Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 16:56:20 -0800
From: Sean R <seanr_13@yahoo.ca>
Subject: A Drink with a Stranger - 7

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-----
A Drink with a Stranger
By: Sean Roberts
-----

--
Chapter 7
--

There was no way, after the article, that Lane was going to
have dinner with Ellis.  Unfortunately, he never got the chance
to cancel.  His second glass of scotch tumbled into many more,
until Lane fell asleep, waking up at the end of the day.  Lane
drank some water and went over to the pitch to watch the Friday
night match.  This way, he could find Ellis at the end to yell
at him about publishing things behind Lane's back.

Lane's plan, from the first minute of the match, changed
from wanting to beat Ellis to a pulp to wanting to—out of sheer
human decency—put Ellis on a stretcher.  Deer Creek was playing
St. Thomas Prep, and if either team had been violent before
Ellis transferred to Deer Creek, they were now murderous. Keith
was the one exception—sort of.  Lane noticed that he never
knocked around Ellis or Taylor.  Ellis, however, did not just
have to deal with the other team.  The other members of the Deer
Creek team tripped him up, elbowed him and kicked him just as
much as the team from St. Thomas Prep.  The referee, as always,
could only be in one place at once.

Lane did not have to go far to find Victoria.

"Hey, Victoria," he said.  He stood in front of the person
sitting beside her so he could talk to her.

"Not again ... what do you want?"

"I need to talk to you.  Over there, come on," Lane said.
She looked at him angrily, but she followed him out of the
stands, away from the noise of the crowd.

"Look, I was out of line, okay?  I'm really sorry about
what I said earlier."

"Right," she said.  "Is that all?"

"Umm, well, yeah," Lane said.

"You look like shit, you know."

"I feel like shit."

"Good."  Lane smiled, which made her do the same.  "There's
a free seat next to me.  You're welcome to join me if you like.
We can watch Ellis get murdered together."  Victoria rolled her
eyes.  They did not talk to each other for the rest of the
match, but she sat there beside Lane, quietly, watching and
cringing with him.

By the end of it, Ellis was struggling to move—but he
miraculously scored Deer Creek's only goal of the game within
the last ten seconds of the match.  As angry as Lane was with
him, he was just as impressed; it was a nice move.

Lane's parents had not made it to that match, so he waited
for Taylor after the game to drive him home.  Victoria was with
him, waiting for Finn.  Taylor came out with Finn and Ellis, and
walked up to Lane.  None of them looked too happy; Ellis was
having trouble walking.

"Guys," Finn said.  "Can you give Lane and me a few
minutes?"  Lane had been hoping to get a chance to talk to
Ellis, not be alone with Finn.  They all turned to walk away.

"Finn, this really isn't a good time," Lane said.

"Lane," Finn said, pretending he had not heard.  "Whatever
happened between us, whatever I did ... it isn't Victoria's fault,
alright?  It's between you and me.  I know you two aren't
exactly buddies either, but you can't talk to her that way."

"You seriously came here to stand up for your girlfriend?"
Lane looked around and saw Victoria.  She had gone far enough
away that she could not hear them, but she was watching them.
Lane waved her over.  "Finn here thinks you can't take care of
yourself," Lane said to her.  "And Finn?  Please keep your
opinions to yourself.  Or share them with her, because I'm not
interested.  I don't know why you can't understand that I want
absolutely nothing to do with you.  I don't want to see you or
talk to you.  Ever."  Finn's brow furrowed, and he suddenly gave
Lane a right hook, just below the eye.  Lane grabbed his face as
his head hit the wall behind him.

"Finn!" Victoria yelled.

"Fuck," Lane heard Finn say.  He felt arms help him sit
down on the bench.  "Are you okay?"  Lane moved his hand away
from his face and looked at it.  There was blood, but not a lot.
"Dude, I'm so sorry.  I just—just—"  Victoria pushed Finn gently
out of the way.  She leaned in and gently pulled Lane's hand
away from his face.

"It's bruising, but it's not too bad.  Finn, go get him a
soda from the machine."

"Okay," Finn said, sounding relieved that he could do
something to make this better.  "What kind?"

"It doesn't matter.  It's for his face you idiot!"  Lane
looked up at angrily at Finn, but when their eyes met, they both
burst out laughing.  "Go!" she said.

Finn returned with a cold bottle, which Lane pressed gently
against his face.  He flinched at the cold, and at the bruise.
He saw Taylor and Ellis come back into the school.

"We were wondering what was taking you so long," Taylor
said.  "Lane?  What happened?"  Lane looked at Finn, who was
looking at the floor.

"Finn hit me in the face," Lane said with a burst of
pleasure.  This was his opportunity to show Taylor that the
jocks were not cool; they were bullies; they were not his
friends.  As Taylor heard the words, his face twisted in
disbelief, his eyes looking at Finn as if he had never seen him
before, his hero disappearing before his eyes.  The same way
Finn had disappeared from Lane's life, when Lane saw that he too
was weak; that he too was human.  He did not want that to happen
to his brother.

"By accident!" Lane said.

"But how—"

"Never mind how, Taylor."  Lane looked over at Ellis, and
thought it might be a good idea to lob the full bottle of soda
at him.  "Come on, let's just get home."

