I
went and got my bike from the rack and followed Avan (very nice view, yum!) to his truck and he put my bike in back and
unlocked the passenger side door. He kept his truck neat inside unlike most
students. Off we went. The ride was silent while we made our way out of the
school’s parking lot with the exception of the Nina Simone CD that was playing.
He drove up downtown and I pointed out the two building that my dad designed.
We then started conversing like that day in the weight room never happened. We
came onto the expressway and soon we were greeted with the sights of the
‘warehouse’ district as its called due to the abundance of old warehouses and
factories that were renovated by the city and private companies into loft
condos and offices but kept the exterior of the old school blue collar district
from back in the day. He pulled into a parking lot beside what used to be an
old brick boarding house that had been renovated three years ago. We got out
and went in the main doors. You would have thought from the interior that you
were in a high rise in
When we stopped, the doors unveiled
exquisite hardwood floors that beckoned us to a set of double doors at the end.
We walked on, me in admiration of the various prints that adorned the wall,
Avan like it was nothing new, “Maverly’s a curator,” he said as we arrived at
the doors. He pulled out a key and opened the mahogany doors. We stepped in and
Avan flipped a few switches on a nearby wall panel to reveal a large expanse of
space decorated with sparse elegance. I took in the simple looking sitting area
with its warm burgundy sofa and twin chairs framing a lacquer coffee table with
an orchid positioned in the middle all facing a large flat panel screen that
was in screensaver mode showing pictures of various places around the world.
The same flooring continued into the apartment and gleamed with the strategic
placement of lights. On the walls were various Ukiyo-e prints hanging with the
precision only a curator could do. I was in complete awe. This apartment was
fabulous!
I followed Avan into the massive
kitchen. There was a split island which sat eight people at one end and the
last third was on a raised floor that separated the cooking area from the
dining area, “She likes ‘Wil and Grace’, but couldn’t stand that circular
dining table in their apartment,” he said as I marveled at its design.
“Your sister’s place is amazing,” I
said.
“She actually designed it for me.”
“Are you serious?”
“She took a job that’ll keep her out
of the country for the better part of five years. She didn’t know if she’d be
able to come back for my graduation and since her husband bought the building
and converted it into office space and apartments, she kept the penthouse
floors and gave them to me as a present.”
“Wow. This is some present.”
“I could always trust her judgment in
design so I let her have at it. The folks won’t let me move in ‘til I graduate
since it’s on the other side of the city, but I come here about every other
week to keep it up. Her husband Matt wants me to be the landlord so there’s
someone local that can keep things running while they’re in
Wow, all this and he wasn’t even
eighteen yet. Damn! I wish Raime could design something like this. She’s into
the tech-slash-hippie thing right now. The curtains were open so the light from
the full moon mixed with the artificial lights of the kitchen. The building had
ten floors so it stood taller than the surrounding buildings so there was a
great view of the night sky. My attention was turned back to the cooking area
as the sound of sizzling butter caught my ear. Avan was…cooking! I heard the sounds of chopping and…humming while Avan went about preparing a meal. A hot guy with
talents in the kitchen! I say talents ‘cause if he couldn’t cook, he wouldn’t
have brought me there in the first place or he would have ordered take-out as
soon as we walked in the door. HELLO! Not too much later before me sat the most
delicious looking omelet I had ever
seen.
“What would you like to drink?”
I was still staring at the omelet.
Damn, it looked almost too good to eat.
“
Silence.
“
Silence.
“If you don’t answer me Walker, I’m
not gonna do a strip tease for ya on the table.”
Silence. This was a truly drool-worthy
omelet here folks, and huge like I like ‘em too!
I came back to reality when he touched
my shoulder. He sat down beside me and placed a glass of orange juice above my
plate, “You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you.”
I pinked again, “Sorry. It’s just this
looks really, really good. I guess I was awed by the fact that you made it like
it was an everyday thing. What did you say?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, come on, what.”
“I just asked what you wanted to
drink. I hope o.j. is ok?”
“That’s fine. I guess I don’t get that
strip tease then,” Yes, I was listening; I just couldn’t think to answer him at
the time. I mean really, it looked like it came out of a cooking magazine.
He smiled. Sweet
We ate and talked about other things.
I mentioned that my sister was back in town again and there the conversation
shifted back to that lovely day after I let it slip that she came for a visit
in the summer. Doh! I felt the heat again in my face. Even more so about what
took place later with her.
“
“It’s nothin,” I stammered, “I mean it
was embarrassing, but then I remembered something that happened later that day,”
How the hell was I supposed to tell him I got caught calling out his name while
I was rubbin’ one out in the shower by my sister? “Really, it’s…it’s nothin’.”
“It had to be something since your
face is redder than your hair,” Avan spoke, “You can tell me. I promise I won’t
laugh or anything like that.”
