The Quarterback
I followed Ben quietly. We went back our rooms and sat on our beds. I opened my mouth to say something but he stopped me.
"Can I say something first, Rick?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"You have been a great friend, and I will forever be grateful. But I can't be more than a friend to you. You can call me a coward or whatever, but I like it better when things were simple. I just want to be free. Can you accept that?"
"Yes, I have accepted it, since that day in the empty building."
"Good, then things can get back to normal again." He paused. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." Without another word, he lay down and closed his eyes.
So that was it, we were friends again. I felt a little disappointed, but also relieved. Things weren't so bad these past few years, as compared to the emotional roller-coaster these past few weeks have been. I can live with that.
Suddenly I was curious. "Why did you take off your shirt?"
"Huh?" He opened his eyes, clearly thrown off by my random question.
"Your shirt... why did you take it off before fighting Mike?"
He frowned for a moment. "It's my favorite shirt! I don't want to get blood on it."
"You don't care if you live or die, but you care about a shirt?"
He took the shirt in his hand and showed me. "It's a nice shirt!" I grinned, unconvinced.
"It's a fucking nice shirt, ok?" I started laughing at the absurdity.
He balled up the shirt and put it up against his nose. He reeled back in a mock attempt to demonstrate how stinky it was, then jumped at me and tried to put it up against my nose. I laughed hysterically while he tried to pin me down so I can smell it. I wrestled with him for a while, but I could never resist his body pressing against mine. He was on top of me, his cock in my ass crack, one hand holding me up by my forehead, the other holding his shirt to my nose. He wasn't hard, but I was.
"Smell it. Say it's a nice shirt!"
I turned my head away and he kept trying. "Come on, say it!"
His cock was getting harder by the moment. I didn't want things to get awkward so I finally said it. He jumped back to his own bed, smiling, threw his shirt away and went to sleep. I was so hard it took me a while to fall asleep. My heart was still pounding from the brief moment of contact. I have not felt his cock pressing against my ass for some time. It brought back memories.
In the middle of the night, I was woken up by heavy breathing. I looked across and saw that Ben was jerking off furiously. His right hand was a blur in the dim moonlight, and his left hand was holding his balled up shirt. He was smelling it. Was he getting off on his own scent, or mine? With an urgent grunt, his cock spewed copious amount of cum all over his body. He used his shirt to wipe it up. When he got everything, he balled it up again and threw it towards the end of his bed. He let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes. That's when he noticed me watching. Unaware of my own actions, I had shot my own load while watching him. He looked at my cum soaked body, and my still spewing cock, then his own. For a moment he was considering what to do. There was desire in his eyes. But then, he came to his senses and shook his head. Instead, he gave a long pull on his thick cock, extracting the last drop of cum, and brought it up to his face. He studied it for a moment and licked it up. Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
I didn't know what to make of it, except that I jerked off furiously and came a second time within minutes. How was I going to live with him as a friend, when I'm so hopelessly obsessed with him? I can do this, I told myself. I have been doing this for years.
To distract myself, I thought about Mike. After his stupid stunt just now, can I accept him? I realized how different he and I were. He was prepared to do anything to succeed in football, including shaming his teammates so he can take his place. That was not the kind of person I want to be with. He had his mind set on football, and I would forever be in second place. But then, was it better to have someone than no one at all? I sighed. Ben heard that and opened his eyes. Our eyes met once again.
His hand moved down his gorgeous body and reached his cock again. I followed its movement. His cock came alive again, pulsating, throbbing, expanding. He gave it a stroke, and a drop of precum formed at the tip. I can hold it no longer. As if by instinct, I went over, kneeled on the floor and took that beautiful cock into my mouth. He gasped.
"I thought... we were just friends?" He forced his words out, in between breaths.
I backed away only long enough to reply, "Yes, but didn't we do this as friends too?" I dived back in and sucked him hard.
"Yeah, you are right." He was breathing hard, he sounded as if he were in pain.
"Boy, can you suck cock!" He remarked. I was going crazy on his cock. I was so hungry for it. I wanted it. I wanted it to be mine. I wanted Ben to be mine!
"Oh God!" He arched his back and unloaded into my waiting mouth. He has never cum so quickly before. He held my head down until he was done.
"Fuck!" He was breathing quickly. "That was intense."
There was an awkward moment. He avoided my gaze. "Can I return the favor tomorrow? I'm really tired."
"Sure thing, Ben."
"Thanks, Rick."
