Frankie Fever

Chapter 39

First thing Bert did was drag me to the park. Not the park Frankie and I had spent the day at, though. This was a different park I’d never been to. There was a play area for kids, a river running through it and grass that stretched as far as the eye could see.

I was sat looking across the water at the reflections and ripples on the surface when he came back with two ice-creams. He sat beside me and handed me a vanilla cone with a flourish.

“Vanilla and strawberry sauce, just what you ordered,” He grinned.

I thanked him and slowly licked at the strawberry sauce. He nodded and dived straight into his cone, not wasting time. I looked back out at the water, thinking quietly to myself. It was so smooth, kids were paddling in the edge whilst clinging to the hands of fathers and brothers.

“For the record, he’s not worth it,” Bert said with a smile “He sounds a lot like sugar. A short term fix that sends your heart rocketing and then rots your teeth.”

“Yeah, I guess he is,” I agreed “Or a black widow! Claims to adore you and then screws you over at the first chance.”

He laughed and nodded. I giggled shyly. Something cold began to slide down my fingers.

“You’re melting,” He commented, nodding to the ice cream.

I smiled and slowly licked my fingers and up the side of the cone. For a few moments there was silence in which we both licked at our ice creams. Children squealed in excitement and parents laughed fondly.

Birds flitted about playfully. Couples lay back on the grass holding hands. Dogs fetched sticks. The sun was high in the sky, casting its rays down on us all.

“I can’t believe you’ve been here six months and only found one guy to be interested in,” Bert commented “This place is crawling with potentials! Have you tried going to any of the gay bars?”

“Um. . . hello? Underage!” I protested.

“Ah, I had that problem until a couple of months ago,” He nodded “You should try the Rainbow Coffee House. It’s this little coffee house aimed at gay teenagers. Anyone can go there to make friends, hang out and be themselves. I met one of my closest friends there.”

“Sounds cool,” I nodded “Perhaps we could both go sometime?”

“Yeah, sure,” He smiled “I love it there.”

I smiled gratefully. The park had begun to empty itself. Lunch hour was over. Time to get back to work or get back to shopping.

“I still can’t believe you’ve only found one guy,” He smiled “And I can’t believe you’ve never been here before,” He commented, extending a hand and gesturing to our surroundings.

I shrugged. I wasn’t exactly experienced as far as the whole gay community of Belleville went. We looked out across the water in quiet contemplation. Bert nudged me playfully with his elbow. I butted him back with a smirk.

“I bet you haven’t even been for a swim yet,” He grinned looking at the water.

My face was one of mild surprise. Was he being serious? His eyes were shining and lips were stretched into a playful grin.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Another ice cream says I can beat you to the water!”

“No,” I said firmly.

“Oh, come on!” He protested, getting up and pulling my arm “You only live once!”

I was dragged down the hill towards the water. Bert let go of my arm, speeding ahead of me. He cannon-balled right into the middle of the river, creating a huge splash. His head popped up and he beckoned to me, calling for me to come in. I shook my head, grinning.

He was splashing about happily, his hair flat by his head. It looked even longer now it was wet. He had a determined look on his face as he made his way to the shallow part, getting up and wading back over to me.

“It’s freezing!” He giggled, slicking his hair back.

“That’s your own fault,” I replied with a laugh.

“Come on!” He insisted, pulling at my arm “Just paddle at the edge.”

“No,” I said firmly.

He grinned cheekily. Not thinking any more of it, I smiled back idiotically.

Next thing I knew, I was slung over Bert’s shoulder, shrieking half in protest and half in joy. And then I was doused in cool water, wriggling like a startled fish as I tried to surface myself.

Bert was bent over, clutching his chest, as he laughed. I shook my head, droplets of water flying off, my mouth a big O of surprise. The water was colder than I’d initially thought. Bert laughed good-naturedly as I protested and made my way out to the bank so I could stand up, calling me a queenie.

Queenie, eh? I’ll show him who the queenie is!

I ran for him, diving back into the water in a sudden flash of movement. I caught him easily and buried his head under the water in a swift dunk. He emerged with a vengeance, grabbing me around the waist and dunking me under with him. I wriggled desperately as he tickled.

