Just For the Week Ch. 02

Layne looks at me like I'm her new puppy, "That just might be the cutest story I've ever heard."

I feel my cheeks flush and I take another bite from my bowl.

Danny asks, "So this whole inclusion week thing and being Tyson's boyfriend... That can't be easy. Is it hard to separate what's real and what's not?"

"I didn't think it would be. Inclusion week had been all my idea but our boyfriend thing, that was 100% conceived by him. I was as surprised as everyone else. I couldn't really say no; he put me on the spot and it was my own cause. I figured I'd have no problem not getting emotionally involved. I thought I knew who he was and that at most, he'd become a friend. Not to say he isn't almost devastatingly good looking, but I mean, come on. He's Tyson Freaking Courtland. We couldn't be more different. I thought I'd be able to easily walk away at the end of this thing."

"But..." Layne prompts.

"But then I started to spend time with him. My preconceived notions of how I figured this week would go were blown to pieces. I started to really like him. The real him. And suddenly this whole thing wasn't a game anymore."

"So, is that why you decided to tell us today?" Danny asks. "You said 'circumstances have changed'."

I sigh, "That and the fact that two nights ago I blurted out to him that I'm gay and that I like him."

Layne squeals in delight and drums her feet on the floor. "Shut up! You did not do that!"

"Oh yes I did."

Layne is bursting, "Oh my god! What did he say? I knew you two were good together. I could see it. I could tell. Remember when I said that way back, when was that? On Friday? What happened?"

Danny reaches behind me placing a calming hand on her shoulder, "Okay honey, slow down. Take a breath and let him talk."

"I've never felt this way about anyone before-"

Danny cuts in, "You mean since Brandyn when you were ten."

I jab an elbow at him, but we all laugh.

I resume, "So yeah, the line between our act and my actual feelings became blurred. I'll spare you the gory details, but I freaked out on him. I was sobbing like a baby when I told him that this game we were playing wasn't a game to me anymore. I felt like my whole world was caving in and I told him that I needed to get the hell out of there, but he wouldn't let me leave. He threatened to tackle me until I heard him out."

"Oh my god! What did he say?" Layne demands.

"He told me that even though he has lots of friends, he actually has no real friends. I was his first friend who wasn't there superficially. The first who genuinely cared. He went on to tell me that I was guilty of making assumptions about him. I sat there in complete shock as he told me that he was also...well, he doesn't want to label it. Let's just say that he's also somewhere on the queer spectrum and that he too had begun to, you know, 'like-like' me over the past several days." I don't mention that I was his secret crush. Tyson said he fine with me including him in today's "coming out", but that little tidbit is just for the two of us.

Danny is stunned, "Tyson Courtland is...?" he trails off.

Layne is practically jumping up and down in her chair. "I was right! I called it!"

Danny asks, "So what does this mean? Like long-term? This isn't just for the week anymore, right?"

My eyes drop down to my still mostly full bowl. "I don't know. He wants us to go all-in. He wants to be my boyfriend, forever. We're about to graduate high school, turn eighteen and go off to college. I'm having a hard time imagining forever."

Danny says, "You sound like you've made up your mind. How did you leave it with Tyson?"

"Well, we're committed all week through prom. At midnight on Saturday, we'll sit down and decide between three choices. A, we follow the original deal and go our separate ways after prom. B, we decide to just be good friends. Or C, we continue on as 'boyfriends', but for real and we see what happens during the summer and beyond."

"C! Jackson Pearson, you pick C! You're not gonna break his heart on prom night." I'm glad Layne is across from me rather than next to me or she would have punched my arm by now. "You grab onto him and don't let go. Make the right decision Jackson. You pick C."

Danny looks at Layne, "Wait. Which one is C?"

I laugh and Layne gives Danny the punch she probably wanted to give me.

"Ow." Danny asks, "Are the four of us sitting together at the volleyball game tonight?"

I finish my last bite of my bowl, "You two should blow off the game. Have a date night, just the two of you. You deserve it. With all the rehearsals and performances Danny has had lately, it's been a minute since you two had a real date. Alone."

They both eye me suspiciously.

"Okay, okay. Tyson and I aren't going. He's taking me to the United Center for tonight's Bulls game. We'll be in a luxury suite." I tell them about dinner service, dessert and the private bathroom.

Danny's mouth drops open. "Seriously?"

Layne side-eyes me, "Yeah, I can see why you're confused."

In college she's majoring in sarcasm.

"You should totally dump his sorry ass."

~~

I'm a huge Bulls fan and tonight's game was the experience of a lifetime. We're in his car in front of my house and it's 10:35, already five minutes passed my weeknight curfew, but because of the game, I've been granted a grace period. I say, "I hate to sound like a broken record. I know we've only been together, what, six days now? But today was the most fun I've had in a really long time. And it wasn't just the game, or that they won or even the luxury suite. We could have gone to Chuck E Cheese's and I would have had a blast if I were with you."

He snorts. "For me, it was all about the game. I could have been with anyone."

"Hey." I'm about to deliver a Layne-style punch, but I'm stopped by the huge, stupid grin on his face.

Tyson leans towards me, takes my left hand in his right, puts his left hand behind my head and pulls me in for a kiss. My first kiss with Tyson. My first kiss with anyone...since Kaylyn at summer camp eight years ago. I'm starting to melt. I feel that kiss all the way down to my toes. My face flushes. I desperately want to stay and try more of that, but it's late and I'm due inside. We say goodnight and I practically float up my front steps.

