Joe reached down between his legs, took Tyler’s cock in his hand and lined it up with his hole. He eased his way down onto the stiff shaft, letting it re-enter him and continued down until he was fully impaled.
Instead of lifting up straight away, he ground his hips against Tyler’s, moving in circles, the cock brushing against different spots inside him, sending tingles all through his legs that he then used to rise up, the cock gently sliding back out of him until just the tip remained and then he sank back down, filling himself again.
Tyler and Joe’s eyes connected and they stared at each other as Joe began to ride Tyler’s cock, bouncing up and down, plunging himself down on it, moaning every time it went in deep. His mouth hung open and his panted breaths came out in huffs as he fucked himself on Tyler’s cock, his own stiff eight-inch dick slapping against his abs and then Tyler’s as he continued to ride him.
“I want to try something else,” Tyler groaned after a few minutes. Joe moved to pull off Tyler’s cock but Tyler grabbed onto him before he could and shook his head. “No, don’t pull off, just turn around.”
Joe looked down at Tyler with questioning eyes but he did as Tyler said, carefully spinning his body around, pivoting on Tyler’s cock which whirled around inside his ass, brushing against all kinds of nerve endings he didn’t even know he had, his eyes rolled back in his head again.
With his back now facing Tyler, Joe moved to ride Tyler again but Tyler stopped him and eased him upward, somehow keeping his dick inside Joe’s ass as he pushed Joe up until he was supporting himself on his hands and feet, in a crab position, instead of being on his knees.
Joe slowly eased himself up and down, the first few strokes almost overwhelming him as Tyler’s dick attacked yet more places inside his ass, going in from a completely different angle. His legs quivered.
Tyler planted his feet down to give him some leverage and pushed his hips up, driving his cock into Joe’s ass, pulling back immediately and plunging back in, fucking up into Joe’s ass hard enough to almost lift Joe off his feet.
Joe moaned almost constantly as Tyler humped up into him. His big cock was waving around, slapping against his abs over and over again, mixing his precum with the sweat that was dripping down his chest. He wanted so desperately to reach for his dick and jerk himself off but he knew he needed both hands for support or he would just collapse.
Mercifully, Tyler was also close and quickly dropped to the bed, pulling his cock out of Joe completely. When Joe fell down against his chest, Tyler caught him and held him close. Joe then spun around, grinding his crotch against Tyler’s as they kissed.
Not wanting to cum that way, Tyler rolled them both over, pushed Joe’s legs apart and sank his cock back inside Joe’s ass as he stared into his eyes.
“Oh fuck me,” Joe moaned as Tyler penetrated him and immediately began pounding away.
Joe wrapped his arms and legs around Tyler’s body, clinging to Tyler’s muscular frame as they moved together with the fuck. He wanted to push back but he was so very nearly exhausted that he just let Tyler hammer away at his ass, feeling ecstasy as the head of Tyler’s cock pummelled his prostate.
“Yes!” Joe screamed. “Fuck the cum out of me. God, your dick feels so good inside me.”
Tyler moaned and thrust up into his hand, his back arching up off the bed as those words came through the nearby speakers. Hearing Joe say those words made his cock throb and he stroked it even faster, watching as the version of him on his computer screen continued to fuck Joe’s ass.
He didn’t know how many times he had watched the videos now but they were hotter than any porn he had tried watching. Nothing got him off like seeing himself fucking Joe, seeing how into it Joe was, how much he loved it, how much they wanted each other.
Licking his palm, coating it with spit, Tyler returned it to his cock and continued to jerk off as he watching himself jump from the bed and grab the camera that they had filmed with, bringing it to the bed as he climbed back up, focused the camera in close on Joe’s ass and then shoved his dick back up Joe’s tight hole, picking up where he left off.
He continued to watch as he fucked Joe on camera, thinking back to the last time he was actually inside that ass on the day that Joe got his scholarship offer, the same day Joe had fucked him for the first time and came inside him.
Thinking about that again and remembering how it had all felt made Tyler’s dick explode, firing huge shots of cum all over his chest and abs. He kept stroking, his body heaving as more cum pumped from his cock, sliding into the valleys between his abs.