“Come, come, son,” He spoke in Eddie’s holier than thou voice “We’re at a bible meeting! You’re supposed to be curing yourself! We must now wash away our sins!”

I wriggled again as he dunked us both under, tickling my waist playfully. I broke free and surfaced, laughing so hard I had a job keeping myself above the water.

“Oh, yes,” I agreed in the same tone “We must beg God’s forgiveness!”

“Oh, repent, repent!”

At that moment, I made a healthy decision to never be sorry for the way I was again. It wasn’t my fault. If God existed, I believe he would have intended for me to be true to myself rather than do something that would make me miserable or give someone false hope.

Bert continued in his “repenting” while I laughed on, watching him throw his hands up to the sky and curse himself for being the way he was. He continued to douse himself in and out of the water, claiming to be cleansing his soul.

An angry Mom seemed to appear out of nowhere and informed us that we were setting a bad example to children and making far too much noise. Blah blah blah. Something about a public disturbance. Blah blah blah. Filthy water. Illness. Blah blah blah.

We both got out of the water and apologised, our heads bent solemnly, but struggling not to giggle. We had to avoid catching each others eyes in order to get through the stern telling off and apologising. I insisted we were only having fun and Bert swore blind we didn’t mean to make so much noise.

Once we’d been released, Bert took my wrist and insisted that we could dry off in the public toilets. How he thought we‘d do that, I had no idea.

The toilets weren’t as bad as I’d thought they’d be. They were, on the contrary, quite clean. Bert walked in confidently, insisting no one ever used them for some bizarre reason and took his shirt off. No, I’m not kidding. He just took it off - in front of me - and hung it over a hand-drier, then set the hand-drier off.

“Simple,” He grinned “Come on, you too!” He insisted.

I hesitated, shyly wrapping my arms around my waist. I’d never been a big fan of stripping off in front of people. Bert noticed straight away and cocked his head slightly.

“No one’ll come in,” He promised “And why would I laugh at you? I’m in the same situation.”

I chewed my lip, shyly clutching at the hem of my shirt. He shrugged and told me if I wanted a cold it was my choice. I sighed, clutched the hem of my shirt and pulled it off before I could hesitate - Bert wolf-whistled. I giggled and hit at him with my shirt, ordering him to shut up.

My shirt took the second hand drier and I then went to a third one on the other side of the sinks and found another use for it. Drying my soaking wet hair. Bert sat on the edge of the row of sinks, swinging his legs absentmindedly.

“Well, I hope I’ve cheered you up, anyway,” He said as I straightened up to rest my back “That’s all I wanted to do.”

“Yeah,” I smiled “Yeah you have. Thank you.”

He shrugged.

“No, really,” I said seriously “Thank you so much! No one’s ever gone to so much effort just to cheer me up. . . except maybe my Mom but-”

I was cut short from pure nerves. I’d started to realise how stupid I sounded but more importantly, Bert was now touching the side of my face. Something else I wasn’t used to. . . well unless it was Frank, anyway.

“. . . but, uh. . . I-I. . .” I stuttered “. . . I. . . can’t even remember what I was gonna’ say now.”

“You don’t need to be nervous,” He smiled softly “But it’s kinda’ cute. . .”

I found myself kissed. A nice gentle one. Slow. A hand cupping the side of my face. It was different. But in a good way.

Change was what I needed. Frank was out of my life so I decided it wouldn’t hurt to find someone else. Bert was the perfect candidate. He was funny, considerate and generally nice - oh, and a very good kisser.

I shyly lifted a hand to touch the back of his head. It felt good to find someone outside of the mess I’d managed to get myself into since moving here. Like a fresh start. As said before, that’s what I needed for myself.

I wasn’t sure about coming out at that time, I intended to at some point but I wasn’t sure when. It was your usual teenage fear of how everyone would react and the embarrassment at trying to explain it to parents. I didn’t want to think about it right then, though.

I liked Bert. A lot. We definitely had chemistry and we most definitely had potential together. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten that phone call. . . oh, sorry. I’ll explain later.

“I think our shirts are dry,” Bert said with a smile, stepping away to retrieve them.

I smiled gratefully, taking my shirt from him. Shame, I was rather enjoying myself. Bert pulled his shirt on and then smiled cheekily.

“Jeans?” He asked.

“Oh definitely,” I replied with a giggle.