Mine, Always

Chapter Eight

A week later it's Tuesday again. I'm just deciding where to head for an hour before swim practice starts when I see Zach walking down the corridor towards me. He's wearing a white t-shirt; that fits him snugly, dark blue jeans, black boots and a leather jacket that's clearly not his; it's at least a size if not more two big. Instantly I feel sad as I realise it's probably his boyfriends, it shouldn't matter to me but it does and I hate it.

"Tom!" he calls completely unaware of my inner turmoil.

"What's up?" I ask deciding on the library rather than the courtyard everyone else is probably waiting.

"Can I hang with you before practice? All the guys want to play football – that's not really my thing," he says.

"How do you know it's not my thing?" I ask and he raises an eyebrow at me, when I don't say anything else he finally says something.

"I don't know, guess I just didn't think it was," he says shrugging.

"It's not, I'm heading to the library if you want to join me," I say walking through the door and up the stairs to the third floor where the library is.

"Damn," Zach mutters from behind me and when I turn to him he blushes and looks away embarrassed; about what I have no idea.

When we get to the library we sit in the reading corner and the silence is awkward; I hate it. I'm not good at sitting in silence with people I hardly know so I say the first thing that pops into my head.

"So is that your boyfriend's jacket?" I ask trying and failing to seem like a normal person.

"Why you jealous?" He asks grinning.

"Of course not," I reply nonchalantly surprised I don't lie and add I'm not gay on to the end of the sentence.

"It's my dad's – well it was when he was 18 – it doesn't fit him anymore so he said I could have it," he tells me.

"Right," I say suddenly worried that the flirting might have been a joke; I mean he might not even be gay.

"So why were you late to try-outs?" I ask instead trying to steer the conversation away from mine or his sexuality.

"My little sister – she's 7. My parents work so she has to have a babysitter, she wasn't sure about going with a lady she barely knows so I had to go and reassure her that it was ok to go with her," he says shrugging like it's nothing.

"Oh well it's really cool that you could calm her down I guess," I say and I wonder if maybe me and Zach could become friends and then I won't be stuck with just Sophie my whole life.