“Fuck…” he panted, throwing his head back against his pillow before slowly turning his head back towards the computer where he watched the rest of the video play out until the scene faded to black.
After allowing himself a minute to recover, catching his breath and wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, Tyler slowly sat up, watching as the cum on his chest raced down to join the rest on his abs.
He picked up the nearest piece of clothing from the floor and used it to wipe himself off. When he was done he walked into his bathroom, tossed the clothes in the hamper and stood in front of the sink with his hands on the counter, staring into the mirror.
“Why did you have to say I love you?” he groaned to himself, looking into his own blue eyes.
He put his head down, looking first at the counter and then at his cock, which was still semi-hard and glistening, before he slowly looked back up at himself again. If he hadn’t said those words Joe would have probably been there with him, riding his dick, instead of him having to jerk himself off to the video and the memory of it.
But he had said it. He had admitted his real feelings finally to Joe, even if it was in the heat of the moment, and it had triggered a series of events that had led him to where he was.
Joe hadn’t immediately freaked out like Tyler had expected. He hadn’t jumped up from the bed and run away, leaving Tyler behind hating himself. There had even been a moment when Tyler had thought that Joe might say it back, when they were lying in bed, with Joe on top of him, his cock still inside him, and they stared at each other for a long moment, their mouths getting closer and closer together until they shared a soft almost delicate kiss.
But then Joe had pulled back and slid his cock out of Tyler’s ass, falling down on the bed beside him, trying to take in everything that had just happened, as Tyler lay silently, trying to recover from been fucked by such a big cock that left him gaping and feeling empty as Joe’s load began to leak out of him.
When they recovered enough to get back to their feet they had headed into the bathroom to clean up and somehow Tyler had ended up inside Joe again, fucking him slowly in the shower as he lathered up Joe’s front with soap before jerking him off as he flooded Joe’s insides.
It was only once they were dried and dressed that Joe began to change.
“Ty,” Joe said, breaking the silence in the room. “We can’t do this anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Tyler asked, feeling his stomach drop.
“This,” Joe said, pointing between them. “We just fucked each other. You told me you love me.”
Tyler looked away, unable to meet Joe’s gaze. He knew he had made a mistake the second the words had left his mouth.
“What difference does that make?” he finally said.
“Are you kidding?” Joe asked. “It changes everything.”
“Why does it have to?” Tyler asked, even though he knew the answer before Joe voiced it.
Joe fought back a laugh. “Come on, Ty… Before we were just fooling around. I could say you were giving me something I can’t get from a girl. But fucking you… Being inside you… And then when you said… You meant that. I saw it in your eyes.”
Tyler swallowed hard. He knew there was no point denying it so he just nodded.
“It’s not just fooling around anymore,” Joe said. “And that scares me, Ty.”
“You think it’s easy for me?” Tyler asked.
“No,” Joe shook his head. “But I just got my scholarship. I’ve got my chance to play college ball and maybe go further, to live the dream.”
“And I don’t factor into that?” Tyler sighed.
Joe lowered his head and looked at the floor, “You know you can’t. That we can’t.”
“Yeah… I know…” Tyler nodded.
“It’s just what we have to do, Ty,” Joe reasoned.
“Yeah…” Tyler said under his breath, not having much else to say.
“We’re still bros though, right?” Joe asked, holding out his fist for Tyler to bump.
Tyler looked at it and then reluctantly touched his fist to Joe’s. “Always.”
Joe had then grabbed his things, leaving Tyler alone, much like he was now in the bathroom, deep in his own thoughts, thinking that in another world the two of them could have been together, happy like Evan and Jake were, even if they had to keep it a secret like those two planned to for now, but this world was still too closed-minded and bigoted for him to be with the guy he loved and still play pro football.
He threw some water on his face, used a wash cloth to clean off his body, and then with a final look at himself in the mirror he vowed to be the best football player that he could because if he had to give up Joe to make it then he had better damn well succeed.
