chapter 1

I had moved to America from France the summer before my freshman year in high school. Well, it could be said that I moved back to America. I had lived in the states for eight years before my mother was stationed in France.

She was actually still there. I had been living with my cousin Rainier and his parents. He was a really nice guy and he had made sure I fit in pretty well. Nobody picked on me or anything for being gay. They did pick on Kurt Von Zimmel.

Kurt was gay too, and no, he was not my boyfriend. We may have been the only two gay guys in the whole school, but he so wasn't my type. He thought that I liked him and has rejected my "advances" many times. As if.

I liked Lucas Vazey. He was captain of the football team and wrestled in the winter. I knew I was setting myself up for heartbreak. He even had a girlfriend, Dianna James. She was student council president. Well, co-president. She shared her position with Stan Rhodes.

Stan was so in love with her and didn't even try to hide it. If he didn't have so much pull in the school he'd totally be a nobody. Lucas even got into a fight with him last year for flirting with Dianna in front of him. Stan may have been attractive, but Lucas was huge. This football season he weighed in at 257 pounds.

How did I know that? I was team manager. Rainier convinced Coach Adler to let me manage both the football and wrestling teams. Weigh-ins were the best part of my job. I was actually really shocked how little everyone minded me recording their stats. I was a bit nervous I'd lose the job because someone would be "afraid" to allow me to see them in their boxers. They really shouldn't be; it was only Lucas I was interested in.

"Roman, are you ready?" shouted Rainier from the kitchen.

"I've been ready before you even got up!"

"Shut up, let's go." I grabbed my bag and made my way down the stairs. I spotted a bagel in his mouth.

"Good Morning."

"Morning," he replied. We made our way out of the front door after saying goodbye to his parents. He unlocked his truck. "Last practice of our high school football careers," he said jokingly.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm the manager, not a linebacker." He had been driving for five minutes.

"You could be." We both laughed. I was 5'7" and 136 pounds. Rainier was like my opposite. My mother and Aunt Jackie looked identical, but Rain and I were so different you'd be shocked that we were related.

Rain was 6'4" and 260 pounds. He might have been the strongest guy I knew. He had dark, black hair and hazel eyes. I was a blond and I had blue eyes. "Yeah right," I said with a sigh. "I am going to miss managing the team."

"I doubt that's all you're going to miss."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lucas. Everyone sees you checking him out." I had no idea people knew I liked Lucas.

"What...what?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Lucas can tell too." I blushed.

"How can you tell?" I rushed out the sentence. He pulled into the student parking lot.

"You stare at him."

"Why didn't you tell me I had been doing that!?"

"I thought I'd let you enjoy it."

"Gee, thanks Rain." His thick eyebrows rose as if in confusion. "You don't like Lucas?"

"I...I do...a lot." Rainier knew about Lucas, everyone knew about Lucas. We got out of the truck and went into the building. I went towards the coach's office and Rainier went to his locker.

"Coach Adler, I need to get the wrestling paperwork mailed in before the..." He was on the telephone. "Sorry."

"Yes. Yes. No. I'll call you back." He hung up the phone. "What's up kid?" Oh my god. Did he know about Lucas?

"The wrestling forms." He dug into a large pile of paperwork and handed me a large stack of papers.

"I don't envy the sucker who has to fill those out."

"Ha ha ha, very funny," I said. He smiled. "See you later Coach." I walked out of the office and into Lucas. All of the forms flew everywhere in the hall.

"Freshman, watch where...Roman, my bad." He smiled at me. Even if he knew I liked him, I still liked him. I loved looking at him. He was a stockier guy at 6'2" and I loved that.

"Sorry."

"I&apo s;m the idiot who walked into you." I had never actually had any meaningful conversations with Lucas. I'd just be around people who did.

"You're not an idiot." We had been stacking the papers back into order.

"Thanks." His light brown hair curled against his forehead. His lively green eyes focused on me as we gathered the last two forms. "Can't wait to see you at practice," he said. He smiled again and handed me the paper. He went into Coach Adler's office.