Read Online Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez - Free Book Online Page B

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    Once they arrived at Jason’s, Kyle stopped at the sideboard in the living room. “Wow, all these trophies are yours?” Jason nodded. “My mom likes to show them off.” He did too, but he didn’t want to seem conceited. His dad constantly harped that his ego was too big. He pushed open the kitchen door. Rex greeted them. Jason poured a bowl of Cat Chow, but Rex backed away when Kyle bent down to pet him.
    “He’s kind of skittish. You hungry?” he said, handing a pack of cupcakes to Kyle. Then he grabbed a couple of Cokes from the refrigerator and led Kyle to his room.

    Kyle gazed around, staring at everything. Jason watched him, trying to figure out what he found so interesting. It was an ordinary room, not much to look at—pale blue walls; his bench and barbell set; the stereo system his aunt Claire had given him; posters of basketball stars above his bed; Whitman team pictures; his dresser, lined with his cologne and stuff. “Never seen a bedroom before?” Jason asked.
    Kyle blushed. “Just looking.” He pointed to the cologne. “I wondered what you wore.” Jason picked up the bottle. “Want some?”
    “Sure.” Kyle grinned and set the cupcakes down, rubbing the cologne on his wrists. “It smells like you.” He glanced at the gold-framed photo on the dresser, of Jason with Debra. “That’s a great picture.”
    Jason didn’t want to think about Debra. He sat down on the bed and gestured to the desk chair for Kyle. “We had kind of a fight the other night.” He hadn’t planned on talking to Kyle about it. In fact, he hadn’t told anyone about the fight—not even Corey. “Not really a fight. We decided to take a break for a while. A ctually, she decided.”
    “You’re not”—Kyle sipped the Coke Jason handed him—“breaking up, are you?” His concern surprised Jason. “I don’t know.” He grabbed the cupcakes off the dresser, ripped open the pack, and shoved one into his mouth. “Want one?”
    Kyle took one, while Jason kicked off his shoes, not thinking anything of it. Rex had followed them into the room and began circling Kyle, rubbing against his legs.
    “Wow,” Jason said. “He usually doesn’t warm up to new people.”
    The cat hopped onto Kyle’s lap, then bent his head down into Kyle’s crotch, tapping his nose on Kyle’s zipper as he sniffed.
    “Rex!” Jason shouted. He stood up and grabbed the cat. “Sorry about that.” He tossed him into the hall. “Come on. Out you go.” He closed the bedroom door and suddenly became aware that he was alone in his bedroom with a guy he knew was a homo. His palm slid off the doorknob, clammy with sweat. He turned to see Kyle untying his own shoes.
    A feeling Jason couldn’t exactly identify—an excited feeling—coursed through him.
    Kyle stared at him. “Is it okay if I take them off?”
    Jason shrugged, wishing he’d left his own shoes on, and sat down again.
    Kyle bent over to untie his laces, and a cassette tape fell out of his shirt pocket.
    “What’s that?” Jason asked.
    Kyle picked it up. “A tape Nelson made. Want to hear it?”
    Jason considered for a moment. Did he want to play in his stereo a tape made by Nelly? “Sure. Why not?” He put the tape into the stereo. A lmost immediately he liked the music. “Who is it?”
    Kyle hesitated, then mumbled something.
    “Who?” Jason asked, louder this time.
    Kyle looked embarrassed and said, slightly louder, “The Butthole Surfers?” Jason burst out laughing. “No way! That’s their name?”
    Kyle nodded, cracking a smile. “You like it?”
    “Yeah.” Jason smiled. “I like it.”
    They listened to the tape and drank their Cokes. Kyle drummed his palms against his jeans. Jason tried not to notice how the soft denim outlined Kyle’s legs and curved over the front of his pants. He rubbed the sweat from his palms. “Can I, like, ask you a question?” Kyle leaned forward. “Yeah?”
    Jason knew what he wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure how to ask