In Due Time

Being in the limelight constantly can really put pressure on a guy. Especially when that guy has a twin who hardly ever gets noticed. It’s not that anything is wrong with Timmy, it’s just that his forte is schoolwork. His GPA is a whole number above mine. In this town though, if you can swing a bat, kick a ball, shoot a basket, or outrun an entire defensive line, you could be failing and no one would care. In fact, they put you on a pedestal.

It just so happens that I can do all of that and more, so Timmy gets pushed to the background. It’s a shame because he’s a really great guy. He genuinely cares about people and never says a word when he gets ignored, even though I know it kills him. It’s really upsetting that I’m the only one who can see this. No matter how hard I try I just can’t get people to treat us the same way. Even when I came out no one cared. In fact, several other guys came out in the following weeks, telling me that I was an inspiration.

The thing that makes me the most upset is that Timmy just accepts it. He doesn’t care that mom and dad skipped his academic award ceremony to watch me play in an unimportant basketball game. He doesn’t care that my sports trophies have taken precedence over his academic certificates in the living room. He doesn’t care that the people in our school refer to him as “Jeremy’s twin” and not by his actual name. He doesn’t care that he gets stuck with all the chores whenever I have a practice, even though he has mountains of homework. He just doesn’t care. He just doesn’t see what makes him special, and as his twin, it makes me feel lackluster too.

I sigh as I watch him finishing the dishes. He turns to look at me with a small smile. “Hey Jeremy, what’s up?”

I hold up my gym bag in answer. It’s baseball season which means I get to spend three grueling hours every day after school running after balls, doing laps around the diamond, and swinging bats. I love the sport though, and I’m good at it. I’m a starter this year on the varsity team, which is something a freshman has never done before. My parents are absurdly proud.

My twin wrinkles his nose. “Ew. I’ll take AP History over that any day.”

“Good thing you picked that then.” I laugh. “One of us has to be smart.”

“Jeremy, you shouldn’t say that about yourself. You’re smart.”

“Nice try bro. I’m nothing compared to you.” I argue, passing him and grabbing a Gatorade out of the fridge.

It’s then that dad walks in. “Jeremy, I know you’re not saying that anyone is better than you at baseball.” He scoffs. “No one is better than my boy.”

“Dad, I was talking about school.” I roll my eyes. “Timmy’s taking classes a whole year above me.”

“Oh, right. No one is smarter than my boy either.” Dad winks at Timmy and laughs. “So Jer, any plans for the night? I was thinking we could watch the game.”

“I was actually about to head over to Simons.” I trail off, mentioning my boyfriend of ten months. “I’m sure Timmy would watch it with you.”

Dad’s face falls but he recovers quickly. “I’m sure your brother has a lot of homework, right son?”

Timmy looks at us with wide eyes and nods. “Yeah dad, tons.”

He then scurries from the room and I sigh. “You should do more things with him. When’s the last time the two of you hung out?” I ask. Dad’s silent for a couple of seconds. “Exactly. He’s your son too. We’ve done stuff every day for the past week. I shouldn’t be the only one in the family who wants to spend time with my brother.”

“Hey now, watch your mouth. Of course I want to spend time with him. The opportunity just hasn’t come up.” He sighs.

“Well I’m going to Simon’s house for dinner. Four hours is enough time to come up with something.” I push. “Go ask him if he needs help with his homework.”

I leave dad to his thoughts and head out of the door. Simon only lives five blocks away so I walk.

Simon Lloyd. My first boyfriend. My dream guy. I honestly couldn’t ask for anyone better. He treats me like I’m the only guy in the world. It’s amazing how fast our relationship progressed. In just ten months we’ve become attached at the hip. I’m closer to him than I am to anyone in this world, besides Timmy of course. He just understands me, gets inside my head and just knows exactly what I’m thinking and what I need. And the same goes the other way around. I can read him like a children’s book.

My parents love him too. The only thing they disagree with is the age difference. I’m turning sixteen next month and he just turned nineteen. We could care less. The fact that he’s a senior and I’m a freshman just doesn’t matter to us, and every one at school respects that.

Before I even fully walk up the driveway, Leo, the Lloyd family dog, is barking at the door. Katie, Simon’s eleven year old sister, opens the door and greets me with a row of straight white teeth. “Hi Jeremy! Mama’s making your favorite tonight!”

“Oh yum!” I exclaim, stepping inside. I follow the aromas to the kitchen. “Hey, Mama Lloyd. How’s dinner coming?”

“Oh hi Jeremy, I’m doing fine, thanks for asking.” She rolls her eyes. “The chicken is coming along nicely. Actually, it’s almost done. Will you go get Simon? He’s working on his new bike.”

Leo follows close at my heels, stopping at the garage door. He knows the rules. No one is allowed in unless given special permission. It took him five months trust me enough to let me in. The garage is full of motorcycles of all makes and models. Simon collects them, a hobby passed down to him by his dad. He loves getting old bikes and fixing them up.

I navigate my way through the rows of bikes, finally finding my boyfriend toward the end of the huge garage. He sits on the seat of a vintage Harley, leaning forward to the engine. A light is shining so that he can see what he’s doing.

Simon hears me coming and looks up, smiling widely. “Hey baby.”

“Hey. I love this bike.”

“Me too.” Simon smiles before standing up and coming over to me. I lean up and kiss him, careful not to get any grease on the new shirt mom just got me. “It’s a lot like the one my dad rode all the time.”

I nod sadly and take his hand. “Maybe this can be the one you finally get the courage to ride.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “I doubt it.”

“I’ll get you on the back of one of these things eventually, mark my words.” I shrug.

“They’ve been marked.” He laughs.

“In due time.” I wink, leaning up to kiss him yet again. “Your mom sent me to get you. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Simon nods and goes to the sink, washing his hands with care. I throw my leg over a midnight blue street bike and watch him. He’s so fucking sexy. Most of his shirts are sleeveless, showing off his toned arms. His jeans are always fitted and his hair is constantly styled perfectly, even though he never touches it.

He finishes and turns to me. “Oh god, get off that bike before I fuck you right here and now. You’re too god damn sexy.”

I roll my eyes and slide off the bike. We haven’t actually had sex yet but he never fails to turn me on when he says things like that.

“I have my first game tomorrow.” I say, leading the way to the kitchen. He takes care to lock the garage door behind us and follows me.

“I’ll be there.” He grins. “Is Timmy going?”

That’s another thing I love about Simon. He loves hanging out with my twin. They like a lot of the same things. One could venture to say that they could be best friends. Simon doesn’t push him to the background. He always makes sure he’s not left out. Simon knows it means the world to me.

“Yeah, I think so. He wants to be there to support me.” I smile. “I wanna surprise him and go to his first academic decathalon. It would mean a lot to him.”

“I’ll be there too.” Simon grins.

I kiss him yet again and we settle down at the table. I love spending time with Simon’s family. Maybe even more than my own. Here I can just be me and not worry about the pressure of being the golden child. They treat me like a human being instead of a sports god.

After dinner, Simon and I lay in his bed, cuddled together just like I love. His arms are wrapped around me securely and our favorite movie is on. I don’t need all of the attention and popularity. All I need is to be loved and Simon does that oh so well.