My Mistakes: A BxB Story

Come Give Us a Taste of Your Quality

Chapter Six: Come Give Us a Taste of Your Quality

Jeff slept off and on all of the next day.

Dane got up at his normal time, 6:30, but felt uncomfortable going for a run and leaving his patient alone.

He stood and stared at his new roommate for a long time. Again, wondering why he'd immediately felt so fiercely protective of Jeff the second he got hurt. Even now, he realized, he couldn't walk away, and actually allowed himself lay back down on the bed, dressed. He had to stop himself from touching Jeff's eyebrows. They looked really furry, but he didn't want to wake him up by accident.

After a few minutes of just staring at Jeff, he finally made himself go downstairs, and have breakfast with his parents, a very unusual occurrence. Usually they left during his jog.

They ate quietly, his parents obviously surprised by his company. Finally, his mom broke the tense silence.

"So, did Jeff sleep okay?"

Dane nodded, sipping his coffee. "Yes, he woke up a few times and I gave him a little food, but he practically fell asleep while eating it."

"Make sure he eats and drinks a lot of water," his mom reminded him. "The doctor said to keep his wrist elevated, but he should move his fingers if he feels up to it, to increase circulation."

"Poor kid, it's the end of his season for sure," his dad said, shaking his head and continuing to scroll through his phone while taking bites of his scrambled eggs.

"What?" Dane said, confused.

His parents rolled their eyes at their son's ignorance of sports injuries. They both played basketball in high school and met playing the sport at the junior college. Lane was just like them, still playing with his best friend Mason at University of Washington, as walk ons, but that still was an amazing feat for small town athletes. Now both his parents still played pick up games with some neighbors, even after long hours at work. His mom was a dental hygienist and his dad was a real estate agent. But hoops ran in their blood.

Which was why Dane's childhood disinterest and longstanding lack of knowledge about the sport was so frustrating. He chose to focus on music. He told them he was gay. He liked to do domestic things around the house. He even liked to clean! They didn't know what to make of him. His identity was nothing they understood.

Gay people were only on TV, on shows they chose not to watch, or loud mouthed activists who they saw on the news. They hoped it was just a phase, were so glad he hung out with Alyisha, hoping that he might someday declare his foolishness over and date her. When his friends from his support club came over, they left, unsure how to deal with Jamie's preference for pink crop tops, Harrison's over the top behavior and Jude's makeup. But they were thankful that amidst all of his friends' genderbending behavior, Dane remained, at least in his clothes and mannerisms, normal. Even if he liked music and said he was attracted to boys. He never seemed to date, which was another huge relief.

Dane knew the meaning behind every twitch and hastily smothered sour expression on their faces. He'd had a lot of practice reading the room, having come out in seventh grade. And every time they praised Lane to the moon and back, he tried to squash his bitter feelings, wondering what they would say if they knew that Lane was putting his dick in Mason's ass on the regular. He was never once tempted to say anything, ever. He loved his brother. Lane and Mason were both terrific guys, good people. He knew they must be so scared that all four of their parents would find out.

"He's out for the season, of course, Dane. He can't play with a broken wrist. Even with physical therapy, which who knows if he can afford, he probably won't play the rest of this school year. It's a huge shame. Doubt he'll get picked up by any college teams now."