Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:04:27 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Door Number Three  Chapter 23

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit my personal website at www.themustardjar.com for more stories


Door Number Three      Chapter 23


I awoke Saturday morning more tired than when I had gone to bed. I was so
nervous my body literally felt tingly all night. I was even awake at 1:30
when Billy quietly pulled down the covers and jacked off. Normally, I roll
over with my back to him, but this time I faced him with my eyes slightly
opened so he would think I was asleep. Even though I had seen his flaccid
dick a hundred times, I was surprised to see how large it became when
hard. He was no longer `Little' Billy.  After a minute, I rolled over. I
laughed to myself when he stopped for several minutes just to make sure I
was asleep before starting again.

I crawled out of bed before six. It seemed senseless to lie awake and do
nothing but toss and turn. After putting on a pair of shorts, I went
downstairs. No one was up, so I went out on the deck and stood beside the
pool. The water looked inviting, so I sat down on the edge and slipped into
the warm water.

I climbed on a plastic raft that Josh played on when he was swimming. I lay
back and closed my eyes. At first, my thoughts were about the upcoming
meet, but soon I began to think about Austin.

I was puzzled why his behavior last night had hurt me. "We travel in
different worlds. I don't fit in." What did he mean by that? What kind of a
world does he think I live in? Why wouldn't he fit in?

I thought back over my life and realized he was probably right. All my
friends were athletes. Kenny had been my best friend for most of my life
and most of his friends had become my friends. Outside of the track team, I
seldom associated now with anyone else. I tried to think of someone who I
could call a close friend who wasn't active in some type of sport, and I
couldn't.

I hated to admit it, but I guess over the years I had become a sports snob.
I was friendly to people who didn't participate in sports, but I never
attempted to make them my friend. For one thing, Kenny would probably have
kidded me about it. I could hear him now asking me, "Why do you want to
hang with that loser?"

However, Austin puzzled me even more. He was athletic, probably more so
than anyone I knew. If he hadn't opened up to me and told me of his
participation in judo, I would have just thought of him as some nerdy
school reporter.

He had more ribbons and trophies in the case at his home than I had track
medals, but yet he kept them hidden away from everyone. I wanted people to
know my achievements. I stood proudly with my ribbon around my neck as
people took pictures of me.

Yet, he didn't seem at all interested in displaying his talents like most
athletes. Instead, he wrote about the achievements of others; yet his story
was more interesting. What I did was nothing compared to his
accomplishments. I could picture Austin as a young boy training hard to be
successful so he could make his dead father proud of him. That was the
story that should appear in the newspaper.

My story wasn't even exciting. I realized I was a pampered athlete who had
cruised through life because I had been born with natural running abilities
and good looks. Everything came easily to me.

Even when I was outed by Kenny at school, everyone rallied around me and
gave me their support. I didn't even have to fight my way back. Sure, I had
gone through some life-changing challenges; but in the end, things seemed
to fall into a natural order and my life quickly returned to normal.

Shouldn't there have been a price to pay? Isn't a real winner determined by
the hardships he or she has to overcome to get to the top? Austin was the
real winner. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed thinking how he had followed me
around all week while I strutted around acting as if the world were mine. I
would pose for him wondering if the light was hitting my body just right to
accentuate the muscles in my legs. I realize now how vain I had become.

I fell off the rubber raft and swam several lengths of the pool in an
attempt to clear my mind from the depressing thoughts I was having. In a
few hours, I needed to be at the top of my game. In a few hours, the stands
would be full of spectators waiting to see if I could outrun my
opponents. On Monday, the paper would proclaim my accomplishments.

Then why do I feel so fucking bad right now?

Mom came to the patio door and called me in around 7:30. She had prepared a
large breakfast, knowing I wouldn't eat it. "You need your strength," she
insisted.

"Mom," I whined as I looked at the plate filled with bacon, eggs, hash
browns and toast. Just the sight of it made me gag. "If I eat this, I'll
hurl all over the track." I pushed the plate away as I grabbed my coffee
mug and took a few sips.

She sighed as she took the plate and put it in the microwave. "I'll keep it
warm for Billy when he gets up." She then left the kitchen while I thought
about the day's race. I don't think I had ever been so nervous.

However, it didn't feel like the edginess I got in the past. This was a new
sensation. For the first time in my life, I didn't worry if I was good
enough to win. Instead, I worried if I was worthy enough to win.

