Page 52 of The Jock
Justin tipped his head back and laughed all the way to the restaurant.
Wes scarfed two and a half burritos and saved the last half. Justin shook his head as he watched Wes plow through the first, barely stopping to breathe. After, Wes dutifully input the two-point-five burritos and chips into his phone for the team nutritionist. He sighed at the note the nutritionist had left him.Eat more. Report for weigh-in before Monday’s practice.
After, they went to a park at the end of the block, meandering down the jogging path as kids breezed by on roller skates and bikes while groups of moms power walked and gabbed. More than a few of the women eyed Wes like he was a cold drink of sweet tea, but he kept his gaze averted, focused ahead of him, and eventually the feeling of being on display crawled off his skin.
There was a pond at the center of the park, and ducks floated lazily on the surface. Wes looked, but there weren’t any feed stations. “Sorry,” he said to the ducks. “I’ve got nothing for you.”
They stayed out until the sun set, then walked back to Wes’s truck in the dark. He sneaked a kiss, and then another, and another, against the passenger door, out of sight of the park and the other cars. He wanted more, but they couldn’t. Not there. He held the door for Justin and then got in the driver’s seat and fired up the truck.
Justin held his hand the whole way home.
They parked around the corner on Twenty-Ninth, Wes pulling in right behind Justin’s little white Honda. He carried Justin’s bag from the bookstore, along with his stinky jersey, as Justin stuck the dancer sticker to his rear windshield.
“You know, I think we did things backward,” Justin said, after Wes passed him his bags. “We met and lived together, fell in love, and now we live across the street from one another. And we’re dating.”
Wes felt the smile unfurl across his face, like a flag flapping in the breeze. He stared at the asphalt. Dug his tennis shoe into the crack in the road between their bumpers. “Yeah, I guess we did.”
There probably wasn’t an apartment they could rent that would fit their budget. Wes’s budget was pennies, and it wouldn’t be fair to Justin to ask him to foot the majority of the bill. Maybe if Wes got a job in spring, and he saved up. Maybe next year.
“It’s annoying that you’re across the street, too,” Justin said, oblivious to Wes’s thoughts. “You’re maddeningly close. Too close. It’s veryWest Side Story, even.”
“That’s like Romeo and Juliet, right?” Wes squinted.
“Yeah.” Justin scrunched up his face. “Is there any epic love story that isn’t tragic?”
“Ours.” Wes smiled. “It’s not gonna be tragic. It’s gonna be epic.”
Justin rolled his eyes, but he smiled. “There you go, cowboy. Being romantic again.”
“What can I say? You bring it out of me.”
“Mm-hmm.” Justin kept smiling, like he’d never stop. “We could stand out here all night like this.”
“I know.”
“I should go.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“I know.”
They stood there, leaning against Wes’s truck, staring into each other’s eyes. They could hear laughter on Opal, conversations drifting out of backyards on Twenty-Ninth. Engines humming up and down the cross streets. Birds twittering in the leafy branches overhead.
“Can I walk you to class in the morning?” Wes asked.
“Of course. When do you have practice?”
“Now that school’s started, we practice in the afternoons. Two until six. I have to be there early, and I stay late after. All my classes are in the morning. Other than that, all the rest of my time is yours.”
“Want to meet for lunch tomorrow? In the dining hall?”
“Yes.” And the next day, and the next day, if Wes had his way. Every day. Always.
They stood there grinning, staring at each other, neither one moving. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.” Justin took a step away—
Wes checked up and down the block. Saw no one. He closed the distance between them and caged Justin between his body and his truck, his palms flat on the tailgate as he brought their bodies together. It was only one second, one moment, but Justin was in his arms, and he brushed his cheek before dropping a lightning-fast kiss on Justin’s lips.
He shoved off the tailgate and backed away. If he didn’t put distance between them, he might not care about the team or his scholarship much longer. He might throw it all away, just to feel Justin’s lips on his again.
