by Chase Connor
“Thank God.” I laughed with him.
Mr. Freeslay started his daily, completely oblivious lecture at the dry-erase board and class got down to business. Several times, I’d glance over at Alex and he was staring at me. I’d flip him off, called him a “weirdo” or whatever, then we’d both laugh and go back to watching Mr. Freeslay “teach”. After what seemed like several days’ worth of classes, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school week. I gave a deep sigh and immediately started gathering up my things.
“Wanna walk to the parking lot with me before practice?” I suggested as Alex got up.
“We don’t have practice today.” Alex replied, stuffing things into his bag. “Coach Brenneman had some family thing that couldn’t be rescheduled.”
“Funeral?”
Alex shrugged with a crooked smile.
“I gotta go find Logan, though, man.” Alex replied.
“Oh, yeah.” I chuckled at my own ignorance—of course Logan and Alex were going to find each other after school on Friday. “All right, man. Text me later, right?”
Alex gave me an awkward smile and disappeared. I just shrugged, slung my bag over my shoulder, and made my way to the parking lot. Once I got home from school, I was absolutely zapped. After not having slept well all night long, dealing with the ordeal that a school day is, I was done. I dropped my bag at the door and stumbled over to the couch. I fell into the overstuffed piece of furniture and sighed. Jumper showed up out of nowhere and jumped onto my belly. I managed to scratch his ears for a few seconds before I drifted off to sleep.
It was getting dark outside when I heard the knock at the door. For a few moments, I couldn’t remember where I was, why the room was dark, and what exactly the knocking noise was. Finally, I remembered that I’d passed out on the couch, the sun was going down, so the room was dark, and the knocking was coming from the front door. I sat up on the sofa, causing Jumper to leap away and dash off towards my room upstairs.
I flipped the light by the couch on, and with only one eye open, I began scratching my head as I stumbled towards the door. I did my best to make sure my hair wasn’t sticking up in every direction, but without a mirror, it was anyone’s guess, really. Finally, I unlocked the door and swung it wide, wondering if dad had forgotten his keys. Of course, if he was home already, the date had not gone well.
“Hey.” I smiled when I saw Alex standing at the front door. “What are you doing here?”
I reached up to rub my half-asleep eye with the back of my hand.
“I…have a date.” Alex laughed nervously.
It took me a minute, but it finally dawned on me.
“Oh. Yeah.” I laughed. “Of course. You and Logan. You need some advice from your best friend in the whole world before he picks you up?”
I gestured for Alex to enter. He chuckled nervously and walked inside as I shut the door behind him. I stumbled around him and plopped back down on the sofa, kicking my legs out along the length of the couch.
“Sorry.” I yawned. “I fell out when I got home. I’m still trying to wake up. So…spill it.”
“Spill it?” Alex asked.
“What do you need?” I yawned again, finally starting to wake up. “If it’s sex tips, you’re better off asking my dad. He’s become way too comfortable with the term butt sex.”
I laughed, Alex nervously giggled.
Alex sat down at the other end of the couch, looking nervous, rubbing the palms of his hands against the front of his dark jeans. Apparently, Alex didn’t need a dad to give him “first date attire” tips. He had dressed casually and comfortably, but impeccably. His unruly hair was actually fixed, too. I couldn’t help but be jealous that he knew how to do that all on his own. I stared at Alex as he looked down at his lap, sitting rigidly near my feet.
“For God’s sake, spit it out, homo.” I teased him. “I have better things to do than sit here and stare at your ugly mug.”
Alex laughed.
“So, I need to ask a guy out, obviously.” Alex began. “And I need to be smooth about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh. My. God. It’s Friday night and you haven’t even asked him out? You’re hopeless, man.”
Alex looked back down at his lap and laughed.
“You’re you, man.” I waved a hand at him. “You’re a hot, smart, funny, nice guy. If he’s not a complete moron, he’ll say ‘yes’, no matter how you ask. You don’t have to worry. But you better hurry and ask before he finds another date for the night.”
I laughed. Alex didn’t.
“Right.” Alex nodded down at his lap. “So…Coop…Cooper? Would you like to…go out?”
“That’ll work.” I nodded. “You don’t have to get all fancy and whatnot. Straight forward. To the point.”
Alex gave me a look that implied I was incredibly dumb. I just frowned and stared back at him. For several seconds, I wondered why Alex wasn’t on the phone, calling Logan, or rushing out of the house to go ask him out. Suddenly, I realized that Alex hadn’t been testing out what he’d say to Logan.