I left the house at 8:30. Mom and Dad hugged me and told me to do my
best. They assured me they would be at the meet. They would also be
bringing Billy, Josh and Brenda. Mom had been telling customers all week
about me competing, so I was sure there would be a good turnout.

As I jumped in my truck and drove to Austin's house, my stomach felt like
it was turning somersaults inside my body. After pulling into his driveway,
I sat several minutes before going up to his porch.

His mother answered the door with a cheerful smile. "Zac!" She sang out as
she hugged me tightly. "Austin is in his room," she said as she pointed
down the hall.

I knocked softly and entered when I heard his voice behind the door. He was
sitting on his bed examining his camera. He didn't seem upset with me as he
had the night before. He pointed the camera at me, expecting me to pose for
him; but I walked over and sat down beside him.

He looked over at me worriedly. "Are you all right?"

"No," I replied as I tried to force a smile. "I told you how I get
before a big meet."

He started laughing. "I can't imagine anything scaring `The' Zac Barnes,
the athlete's athlete."

"Is that how you really see me?" I asked despondently. I think it hurt that
after all we had shared the past week, I was still no more than just a
subject in a newspaper article to him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Why are you being so gloomy? Shouldn't you be
like full of energy or something?"

"I guess," I said with another forced smile. I stood up and extended my
hand to help him up. "We'd better get out of here." I gripped his hand
tightly and continued to hold it after he stood up. He looked down and
pulled his hand from mine.

After some encouraging words from his mother, we drove in silence to
school. A red and black tour bus was waiting for us outside the front of
the gym. I parked my car and got out. Austin followed behind me as I walked
up to my friends and started talking. Austin took out his camera and took a
couple of pictures of me playfully bantering with my teammates.

When we got on the bus, I took a window seat toward the back. It was
customary for the girls to sit in the front section and the boys in the
back. Tommy started to sit down beside me, but I told him I was holding the
seat for someone else. When Austin boarded, I motioned for him to sit
beside me.

"Hey," he said as he sat down and put his camera inside his bag. "I got
some great shots." Just then, the bus pulled away from the school. I lay my
head back and closed my eyes. I opened them when I heard his camera click.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He smiled and put his camera away.

"I want some pre-meet shots," he answered. "I'm going to send the paper
several pictures. I'm not sure which ones they'll choose to use, if they
use any."

I turned my head toward him and asked softly, "What are you writing about
me?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just some stuff."

I sat up and looked intently at him. "No, Austin," I asked, "What is really
interesting about me that would possibly make the newspaper?"

He shrugged his shoulders again. "You're a fast runner?"

I started laughing as I looked around the bus. "Everyone on this bus is a
fast runner. What makes me so special?"

Our eyes met as he replied softly, "You are special."

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I lay my head back. "I'm
just another guy who runs. Nothing special about that."

He sat up and looked worriedly at me. "Should you be like this before a
meet?"

I looked at him and chuckled. "Why? Are you going to include it in the
article?"

"No," he replied quickly. "The article is written. I just mean should you
be this down right before a race?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's how I get. I'll get over it." We rode in
silence for the rest of the half hour trip. I could see out of the corner
of my eye that he would keep looking over at me.

When the bus pulled up before the stadium and came to a stop, Austin
started to get up. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his
seat. "Wait," I said. "What are you doing after the meet?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Go home and finish the article I
guess."

"But you said it was already written."

"I still have to add how you do today."

"What will that take?" I asked. "A few minutes."

"Probably," he responded.

"You want to do something tonight?" He gave me a puzzled look.

"What?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe we can go to a movie or something."

"Why?" He looked at the guys departing the bus. "Wouldn't you rather be
with your friends?"

"You're a friend, too." I said. A surprised look appeared on his face. "So,
what do you say?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "Yeah, sure. I guess. I'll have to
call Mom."

We stood and headed for the exit. I patted him on his back. "I'll see you
after the meet then." I followed my teammates through the gym door. Because
Austin wasn't a team member, he would have to wait on the track until we
came out for the events. Coach Templeton had given him a pass to get onto
the field to take pictures of me. He waved goodbye before leaving.

The dressing room was filled with boys from seven different schools. We
staked out a corner away from most of the entrances. That way we could talk
without runners from other schools hearing us.

As I was changing into my tracksuit, Marty approached and sat down on the
bench next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," I stated nonchalantly.

"Did you look at the roster yet?" I shook my head. "You may be competing
against George Stiverson in the finals."

