Tj

Thursday night Robert knocked on my door and asked, "Are you ready for Monday morning?"

"What do you think? I'm starting my senior year at a new school. I don't know anyone. Not much to look forward to." I stopped myself, took a deep breath, and then sheepishly looked at Robert. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being a jerk, I don't really mean to be. I plan on going shopping tomorrow after therapy for some clothes and other shit I might need. Do you think Josh would want to go with me?"

"You'll be fine. Josh will be hanging out with Jarrod and Mike tomorrow and then spending the night over at Jarrod's. I'll be out pretty late, so it's probably best you plan on going shopping. That way you won't be sitting here at home bored and alone." Robert turned to go, but stopped. "Oh, by the way, I have a surprise for you. I spoke with Mrs. Sanders, the journalism teacher. I know you had to give up your position on the yearbook staff moving down here, so I used my influence as her boss and got you on the yearbook staff," Robert said with a wink.

I couldn't hide the smile on my face even if I tried. "For real?"

"Yeah, I looked over your schedule and made some adjustments. You're now on yearbook staff and I got you into Advanced Drama. I also got you a free period you can use however you like. There are perks to being the assistant principal's kid." He said the last part with a hint of hope in his voice.

This particular song and dance with Robert was starting to get tiresome. He wants to be my father, but I'll never be able to view him as anything other than my brother. I've asked him repeatedly to stop saying shit like that. All it does is piss me off. I felt the anger building up and there was nothing I could do to stop it. "Brother, Robert. The assistant principal's kid brother. Dammit, I've told you a hundred times! I don't need a new father. You'll never replace him." We stared daggers at each other for a few moments. "Besides, what right do you have to change my schedule? Trying to keep tabs on me all day now? You had no fucking right to do that. You gave up that right when you chose to leave me."

This is where he would usually get a pained look on his face, bow his head, and apologize to me. His reaction this time surprised the shit out of me. "You know I'm getting really fucking sick and tired of hearing that shit. I'm not trying to replace Dad. I'm just trying to do the best I can for you and Josh. You're not the only person who lost someone. I lost my parents too, remember?" Robert took a ragged breath, and then said in with a softer tone, "Who am I going to turn to when I have a question about Josh or you? Who am I supposed to ask for advice on how to be a good person and parent? At least you have someone looking out for you and only wants what is best for you. Besides, how many fucking times do I have to tell you how sorry I am for making that decision?"

I couldn't believe this. I stared at him for a few moments-all I could see was red. I started yelling, "Advice on being a good parent? Not like you would've listened to it if you were to ask. You sure the fuck didn't sixteen years ago when you married the cunt-whore-bitch, so why would you start now? A good parent wouldn't have left his one year old son to be adopted and raised by his parents. A good parent would have told the kid the truth when he asked his older brother if there was a chance he was possibly adopted. A good parent would have stood up to his wife, instead of allowing her to insult his kid."

Robert had a tear running down his cheek when I looked up at him. "I'm so sorry Teej, I didn't want her to keep Josh and you apart. I thought I was doing what was best for both of you."

Before I could respond, Josh came into my room. "Teej, Dad, please stop. I can't handle y'all fighting again. Dad, you know he's working on processing everything still. Teej, you know that Dad is trying to look out for you. I know you think it's too late, but he is trying his best. Now, why are y'all arguing this time?"

I knew my answer was lame. I mumbled my response. "Robert went and changed my schedule without me knowing about it."

Josh looked at me blankly. "So? He does it for Jarrod, Mike, and me every year. I want him to. That way, I'm not stuck with some lame teacher all year."

"Oh, I didn't really think of it that way."

He rolled his eyes and asked, "What way did you think of it?"

Robert spoke up then. "He thought I was trying to keep tabs on him so I would know where he was at any time during the day."

Josh looked at me like I had three heads and then started laughing. "Umm, Teej. All he has to do is type our name into his computer and pull up our schedule if he wanted to know where either of us were. You seriously went there?"

"Well, yeah. It sounded good in my head. The real reason we were fighting though was because he was trying to be my father and not my big brother." I stopped. "No, I was trying to start a fight with him. Robert, please just be my brother. I'm not sure if I can ever see you as my dad, but I still need my big brother."

