Speech and Debate Pt. 11

"After everything that happened last night, with Amy and all that, and then leaving with me," I started before I realized I didn't really know how to finish my question. I faltered and stammered a bit. "I mean, do you think...? Fuck, I don't know. I mean, everyone knows now right? About us?"

I was blushing. To this day, I do not know why, but my face was red as a beet before I finally got out the thought. I guess it was the idea of being a known item now, and all the changes that would bring. Daniel had held my hand as he lead me from the ball room. Surely everyone had seen us and guessed what that signified? Right?

"I don't think so, babe," Daniel said with calm, collected ease. "I mean, Ian knows, of course. I think Paul and Gordon were blitzed out of their minds. It's a crap shoot wether they'll even remember anything at all, much less the implications of me holding your hand."

"And Coach B," I murmured to myself, my brain already going a million miles an hour, planning for a hundred possible eventualities, listing people who may know, did know, and didn't know.

"Coach knows?" Daniel asked, a smidgen of concern finally entering his voice. It took me a moment to register what he was asking and what I had said.

"Fuck. I totally forgot to tell you after last night. I'm sorry, baby. Coach B talked to me for a while before all that shit went down. He knows. He's known since that first morning he walked in on us in the shower at school. Remember? After you made me run to school?"

Daniel smirked and snorted a little laugh.

"Of course I remember. I remember every time with you, David," he said as he walked towards me and sat beside me on the edge of the bed. Our finger laced together without the need for either of us to hold our our hands in supplication. It just felt right to be connected to him when he was that close to me. "I guess it makes sense, now that I think about it. He smiled like a damned hyena when I suggested to him that you should be the Team Manager."

"You're not as sneaky as you thought, huh?" I teased. He squeezed my hand and nudged me gently in the ribs.

"It got me what I wanted in the end, didn't it."

"Oh!" I squeaked, remembering another important tidbit of information, "you're not crazy, by the way! There WAS someone watching that night in your Jeep. Well, not watching,... not really. Coach just forgot his bag and happened to see us. Said he had to run like hell and hid in his office until we left."

Daniel roared with laughter until his eyes brimmed with tears.

"No shit?! That's hilarious! He could have at least told me so I didn't think I was headed to the looney bin on the express train for paranoid delusions and seeing shit!"

Daniel did his best to ease any lingering fears I may have been harboring while at the same time urging me to move faster. He had finally checked the time and pronounced us, "late as shit." I didn't have any clothing other than my tuxedo, an outfit that would be out of place at an IHOP, where the "No shirt, no shoes, no service" sign on the front door was an actual necessity gleaned from past instances.

Daniel handed me a pair of his basketball shorts and a tight black t-shirt. Though he could have dressed in jeans and a nice polo, as was his usual style most warm days, he mirrored my own athletic attire instead, and to much greater effect if you asked me.

We rushed down the stairs and towards the kitchen. I had to follow behind him. I had been to his house many times, but I still wasn't entirely sure where each hallway lead in the massive floor plan. Before we got to the kitchen, Adam stepped from a side hallway and blocked our path.

"Mornin', little bro. How'd you sleep?" He winked.

"Fuck off, Adam. We're late," Daniel shot back, obviously annoyed at the interference.

"Cool your jets, dipshit. Just wanted you to know that you two weren't exactly quiet when you came in last night. Catch my drift? I could hear you from my room and Mom's is closer...so..."

I could have died.

I may have, actually. I remember the blood suddenly pounding in my ears and my vision going kind of wonky for a bit. Daniel's brother had HEARD us last night. After the limo ride home, we hadn't really stopped our sexploration and utterances of sweet nothings and words of love and devotion until physical exhaustion forced us to.

"You can pick 'em, lil' D." Adam smirked. "He is definitely a hottie when he's blushing to beat the band."

Yep.

Dead.

Deceased. Please send donations to the David-is-Done-Fund in lieu of flowers.

"Hands off. You're older, but I can still hand you your own ass in a skinny minute," Daniel warned.

It sounded like a joke to me, sibling rivalry at it's most basic. But buried beneath it's mundane normalcy, there was a razor sharp edge of an actual threat. If it came right down to it, and Daniel had to choose between me and his brother...well, hasta la vista Adam. That helped to ease the burning ember that had become my face. A bit.

