Martin planned a new routine for them in his notebook as they headed into their last month of high school.
Mondays were basketball practice, so Martin and Tommy said goodbye to Elizabeth and Rebecca in the hall and headed for the gym. But instead of getting changed in the gym's locker room they detoured to the upstairs bathroom that wasn't used after school and got in ten minutes of kissing practice while they edged each other in the handicapped stall.
Tuesdays were a half-price movie night at the local theatre, so Elizabeth and Rebecca went to see a show while the boys "studied for the SAT." They actually studied twice; once in Martin's bed, and once in the shower with Tommy's hands on the wall. It was messier without condoms, but they agreed that with Prom and the end of the year so close, they couldn't waste opportunities to practice. So Martin just came in Tommy's ass. No pregnancy risk, after all.
Wednesdays were the girls' musical theatre rehearsal, so the boys went straight to Tommy's house and fucked on the couch. Martin was getting better at controlling himself and Tommy rode him for nearly half an hour while they practiced kissing before Martin came inside him and Tommy came on his chest.
Practice makes perfect.
It all seemed to be going great, so when the girls said they wanted to come watch basketball practice on Thursday, Martin fumbled an excuse that having the girls watch would be distracting.
"And the coach won't go for it," Tommy added.
Martin nodded in agreement, "Yeah, he doesn't like spectators during practice."
Rebecca and Elizabeth glanced at each other and must have communicated something in the silence because their faces changed at the same time to pert smiles.
Elizabeth stepped forward and laid her arms around Martin's shoulders and Rebecca did the same to Tommy.
"Well," said Elizabeth, "I guess we'll just have to see you tomorrow. We can hang out all weekend!" She kissed Martin deeply. He tried to use his tongue like Tommy did and it seemed to work out. When she pulled back and stared into his eyes there was a small smile on her lips.
The girls left them and headed out the front doors. Martin watched them go, trying to piece together what they may be talking about from their body language, but Tommy grabbed his arm and said, "Come on, we still have time before practice."
At the upstairs bathroom Tommy had one foot in the door and Martin was already reaching under Tommy's shirt when the unpleasant sounds of someone inside stopped them both in their tracks. They retreated back out to the hall and looked around.
"That sucks," said Tommy, "I was going to let you fuck me."
Martin was surprised, "Isn't that a lot of cleanup to do before practice?"
Tommy smirked and pulled a condom out of his pocket and said, "I got a whole box of these to help with that."
The eager look in Tommy's eyes and the sight of the condom made Martin's blood rush. He enjoyed their quick jerkoff session before practice on Monday, but nothing compared to fucking. Practicing fucking, he reminded himself. It was just practice for Elizabeth.
Martin took the condom and examined it as he said, "It's good you got them. We were going to need these for the girls anyway."
"Yeah, I mean-- yes."
Martin looked up at Tommy. His friend was always sure, always on top of everything, and never hesitated or needed to double back on his words. But there was a glimpse of something in that moment.
"Everything ok?" Martin asked.
Tommy's smile snapped back and he punched Martin in the shoulder. "Yeah, all good. Last one to the gym gets the broken locker!"
Tommy spun away and ran. Martin shook off his thoughts and chased after him.
The coach pushed them hard.
Practice started with a shuttle run where half the team raced across the gym with a bean bag, added it to their team's bucket, and then raced back and tapped-in their partner to do the same thing. Martin and Tommy were a synchronized running machine. As competitive as they were with each other, they were even more competitive with the other boys. Most of them had been in classes together for years and the rivalries ran deep, so when the coach blew his whistle they all circled around for the final count.
"Well, well, well," said the coach. His bald head shined as he walked the line of buckets looking like General Patton in sweatpants, "It's a full two-beanbag lead for the backups." He looked around at the other players and smirked, "Watch your backs boys, the spares are coming for your spots."
Tommy whooped in victory and wrapped his arm around Martin's shoulders. They were both sweating and wearing loose tank tops that let their skin breathe, and Martin had his hair tied back with an elastic. The contact with Tommy's bare arm felt intimate. And public. Martin was smiling for the victory but he caught himself looking around at the other guys for signs that they saw something weird. Luckily, all he saw was jealousy.
After the warmup they split off into games of two on two. Every pair they played against fell to their perfect combos. It was like they were psychic, predicting each other's movements and even making fake calls that tricked their opponents into dodging the wrong way.
"What have you two been doing?" Said the coach when they beat yet another pair.
Martin's heart skipped and he fumbled catching the ball. The coach had an unreadable face as he loomed over.
"You've been practicing, huh?" Coach asked.
"Uh," Martin stumbled, his brain frozen.
Tommy put his arm around Martin's shoulder again and Martin felt his face start to heat up with embarrassment as Tommy said, "Yep, there's a court by my house. We practice all the time."
Martin shut his eyes. Of course he was only talking about basketball.
Coach crossed his thick arms and nodded approvingly, "It's showing. I'll tell you what, I'll put you two in the starting lineup for the exhibition game with Barnsby on Monday. Play well and I'll even put you in for the second half."
He gave them a wink and then walked off to watch other players.
Tommy's arm tightened around Martin's shoulders and he leaned his lips in to whisper, "It's fuckin' working!"
Martin looked at Tommy's grin and shared in the excitement. They had been working hard to earn their places on the team. Most of the other guys had been playing for years, but having a good showing on the senior team was all they needed to look good on university applications. All the practice and planning was paying off and the plan in Martin's notebook had them on track to getting everything they wanted.
The rest of the practice they were floating. Every chance Tommy got to tap Martin's chest or squeeze his arm he took, and Martin's heart fluttered at every touch. He had worked so hard to get a plan that would work for both of them, to set them on the path to their top choice university together. Seeing Tommy excited and happy made Martin feel amazing, and it made them play even better.
When Coach blew the whistle the rest of the guys cut their games short and headed for the changing room, but Martin and Tommy kept practicing layups.