"Shit," I hissed. George had been my nemesis last year. He had beaten me in
almost every race. In fact, he won the state meet last year with a time of
10.42 seconds. I had come close to it during practices the past week, but I
knew he was going to be a strong opponent.

"Just remember everything we've practiced," he said as he patted my
leg. "Focus."

"Yeah," I repeated, "Focus." Coach hollered out that he wanted us out onto
the track in five minutes. He said they were calling for those
participating in the long jump.

We went out of the locker room and congregated in a large outside room. The
concession area was to our left. Again, we divided by school. I walked
around and talked to a few guys I had run against over the past three
years.

I was surprised when I heard the word, gay, mentioned a couple of times as
I walked by a group of runners. No one said anything to me directly, but it
was obvious that they had somehow found out what happened a few weeks
ago. I guess because my teammates had accepted me being gay, I didn't
consider that others might not as readily accept it. A couple of guys even
grabbed their crotches and winked at me.

"Don't let it upset you," said Rory as he stood beside me and witnessed
their immature behavior. "They're just trying to psych you out." He pointed
to a longhaired kid whom I would soon be competing against. "Struthers has
a gay brother, so I know he doesn't care if you are. He's just trying to
get into your head, that's all."

I turned and faced Rory. "I stopped worrying a few weeks ago what people
thought about me." I gave him a hearty pat on the back. "It's my friends I
care about."

A few of us walked across the field to watch the long jump and high jump
preliminaries. Since I wouldn't be called for about an hour for my events,
I had time to wander around and observe how my teammates were doing.

Paul Taylor did well in the high jump. He was in first place after the
preliminaries. Jordan Mitchell was in second place in the long jump. The
girls seemed to be doing well also.

"How's it going?" I turned when I heard Austin's familiar voice.

"Hey," I said as I turned and looked directly into his camera. "Would you
stop that!" I laughed.

"I'm just trying to get some candid shots," he said with a smile.

"Candid this!" I said as I flipped him off. He laughed and held his camera
to his side.

"This is kind of cool," he remarked as he looked around at all the people
on the field. "This is the first time I've actually been able to walk
around with the athletes like this."

"Don't be too impressed," I said. "We're just a bunch of sweaty jocks who
like to run our asses off." Just then, the announcer on the PA system
called for the runners who were competing in the 100m dash.

"I guess that's me," I said nervously.

Austin stepped forward and patted me on my back. "Break a leg."

"What!" I shouted. "Do you want something bad to happen to me?" He started
laughing.

"No, Zac," he giggled. "That's what you tell an actor when he's going on
stage. It means good luck, or something like that."

"Oh, okay," I said as I started to trot away. "I guess I'll break a leg
then."

I had to wait about fifteen minutes until we took our positions. I was in
the second preliminary race. Tommy Zimmers ran in the first and he managed
to place second. Unfortunately, George Stiverson came in first with an
impressive time.

I sat on the sidelines and did some stretching and breathing exercises
while I waited to compete. I looked into the stands to see if I could spot
my family. As usual, they were sitting in the second row near the finish
line. Mrs. Jarvis was sitting next to my father. Jimmy was next to my
mother. I was surprised to see Irene sitting between Josh and Brenda. She
told me she would attend a meet, but I didn't think she would actually show
up. Billy, Lonnie, Valerie and Dwayne were sitting about three rows behind
them. They were sitting closely together under an umbrella.

I scanned the bleachers looking for Kenny, but I knew he wouldn't be
there. The baseball team had their first game a few hours earlier. The game
would probably be in the eighth or ninth inning by now.

I squinted my eyes and focused on a person sitting by himself toward the
top of the bleachers. He had a hat pulled down over his eyes trying to
shield the sun from his face. When he lifted his head, I could tell it was
Adrian. He had come to watch me compete. He said he had followed the team
last year, so I shouldn't have been surprised that he was in the
stands. However, seeing him sitting there gave me a renewed confidence to
perform well.

We were told to take our positions. I was assigned lane four. I could hear
Billy and Lonnie hollering when my name was called. I looked over to the
side at Marty. I nodded when he gave me a thumb's up signal.

As I knelt down, I quickly looked up into the stands at Adrian. "Focus,
Zac," I said silently to myself. "Focus." I positioned myself and waited
for the starter's gun. When it went off, I lifted myself from the starter's
block and looked straight ahead at the finish line.

The thing about running a sprint, you don't have time to think about
it. It's not like a long distance race where you have to concentrate on
pacing yourself. In the 100m, the gun goes off and you run as fast as you
can before you cross the finish line a few seconds later.