Adam raised his hands in surrender and pressed himself to the wall so we could pass.

"Just thought you should know before you walk in there and Mom stares at you till you spill your guts."

I did my best to mouth the word "thanks," to Adam as I passed. He winked at me again. There was something about that man that just...

"Morning, you lazy Larry's!" Daniel's mom sang at us as we entered the kitchen.

"I thought for sure you two would sleep all day!"

"Good morning, Ma'am," I said sheepishly, feeling the heat returning to my face again in full force, accompanied this time with the pounding heart and anxiety that damn near gnawed a hole in my stomach.

"So, sit, sit, sit. Tell me everything? How was prom? Why'd you come home early? I expected you to stay at the hotel last night. When I heard the front door open I was half way to the shotgun under the bed before I recognized your voice, Daniel."

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.

"I'll tell you all about it later, Mamma," Daniel said, grabbing an apple from the silver bowl on the island counter and tossing one back for me as well. I actually caught it. Me? The homosexual nerd caught something thrown in the air. I was silently cheering for myself. "We're running late."

"Can't you at least stay for some breakfast?" she asked, actually sounding hurt.

"That's what were late for. But I promise we'll talk later, okay. We really have to go." He leaned in close and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Alright, then. Drive safe. Don't stay out too late."

"We won't," Daniel promised in the way every teen always promises. His hand was on the door handle when his diminutive mother spoke again and stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't forget you've got to take the SATs again tomorrow."

"What?!" Daniel bellowed. "I've already accepted my place at State! Why do I need to take them again?"

Daniel's mom got very serious, very quickly. Southern Mammas have a way of running to the extremes of the emotional spectrum like no other. I've often wondered if Mercurial was originally a name for a woman from the South.

"David has been sweet enough to give you his time and tutor you for weeks now. Place at State or not, you will not make his efforts go to waste young man. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Daniel sighed, the wind gone thoroughly out of his sails. My mouth hung open to my chest. I would have to ask her to give me lessons. It was truly an amazing trick.

Daniel grumbled to himself all the way to the Jeep. He didn't stop grumbling until we had both gotten in, strapped on our seat belts and held hands over the center console. I smiled as broadly as I could. I liked Daniel when he was stewing and introspective. His eyebrows drew down over his eyes and he stuck out his lower lip in almost a pout. Watching a full grown masculine man pout is cute sometimes. To a point. There are limits, of course.

By the time we arrived at the IHOP, he was back to his normal self, his thumb running in small lazy circles over my hand.

The hostess in her white button down and blue apron barely looked up from her station when we walked in the door before she mumbled the apathetic greeting that Corporate Headquarters had commanded her to:

"Welcome to the International House of Pancakes. How many in your party?"

"Umm, we're here to meet..."

The roar of "DANIEL!!" and "DAVID!!" that assaulted the air waves from a big semi-circular booth off to the left got not only our attention, but also the hostess'. When she looked up and finally saw Daniel standing before her, I was filled with a great swell of pride. Her eyes got very wide and her mouth fell open a bit as she took in the beautiful man standing before her, his toned arms and broad chest outlined perfectly even in his plain t-shirt.

And you can't touch him...he's all mine.

I smiled very broadly and nodded my thanks to her as we headed towards our waiting companions. To say they were the best dressed table in the house was like saying that Marilyn Monroe was a decent looking chick. They were resplendent in their finery from the night before, a little rumpled and wrinkled here and there, but still dashing none the less. Maybe it was a sign of their upper middle class upbringing that they had chosen to retie their bow ties and vests. Their cufflinks were even still on, their semi-precious sparkle lost on the fluorescent lighting of the restaurant.

Tall Paul and Gordon looked like they hated the world and everything that walked upon it's surface. The bags under their eyes could have held enough clothes for a honeymoon in Europe and they both had lost some of their youthful color, replaced with a slight tinge of green. They had joined Ian in trying to get our attention when we walked in the door and seemed to be regretting the decision to produce sound or exert any effort in the first place.