“Nah, it’s ok. Just somethin’ that
Raime did.”
“What, she catch you gettin’ off or
somethin’?”
I wanted to die right then. Avan
caught on to my silence. He put am arm around my shoulder and pulled me close
to him. Oh hell. I couldn’t meet those eyes.
“Don’t feel bad
I looked up, “You too?”
Avan nodded, “Yep, and more than
once.”
“I guess stuff like that does happen,”
I said.
“Yep, shit happens. So you’re not mad
that I took a peek?”
“Well, it’s not like you couldn’t have
noticed. My shorts were shorter than yours even if they were baggy….and you
were below…Can we not talk about this?”
His arm was still around me. His
clothes held the scent of the spices he used in the omelets. The next thing I
knew, I was leaning my head on his shoulder! Avan didn’t mind at all. I should
have caught on to something at that moment, but my brain was too busy sending
messages to the rest of my body to stay in the current position. Man that felt
so good. I’ll never forget that.
“Do you want to stay here tonight? I
can take you home if you have to go…”
“…Sure, I’ll stay,” I said. YES!!!!!!
“I’ll let my folks know where I am.”
I hated having to move, but I knew if
I didn’t let them know where I was they’d send Raime after me…I’m not goin’ through that again. To make a
long story short, I ended up finding Raime at a police substation trying (and
failing miserably) to talk her way out of getting arrested for disorderly
conduct. Believe me, you don’t want to know what she was doing to some poor
unfortunate souls. Fortunate for her the
guy was gay and thought I was cute so he let her off. I gave him a kiss when
Raime wasn’t looking. I’m not feeding
her addiction for guy-on-guy action. This was right before those little demons
ruined my hair. She still owes me for that.
I called my parents and told them
where I was and that I’d be home later tomorrow. Avan had gotten up and went
into the living room while I called so I went there when I was finished. I saw
him looking through shelves of music. I didn’t see a sound system other than
what was connected to the flat screen. He grabbed a couple of CDs and nodded
for me to follow him. We walked in the
opposite direction from the kitchen to a staircase leading up to the upstairs.
There was a long hallway that separated the top level into two. We walked down
and I peeked into one of the rooms that was the study. It had a beautiful
background of the city framed by two smaller bookcases behind a large oak
desk. Another room was a spacious bath.
We continued to the end of the hall when he turned left and opened the
door. I though my eyes were gonna pop
out of my head! You should have seen the size of this bedroom! Along one wall
was a massive entertainment center with its shelves housing books, CDs, DVDs,
video games and gaming units, a double, twenty-disk changer CD player, DVD
player, MP3 and ipod docking
stations, and a flat screen plasma that rises up from behind the system. At either end were speakers that came up to
my collarbone. On the opposite wall was a bed big enough for at least six
people to sleep comfortably. The burgundy bedding was looking so inviting. On each side was a night
table made out of…stainless steel? The wall that housed the door held a large
metal wardrobe out of the same stainless steel material. Opposite the wardrobe
was the same breathtaking view of the city only from floor to ceiling the
entire length of the room instead of the extra large bay window like the study.
The blinds were open enough to allow the
room to be illuminated by the moon. In
the middle was a very comfortable looking extended sofa the same burgundy color
as the bedding. Damn, can I get adopted?
Avan walked over to the entertainment
center and put the disks in and soon the room was filled with soft jazz. I really like his taste in music. He motioned
for me to sit and he sat down beside me. Man that sofa felt good. I let my head
fall back and took in the sounds of basses and softened trumpets. We just sat
there and enjoyed the music and peace of the evening. I had closed my eyes at
some point so I wasn’t noticing Avan taking glances at me now and then. It was
when the sofa shifted that I opened my eyes a bit. He was getting up and
unbuttoning his shirt. Oh joy! The joy turned to a whimper when he went behind
me to the wardrobe. Trust me, I wouldn’t have minded ogling the goods. Not long
after he came back and sat down beside me in a pair of black boxers. For the
love of whipped cream and strawberries!
“The music is ok right? I didn’t think
to ask you what you liked. I listen to jazz to wind down from the game.”
“It’s fine,” I said, eyes focusing
solely on his, mind trying to combat the urges from the body to make my eyes
travel downward for a closer inspection.
“You’re not gonna start blushin’ on me
again are ya?”
“Why do ya say that?”
“’Cause I’m sittin’ two feet away from
you in nothing but my boxers.”
Thankfully I didn’t. I mean it is his place and all. He has the right
to wear whatever he wants. It’s just in public with the chance of someone
walking in at any moment that brings the embarrassment, “No I’m fine. See?” I
took his hand and held it to my face, “No blushing.”
His smile made me melt. Even with the
moon behind him I could tell it was still gorgeous. Then I realized that I had
his hand on my face and pulled away, and so did his smile.
