Part XIII - 12: Boy-talk

"Fold," I moaned, seeing I had no way of winning with a single pair of fours.

"Joe?" Nick prompted.

"Call," Joey said emotionlessly as he tossed the chips on the stack.

"Readem and weep," Nick said, laying the cards down so we could read them.

"Holy shit!" Joey said, seeing the four Jacks. "I can't believe you have all four Jacks!"

"Ha!" Nick bellowed out before reaching for the pile of chips.

"Ha yourself," Joey said, setting the four kings down.

"Shit! How do you do that!"

"You don't expect an answer do you? Didn't think so," Joey said, raking his chips in.

"Oh Bartender... " Joey called a few moments later.

"Yeah, what?!" Lenny said coming over.

"Be a good lad and get me a coke out of the fridge?" Joey said, smirking and handing Lenny the key to our room.

"Another one?" Lenny said as he turned to leave.

"Remind me to never bet my servitude for a week. It's not worth the gamble," I said to Joey.

"Heh. So Nick... You up for another game to win back your losses?"

"No way, man... I'm all played out. Good thing we weren't playing for money," Nick said, reaching up with his arms and stretching.

"You know," I said, watching Joey stack up his chips, "one of us should go see if Greg is still going to the party or not. From what I understand, we're supposed to show up in our group."

"Well don't look at me. I'm the one he's avoiding" Joey said.

"I'm not so sure of that. Ever since I called his bluff in the showers the other day, he's been kind of cautious about what he does while I'm around."

"Well, can't blame him there," Joey said, starting to do his fancy card shuffling. "You did call his bluff. That always makes me cautious about someone."

Nick sighed, then said, "All right. If you want me to do it, just say so."

"Say so," Joey and I both said without needing to think about it.

"Where's he going?" Lenny asked as he handed Joey his soda and key.

"He bet he could get some chick named Darlene to blow us all. He's going to find her with the twenty bucks she charges," Joey said seriously.

"WHAT!" Lenny said spinning towards the door. But then he got wise and turned around saying, "Yeah, and I bet you get to fuck her afterwards too."

"Nah... That costs an extra ten. But he said she might be having a special this week since her boyfriend doesn't satis... "

Lenny wrapped one of Nick's dirty workout shirts around Joey's face and kept it there while Joey struggled laughing. Finally Lenny let go and said, "There. That'll teach you for rippin' on my girl."

"Whose girl?" Kirk said, walking in the open door with a book bag.

My face lit up at the sound of his voice, hoping he had gotten my message yesterday after I suddenly thought of something to get rid of the dirty sex after-taste.

"Never mind. Did you bring it?" I asked.

"What do you think is in here? School books?" he said, unzipping the side and flashing the bottle of 200 proof grain alcohol.

"Cool. How much to I owe you?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.

"It's on me. Shit, if it wasn't for you getting your old friends to lend me the flicks, I'd be waist deep in shit right now trying to keep new stuff on my screen. Anything you want, just let me know. Anything."

"Thanks. Right now this is all I need," I said, patting the bag.

Nick came back at that moment, and said, "He's going, but he wants to talk to Tim alone for a minute."

"Who is it?" Greg's muffled voice said when I knocked.

"It's me. Tim. Nick said... "

The door opened up just wide enough for me to squeeze through, Greg nowhere to be seen.

I stepped through the gap, and almost got my finger crushed when Greg slammed the door behind me.

"What's going on?" I said, noticing how dim the room was with the curtains drawn. "Where's Austin?"

"He went home for the weekend," Greg answered still standing against the door.

"Greg, you're starting to worry me. Why are you avoiding us? I though you understood we wouldn't touch... "

"I know... " he said with a hint of unsteadiness. "Look. Tim... I have a secret. A secret I've never told anyone. But I have to tell someone and you kind of know a little bit of it already... Let's sit down, okay?"

He sat down on what I figured to be his bunk, so I sat down on the other one, only to find him getting up and sitting down next to me.

"I take it this has to do with what Joey and I did in the shower that one day?"

"Yeah, but its more than that. A lot more. You see, when I was growing up, all I heard what Austin this Austin that from my mom. My aunt, Austin's mom, worked, so my mom took care of Austin during the day. I was always second to him, even in my own house. My own room, even. Just because he was supposed to be gifted.

"But when I was thirteen, we started jerking off together, and I guess I had the advantage on him there. He's six months younger than I am, but my dad... I guess his dad was a late bloomer, or mine an early one... Anyway, I taught him everything I had figured out for myself, and we tried a few things together.

"I think I must have fallen in love with him or something. But then he, being the gifted child he is, suddenly decided that jerking off and everything else I had done with him was beneath him. It blew me away. He even started making fun of me. I guess I decided never to have anything to do with anyone like that again."

I waited for him to continue, and eventually had to say, "So what does this have to do with me and Joey?"

"Nothing... Except... I don't know how to say this... " He said hanging his head.

"Just say it any way you can," I said, trying to get my head low enough to make eye contact.

"I've hid all my life from any kind of... dating or... anything that would lead me back to feeling that kind of rejection. But... I... I never stopped hoping that Austin would, you know... reconsider? I'm not gay, and I don't think I'm even bi. But with Austin... What I'm trying to say is, when I saw you and Joey doing it, all I could think about... All I can still think about is how much I wanted to do something like that with Austin. I'm so confused... "