Dancing on a Star Chapter 30
When we got home, Tracy, Jeff and Murray headed across the street. Tracy said he had something he wanted to show them. By the way they had flirted with Murray all afternoon, I had an idea of what he wanted to show Murry. In a few minutes, he would probably be dancing naked in front of them.
I sat in the chair by the window and stared up into Tracy’s room. He looked down at me and then shut the blinds. Suddenly, I felt alone. I had spent a week in the hospital often with no visitors, but I didn’t feel as lonely as I did now. It seemed like all my friends had abandoned me.
I was mad at Jeff and Tracy. A good-looking guy comes along, and they instantly forget about me. None of them even considered helping me into the house. At school they fought each other to help me. Now, it was like I was invisible to them. So much for friendship.
I heard a car door slam outside, and I knew my mother had come home. She entered and peeked into the room. “Hello, Dear,” she sang out. “How was school?”
“It was okay,” I answered sadly. She entered the room and sat down on the sofa.
“Is every think okay?” she asked worriedly. In the past I probably would have talked to her about how I was feeling. Now, I wasn’t sure. She had recently seemed to be accepting I was gay, but I didn’t trust her. She could go from hot to cold instantly. I think sometimes she saw me as the old Jack. Then, I could see a change in the expression on her face. She probably realized that I was no longer her little boy. I was becoming a man- a gay man. It would probably be some time before she could completely accept him.
“I’m fine,” I sighed. “I’m just bored.”
“Where is Jeff?”
I looked up at the drawn blind on Tracy’s bedroom window. I wondered if the three of them were naked and sucking each other as we had done several times. I shrugged my shoulders and replied, “Don’t know.”
My mother rose and headed toward the kitchen. “I have to start supper. If you need anything, just holler.”
“Sure, Mom,” I replied as I looked once again up at Tracy’s window.
I went over and lay down on the bed. I was tired from hobbling around all day on my crutches. I was okay at school because someone was ready to help me. However, the long walk home exhausted me. I fell asleep for about thirty minutes when I was awakened by someone ringing the doorbell. My mother answered the door, and I could hear Jimmy’s voice. He came into the room with another boy trailing behind him. I recognized him as someone on the basketball team, but I didn’t know his name.
“Hey,” Jimmy smiled as he approached the bed. “You okay? Your mom said you were tired.”
I sat up in bed and wiped the sleep from my eyes. “Yeah. Just a little tired after going back to school.”
“I suppose,” responded Jimmy. “Where’s the other guys?”
I frowned and replied, “Over at Tracy’s.”
“What are they doing over there?”
“Dunno,” I said. I looked at the boy behind him. Jimmy looked back, grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the bed.
“This is Lyle Landers,” he informed me. “Do you guys know each other?” We shook our heads. “He’s on the team. When I told him I was coming here, he asked to come with me.” I vaguely remembered him practicing earlier.
I looked up at Lyle as his face began to turn red as he looked down at me. There really wasn’t anything about him that one would describe as special. He had long strawberry blond hair that reached just beyond his collar. And freckles. I’m surprised I never noticed him before because of his freckles. He was about my height but ten pounds thinner than me. Overall, I guess you could say he was an ordinary boy next door guy. He looked like the kind of guy a mother would trust with her daughter.
“Lyle’s a forward on the team,” explained Jimmy. “Although he sits on the bench most of the time.”
I giggled when Lyle quickly responded, “Beside you, Bitch.” Jimmy playfully pushed him on his shoulder.
“Anyway, we were heading to my house, and I told Lyle I was coming by here first.” He pushed him again. “He didn’t have a choice but to come with me.”
“It’s okay,” Lyle replied as his face reddened again. It appeared that with his reddish complexion, it was something he did often. “I don’t mind.”
“So, what are the guys doing over at Tracy’s?” Jimmy gave me a slight wink.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Probably dancing.”
Jimmy laughed and said, “With or without clothes?”
I quickly looked at Lyle. I couldn’t believe that Jimmy had said something like that in front of him. His face reddened and he looked away. Jimmy rose and said, “I’m going over to see what they are up to. If I’m lucky, I might get a blowjob.” He grabbed Lyle’s arm and tried to pull him away. “Come on. You’ll have fun.”
I stared at Jimmy and Lyle in amazement. Jimmy’s invitation seemed like something he felt comfortable saying. I was beginning to wonder if he and Lyle were friends with benefits. If they were, I’m surprised I had never met Lyle before. Although, since Jimmy hadn’t come out, it was possible that they met when no one knew about it.
“I think I’ll go home,” remarked Lyle. He turned and headed for the door.
“Okay,” replied Jimmy. “We’ll stay here and keep this bonehead company.” He looked over and grinned.
Lyle walked back over and sat beside Jimmy on the sofa. “Why don’t you join us,” suggested Jimmy as he patted the empty space beside him. I rose and walked over. When I did, Jimmy scooted and left a seat between him and Lyle for me.
We sat for a few minutes and talked. Jimmy asked me how my day went, and then he excitedly talked about what had happened in basketball practice. “I’m so glad Tracy is going to help us,” he stated. He looked over at Lyle. “What do you think?”
