by J. Tomas
The algebra teacher—Jordan would have her in fifth period. His hands itched to brush the bangs back from Casey’s face, but he kept his fingers curled into fists at his sides to keep them in check. Not here, he reminded himself. “What happened?”
Casey’s grin widened. “Someone stuck gum up under the glass on her overhead projector. Watermelon flavored—you know how she hates that.”
Jordan nodded—he knew all too well. The first day of school, Mrs. Neidermain told every class of her aversion to watermelon flavored anything, and banned it from her classes. She’d warned she would send anyone who tested her on it straight to the principal’s office, do not pass GO, do not collect $200. From what older students said about her, Jordan believed it.
“What happened?” he asked. Dimly he was aware of how empty the hallway was growing around them—another half a minute and he’d be late for class. Casey would get stuck at the back of the lunch line, but he wouldn’t be counted tardy. Jordan, on the other hand, frequently slid into the door just as the final bell rang, and his biology teacher always glared at him about it. He should really get going.
But he wanted to hear the rest of Casey’s story. This was the first chance he’d gotten all day to stand so close to his boyfriend, and hidden by the lockers, he could dare to reach out and stroke a forefinger down Casey’s arm. The skin felt downy and soft beneath his touch, and before he pulled away, Casey grabbed his finger and gave it a quick squeeze.
“She didn’t notice at first,” Casey explained. “But the longer she used the projector, the hotter the light bulb got inside, and soon she started sniffing. I could smell it, and I sit in the back! So she’s sniffing and sniffing—” He started to snicker, remembering what had happened last period. “She looked like a hound dog or something! Sniffing the kids in the front row, trying to find out where the smell was coming from. Finally she figured it out and Jordan, I swear, she just flipped.”
Jordan took a step closer to Casey, their hips bumping together. They were completely alone now. He was going to be cutting really close. “What’d she do?”
Casey laughed and clasped Jordan’s hand in his. “She put the projector outside! It’s still sitting in the hallway right outside her door! Then she reamed us out about it but no one would fess up. We got triple homework because of it, but God! It was classic.”
“Who did it?” Jordan asked.
Casey shrugged. “No one came clean—”
The lunch bell interrupted him. Shit, Jordan cursed silently. He wasn’t cutting it close now—he was late.
Without thinking, he tightened his hand in Casey’s and tugged his boyfriend to him. “Duggan’s going to kill me,” he murmured, pressing his lips to Casey’s. “I got to go.”
The moment Casey’s mouth touched his, an electric charge ran through him. Wait, not here, he reminded himself, even as his body gave into the kiss. We’re in school. We can’t do this here. We can’t…
Too late.
Casey’s lips parted slightly and his tongue licked into Jordan. There was a faint taste of sweet bubble gum on his breath, and another thrill tingled Jordan’s groin. It wasn’t watermelon flavor, but it was gum, which they weren’t allowed to chew in class anyway. But if Casey had some, Jordan knew he’d share.
They broke apart, breathless. Before Jordan could ask for a piece, though, he heard a throat clear and looked up to find Mr. Harris, the government teacher and JV football coach, coming out of the boys’ bathroom across the hall. The look on his face told Jordan getting caught with gum or returning to fourth period after the bell rang was the least of his worries now.
* * * *
Jordan follows his father to the front doors of the school. He doesn’t know what to say exactly and, to be honest, he doesn’t want to be the first to speak. Maybe if he doesn’t, he can pretend this whole thing never happened. He can pretend his secret is still safe, and his father doesn’t know he’s gay, and everything is the way it’s always been.
But his father places a hand on the metal bar to open the door and stops. Leaning against the door, he gives Jordan an appraising look his son can’t quite read. After a long moment, he asks simply, “Do you love him?”
Jordan doesn’t need to ask who he’s talking about—he means Casey. The answer is simple and, no matter how much he dreads saying it out loud, Jordan can’t hold it back. “Yes.”
