A Shift in the Universe Christian Mitchell Copyright 2004
CHAPTER TWO:
I quickly sat up in bed and looked at my mother who was standing in the doorway of my room. I then remembered that I had forgotten to lock the door when I returned from getting the water earlier in the morning. I must have had the expression of a complete idiot with an utterly surprised look on my face. I attempted to erase the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look I no doubt gazed upon my mother with. "Um... what time is it?"
"It's nearly eleven o'clock. Our reservation is for noon so you two lazy boys better get up and get dressed. We need to leave relatively soon because we have to pick Vanessa up."
"Okay."
"Be ready in a half hour," she said as she turned on her heel to leave.
"Oh, shit," I exclaimed in a hushed tone as I jumped out of bed. Kyle had been lying next to me, so close that he could have been on top of me. We were both naked and we had not used much of the bedding to cover us while we slept. Our clothes were thrown about the room in an awkward fashion and I was certain that the room probably reeked of sex. "Oh, shit," I repeated.
Kyle stood up and looked at me with a sympathetic smile. Then we both started to laugh at the absurdity of the moment. "Did you hear her come into the room?" I asked, still somewhat panicked.
"Not at first," he answered.
"What did she see?"
"I'm not sure. But I think we were still holding each other when she walked in."
The image of my mother walking into my room and discovering her only son and his best friend naked in bed mortified me. "Holy shit!"
"Relax. There's nothing we can do about it now," Kyle replied. "She didn't seem to be suspicious or pissed off or anything."
Kyle was right. Three minutes ago was already part of the past. "Yeah," I surrendered. "I just wish she wouldn't have walked in on us like that."
"It will be okay," Kyle smiled, doing his best to calm me. "Besides... you're a full-fledged adult now."
I punched him in the arm. "Shut up and get dressed."
Kyle didn't want to wear the same clothes he had on at the party so he borrowed a pair of jeans and T-shirt from my closet. I dressed as quickly as possible and we ventured downstairs to wait for my parents. When I saw that they were both in the kitchen my heart began to pound in my chest so strongly that I thought I was about to have a heart attack. I was becoming more nervous with each step I walked.
My father was sitting at the table and drinking a cup of coffee while he read the newspaper. It was his morning ritual. Since it was Sunday he was not dressed professionally in a suit and tie. He was wearing a pair of tan slacks and a white polo shirt. His hair was wet so I assumed that he had recently showered following one of his weekend jogs around the neighborhood.
I glanced toward the sink where my mother was rinsing out her cup. She glanced at her reflection in the window and brushed the shoulder length blonde hair from her eyes. She placed the cup on the counter and turned around. "Oh, good," she said. "Are you about ready to go?"
Kyle and I both nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at the table.
"Did you boys have a good time last night?" my father asked.
"Yes," I answered, hoping that he wasn't asking me because my mother had told him about the scene she walked in on. "I think I had too many beers though."
He chuckled. "Got a hangover?"
"No."
"And how do you feel this morning?" my mother asked Kyle.
"I'm fine. I'm starving though."
"Well, let's go then," she suggested as she crossed the kitchen. She kissed my cheek and then ran her hands along her blouse where it was tucked into her slacks. Then she turned toward my father. "Harold. Let's go. We have two starving men to feed." she smiled. He nodded and folded the newspaper he had been reading. Then he quickly finished his coffee and placed the cup in the sink.
The brunch was fine and everyone had a good time chatting about various topics. I constantly found myself looking at my mother in an effort to determine if she was upset about discovering Kyle and I in bed together. She didn't seem to be acting out of the ordinary at all and I began to question whether the thought of Kyle and I having sex had even crossed her mind. Perhaps she assumed that we had simply fallen asleep and the fact that we were naked didn't influence her to think that we had fucked all night long. I hoped that she had believed that we were too intoxicated and just threw our clothes off and passed out in bed. She gave me absolutely no indication that she may be questioning the activities of the previous night.
When we had returned home Kyle and I retreated to my bedroom to be alone.
"Do you feel weird about what happened last night?"
"No," Kyle replied. "Why, do you?"
"No," I answered. "I do feel weird about my mother walking in on us though."
Kyle began to pick his clothes up off the floor and fold them, placing them on the bed next to his backpack. "When I looked at you something motivated me to touch you. It just happened and I wasn't even sure about what I was doing." He turned toward me and stopped folding the shirt in his hand. I nodded and looked in his eyes, hoping that I wasn't making him uncomfortable. "I'm glad it happened."
"So am I," I responded. "But... are you gay?"
Kyle's face completely morphed into an expression of shock. "No!"
"I'm sorry. I don't want to offend you. I've never ever questioned your sexual orientation. I was just wondering because I don't think there's a gay bone in my body." I paused for a second. "But last night... it felt right. I don't know how to explain it. Having sex with you seemed normal... like we should have been doing it all along."
