Chapter 11: n00b

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," Taylor replied.

"We don't HAVE TO go out ya know," I told him.

Taylor had called my cell, asking me if I wanted to go on an actual date with him. As flattered as I was to be asked out, I knew that Taylor was further in the closet than Narnia, so it killed me to decline.

"I know, but...I want to. I mean, we're...boyfriends now, I guess, so let's go out."

"You sure?" I asked one last time.

He paused for a moment.

"Definitely."

"This is gonna be fabulous. So when should I be there?"

"Come in an hour? My folks won't be home then, so we can maybe chill a bit or somethin'."

"Ok then. See ya," I said.

"Bye."

I ran to my bathroom & started making myself look better. I wanted Taylor to really see just how hot I could be.

About 50 minutes later, my phone rang. I looked at the phone & it said Taylor. I smiled, knowing that he was apparently eager to remind me. I figured I'd start heading on over. My parents weren't home so I didn't have a ride. As I got my coat, I slipped my shoes on & left.

*****

A little while later, I finally reached Taylor Klipps' house where I walked up the walkway & rang the doorbell.

Soon enough, Taylor opened the door.

"Hi beau," I sparked.

"Hi Nick, look, we gotta talk..." he said as I walked by him.

"I know. Ok, so, are we comin' back here after dinner & uh, havin' dessert?" I laughed as I wrapped my hands around his hips.

"Nick, stop it," he protested, pushing my hands away.

"I guess we can have dessert first..." I grinned.

"Taylor...? Who's this?" a voice from behind said.

I turned around.

Standing at the top of the stairs were a man & woman looking down on us.

"Mom, this is Nick. He's...a friend of mine," Taylor said.

I looked back at Taylor.

"Mom?" I said.

"Yeah."

"You told me your parents weren't here..."

"I tried calling you before, to tell you that they didn't leave, but you didn't pick up."

"Taylor?" came his mother's voice. We looked back up at his parents.

"You didn't tell us you had people coming over," his dad said as they walked down the stairs to us.

"Well, I wasn't having Nick OVER, we were on our way to go eat."

"How long have you & Nick been...friends?" his mother asked, looking me up & down.

"Maybe a year or so. Why?"

"Wasn't there a boy in your grade several years ago named Nick? He was queer as I recall," said Taylor's dad. He put slight emphasis on the word 'queer.'

"The term is 'gay' dad. This is the same Nick."

"Oh."

"Why are you hanging out now?" the woman asked, digging.

"Because we're friends."

"Nick, I hope you understand that our son is straight & I would appreciate it if you could...keep it that way," his father scowled at me.

"Dad!"

"What? I just want to make sure your mother & I can have grandkids."

"DAD!"

Holy damn, these people were weird. Within like, what, two measly minutes of meeting them they were already putting the hold-ups on Taylor & I even looking at each other in their house. I wondered what they'd think if they fully knew Taylor & I were boyfriends now & had already had/will continue to have hot gay sex. I wondered if people could actually explode...

FOCUS NICK! These people are insulting you, right to your face practically. And what's with the grandkids comment? Seriously?

"Where are you going?" his mom asked us.

"Why?" Taylor said sharply.

"Because we just want to make sure you two go some place...appropriate," she replied.

"We're leaving now, bye!" Taylor said loudly as he took me by the arm to the door.

"Taylor, come back here," his dad called.

"What?"

"You can let your friend out. We need to talk privately," his mother said.

Taylor looked at me quickly. I nodded & he opened the door for me to wait outside.

A few minutes later, Taylor came out from his house & slammed the door shut.

"What happened?"

"In short, they know you're gay, they don't like it & they want me staying away from you because they think you'll corrupt me."

"Bit late for that, don't ya think?" I smirked.

"C'mon, let's get goin'."

*****

We arrived at Town Spa a few minutes later after we had taken a cab. We went in, got seated & waited for a waiter.

"So what's up with your mom & dad?" I asked.

