| Chapter 5 |
| Lance and Justin sat together on the blanket, filling each other in on more about their lives. �So do you know where you want to go to college?� Justin asked. �Well, not really. I love it down south, so I�ll probably stay here. Indiana was nice too,� Lance replied. �Yeah, I love it here. I liked Tennessee, and I still do, but my home is here, you know?� Justin said, turning to look at Lance and getting caught up in his eyes again. �Well, my home isn�t here yet, but I love it here already,� Lance responded, his eyes sparkling a little as he smiled. �Yeah,� was all Justin could say. �Those damn eyes,� he thought to himself. �You ok?� Lance asked. �Yeah, I�m fine. It�s just� has anyone ever told you what amazing eyes you have?� Justin questioned, blushing a little. �Isn�t that line from little red riding hood?� Lance asked, laughing a little. Justin blushed some more. �I mean, well, yeah. But it�s true.� �Thank you,� Lance said, �and a few people have told me that before. It�s means more coming from you though.� Justin smiled. �Hey, you want to toss a frisbee around? I grabbed one from my trunk when I got the blanket.� He stood up, offering Lance a hand. �Sure,� Lance agreed, taking Justin�s hand to stand up. Justin led him a little ways away from the blanket, and Lance was very aware of the fact that Justin was still holding onto his hand. Once Justin was satisfied with where they were, he handed the frisbee to Lance and ran a few yards away. �Ok!� he called when he was ready. Lance had forgotten until that moment that he was horrible at frisbee too. He couldn�t aim very well, and he couldn�t really catch it either. He blushed as he threw the frisbee way out of Justin�s reach. Justin ran to get it, and came over to Lance with a grin on his face. �You don�t like frisbee either?� he asked, smiling softly to make sure Lance knew he wasn�t making fun. �It�s all right. I just suck at it,� Lance replied, blushing again. �Nah, you just haven�t practiced enough. Here, I�ll show you how,� Justin told Lance, showing him how to hold the frisbee. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the frisbee flew up into the air and landed near where he�d been standing. �How do you do that?� Lance asked as Justin ran to retrieve the disk. When he returned, he handed it to Lance. �Now you try,� he said. Lance tried to hold it like Justin had, but he ended up throwing it high in the air instead of across the grass. �Oops,� he giggled as it almost landed on their heads. Justin smiled. He grabbed the frisbee from the ground and handed it to Lance, this time placing his hand over Lance�s. He moved behind Lance a little, and curved his arm around Lance�s body. Once Lance�s hand was in place under his, Justin flicked his wrist, bringing Lance�s arm with it, and Lance let go when their arms were extended. Lance smiled as the frisbee sailed even father than it had when Justin threw it. �Cool, thanks,� he said softly, noticing that Justin�s body was still very close to his. It felt good. �No problem. Now can you catch?� Justin asked. �Kind of,� Lance replied, wincing. �Ok, it�s hard to teach that, so I�ll just have to help you practice by throwing it to you.� �Ok.� The first one hit Lance in the stomach. It wasn�t hard, so it didn�t hurt, but Lance was embarrassed. The second time it glided by his fingers, but he almost got it. The third time he finally caught it in both hands, and lifted it triumphantly in the air. �Yeah!� he exclaimed, and Justin ran over to give him a high-five. �Good job,� he said, patting Lance on the back as they headed back to their blanket. �Hey, do you want to grab lunch at the caf� up there?� Lance looked over as Justin pointed to a caf� at the edge of the park. �Sure. Can we bring it out here?� �Yeah.� They walked together to get their food, and both ended up getting sandwiches. And as they sat down to eat, they continued to share their lives with each other, but neither of them got into too many details � that was for later. **** After they finished their lunch, they drove back to Justin�s house. He blabbed the whole way about how he was going to make Lance into a basketball star. Lance refused to believe that. But he figured that since Justin *had* taught him how to throw and catch a frisbee, he should give him a chance. �At least a basketball player will look your way,� he reminded himself. He wasn�t popular back in Indiana because he was very serious about school. He wasn�t good at sports because he never really had time to try. But this summer he had time, and he had Justin. He figured now was as good a time as any. And with Justin volunteering to teach him, he couldn�t refuse. Justin told him he wanted to change into basketball shorts, and when Lance said he didn�t even own any, Justin offered to lend him some of his. �I have some that should fit you,� he told Lance with a smile. �I don�t know,� Lance started, �are you sure?� �Yeah, of course, I don�t mind. And we could go swimming after!