Another Jock Story

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(Adam’s POV)

The party had already started when I got there.The house was packed, the music was loud and beer was flowing. The moment I stepped into the living room turned into dance floor, I saw Jennifer parting from her friends and coming my way a big smile on her face. She yelled over the music.

”Adam, I’m so glad you agreed to come.” I couldn’t hide my smile. She thought I came to the party for her. This is gonna be a long night if she kept sticking to me. And obviously she had no intention of leaving seeing as she put her hand on my arm and the victorious smile she was sending her girl friends. Then she looked at me and said in a husky voice

“ Wanna dance?” With you? Hell, no ! That’s what I wanted to say but instead I forced a smile and said

“No, not really my thing.”

“Well , then how about we get out of here, to have some time alone?” Well at least she’s straightforward, I thought sarcastically.

“Look Jennifer, I just got here. I didn’t get to hang out with the guys yet.” Not subtle as a rejection but I really didn’t care. She looked disappointed then she said sulkily

“Well, when you want to leave , you know where to find me” With a last squeeze to my arm, she turned on her heels and walked away.

I looked around to see if Gabriel is already there but I didn’t see him. I felt a tightening in my gut as I thought that maybe he decided not to come after all. But then again, he promised he was coming, and I felt that he would keep his promise. Now I just had to wait for him. So I decided to look for the team guys. I followed the loudest noise and had no trouble finding them. They were all there, and cheered when they saw me.

”Yo, Adam, you’re late dude”, one of them said.

“Yeah, well, better late than never” I answered.

“Yeah, right, well at least you haven’t missed all the fun”

“Or the booze..” another one added in a slurry voice.

“Maybe you should stop drinking , you’re drunk as it is.” Cannon said teasing

“Oh come on, where’s the fun if you don’t get smashed?”

“How about a hangover-free morning?” I answered.

“Oh man, captain, you’re such a party pooper”Summons teased. The banters kept for some time and it wasn’t really that bad. It was good to bond with the guys. Except the one I really wanted to see wasn’t there. Where was Gabriel? Is he really not coming?
All of a sudden Summons dropped his beer bottle and let a whistle

”Well well well, guys check it out. Chris your bro is here.”

“Are you that drunk that you’re hallucinating?”, Cannon barked a laugh, ”There’s no way in hell Gabriel will come to a party”

“Well, I’m quite sure it’s him.”, Summons said stubbornly, ”Look he’s over there.”

We turned to the direction he was pointing at and there was Gabriel all right.

He looked so out of place there. I couldn’t understand how he could have such a calm aura about him in such a loud place. He didn’t look uncomfortable at all, actually disinterested at best. He didn’t seem to notice us. Not until Cannon walked towards him and boy, big brother didn’t look pleased .

“Gabriel? What are you doing here?”

“Hey”, Gabriel answered simply which seemed to piss his brother even more.

“What are you doing here?”, He repeated.

“I thought it’d be fun to drop by”, came the quiet reply.

“You don’t go to parties Gabriel, remember?”, Cannon said as though talking to a retarded and that seemed to amuse Gabriel.

That’s when I decided to step in and I said happily : “Gabriel? I’m glad you came.”

He looked at me with a small smile and said : “I told you I would come.”

“You two know each other?”, Cannon asked looking between the two of us.

“Yes, we do.”, I answered.

“How come?”, He demanded

“Sorry?”

“How did you know each other?”

“I bumped into him”, Gabriel answered softly.

“And that makes you buddies?”

“Do you have a problem with that Cannon?”, I asked, all this interrogation started to piss me off.

Instead of answering me, Cannon kept looking intently to his brother like he was trying to bore holes into his skull. And Gabriel met his gaze with a quiet unflinching one of his own. If anyone else did that it would have been considered challenging, but coming from Gabriel, it was oozing patience like he was curious to see what his brother would do next. And I would have enjoyed watching Cannon lose this staring contest if I didn’t want to spend as much time as possible with Gabriel so I said

“It’s getting too crowded in here,come on Gabe, let’s go outside.” He nodded quietly to his brother and followed me to the porch outside.