*
Sweat was just beginning to form on Tyler’s brow as he started the second phase of his workout when there was a knock on the garage door, where the gym his dad had built for him was located. He jumped, not expecting anyone, and put down the weights he had in his hands. He slowly approached the door, wondering who it could be.
“Hey,” Joe smiled when Tyler opened it. “You started without me?”
Tyler opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Joe was the last person he expected to see after their conversation. He watched in shock as Joe stepped through the door and walked past him, dropping his backpack near one of the work benches and immediately unzipping his jacket and stepping out of his pants to reveal his workout gear beneath; a pair of blue shorts and a sleeveless white tee that made his upper body look incredible.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” Tyler finally said when he could speak. He closed the door.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Joe asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Well, it’s just…” Tyler started, thinking that Joe would be distant and wouldn’t want to be near him after what had been said based on how he had acted before. “You didn’t reply to my last message.”
“Oh, sorry Ty,” Joe said casually. “Little Phil got sick and I had to look after him. He’s okay now though. He was asking when he’s going to see you. You said you’d play trains with him or something.”
Tyler couldn’t believe they were having a regular conversation, that they were talking about Joe’s little brother, but he couldn’t hold back a smile because unlike all of those times before Joe wasn’t trying to ignore him or put distance between them, he was there, just Joe, even after what they had admitted to each other.
“Yeah,” Tyler smiled. “I’ll come see him this week. Tuesday, probably.”
“That’s good,” Joe smiled. “Sometimes I think he likes you more than me.”
Tyler laughed, “That’s only because you’re his pain in the ass big brother.”
Joe pretended to be offended. “What do you mean pain in the ass?”
Tyler’s mind suddenly flashed back to when Joe had thrown him down on his bed, pushed his legs back and thrust his bare cock deep into him, his hole twitching at the memory, but he quickly shook it off knowing that wasn’t what Joe had meant.
“You are,” Tyler grinned, moving back over to the weights. “I’m surprised you didn’t drag him here with you so he could start working out. Get big and strong just like his brother.”
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea,” Joe grinned. “I mean look at these guns.”
Tyler bit his lip as Joe flexed his biceps and posed in front of him. His arms looked amazing. He wanted to lean forward to kiss those big mounds but he knew he had to play it cool and try to just be friends like they had been for years.
“You think those are big?” Tyler teased, “Look at these.”
Tyler began flexing, mirroring Joe. His muscles popped with the workout that he’d already been doing before Joe got there, his blue tank top stretched across his body.
“Holy shit, Ty,” Joe gasped. “You look even bigger than normal. Hold on.”
Tyler watched as Joe quickly moved across the room and grabbed his phone.
“What are you doing?” Tyler asked.
“You need to get a picture for Instagram, bro. Your arms look fucking amazing. So do your shoulders. Your followers will lose their minds,” Joe explained.
Tyler smiled as Joe opened the camera on his phone and motioned for him to go back to posing. He hit a few bicep poses as Joe snapped a couple of shots and then he reached down and picked up one of the weights, doing some curls as Joe moved around him, constantly taking photos.
“Wow,” Joe said under his breath, staring for a moment before he shook it off. He held the phone out to Tyler. “Take some of me.”
Putting down the weight, Tyler took the phone and got into position as Joe posed for him again, hitting a couple of classic body builder poses before he reached down and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up and hooking it over the back of his head so it showed off his pecs and abs as he went back to posing.
Tyler felt his cock twitch in his pants, seeing Joe’s incredible body in front of him. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but he kept his composure and took a couple of photos before hitting the button to record a video.
“Keep posing,” Tyler said as he moved around, filming Joe from a couple of angles.
Joe had a huge smile on his face when he stopped posing and pulled his shirt back down. “We need to start posting more stuff. My last video got over a thousand likes. People were eating that shit up.”
“I know,” Tyler smiled. “I read the comments.”
Joe laughed, “Oh man, some of the stuff people were saying…”
Tyler grinned. “Have you opened your DMs back up yet?”
“No,” Joe shook his head. “Not after that woman sent me a picture of her and her husband naked asking me to go over and fuck them for $100.”