Lyle shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he responded skeptically. “Other teams are going to laugh at us if we start dancing like ballerinas on the floor.”
“We’re not going to look like ballerinas,” insisted Jimmy. “Once we learn the moves, it will look natural. We look stupid now because we’re just learning.”
“I guess,” agreed Lyle. I could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t as impressed as Jimmy about learning ballet movements. Honestly, if I were on the team, I would probably be just as worried.
Someone knocked on the door, and my mother answered it. I could hear Jeff talking to here. A minute later, he entered the room followed by Murray. Jimmy asked, “Where’s Tracy?”
Jeff giggled and said, “Your boyfriend will be here in a minute.” He quickly looked at Lyle and his face reddened. I don’t think he realized that he was sitting beside me when he said it.
“Um, hi,” Jeff waved timidly at Lyle. Lyle waved back. “I’m Jeff.”
“Hi, Jeff,” replied Lyle. “I know who you are.” Again, I noticed Jeff flirtatiously studying Lyle.
Jimmy rose from the sofa. “Hey, Guys,” he said. “Let’s go outside and shoot some hoops.”
Jeff shook his head. “Is that all you think about is basketball?”
His eyes widened when Jimmy grabbed his crotch and pointed it at him. “Nope,” laughed Jimmy. I quickly looked at Lyle to see his reaction. He shook his head and headed for the door.
Jeff, Murray and Lyle headed outside. Tracy came running across the street and joined them. Jimmy stayed behind to help me. I was glad because I was tired, and I was afraid I was going to have to hobble down the stairs by myself.
When I stood, Jimmy reached down and squeezed my dick. I quickly looked at the door to make sure my mother hadn’t looked inside. “What are you doing?” I asked excitedly.
He did it again. “I’ve been wanting some of this,” he giggled. I batted his hand away.
“Jimmy,” I whispered softly. “Stop it. Someone is going to see us.”
“Let ‘em,” he giggled as he rubbed my hardening cock. “Someone’s getting excited,” he laughed. He put his hand around my waist as we headed toward the door.
“What is going on with you?” I asked as we exited onto the porch.
He asked, “What do you mean?”
“What’s going on with Lyle? You said some things in front of him that surprised me.”
He grinned and asked, “He’s kind of cute, isn’t he?”
“Is he gay?”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied. I looked out at Lyle shooting hoops with Murray in the driveway. Jeff was sitting in the grass watching them.
“Have you had sex with him?”
“Naw,” replied Jimmy. “Not yet. He just told me he was gay this afternoon.”
“What?” I asked excitedly. “Why did he do that?”
Jimmy frowned and replied, “He wants to meet you.”
“What!”
“Yeah,” explained Jimmy. “As we were getting dressed, he asked me about you. When I asked him why, he said he would like to get to know you.”
“What!” I squealed again.
“When I asked him why, he says he thinks you’re a nice guy, and he’s like you for a while.”
I pointed to a chair on the porch. “Help me sit down.” After sitting Jimmy knelt in front of me.
“Yeah,” he continued. “I’ve kind of suspected he was gay, but we never talked about it. We’ve checked each other out when we shower.” He grinned and added, “He’s got a big dick. I licked my lips once when we were alone in the shower, and he boned up. That’s how I knew he was probably gay.”
“God,” I replied as I looked at Lyle. He had taken off his shirt and sweat was beaded up on his freckled back.
“You’re a lucky shit,” said Jimmy. “Lyle is a great guy. I’m surprised you don’t know him.”
“He’s been in a few of my classes,” I replied, “but we never talked.”
Jimmy grinned and said, “Your ass had better talk to him now, because if you don’t I will.”
I asked, “What did he say about me?”
“Not much,” answered Jimmy. “He just asked if we were friends, and when I told him we were best friends, he asked if I would introduce you to him.”
“Hey, Guys!” hollered Murray as he motioned for us to join them. “Come on, we’re waiting.”
“We better get down there,” said Jimmy. “You got to meet your boyfriend.”
“Shut up, Jimmy,” I laughed as I nudged him in the shoulder. Lyle turned and grinned when we approached. His strawberry hair was plastered to his forehead. I was beginning to find him cute.
I sat in the grass while the guys played. Everyone watched Tracy as he showed them dance skills. It was quite funny, a bunch of teen boys dancing around shooting a basketball. Several times I lay back on the grass and roared with laughter.
After about a half hour, Tracy announced that he had to get ready for rehearsal. He waved goodbye and hurried off across the street. The others came over and sat down beside me. Jimmy pushed on Lyle and forced him to sit beside me. After a minute, Murray rose and said he had to go home before his mother came in from work. He waved goodbye and headed home.
“I’m tired,” said Jimmy as he wiped sweat off with his tee shirt. He asked, “Do you think your Mom has any juice in the fridge?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I dunno. Probably. We usually have something.”
“Good,” responded Jimmy as he rose. He grabbed Jeff by the arm and pulled him up. “Come on, you can help me bring the juice.” He grinned before he and Jeff headed off toward the house.
