My Mistakes: A BxB Story

Churlish Chiding of the Winter's Wind

Chapter 26: Churlish Chiding of the Winter's Wind

A Week Before the Show

"Who wants hot chocolate??!!"

Noah recognized that voice, as he had their freshman year. It was a bizarre deja vu moment. Straight back to that miserable, horrible time in his life, the beginning of his estrangement from Jamie, after that disaster of a winter dance.

Their friend group back then was big, but now it had doubled in size. Teenagers perched on every available surface of Joey's backyard deck. Jasper and Matt in heavy coats, and hysterically neon pink knit winter bobble hats. Ted and Riley decked out for snowboarding. Sara sipping on a Starbucks mint tea, eyes flicking towards all the usual hijinks, but aloof and apart from it all. Kimmie and Dwight, already on the hill with Alyisha, who continued to make everyone else look like bare novices on their boards. Jaden warily sitting out today's festivities after he sprained his ankle last winter. Daisy gearing up. Dane and Jeff, in the living room, cuddling in front of the blazing fire. Harrison and Joey, passing out cups of cocoa to everyone.

Noah himself, with his boyfriend, thankfully, gratefully in his arms. Luke next to them, warily eying the others zooming down the mountain.

Jamie laughed. "I would have thought you would love boarding. You're an adrenaline junkie like me!" Thinking of Luke's exuberance on the zipline early this school year.

"Yeah, but...," he muttered.

"He doesn't want to look stupid." Noah said. He already could guess Luke's feelings. Knew that his new friend hated like poison to look anything other than cool and in control. He drifted his fingers in Luke's dirty blonde hair. Luke breathing in sharply, Noah's touch doing something to him best left unmentioned.

"You won't look stupid. You'll just look like you're learning. We can teach you. It can be difficult at first, but it's not something you learn by watching or doing casually. It takes time and effort and commitment to get good at it." Jamie said, biting his lip.

The three of them exchanged a certain look. There was an underlying message to his comment that made Luke pause.

"We're really good teachers, Luke. We've been doing this for a long time. We know how to help you. Then you can have fun with us in the snow, like this, all the time." Noah added. "But no pressure. If you don't want to, that's okay. You can just watch us, and maybe later...you'll want to. And...I'm not talking about boarding...or sex." Noah added calling it out in the open. "I'm talking about being in a relationship and caring for us. Falling in love. That's way more difficult that just having sex...or snowboarding, for that matter. And it's okay to look foolish when you fall in love."

"Be foolish in love, for love is all there is." Jamie quoted. "Rumi."

"Who's that?" Luke asked, his voice thick with emotion.

"An Islamic poet," Jamie said smiling.

"Jamie, have you ever thought about writing poetry? You know all of these quotes and everything. You seem to really find certain words or phrases special. Have you ever tried?" Luke said quietly, putting his arms around Jamie, leaning in to smell his hair. Noah standing behind him, an arm around Luke's waist.

Jamie blinked. And grinned. "I have not. But I think, I think I will.... I will...tonight. When we go home. Noah, don't let me forget."

"I won't, Jamie."

=

Jude cautiously approached Taylor. The smaller boy sat quietly on a tree stump, watching Jamie slalom down the hill, screaming with delight. He was drowning in an oversized sky blue jacket with a bright yellow Minions ski hat on his head. Fuzzy yellow mittens and bright yellow ski boots completed the look.