“You should have done it,” Tyler joked.
Joe looked at him. “I’m a slut, not a whore.”
Tyler laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, you are. Now are you here to work out or talk shit?”
“Both,” Joe smirked, walking over to the weight bench. “I warmed up before I came over so I’m good to go. You gonna spot me?”
Tyler rolled his eyes but went over to the top end of the bench and looked down at Joe as he reached up and wrapped his long fingers around the bar.
“You really think you can lift that? I set that for me,” Tyler challenged.
Joe’s eyes widened. “You think I can’t bench as much as you can?”
Tyler held up his hands, “I’m only saying, bro.”
“Oh it’s on,” Joe growled, hunkering down and tightening his grip on the bar. “Let’s go.”
Joe pushed up and lifted the bar. Tyler could immediately see the strain on his best friend’s face, but then the grimace turned into determination and Joe powered through, pumping out ten reps before dropping the bar back into place.
“Fuck,” Joe grunted.
“Not bad,” Tyler nodded his approval. He slapped Joe on the shoulder. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
Joe reluctantly climbed off the bench as Tyler took his place and grabbed onto the bar, quickly getting to fourteen reps before the fifteenth became a struggle.
“Come on, Ty, push through,” Joe encouraged, getting his hands in position to assist if Tyler needed the help.
“FUCK!” Tyler screamed, using all of his strength to lock out his arms, finish the rep and slam the bar back into its holder.
“Fuck yeah!” Joe cheered, grabbing onto Tyler’s shoulders as he sat up on the bench.
“Okay,” Tyler panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We need to do a proper workout now, not just all of this bullshit for show.”
Joe smiled, nodding in agreement as they moved across to where the kettle bells were, standing opposite each other so they could mirror each other as they went through what had become a familiar routine after so many workouts and practice sessions.
Nearly an hour later, they finally stopped, both dripping with sweat, their entire bodies burning from the exertion.
“Damn, that feels good,” Tyler said, stretching out his muscles.
“Looks good too,” Joe said before catching himself, reaching across for his phone. “We should take some more photos with the pump. Really get them thirsting over us.”
Tyler smiled, agreeing, knowing he would look amazing on any photos they took.
Joe stood in front of him and lifted the phone, snapping a candid photo before he waited for Tyler to get into position under one of the spotlights in the roof.
“That sweat makes your muscles look even bigger,” Joe said in awe as he watched Tyler move.
“You should see what you look like,” Tyler replied.
Joe turned around, finding himself in the full length mirror that was attached to one of the walls. “Damn Ty…”
“Look at those fucking arms,” Tyler said, moving in behind Joe, looking over his shoulder. “Flex them again.”
Joe hit the pose, admiring himself in the mirror. This time Tyler didn’t stop himself. He reached up and put his hands on Joe’s biceps, giving each muscle a firm squeeze.
“Fuck yeah,” Tyler said, approvingly. “Take your shirt off.”
Joe peeled off his t-shirt and tossed it aside, looking at his cut physique in the mirror for a moment before resuming the pose.
“Oh yeah,” Tyler said. “You’ve got the most amazing body, Joe.”
He stepped up so he was standing right behind Joe, his chest pressed against Joe’s back, and then he reached his arms around, running his hands over Joe’s cut abs that tightened with every breath and then up to his chest, cupping his pecs, giving each one a squeeze.
Joe’s breath caught in his throat and he looked back over his shoulder into Tyler’s eyes. They held the eye contact for a moment, their heads inching closer together until Joe snapped out of it and turned back around.
“Take some photos,” he said, holding the phone out to Tyler again.
Tyler reluctantly took the phone and moved in front of Joe, directing him as he began to snap pictures in various poses and from different angles. Joe really did look incredible.
“Take your shorts off,” Tyler commanded.
“What?” Joe asked, caught off guard.
“You need to show off those legs,” Tyler explained.
Joe nodded and slipped his shorts down, stepping out of them. He posed again, tensing the muscles in his legs and had to admit that they looked amazing. He then looked down as saw the huge bulge that his eight inch cock made in his underwear and he spun around to cover himself but Tyler continued taking photos.