Adrienne, Amanda, and Katy smiled pleasantly at both Daniel and I as we stood at the head of the table. They looked identical to their glamorous selves from the evening before: every hair in place, every pore refined and eyelash blackened and curled. Even carrying only those tiny little handbags they had managed to scrounge together enough beautification accouterment to maintain their flawlessness.

Daniel scooted in beside Ian on the side of the booth occupied by the boys and I followed suit, taking the place at the end. Ian wasted no time and dove straight into the deep end.

"Dude, are you okay?" he asked, leaning around Daniel to get my attention. "That was some utter bull shit that bitch pulled last night." He glanced at the girls. "Sorry. But she IS a bitch." The girls put up no argument to the contrary.

"I'm fine. Promise," I said in my best reassuring voice. It really was sweet of him to worry.

"We are all worried about you, guy," Gordon slurred more than his usual.

"Mhmm," Paul added, apparently the worse off of the drunken duo.

"Thanks, but I swear I'm okay."

Daniel's strong hand rested on the exposed skin of my thigh and he squeezed lightly under the table. I wondered if anyone had seen.

"I don't know what got into her," Katy said. She had that strange way of raising her inflection at the end of every sentence so that I was never quite sure if she was asking a question or making a declarative statement. Either way, I was touched that she was making an effort to show any emotion towards me at all, much less sympathy. I could count the words she had spoken to me in our four years of school together on two hands.

"Yeah. I mean, she's never been the nicest person on the planet, but that was just..." Adrienne offered and shuddered in disgust at the end.

"Totally."

That was Amanda. She never was one for words. But I'd be damned if she didn't have the body of a Victoria Secret model. I had no fears for her future, despite her apparent and shocking lack of vocabulary.

I didn't really know how to react. Even with my rising social standing, these three former minions of Amy had never paid me much attention. Begrudging smiles and cordial lifts of the head was about it. Before Daniel, I doubt they even knew I breathed the same atmosphere. For them to speak to me at all was overwhelming, and it conjured up the memories of just how awful Amy had been last night.

"Thanks." I whispered and stared at the paper placemat before me. Daniel squeezed my thigh again and I brightened a little.

"Has anyone heard from her yet?" Daniel asked. Our six companions all shook their heads no.

"She's probably lying in wait behind the bushes to take me out with her fingernails sharpened to a razor's edge."

I have no idea why I said it. I certainly had no intention of speaking, but my inner monologue came rushing out and I spoke the words to the table. My horrified expression when I realized what I'd just said softened when the entire table, the girls included, burst into raucous laughter.

Our meal was a pleasant as any IHOP meal can be. We chatted amiably about school and final exams and graduation. We dropped the graduation topic rather quickly when we recalled that Katy wouldn't be walking across that stage with us since she had to repeat her Junior year. It felt strange, since she'd been a staple of the school hierarchy for all four years I'd been there. But all told, breakfast was a success.

Somewhere in the middle of our airy conversation, Daniel reached for my hand under the table and took it in his own. My gut reaction was to pull away as quickly as possible in case someone saw us. We were in an IHOP. In the South. I highly doubted there was a weekly PFLAG meeting scheduled in that particular location. But Daniel held firm. When I tried to move my hand his fingers gripped mine ever tighter and he looked at me quickly. His eyes were almost hurt. My heart broke and I gave up any attempt at resistance.

But I still wasn't sure if anyone at the table actually KNEW. They made no hints, no comments, no jokes, nothing to indicate that anything had happened last night except Amy had berated me, Daniel had confronted her and then taken me home. None of them even asked if I had gone back to my own home or to Daniel's.

It was a weird place to be in. I was waiting for someone, anyone to say something, drop a hint that they knew what was going on. Even a glance down towards our hands. A smirk of disgust. Something to let me know which way the winds were blowing. I could at least prepare if I had the slightest clue. But I got nothing.

I was on the cusp of "coming out" with Daniel as a couple. But they weren't going to make it easy. It seemed that if we were going to be a couple in public, we would have to declare as much from our own mouths. Our little hand holding last night and the small clues I felt were glaringly obvious from my point of view were not sufficient evidence to my peers.

I was used to planning for every eventuality, each way things could go down. I could find the quickest escape route and road to safety and survival without even thinking about it. But now I stood at the center of an intersection with no road signs. How can you plan to run when you aren't even sure when or where your feet will hit the ground? Or even if they will?