“You’re not…uncomfortable are you? I
can put on--,”
“NO! You’re fine just like that!” I
said quickly and then added, “I mean, it’s your place and if you wanna run
around in your skin you can.”
“You’d like that wouldn’t you,” he said
smirking. Yeah, that turned me red,
“I’m jokin’
Too late.
I woke up with a washcloth on my forehead and
an almost frantic Avan sitting close by waving incense under my nose. Mmm,
vanilla. I stilled his hand with mine and looked into those eyes.
“I’m sorry Sage, I didn’t mean to do that
honestly!” he said taking the cloth from my head with his other hand.
“You’re fine Avan. No harm done. I will say
that it’s been a while since someone’s been able to pull that off. Congrats,
you win a cookie.” The last person to pull that off was, you guessed it, Raime,
“How long was I out?”
“Just a few minutes.”
“And the incense?”
“I don’t have any smelling salts here. I
figured incense would be the next best thing.”
Yeah, my brain was still foggy ‘cause what my
body was doing while my brain was still out to lunch was beyond me. I brought
my hand down to my lap. His hand was still in mine. Yup, the brain was not working.
“Uh,
“What, huh? What are you OH SHIT!” Yeah I
realized that I had his hand on my thankfully covered unit. Real smooth. I
released his hand and covered my face. Bloody fuckin’ hell!
“It’s cool
“Yeah,” I yawned.
“You can sleep in here. I’ll take the room
across the hall.”
“That’s stupid. Your bed is plenty big enough.
Just sleep here. I don’t bite.”
“Are you sure you’re ok with it?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Ok.”
HELL YEAH! I’m sleepin’ with Avan! At least in
the same bed anyway. That was cool with me, and that bed was lookin’ really good. I got up and went to the
bathroom and was amazed yet again by his sister’s talents. Damn, I wanna be
adopted! After takin’ care of business I went back to his room to find him
under the covers. That’s when my brain went out to lunch again. If you can’t
guess, then I’ll just tell ya. Clothes are a waste of time when sleeping. I
came in the room and did just like I’d always done and stripped before crawling
in on the other side. I was out when my head hit the pillow.
I woke up the next day with something warm
against my back. I knew it was Saturday so I didn’t have to get up right away.
I figured it was just Brahm coming in to sleep with me ‘cause he had a bad
dream or somethin’. Yeah, that’s how good my brain works in the morning. I
dozed off again, not fully noticing the warm breath against my neck. Some time
later I felt someone playing with my hair. I knew Brahm didn’t do that so I was
thinkin’ it was Raime. I turned on my back and opened my eyes expecting to see
violet covered hazel eyes only to see his.
Of course my brain is still sleeping so I only think I’m seeing Avan’s. And of course I’m still in dream mode so
what the hell. I reach up and thread my fingers through his hair. I then pull
him down closer to me.
“You sure you want to do that
Yeah, I had a major Pink Floyd song title moment there. I wasn’t dreaming. That really was Avan above me. Then the rest of my
body registered it. He was pressed against my side leaning over me just enough
to have a hand braced on the other side of me. I could also feel action down
below and I’m not going with the excuse of morning wood.
“Ok, I’m awake,” I said.
“I’m sure you are,” he said with that sexy
smirk. He shifted and I felt his hand on my chest. Oh yeah, definitely awake south of the border. I
couldn’t suppress the shiver when I felt his fingers play along my collarbone.
I was fine with that until he went lower and brushed my right nipple. I closed
my eyes and moaned. Then they flew back open. I’m freakin’ naked! I sat up
quick enough to have a meeting of the minds with Avan then flop back down
clutching my head like I just got brain freeze. I guess football players really
do have hard heads.
“How ‘bout a little warning next time
“Damn you’ve got a hard head,” I said back.
“Not as hard as yours.”
I let out a pained laugh. Yeah, I do have a
hard head, but his wasn’t too far behind. After we regained our senses we both
laid there looking at the ceiling. Then I remembered I was still naked. Those
sheets felt so good against my skin. I just wanted to stay there. Avan got up
and went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a shirt
then tossed them on the bed.
“I’m gonna make us some breakfast. I’ll see ya
in a few.”
“Thanks,” I said sitting up.
When Avan reached the doorway he turned
around, “They were right.”
“What?”
He gave that smirk again, “You do look good
underneath your clothes.”
I flushed again as he disappeared down the
hall. I really need to get that under control. Reluctantly I got up, grabbed
the clothes and went to the bathroom. No, there was no repeat of actions in the
shower other than getting clean. I think Raime has scarred me for life on that.