This time he went to sleep for real. I was mostly awake, thinking. I could have him, in a limited way, and still be friends, just like before. As I went to sleep, there was a smile on my face. May be it was indeed better this way.
The next morning, I woke up refreshed, and in a surprisingly good mood. The past week seemed to be a long nightmare. Maybe Ben was right: I was too intense and took things too seriously. Ben wasn't ready to let Jimmy go, and he wasn't ready to change his ways. I have pushed him too hard. I wasn't going to give up, but I will pull back a bit and find the right balance.
True to his words, Ben skipped the next game. Coach went ballistic and Mike volunteered to be the quarterback. The quarterback was supposed to make the calls, but Mike, lacking experience and composure, was not very good at it. The other team wasn't great, but we were worse. It was laughable. I tried to salvage the situation, but without much success. You can imagine how pissed Coach was. I couldn't count how many times he threw things to the floor and cussed loudly.
We were lucky because with our excellent record, we didn't need to win every game to win the championship. As long as no other team win more games than us, we were fine. As we already beat the strongest team, we still had a chance to win overall.
"What the hell were you thinking, Ben? Answer me!" This was the strongest outburst Coach has managed yet. I wanted to remind him that he's about to retire, to watch his blood pressure, but of course I kept quiet.
Ben looked dejected. "Mike threatened to expose my sex photos unless I let him be quarterback."
"He what?" Coach yelled. Ben repeated.
"What sex photos?" Coach asked. Ben briefly explained the situation.
"You were caught on tape having sex on campus? With a GUY? From the Bruin team??" Coach raised his voice louder on each question. I found it very amusing but kept my mouth shut.
"If you were my son I would have whacked your head so hard you are spinning right now. Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile?"
I felt I had to say something. "Er... actually... you told me to keep a low profile, not him."
Coach gave me the gaze of death. "And you, Rick, why didn't you keep an eye on him? I thought you were his..."
"Fuck buddy? Well, not anymore. He's into the Bruin guy now."
"Of all people you have to choose someone from our rival team. And of all places you have to have sex on campus. And of all times you have to do it during the day, and be caught on tape. Did you forget your brain?" Funny he didn't factor in the gender of his partner.
"Coach, kick me off the team."
"What?"
"Give Mike a chance. He's a good player."
"You are speaking for him? After what he did to you?"
Ben shrugged. "I've been quarterback for three years. I've beaten the Bruins. That's good enough for me. Mike has wanted this for years, and he wants to go into professional football. Why not help him out?"
"I've never seen someone like you. Everyone wants to be the quarterback. No one wants to give it up!" Ben shrugged again.
"Why are you doing this?"
"The truth?" Ben paused. "I couldn't care less."
Coach narrowed his eyes. "I don't get you."
"Can you guys win without me?"
"We can't afford to lose another game, Ben."
"How about I play another position and let Mike be quarterback?"
"He's not quarterback material, Ben, you and I both know it."
"What if I train him?"
"In the midst of competitions? Are you insane?"
Ben shrugged. "At least it's not boring. It's challenging."
"You are mad. I'm not taking this gamble. And why would you do this?"
"I don't know. I just thought... Mike is... sad. I pity him."
Coach sighed. "I want that championship. I don't care what you do, as long as I have it. Can you guarantee that?"
"How about this? If he's that bad I'll switch for him. You make the call."
"Fine." Coach shook his head. "All right. Get lost, you two. Call Mike in. I need to give him a lecture."
"Yes, Coach!"
On our way out, Mike gave Ben the gaze of death. He must have thought Ben said something nasty about him. If only he knew. We waited for Mike to come out. We wanted to break the news of Ben's plan to him. Mike came out, red-faced, eyes wet. "What did Coach say?" I asked.
"He said he was this close to kicking me off the team for what I did, but Ben convinced him to let me be quarterback, and even train me..." He looked at Ben in shame.
"So what do you say to that?" I asked.
"Why are you doing this, Ben?"
"You want it, I don't, so you can have it. You only have to ask."
"You really don't care?"
"I'm probably going to do something else with my life, I haven't decided yet, but I've played football for 8 years. I'm tired of it."
"But you could go pro... you are so good!"
"Don't wanna."
Mike shook his head. "I don't get you, but I guess I owe you an apology."
Ben patted Mike's shoulder. "If you really want to apologize, you should do it to Josh. Come to my room after dinner tonight. He'll be there."
"Ok."
Ben winked at me on the way out. I had no idea what's on his mind, but I guess I'd find out tonight.