Kiss and Tell

I grabbed a hold of my suitcases and began to rush up to the familiar house. I was excited to see the friends that I’d missed for the last year and a half. Sharpie was definitely one of them, basically my big brother, and Niklas was always comforting to see. He was, after all a giant sweetheart.

To say seeing Jon again was a giant relief, and nearly brought me to tears would be an understatement. He was my best friend, he was the best part of my life, and going on for that long without him was extremely, extremely difficult. I’d spoken to him on the phone on rare occasions, and unfortunately didn’t see a single game, with the exception of her TV screen.

I threw open the door, kicked off my shoes and ran into the living room. Both boys looked up at me in unison. They burst into smiles, but I didn’t give them time to greet me, I lunged onto the couch and wrapped my arms around Sharpie, squeezing him as tightly as I possibly could, much like I had with Jon.

“Hey squirt!” He beamed, hugging me back softly, “It’s good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too!” I cried, letting go to manoeuvre my way over to Niklas, “And you, you beautiful Swedish bastard.”

He laughed and I hugged him. I did have quite a bit of resent for this city, for returning, but seeing old faced did make me feel a lot better. These were probably the only two guys who decided to give me a second chance, despite what I did to their team mates. I owed them lots. They were going to make this whole situation ten times easier for me, and I’m not sure I even deserved it.

Jonathan walked in with a smile on his lips and picked me up off of his friend. He laughed as I calmed down, finally able to regain my control. I was far too excited to see these two. He snuck his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, placing a kiss to my head.

“Do you want to stay in tonight?” He asked.

I frowned, glancing awkwardly at Sharpie and Niklas. I hadn’t ever spoken about Brent or Patrick in front of anyone besides Jonathan, he knew that. I shifted my eyes back to his and managed to force an awkward smile.

“Where would we go?” I asked, holding my breath.

Jonathan shrugged, “I don’t know. Out for dinner, a bar?”
“Think about it Lee,” Sharpie piped up, his voice eager, “In about a year you’ll be able to get in alone, like a big kid.”

I rolled my eyes and shot him a look before turning back to Jon, “Whose going to be there?” I had to say it through gritted teeth; I was dreading the moment when they realized I was back.

Jonathan sighed and rubbed my arm, as a comfort mechanism, “They’re going to have to find out eventually, why not get it over with?”

I shut my eyes and pouted, “I’d rather wait.”

“Too bad,” he whispered, patting my shoulder’s much like an older brother would, “Because you’re coming out tonight.”

I raised an eyebrow and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, “But you gave me the option to stay in? I choose that one.”

He rolled his eyes, like he was dealing with a four year old, “I gave you the option to be nice, we’re not sitting on our asses and watching ‘Sweet home Alabama’ you’re first night back.”

I narrowed my eyes at him... that little shit head. A long time ago, before I’d admitted to Brent what I’d done, Jon sat on my couch with me and painfully watched an entire movie. The movie was Sweet Home Alabama, and while it was one of my favourite, he acted as though he was being put through hell, as if it was the worst thing in the world, like his eyes would catch on fire every time he looked at the screen.

He smiled at me, making his way into the kitchen, probably for beers. I couldn’t say he was wrong, but I didn’t think he was entirely right. Sure, it would was possible that showing my face again quicker was a good thing, but there was also that sting that I felt, knowing that their eyes would be splitting into me for two very different reasons. Brent wouldn’t want to see him and frankly, neither would Pat. I didn’t want to visualize their eyes when they met mine, I wasn’t ready for it.

I sighed, glancing down at the two boys on the couch who individually shot me a sympathetic smile. Returning it was hard, but I’d managed. My stomach flopped; they knew what the guys said about me, or what they had, before I was forgotten. It could not have been nice things, probably not by any member of the team. I was walking into that circle of girls in high school, the ones that went silent when you entered the group, and you just knew they hadn’t been speaking nicely about you.

That is what I was going to walk into tonight. Could you imagine why I wouldn’t be the slightest bit eager to do that?

Groaning, I threw my head back and walked up to my room. I guess I should at least smell good tonight. I opened the shower doors to reveal something, something I’d forgotten. I wanted to kill him. Once again, Jonathan had stocked up the guest room shower with nothing but Axe body wash and shampoo.

“Great,” I muttered, lifting the cap to take a whiff, “I’m going to smell like a boy.”