I finished and went down to the kitchen, the scents of bacon and pancakes
guiding my stomach. I smiled as I sat down to a plate of eggs, strawberry
pancakes, and thick cut bacon. You know what they say; the way to a man’s heart
is through his stomach. He sat beside me again and we ate and talked about last
night’s game. I didn’t tell him about Blake getting suspended. Thinking back, I
probably should have, but I didn’t want the thought if him ruining the kick ass
breakfast Avan made. Yes, my stomach does tend to take over for my mind at
times. I’m serious people, Avan really can cook and the plate presentation is
magazine worthy. After breakfast we sat in the living room and watched TV while
my clothes were in the dryer (he got up before me and washed them, ain’t he
just a sweetheart!). Then I got a call from Raime wanting to know if I was too
busy busting a nut in my girlfriend to come have lunch with her. I think Avan
got a bit pink on that one, since Raime was talking loud enough that I didn’t
need to have the speaker on, but he denied it. I told ya, no sense of modesty. I
told her I’d meet her at the house and ended the conversation.
“Sorry ‘bout that. She’s a bit strange.”
“At least you have just one sister.”
“I’ll take your six if you take Raime.”
“…Not a chance.”
We finally left his apartment (sigh) and
headed for my house, just doin’ the usual bullshit guys do. When we arrived,
Brahm was outside helping (more like watching, but hey) dad change in oil in
the car. Raime came out just as I opened the door. For once, she was dressed in
a more modern style of bootcut jeans and a white long sleeved shirt with a black
short sleeved one with the band 36 Crazyfists on it over top. She was wearing
red contacts though. Oh well, it was better than nothing. Usually it’s hippie
bellbottoms, rose colored glasses, and tight tank tops with slogans on them you
wouldn’t want little children seeing. Brahm was used to it, he knows his
sister’s weird.
“’Bout time you came home Sage Francis,” she
said as she came around to get a look, “who’s your friend? He’s a cutie.”
“Don’t worry about it Raime.”
Then something dawned on her, “I’ve seen those
eyes before. Are you related to Circe Fitzgerald?”
Oh shit.
“Yeah, I’m her younger brother Avan.”
Oh shit.
Raime smiled, “Avan, huh. Nice to meet you.”
“Uh, yeah, thanks for givin’ me a ride. I’ll
see ya Monday,” I said as I got out and grabbed my bike. I couldn’t shut the
door since Raime had a hold of it.
“I hear she’s gonna start coaching soon.”
“Yeah, she wants to spend a bit more time a
home since she got married.”
“Cool. Tell her I said hi when you see her
again.”
“Sure.”
“Hope to see you again Avan.”
“Yeah.”
She closed the door as I pushed my bike up the
drive and waved to him as he backed out the driveway. I knew there was no
escape so trying to run into the house was useless since she sprints. I guess
it was because Brahm was outside that she didn’t say anything until we got in
her car and headed out to eat.
“So…”
“Raime, just leave it.”
“What, I wasn’t gonna say anything.”
“I know you Raime.”
“Well then you should know that I’m gonna say
somethin’ anyway.”
“How ‘bout we don’t talk about this.”
“You not
wanting to talk about it means—,”
“RAIME!”
“Give it up Sage Francis. He’s the ‘Avan’ you
were calling out in the shower that day. I’ll give you credit, he’s a hot one.
You should go for that.”
“Shut it Raime.”
“Come on Sage Francis, what’s wrong with
hookin’ up with a guy? Especially one like Fitzgerald. Have you seen his older brother Michael? Great
balls of fire I’d like to fuck that one! And Circe’s hot, too. Too bad she got
married.”
“Raime!”
“I’ve met him a few times when I competed
against Circe. Too bad he doesn’t have Avan’s eyes. Damn that’s makin’ me all
nice and gooey!”
“RAIME I DO NOT NEED TO HEAR THAT!”
“Come off it Sage Francis, you know you want
to hit that. I think his brother’s single…”
“His brother has a fiancée sis, give it up.”
“Damn. Oh well, guess I’ll have to go for
Avan.”
“You are not
going to be hitting on my friend.”
“Friend,
huh. We’ll see. Cool, we’re here. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to embarrass you
too much. I was gonna ask you what
was up with that bump on your head. I guess I don’t need to know how you got it,” she said with her evil
smirk.
Oh joy.
We came to our usual spot for food called The
Corner. It’s a deli café that sits just off the corner about fifteen minutes
from home. I know, very unique name, right?
Despite that, this place is jumpin’ with activity. A few years ago the
owner decided to have tables out front and business skyrocketed. The owner then
got the idea to stay open all night and got even more business. Everyone loves
to come here. People can be seen here eating outside at all hours since Ray
(the owner) had outside lighting installed. Even in cold weather. They have
great food. Raime and I have been known to pop in at all hours. All the
employees know us as the hippie and the chickie when my hair was longer, but
they’ll still call me that from time to time when they aren’t callin’ me Sage
Francis. Damn, maybe I should check that guy’s music out.