Robert nodded. "I know Teej. But you know dimples over there is going to keep introducing you to everyone he can Monday as his brother, right? I mean he's already told Jarrod and Mike the truth about y'alls relationship."

"Yeah, I know. And I'm okay with being his brother. Hell, we've always been more like brothers than anything else. Besides, he asked me the other night if he could introduce me as his brother and then smiled at me with those damn dimples."

"Hey! Don't talk smack about my dimples, they're irresistible. They make me adorably cute, and impossible to say no to. At least that's what you used to tell me."

I smirked. "Damn me and my big mouth."

Josh looked between us before continuing. "So, are y'all good now? Teej? Dad?"

We both nodded. Josh sighed and said, "Good. So, I was thinking about coming out to Jarrod and Mike tomorrow night at our sleepover. I don't think they'll have a problem with it. They don't have any problems with TJ being gay."

Robert tensed up some. "Josh, are you sure? Once you do that, it will be out there and you won't be able to take it back. I'm not sure it's a good idea right now."

I couldn't hide the contempt in my voice. "Oh really, and why is that? Are you concerned about Josh or are you more worried about how it will look having two gays living with you?" Honestly, I don't try to look for the negative in everything Robert says. Lately, he's had that effect on me.

Robert glared at me, but didn't object to what I said.

Josh noticed. "Dad, what do you mean? Why wouldn't I be honest with my best friends? It's not like I'm going to be the only gay guy in the school. Teej already told me he's not going to hide it."

Robert turned on me. "Really? You decided that without discussing it with me first?"

"I didn't know it was something you needed to approve of, Robert. This is my life. I'm not going to hide who or what I am."

"Think TJ. This isn't the Dallas area. People aren't as accepting of that lifestyle here."

I was doing my best to not start in front of Josh. "I know you're trying to look out for us. But I'm not going to hide who I am. I'm not going to go around telling everyone; but, if I'm asked, I won't deny it. Also, if I meet someone, I won't hide my relationship."

Josh looked at his dad. "If you don't think I should, then I won't dad."

That pissed me off more than anything. "The fuck you won't Josh. I'm not telling you to come out or not. I'm only telling you that if and when you feel like the time is right, you should do it and not be afraid. I'll be there for you."

Robert glared at me. "And what about next year when you're not in high school anymore and Josh has to go through his senior year alone? Who's going to be there for him then TJ?"

"Would you rather him live his life as a lie? Let him be who he is. If his friends are truly his friends, he'll have people by his side. Mom and Dad always told us to be honest about who we were and who we wanted to be. Are you seriously going to ask Josh not to do that?"

Robert hung his head. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I don't want either of you to lie about who you are. But, I don't want y'all to get hurt either. I'm afraid of how people might react. How y'all would be treated at school. I'm not ashamed of either of you. You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are."

I turned to Josh. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it's going to be easy. I can't promise you a specific outcome. I can promise you once you let go of this secret, you'll feel an enormous weight lift off you. And who knows? You might even get Mr. Football/Baseball Stud. What does he always call you? 'Little Buddy', right?"

Josh turned the brightest shade of red I have ever seen. Robert looked dumbfounded. "What is he talking about Josh? Who is Mr. Football/Baseball Stud?"

"Dammit Teej! Don't worry about it Dad. TJ is just joking around. It's nothing and nobody to worry about."

Robert gave him his best dad/principal look. "If it's nothing to worry about, why are you turning that shade of red?"

"Please, Dad." Josh glanced at me and gave me the evil eye. "Why did you say anything, jerkwad?"

"Josh, who is he talking about? I want to know."

"Dad, I'm not going to tell you who I have a crush on. Jeez, just drop it okay?"

They continued their bantering as they left my room. At least it got the focus off me for a bit. That's what I thought until about five minutes later when Robert came back in my room.

"So, about tomorrow night. Like I said earlier, Josh is spending the night with Jarrod and Mike and I'll be out pretty late. Will you be okay here after you go shopping?"

"And what exactly are you going to be doing?"

I thought Josh was adorable when he was embarrassed and blushing, but Robert could give him a run for his money. "Umm, I sorta have a date." The blush deepened however when Josh ran up to him and slammed into him, hugging him tight.