My single solace came from the fact that Daniel was up in the air with me. Better than that, he tethered me to reality, his fingers interwoven with mine keeping me grounded. Without him...I didn't want to think about what could happen without him. I squeezed his fingers tightly and didn't stop until I could feel his heartbeat through my skin.

I was shaken from inside my skull by the sound of a loud blast from a car horn. The girls reacted almost immediately.

"That's our ride," Adrienne said as she scooted from the booth and smoothed her gown.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, gentlemen," Katy offered demurely, following her friend out. Amanda was last and favored us with a smile and twinkle of her bright green eyes. I wondered what was going on behind those emerald spheres.

The boys and I made our goodbyes and watched the trio leave. Katy and Adrienne were already to the door when Amanda stopped, turned, and shuffled quickly back to the table. I figured she must have forgotten her purse.

It wasn't until her arms were around my neck and her face pressed next to mine that I realized what was happening. I didn't know what to do! I was frozen in my seat, smelling her light lavender scented skin and completely unable to return her unexpected show of affection.

"I really am sorry, David," she whispered close to my ear. "You didn't deserve that."

She straightened and smiled at me. I think I smiled back. I hope I did.

"You looked great last night, by the way. See you at school!" she chirped and bounced off to rejoin the others.

"Dude, you should see your face right now," Ian snorted as he let out a laugh. "I know you're gay and all that, but she just hugged you. You look like she just showed you her lady parts."

Gordon and Paul (and yes, even Daniel) snickered at that. I was happy to see that the effort redoubled the hangover on both of them.

Once the girls were gone, it became apparent that Gordon and Paul had both been just barely holding it together for their benefit. Paul folded his gangly arms on the table and rested his head on them, covering his eyes. Gordon didn't even cushion his head with his arms, just went forehead first straight to the shellacked table top. I may not have been raised in the Cotillion and proper table manners set, but even I could read the signs that breakfast was at an end.

The drunk boys shuffled towards the parking lot with unintelligible grumbles about Ian hurrying up and driving them home before they puked in his car. The door closed behind them and left Ian, Daniel and I to pay for our meals.

"And I thought I was supposed to be the dense one," Ian said, elbowing Daniel in the ribs, which given the height disparity was located closer to the shoulder than the ribcage. He handed the cashier his credit card. "Seats 1 through 6 please." He smiled at the middle aged woman manning the register. I watched his pecs bounce beneath his tuxedo jacket and saw the poor woman's eyes bulge a bit.

"They really don't know do they?" Daniel asked. I had finally shaken off most of the shock from Amanda's unexpected physical interaction and returned my attention to their conversation.

"Apparently not. I mean, I guess I had more clues to go on, given the hotel room at the away game and all but still..."

Ian blushed a bit and glanced at me. I winked at him and watched his color deepen to an even more intense scarlet. I loved my natural ability to turn such a large and masculine man into a stereotypical quivering school girl with only a wink of my eye. Ian cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his short hair while he composed himself.

"So how was your night?" he asked me, stuffing his long white paper receipt into his pocket as Daniel handed the cashier his debit card to pay for his and my meals. I didn't even hesitate or try to offer him money to cover my own breakfast. It hadn't taken very long for me to get used to the idea that, sometimes, Daniel would just take care of me. I made a mental note to save up some money to take him out to dinner on my own dime someday soon.

"Good," I said, my face heating this time as I recalled our sexually adventurous trip back to Daniel's house from the ballroom. "Very good."

I smiled and glanced at Daniel, found him already looking in my direction. We shared a small smile and I walked past him when he held the clear glass door open for me and Ian to leave International waters and return to American soil.

Ian followed us to Daniel's red Jeep, easily found amongst the assembled vehicles. I scooted in on the passenger side and Ian followed Daniel to the driver's. Daniel sat and started the Jeep easily. Ian rested his forearms on Daniel's fully open window and leaned easily inside the cab. His massive shoulders and bull-like chest blocked the entire open space. I realized that perhaps Ian's own massive SUV wasn't a sign of his parent's higher than average income level, but rather a necessity for a boy who was built larger than two average men put together.