Anyway we grab a seat outside and give the
waiter our usual order. When he leaves us Raime gave me that look. It’s the
look that says ‘I’m not gonna let you off so easy’. Thankfully there weren’t a
whole out of people sitting outside at the moment since there was a college
football game on and people were inside cheering, “What now Raime.”
“You really only see him as a friend, don’t
you,” she said.
“He’s a good guy to hang out with. Why are you
wanting to make it into something more?”
“How come you’ve never had a chickie hangin’
off ya? I mean, you do know you’re
allowed to date, right?”
“Raime you of all people should know that I
spend a lot of time writing. It takes work to get noticed.”
“I know you’re a brilliant writer and you know
how to spin words so don’t give me that load of horseshit. Do you…not like
hangin’ out with chicks?”
“I hang out with plenty, thank you.”
“Yeah, but that’s just the Amazons. What about
non-athletes? Hell, you go to a large high school. I’m pretty sure there are
regular chicks there too.”
“What’s wrong with the Amazons? Not hot enough
for ya?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, they’re plenty hot
for me,” she said. We paused when our order came, seems that Ray was
anticipating our arrival so it didn’t take long. Good ol’ Ray. After he left
again Raime continued, “I think that most of them are taken by someone. But
it’s not about me, I’m talkin’ about you. Really, what’s up.”
I took a sip of my soda, “I…I don’t know. I
mean I get along with chicks fine.”
“You just don’t see them that way or
somethin’? Did it come from the cheek pinchin’ thing when you were little? I
know you cried whenever we had to go to family reunions. That’s why mom and dad
never really pushed the issue of going when you got to middle school.”
“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe I’ve been too caught
up in trying to get my work noticed to really get out and do the dating thing.”
Yes, I still haven’t told Raime then; even when we were sitting down and having
a relatively serious conversation. Rocket’s still the only person that knew I
was gay at the time. Blake just suspected so he doesn’t count. Maybe I was just
scared of her fangirl nature taking over.
“Well how ‘bout getting out there and trying?
I hear there’s a party next week at Andrew Tervan’s place. Wanna come?”
I looked at her strange for a moment, and then
it clicked. She went to school with Jake’s older brother Andrew. Raime and
Andrew went to a different high school than the one Jake and I go to, the
“What?”
“I forgot you knew Jake’s brother.”
“Oh yeah, he goes to
“Not little I can tell you that.”
“He still got that cover chick?”
“What?”
Raime rolled her eyes then leaned forward,
“The cover chick, Alison I think her name is. He’s gay and his folks aren’t
open to that. She’s a lesi and his best friend since they were practically
babies so they decided to ‘hook up’ so his parents wouldn’t know. They’ve been
at it for like four years now. Andrew’s the only one in their entire family
that doesn’t have an issue with it.”
“Whoa. I didn’t know that.”
“He’s still on the crew right?”
“Yeah, it’s his senior year.”
“He’s a great kid. Too bad his parents are
major fucktards. Andrew set him up with an emergency account if it ever got out
that he was gay before he finished high school. They’d disown him in a
heartbeat and leave him with only the clothes on his back and do the same to
Andrew if he tried to help him.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Yeah, glad our parents aren’t like that.”
“How did
they take it when you told them you were bi?”
Raime shrugged, “Like they did everything
else. They just shook their heads and told me to be careful. They knew they
couldn’t change me, that would have only pushed me away and they didn’t want
that.”
“…Yeah, we do have great parents, don’t we.”
“The best.”
“Ok, I’ll go with you.”
“Sweet. We’ll see if we can’t introduce you to
some chicks and get those hormones workin’ overtime!”
“Raime!”
“What, you’re a teenager. All teenagers have
the raging hormone syndrome. It’s a fact of life Sage Francis, deal with it.”
“I will and can…just not in public.”
Time went by, a few pranks were pulled on
unsuspecting freshman (poor souls) and then the Tervan party. Raime popped back
into town that Friday and came to the football game. I could hear her yellin’
from the stands so I didn’t bother to check my phone when I got a message. As I
was packing up after the game (which we won, go us) she called and told me
where she parked so she could give me a lift home. As I closed my phone Avan
came up to me. We were back to normal and talking whenever we got the chance.
“I hear Jake’s brother’s throwin’ him a party
tomorrow night, you goin’?”
“Yeah, the whole crew’s gonna be there. You
comin’?”
“Yeah, most of the offensive line’s gonna be
there.”
