Wes and Toren (7 page)

“Oh, Toren,” Jen said. Wesley rolled his eyes at me. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Um, hi,” I said quietly.

“Well, we’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Wesley said, twirling his cue in his hands.

Jen looked at him and then glanced at me. Her eyes narrowed during the short second she looked at me. “C’mon, how about a game?”

she asked, stepping toward Wesley.

“Sorry. We’re actually gonna get going. Right, Toren?” Wesley said, smiling at me.

Jen pouted at Wesley and frowned at me. She tried to urge Wesley into staying, but he was collecting the balls and putting them in the tray.

When he was done, he waved slightly and said “see ya.” I followed him with an inner feeling of satisfaction.

I got into the car in case Wesley intended to collect on his bet. He got in and turned over the engine, grabbed the back of my head and kissed me so hard that I could feel it in my toes.

“Guess I should get you home,” he said, brushing my cheek with his fingertips.

I wanted another kiss. I waited ’til he stopped in front of my building then I leaned into him and kissed him. The car jumped forward 46

J. M. Colail

and Wesley whispered “oops.” He pulled up the parking brake and kissed me some more.

I went to bed early and closed the door. Wesley’s scent was still in my nose and I jerked off as I imagined the feel of his hands, lips, tongue…even his….

I blushed, came quickly, and fell asleep.

Wes & Toren

47

I YAWNED and rested my chin in my hand as I waited for class to begin and tried to finish up the Math homework that was due today.

“So, Toren. What’s going on?”

Jen and Olivia stood next to my desk. Olivia had a slight grin on her face but Jen glared at me. They were both pretty popular; drawing leers and looks from half the school’s population and sneers and scoffs from the other half. I didn’t have a clue why they were talking to me.

“Nothing,” I answered nonchalantly, trying to sound cool and aloof, like I talked to girls like them all the time.

“You’ve been hanging out with Wes a lot lately. Seems like he doesn’t have time for us anymore,” Olivia said, crossing her arms.

My heart skipped and my stomach dropped. Wesley didn’t say anything to them, did he? I hoped they didn’t notice how flustered I became at the mere mention of his name.

Jen snickered wickedly and raised her brows. “We were just curious, you know? Have you been taking care of
all
his needs?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I said, balling my hands into fists. “We’re just partners for the History project.” I looked down at the desk and stared at the “I hate school” etched in the top corner.

“Whoa. Sorry. We weren’t suggesting anything like that,” Olivia said through a hushed laugh. “We were just wondering, you know?”

48

J. M. Colail

Olivia turned and pushed Jen forward. Their laughter was quiet but their shoulders were shaking. They left me blushing and angry. Why didn’t they ask Wesley? Was it okay for him to be gay because he was popular and everyone liked him, but I’m fair game? Besides, he was the one who’d been taking care of my needs. What would they think about that? Would they believe that Wesley came on to me?

I closed my eyes and sighed. The rules were different for him and me. I rested my chin in my hand. He was on an entirely different social plane than I was. If he started wearing dresses, he’d start a trend. If I did it, they would beat me up and call me names.

ON the way home from school, I asked Wesley if he had told anyone about…us. It was strange to say “us,” because it felt more advanced than where we were in our…relationship. That was something else completely. Wesley told me that he liked me but I didn’t know if he was serious, if I was more than just a way to quench his curiosity.

“No. You were the one who wanted to keep it a secret, so I haven’t told anyone. Why?”

I looked out the window and frowned. He seemed to know what I was thinking a lot of the time. Wesley kept one hand on the steering wheel and tapped my leg with his other hand. I glanced at him and then back out the window.

“You know Jen and Olivia, right?” I asked. Wesley nodded and glanced at the road. “They said…they asked why you were hanging out with me. Or something like that. They said that you didn’t have time for them anymore.”

Wesley exhaled through his nose in an exasperated way. “What do they mean by that? Like I ever had time for them before.” He looked at Jen and Olivia in a different light: they weren’t popular; they were annoying. “What’d you say?”

“I told them that we were just partners for our History project.” I didn’t tell him about Jen and Olivia asking if I “took care of his needs.” I didn’t want to know if either of them had ever done anything with him. I wanted to be his first, like he was for me, though I realized how foolish Wes & Toren

49

that was. If Wesley weren’t the oversexed high school teenager, he wouldn’t be Wesley anymore.

“Heh, imagine if they really knew,” Wesley said with a smirk. I managed a laugh but felt a twinge of panic. “But I hadn’t thought about that. We did start hanging out rather suddenly. I guess people would talk.” He looked at me again and stretched his arm behind my head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to them if you want me to.”

“No, that’s okay.”

We pulled into the apartment complex and Wesley parked in a spot a short walk from my building. I told him to bring his book bag and he groaned. He waited for me to come around the car and I saw how handsome he looked today. He was wearing his trademark ripped jeans, and an open button-down shirt with a white T-shirt underneath. His hair resisted a warm breeze and he smiled at me. I liked it best when he smiled.

As we climbed the steps to the third floor, Wesley put his arm around my shoulders. I felt nervous and giddy at the same time. I tried not to worry about people seeing us. It wasn’t even a big deal; he just had his arm around my shoulders. I fumbled getting my key into the lock and Wesley dropped his hand to my backside and squeezed. I protested, but he told me to hurry up.

Inside, Wesley dropped his book bag like it was full of bricks and slid mine off my shoulder. He kissed me and walked me back to the sofa.

