Chapter 2-1
916 Words
Chapter 2
“What’s in there?” Jamie asked, nodding at the
folder Alex set between them on the table. It was the folder Father
Nate gave him, containing Jamie’s photograph and survey. Alex
thought of the cramped print pressed onto the papers, Jamie’s block
handwriting, and wondered if he was able to show it to
him.
Somehow he didn’t think so. Folding his hands, Alex shrugged and
tried not to stare at Jamie’s crotch as he said, “Just a few
papers, nothing much.”
“Stuff about me?” Jamie wanted to know. When Alex shrugged
again, he laughed. “Does it say what happened to the last friend I
had?”
Alex shook his head. At least they were talking. “No,” he said
gently. “What happened?”
That hint of a smile was back. “Her name was Marie,” he said,
gauging Alex’s reaction. “Father Nate thought we’d get along great.
That Youth Outreach crap of his. Only she killed herself.”
Alex tried not to look surprised, but he knew from Jamie’s grin
that he failed miserably. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable.
“Really?”
“I drove her to it,” Jamie said, a hint of pride in his
voice. “Does it say that in there?”
Alex picked at the corner of the folder. “No,” he admitted. He
wondered why Nate hadn’t mentioned that little tidbit to
him. A look at Jamie’s grin and he thought maybe that was a lie.
He likes attention, isn’t that what Nate said? Maybe he’s just
trying to see how I react.
Jamie nodded. “She hates me. Hated rather. She hated me.”
“Why would someone hate you?” Alex asked. True, Jamie was
a bit uncouth, a little loud and quite obnoxious, but he was
cute. Alex thought if he smiled more often, he’d be the center of
attention without even trying. His smile was like pure gold, that
rare, that beautiful. “You seem nice enough to me.”
Jamie laughed as he leaned the chair back on two legs again.
“You just met me. You don’t know me well enough to hate me
yet.”
“I couldn’t hate you,” Alex said before he
could stop himself.
Jamie spread his legs further apart and, as Alex watched, rubbed
one long finger over the tight bulge in his jeans, pressing against
the strained fabric. His nail trailed along the zipper, creating a
tiny plinking sound that made beads of sweat break out along
Alex’s brow. “Jamie—”
“Does it say I like boys in there?” Jamie asked
suddenly.
Alex felt his cheeks heat up as he watched that hand cup the
erection confined in Jamie’s jeans. He knew Jamie was watching him
but he couldn’t look away, he couldn’t stop staring—he knew
how that felt, a hand on his body like that, squeezing gently,
rubbing along swollen flesh, the tightness of pants when he had a
hard-on, and the thought of Jamie’s hand doing that, the slight
part of Jamie’s lips, the bold way he touched himself in front of
Alex, watching what it did to him…
Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat and hoped his shirt would
be long enough to cover his own budding erection when he finally
stood up. “Does it say I like blonde boys?” Jamie wanted to know,
his voice so damnably soft. “Preppy boys? Like you?”
“No,” Alex whispered, picking at the corner of the folder
again. Nate, are you coming back sometime today? He forced
himself to turn away from Jamie and stare at the radio because it
was safe, there was nothing s****l about it at all; it was just a
boom box… And you can see his reflection in the chrome facing.
You had to meet this guy. You had to look at his picture and see
his eyes and you couldn’t just walk away. Trying to lighten the
mood, he laughed. “It does says you like sex.”
“Are you asking?” Jamie asked. He pressed his hand against
the button on his jeans and moaned softly, a sound that made Alex’s
hands clench. “Because if you’re looking for some
action—”
“No.” His mind whirled out, trying to remember what he had
read about Jamie. “You like music?”
At the edge of his vision he saw Jamie’s hand make its way up
the front of his shirt, fingers picking at the buttons, causing the
fabric to gap open and reveal dusky skin underneath. “Yeah,” Jamie
said, shrugging as he popped one button open playfully. The sudden
glimpse of skin caused Alex’s fingers to tremble with want.
“Music’s cool. You like music, too?” He popped open another button,
revealing more of his smooth, muscled chest.
Not trusting himself to speak, Alex nodded. Somehow he thought
they had different tastes—he didn’t think the country he listened
to in the car on the way over here would suit Jamie well. But
still, it was some common ground at least. That and the fact
that we both like guys, he thought, but he wasn’t going to tell
Jamie that. “I work at Y95 downtown,” he offered, watching
as Jamie’s hand slipped into his shirt to tweak a pink n****e.
Jamie grinned. “Really? You one of the shock jocks on in the
morning?” When Alex shook his head, Jamie added, “Maybe one day you
can take me there, show me around. What do you say?”
I’d like to take you home, Alex thought, but he crushed that
thought before it went much farther. s**t, this isn’t going to work
out. I’m trying to be nice here and all he’s trying to do is turn
me on. He knows he’s doing it. I don’t need this. I don’t need to
want him like this, not when I’m here to help him, not when I can’t
have him. He’s not even my type, comes from a completely different
world, someplace I don’t need to be. I should just tell him I’ll
see him later and never come back again.
When he looked into Jamie’s eyes, he knew he could never forget
the kid that easily. So he smiled sadly and shrugged. “Sure,” he
said, hoping his voice sounded as nonchalant as he thought it did.
“Why not? One day.”
- Writer
