Page 22 of Disorderly

As I crossed the line, I felt two hands tag my back. But it didn’t matter. I’d managed to elude him long enough to get us the points.

“Great run, Mr. Evans.” Jake slapped my back as he ran to the sidelines, meeting his best friend Josh in a massive chest bump. Those two were characters, but I loved watching their friendship. It reminded me of mine with Jason during our high school days. I wondered if they got up to the same things we did when prying eyes weren’t around, but as far as I knew, neither one of them admitted to being gay or bi. And despite their popularity with the girls, I’d never really seen them date for any length of time. It’s probably why rumours of them abounded through the school, but no one had the guts to confront them directly.

Much to my relief, Zach called for the kicker to come on the field, opting to go for the tie instead of the win. I headed to the sidelines, to Katy, to protect her from Krissy. Jarrod had informed me over the weekend that the girls were bothering Katy due to our friendship. I’d witnessed it a few times at school, but obviously I didn’t see all the incidents if Katy had spoken to Jarrod about it. It made me wonder why she never told me, but then again, I was still working on regaining her trust. I’d screwed up enough, causing her to get hurt. I didn’t need to do it again.

“That was an incredible show of stamina, Mr. Evans.” I nearly swallowed my tongue at Krissy’s blatant double entendre.

“So about that party?” Mason grinned as he pulled off his sweat-soaked t-shirt, drawing Krissy’s gaze. But then she turned her gaze back to me as she licked her lips. I had no question that she was imagining me pulling mine off. And if she wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have hesitated. It wasn’t like Katy hadn’t seen me shirtless countless times.

“Yes, come to the party. The senior girls want you there. That way we can all head back to your house for a sleepover after. We want to induct you into the club, letting you be the senior girls’ leader next year. Isn’t that right, Mr. Evans? The senior girls from the year before pick the next leader.”

“I wouldn’t know as I’m not a girl.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I cringed, knowing I’d given her the perfect opening. And from the way Krissy’s eyes lit up, she knew it as well.

“No, you most certainly are not a girl,” she purred. Even Katy rolled her eyes and looked horrified at the comment. It was so inappropriate, but I didn’t know if it would be considered as crossing the line. Leaving her underwear in my desk drawer hadn’t been as there had been no proof that she’d been the one to place them there. I needed something shocking, something that would end her little stunts once and for all. I just didn’t know what.

“You can’t leave me hanging again,” Mason wheedled. “I really want to go to a party with you.”

“I-I can’t.” I hated that they made Katy act timid. She liked to please people and Mason would always have a spot in her heart because I thought she still saw him as that little boy who was being picked on. It didn’t matter that the little boy was as big as me and one of the kings of the school, wanted by all, to her, he’d be the guy who she played with when no one else would play with him. And I could see how she fought between her feelings of wanting to go to the party to make him happy and her own fears. After all, it had only been a month since she was attacked. To me, I thought she was recovering amazingly well. She’d joined the cheerleading squad, continued to step into leadership of the social activist club, and even joined the student council. Outside of the social activist group, the other two things were outside her comfort zone without having been assaulted.

As I watched Katy wrestle with turning them down again despite their continued pressure, I noticed when her eyes drifted over my shoulder and widened. She licked her lower lip and jealousy hit me like a bolt of lightening. Whatever she saw, whomever it was, she liked the way they looked. I turned a little until I could see… Jarrod had ripped his shirt off and was walking to us. And I had to admit that I agreed with Katy. I definitely liked what I saw.

Thoughts of protecting Katy, of stopping Krissy and others from harassing her filled my head as I strutted towards Jarrod. I needed something big, and this would be. It would also keep me from temptation. A way to uphold my promise to myself and my silent vow to her. I didn’t stop to think of anything else. Not of how it would be perceived or how Jarrod would feel. Only thoughts of her played in my mind.

When I was close enough, I reached out, yanking him to me through my hand on the back of his neck. And then I kissed him.

Not a sweet little peck. Not one on his cheek. No, this was a full on, tongue invading, claiming that I laid on him. I pressed up against him, chest-to-chest as my mouth devoured him. I barrelled past his initial hesitation—most likely from surprise—until he melted into me, returning as good as I gave.

Nothing else existed. Him and me, that’s it. He was mine and I wanted to show him, show others.

Hoots and hollers broke through the spell that had fallen over us, letting in the outside world. Only then did the nerves and the questions set in. What had I just done? Had I just outed myself and Jarrod in a spectacular fashion without talking to him first? I did. Fuck. Hopefully he wouldn’t care, not when it was done to make Katy’s life easier. To protect her from the vipers like Krissy. He’d be fine with that, wouldn’t he?

If I wanted any reassurance from Jarrod about my actions, I wasn’t about to get it. Not with the combination of shock and anger on Jarrod’s face. I may have helped Katy, but I might have screwed things up with him. Why couldn’t I ever learn to think before acting?

But I couldn’t let that stop me. I needed to see my actions through.

With my arm around Jarrod’s waist, I pulled him back to where Katy and the others continued to sit. The happy smile on Mason’s face as his gaze darted between Jarrod and I, filled me with pride. I was finally acknowledging a part of me that I’d kept hidden. And it made me happy even if I didn’t do it to beout. But best of all, Krissy didn’t look pleased. I gave Jarrod a quick kiss on the cheek to hammer home the point to her. I wasn’t a free man. I wasn’t interested in her. If she continued to throw herself at me, she’d look desperate to all her peers. I mean, who would respect a girl that continued to throw herself at a taken gay man—gay since I was going to make sure that people knew I was committed to Jarrod, even if I was still bisexual. I doubted any of them would even think about the possibility.

Yet even though I stood in front of her, Katy didn’t meet my eyes. She gave us both a trembling smile, but then turned her attention to the ground as people continued to ask questions about our relationship.

The moment things quieted; I nudged her toes with mine. “Since Jarrod is here instead of at the office, do you need a ride home?”

“Thanks, but I’m good. I wasn’t making an excuse when I said I already had plans.” She lifted her gaze to Mason, placing her hand on his forearm, but she snuck a glance at Jarrod and I to make sure that we were listening. “Mrs. Stittson is a nurse at the hospital who has three little children including an infant. Her husband’s away, working on an oil rig on the other side of the world. Two weeks ago, she had to have emergency surgery and recovery has been slow. Her sister’s been helping, but she had a special event for her work tonight that she couldn’t reschedule. I’d offered to babysit before I knew about any parties.”

“Well, I can’t argue with needy kids.” Mason patted her hand. “But one of these days I’m going to get you to a party with me.”

She chuckled and shrugged as she stood. “Speaking of needy kids, I need to leave. See you on Monday.”

She walked away without a backwards glance and my heart froze. How the hell had I hurt her again?

Chapter Sixteen

Katy

Thank God for small mercies.Or small, needy kids in this case because every time I started to think about what happened this afternoon, one of the kids interrupted me or the baby needed something—a feeding, a diaper change, or even just a cuddle. But every quiet moment my mind wandered. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel about Peter kissing Jarrod… like that. It hurt. I felt betrayed. It obviously hadn’t been their first time together which made me wonder how long they’d been together without me knowing. And why hadn’t they told me. I wouldn’t have said anything. Did they not trust me?

I mean, I told them everything. Well just about everything. Everything that was of importance except how real my feelings were for them. Although even that wasn’t true. I told them a number of times that I loved them. It wasn’t my fault that they thought that I meant like a friend or a brother.

So why didn’t they tell me?

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