“Back the fuck up, dude. No guy is touching my cock even if you are my best bud,” I stated. “You’re pretty as fuck, Coop, but un-uh, no way.”
He appeared crestfallen, but quickly recovered and began to laugh. “Just joshin’ with ya, Mikey,” he said. “You ain’t my type anyway.”
That didn’t sit well either. “The fuck I ain’t?” I hissed. “I’m every gay dude’s dream. And the ladies too,” I added.
“The new boy is buffer and rougher from what I can tell,” he said, turning and walking out of the bathroom.
I hurried after him, wrapped in a towel as my dick deflated along with my ego. “Rougher? What the fuck does that even mean?” I raged, grabbing his arm and yanking him around. The moment I touched his soft naked skin, I felt the urges reignite.
“You know what I mean,” he began. “He has a bad boy edge to him. I kinda likethat in a guy.”
“The fuck you do. You like boys like me. I mean . . . men like me,” I declared.
“But men like you, don’t like boys like me,” he quipped. “And the jury is out on New-Mikey and what team he plays for.”
That was a tough night for me and I’ll never forget fearing that Cooper could like another boy.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Mike
“Hello,” I said, picking up my cell phone before the humming vibration woke Mom.
“Hi, Michael.” It was my soon-to-be ex-wife, Jennifer. “Marie called my folks and they called me,” she began. “How’s your mother?”
That was Jennifer’s way. Get right to the point of every situation and conversation. No time or effort spent on small talk, catching up, or an exchange offuck-you’s.
“Anytime now,” I whispered, getting out of the chair so I wouldn’t wake my sleeping mother and making my way to the hall.
“I’m sorry, Michael. I just wanted to check on her,” she stated. She was back to formal names and made no effort to conceal the fact that she was eating something while speaking with me. “I won’t be able to make it to the funeral,” she added. “My new job has me buried.”
The use of the word buried was lost on her considering what I was facing at the moment. The reality was she probably would have missed the funeral even if we were still married. She didn’t do funerals. That and she avoided Idaho Falls like the plague. I believed she didn’t likethatgirl. The one who grew up here. Not to mention she’d still be seen ashigh-schoolJennifer who was the bubble-headed blonde, not the more glamorous, uber-successful woman she was today.
“I understand,” I lied, tapping the wall lightly and counting the seconds with my fingers until I could hang up. “I’ll let Mom know you called and were concerned,” I lied again. There was no way in hell I wanted to soil the last hours I had with my mother by reminiscing about a failed relationshipwith the former beauty queen of Idaho Falls High School.
“I wish I had more time,” she said. “You know, work and all.”
“Mom will understand, Jen. You’re busy. We get it,” I said, a bit harsher than I intended to sound. “Take care,” I added.
She wasn’t finished. “My parents said you haven’t called or stopped by to see them since you got back in town, Michael,” she quickly added, interrupting my desire to end the call.
I hated how she butchered my proper name with her guilt inflicting tone. “Perhaps after . . .,” she stopped mid-sentence.
“Perhaps after what, Jen? After Mom dies?” I asked, finishing her sentence for her. “So maybeIcan have a little family reunion withyourparents?”
“Don’t be difficult, Michael,” she said.
“Don’t be gross, Jennifer. Why don’tyouvisit them instead? Oh wait, you’re too busy,” I hissed.
She’d hit a nerve.
“I sincerely hope that you never have to deal with what I’m dealing with right now. So do me a massive favor and fuck off.” The phone went dead. I hadn’t hung up. I guess I wouldn’t be stopping by her parents’ house after all.
I made my way to the kitchen and opened the fridge, staring at the contents like something inside might improve my mood. I’d bought a case of beer and hadn’t touched a single bottle since arriving a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I hadn’t been addicted to the beer as much as I was to the numbness provided while living my dull life in Seattle. A life I’d wasted over the past ten years because I just trudged through it. My life choices weren’t Jen’s fault. I knew that, but admitting that I’d failed in our relationship still hurt. She deserved more honesty as much as I deserve more respect.
The fact was that after Cooper died, I allowed my life to be influenced by external forces like parents, friends, and Jennifer. “Let’s go to UW now that you’re not going to WSU,”Jen had suggested right after Cooper’s funeral, his corpse barely cold in the ground.“I never wanted you to go to college without me,”she’d added. So, of course, I went to the University of Washington inSeattle.
“I’d at least get engaged before she wises up,”a high school football buddy who’d joined us at UW advised one day while we worked out at our frat house.“She actually wants you for some odd reason, dude,”he’d quipped, and then added.“We all know she’s out of your league.”I didn’t ask her to marry me immediately but I eventually did and she’d said yes. Now I look back and wonder why I wasn’t more thrilled that she had wanted me.
“If Jennifer thinks it’s best for you to stay in Seattle after you graduate since you have a life there, I support you,”Mom had agreed.“Jennifer is ambitious, honey, but I bet that can be a good thing,”Mom had added. I doubted she honestly felt that was true. Mom knew Jennifer, and she knew me. She knew it wouldn’t be agood thing.
