Page 15 of B is for Baby Me (Classes in Kink #1)

Chapter fourteen

Awkward Conversations

JR

“What happened to you at Roscoe’s yesterday?” I breathe in the rich scent of coffee as I hold the door to WLL open for my roommate. “One minute you were there and the next you were gone.”

“I left out the back door when I saw Fletcher coming in through the front,” Josh says, ducking under my arm to enter the café.

Way to fly under the radar—it must be nice being normal-sized. “Buddy, you can’t avoid the professor every time you see him. You’re his TA, for god’s sake!”

He looks up at me with his dark, gold-flecked eyes. “I’ve got to avoid him, JR. That guy scares the crap out of me.”

Well, that sucks. Won’t I ever get to spend time together with both my roommate and my dom? “Hey, I see a spot opening up. D’ya want me to grab it while you order?”

“No, that barista scares the crap out of me, too.” Josh peeks at the tattooed man behind the counter, then pulls some cash out of his pocket. He hands it to me before rushing away to find us a table.

Jeez, Josh. Anxious much? Maybe I should order him a decaf. After getting our drinks, I find my roommate at a booth in the back. “Buddy, you really should look into stress management techniques. Meditation is supposed to relieve anxiety. Don’t they meditate a lot in India?”

“I come from a family of scientists. We’re too busy doing research to meditate.” He takes a sip of his chai latte, then shrugs a shoulder. “Besides, meditation makes me nervous—all that sitting around, not doing anything.”

I nod in agreement as I sip my coffee. “I hear ya, but you gotta find a coping mechanism. Not throwin’ shade, but you’re kinda high-strung sometimes.”

“Coping mechanism? Like hooking up?” His eyes brighten. “You seem much more relaxed since you started hooking up. I’d like to try this coping mechanism myself someday. How is your secret friend? Are you having lots of sex?”

“Shhh.” I look around at the nearby tables, then lower my voice. “We haven’t had sex -sex yet, but we’ve done some other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Josh asks.

Do I have to paint him a picture? “Y’know, other stuff . Like the stuff you’d see in porn. They have porn in India, right?”

The smile falls from his face. “My parents are very strict. They would never allow me to watch such things.”

“Dude, you’re in America… your parents are in India. You can watch porn without them finding out.” Why does he think I wanted elbow room from my dad?

Apparently, the thought had never occurred to the astrophysics student. “I’ve always wanted to watch porn! Will you help me find some, JR?”

“Sure, buddy—but you gotta pace yourself. It can be kinda addictive. You might want to spend the rest of the semester in your room.” I’ve been tempted to skip class a few times myself.

“This is so exciting!” Josh says as he bounces in his chair. “I’ve got so much research to do! I’ll have to take lots of notes so that I can practice what I learn.”

I snort into my Kashmiruccino, then wipe a napkin across my face. “Um... your hand might be too busy for note-taking.”

“Don’t worry. I’m ambidextrous.” He waves away my concern. “Do you know where I can learn about blowjobs?”

“I got you, bro. I know where you can find blowjobs… handjobs… even something called a rimjob.” I look over both shoulders, then whisper, “I just found out about that last one. Dude, rimming is like...” I make a head-explosion gesture with my hands.

Josh grabs a notebook and pencil from his backpack. “What’s rimming? Can you describe it to me? Have you done a rimjob with your lowkey hook-up?”

I glance around the café, making a shushing motion. “Buddy, you gotta keep my secret friend a secret , remember? And sorry—you’re gonna have to learn about rimming on your own. You probably shouldn’t start with that kind of porn. In fact, forget I said anything about it.“ Way to open a can of worms, JR.

“OK, I’ll start with blowjobs,” he eagerly agrees.

“Yeah, blowjobs are a good starting point.” Should I warn Josh to avoid videos with ‘Glitter Twink’ in the title?

Nope, better not. That might open a whole new can of worms.

“Hey, Coach. Can I talk to you for a minute?” I duck my head inside Andy Becker’s office.

“Sure, Bennett. Take a seat.” The coach for the Golden Gladiators waves me into the room. “How’s your dad doing? Is everything good at home?”

I nod as I settle into a chair across from him. “Yeah, Dad’s fine. He was asking what Sammy wants for her birthday this year. Does she still like My Little Pony?”

The older man rolls his eyes. “Sam’s turning twelve—now it’s nothing but boys, boys, boys.”

“Thanks for the gift idea. We’ll see if we can find a cute tween-ager for her.” My laugh meets a groan from the girl’s father.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Coach Becker warns me. “Your dad’s lucky he didn’t have any boy-crazy kids to worry about.”

“Uh, yeah. He got lucky, I guess.” I rub the back of my neck. “Anyway, I want to talk to you about something.”