Jake didn’t play football, but had classes
with a lot of the senior players, mainly the offensive line so of course they
were cool. It was the defensive team that you had to watch out for. Blake was a
defensive lineman. They weren’t thrilled when they found out about his
suspension. They really weren’t happy
when they found out members of the crew were involved. They were behind the freshman
pranks, but no one could solidly point a finger in their direction. I tellin’
ya, when they do pranks here, they’re good at not getting caught. It’s like an
art form in and of itself.
“Cool, I guess I’ll see ya there.”
“Oh.”
“Raime’s takin’ me.”
“She’s coming?”
“She went to school with Andrew.”
“Oh.”
Silence.
“You…wanted to…take me?”
“Yeah…well….if you weren’t doin’
anything, but since your sister’s goin’…”
“Sure I’ll go with you,” I said not
thinking of how that sounded out loud. Some of the players were walkin’ by us
snickering. Avan turned and glared at them.
“How ‘bout I come around eight, we
could get a bite to eat before we head over.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll see you then.”
“Ok.”
Yay! My first date type thing with
Avan! I hurried and packed the rest of the training equipment and headed to the
training room. When I arrived Rocket was just coming out of the room. I gave
her a smile and she did it again.
“What’s got you all smiles tonight
Sage Francis?” Like she didn’t know.
“Avan’s takin’ me to Jake’s party
tomorrow.”
She smiled, “Very nice. Jake’ll be
glad to see you two there.”
“He will?”
She leaned in and whispered, “Jake
thinks you two are a great match.”
I blushed, “It’s not like we’re dating
or anything. I don’t even know if he’s gay.”
“Well, we’ll be able to tell at the
party. Just watch his body language. I know that won’t be difficult for you.”
“Rocket!”
“Have a good night Sage. I’ll see ya
tomorrow,” and with that the music came back to life and she was down the hall.
I put away the last bit of equipment
and turned around to see Blake standing just inside the door. As usual his coal
eyes were trying to set me on fire, “What do you want Blake.”
“I told you to stay away from him you
little queer,” he said coming closer and slamming the door closed.
“Blake, I really don’t know what your malfunction is but who I hang
out with is none of your fuckin’
business.”
“Stop tryin’ to turn him into a fag.
He doesn’t need the likes of you
around him,” he said. By this time he’s got me cornered with a wall on the side
and behind me and a taping table on the other. I only fight if I truly need to.
Right then, I was tryin’ to get the hell out of there. Goin’ up against him
would do more damage to me than good. I scrambled over the table only to have
him grab hold of my ankle and send me face first into the floor. Luckily my
arms took the brunt of the fall. He then
grabbed my braid and hauled me up to meet his eyes, “I guess I’m gonna have to beat some fuckin’ sense into you,” he
said and his fist connected with my stomach. I couldn’t double over since he
still had my hair in his hand. I grabbed his punching hand with both of mine in
an effort to keep him from connecting again but to no avail. It was like tryin’ to make the wall move. He
then proceeded to slam me into the door. I thought I had broken some bones in
my hands since that was all that was between my head and the door. I fell back
and let out a cry as the back of my head met the floor. I looked up to see him poised to stomp on me when
the door flew open and there was Rocket and Mr. Nikas came bounding in. Rocket
tackled Blake and started raining punches on him. Mr. Nikas was hard pressed to stop her.
That’s when Raime and Jake came in. It took both Jake and Mr. Nikas to pull
Rocket off of him. By that time he was a bloody mess. I didn’t mention it, but
Rocket’s into mixed martial arts. There have even been rumors that she’s done
some amateur octagon fighting. Once
Blake managed to stand up Raime caught him in the jaw with a hook and that sent
him back to the floor.
“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU HITTIN’ ON MY
LITTLE BROTHER YOU ASS WIPE!” she screamed. I thought Mr. Nikas was gonna call
security on her.
“Alright everybody calm down!” Mr.
Nikas said after he got Rocket out into the hall. He came back and grabbed Raime by the arm,
“Miss I need you to step out of this room.”
“Back the FUCK OFF PAL!” she yelled
back at him.
“Raime stop, he’s the principal,” I
said clutching my head. All that yelling wasn’t helping the massive headache that
was forming.
“Then you should tell him to let me
the fuck go before I lay him out too.”
“It’s ok Mr. Nikas, she’s Sage’s
sister Raime,” Jake said from outside the door. He was still holding onto
Rocket. The Athletic Director and Coach Jones came up soon after. They managed
to get between Raime and Blake as he was slow to get up. By this time, there
were more people standing in the hallway trying to get a look into the training
room. The athletic trainer and some of the other teachers shooed them off and
brought everyone involved into the room. Rocket, Jake, and Raime were on one
side of the room, I was on a table in the middle of the room getting looked at
by the trainer and the AD, Coach Jones and Mr. Nikas were on the other side
questioning Blake.
“Sage are you alright?” Raime asked
walking over to me as the trainer handed me an ice pack, “Who the fuck is that
bastard?”