"OH MY FREAKING GOD DAD!! This is the first date you've been on since the divorce. Who is it with? Do I know her? Is she nice? Where did y'all meet? Come on Dad. Tell me!!"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Through my laughter I managed to say, "Damn Robert. I guess Mel really was a bitch. She gave birth to a Chihuahua. Is he housebroken? I think he made a piddle."

Robert couldn't hold it in. He started laughing so hard he had to sit down. Josh tried to go for offended but it didn't last. Soon, all three of us were literally rolling on the floor laughing our asses off. After about five minutes of on-again-off-again laughing fits, we finally calmed down.

Robert looked at Josh and then me. "Are y'all okay with this?"

Josh and I simply nodded and I spoke for the both of us. "Robert, if this is really the first date you've been on, then it's about damn time. Go, have a good time, I'll be fine. After therapy, I'll go to the mall and then probably come home and order a pizza."

*****

Friday was a lazy day until I had to get ready for my therapy session. My appointment was at 5:45, which means I didn't get into his office till 6:00. An hour later, I was free for the rest of the night.

Since I now live in southeast Texas, right on the coast on the Texas-Louisiana border, I have gotten used to breathing water. There is almost 100% humidity daily. Needless to say, I was not the least bit surprised there was a torrential downpour. I considered just heading home, but I needed some new clothes, so I started towards the mall.

I hadn't even driven three blocks from the office, when my tire blew out. I'll admit it, I have no clue how to change a flat tire. Somehow, I managed to get the car over to the side of the road without hydroplaning. I stopped and turned on my hazard lights.

I thought to myself, Great it's pouring rain, I have a flat tire, and no idea what to do. I couldn't call Robert; I wasn't about to interrupt him during his date. Josh wouldn't be any help either; he has a driver's license, but doesn't have a car yet. Besides, he was spending the night at Jarrod's with Mike. There went the entire list of people I knew. I decided to wait out the rain, these late summer showers never last very long around here.

It finally stopped raining about ten minutes later. Just as it let up I noticed a white pick-up truck pull up behind me. I exited my car to meet the driver. Out of the truck stepped a guy that looked about my age, slightly taller than me, with reddish brown hair, wearing a white wife-beater and cargo shorts. The guy was lean and muscular, and fucking gorgeous. As he approached, there was just enough light left to tell his eyes were emerald green. I thought I was going to drool on myself.

"Hey, do you need any help?" The guy had a deep southeast Texas accent (slightly Texan with a little bit of Cajun mixed in).

"Yeah, my tire blew out. And I was waiting for the rain to stop before getting out and try to change it."

"Try? Have you ever changed a tire before?"

I looked at the ground sheepishly and reluctantly answered him. "Not really. I know what to do in theory. I was hoping someone would come by and help."

He flashed a million-dollar smile at me. "I can help you out. I don't have anywhere to be. It shouldn't take long. I'm Sean. Can you pop the trunk for me?"

"Sure, I'm TJ by the way."

"Nice to meet you, TJ. I don't think I've seen you around here before. Where are you from?"

"I just moved here a couple of months ago from the Dallas area. I'm starting school Monday at PNG. I'll be a senior."

"Really? Same here. Except, I've lived here my entire life."

As we talked, I popped the trunk while he waited at the back to get the jack and the spare tire. He suddenly was very quiet back there, and then it dawned on me. I still had one box in my trunk from when I moved down here. It was open, and it had all my porn and magazines in it. I never took it up to my room; I didn't want Robert or Josh to accidentally find it. I was waiting till I found a good hiding spot. Eventually, I just forgot about it. When I reached the back of the car, he was removing the spare and jack. I noticed the box had been pushed farther back into the trunk. There was no way he moved it without seeing the magazine on top.

He stared at me. "TJ, I have some bad news. This spare is flat. The tire shop closed at 7:00pm. We're either going to have leave your car here, or call a tow truck. I can give you a ride home if you need one."

I was extremely nervous and started to stammer. "You're still willing to help me out? Are you sure?"

He smiled again. "Yeah, I'm sure. I don't mind at all. Maybe we can hang out for a while tonight. Unless you already have other plans, I mean. I don't have anywhere to be till Monday morning."