When I crossed the finish line, I looked to my left and my right and didn't
see anyone beside me. I lifted my arms in victory knowing that I had easily
beaten my competition. I ran around the track until I reached the area
where my family was. They were standing and applauding. I quickly glanced
up at Adrian as a smile appeared on his face.

Austin came running up and began taking pictures of me. "You'd better
wait," I warned him. "I've still got the finals to run."

I walked with him around the stadium as we watched other events. Our boys'
team was doing very well. Except for a couple of freshman, everyone had
made it to his or her final competition. The 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter
relay teams turned in very impressive times. If we did as well in the
finals as we did in the preliminaries, we were sure to walk away winning
the meet.

As the time for my final race approached, my stomach began its usual
somersault routine. I even rushed to one of the stalls hoping to relieve
some of the pressure, but it didn't help. It also didn't help that George
Stiverson strutted confidently around watching others compete. A throng of
admirers usually accompanied him.

"Would the runners for the 100 meter finals please report to the track,"
boomed the track announcer.

Austin patted me on my back and said encouragingly, "Break a leg," before
tucking his camera under his arm and walking toward the finish line.

As I paced around the runner's area, I looked over at Stiverson. He winked
and grabbed his crotch. A few of his teammates started giggling.

We were then told to take our lanes. I was in lane five. Stiverson was in
lane four. As I stretched my body and touched my toes, he looked over at my
ass. "Bet that's a position you enjoy." He then looked over at me and
smirked.

"Fuck you," I hissed softly so no one could here me.

"Bite me, Fag," he responded angrily.

"You wish," I muttered back.

The announcer told us to take our places. "Focus, Zac," I repeated as a
mantra. I couldn't let anything distract me. Stiverson had tried, but I was
quickly able to remove anything negative from my mind.

The starter's gun went off and I sprang forward. I could feel the power in
my legs as I ran effortlessly toward the finish line. When I crossed, I
knew I had won. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw my family
cheering wildly. I bent down and tried to catch my breath. As I did so, I
looked over and saw Stiverson bent over gasping for air.

"Nice ass," I said sarcastically as I looked at the outline of his ass
through his thin material.

He rose and approached me angrily. "You fucking faggot!" he shouted as he
balled his fist. I closed my eyes waiting for him to hit me when I was
aware of someone pushing me slightly to the side.

"Give it a rest, George," I heard Austin say in a cold, authoritative
voice. I looked up as several of Stiverson's teammates attempted to pull
him away. I looked quickly over at Austin. He was staring intently at
George. After several seconds, George unballed his fists, turned and
started to walk away.  t "This isn't the end," he turned and threatened as
he stormed off. I looked back over at Austin, wondering what had just
happened. Stiverson was ready to kick my ass until Austin stepped up beside
me.

As if he were reading my mind, Austin gave out a little laugh. "I've
competed against his brother," he said. "He can't fight either." He threw
his arm around my shoulder as I waved to the crowd. My family was still
applauding loudly. I looked over and saw Marty and Coach Templeton
smiling. I trotted over to Marty.

"You had a meet record." I had been so involved with Stiverson, I hadn't
even noticed my time. I had run a 10.38. It was the fastest time I had ever
posted. "Congratulations!" Marty picked me up and twirled me around in a
circle.

"Keep running like you did today and you'll be Olympic bound in a few
years." Austin pulled out his notebook and started writing. He looked over
at Marty. "Can I quote you on that?"

"Why the hell not," he laughed as he picked me up again and twirled me
around.

For the first time in my life, I became emotional during the medal
ceremony. I was all right until I looked into the stands and saw Adrian
standing and applauding. I think he knew I was looking at him because he
nodded his head slightly and gave me a thumb's up. Billy and Lonnie whooped
loudly when I held up my first place medal. People around them started
laughing at their antics.

"That was kind of neat," Austin remarked as I got off the platform and
walked around to watch the relay races. There was some sadness in his voice
when he added, "No one has ever cheered for me."

I threw my arm around his shoulder. "Well, maybe I'll come to one of your
meets someday and cheer for you."

He looked at me and grinned. "They're matches, not meets." Just then, a few
members of the girls' track team ran up and started hugging me. When I
turned back, Austin had walked away. I watched as he walked up to Coach
Templeton with his notebook and interviewed him.

As I was getting ready to watch the boy's 4x100m relay race, Tommy Zimmers
stepped up beside me. "I thought you might be interested," he said. "I just
got a text message from my brother. The baseball team lost their season
opener, 5-2."

