by Haley Walsh
Rick smiled and held up his open palm. Amber meekly slapped it with her own. “All right, Amber!”
She rolled her eyes. “So okay. I guess I’m riding with you guys.”
“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Fontana, insinuating himself between them. “We could use some help with the heavier items.”
It didn’t take long to pack up and before they all knew it, they were heading home. Mr. Foxe was surprised to be getting Amber, but when he noticed Drew and Heather holding hands, he smiled. “Oh. This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.” He chuckled but then looked seriously at Rick and Alex. “Uh…don’t tell her I said that.”
“I don’t even know what you said,” said Alex.
Mr. Foxe shrugged and gestured toward his Bug.
As expected, Amber in the front seat gushed about the day, and Rick sent a mental apology to his teacher in the driver’s seat. But she soon wore out and sat back, listening to the Motown music coming from the speakers. Alex snuggled in next to Rick who sighed. Damn, but he loved that boy! The music was loud enough that he could talk softly to Alex, especially when Amber engaged Mr. Foxe in conversation again.
“So all this talk about the White Party got me thinking. About…you know,” he said to Alex. “Sex?”
Alex stiffened. He pulled away from Rick but Rick grabbed his arm and gently pulled him back. “Homey, I know you don’t like to think of doing anything…gay. But Jesus Christ, I thought having a boyfriend meant I wasn’t going to do time with my own right hand.”
Alex tried to yank away again, but Rick held him firm. It took a lot of strength.
“I don’t want to talk about it here,” he hissed.
Fortunately, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers belted “Little Bitty Pretty One” from the speakers, masking their own conversation.
“But Alex, when are we going to talk about it? After the White Party, I thought…” With a deep sigh he sat back, glancing out the window.
There was a long pause before Alex sidled closer. “It’s just that…”
“It’s just that it’s so gay,” Rick whispered. “Well, mi pequeño, you are gay. You are so gay. You kiss a gay guy, and jerk off a gay guy, and let him suck you off. That makes you as gay as they come.”
Alex blinked hard, not looking at him but at the floor of the car. It had been extraordinarily clean but even in the darkness Rick could see the sand in the floor mats that they had tracked in.
“Don’t you…don’t you want me, Alex?” he said softly.
Those eyes darted quickly to his. “Yes,” he said huskily. “A lot.”
“Then…”
“Tonight.” He was looking at Rick steadily though the rest of him was trembling. “Can you get your cousin to drop you off at my house?”
Rick was momentarily struck speechless. He glanced at Amber chatting merrily away in the front seat, at the back of the very blond head of Mr. Foxe. They hadn’t heard a word. Then he looked at Alex, looking back at him with an anxious expression. Rick nodded. And Alex gave a little smile and slowly, gently, entwined his fingers with Rick’s.
§ § §
It was a long hour and a half. One at a time the cars pulled up in front of the high school. Amber’s mother was already waiting in her car at the curb, so Amber got out. She leaned back into the Bug and smiled at their teacher. “Thanks for everything, Mr. Foxe. It was a really exceptional day.”
“You’re very welcome, Amber. Thanks for being an ally.” She blushed, preened a bit, and then glanced disgustingly over her shoulder as her mother honked the horn impatiently. “I guess I’d better get Heather. See you in August, Mr. Foxe. We’re all going to take your composition class!”
Mr. Foxe looked taken aback, but he turned to Rick and Alex in the back seat. “Is that true?”
“Yeah, Mr. Foxe,” said Rick, adjusting his trousers. He’d been hard the whole ride back ever since Alex said what he’d said, and he did his best to hide the fact in the dark. “We all agreed. Even the Big Guy.”
“Really?” said Mr. Foxe.
“Yeah,” said Alex vaguely. “For my police stuff.”
“Oh, right! Well, I’ll be looking forward to the whole gang then.”
When Rick felt he could, he opened the door and got out. The cold air helped.
“Thanks for taking us, Mr. Foxe,” said Alex as he scooted out his own door. “We had a really good time.”
“My pleasure, gentlemen.”
