Free Fiction Friday: Second Shot – The Senior Year – 37
Free Fiction Friday: September 26, 2014:
After a couple weeks off to deal with some family issues, I’m back this week. Hopefully this will the start of a good run. 😀
Second Shot – The Senior Year: Chapter 37
“I’m telling you he’s acting weird.” Blake lifted his shirt and wiped the sweat from his eyes.
Dean didn’t bother with modesty and pulled his shirt over his head and used it to dry his face and neck. He bent over and grabbed his knees. “You’ve been running with my brother, haven’t you?”
The accusation wasn’t the response he expected. “Yeah. Why?”
“Cause you pick spots and run intervals like him. I hate that.”
“They’re good for you.” Having hated them at first too, Blake became a believer after how much stronger he felt during games. “You’ll appreciate it when you have your legs at the end of the first game.”
“I know they’re good for me, but I still hate them.” He used the white T-shirt to dab his face again. “So what’s Brett doing that’s weird?”
“I dunno, maybe it’s just me.” Having brought it up, Blake suddenly felt stupid talking about it. “Just forget about it. It’s probably nothing.”
“Clearly something bothered you or you’d never have said anything.”
Sure it bothered him, but that didn’t mean it was anything. “Like I said, maybe it’s just me looking for something when there’s nothing there.”
Dean flipped his shirt over his shoulder and got in front of Blake. “Stop the bs and tell me what’s got your boxers in a bunch.”
He did his best not to stare at the sweaty, half naked guy in front of him. Not only was Dean straight, he was Jason’s brother, and Blake was dating Ethan. But he was still hot.
“He’s quieter since I told him.”
“Could be a lot of things.” Dean nodded toward the field house. “Doesn’t mean he’s uncomfortable around you.”
“He keeps his towel around his waist when he puts his boxers on if I’m around.” There. He’d said it and it didn’t sound half as stupid as he feared.
“Did he do that last year?”
“Nope.” Blake shook his head. “And yesterday, when I came back from the shower he was getting dressed and nearly fell over trying to get his underwear on in a hurry. Like I was going to trying and….”
He shrugged and left out the rest. Dean could fill in the blanks without a full explanation.
“Okay, that’s weird.”
Great. Even a straight guy thought his roommate was acting weird. “So what do I do? If I call him on it, he’ll probably deny it. Or worse, he’ll say I freak him out.”
“Didn’t you say you guys talked it out?” Dean smiled at the female working the counter. “Hey, Jenna.”
“Hi Dean.” She smiled back and reached under the desk. When Jenna looked up, she handed Dean his ID card. “Here you go.”
Blake held back a snort. What to do with the all important, can’t get back into the facility without it, student ID card while on a run always proved a challenge. Dean had been on campus all of a month and he’d managed to make it a non-issue.
“Thanks.” He took the card, gave Jenna a wink and tapped it on the sensor. Blake dug his ID from the waistband of his shorts and followed his friend. They’d barely cleared the corner when Dean spun around, a big grin on his face. “I think she likes me.”
“Really?” He rolled his eyes. “Ya think?”
“Well I wasn’t sure at first.” For all that girls—and several gay guys Blake knew—swooned over Dean, he seemed oblivious to the attention. He was an inch or two shorter than Jason and not as lanky as his older brother, but Dean might be the better looking of the two. Not that Peter would agree of course.
“She does.”
“Says the gay…” Dean stopped speaking and his eyes opened wide. With a twitch of his head, he quickly scanned the hall. “Sorry.”
“For what? Mentioning that I’m gay?” Saying the last word out loud was a strain, but Blake had come out already and as Jason was always saying, Blake was “all in” now. “It’s not a secret anymore. Not with Ethan for a boyfriend.”
Dean’s grin returned. “Well no offense, but taking girl advice from the gay guy probably isn’t going to do me much good.”
“See, that’s where you’re so wrong.” They started walking again. “First, I don’t look at girls to see if they’re attracted to me, I watch who they stare at to see if the guy is cute.”
“That’s so wrong.” Despite his protest, Dean laughed. “What are they, your scouts or something?”
“Or something.” This was all pure bullshit, but he wanted to see how far he could take it with Dean. “Girl like hot guys too you know. I let them do the heavy lifting, and then I make use of their recon.”
“You’re crazy. You know that?”
They stopped talking as they walked through the locker room to the row where they’d left their stuff. Having not seen anyone on the way, Blake felt comfortable continuing the conversation.
“Think about it like this, not every hot guy is straight.” He raised an eyebrow waiting for Dean to react. “How they react when a girl is checking them out helps me figure who’s on which team.”
Dean’s eyes opened wider. “Seriously?”
Blake tried not to smile, but he couldn’t hold it back. “Nah, I’m just fucking with you. I can’t tell shit from how a girl looks at a guy.”
For a moment Dean didn’t react. Then he frowned and grabbed his wet shirt from his shoulder and flung it at Blake. Poised for some reaction, Blake still didn’t move fast enough. The shirt struck Blake in the chest and fell to the ground.
“Sorry, Dean, but I figured I’d mess with you after that, ‘don’t take advice from a gay guy’ comment.” He slid the tip of his toe under the white shirt and flipped it up toward its owner. “But I can still tell when someone is into someone else. And Jenna is into you.”
He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the bench in front of his locker. “I’m going to get a towel, did you want me to get you one?”
“Nah, I’ll shower at home.” Dean began taking stuff out of his locker. “The showers here suck.”
“Yeah, well, bad as they are here, they’re worse in the dorm.” Without waiting for a reply, Blake walked back toward the towel shelf.
“Actually,” Dean called from behind. “Get me one too? I kinda stink.”
Blake snickered, but didn’t say anything. The crappy showers in the field house weren’t so bad if you wanted to impress the hot girl working the front desk. He grabbed a couple towels and made his way back to his clothes. He handed one to Dean and turned around to get undressed.
“What are you going to do about Brett?” Dean asked.
“I dunno.” He shrugged and toed off his running shoes. After putting them in his locker, he sat on the bench. “I’m not sure if I should do anything at this point. Maybe he’ll loosen up after a couple days.”
He finished getting undressed and put his things inside the locker. Snatching his towel off the bench, he quietly made his way to the showers. He’d barely started to adjust the water when Dean arrived.
“You should talk to D.”
“Darryl?” Blake would have expected Dean to suggest his brother. “Why him?”
“Darryl’s had to deal with his best friend and roommate coming out to him. Maybe he’d have some better advice.”
They showered in silence as Blake mulled over the suggestion. Darryl might be the better option, but given how quickly and completely he accepted Jason after he’d come out, he might not have anything useful to offer. Then again.
“I think I’ll ask D what he thinks.” He said it as much for himself as for Dean. Either way, it felt awkward in his room now, so going to talk to his captain was a good excuse to get out of the room.
Dean rinsed the soap from his face and said, “Cool. Come over for dinner. Pete’s cooking tonight so I know D will be there.”
Blake laughed and leaned into the spray. “Okay.”
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