“Wait.” I shook my head. “Are you…did you just?”
“Logan told me you and he went out.” Alex smiled and reached up to scratch his head. “I was kind of pissed for a minute.”
I swallowed hard, wondering what the fuck was going on.
“He said that you decided that he should date me because you weren’t interested in him in that way.” Alex snorted. “Which I find hard to believe. I mean, he’s so much better looking than…well, Logan said that you told him he should date me because I was interested in him. That maybe the two of us would hit it off better. And you wanted me to be happy.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, averting my eyes.
“Then he said ‘I’m not just a dumb surfer dude, Alex.’ And he told me he knew what was going on.” Alex chuckled lowly.
“And what was that?” I looked up at him.
“He said you and I were idiots. That obviously we were supposed to be together.” Alex finally looked at me. “He said you didn’t want him, you wanted…me. But if you couldn’t have me, you wanted me to be happy. And he said that I didn’t really want him, that I wanted…”
“Yeah?” I asked when he stopped.
“Logan said that every time we were all together, and he’d look at you, you were looking at me. And every time he looked at me, I was looking at you.”
“Oh.”
“He said it was obvious that we were fucking morons for not having…well, not having coupled up yet.” Alex grinned widely down at his lap again.
I let that hang between us for a few moments before speaking.
“And what do you think?” I asked gently.
“I think Logan doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Alex chuckled, still looking down.
I started to speak, but he interrupted.
“I figured it out long ago.” Suddenly, Alex was staring into my eyes. “The first time that I saw you, I knew that I loved you, Cooper.”
I wasn’t sure I was breathing. If I wasn’t holding my breath, then something was pressing down on my chest.
“At first, I didn’t say anything, because, well, I didn’t know you were also gay.” He chuckled. “But when I found out you were gay…there was no extinguishing that love, Cooper. I knew you’d be the man that I’d marry one day. You were my everything from the moment I saw you. You’re the first thing I think of when I wake up and you are the last thing I think of before I go to sleep. But, over the last four years, you’ve never showed any interest. I thought I’d wither away and die, Cooper. I didn’t know what to do, since it was obvious that you weren’t interested in me. So, I tried really hard to convince myself that I needed to give up the ghost—not be…not be in love.”
“How’d that work out?” I asked gently.
“Ever see one of those skyscrapers being demolished?” He asked. “Falling in on itself? Imploding? Like that but worse.”
We both laughed lowly.
�
�And then Logan showed up.” Alex continued. “And I had hoped that maybe I could find at least a fraction of the happiness I thought I could have with you. But then…Logan saw something I never did. Something you’ve never said. He thought that maybe you loved me, too.”
I stared into his eyes.
“So,” Alex took a deep breath, “I’m here, taking a chance. Asking out the guy that I’ve been in love with for four years and was too chickenshit to ask out. Do you want to go out with me, Cooper?”
Swinging my hips, I sat up on the couch, no longer laying out like a slob. Alex cringed at the movement, obviously thinking that I was about to make a dash for it. To get away as quickly as possible.
“I need to know something.”
“Anything, Cooper.” Alex’s eyes were pleading.
“Come here.” I reached out and placed a hand on the back of his neck.
Alex moved towards me as I gently pulled at him. As we moved together, we both closed our eyes, and then our lips touched. And I gave my first kiss. Alex and I kissed deeply and passionately, as if discovering what gave everything meaning. Finally, after what wasn’t long enough, we pulled apart.
“Wow.” I gave a shaky laugh.
“That was…” Alex was thoughtful for a second, then grinned, “fireworks.”
I gave a contented laugh.
“Say it again.” I gave the back of his neck a squeeze.
“That was fire…”
My mouth against his kept him from finishing the thought. Alex’s arms came up, wrapping around me, touching me, exploring me as we kissed more deeply and passionately than before. We kissed until the sun was completely set and the only light was coming from the lamp before we parted again.
“Fucking wow.” I panted.
“Why’d you stop?” Alex teased, trying to grab ahold of me again.
“Because I still need to tell you my answer.”
Alex gave me a deadpan look.
“So,” I asked, “where are you taking me for our first date?”
“Depends.” Alex taunted. “How long have you known you loved me?”
I confessed. “Not as long. I’m a fucking idiot in love, Alex.”
“The one thing you don’t excel at!” Alex slapped a hand over his mouth in faux-shock.
I laughed. “I probably knew as long as you…but I didn’t want to admit it until it was all too obvious. Which, honestly, was just a few moments ago. I guess, I was like you. I didn’t think you thought about me that way, so I just…locked it away before it had a chance to bloom.”
