chapter 5

They had arranged to meet up at Joshua's house the next afternoon, which would be Saturday. They were going to play basketball, nothing too serious. Cole wore a pair black athletic shorts that came to a few inches above his knees and a black t-shirt. He also wore a pair of gray sneakers.

"I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked. I'm pretty good at basketball," Cole said jokingly. Joshua smiled at him, conflicted by the feelings deeper than friendship growing inside of himself. He couldn't be gay. Could he?

The boys had been goofing around on Josh's backyard basketball hoop. Cole wasn't as terrible as he thought he'd be. They stood a respectable distance from the rim and Josh stood behind Cricket. He had removed his shirt because he was perspiring. Cole felt Joshua's stomach on the back of his t-shirt. Josh positioned Cole's hands in order to help his shot. They did that until Cole could finally do it on his own. Joshua's hands were meaty and a bit coarse. Cole was incredibly happy. When he made three shots in a row he jumped up in celebration.

"In a movie that would've been freeze-framed," Cricket said with a smile. His smile caused a warmth in the pit of Josh's stomach. He felt his face get incredibly hot. They looked at one another seriously. Josh began to fill the space between the two. He leaned down a bit and kissed Cole on the mouth softly. Cole noted how soft Josh's lips were and how his breath was sweet. Time really did seem to stop. Cole's hands found their way to Josh's muscular pectorals and he pushed him back softly.

Joshua stood shirtless in front of Cole. He wore a pair of gray sweat pants that allowed Cole to clearly see the outline of Joshua's meaty penis. Cole could feel himself getting hard, thinking about licking Josh's sweaty gut and sucking his dick.

Neither said a word, but they both knew what the other wanted to say. Josh had a girlfriend. Josh wouldn't be able to have a relationship with Cole. "Cricket, I--," Josh began.

"I should go," Cole interjected. He ran over to the fence and snatched his bag up along the way. What was he thinking? He couldn't do stuff like that with Josh. Jessica had specifically said Josh wasn't gay. But what did she know? But what did Josh know? He was probably just confused. He hadn't actually meant anything by the kiss. Cole's thoughts swirled around in his head and he had to sit down or he'd fall over.

Josh felt his stomach tighten and untighten. It was nerves, but he took it for being hungry. He went into the house and grabbed a bag of cookies and some chips. He also took the milk carton and made his way to his room. What had he done? Was it so bad? Was he gay now?

He put a cookie in his mouth and took a swig of the milk. He continued this process until the cookies were gone and he started in on the BBQ potato chips. His stomach was full and rounded. His phone began to ring, and hoping it was Cole, he answered it quickly.

"Hey babe," Jess started. He felt himself tense up. She knew! He felt the stomach thing again and made his way downstairs as she continued. "Our Saturday of Sister Service is over and I'm like two blocks away."

"You're what?" he asked stuffing a donut into his mouth.

"I'll be outside in like two minutes. See you soon." He was in no mood to see her. His head wasn't in it. He had to be on guard when he was around Jess. If he said the wrong thing she'd flip out. He ran upstairs and grabbed a shirt. He tried to suck in his tummy but it wasn't working. He relaxed his belly and felt it through the shirt. It felt sort of good. He felt large, and that was a nice feeling.

The doorbell rang and he made his way to answer it. He attempted to suck his stomach in again. He held it in as he answered the door. She looked at him for a moment and he let out his breath before quickly sucking his stomach back in. She raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Josh, babe, you need to lay off the junk food. You look so bloated." She thought he was bloated when he held in his stomach? He couldn't let it out again. He didn't want to hear another lecture on appearances and social standing and other superficial bullshit.