"Lemme get this straight. So you mean to tell me you got drunk. Trashed your parents place. Then got high. Then had a foursome with some dudes you barely knew, from school none the less..while your family was off watching your homophobic grandfather being put in the ground?"
JJ stared wide eyed at his friend. "When you put it like that it sounds like a bad thing."
"Pff, bro." He sighed, flopping down next to Alice who was shaking her head.
"Plus it couldn't have been a foursome cause we didn't have sex and Kyle wasn't even apart of it. Also, how DARE you? I knew them very well! I-
"Really?" She questioned, smirking. "How long you know 'em for bruh? 1 month..2?"
He stared at the popcorn ceiling blinking slowly as he thought.
"Three weeks..? Maybe?"
"Tsk, see-" She started and they both began to laugh. She gave him a look as if to prove her point and started sifting through her short hair with her hand.
He was still pretty freaked out by that, even after about a month. It turned out A, the guy from Starbucks was..not a guy at all but an Alice. She had assumed he was a girl; which hurt his pride very much, and he assumed she was a guy.
Once she got home and realized that fact, she planned to never call or come face to face with him again. Until she came in for coffee last week during his shift. You should see her though. She would make one hell of a man..
"Yo, stop worrying. I'm a lesbian man, I know all about moving too fast." She waved him over to her thigh, as if she was gonna tell him a little bed time story.
He appreciated the gesture.
"There was this one chick a couple years back. I was 14 and she was like..god, I don't even know..-
"Dude-
"Nah, she wasn't THAT old..she um..just graduated I think. So..maybe 18? 19? I met her at a friends of a friends party, apparently she was the 'chaperone' but all she really did was make sure no kids got too wasted and started fooling around in the bedrooms...guess she kinda fucked herself on that one..or you know, I did-heh. We dated for like a week before she asked if I would move in with her.
"I told her I was 18 which somehow she believed and when I told her my real age-
"She dumped you?" He said with a raised eyebrow.
"Nah, she wanted to overlook it cause she liked my personality. And my mouth. She was actually pretty chill about it. But then I thought what kinda grown ass woman willingly dates a 14 year old so I dumped her."
"I mean..yeah but..damn, your cruel." Alice shrugged, leaning back on her elbows.
"As is life."
"You're crazy."
"Shit, I know. I'm just glad I got a gay friend who can keep speed Mr. It- totally-wasn't-a-foursome." They started cracking up even though it totally WASNT a foursome and they continued to lie there for a bit before getting ready to head down stairs to cook lunch for the kids.
Gay friends were hard to come by in person. Around your age, not desperate for sex or relationships, finding ones that weren't toxic assholes. It was hard. JJ honestly preferred this to a guy.
In just a week he and Alice got closer than probably any friend he'd ever had. And he was glad to finally have someone to tell his secret to cause..it was a pretty big secret.
School started in about a week and he hadn't really talked to any of the guys since that night. Like, he lived right across from Karie, so of course they saw each other but DaKarie had been good about avoiding him.
It kind of hurt but it was only fair. After everything that happened, he deserved a chance to at least figure his stuff out.
Max was saying something about it wasn't a good time and he had a lot on his plate. He said he'd try to keep in touch and they'd talk about it but they obviously never did.
Kyle and JJ had hung out a few times but he was just..different. More distant then normal, kind of absent. It was hard to be normal after what they did together, JJ had guessed.
So it was a month later. School was almost starting and he was trying to move on. His family was still doing good and he got a new best friend. The situation with..you know, it sucked. But he was doing alright.
"You get a grilled cheese! You get a grilled cheese! You get a..Swiss, cheddar, and avocado whole wheat sandwich? How old are you?! And last but certainly not least, you get..baby food. Yaaay!" Alice grinned, cropped hair dangling before her sharp eyes. She started blowing raspberries on Jane's cheeks making her giggle.
She stopped at the last plate of food and mumbled, "I feel like I'm missing someone.."
She looked around, eyebrow arched, the baby laughing where she stayed held in the air before her. She might claim to hate kids but he could tell she would be a great mom.
"It's Anna, she's outside with the football. ANNA-"
"Nah, it's okay. I can get her. Now take ya baby!"
She passed Jane over and started toward the backyard with a little too much swagger, making JJ squint his eyes in suspicion. His gay spidey senses were acting up again.
Sure enough, three minutes later, there came Anna, cheeks a bright red. Her hair even looked mussed.
If that wasn't cause of the football, someone is dying-
JJ pulled her aside as all the kids ate, giving her a 'you have something you wanna share?' kinda look. She just shrugged like she didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
He dragged Alice up to his room by her wrist before openly interrogating her.
"What did you do?! Tell me! I know you did something!"
She scoffed, flopping to his bed with a grin. "I didn't do anything. At least nothing that wasn't wanted."
Staring at her for a minute, she wore a shit-eating grin, acting as if she was the toughest stuff and all he could see was Anna's annoying, stubborn, innocent face and his anger deflated, concern bubbling over all else.
"Just.." JJ started but didn't know where to go with it. He wasn't even sure if what he thought was happening actually was happening but once he thought it was, he couldn't un-think it!..God!
"You..are awesome. But that's my sister. Whatever your planning; as a friend, please leave her out of it." He stated serious enough for her to consider him. "And if your gonna do it anyway you better make damn sure you don't hurt her. Or confuse her any more than she probably is right now.-
"JJ, man. You have nothing to worry about." She spoke carefully, wanting to make it clear that whatever was happening with him and his sister wasn't for him to know but that she wouldn't be hurt.
"-Uh JJ, I think you need to see this.."
"What?" JJ asked, pushing up his glasses. He turned away from the long mirror where he had been messing with his hair for the last 20 minutes and debating whether or not to shave his bit of stubble.
He followed her glare outside of the window when he finally caught what she was staring at. He fought to ignore the pain in his chest.
DaKarie was half naked, sweat pants hanging low on his hips where a pair of petite hands laid. He gripped her curves, sucking at her skin.
He should've known better than to assume it meant something. DaKarie was the guy he was and they were all drunk. He had set his expectations low since that day but this was..harder to see than he'd expected.
Karie pushed her body up against the window, their bodies slamming together before he went for her neck again. JJ frowned but bit down his disappointment and turned away.
Not long ago those lips had been on him. Not only him, he though, which was definitely confusing. If he got so upset now, why wasn't he back then. Sharing Karie with two other people?
..Maybe it was cause of the alcohol abuse..
Still, he felt it was different. Max and Kyle were different. It was different with the 4 of them.
He tugged at his blinds, giving the guy some privacy and left the room with Alice's arm hung supportivly over his shoulder.
I hope she makes you happy, man.