Rick stood on the sidewalk in front of the school with Alex and was met by Drew and Heather. They were still holding hands. He gave a fist bump to Drew. “Aight! Munson and O’Connor.”
“Zip it, Flores,” said Heather, looking around nervously.
Amber tapped her friend’s shoulder. “My mom is here.”
“That’s my ride,” said Heather to Drew.
Drew smiled, took her face in his hands and gently kissed her. “I’ll text you.”
“You’d better,” she said.
Rick felt she meant it.
She waved to Drew and he waved back as he watched her get into Mrs. Watson’s car, head bent toward Amber and talking quietly together. He kept watching until the car finally drove away. He grinned at Rick and punched him in the arm. “Thanks, dude.”
“Sometimes cupid just needs a little push.”
“I didn’t know cupid was a six foot tall Mexican.”
“He comes in many shapes and sizes, my friend.”
Drew glanced up toward the street. “That’s my dad. Gotta go. See you guys.” He waved to the rest of the GSA and ran over to the car that was pulling up.
One by one, the others’ parents arrived and everyone hugged, waved, and called to the rest of the group as they got in their cars to go home. Ms. Hornbeck seemed surprised to be getting hugs, and Mr. Fontana took it like a champ.
Rick spotted his cousin’s car coming down the street as it signaled toward the curb. He tapped Alex and trotted over just as the car came to a stop. “Can Alex get a ride?” he said to his cousin through the window.
His cousin Luis was twenty-one and had an Anglo girlfriend. This didn’t make him any more popular with the family than Rick’s orientation, though Luis got a lot less grief for it. “Yeah, come on in. Hey, Alex.”
“Hey, Luis. Thanks.”
“No problem. Did you have a gay old time?”
“Ha, ha,” said Rick. “Just drive, gilipollas.”
“It was nice,” said Alex when they’d pulled away from the curb. “Lots to eat and volleyball and stuff.”
“And we converted a bully,” put in Rick.
Luis whipped his head toward his cousin in the passenger seat. “You made him gay?”
“No, idiot. We just taught him being gay wasn’t a curse. And he was a nicer guy when he left.”
Luis shrugged. “Okay. So where do you live, Alex?”
Alex gave him directions and when they finally pulled up in front of his dark house, Rick turned to his cousin. “Hey Luis. I’m gonna go in and hang with Alex for a while.”
“Your mama’s not going to like that.”
“If you tell her.”
“Man!” He looked heavenward. “You’re putting me in a bad position.”
“Can’t you give me a break? It’s not like Alex can come to my house.”
Luis ran his hand up through his hair and blew out a breath. “How you gonna get home?”
“I’ll walk.”
“In this neighborhood? Vato, you call me and I’ll pick you up.”
“Yeah? Estás bien!”
“Don’t be too late!”
“I won’t. Thanks, bro.” They did a gangsta handshake and Rick slid out of the car. Alex came out of the back and slammed the car door.
“Thanks, Luis.”
He gave Alex a chin raise as the boy headed for his house. Luis gestured for Rick to come to the passenger window. “Damn, boy. You’d never suspect him for a minute.”
Rick spread his h
ands. “What about me?”
“Dude, I always knew something was wrong with you.”
“Fuck you!” he called good-naturedly when Luis screeched away from the curb.
By then, Alex had gotten his front door open and was waiting in the doorway, silhouetted by the lights in the house.
Rick ran up the walk, up the porch stairs, and stood in the doorway with his boyfriend. “Your parents aren’t home?”
“No, I told you. They’re bartenders. Saturdays are busy.”
“So…it’s just us?”
“Like always.” He closed the door once Rick got inside. “Let’s go to my room.” He paused. “Uh…unless you want a Coke or something.”
“No. I’m good.”
Alex turned and led the way—as if Rick didn’t know the way by now.
The house smelled of cigarettes and the carpet in the living room was stained and worn down in the path to the hall. There were a few pictures hanging in the hallway, mostly of Alex as a little kid. It was as if they stopped taking pictures of him at a certain age and he was frozen in time as a ten-year-old.