"Shit," I muttered silently. Kenny's dream for a state championship was
over. You can't struggle back after losing a game, especially the first
game of the season. My chances for a state win looked good. I had put in a
time that was close to a state record, and it was just the first meet. I
thought about how crushed Kenny must be feeling. All the years of dreaming
were wiped out with just one loss.

"Don't let it upset you," Tommy said when he noticed the sad expression on
my face. "Kenny is an asshole. He deserves what ever happens."

"Yeah, right," I responded as I walked away.

Our boys' team easily won the meet. We had four first place wins. Besides
my win, both relay teams placed first and Paul won the high jump
competition. We also had three second places and two third. No other school
even came close to the points we had accumulated. The girls did well, but
not as well as the guys did. They came in second place overall.

Coach Templeton hollered out that the bus would be leaving in twenty
minutes. Before heading to the dressing room, I ran over to the bleachers
where my family was sitting. Dad and Mom gave me huge hugs. Jimmy ruffled
my head. "Not too bad, Kiddo," he said smilingly.

Irene hugged me and said, "That was exciting. I've never seen anyone run as
fast as you did today." I heard the clicking of a camera and turned to see
Austin standing a few feet away.

Mrs. Jarvis walked up to me. "You young men and women did a wonderful job
representing our school," she said as she pulled me into a hug. She looked
down on the field. "I've never seen such a talented group." She put her arm
around my waist and turned us toward Austin.

"Take a picture of us, Austin," she laughed. "It may be worth something
someday." Just before he snapped the picture, I stuck my tongue out and
crossed my eyes. He giggled as he walked away.

Austin and I were walking across the track when I saw Adrian approaching
from about eight feet away. "Wait here," I told Austin as I trotted over to
Adrian.

"Hey," he said shyly. He looked down at the ground before raising his head
to stare into my eyes. "You looked good today." As he did the first time we
met, he let his eyes scan my body. I felt I was standing naked before him.

"Thanks," I responded as I looked back at him. He was wearing a tight white
tee shirt that accentuated the dark muscles underneath. He had on a pair of
tan khaki shorts that showed the growing print of his cock as he stared at
me.

I noticed him look behind me at Austin. He moved in closer to me and
whispered. "Do you think we can get together tonight?" He looked
seductively at my crotch. I could feel it twitching inside my running
shorts.

"What did you have in mind?" My voice cracked with nervousness. It had been
a week since we had last talked. I had given up any hope of seeing him
again. However, as he stood before me, I felt like I did the first time we
saw each other. I could once again feel the door opening for me.

"Why don't you come by my house around seven," he replied. "Don't come down
to the house, but wait for me on the corner." He gave me a wicked
grin. "We'll go for a run."

"You sure?" I knew what he wanted to do. He wanted us to go once again to
`our spot.' I could feel my cock hardening inside my shorts. He
noticed it too. He looked down and then looked up at me and grinned.

"I'm sure," he said as he put his hand over the bulge growing inside his
shorts. He looked back over my shoulder at Austin to make sure he hadn't
heard our conversation. "I'll see you later, then." He turned and I stared
at his tight ass as he walked away.

When I turned and approached Austin, he looked down and noticed the
enlarged bulge in my shorts.  When I walked up to him and put my hand on
his shoulder, he moved away and walked ahead of me. Before entering the
locker room, I suddenly remembered that I had made plans to go out with him
later. I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"Austin," I said in a sorrowful tone. "Can you take a rain check for
tonight? Something has come up and I won't be able to make it."

He stepped back and crossed his arms. "Would Adrian Lewis be that
something?"

"No," I lied. "Dad and Mom want to take me to dinner to celebrate my
victory."

"Funny," he said sarcastically. "I didn't hear them say anything."

"Ummm," I stammered. I then recalled him being with me the entire time I
had been with them in the bleachers. "We talked about it at breakfast."

He stared intently at me. He knew I was lying, but there was no way I could
recover. "Then why did you ask me out tonight?"

"Umm," I replied nervously. "I guess I forgot."

He turned and started to walk away. "Yeah, sure," he said angrily. "You go
to dinner with your family."

"Wait!" I hollered out. "You've got to ride the bus back to school. I'll
take you home."

"Don't do me any favors," he shouted back angrily. "I'll call my mother and
have her come get me."

I felt like shit as I watched him storm away.

******

This story is completed at my website: www.themustardjar.com

Comments/Feedback may be sent to: ronyx@themustardjar.com