“Blake Atwater,” Rocket said still
seething, “Apparently he has nothing better to do than bother people since he
can’t play.”
“Why the hell is he messin’ with you?
You look at him wrong or somethin’?”
“Or something, I guess. I don’t even
know him and last week he was in my face for no reason,” I said savoring the
cold feeling on my head.
“You’re tryin’ to turn AV into some
fuckin’ queer,” Blake shot out.
“Give it a rest
“I’d listen to him if I were you
fucktard,” Raime said.
“Miss--,”
“It’s Raime. Raime Walker,” she said
narrowing her eyes at Mr. Nikas.
“Miss Walker, I’ll handle this if you
don’t mind,” Mr. Nikas said.
“Shut up and let him handle it sis,” I
said. I looked over at Jake who still
had a hold on Rocket. I told ya, don’t
piss off an Amazon. Her music was still playing, not that anyone noticed but me.
Her MP3 player had a spot of blood on it as ‘I Could Care Less – DevilDriver’
was listed in the marquee.
“Sage, I want to hear your side of
things now,” Mr. Nikas said coming over to the table. I told him that Blake had
come in and cornered me and when I tried to get away that’s when the hitting
started. He then turned back to Blake and said, “As of right now Blake Atwater,
you are suspended from school for the rest of the academic year. And if Sage
chooses, charges will be press against you for assault.”
He then turned to Rocket, “I’m afraid
I’ll have to suspend you as well Rocket. I’ll bring the matter before the
school board to see if they wish to give you a lesser time, but you too are
suspended for the rest of the academic year.”
“That’s bullshit! She was helpin’ my
little brother! Why the hell does she have to be out the rest of the school
year as well?” Raime spoke up.
“Miss Walker--,”
“Will you just fuckin’ call me Raime,
I’m not as old as you are!”
Mr. Nikas glared at her for a second,
“Raime, I’m sure you know the
reputation this school has for its pranks and whatnot. Any other school and the
time would be a month, but here and with what has taken place, since this was
more along the lines of a hate crime, the time is significantly greater.”
“Wouldn’t there have to be someone homosexual
or something for it to be considered a hate crime, old man.”
“My name is Mr. Nikas, Raime.”
“Can’t you tell he’s a fuckin’ fag?
You’re his damn sister, you should know,” Blake spoke up again.
“Put a fuckin’ sock in it before you
get your ass handed to you by another
female.” She said back.
“Stuff it Raime,” I said wearily, “Mr.
Nikas, does Rocket really have to be suspended? I mean, it’s not like I could
have really done something to stop him when I’m lying on the floor. He was
ready to stomp on me before you two arrived. She was gettin’ my back, that’s
all.”
“I’m sorry Sage, given the fact that
it took me and Jake to pull her off
and with the way his face is swelling, I can’t overlook that. I have to keep
the policies about fighting here strict. I will make the best case I can for
her to the school board. “
“That’s still bullshit,” Raime said.
“Like it or not, those are the rules.
I’m sure they were similar when you attended here--,”
“I went to the fuckin’ Academy Mr.
Nikas. Fighting there only got you two months and suspended from the sport you
were playing for that year. We weren’t like ‘Prank High’.”
“Must you use such language?”
“…Yes, I must. Especially when
something happens to my little brother and the person that tries to help him
get shitted on in the process.”
“Either way, that’s how it goes here.
I’m sorry that it has to be like that, but I’m trying to get this school’s
reputation back to something more credible than being a real-time episode of
Punk’d.”
“Hell honey, that’s not gonna happen any time soon. They’ll just become more
creative in pranking and not getting caught,” Raime said. I don’t think Mr.
Nikas liked being called ‘honey’ by her. Raime went over to Rocket (Jake was finally able to let her go) and gave her
a hug, “Thanks for havin’ my little bro’s back,” she said. She relaxed the hug
enough to look into Rocket’s eyes, “I love a woman that can kick ass,” she said
then kissed Rocket. Rocket took it like it was a normal occurrence. Mr. Nikas
cleared his throat in an attempt get their attention. It didn’t work.
Raime broke the kiss and looked over
to Mr. Nikas, “What’s your damage?
Can’t a chick thank another for havin’ her bro’s back?”
“There are other ways to do that, you
know,” he said.
“Yeah, there is. But I like doin’ it like this. Oh, what, you
gettin’ a woody seein’ two chicks kiss?”
“Raime stop hitting on Rocket, she’s
straight,” I said.
“I know, but that doesn’t change the
fact that I think she’s hot and you
of all people should know that I like to kiss and hug my chickie friends.”
Rocket blushed.
“Yeah, but you don’t try to lick their
tonsils every time you see them either.”
“Oh calm down Sage Francis, it’s not
like she’s never been kissed by a
chick before. Am I right?”