“Fuck… Your ass, Joe… These shots are gonna kill ‘em,” Tyler said, quietly.
Joe chuckled but then he pushed out his ass, tensing it as tight as he could as he flexed every muscle in his back and hit the double bicep again.
When he was done, he spun around and grabbed the phone, looking through the pictures, smiling, agreeing that he looked fantastic before he told Tyler to take his shirt off and get in position to do the same.
With about two dozen photos of Tyler saved on his phone, Joe set the phone up on one of the benches, “Come on, let’s take some together.”
Tyler followed along as Joe told him what to do and they started to pose together, using the camera’s selfie setting to capture the photos when they were ready by holding up a hand to trigger a picture.
They posed side by side at first, mirroring the other, but then they started to pose together, laughing as they found different ways to frame their bodies, which were still glistening with sweat, showing off their muscles in the best possible way.
“Fuck, we look amazing,” Joe said, striking a pose that put him face-to-face with Tyler.
“Yeah, we do…” Tyler nodded.
He looked at the phone screen, seeing their image, and his mind quickly flashed back to their videos and how good they really did look together. Before he knew what he was doing he slid his hands up Joe’s chest, closed the gap between them and started leaning in.
Joe leaned in too and the tips of their noses touched before Joe’s eyes went wide and he quickly stepped back.
“Fuck! I need to get to work,” he said in a panic.
He hurried across the room, picked up his shirt and shorts and pulled them back on. He then grabbed the rest of his things and before Tyler could say so much as a word he had disappeared out of the door.
“What the fuck?” Tyler asked himself. Did Joe really have to get to work or was that just an excuse to get away from him after they nearly kissed?
He sighed and walked over to the mini-fridge set up on a counter, grabbing a cold bottle of water out of it. He opened it and took a long drink before putting the bottle down. He knew that the situation was messed up. Joe liked him, he knew that. They were so good together, not just physically, and he wanted to be with him in the worst way. But he knew that as long as football loomed on the horizon it wasn’t going to be an option; Joe wouldn’t let it be. He’d keep making excuses to leave.
Feeling the frustration bubble up inside him, Tyler knew that he wouldn’t be able to relax, he had to get it out or it would consume him. He walked over to the shoe rack beside the door, changed into his running shoes and then grabbed his phone and keys, slipping them into his pocket, before he ran out of the door.
He tried to forget about Joe and lose himself in the run and the burn that he felt in his legs but the idea that Joe had lied about needing to get to work just to get away from him kept bothering him and he couldn’t let it go. He tore off his shirt, despite the cold, and tucked it into the waistband of his shorts, turning in the direction of the car lot where Joe worked.
As he approached the local park he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Should he stop and turn in, run the loop and head back home? No. He needed to know if Joe was lying or not.
He ran straight past the entrance to the park and continued on until he reached the turn that brought him to the mall. The car lot was just on the opposite side of the road. He slowed down to a walk and tried to catch his breath. His heart was pounding. He didn’t know if that was because of the run or if he was nervous, not wanting to confirm his suspicion that Joe was lying to get away from him.
He walked the final few hundred feet and gasped. There on the lot, leaning over the hood of a car, washing it with a sponge, was Joe. He really was at work. He wasn’t lying after all.
Damn.
*
Tyler was sat on the floor in Joe’s living room, surrounded by trains. He had spent the last hour playing with Joe’s four-year-old brother, Phil, crawling around the room with him while Joe looked on with a smile, his youngest brother, Trevor, sat in his lap as he read to him from a pop-up story book.
He was just about to tap out and admit defeat, needing to stand up and stretch his big body out, when the front door opened and Joe’s parents walked in. The younger brothers immediately jumped up and ran to their parents, wanting to see what they had brought home as they carried in bags that contained more than just groceries as they prepared themselves for Santa’s visit in a few days’ time.
Tyler turned and smiled at Joe, both of them watching the little bodies of Phil and Trevor scrambling after their parents into the kitchen.
