Love is a Verb

Love is a Verb Part 5

"Wow, this is pretty awesome. I've never really been disc golfing before." "Well you're in for a treat then. Don't think I'm going to let you win just because you're John Mayer though, I'm going all out." I give him a playful punch on the arm. He smirks and we grab our discs. I take the first shot, which bounces just off of the chains. I walk to where it fell, and take another shot, this time getting it in. He nods, "Not bad, not bad. Let's see how I do." He takes aim carefully and tosses the disc at the net. It slams into the top of the pole, but drops down into the basket. I shake my head in approval, "Wow, nice shot. I thought for sure that was bouncing out." He shrugs, "Eh, beginners luck." We move onto the next net and banter back and forth. We're good competition for each other, and it's a close game.

We approach the last hole. I smile, "Well this is it, who will take the victory. Will the young veteran Forester triumph, or will the newbie Mayer take the win?" John chuckles as I take aim. This net is positioned on the other side of a tree, so angle is key. I let the disc fly, and it cranes around the tree, hitting the ground about four feet in front of the net. I walk over to it and take careful aim, second time's the charm. I take the disc out and look back at John. He holds his chin in thought, "So this means that I need a hole in one to win, right?" I nod, "Yes sir, a hole in one will win you the game." He lets out a breath, stretches, and takes aim. John releases the disc and it curves perfectly around the tree. It's on track to make it in the net, but ends up hitting the edge of one of the chains, and falls to the ground. John laughs, picks the disc up, and drops it in the net. "Wow, that sure was a close one." I smile, "Yeah, we ended up tying. No one was victorious today. He shrugs, "I'd say it was a good game." He listens, "I keep hearing water, is there a river or something over there?" I nod, "Yeah, just through the trees is the dam. Do you want to go see it?" He laughs, "What do you think?" I smile and lead the way to the water.

We break through the bushes and end up on the bank of the dam. The water sparkles in the sunlight, and we see birds flying over the place. John sits down by the bank, and I plop down next to him. I reach to my left and dig a small round rock out of their ground. I spin it around in my hand, feeling for the best edge to grip. When I find the sweet spot, I ready my wrist, and flick the rock towards the water. It skims and hops across the dam four times. John claps softly, "Hey that was a pretty good skip. What's your record?" I think back to my family camping trips to the lake, "I think the most I ever got was seven. How about you?" He shakes his head, "I actually don't know how to skip rocks. When I was little my older brother Carl was skipping them in the lake, and accidentally nailed me in the head with one. I know it sounds stupids, but after that I didn't really care to skip them." I nod, "That makes sense. I have twin siblings, they're ten. They're the reason I no longer eat Cheerios." He opens his eyes wide, "I won't even ask." We chuckle together. I pick up another rock, "I can show you how if you want, I promise I won't hit you in the head." He considers my offer, and then stands up, ready to learn.

I hold the rock between my fingers, "So you want to feel around and figure out how to get the best grip. I usually turn it over a few times." I hand the rock to him and he feels for the best spot. "Okay, once you find your grip, it's all about stance. Copy me." I stand sideways with my right hand facing the water, and John does the same. "Oops, sorry. I'm left handed. You should turn the other way." He laughs and the positions himself so he's facing me. I smile, "Next you want to make sure you have good balance, and get your wrist like you're throwing a frisbee the opposite way." He looks confused, but practices a couple of times and gets it. He asks, "Is it like a rough flick when I let go, or softer?" I think, "Sort of in the middle. You'll know when you do it. I think you're ready now. Here watch me, and then you try." He nods and I let my rock fly. It gets four hops again. He practices his wrist flick one more time, and then hurls his rock into the water. I watch as it skips four, five, six times. I look at him smiling, and he's ecstatic. We lock eyes and I feel that warm feeling again, but even stronger. I feel myself leaning towards him, and he leans towards me. We keep eye contact and then he tilts his head slightly, and I feel our lips connect. At first it's a soft connection, but then he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his body, and we move as one. Kissing, then taking a breath, then back to kissing. After a few minutes, he slowly pulls away, and we just look at each other.

We step apart, and he starts to talk. "Eli, I didn't mean to overstep like that. I'm so sorry, I just felt like we were having a moment, I'm so sorry." I reach out and hold his hand, "John, you don't have to be sorry, I kissed you back. It's okay, I'm not upset." He nods, "I understand if you want to go home now. I know I'm old and you're probably grossed out." "Hey, you're not old! 32 is not old. I don't need to go home, can we talk about this?" He looks at me, and then sits back down. 

John says, "Eli, I've just never felt this way before. When we met this morning, there was just something about you. I know you're a fan, but you weren't obnoxious. You didn't fangirl over me, or tell me how many posters you have of me on your wall. You didn't try to show off your knowledge of John Mayer facts in front of your friends. Hell, you haven't even asked to take a picture with me. I honestly don't think you've touched your phone since you texted your Dad. I know that we don't know each other that well, but I really like you." He waits for an answer, "I'm not going to lie, I do pay attention to you in the media. I listen to your songs, and watch your interviews, and follow your instagram story," that gets me a smile. "But when I listened to you talk I felt like I understood exactly what you were saying. I thought that I was just a really big fan, but today I realised I had a crush on you. And that was before I even knew you. After talking with you today, and just taking you places to have a normal day, I know that that crush is for the real John Mayer, not the celebrity artist. I know that you're a lot older, but I'm 18, and we're not doing anything wrong. Maybe we should just see where things go."