“Are you two…” His father waves his hand in an abstract manner.
Jordan rolls his eyes. “We’re not having sex, Dad, if that’s what you’re asking.”
His father lets out a sigh of relief.
“We’ve always been friends,” Jordan tries to explain. “You know that. And one day, I don’t know, I woke up and just knew he was the one. Lucky for me, he feels the same.”
“Other kids aren’t going to like it,” his father cautions.
Jordan glares at the floor. “They don’t have to. It’s none of their business anyway.”
His father places a hand on Jordan’s shoulder. It’s heavy and warm, and weighs him down. “Bringing it to school makes it their business. You shouldn’t—”
“I know,” Jordan interrupts. “Believe me, I do. We haven’t ever…I mean, never—we’ve never done this before. I don’t even know why we did it today. We’re always so careful.”
The hand on his shoulder gives him a comforting squeeze. “Well, be extra careful, you hear me? I don’t want anyone picking a fight with you because you and Casey are…”
He trails off, unable or unwilling to put a name on his son’s relationship. “I know,” Jordan whispers.
“Hey.” His father shakes Jordan’s shoulder to get his attention, and waits until Jordan looks up. “Listen. You get home what, three hours before your mother and me? Why don’t you invite Casey back to the house after school? That should give you boys a little privacy and hopefully you won’t slip up like this again.”
Jordan’s heart soars a moment, then plummets to his feet. “We can’t,” he says. “Mrs. Sothern says we can only hang out at her house as long as she’s home. But she works most of the time, so I can’t come over except on Mondays.” Ever since she caught them kissing, Casey’s mother doesn’t trust Jordan and Casey alone together. She makes them sit in the living room where she can keep an eye on them. He feels like a little kid around her all over again.
His father grins. “Let me handle Mrs. Sothern. She was fifteen once, too, you know. And the way I remember it, she did a few things I’m sure her parents wouldn’t have liked one bit.”
Jordan smiles at the thought. Then he sobers up again. “What about Mom?”
“What about her?” His father claps Jordan on the back. “She likes Casey. She won’t mind him coming around more often.”
“No, I mean…” Jordan shrugs. “What are you going to tell her about us?”
With a single step, his father slides an arm around Jordan’s shoulders and gives him a one-armed hug. “We’ll keep this between us for now.”
Emotion lumps in Jordan’s throat, clogging it, and for a moment he’s afraid he’s going to cry. He wipes at his eyes, pleased when the back of his hand comes away dry. With a fierce hug, he says, “Thanks, Dad. For…well, for everything. You didn’t have to stand up for me back there.”
“You’re my son,” Mr. Matthews explains. “I’m always going to stand up for you. No matter what. Now I think you should probably head on down to the detention hall, and I have a few phone calls to make. I know someone at the news station who’d just love to cover this.”
Sudden fear grips Jordan. “Dad—”
“Don’t worry,” his father assures him. “I’m not going to let them mention any names. But if your principal thinks he’s getting away with this bullshit, he has another think coming. Just to be on the safe side, though, bring Casey back to the house before you guys decide to lock lips again, eh?”
Jordan beams at his father. “Sure thing.”
“And no sex,” his father warns. “If I’m go
ing to convince Mrs. Sothern to give you two some privacy, you have to promise me—”
“We won’t,” Jordan says with a quick nod.
Thinking of his boyfriend, though, he amends silently, Not yet.
THE END
ABOUT J. TOMAS
J. Tomas is an author of gay YA romance who lives in Richmond, Virginia, with two very spoiled cats. She publishes adult gay fiction under a pseudonym. Her first novel, Without Sin, is now available in print and e-book formats. More information can be found online at j-tomas.net.
ABOUT QUEERTEEN PRESS
Queerteen Press is the young adult imprint of JMS Books LLC, a small press specializing in queer fiction, non-fiction, and poetry owned and operated by author J.M. Snyder. Visit us at queerteen-press.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!