The breeze was welcome compared to the suffocating atmosphere inside. I took a deep breath then turned around to see him looking at me with the same patient gaze he was having earlier.

“For a moment I thought you wouldn’t show up.”

“Well, as I told you I promised.”

“Your brother doesn’t seem to like it.”

“Chris doesn’t like surprises.”, He answered with a small smile that I couldn’t help but return.

“You didn’t tell him you were coming.”

“I didn’t see the need to.”, He shrugged as though that explained everything.

“Well, anyway, how do you like the party so far?”

“You want me to be honest?”, He said teasingly.

“No",I said laughing,"I take back my question."

He looked straight at me and said quietly : “You are the only reason I came.” His honesty and direct gaze made me speechless and caused a funny feeling inside that I couldn’t understand.

“I appreciate that.”We watched the sky and the night lights silently for some time then I said “If you were a girl I would have been forced to ask you to dance out of courtesy.”

“Then lucky for the both of us I am not a girl.”, He laughed softly.

“How about a drink?”

“Any non alcoholic drink around?”

“I don’t think so.”, I answered, then I said, “I know a place having the best cappuccino you’ll ever have. Wanna go check it out?”

“Actually, I love cappuccino.”

“Good, then let’s go.”

We left the party and after a short walk we reached the cafe, we ordered and chose a quiet place to sit. Watching him I couldn’t stop my curiosity and I said

“Your brother and you are very different.”

He took a small sip from his cup and said : “ Not all brothers are alike.”

“I know, it’s just that you guys didn’t look very close.”

He thought about it for a moment then explained in a flat voice : “Since childhood we had very opposite personalities. Chris was a very active child even as a toddler, he liked meeting other kids, liked to play, whined and protested when it was nap time.”

He stopped, smiling softly and I knew he was reliving those memories.After another sip he continued.
”Me, on the other hand, I was a very quiet child, still am until now, I didn’t fit in with the other kids, didn’t like to play outside with them, I liked to go through my father’s library and desk looking at his books even though I didn’t understand them. Dad didn’t like that.”another soft smile then he continued”But that didn’t stop me, books were the one thing I didn’t follow orders about. My parents found it a bit weird and mum jokingly one day said that I was like a quiet little library mouse. I know some people at school think that way too.”

“They are idiots”, I said.

“I don’t mind”, He said shrugging, ”I don’t even care.”

“Well, if anyone says anything about you around me, they are so gonna regret it.”, I promised. I didn’t know why I felt this protective of him, maybe because he was so small and quiet that he looked defenceless and innocent.

“It’s no big deal.”, He smiled, ”I really don’t care. Some people are quick to pass judgement without knowing the necessary facts. And I only care about the opinion of people I care about.”

“I can understand that. But it still pisses me off.”

“Thank you.”, He said simply but the warmth and gratitude in his eyes said it all.

“You know I meant what I said.”

“I know.”

After we left the cafe, I said : “You know you didn’t stay at the party for more than five minutes.”

“That’s a record”

“Yeah”

“Well, I said I’d come to the party not stay”

“So technically you kept your promise?”

“Exactly. And it was your idea to leave.”, He teased.

“You can’t tell me you wanted to stay.”, I teased back.

“Touché”, He admitted. Then he said : “It’s getting late. I should go home now.”

“I’ll walk you home.”, I offered.

“No it’s alright, go back to the party”

“No, I didn’t plan on staying at the party any longer anyway. I’ll walk you home, no discussion”, I said half joking half serious.

“You do realize I’m not a girl and you don’t need to escort me home.”

“Nope, and the sooner you stop arguing the sooner you’ll get rid of me.”

“Ok, Mr White Knight.”

“Right then let’s go Gabe.”

“It’s the second time you call me Gabe.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s just new.”

“Nobody calls you that? I mean I expected that your family would find it easier to call you Gabe.”, I said incredulously.

“You’re the only one.”

“Do you want me to stop calling you that?”

“No”, He said softly. ”I like it.”

“Me too, Gabe, me too.”

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