Alex pushed open the door to his room. The bed was messy as usual. The floor was littered with dirty clothes and it smelled a bit ripe from the old socks and the fact that the window hadn’t been open all day. His desk was piled with dirty dishes, old soda cups with their plastic lids and chewed straws. Curled crusts from a long forgotten pizza sat on a paper plate. Long peels from an orange were turning green.
“Dude, do you ever clean up this place?”
“What are you, my mother?”
“No, it’s just that…” He waved his hand in front of his nose. “Kind of reeks.”
“Do you want me to clean up or do you want to…?” Alex bit his lip.
Rick mentally slapped himself. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, he looked at Alex, really looked at him. The boy was extra nervous. Hell, so was he. But he walked forward and laid his arms over Alex’s shoulders. “I’m here for you, Alex.” He leaned in and kissed him. The boy’s lips were soft and always eager. Alex pressed hard to Rick’s mouth each time they kissed, as if afraid Rick would slip away. Even his hands grasped his hips and his fingers dug in, pulling him close. But then he opened his mouth, tonguing inside, moving his head as if eating the most delicious meal.
Rick drew back first, panting. “Homey, slow down. We don’t have to rush.”
“I’m not. I just…like kissing you.” He laced his fingers behind Rick’s back and kept him close, groin to groin. They were both hard.
Rick loved the way it felt. His dick against Alex’s. He couldn’t help but rub against him from side to side. “Are you sure you want to…you know…do it tonight?”
Alex’s mouth hung open as he breathed. His eyes were glazed and his pupils were blown. “Yeah. I…I want you to.”
“So…” Rick swallowed. His biggest fear was failure. And it took his erection down a little. “What if you don’t like it? What if it hurts too much?”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.”
And then Rick froze. “Shit, homey. We don’t have lube or condoms.”
“Yeah, I do.” He finally released Rick and went to his nightstand. He pulled the drawer, fished out a ribbon of condoms, and held up a fat tube of lubrication. “I didn’t know what kinds to get, so I just got the cheapest.”
Rick walked over and grabbed the condoms, looking at the colorful wrappers. “You know, technically, we don’t even have to use these. I mean, if you’ve never been with anyone and I’ve never been with anyone…”
“Even girls? Have you ever been with a girl?”
“No. Have you?”
“Once. I was…a lot of the guys were talking about it, talking all kinds of shit. So I…” He shrugged.
Rick lowered to the bed and sat, still holding the packages. “What was it like?”
“She squirmed a lot. Made a lot of noise.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Alex! Did you come?”
Alex sat beside him and fidgeted with the edge of the sheets. “Well…yeah. I mean, inside her.”
“Was it weird? Breasts and everything?”
He frowned. “Yeah. She wanted to kiss but I didn’t want to.”
“And then what?”
“Then…nothing. I never saw her again.”
“You didn’t make her come?”
“I don’t know if she did or not. I didn’t know what to do down there. It was weird.”
Rick laughed. Alex relaxed a little. “Oh man! You are so romantic, mi pequeño! You didn’t even make sure she came? Dude.”
He shrugged again. “I didn’t know! I just wanted it over with and she didn’t say nothin’.”
Rick laughed again and shook the packages. “Did you use a condom?”
“No.”
“Then we definitely use these. Who knows what kind of skank that was?”
Alex smiled, even laughed. Before he fell silent again. He looked up at Rick suddenly and slid closer. His serious expression mellowed to soft affection. He reached over and kissed Rick, just a peck on the lips. When he drew back to gage the reaction, he slid closer still until his thigh was touching Rick’s. His hand glided around Rick’s waist and he pulled him in gently, mouth touching his. The kiss turned bold right away and soon Rick was breathless with it. The one kiss turned to many, kissing his face, his long neck. “Rick,” he whispered to the skin beneath his lips. “I like you so much. I want you.”
“Homey,” Rick whispered.