“Damn, I love your brother, Joe, but the kid has far too much energy,” Tyler laughed, standing up.
He lifted his arms above his head and stretched out, only noticing that his shirt had ridden up when he looked down and saw Joe staring at his abs.
“Erm, yeah…” Joe said, looking away. “They can be a handful.”
Before either of them could say anything else they were interrupted by Joe’s phone as it pinged to signal a notification. He leaned forward and picked it up off the coffee table, typing in the passcode to unlock the screen.
“Oh wow,” Joe said, seeing the notification.
“What is it?” Tyler asked.
“That picture we posted of us side by side got another hundred likes,” Joe replied.
“Really? How many is that now?” Tyler smiled.
“752 in six hours,” Joe said. “I’ve got another 18 followers too. Do you think we should post more?”
“Definitely,” Tyler nodded. “”What’s the one of your ass up to now?”
“My back,” Joe corrected.
“Yeah, like anyone is looking at your back,” Tyler chuckled. “That tight ass is all anyone sees.”
Joe went silent for a second but then looked down at his account. “1,227 likes. 178 comments.”
“What’s the top one?” Tyler asked.
Joe clicked to open the comments and Tyler saw his cheeks flush a little.
“Well?” Tyler asked.
Joe looked over his shoulder to see where his family was. Hearing their voices in the kitchen he instead held his phone out for Tyler to see.
“I wanna ride your dick.” from Alexaxo.
Beneath that, “Fuck me daddy!” from Sammilicious69.
The final one Tyler could see without scrolling down simply said, “Breed me” from Brianna287.
“Wow,” Tyler chuckled. “They really like you.”
“Yeah,” Joe nodded but he didn’t sound too happy.
“What’s the problem?” Tyler asked. “We expected comments like that.”
“I guess…” Joe sighed.
Tyler placed his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “You know you’re a lot more than just your body.”
Joe looked up into Tyler’s eyes and slowly smiled. He nodded. “Thanks Ty.”
“Tyler! Tyler! Come see what Mom got me,” Phillip said, running into the room and grabbing Tyler’s free hand.
Tyler squeezed Joe’s shoulder as he let himself be led away into the kitchen.
Joe remained seated on the sofa for a moment, staring down at his phone. He closed Instagram and then his thumb hovered over his messages app, thinking about the messages he had received just before Tyler got there. He looked over his shoulder to check that no one was near but he couldn’t bring himself to open it. Instead he stood up and walked upstairs to the bathroom.
It was only when the bathroom door was shut and locked behind him that he dared click on his messages. He walked over to the toilet, lowered the lid and took a seat as he opened the third conversation down and sucked in a deep breath as he re-read the latest messages.
“Damn boy, your ass looks amazing in that Instagram pic.”
“I want to fuck it so bad.”
“You want that, don’t you?”
“My Big Black Cock sliding between those perfect white cheeks.”
“I could have done that last month in my hotel room but you didn’t show up.”
“I could have made you moan like this…”
And then there was the video.
Joe clicked on it and turned up the volume just enough so he could hear it.
“Oh yeah, you want this dick, don’t you boy?” the unmistakeable voice of Donte came through the phone’s speaker. Joe’s heart was racing.
“Yes!” A desperate pleading whimper answered as Joe watched the moment on screen, Donte lubed up his eight inch black cock and then slapped it against the pale white cheeks of whoever lay beneath him.
“I’m gonna pound you out. Make you scream my name when I cum inside you,” Donte said as he guided the tip of his cock to the tight pink hole and pushed inside.
Joe watched as the hole stretched around the invading cock and he bit his lip as he watched the dark-skinned shaft disappear between those white cheeks, the contrast in skin tone somehow making the scene even hotter.
He felt his own cock throb in his pants as his hole twitched and pulsed.
“Fuck…” he groaned under his breath, closing the video.
That really could have been him. Donte had offered and he had turned him down, not wanting to go there, to open that door. He had gone to Tyler instead.
His hole pulsed again, thinking about his best friend, who was downstairs with his family right now, fucking him, and he realised that he was rock hard.
