Murphy & Jolen

Chapter 7

By the time Homecoming weekend came up I had gotten closer to Jolen, Marquis and Trent. We tried hanging out on the weekends. I had Jolen's number and we sometimes texted nothingness to each other. I also saw that teen reader girl at the library, her name is Torrie and she's sixteen, which makes me almost two years older than her. I could tell she had a little crush but I didn't see much in it. She was a sophomore at the next high school.

Homecoming weekend is a big deal here. All the white boys were throwing parties and getting white boy wasted. There was the pep rally then the game and then the dance. The pep rally and game were on the same day, Friday. The dance was on the following night, Saturday.

I watched the pep rally up top of the bleachers on the senior section with Jolen, Marquis and Trent. All the classes were going ham on the freshmen. There were all kinds of activities and contests going on. I wasn't really feeling none of it. This whole gym was just mostly a sea of white people. Marquis and Trent were hyped up with the other black guys in our class. Jolen and I were just laid back.
"They always like this?" I asked.
"Since freshmen year."
He sounded bored.
"How long have you known them?"
I never had wondered until now.
"Since 6th grade. They were already attached at the hip."
"How long they known each other?"
"Day one, their moms were neighbors."
"Damn, they been together too long." Jolen laughed. We proceeded to watch Marquis and Trent dance on the gym floor with the other students to the music that was blaring.
"Are you going to the dance?" Jolen asked me.
I could feel him looking at me but I was steady staring straight ahead.
"Nah, I can't do all that, but catch me at the game tonight."
"Cool, I'mma be there too."
"So you're always alone when these two act a fool?"
"Actually, sometimes I act a fool with them."
"That's the first impression I got when I first met you. You seemed silly and a musketeer."
Jolen chuckled.
"But that died down once you seen me."
He stopped chuckling and turned serious, not making any comment.

We didn't talk after that. The next time we talked was later that night, sitting on the bleachers in the cold air watching Marquis, Trent and their team play against the other team in football. Jolen and I were sitting next to each other again. After the pep rally I had went back home and took a nap. I woke up to Jolen's text saying that he'd meet me at my usual bus stop so that we could walk to the high school. I was cool with it but the walk was silent. Now we were still silent on the bleachers. It no longer felt like an uncomfortable thing.
"Do you play sports? I don't remember you saying whether you did or not."
I finally broke the silence. Jolen looked at me and perked up a little.
"I sometimes play basketball or lacrosse but I mostly play soccer."
I looked at him.
"That's different."
My face was screwed up with shock. Jolen shrugged. I wasn't really paying attention to the game and I could tell Jolen wasn't either. He would look around or stare up into the sky. He was doing that now.
"Do you believe in all the Astrology and horoscope stuff?" he asked.
I thought it was a random question to ask but he was just looking up into the sky.
"Uh, I don't really follow it much."
"Do you know what your zodiac sign is?" he asked me.
"Yeah, Taurus," I said to him and I saw his eyes increase in size but they were soon back to their normal size.
He was obviously shocked by something I said. "What's wrong?"
"I'm a Capricorn," he smiled.
I was confused.

What did that mean?

"Okay..."
"Taurus and Capricorn are very compatible," he said and then I noticed that his eyes had this dreamy state about them.
I was trying to understand this. It took me a while. Taurus and Capricorn are compatible...
"Oh," I said.
I think I got it.
"So we are just really cool signs, like, we'll get along well."
Jolen was cheesing.
"Something like that."
I felt like he wasn't telling it all, but I disregarded it after a while.

After the game, Jolen's whole vibe changed. He was almost following my every move, he was kind of, like, hanging onto me. I didn't mind it at all. We decided to hang out after the game, but we bounced way before it ended.
"I was getting tired of that game," I said.
"Me too. Let's go to the golf course."
I looked over at him. It was really dark out.
"Why?"
"I know a spot."

So I followed Jolen and we walked some ways there. He took me to the pond. There was a bench with no backing just sitting by the pond. We sat on it and the site was cool to see. The moon and stars reflected in the water and this brought on deja-vu.

I was here before on a night like this.

I looked up at the sky and it was a black night and the stars were shining. I looked at Jolen but he was staring at the pond. Realization hit me then.
"I used to think that I would grow out of it. I still do. My dad thinks so too."
I continue to let him talk.
"But when I keep feeling like this I know nothing's going to change. So I'll try to accept this."
He looked at me.
"What are you trying to say?"
He didn't answer me verbally. He leaned towards me and the first thing I felt was his mouth on mine. I was startled that my reflex kicked in to push him back. I wasn't feeling it at first; I was unsure.
But then I thought about the times I thought about him while doing sexual stuff to myself.... maybe. I went back in, too much, and we fell off the bench. I prevented Jolen from hitting the ground so he winded up on top of me. He laughed and I smiled and we continued kissed. Once I got into it I really felt it. I felt myself stirring down there and I was enjoying it.
"I can go on forever," he said when he came up for a breather.
"I bet," I grinned.
"Your hands are on my ass," Jolen said. I quickly removed them and apologized.
"But I like it," he said all sexy and grinned.
I kissed him again.