� Justin exclaimed. His family had just gotten a pool installed the previous summer, and he loved swimming. �All right, but I don�t have a bathing suit either,� Lance reminded him. �That�s ok, we can just swim in the shorts,� Justin said, leading Lance into his house. He gave a quick tour of the downstairs, introducing Lance to his parents, who were in the living room, as a new friend from the party. After telling them what they were doing, he led Lance upstairs. �And this is my room,� Justin said, ending his little tour. �It�s nice,� Lance said softly, glancing around at the sports posters on the wall, the big stereo system in the corner, the TV against one wall, and the un-made bed. �Sorry if it�s kind of messy, but I wasn�t expecting anyone. Maybe Josh but his room is much worse than this. You can even see the floor. Sometimes I swear that boy�� Justin told Lance, but he stopped himself when he realized he was rambling. Lance just smiled. Justin dug through the drawers of his dresser and pulled out two pairs of basketball shorts, handing one to Lance. �You can change in here, I�ll be in the bathroom down the hall,� Justin told him. �Ok,� Lance agreed, sliding his pants off once Justin shut the door. The shorts fit him perfectly, and he found himself thinking that maybe he needed a pair of them. He never was really into fashion. �Maybe I can bring Justin shopping with me so he can help me out,� he said to himself. Justin knocked on the door a minute later, and Lance opened it with a smile. �You ready?� Justin asked. �As ready as I�ll ever be,� Lance replied, following Justin downstairs again and outside to the driveway where the basketball hoop was set up. Justin grabbed Lance�s new ball from his car and took it out of the package. �You should get used to this first,� Justin told him, tossing him the ball. Lance was thankful that he caught it. He didn�t want to look like a complete idiot. They tossed the ball back and forth a little bit because Justin told him that it would help him get used to handling it. Then he showed him how to dribble, reminded him to make sure to keep the ball close to his body, but make sure not to bounce it on his toes. Lance smiled when Justin told him that, but he did it about two seconds later when he looked into Justin�s eyes. Justin grinned at him, obviously trying not to laugh, and he chased the ball, which had almost rolled into the road. He laughed at himself, no longer very embarrassed. He was comfortable around Justin, and he knew Justin didn�t care how much he sucked. After he�d gotten the dribbling part down � kind of � Justin showed him the position to shoot a basket. He held the ball just like Justin showed him to, and when he shot it up, it went in. He screeched in surprise, and looked over at Justin with a huge smile on his face. �I did it!� he exclaimed. �Yeah,� Justin replied, �good job.� He smiled, but it was different this time, special, and Lance could�ve sworn his heart almost melted. �Thanks.� Justin tossed him the ball again, and told him to shoot again. He did, and he missed. Justin took the ball and showed him where to aim on the hoop. Lance realized that maybe his first shot was just luck when he couldn�t seem to make another one. �I told you I suck,� Lance mumbled, frustrated. �No, you just need to practice more. How do you think I got good?� Justin asked. �I thought you were just born good,� Lance replied with a smirk. �Well, that too.� Justin grinned. �Let�s take a break.� Lance agreed quickly, and they went into the house to grab water bottles. Then Justin grabbed two towels and led Lance to the backyard, setting the towels down on a chair and sitting in the chair next to it. He patted the chair on the other side of him, and Lance sat down. They sat quickly for a while, just soaking in the sun. A few minutes later, Justin sat up. �I�m hot,� he said, stripping off his shirt. Lance had a witty comeback, but when Justin took his shirt off, he became lost in Justin�s abs. Justin�s body was beautiful, and Lance couldn�t help but stare. Justin noticed him looking at his body and blushed. Lance thought he looked even better when he was blushing. �Come on, let�s swim,� Justin said, pulling Lance up and almost dragging him over to the pool. Lance laughed, fighting against Justin and trying to take his shirt off in the process. His body wasn�t as nice as Justin�s, but he wasn�t ashamed of it or anything. �I�m white,� he warned his new friend, and laughed when Justin pretended to shield his eyes. He stuck out his tongue at Justin, and laughed harder when Justin made a face back. The next thing he knew, he was in the pool, still laughing and almost swallowing a few ounces of water. Justin was grinning at him from the side of the pool. �Get in here, you freak,� Lance said, grabbing for Justin�s ankles. Justin dodged his hands and dived into the pool, right over Lance. Lance grinned, swimming over to where Justin came up, and dunked him immediately. �Hey!� Justin exclaimed in protest when he rose, coughing as he tried to clear his lungs of unwanted water. �Ha!� Lance yelled, splashing Justin in the face and swimming away quickly, expecting Justin to chase him. Justin did, but not without stopping to pout at Lance first. Lance just giggled and splashed him again. They spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around in the pool and teaching/learning how to play basketball. By dinnertime, Lance had to admit, he was a lot better. He wasn�t only semi-good at basketball, but he felt that he�d found an important friend in Justin, and he couldn�t wait to see where their friendship would go. |