He laces his fingers across his stomach and leans back in his chair. “Hit me. What’cha got?”

Just spit it out, JR. The worst Coach can say is ‘no’, right? “There’s this conference for one of my classes... It’s not mandatory that I attend, but I’d really like to go. The problem is, um… it conflicts with one of our games.”

“I see.” He raises his eyebrows. “What does your father have to say about this?”

“I, um... haven’t told him yet.” That’s another conversation I’ve been avoiding.

“I’m sure that’ll go over like a lead balloon.” Coach Becker snorts. “Here’s the thing, JR. If it were anyone else, I’d tell them to put the Gladiators first—but you always give the team one-hundred-and-ten percent.”

My face heats up. “Thanks, Coach. The team means a lot to me.”

“It shows, son. Your dedication is a great example to the younger players.” He leans forward, folding his hands on his desk. “I think we can live without you for one game. You should go to this conference if it’s important to you.”

Just like that? “Really? You don’t even want to know what it’s for?”

“Well, I figure it’s not for the Glee Club,” he smirks.

I shake my head. “It’s for genomics, a field closely related to biochemistry. The conference could shape my entire future.”

“Your future in the NFL?” the coach asks.

“Um...” Oops. If I were any smarter, I’d be a flip-phone.

Coach Becker gives me a knowing smile. “Don’t worry, Bennett—I’m not gonna give you a hard time. You’re a smart guy, a real good student. Maybe you’d rather be a biologist than play pro ball? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

My shoulders slump. “Try telling that to my dad. You know how he feels about me joining the NFL.”

“Professional football isn’t for everyone. You gotta do what’s important to you—no one knows that better than your father. When your mom got sick, what did your dad do?” He looks me square in the eye.

“He left the Packers to take care of her.” My eyes drop to my lap.

“To take care of her and you ,“ he adds. “Your dad knew what was most important to him, and he had no problem making that choice.”

I glance back up, leaning forward in my chair. “My father is important to me, too. I don’t want to let him down, not after everything he’s been through.” What if he sinks into another depression?

“You’ll let him down if you’re not honest with him,” Coach Becker tells me. “Your dad loves you more than anything on this Earth. You can talk to him, JR.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I blow out a breath, standing up from the chair. “I’ll try to open up to him about it.”

Some things are easier said than done.

“She’s twelve already?” Dad shakes his head as we park in front of the Beckers’ house. “It seems like only yesterday that you were twelve, Junior.”

“Yep, and six feet tall already.” Boy, was middle school awkward.

“You’ve got big bones. It runs in the family.” My father laughs as we climb out of the car, heading toward the backyard gate. Even with the weather cooling down, the family is having Sam’s party outside. They’ll need the extra space—when you tell the Gladiators’ that there’s gonna be a barbecue, you’d better expect the whole team to show up.

Coach calls out to us from the grill, “JR, SR! Grab a beer and come kiss the birthday girl.”

“Dad, eww! “ Sammy Becker cringes. “Besides, you said I couldn’t kiss boys until I’m, like, thirty.”

“They’re not boys. They’re family,” her mother, Leah, scolds. “Stop being rude, Samantha.”

“It’s Sam.” She doesn’t say ‘duh’ —but you sure can hear it. “Hey, JR... SR. Thanks for coming to my party.”

My father hands her a gift bag. “We wouldn’t miss it, Sammy. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown! You’ll be a teenager soon.”

The pre-teen’s eyes light up. “Yeah, and Dad said I can get my nose pierced next year!”

Coach Becker chokes on his beer mid-swallow. “Ears! I said ears!”

“I’ve already got my ears pierced.” Another unspoken ‘duh’ . “Jessica’s mom is letting her get her nose pierced for Christmas.”

“We’re Jewish,” Leah Becker says.

Sam huffs, rolling her eyes as she changes topics. “JR, when did you start dating? Mom and Dad say I can’t date for at least three more years. I bet SR let you date a lot sooner, right?”

“Um...” My face heats up.

Dad puffs out his chest. “I never had to worry about my Georgey-boy chasing girls. He focused on school and sports.”

“Like you should.” The coach gives his daughter a pointed look as he hands her a hot dog off the grill.

“Ease up on her, Coach,” Blake says as he enters the yard through the back gate. “We can’t all be nerds like JR. With Bennett, it’s always biology-this and chemistry-that.”

Josiah follows him into the backyard, adding, “JR likes science so much, he’s started inviting his Biology teacher to Roscoe’s.”

“I like Tom.” Dad licks his lips as Leah passes him a burger. “Smart guy. Thinks pretty highly of my Georgey-boy. He’s even invited him to some fancy science conference.”

Coach Becker throws a meaningful glance at me. “Is that the one you spoke to me about, Bennett?”

