Problem with a One Night Stand Ch. 06

"Thanks, I think." I chuckled. "You are pretty fucking amazing yourself, you know."

"It didn't seem like you had any complaints." He teased before tipping my chin up and kissing my mouth gently. "This is definitely the start of something great."

"It is." I agreed, snuggling up against him. It was going to be very difficult to convince my heart to slow down and not fall for him too quickly.

We snuggled together for the next hour while waiting for my alarm to go off, exchanging soft kisses and touches, neither of us daring to take it too far again knowing that we had to practice. When my alarm finally did go off, we both got p. Barry's shirt from yesterday was not going to work for practice, so he started going through my drawer to find something that would fit. After digging through every shirt I had, he finally found a t-shirt that would fit and pulled it on over his head. When I saw what he picked up, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. "So much for subtle." I teased. He had picked out one of my Woodbridge Academy t-shirts, and it still stretched tight across his chest, very obviously not his own clothing.

"You're not that much smaller than me. Why don't any of your clothes fit me?" He whined.

"Because until you recruited me, I was a lot smaller." I reminded him. "You made me beef up like a little gym rat since school started."

"True." He conceded. "But look at how good you look with all these muscles." He laughed, pulling me in front of him so I could face the mirror. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and started to trace along my abs and pecs. "You look awesome, if you ask me."

I did my best to stifle my moan, but every time he was near me, I lost my senses. "Stop." I laughed. "You're turning me on and we have to go." I grabbed my own shirt as he grumbled, pulled on my sneakers, and led him out the door. We jogged in silence over to the boat house, the chilly November air a nice way to wake up and warm up for what was sure to be a grueling practice. We were at the end of the season with just one more race left, so we everyone was worried about graduating without one final win under our belts.

"Holy shit, look at Barry." Brian exclaimed as we joined the rest of the group. Everyone turned around, and Barry's cheeks flushed adorably.

"Well, well, well!" Robby joined him, jumping up from the ground and joining in the jokes. "Nice shirt, Barry, but I think it's a little small."

"And call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that Barry didn't go to Woodbridge Academy." Brian chimed in, laughter in his tone.

"Alright you guys." Barry held up his hands in defeat. "Knock it off. We have a practice to get to."

"Yeah, come on guys." Brian shook his head. "If Barry doesn't want to fess up to why he's wearing Josh's clothes, he doesn't have to." He chuckled and turned back to the group to get things moving, but Robby was not going to be so accommodating.

"I think we all know why Barry is wearing Josh's clothes." Robby laughed, and everyone tittered along with him. Barry didn't even seem embarrassed, just annoyed.

"Alright!" He shouted over everyone's laughing. Barry took a deep breath. "Let's just get it out there. Josh and I are now officially dating. I am wearing his clothes because I spent the night at his place last night, and would rather fuck my boyfriend than get up early and go home so that I can change and impress you losers. Now, does anyone have a problem with that?" The group was quiet, and eventually everyone kind of caved and moved down to the water to get started.

"Well, that was a bit extreme." I laughed. "Maybe you could censor it a little bit when you tell people in the future, hmm?"

Barry just grinned at me and slapped my ass playfully. "Come on, let's get to practice."

The rest of the week was so damn busy I barely got to see Barry between exams and paper writing, although he did make it a point to walk home from practice with me, and we always exchanged more than a few steamy kisses before we went our separate ways for classes. He went home for the weekend for his brother's birthday, so I didn't get to see him until Monday at practice, and then we both had classes for most of the day so we decided to take it easy since the next night would be a late night. I spent all of Monday night trying to get ahead on homework, but kept getting distracted with thoughts of the next night. I couldn't stop worrying that something was going to go horribly wrong, whether it be because of my father or because of Adam, or one of the other numerous sons of politicians I had sucked off over the years who would likely be at the election party. It was making me an anxious mess, and I felt practically crippled with the fear that Barry wouldn't like this part of me and want to break up with me.