"No, I don't have any plans either. I was just heading to the mall to pick up some clothes and shit, but I guess that it can wait till tomorrow. Besides, then I can bring my brother with me. I hate shopping by myself. Do you think my car will be okay here tonight? I don't want to pay for a tow truck if I don't have to."

"It should be fine. You can leave a note on the dash letting the cops know that you'll move it tomorrow. Just be sure to lock it up. I'll go ahead and take off the flat tire and throw it in the bed of my truck."

"Okay, let me leave a note and grab my backpack from the car. Thank you so much for helping me out, Sean. We can hang out at my place if you want. Nobody's going to be there though, so if you have somewhere else to be, it's cool. You can just drop me off."

He looked at me with a sad, pained look. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

I quickly replied to ease his pain. "No, of course not. I don't know anybody around here except for my brother and couple of his friends. I could use some friends. I was just making sure you didn't have somewhere else to be. I really would like to hang out for a while."

His mouth turned into the biggest smile I've ever seen. "I would like that too. Let's get this show on the road."

He had the tire off the car in mere minutes, and miraculously pulled a cinder block from the bed of his truck to lower the car onto. Once the car was lowered onto the block, I left the note on the dash and grabbed my shit from the car while he put the jack and spare back in the trunk. By the time I made it to the back of my car, he had the trunk closed and was walking back to his truck. I was nervous as hell because I knew that there was absolutely no way he couldn't have not seen what was in the box.

When I climbed into his truck, he could tell how nervous I was. "TJ, relax. I'm not going to bite." Then he turned to the steering wheel and mumbled so low that I couldn't quite make it out, but I swear he said, "Unless you want me to."

My jaw must've been on the floor when he turned back to me. "If you're not careful, something's gonna fly in there. So, can you give me directions to your place?"

His smile, once again, set me at ease. "Sure, let's go."

Ten minutes later, we pulled up to the house. He turned to me with a questioning look. "Why are we at Mr. Kennedy's?"

I winced a little. "That's a long story. I'll tell you, if you want to hear it."

"Yeah, I'll listen to your story. Let's go inside. I'm starving. Have you eaten dinner yet? Maybe we can order some pizza and get to know each other some."

"I was going to order a pizza anyways. Josh is spending the night at his friend's and Robert is out for most of the night, so we'll have the place to ourselves."

We got out of the truck and started heading to the house. He stopped as we approached the front door. "TJ, I gotta be honest with you. I saw that box in your trunk."

Great, here it comes. Now he's going beat the shit out of me or back out and go home. I looked down at the ground and before he could continue any further, I interrupted him. "I understand. Thanks for the help. If you could just leave the tire by the garage, that would be cool."

He came over to me and put his hand under my chin to raise my head. When I was looking him in the eyes, he spoke again. "Why are you trying to get rid of me again? I thought we were going to hang out and get to know each other."

"Yeah, but you said you saw what was in the box, and I just figured..."

He laughed at the confusion on my face. "I was going to say, I saw that box in your trunk, and I think we have similar interests. I'm looking forward to getting to know you a little better."

I was smiling so big, my face was starting to hurt. "Are you serious? Let's go in and order that pizza. We can watch a movie or just hang out talk a little."

"I would like to talk and get to you know more about you. Lead the way."

We entered the house, ordered the pizza, and then sat on the love seat next to each other. He turned to me and asked me a question. "Do Mr. Kennedy and Josh know that you're gay?"

"Yeah, I came out to everyone my freshman year. My parents were very supportive. Robert freaked out at first, but he came around by the time summer started. Josh actually ran away at beginning of that summer because his mom wasn't going to let him visit me."

"Isn't that the summer she left?"

"Yup, Robert stood up to her finally, and she decided to show her true colors. She told Robert she wasn't going to allow Josh to spend the summer with me because she didn't want me to corrupt him. They got into a huge fight. Anyways, I don't like talk about my ex-bitch-in-law."

Sean smiled kindly and squeezed my hand for a moment. "We don't have to talk about anything that you're not comfortable with. I just want to get know you better, and tell you about myself."

"Let's wait till the pizza gets here, then we can start talking."

"Okay. Sounds good to me. What time will Mr. Kennedy be back?"

"He's out on a date, so no telling. But even if he comes home, he'll be cool."