Kyle nodded that he understood what I was saying. "Probably because we've been close for so long. I think it felt normal too. But I'm not gay."
"I'm not either," I replied quickly, as if saying it as fast as possible would erase any homosexual overtones from the conversation. However, in the back of my mind I was beginning to wonder about my sexuality. I was becoming really confused.
"I've never played around with a guy before." He placed the rest of his clothes in his bag. "Aside from the times that we masturbated together, I've never even thought about doing anything sexual with a guy."
There was a moment of silence before I finally said, "I haven't either."
"Just like you said earlier... it just felt right. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable. And I hope you don't feel like I forced you to do something you didn't want to."
"No," I assured him. "I wanted to, just as much as you did. But now I'm beginning to question my sexuality." I shrugged my shoulders. "If I enjoyed last night so much, maybe that means I'm gay."
Kyle motioned for me to sit next to him on the bed. "I don't think it does. I don't feel like I'm suddenly gay just because you and I had sex."
His statement surprised me. "Really? There isn't a part of you that's curious about your sexual orientation?"
"No. I am absolutely still attracted to girls. But I wanted to share something special with you because I care for you so much. Maybe it sounds kind of stupid to hear this, but sex seemed like something special to share with you. Even though we are two straight guys. I wanted to make love to you last night. And I wanted you to make love to me."
"I understand," I replied. "I still feel like a door that I never knew existed has suddenly opened."
"What do you mean?"
I hesitated to say anything because I was unexpectedly embarrassed by what I wanted to say to Kyle despite the fact that I was always willing to tell him anything. "Um... I think that I would like to do it again."
He smiled and squeezed my hand. "Me too."
I was certainly happy to hear that he felt the same as me. "Hearing you say that makes me feel better."
"I'm glad," he beamed. "I don't know exactly where we go from here, but we'll take it one step at a time."
"Yeah," I agreed. "It's not like our lives are going to spin out of control all of a sudden, right?"
"Exactly," he responded and kissed me. He zipped up his bag and placed the strap on his shoulder as he stood up, pulling me with him. He grabbed my waist and hugged me close to him. "Hope you had a good birthday."
"I had a great birthday, buddy."
"Good," he smiled as he walked to my bedroom door. "If I don't see you later then I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Alright. See ya later," I replied and started to pick up my clothes. I tossed everything onto my bed so that I would remember to take it to the laundry room later. I thought it would be a good idea to wash my sheets as well but I decided that I would do that while my parents were at work the following day. When I turned around Kyle was still standing in the doorway looking at me. He smiled, quickly waved then walked out.
As much as I tried not to, it was very difficult to not think about the previous night. I still could not believe that Kyle and I had sex. The entire scenario was very surreal, like a dream that I knew couldn't possibly be true. Yet, it wasn't a crazy thought playing with my mind. Though Kyle and I had agreed to "take it one step at a time", I couldn't easily push it aside as if it was something that I could ignore. I ventured downstairs to watch television so that other images and thoughts could entertain me.
It was ten o'clock when my father said good night and went upstairs to bed. I remained seated on the sofa to finish the movie I was watching. Then my mother entered the room. "Vanessa. Don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow."
"I know," Vanessa replied, rolling her eyes in the process.
"And don't roll your eyes at me, young lady."
Vanessa smiled. "Sorry, mom."
"Marcus, the same goes for you, too. Don't stay up too late."
"I won't. I'm going to finish this movie then I'm going to bed," I replied. When I looked at my mother I scanned her face for any trace of concern or disappointment.
She was smiling at me. "I'm happy you had a wonderful birthday party, Marcus."
"Thanks, mom. I think everyone had a good time and I did, too."
"I know you did," she smiled and then began to walk out of the room. "Good night."
Vanessa and I both said good night and returned our attention to the television. However, I was now focusing on what my mother had said, with that big smile on her face.
"I know you did." What exactly did she know? For a majority of the day I had convinced myself that my mother didn't suspect that Kyle and I had sex. Suddenly I wasn't certain about that anymore so I began to question myself again. I allowed all the questions to return. They were going to drive me crazy and keep me from falling asleep despite how tired I was.
I sighed and rose from the sofa. "Good night," I said to Vanessa and went upstairs to my room.
As I was lying in bed I didn't think much about what my mother might be thinking. I guess I wasn't as worried about her reaction as I thought I was. Perhaps she didn't care. At that moment I certainly didn't give a shit. Big deal, I told myself.
I was exhausted, but restless. I wasn't sure if I would be able to fall asleep. Masturbating always helped me fall asleep more quickly. While I stroked my dick I fantasized about the sex that Kyle and I had.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.