Tuesday morning, Jason wasn't even around to help me keep my nerves at bay, and I felt like I was falling apart. The campus was all abuzz as people walked around with their "I voted" stickers. There was no denying that Senator Humphrey was the fan favorite, especially on college campuses, and his VP was the only openly gay person in the Senate, earning him a lot of extra support. Obviously I wanted him to win, but I was also really not looking forward to what this all meant.

By the time I got out of class and was supposed to go home to get ready, I had no desire to go at all anymore, and decided I just wasn't going to. There was nothing anyone could do to stop me. I shot a text to Barry telling him I wasn't going, and then messaged my dad telling him the same thing. I didn't want to bother Matt or Jason so I decided to let them be and put my phone on silent before plopping back on my bed. I thought I would get away with the hiding, but hardly 30 minutes went by before there was a knock on the door. I reluctantly climbed out of bed and opened it, to find Barry looking like a tall drink of water in a perfectly pressed black suit. He almost looked like James Bond, and my mouth began to water.

"Get dressed." He demanded.

"I'm not going." I argued back, although knowing what I knew about Barry, he was not going to give up easily. "Although you do look very nice."

"You are going." He told me, shutting the door behind himself. "You are going to go and support your friend and his boyfriend, you're going to swallow whatever beef it is you have with your father, and you're going to have a great time."

"I am?"

"You're going to dance with me, you're going to enjoy some cocktails, and you're going to share a very heated limo ride home with me. You are going to do this, because whatever it is that's holding you back? It's not worth it. Nothing is worth you going back on your word for, and you will regret it if you don't go. Now, come on and get ready. Why don't you go shower? You know you won't be happy if your hair doesn't look perfect."

"Ugh, fine." I agreed, dragging myself to the shower. Barry was right, of course, and I knew that I had to go. I was letting my nerves get the best of me again, and I had sworn to myself back in May that I would never let that happen to me again. I would never let myself feel as down and dark as I did at the end of high school. Going to Yale was supposed to help me turn my life around, not keep me in the same rut that I was in while living in DC.

By the time I got back from the shower, I did feel a lot better. Barry sat by quietly as I got dressed and styled my hair. By the time I was ready, the car should have been downstairs waiting for us, so I started to get my tie on, but was having issues getting it in a straight knot, nerves making my fingers shake slightly as I tried to finish. Barry luckily caught on and stepped in front of me to help. "Talk to me, Josh." He said softly as he tied it perfectly for me. "You're shaking. I've never seen you like this. What is going on?"

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously something." He argued back, although so gently it almost felt like he was trying to coax me into something. "I can practically feel the anxiety radiating off of you. Something is going on, and I want to know what it is so I can help you."

I took a deep breath and held it, debating whether or not I should confide in him or not. As I exhaled, I figured I really had no choice. "It's Adam. I don't want to have to face him. It's been one thing by phone, but I blocked him and didn't have to deal with him, but now I will have to be face to face with him gain."

Barry nodded. "Okay. And who is Adam?"

I ran a hand over my face in exasperation. I had totally forgotten that he didn't know anything about that. "Adam was a guy from high school. It didn't end well."

"Did he do something to you that has you so nervous right now?"

I took a deep breath. "He screwed me over and set me up for other stuff, tried to get me expelled, tried to destroy my relationship with Jason, tried to destroy Matt and Jason's relationship, kept hooking up with me while staying totally closeted and kept fucking with my head, and then he told me all the reasons why I didn't deserve to live. Which I believed and tried to take care of." I pulled up the sleeve of my suit jacket and showed him the scar on my wrist that was surprisingly well-healed, probably thanks to the fact that my father walked into the kitchen as I was trying to gauge the knife down my arm, and the fact that in my moment of weakness I still seemed to know it was a bad idea.

Barry took my arm in his hands and gently traced a fingertip along the scar. "Josh, you are definitely worthy of being alive, and this guy sounds like a shithead. You are strong, and brave, and smart, and so fucking beautiful, inside and out, that the world needs you in it. I certainly need you in mine. And if this Adam guy doesn't see it, then he can fuck off. This is a big night for you and me, this is a big night for your best friend and his partner. You have the power to let Adam ruin it for you, or you can rise above and enjoy it. Personally, I think you look so drop dead fucking gorgeous, you would be doing the whole word a disservice by staying inside."