Six days down and four to go.

~~

It's Wednesday and we stayed after school for our last ever student council meeting, where we learned from Ellen and Heather that ticket sales have quadrupled since last week's meeting. We have officially saved prom!

In the parking lot, Tyson says to me, out of the blue, "You're a Cubs fan, aren't you?"

Here comes our first big fight. He wore a Sox hat all day on Saturday. "Yes, why?"

"Well, tomorrow's a half-day and the Cubs are playing a 1:20 game at Wrigley. I thought it would be fun to go."

"Aren't you a Sox fan?"

"Diehard, yes."

"So then by definition, you hate the Cubs."

"I didn't say I'd be rooting for them."

I laugh, "Well, yeah, I'd love to go."

"Great. Two seats or four? We could invite Burns and Staley."

I text them. "Truth. Do you really hate the Cubs?"

"With a passion. But I'd do it with you." His eyes bulge. "I mean go to a Cubs game." His face flushes.

I laugh as my phone dings a reply. I tell Tyson, "They're in. Four seats it is."

A few taps and he says, "Done. Second row behind the third base dugout."

"What! That must have cost a fortune!"

He just smiles at me. "The money isn't important. The experience with you is everything."

"Wow, that was really-"

"Sweet?"

"-Corny. Cheesy. Lame. And maybe even plagiarized from a credit card commercial."

He gives me a playful shove.

I look around the empty parking lot and I don't see anyone else. I close the space between us, put my hand behind his head, pull him down to my height and kiss him. It's only my second kiss ever, but this time...I'm no longer a kissing virgin. As I pull away, I say, "I happen to like corny, cheesy and lame."

Tyson kisses me again and I say, "You're not playing fair."

"What do you mean?"

"How can I make an objective decision about our future together when you keep doing that?"

"Who ever said life was fair?"

We get in his car and he kisses me like 18 more times. His blond stubble has left my lips and chin red and raw. The first time he kissed me, IRL, I felt it all the way down to my toes. While that is still the case today, I'm also feeling a response in another place. Not that I spend a lot of time staring at Tyson's crotch -- not a lot anyway -- He seems to be bulging there a bit more than usual himself right now.

~~

We're eating more fro-yo after another dominating performance by Tyson in another Chandler win in his last-ever high school basketball game. Tyson asks, "Pearson, are you gonna eat like a person at the baseball game tomorrow? Hotdogs, peanuts, brats, nachos, pizza, cotton candy, soda, ice cream? At least the peanuts are healthy."

"Well, actually..."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"As it happens, peanuts aren't nuts. They're legumes. Almonds, cashews or pistachios would be healthy, but peanuts...not so much."

He puts an arm around my shoulders, "You're lucky you're cute and I kind of like you." Danny and Layne laugh.

~~

I ride home with Tyson. I say, "You were awesome again tonight. As much as I love watching you play basketball, and I really do, maybe Friday, when we're off, we could do something a little closer to your other passion. I'd like to take you to the Art Institute."

He pulls in front my house, leans in close and says, "Really? You wouldn't be bored?"

"Not with you there. I want to see it all through your eyes. Right now, everything I know about looking at art I learned from watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

He laughs, "Okay, let's do it."

I can't help but smile in anticipation of what I hope is about to happen. I say, "Just in case you couldn't tell, I was a kissing virgin before you."

"Liar! Staley told me about your solacious affair in summer camp." His grin is as wide as I've ever seen.

Red creeps up my neck and suddenly I'm sweating. "First of all, she kissed me. I had just turned ten. I was an innocent victim. Second of all, Layne is going to pay."

He cracks up, "First of all, innocent victim? At the very least, you were guilty of being way too cute. Second of all, I'd like to see you try to make Staley pay."

I laugh, "You're right. Who am I kidding? She'd kick my ass."

He says, "Hey, I'm not judging. I have no doubt she could kick my ass too." We unbuckle our seatbelts and angle toward each other, "I consider them my first real times too because they were my firsts with someone I care about."

Tyson moves in. This one is long, deep and passionate. He parts my lips and his tongue finds mine. It's not as wild as in my dreams, but it's actually even better. It's real. Kissing Tyson Courtland rocks. It's my new favorite thing.

Seven days down and three to go.

~~

By far the best part of the day is staying to the bitter end and making my friends sing and dance along with Go Cubs Go. It's a tradition at every home win and making Tyson do this was especially satisfying. I could tell that he both hated it and loved it at the same time.

Riding the L train westbound above Lake Street, I lean into Tyson and say, "I haven't forgotten that today is Thursday. Any news on your dad?"

"I was just texting with my mom. The operation is over. He's still in the recovery room and she hasn't seen him yet, but the doctors are hopeful."

I take his hand and hold it tight. "I am so glad." I lean my cheek on his shoulder and he leans his cheek on my head.

He says to me, "When you meet my dad, don't tell him I went to a Cubs game. He would probably relapse in reaction to that news."

I laugh. It's not lost on me that Tyson is hoping that I'll meet his father down the road. I punch his arm playfully. "You had a great time and you know it."

"With you? Always."

Eight days down and two to go.

Please stay tuned for Part Three -- the final chapter.