--

Lane tried on a few shirts, looking for one that would fit
as well as Ellis' clothes fit him.  There was nothing Lane
really liked, and he scolded himself for even trying.  He was
going tonight to give Ellis the business, not to go on a date.
He settled for a black button down shirt with blue jeans and
pulled up to Ellis' driveway precisely at 7:00.  He sent Ellis a
text message saying he was outside.  Lane only waited a minute
before the front door opened.  Lane was wearing grey skinny
jeans and a purposely wrinkled, short sleeved button down, not
tucked.  He walked slowly to Lane's car, limping slightly, the
after effect of the game the day before.

"I didn't think you were still going to come," Ellis said.

"Neither did I."

"Listen, about the paper yesterday—"

"No, Ellis.  Not right now.  Not until we get a drink."

"Fair enough."

Lane was about to order the biggest glass of scotch they
would be willing to serve, but Ellis asked the waitress to give
them a few minutes.

"What the hell Ellis?"

"I need to tell you something Lane," Ellis said.  "I never
know how to do this, but I figure it's better if I do it before
we order anything.  That way you won't have to stay."  Lane sat
back in his chair and gestured for Ellis to keep talking.  "Well
first of all, I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us,
although I don't really know if you consider me a friend or not,
so I'm taking a bit of a chance here ... tonight was supposed to
be a date.  I never meant to ask you to pay for dinner, or to
drive me.  When you said you wanted to thank me, I took the
opportunity.  I'm gay.  I don't know if you are or not, but—"

"Sorry to interrupt," Lane said.  "But I am too.  And I
promise not to tell anybody.  I'm not out either.  I'm glad you
got that cleared up, I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a
date.  But it can't be a date, Ellis.  I don't know that we can
be friends."  Ellis picked up his empty wine glass and turned it
around in his fingers.

"Wow," he said.  "But see?  I was right.  Better that we
did this before we ordered anything.  I'll just grab a cab home.
Have a great evening.  And I'm sorry again."  Ellis stood up to
leave.  There was no malice in his voice; he was not angry with
Lane.  He was polite to the last—even apologizing for bringing
Lane out.  Lane watched him with disbelief.

"What?  Why are you leaving?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Ellis, that isn't what I meant.  Look, it's complicated,
okay?"

"No it isn't," Ellis said.  "It's very simple.  You don't
like me, even as a friend.  You never gave me the impression
otherwise.  I chose to ignore that and ask you out anyway."

"But that isn't true at all!  It isn't that I don't like
you.  It's ... I don't know.  Could you please just sit down?"

"Lane, it's alright," Ellis said.  "Have a good night,
okay?"  Lane nodded.  He had to let him go, and as he thought
about it, he realized it was for the best.  Lane could not date
a jock; he could not be friends with the jocks or with Ellis who
had just gone behind his back and published that article in the
Hunter.

--

Lane arrived home to find Finn sitting on the couch with a
glass of iced tea in his hands, flipping through channels.
Taylor was out with Jessica, and only Lane's parents were home.
Finn stood up as soon as he saw Lane.

"Your parents let me in," he said quickly.  "They told me
you were out but I said I'd wait.  I'm sorry for coming here
without telling you.  I just want to talk to you.  Just for a
few minutes."  Lane found he did not have the energy to argue.

"Fine.  Come upstairs."  Finn looked around Lane's bedroom
the same way Lane had looked around his; taking in the changes
but feeling the familiarity of one of the private spaces in
which they had fallen in love.  "What is it?" Lane said, sitting
on his bed.

"Listen, what I did yesterday was unforgiveable, but I did
it because I don't know what else to do.  That's a shitty
excuse, but Lane, I can't get anywhere with you.  And when you
said you didn't want anything to do with me, I just snapped."
Lane buried his head in his hands.

"So what do you want from me?"

"I don't know.  But I miss you."  Finn sat next to Lane on
the bed and put his hand on Lane's leg, above his knee.  He took
a deep breath.  He moved his fingers higher, just slightly,
letting them rub along Lane's jeans.  Lane took a deep breath
and closed his eyes.  He felt Finn's lips on his.  The touch
made him tremble.

"Finn ... you're with someone else," Lane said.  He could not
bring himself to say her name right at that moment.  "We can't—"

"I know we can't.  I just needed to.  Just once.  I need to
know that you don't hate me."

"Fuck.  Of course I don't hate you.  I never hated you.
Not really, anyway."

"Then can we call a truce?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"You know, I had a lot of explaining to do to Victoria.  I
mean, nobody at school knows we were friends.  Or are friends.
Or whatever."

"What did you tell her?"

"That our parents are friends, but that you and I don't
really get along.  It was all I could think of."

"Well, don't worry, I'll back you up."  Lane heard the
vibration of a phone.  Finn took it out of his pocket.

"It's Ellis.  He wants to kick the ball around.  At this
hour?  He says he's waiting for me at school."

"Don't go," Lane said.  "Let me go instead.  I need to talk
to him about that stupid article in the paper, and he's been
avoiding me ever since he went behind my back to publish it."

"Sure," Finn said.  "Just, umm, go easy on him, okay?  He's
had it a bit rough lately."

"Yeah, I saw the match."

"No, that's not what I mean.  Although I'm sure that didn't
help."

"What do you mean?"  Finn leaned forward and kissed the
bruise under Lane's eye.

"I'm really sorry about that," Finn said.

"It's okay," Lane said, smiling.  "I probably had it
coming.  Now, what did you mean about Ellis?"

"I shouldn't say anything.  If you really want to know, ask
him, okay?  I feel bad enough socking you on him unexpectedly
like this."

"Okay, okay.  I'll go easy on him.  I promise."