I met his warm gaze with mine, looking for some sign of dishonesty, but there was none. He was completely serious. I tilted my head up and kissed him, working my lips over his in a slow, searching motion. How had I gone my whole life without him? It seemed like he was absolutely perfect, and it was quite clear that I had wasted a lot of time on the wrong guys. This is what I had wanted for so long, a partner who would help build me up when I was falling apart. Someone who was there for me no matter what, the way that Matt and Jason were there for each other. "Okay." I agreed, pulling back. "I'll go. I just don't want to face him."

"And if he's there, I will be by your side every step of the way. I promise." He gave me a warm smile. "Now, let's go. The car should be downstairs by now." Sure enough, the black town car was waiting outside my dorm, so Barry and I slid into the back, settling in side by side for the ride into the city. Barry didn't let go of my hand the entire time although we were both quiet, and by the time we arrived, I was feeling like my normal self. It seemed so strange that the closer I got to the issue, the smaller it seemed. It was just a reminder that all this stress and anxiety was in my head.

When the car finally pulled up in front of the hotel that was hosting the party, the crowd outside was unreal. People kind of left us alone as we walked inside, mostly because we weren't anyone interesting. Once we turned in our tickets, Barry once again held onto my hand and led me inside. The banquet hall was decorated in a lavish all-American theme, with balloons and glitz everywhere. Senator Humphrey looked excited but nervous, as could be expected, and Matt was by his side that I could see from where we stood. "Okay, I am glad you talked me into coming." I told him. "This is incredible."

"It's history in the making." Barry agreed. "Humphrey is going to change our world if he wins."

"When he wins." I corrected him with a grin.

Barry and I worked our way through the crowd, coming across a few people I knew so I introduced them to Barry. Barry was surprisingly well-poised and handled all of the introductions like a champ, charming the older ladies and discussing all the right things with the older men. I seriously had nothing to worry about. We made our way over to where there were tall tables set up for eating some of the appetizers. We managed to find the last one that was empty. "Stay here, I'll go get us something." Barry told me. I nodded and watched him as he disappeared into the crowd, unable to hold back my grin.

"Your boyfriend is very handsome." A voice interrupted my thoughts from behind me. I spun to see it was my father standing there. "Hello, Joshua." He greeted me.

"Hi Dad." I went to shake his hand, but he surprised me and reached in for a quick hug.

"You're looking well." He told me. "I'm happy to see that getting away has helped you a bit."

"Somewhat." I agreed. "It's a work in progress."

"Good. Don't forget to call me if you need help. I know things aren't always perfect between us, but I do care about your well being, you know."

"I know, Dad." I smiled. "Do you want to stay here and meet Barry? I think you'll like him."

"I would love to. I saw you two walking through the room together. He can't seem to peel his eyes off you for very long. It's about time you found someone who treats you well.'

"It's still early." I reminded him.

"Yes, and he hasn't gotten you suspended or arrested yet, so I would say that is progress for you." He teased, and I just rolled my eyes at him. "Speaking of which, I just saw Adam's father. He decided not to come tonight, so there should be no trouble for you this evening." The relief must have been visible on my face, because my father gave me a warm smile. "I figured you would like hearing that."

Luckily, Barry approached us at that moment, carrying three drinks. I watched in awe as he placed a glass of champagne in front of me and then handed a scotch to my father. "Mr. Banner, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Barry Smith, I go to school with Josh." He reached out his hand to shake my dad's, and gave him that all-American, boy next door grin that always seemed to win me over. It apparently had the same effect on my father, because he shook his hand and held back his baseline resting bitch face that he usually wore at events like this.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Barry." He returned the handshake, giving Barry a tight grasp before letting go again.

"I hope you don't mind, sir, but I took the liberty of ordering you a scotch. I noticed that you were empty while I was over by the bar." Barry clearly had figured out the way to my dad's heart, even though it was something I still couldn't seem to manage.

"Not at all, I appreciate the gesture."