“That’s true, you aren’t the first one
that’s done that. I will say that you’re the best kisser out of all of them.”
“Hell yeah. I’ve got skills like
that.”
“Anyway ladies,” Mr. Nikas said. His
cheeks were a nice shade of pink, “I think we can call it a night on that
conversation. Sage, do you plan to press charges against Blake?”
“You’d better,” Raime said glaring at
me.
“I’ll make a report to the police so
there’s a record of it, but I don’t want to press charges against him. I’m
pretty sure havin’ his ass kicked by an Amazon was punishment enough.”
“Sage Francis, you blockhead--,”
“That’ll be enough, Raime. It’s his
decision,” Mr. Nikas said. That earned him a glare from her, “Will you please
stop glaring at me like that.”
“Give me a good enough reason not to.”
“Raime can you please stop hitting on my principal, I’m ready to go home.”
Raime blushed, “I’m so not hitting on your principal Sage
Francis!”
“Then why are you blushing,” Jake said
grinning.
“…Screw you guys, I’m goin’ home. Move
it or bike home Sage Francis,” she said and out the door she went. I chuckled
despite the fact that my head hurt. Score for me.
I left the training room and headed
off to find my sister. She wasn’t kidding about leaving me behind, she’s done
it before. I made it outside when I saw Avan at the bike rack. He came over to
me quickly and started looking me over.
“Are you ok? I heard there was a fight
in the training room, but the teachers weren’t letting anyone down the hall.”
“I’ll live, just have a lovely
wonderful headache and my stomach’s not gonna like me for a few days.”
“Who did this?”
“…Blake.”
“What?”
“Yeah, apparently he doesn’t like me
hanging around you. He got in my face about it after the game last week but I
blew it off. Guess I shouldn’t have.”
“I’ll beat the shit out of that
fucker.”
“No need, Rocket took care of that.
And Raime gave him a what for as well.”
“Rocket? But doesn’t she do mixed
martial arts, I mean she’s really good at it. That could get her into trouble
if she’s caught.”
“Yeah, she’s out for the rest of the
year since it took Jake and Mr. Nikas to get her off of him. Mr. Nikas is gonna
try to get it reduced though,” I looked past Avan to see Raime’s white
Avalanche driving out of the parking lot, “Damn, she really did it this time.”
“What?”
“Raime just left me…again.”
“Why’d she do that? I mean, you were
in a fight.”
“…I kinda called her on hittin’ on Mr.
Nikas.”
“Your sister was hitting on our principal?” he said then sighed, “I’m
glad I’ve got my six. I don’t think I could handle Raime as my sister. More
power to ya.”
“I need it. Hey, um, do you think…”
“Yeah I’ll give you a ride home.”
Avan got my bike and wheeled it over
to his truck. I leaned against the passenger door as he loaded it up. He came
over to unlock the door but just stood there, those eyes looking over me
carefully. He touched my forehead where there were red spots from my hands. I
closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. His hand then came to rest on my
cheek, his thumb stroking gently my bottom lip. I let out a soft sigh then I
felt his lips touch the spots on my forehead. He pulled back and I opened my eyes.
“You can come back with me if you
want.”
“As tempting as that sounds, I should
go home. I’m sure Raime’s there by now and telling the folks what happened.”
Raime’s a speed demon, seriously, the girl should drag race whenever she’s done
with track.
“Ok,” he said softly as he unlocked
the door. I got in and soon we were off. It wasn’t long before we arrived at my
house. I thanked Avan for the ride and told him I’d give him a call tomorrow (I
got his phone number after Raime called last week). Avan got out and brought my
bike up the drive for me. We stood there at the garage door in silence for a
bit. There was enough of a moon out that you could see. The moonlight caught his eyes in such a way
that they seemed like they were shimmering. They are gorgeous eyes.
“Hopefully, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I
said quietly. I just wanted to stand there and look into those eyes. I didn’t
care that my head still hurt or that my stomach felt like an elephant stepped
on it, I just wanted to see those eyes.
Avan reached up again and stroked my cheek, “I
hope so. Take some aspirin and a warm shower. That should help with your
abdomen.”
“Thanks.”
“You’d better get inside before they start to
wonder,” he said. Just as the words left his mouth my phone rang Korn’s ‘Freak
on a Leash’ signaling that it was Raime calling. I smiled and he smiled back
before heading to his truck.
I got inside and as expected Raime told the
parents what happened. I got the super-mother-hen thrice over from mom before I
was allowed to go up stairs and into the warm bliss of the shower. By the time
I got out my stomach didn’t feel nearly as bad and when I came into my room to
find a bottle of water and aspirin sitting on my night table. I seriously think
Raime was somewhere outside listening since she has her own entrance. I went to
sleep touching my forehead and cheek.