“Well,” Alex shrugged, “that door’s been kicked in.”
“You could say that.” I agreed with a smile.
Alex stood, reaching a hand down to help me up.
“You’re not really dressed for dinner and a movie.” Alex chastised my slovenly appearance, mostly acquired from napping on the couch. “You’ll need to fix that.”
I looked at him for a moment, making a decision quickly.
“We’ve known each other for four years. Seen each other almost every day of those four years.” I stated.
“Right.” Alex nodded with a smile.
“Do you think that maybe,” I actually blushed, “instead of a date, maybe we could see how many fireworks we can make?”
Alex looked confused for a minute, then a huge grin bloomed on his face.
“Hell yeah, I do.” Alex started towards me. “Wait, where’s your dad?”
“He’s on a date.” I waved that thought off quickly.
Alex waggled his eyebrows at me. “Then, let’s make a display, Cooper.”
A few hours later, I woke up in bed, naked, wrapped up in Alex’s arms and legs, the covers pulled up to our waists. Alex’s face was pushed into my neck, soft gusts of his breath blowing against my skin. It should have tickled, but it felt like comfort. It felt like security. Like home. The moon was shining through the blinds, casting a pool of blue on the desk where Jumper was sat, looking at us, judging us. I just laughed gently, trying not to wake Alex up.
Slowly, I ran my hands over Alex’s bare back, feeling his bare skin for the first time ever, feeling how familiar it already was to my hands. I buried my nose in his soft hair and breathed deeply, smelling the scent that was already familiar to me. I kissed his forehead gently, his skin feeling familiar against my lips. Slowly, Alex’s eyes fluttered open. Suddenly, he was smiling at me, and then his lips were against mine again.
“That was ‘wow’, too.” I whispered gently against his lips.
“I don’t think that ‘wow’ does it justice.” Alex replied, giving me another quick kiss.
“We’ll invent a new word.” I chuckled.
“What will your dad think?” Alex cringed slightly.
“He’ll deal with it.” I ran my fingers through his hair as he planted a gentle kiss on my chest. “What will your parents think?”
Alex chuckled. “I came out to my dad today. When I was in his office.”
My breath caught in my throat. “And?”
“He said that he already knew. Mom had figured it out. Told him.” Alex encapsulated. “They were waiting on me to tell them.”
“Parents are assholes.” I laughed.
“He said they still loved me.” Alex sighed. “But they’d prefer if we kept the basement door open when you sleep over from now on.”
“Wait, what?” I asked quickly.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “They knew it was only you for me. They said they’d known it for a while…but until I came out, they figured that you and I weren’t doing anything. But then I came out. And dad guessed correctly that it was because I was about to make the best decision of my life or a fool of myself by professing my love for you.”
“They’re still assholes.” I chuckled.
“Well, they were still right.” Alex replied. “I do love you, Cooper.”
I looked down into his eyes, illuminated in blue by the moonlight.
“I love you, too, Alex.” I replied.
Then we were kissing again, our limbs tangled, the covers tangled around us, our bodies turning into one again. Alex and I started exploring each other’s bodies again, expressing four years of unrequited—or so we thought—love. If dad didn’t come home and interrupt the whole thing, we’d probably still be at it when morning came. Bad choice of words, I know.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t like me. Sleeping with Alex before we even had our first date. But, when you think about it, we’d had hundreds of dates before this night. We just hadn’t known that we were having them until now. Besides, staying true to myself isn’t always the most fun thing in the world. Sometimes you have to try something different. Or maybe, just maybe, I hadn’t had the right person to be myself with until now.
Don’t overthink it, dingus.
This is Chase Connor’s first YA LGBTQ romance novella that has been published. His other works include five short erotic stories, Used by Officer Ryan – A Gay Hookup Story, Used by Officer Ryan 2 – A Gay Hookup Story, Slave to a Barely Legal Bully – The Gay Bully Trials Pt. 1, Slave to a Barely Legal Bully – The Gay Bully Trials Pt. 2, and Caught by the Boss: A Gay Glory Hole Saga, and are available for purchase in ebook format and can also be read on Kindle Unlimited. Chase currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his dog and partner and spends his free time writing erotica when he’s not watching videos of raccoons attempting to wash Cotton Candy on YouTube.
Chase can be reached at [email protected]
Click a picture or one of the links above to buy Chase’s other erotica on Amazon or read it for FREE on Kindle Unlimited:
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