We sat a few moments without saying anything. Lyle cleared his throat a few times as if he wanted to talk, but he said nothing. Finally, I asked, “Do you think what Tracy is doing is going to help?”
He answered, “Yeah, maybe.” I looked at him and our eyes met. There is something special about a boy with bright blue eyes and freckles across his nose. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
His face blushed brighter than it already was. “Quit,” he giggled as he looked away.
Afraid I had upset him, I apologized. “Sorry.”
“No,” he remarked as he nudged me in my side. “It’s okay. I’m just not used to this.”
“Used to what?”
His face reddened as he replied, “Liking another guy.”
“You like me?” I asked, although Jimmy had already told me that he did.
“Yeah,” he responded as he stared into my eyes. I felt the same way I did when I first stared into Tracy’s green eyes. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you since about the seventh grade.”
I squealed, “You have?”
He looked toward the house to see if anyone heard me. “Shhhh,” he warned. “Someone’s going to hear you.”
“Sorry,” I said softly. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Right,” he laughed. “If I had said something, you would have told everyone. Then what happened to Jeff would have happened to me.”
“No, it wouldn’t have,” I said. He frowned, and I added, “Okay, maybe.”
“This is crazy,” he said.
“What’s crazy?”
“It’s like me, you and Jimmy.,” he giggled. “We all were gay, but we couldn’t say anything because of what happened to Jeff.” He nudged me and asked, “Do you think there’s any more of us?”
I laughed and replied, “I read once that ten percent of people are gay.”
“They are?” asked Lyle in astonishment.
“Don’t know,” I replied. “But if it’s true, there are about four hundred in our class. So, I guess that would be about forty.”
“Forty!”
“Well, statistically,” I laughed. “Not sure it would be true.”
He laughed and said, “Rebecca and Jasmine are supposed to be lesbians.”
“They are?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Some kids saw them making out once in the theater.”
“Really?”
“I guess that makes at least seven of us,” he stared at me and smiled.
“Yeah,” I replied dreamily.
His face reddened and he giggled, “Stop it. You’re doing it again.”
“Sorry,” I replied. “But you’re cute.”
“No, I’m not,” he insisted. “I’ve got this head of red hair and all these fucking freckles on my face.”
“I still think you’re cute,” I said as I stared into his blue eyes. I couldn’t believe I was being so bold with a guy I had just met. However, I felt a connection to Lyle that I didn’t feel with Jeff, Tracy or Jimmy. It wasn’t a sexual feeling. It was like I wanted to know more about him other than what he looked like naked. Although, I wasn’t ruling that out.
“You are too, Jack,” he responded. He started to say something else, but just then Jimmy and Jeff came out of the house carrying cans of soda.
“Here, Dirtwad,” laughed Jimmy as he sat beside me. He made sure he sat close enough so that I would move away and rest against Lyle. Jeff had sat on the other side of Lyle, and he noticed our legs slightly touching. He leaned forward and gave me a dirty look. I thought of moving my leg away, but I didn’t. He didn’t care the other night when he was sitting in Jimmy’s lap and letting him feel on him. So, I didn’t care if he saw me and Lyle rubbing legs.
Jimmy downed his soda quickly, and then he announced he had to leave. Lyle hesitated before he rose and stood beside him. “I better be going too,” he said. Before leaving, he asked if he would see me in school tomorrow.
“Yeah, sure,” I giggled. “I’ll be the guy on crutches.” He frowned before heading down the sidewalk with Jimmy. Jimmy threw his arm around his shoulder as they walked.
Jeff scooted closer to me. “What’s going on?” he asked angrily.
“What do you mean?” I knew where this was going, and I was ready for the fight. I was getting tired of Jeff pretending like he was my boyfriend and then flirting with other guys right in front of me.
“You know what I mean,” he replied angrily. “What’s with you and Lyle? You two have been looking at each other all afternoon. I passed him the ball several times and he dropped it because he was staring at you.”
“Oh,” I asked sarcastically. “Someone jealous?”
“Hell yeah, I’m jealous,” he responded. “You’re supposed to be my boyfriend.”
“Oh yeah,” I replied angrily. “I’m the boyfriend when no one else is around.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Fuck you, Jeff,” I hissed. “You’ve been screwing around with Jimmy behind my back.”
“I have not,” he insisted.
“Then what were you doing in Tracy’s room when Jimmy came over the other day?” I asked angrily. Jimmy had mentioned that he had been in Tracy’s room with Jeff, but he didn’t say they had done anything.
Jeff’s face paled. “We was...um...watching Tracy dance.”
“With or without clothes on?” I knew the answer when his face reddened.
He rose and brushed off his clothes. “I gotta go,” he announced as he turned and headed off.
“Fuck you, Jeff,” I hollered as he turned and flipped me off.
So, I guess that’s it. Jeff and I are broken up before we even had a chance to try and be boyfriends. I knew when he asked me that we were too young- and horny teenage boys. I had sex with Jimmy behind Jeff’s back. He had sex with Tracy and Jimmy. I knew it wouldn’t work. We should have just stayed friends with benefits. Things were working fine then. Now, he’ll probably never speak to me again.