Alex’s fingers were at the hem of his t-shirt and he raised his hands so Alex could strip it off of him. Alex tossed it aside and quickly pulled off his own shirt. He was slightly sunburned, but Rick looked his fill. The boy was toned. Not ripped like Coach Fletcher who, when he had taken off his shirt today, garnered the fascinated attention of every boy in the GSA. And even a few of the girls. But Alex was getting there. If he lifted weights or did more sit-ups, he’d be looking like those guys in the movies.
He was smooth with a few hairs between his pecs. Rick ran his hand over that chest and hummed in approval. Alex didn’t seem to notice and instead, spent his time tasting Rick’s skin, kissing and licking. His hands were moving, going up his back, over his shoulders, over his waist, always moving.
And then they landed on the waistband of his trousers. But they didn’t stay there long. One hand moved deliberately over the bulge and rubbed. Rick sighed and threw his head back. He might come like this, but he didn’t want to. He grabbed Alex’s hand to stop him. “I won’t last. And…and I want to come…inside you, homey. Okay?”
Alex stopped breathing and then let out his held breath in one long exhale. “Yeah. Yeah.”
Alex stood up, unzipped his fly and pushed down the trousers. He didn’t wait and as he stepped out of them he also pulled down his swim trunks.
Rick licked his lips. The boy had some meat. Rick stood and quickly tore off his pants and trunks and he sat back down.
Alex looked at him. This was the first time they were both completely naked. Usually they kept their shirts on or just reached through their open zippers for each other. But this…this was it!
Rick grabbed his own dick and squeezed. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. “This is gonna be over fast, I hope you know.”
“Let’s do it.”
Rick opened his eyes and looked at the pink flush blooming on his boyfriend’s chest and throat. “How do you want to…?”
Alex bit his lip again, paused, then quickly got on the bed, turned over, and laid face down over the quilt. “This okay?”
Rick reached out and grasped one round ass cheek. It was white, white as it came, like a sheet. The boy had one nice ass! He squeezed and Alex moaned.
“Okay,” muttered Rick. His hands shook when he tore one package from the roll of condoms. He looked it over and carefully tore open the plastic wrapper. He took it out. It was red
and he quickly fit it over the top of his dick, pinching the tip, and rolling it down till it was snug.
When he looked up, Alex was avidly watching him over his shoulder. “You got the lube?”
Rick looked around desperately for it and finally spied it where he had left it on the bedside table. He lunged across the bed, grabbed it, and ended up on his knees behind the boy.
“Hey,” he said shakily. “Can you spread your…”
Alex did and Rick blew out a breath to steady himself.
His fingers, though inexperienced, were gentle. He didn’t spare the lube on his fingers or on his condom-clad cock. He was slow and careful, guided by the sounds Alex was making, feeling privileged to even be with this boy.
He fumbled, he rushed, he slowed down, but when they finally moved together, finally felt together, it was the most intimate thing he’d ever done with anyone. He was hyper-aware of everything suddenly. Of the smells of their own sweaty bodies, mingling with the scent of salty sand and sunscreen. Of the sounds of their breathing, the squeak of the bed frame, the rustle of the sheets being crushed beneath them, of Alex’s soft cries, his grunts, his whispered words of “Oh fuck” and “Rick, Rick.”
He was also conscious of the sensations, the tightness, the slipperiness. Goose-pimpled skin beneath his fingers. Muscles tightening, relaxing, flexing. A boney shoulder, a pillowy butt cheek.
It all rushed together—the sweet tenderness, his senses on overload—until his body shuddered, giving it all up and taking, too, but leaving nothing of himself hidden or concealed. He opened himself and cried out at the last, mind completely blown.
It took him a while to realize where he was and when he slipped out, he flopped down next to the boy with a lassitude so deep he could have floated away on it.
Alex was blinking at him on the shared pillow and Rick was blinking back. The boy smiled. “We did it.”
“Yeah. Was it okay? Are you…you came, right?” He wanted to slap himself again. He did just what Alex said he did to that girl. He had been so drawn into the sensations of it all that he had forgotten to make sure Alex finished.
Alex grinned. “Yeah. It felt like I came a million times. You hit that place inside a lot. That shit is why God invented gay.”