"Uh. I'm sorry about that. I told you a while ago that they're super religious. They tried raising me that way all my life & I thought it worked for a while. But I just can't ever see myself being that strict about life."

"What else are they really strict about?" I asked him.

"Pretty much all the stuff you hear about. Gays, abortion, sex before marriage, all that fun stuff."

"Ahh."

"Hey guys, what can I get for ya?" said the waitress when she walked up. I recognized her.

"Hi Lily."

"Oh hi Nick. Hi Taylor," she said.

Lily was the older sister of my friend Katie. She knew me very well & knew of Taylor Klipps.

"Hey."

I glanced at taylor, who had just barely turned his head towards the wall, as if he didn't want her to know it was him.

"So what can I get for you?"

"I'll have a milk...& a plate of cheese fries for an appetizer," I said.

"Ok. How 'bout you?" she asked Taylor.

"I'm good," he said quickly.

"All right then," Lily smiled & walked away.

"What's wrong?" I said once she was gone.

"Nick...I don't think I can do this," he said.

"What?"

"Be on a date."

"Taylor, you've dated tons of people."

He flashed me a no-shit look.

"Ok, granted, none of them were boys. But I mean, just pretend like nothing is different. Except what's between my legs," I grinned.

"There's one rule EVERYBODY needs to know about a date Taylor," I said.

"What's that?"

"When you're ON a date, never THINK it's a date. If you just keep thinking it's a date, you'll get nervous trying to make it perfect, which will just keep screwing up. Just think of it as havin' a meal with a buddy."

He shrugged.

"You sure that's it?"

"Uh, ya, totally."

He laughed.

"How often do you go on dates?" Taylor asked me.

"To be honest...I've never actually been on a date."

Taylor had a shocked look on his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"But what about Ted?"

"We went to each others houses a lot, & the other times we went to parties as friends. We never actually 'went out' though, even though we were together for two years."

"What was it like when you guys started? I mean, you were what, 12?"

"Yup."

"That's so young though. What are the chances that at that age you already found a lover?"

"Not very high. We were lucky I guess. The first time ANYTHING happened I had just turned 11 & we fooled around a bit at my house. We experimented with each other until one day, when I was 12, we decided to make it official."

"Do you miss him?"

It was a question I had never really wanted to ask myself. Yet, it was so simple to hear it asked by someone else. I hardly ever thought about Ted, so I guess my feelings on it were mixed & confusing.

"I do," I said, surprising myself.

"Oh," Taylor responded.

I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, listen, YOU'RE my boyfriend. Don't think about Ted. I miss him as a friend."

I rubbed his foot under the table with my foot.

"Good," he said.

A few minutes later, Lily arrived with my appetizer.

"Here ya go," she said.

"Thanks, mmwah," I said, smucking my lips together in a kiss.

With that, Taylor & I ordered our meals & happily. For the rest of the date- err, meal with a buddy- we talked about random crap. But I noticed that Taylor was happy & didn't shy away when people walked by, including a friend of his who came in about an hour later. I smiled to myself. Taylor was quick. In one date, he had already become accustomed to being on a a date with another boy. Again, granted, nobody else knew, but I didn't care at that point. We were having fun, & that's what mattered. I smiled to myself again, but this time, I was happy for myself. I was such a good teacher. And no, it's not ego-centric if it's true. Ok, well maybe it is but I don't care.

*****

Later that night when I arrived home, I told my dad how my date with Taylor was. Mom wasn't interested.

"So it sounds like you guys had fun?" dad asked.

"Oh my god, it was amazing. I mean, it wasn't like EXCITING, but it was fun 'cause were just like, ya know, talkin' & people walked by & he didn't care & it was just nice. I think in the past, he would've gagged if he was seen with me in public. But now we're just like, really comfortable."

"That's great Nick. Well I'm glad you had a good time."

I went to bed a little while later.

As I fell asleep, I couldn't help but think of all the good times Taylor & I would have together. Tonight had really been the kick-off to what I saw was a great relationship. I was determined to make sure Taylor & I would have as much fun together as possible.

Whatever it would take.