, I'd fall right back into his arms.
I had to show him I'm not a pushover. I'd happily let him overpower me in the bedroom, but I still control my own life, he had to know that.
I took a deep breath before entering AP Biology, my only class together with Wes. He was sitting in the seat next to mine, a change from his normal spot in the back row. I contemplated moving to a new spot just to keep punishing him.
I looked at his face, brown eyes soft and full of concern. I knew dragging this out longer would punish me just as much as it punished him. I sighed and took my seat next to him.
"Hey," he said gently.
"Um. Hey," I muttered. I shuffled my textbook and notebook around, buying myself some time to think of something to say.
"So..." Wes didn't wait for me to get my thoughts together before continuing, "Too much too fast?"
I bit the inside of my cheek. I glanced up at him then looked back to my desk. "It's... It's complicated, ok?"
He nodded, his messy dark hair shaking at the movement. "I get that. Look, I'm sorry. I thought you were, you know..." he looked subtly over each shoulder, checking for eavesdroppers, before lowering his voice, "Out."
I pressed my lips together, still staring at my desk to avoid his intense gaze.
Mrs. Smith started class.
I spent about 10% of class listening to the lecture. I brainstormed ways to explain myself to Wes for the other 90%. I tried to think of how to explain it to him. How to distill my thoughts and feelings formed after 18 years of existence into a few words. I really wanted him to understand.
When lunch time came, I asked Wes if he would join me on a bench off to the side away from any prying eyes and ears.
Well, that didn't work out so well. We definitely had a fair amount of onlookers. After all, Wes and I hanging out together, let alone dating, was still very hot gossip that day. And probably would continue to be big news for the rest of the week.
Remind me never to become a celebrity. I have no clue how people deal with actual paparazzi. Stares from a few handfuls of teenagers were enough to make consider faking sick for the rest of the day.
Wes began eating his lunch quietly, clearly waiting for me to say whatever it was that I needed to say.
My mouth went dry.
"I... So... Look..." Fuck. This was not off to a good start.
He just watched me attentively. No sign of judgment or rush.
Dammit, it'd be a lot easier to be mad at him if he wasn't so great.
I took a deep breath and started again, "I've never done this before. I'm not used to people making decisions for me." Ok, so far so good. That sounded reasonably intelligent. Keep it up, Ian. "And, like, this morning I felt like you made a pretty big decision for me."
He opened his lips.
I pressed on quickly before he could start, "I'm not ashamed of us or anything. And I am out, kind of. I don't know.... It hasn't really come up too much, if that makes sense?" Wes nodded. "I just... I don't know, I wasn't prepared for all that."
I glanced around at the faces whispering and staring at us.
"Fuck 'em," Wes said simply.
I looked back at him confused. "Yeah, that's pretty easy for you—"
"And for you to say, too, Ian." He looked positively convinced. He gestured around at the crowd with his thick arm speckled with dark hair. "All these people here, how many of them do you think you'll remember in 5 years?"
I rolled my eyes at him.
He stared blankly at me and continued waiting for my response, his hand still extended towards the crowd of our peers.
I blinked, considering his question. If I was honest.... "Maybe a few? I guess.... Just my friends probably."
"Exactly!" Wes exclaimed confidently. "If they don't like me, or the shit that I do? Fuck 'em." He brushed the dark blond hair off of my forehead. "I don't give a shit if they even remember me. But I want you to remember me." The breath left my chest. I was stunned into stillness by his words. "I think I fucked up this morning. I'm sorry, Ian. I am. I'm sorry I put you in a position that made you uncomfortable. But I'm not sorry for being who I am, and for wanting to show people what you mean to me." I lifted my blue eyes to meet his. "I'm never gonna be sorry for that."
Fuck 'em.
I kissed him.
I kissed him right there in front of everyone who was watching. He was right. He was absolutely right.
Fuck 'em.
Life's too short.
I kissed him, hopefully passing along all the words I couldn't say through the movement of my lips and tongue. Wes happily offered me replies of his own.