“No, I can’t do it,” he whispered to himself. “I need to be straight. I don’t care how much I want them to fuck me. I can do this.”
He stared down at his phone and then clicked on the three little dots beside Donte’s name. He moved his finger over ‘delete messages’ and then tapped the screen, erasing the entire conversation.
Just then there was knock on the door.
“Joe? You in there?” Tyler called. “I really need to go.”
Joe quickly stood up and flushed the toilet, lifting the seat back up. He splashed some water on his hands for effect and opened the door as Tyler burst through and raced past him.
Joe chuckled and shook his head as he stepped out and closed the door. He then headed back downstairs, smiling when he found his family all sitting in the living room, his parents and his three brothers together and happy.
“I’m doing this for them,” he told himself as he smiled and walked over to join them.
*
Tyler stared at his phone. It was 10am on Christmas morning and he still hadn’t heard from Joe. He had sent two messages so far, the first wishing Joe a Merry Christmas and then telling him to wish his family the same. The messages sat on read but there was still no reply.
He didn’t understand what had happened. Everything had seemed fine after their conversation when Joe had laid things out in front of them and explained how he felt, and yet after the day he spent with Joe’s family he had barely heard a word from him, hadn’t seen him and they hadn’t worked out together since. It didn’t make sense.
“Are you going to be alright?” Tyler’s mom asked, breaking through the silence.
They had just finished breakfast after opening all of their presents and she was heading into work at the hospital because ‘people didn’t stop being sick just because it was the holidays’.
“Yeah,” Tyler nodded. “I might go try out my new running shoes.”
“Oh Christmas Day?” his mom asked. “That can wait until tomorrow, honey. Why don’t you play on one of the games we got you?”
“I could,” Tyler said.
His mom walked over and put her arm around him, giving him a quick kiss on the temple. “I love you, Tyler.”
“Love you too, Mom,” Tyler smiled, putting an arm around his much smaller mother for a hug as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He watched as she walked over to get her things from near the front door but then she stopped. “Oh wait, I forgot.”
She walked back across the room, opening the drawer in a cabinet that stood against one of the walls. She pulled out a small rectangular box that was wrapped in Christmas paper with a bow on top.
“Joe dropped this off for you last night,” she said as she handed it to Tyler.
“What? When?” Tyler gasped, looking at the box as she held it out to him.
“It was just after you went for your run. You must have just missed him,” she said, handing it off as she picked up her coat and bag and walked back to the door. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
“Yeah…” Tyler said, staring down at the box in his hand. He heard the door open and close but all of his attention was on the package.
He stared down at the box for another minute until he finally lifted a finger and took hold of the tag, turning it over to see what was written on it.
“Ty, Merry Christmas, Joe.”
He pulled the tag off and slipped it into his pocket. He then gently peeled the tape off and opened the end enough to slide the box out of the paper.
“What the fuck?” Tyler whispered, looking down at the box in his hand. It was a jewellery box.
Slowly, he eased the top open and stared down into the box.
He didn’t know what to think or feel. He had bought Joe some new workout gear and some new shoes. He thought that had been going over the top a little but he wanted to get Joe something good. What he held in his hand trumped all of that.
It was a necklace.
He stared down at what he knew was sterling silver, the chain thick and durable, with a beautiful pendant of a griffin, a majestic lion’s head with two outstretched wings behind it. It was a symbol of strength, pride and power and was Tyler’s favourite mythological creature.
It was beautiful.
Tyler gently removed it from the box and the backing that it had been displayed on and he unhooked the clasp, getting ready to put it around his neck, when the pendant twisted around and he saw something on the back.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw it. His stomach tightened.
It was engraved.
With two simple letters…
TJ
Tyler forgot all about his phone, about the unreturned messages, about everything, because those two letters told him all he needed to know. It didn’t matter what happened, what they had to do, or more importantly what Joe said. Right there, on the back of that pendant was the truth, the way Joe really felt, deep down, inscribed in silver.
TJ
Tyler and Joe.
To Be Continued…