I beamed at Barry, thrilled that he was handling my father better than I can usually could. "Dad, Barry is the captain of the crew team at Yale, and will graduate in May. He's pretty much the one who recruited me for crew at the beginning of the year."

"Josh is one of our stars." Barry told him, totally stroking my ego while he kissed up to my father. "He has advanced so much and is just such a natural. He's been a complete powerhouse since we first put him in a skull."

"I'm not surprised. Josh has always been on the water. He would scream and kick whenever we made him get out of the pool when he was a child. It only seemed natural that he became a swimmer, but I do have to admit, the crew thing threw me for a loop. I thought for sure you would try out for the swim team at school once you got there."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I really like crew. The guys are great, and I really enjoy being on a team. It's a good way to enhance my time in college."

"While keeping you out of trouble." My father shot me a glance that made me feel like a petulant child, but I didn't let it bother me. I was still surprised with myself for telling Barry about how dark my life had seemed at the beginning of the summer, but it felt like a weight was finally off my shoulders. Not even Jason and Matt knew that I was ready to try to kill myself, but it actually felt good to let Barry knew why I was freaking out about seeing Adam. I had been dumb enough to let Adam continue to try to manipulate me, but now that I had Barry in my life and saw how wonderfully someone could treat me, it made me realize just how horrible Adam had actually been all that time. How every time he told me that he would come out for me, he was actually just saying what it would take for me to blow him. He never even had sex with me facing him. He always wanted me on my knees with my face smashed into a pillow, dissociation at its best. In hindsight, it was pretty clear that I was always just a tight hole for him to fuck, but my high school self obviously never got that memo.

Barry must have picked up on my awkwardness, and jumped to my rescue, as usual. "So Mr. Banner, I'm fascinated by your business practices. Would you happen to have any words of wisdom you would like to share? I wrote a paper on the international models you use last year, but it would be a privilege to hear some of your own anecdotes regarding your policies and practices."

My father looked taken aback for a second, and then gave me such a huge grin, probably the biggest I had ever seen from him. "Do you smoke cigars, Barry?"

"Not often, but my father and I occasionally enjoy a Romeo y Julietta together." He answered.

"Why don't you join me on the balcony. I'll give you some tips and we can further discuss your paper. I would love to hear your thoughts on my practices. My board is a bunch of stuffy old men, it would be great to get a young person's perspective for a change. Come on. Josh, if you'll excuse us." He patted me on the shoulder and started off towards a set of glass doors that apparently led to a balcony.

Barry gave me a panicked look. "I can stay with you." He offered.

"Don't be ridiculous." I laughed. "Go, have fun. I think he likes you more than he likes me."

"I'll be back in a few minutes." He promised.

"Take your time!" I pushed him away a bit. "Go! Have a good time schmoozing. He knows a lot of people. He could really help you out a lot if you wanted."

"Josh..."

"Go, I'm fine. I need to find Jason anyway." I told him. He finally seemed to accept it, planted a chaste kiss on my forehead, and took off through the crowd in the direction my dad had went. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, drinking my champagne, and then Barry's. My dad had taken his scotch with him, or I probably would have topped that off as well. My nerves were slightly less frayed now that I knew Adam wouldn't be here, and I was thrilled that Barry got along so great with my father, but I felt a tiny twinge of doubt, making me feel like he was using me. Obviously I knew he wasn't, but it was just so typical that people would be more fascinated by my father than by me.

"Why are you pouting in the corner?" Jason interrupted my pity party. "You look like someone killed your cat."

"Why aren't you with you boyfriend, the first kid?"

He just grinned at me. "We are meeting in the bathroom in ten minutes. He probably needs a quickie before all the important stuff happens. Voting closes in an hour on the west coast. Not that anyone is really concerned, he's only one or two states away from winning regardless of the rest of the polls. It looks like it's going to be a landslide."

"That's amazing!" I exclaimed. "Mat must be freaking out."

"He is. He's so happy for his dad, it's sweet."

"Will you have to have your sleepovers at the white house from now on?" I teased.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause I'm sure there's a ton of privacy there. I'm not sure what will happen, but I'm sure that if he wins, my and Matt's love life will certainly change for the next four years."