“Um, yeah...” Here goes nothing. “So, Dad? Coach says it’s OK if I miss a game so I can attend the conference.”

Every football player at the party whips their head around, my father included. “ What? ”

“Now, boys,” Coach Becker scolds, “JR’s been on the team longer than any of you. He’s never missed a single game, not even for an injury. I think you can survive without him for once.”

I dart my eyes between my dad and my teammates. “It won’t interfere with the playoffs or anything. It’s just one game, I swear.”

“You’re not going with Professor Fletcher, are you?” Tyrell shudders. “Dude, I’m telling you—that guy is scary. He looks like he could eat you for breakfast.”

My face heats up hotter than the barbecue grill. “He’s not so bad.”

Dad nudges my shoulder. “Bennett men don’t scare easily. Ain’t that right, Junior?”

“So, it’s OK if I go, Pops?” I hold my breath and cross my fingers.

“You’re a smart guy. You can make your own decisions,” he tells me.

“ I’m smart,“ Sammy Becker cuts into the conversation. “Why can’t I make any of my own decisions?”

The coach hands his daughter a soda from the cooler. “You can, Samantha—just as long as those decisions don’t involve any parts of your body, or anyone who might want to touch any parts of your body.”

“Da-ad! Eww!! “ Her face turns a vibrant shade of red.

I feel for the kid. Blushing is such a pain in the ass.

A couple of hours later…

“Are you OK, buddy?”

Josh is sitting on the couch in our apartment, staring into the distance, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Is he meditating? Aren’t you supposed to do that with your eyes closed?

I clear my throat to get his attention. “What’s up, Josh? Is everything OK?”

He blinks, then slowly turns to me. “Oh. Hello, JR. When did you get home?”

“Just now. How are you doing?” I sniff the air. I’ve never known the kid to smoke weed, but he sure looks high as a kite.

“I’m wonderful! And tired. And thirsty? Ouch—and my wrist also hurts.” Josh rubs it absently, like it’s a distant problem.

Oh, now I get it. “What have you been doing all afternoon?” I’m pretty sure I can guess. Snort.

“I’ve been watching porn since late last night. It’s been very educational.” The straight-A student rubs his wrist again.

“I bet it has. And what did you learn?”

He gives me a dazed look. “I learned that some porn shows men having sex with other men. Were you aware of this?”

“Um...” I rub the back of my neck.

Josh blinks his eyes again, snapping out of his daze. “Can you keep a secret for me, JR?”

Oh, shit. “Um… sure, buddy.”

He takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “I discovered something today. Those videos of men having sex together? They're the best freakin' kind . The blowjobs. The handjobs. Oh my god, the rimjobs! And that’s not to mention all of the different positions.”

Holy shit. What kind of porn-a-thon did my roommate just watch?

Wait a minute… Did Josh just tell me he’s queer? But why else would he spend twelve straight hours watching guys get off with each other?”

I clear my throat, swallowing a knot. “You don’t mind watching porn that’s, y’know... gay?”

His face falls. “I guess I shouldn’t have told you that. I hope it won’t affect our friendship.”

“No, of course it won’t,” I tell him. “There’s nothing wrong with liking guys.”

“Are you sure?” Josh asks, his eyebrows drawn together. “Or are you just saying that so I won’t feel stupid?”

My conscience pokes me hard in the gut. “No, I mean it. Actually, um... I kinda like watching guy-porn, too.”

My roommate’s face lights up again. “It’s so exciting, isn’t it? Someday I hope to have a boyfriend so we can watch porn together. Is your secret hook-up a man? Do you watch porn with your lowkey boyfriend?”

Boyfriend? I choke on a swallow, coughing. “He’s lowkey, but he’s not my boyfriend. But, um... yeah, he is a guy.” Holy shit, did I really just tell him that? Josh said he’s good at keeping secrets—I hope to god that’s true.

He takes my bombshell admission in stride. “Now that I know what rimming is, I finally understand what Professor Fletcher means by ass-kissing. I think I’d like to have someone kiss my ass someday. Oh, but not Professor Fletcher.” He shudders.

“No, of course not.” I can feel my face turning beet red. If it gets any hotter, it’ll be responsible for global warming.

“Can you imagine that man touching your bare body?” Josh’s eyes grow wide with horror. “Letting him put his mouth on such a private, sensitive place… and then lick—“

“I gotta go!” I stand up and back out of the room. “I’ve got Calculus, in the shower. I mean, I’ve gotta take a shower and then do Calculus. So, I’ve gotta, um... y’know, go.”

My roommate nods, rubbing his wrist. “OK, JR. I’ll study more about rimjobs in my room.”

As I hurry toward the bathroom, I realize something… Josh may be high-strung, but he sure knows how to research.