I dropped onto the cushion and Wesley dropped to his knees. He pushed my shirt up and kissed and licked my stomach while his hands nimbly unbuckled my belt and unzipped my pants. He noticed that I was already stiff with anticipation and he chuckled softly.

“You’re so sensitive,” he whispered, yanking down my jeans and boxers.

“I—I can’t help it…. You….” His warm mouth surrounded me. I gripped his shoulders and slid down on the couch, wiggling and spasming beneath him. He ran his hand up my chest, circling a nipple and pinching it. My body quaked with ecstasy, overflowing my senses and making me twitch with the most exquisitely pleasurable sensation.

50

J. M. Colail

His mouth, his tongue, the back of his throat, his nimble fingers were all in a chorus to bring me to crisis. “Wes… Wesley….”

Wesley held fast to me until I slumped into the couch, my life drained from my body. He smiled triumphantly and stood up. I was still trying to catch my breath and Wesley stepped to the side. I could see a bulge in his pants and I blushed, looking away.

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” he said and patted my head.

I tried not to look at him as I pulled up my pants. I heard the door close and I sighed. Wesley didn’t ask me to reciprocate the pleasure he gave and I was a little relieved. I was nervous and embarrassed and I felt a little guilty, but I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to show him that I cared about him, but I was afraid. I was afraid that I might be falling in love with him and that he might not think of me as anything more than a way to pass the time.

Wesley came back from the bathroom, his cheeks rosy, and kissed my forehead. I asked him if he wanted something to drink and I brought back two sodas from the kitchen. Wesley helped me with my Math homework, his hand rubbing my thigh while I worked out the problems under his tutelage. He would kiss me and nibble on my ear when I answered a problem correctly. I bit my lip and persevered without giving in to his insinuating gestures. We worked on Spanish next and then moved onto some History homework. Wesley moved his hand from my thigh to my shoulder with a sigh when he realized that I wasn’t giving in to his unspoken persuasion.

“Hey. I’m home and I’m starving. Tor, get your butt in the kitchen and start making dinner,” Alycia announced, swinging the door open to its limit. She blushed a little when she saw Wesley, embarrassed by her own pushiness. She liked others to think she was sweet and kind, not a bossy loudmouth. “Hi, Wes. How ya doin’?” she asked. Wesley smiled, closing the textbook on his lap. I stood up and gave Alycia an eyeful and she shrugged her shoulders. I guess she didn’t care to keep up appearances in front of Wesley and she barked at me again. “C’mon, I’m hungry,” she whined. Then her eyes sparkled and she smiled broadly at Wesley. “Wanna stay for dinner? Tor’s a great cook.”

“Yeah, I know,” Wesley answered with a smile in my direction.

Wes & Toren

51

“Then you’ll stay?” Alycia asked, stretching her arms over her head and grinning at me.

“If it’s all right,” Wesley said, tilting his head back to look at me. I stood behind the sofa and nodded my head.

I went to the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator and the pantry, finally deciding to make tacos for dinner. I grabbed the apron from the hook in the pantry and began to brown some ground turkey in a frying pan.

“He looks cute in an apron, doesn’t he?” Alycia said, raising an eyebrow.

Wesley looked me up and down with a telling grin and nodded. I told them to get out of my kitchen and they laughed, staying where they were. We talked while I made dinner and I realized how comfortable I felt while we were eating. We sat three in a row on the sofa and watched TV as we ate, talking and laughing. I liked this feeling, this comfort that Alycia gave me: acceptance, but perhaps it was her indifference, that nothing had changed, that my being with Wes was the most normal thing in the world.

52

J. M. Colail

WESLEY skipped fourth hour to eat lunch with me. We sat in front of the school on the giant cement planter where I always ate. He sat cross-legged, his knee touching mine, and ate the apple from my lunch.

“What the fuck? We’ve been looking all over for you, Carroll.”

Alan Dunne and Jeremy Read walked toward us and I leaned to the side so that Wesley and I weren’t touching. “You ditched us ’cause you said you had something to do and here you are dickin’ around with him?” Alan said, glancing at me.

“So? I said I had stuff to do. What do you want?” Wesley said, after a low, quiet sigh.

Jeremy looked at me and then at Wesley. I worried that Jen and Olivia might’ve spread rumors.

“I got a blunt ready to go and I wondered if you wanted to partake,” Alan said, looking down his nose at me. I felt out of place.

“Can’t. But thanks for the invite,” Wesley answered, shaking his head.

“C’mon, Wes. You’ve been hanging out with him every damn day.

What’s your fuckin’ deal?”

I felt a twinge of panic and my cheeks flushed.

“What the hell does it matter to you? I said I got things to do.”

Wes & Toren

53

Alan furrowed his brows and turned on his heel. “Whatever, man.”

Jeremy followed him and they went back inside the school.

I breathed a little easier, but I started to get a little angry. They talked as if I wasn’t even there. Maybe Wesley and I did start hanging out rather suddenly, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends. I sighed and Wesley poked my arm.

“Sorry about that,” he said, looking at me sideways.

“It…it’s okay,” I mumbled. “But if you wanna hang out with them, that’s okay.” I fidgeted my hands in my lap, nervous about his answer.

“Why would I want to hang out with them?” Wesley asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes. “You’re much cuter.” I glanced around and, fortunately, no one was near. “Don’t worry. No one’s around and, besides, who cares what others think? After we graduate, we’ll probably never see these people again. Let them think what they wanna think.”