WoodBridge Academy

Chapter Three

A glance down at my watch told me that it was already past 9. I loved going to the pool this late because I am typically the only one there.

It's technically closed this late, but as captain off the swim team, I had a key to the locker room and pool area so I could get in and lead extra practices or just get some of my own time in.

Coach was desperate for another state title this year, so he pushed us to get as much time in the water as we could. Sure enough, the locker room was empty when I got there.

I changed into my suit and grabbed my goggles before making my way to the pool. After turning the stereo system on, I jumped in and started some warm up laps.

The best thing about being in the pool with some good music playing was that it gave me some time to do some thinking. No matter how I tried to distract myself, my mind kept wandering back to Matt Humphrey and our bizarre interaction, followed by what Josh had said.

I have to admit, if what Josh had said was true, it makes the interaction on the train and on the walk back to the dorm make a whole lot more sense.

He had seemed so sheepish on the train, and then while we were walking, it seemed like he was desperate to tell me something that he couldn't spit out. Was he trying to tell me that he liked me? Was that why he was so awkward?

If I'm being honest with myself, I wasn't turned off by the whole thing. Maybe I had been hanging around Josh too long, but my comfort level with the fact that he may have a thing for me kind of surprised me. I never really cared about anyone's s****l orientation before anyway. Love is love, if you ask me. I don't care who is with who.

My parents had never encouraged me to dislike people who were different, which I guess made me an abnormality. People around school didn't seem to have a problem with Josh either, but then again, it may have just been the fact that everyone got along so well. No one wanted to be the lone bully. That was part of what made me so mad about the guy Josh was seeing.

No one would care. I understand not wanting the general public to know if it would be a bad thing for his family. But still, Josh is an amazing guy. I'm surprised no one wants to show him off.

I had never really thought about my own sexuality to some deep level. I mean, I'm attracted to girls, no doubt about that, I had only had one girlfriend, but I sure loved having s*x with her.

It didn't really fail for any particular reason other than the fact that she moved to California with her family, and we didn't see the need to do anything long distance while in high school.

She already knew she was going to Northwestern, so really, there was no point in even pretending to stay close. We had different paths in life.

As I kicked off the wall and eased into a lazy front crawl, I let my mind wander back to Matt. Again. What Josh had said actually bothered me. If Matt truly "wanted" me, why hadn't we spoken in all this time?

And why would he randomly choose a subway ride to start talking, of all places? He had plenty of chances at school to talk, he didn't need to wait until a random run in to start. We lived in the same building for crying out loud.

When I reached the end of the lane, I latched onto the wall and pulled my goggles off. A quick glance at my watch told me I still had half an hour to kill before 11:00.

I figured it was better to err on the side of caution and give Josh some private time than to walk in on him doing anything. I shut off the radio and made my way back to the locker room, toweling off as I went.

No one was here to yell at me for dripping water all over the mats, so I didn't care enough to be more careful.

Surprisingly, the locker room lights were on when I got in there. They were on a sensor, so that meant someone else was around, at least in the last 15 minutes to set the lights off.

I didn't have to wonder who was around for long, cause the slamming of the door behind me announced my arrival for me.

"Hello?"

A voice called out from over by the changing bench.

"Sorry, just coming back from the pool." I told whoever it was as I made my way to my locker. "I didn't realize anyone else was out this late." I came around the corner and was surprised to find Matt sitting on a bench pulling up some Woodbridge Academy sweatpants over a pair of boxers. "Oh. Hey."

He glanced up at me and did a double take before losing his balance and stumbling into the row of lockers. He cursed under his breath before straightening himself, an adorable blush spreading from his cheeks and down his neck

Wait. Adorable? Since when do I think guys are adorable? Especially Matt Humphrey.

"You okay?" I asked him as I opened my locker, making sure I avoided eye contact. I didn't know what the proper protocol was.

Should I ask him if he is into me? Do I let it go? I have no clue what I'm supposed to do. I feel like I should have been better prepared for this situation.

"Yeah. My bad." He chuckled. "Just a little embarrassed."

"Don't be. It happens." I grinned at him, dropping my suit and grabbing my boxers. "Get in a late night work out?"

"Yeah, needed to clear my head a bit." He told me, totally nonchalant, but when I turned around, I couldn't miss the fact that he was blatantly checking me out I cleared my throat, and he snapped his eyes up to meet mine. There was an emotion I recognized all too well from my time with Sarah swimming around in his eyes.

Lust.

I couldn't miss it if I tried.

"Anything you want to talk about?" I offered, trying to ease the tension in the room. I have no idea when we went from being complete strangers to offering support, but it felt right. There was something going on here, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in finding out what it was. Can't blame a guy for being curious.

He sighed and looked away, before standing and pulling a sweatshirt on before grabbing his bag. "Nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure. Let's face it. You're not exactly my biggest fan."

"Now wait just a minute." I exclaimed, stepping to the side to block his escape route. He huffed a bit but stopped short anyway.

Honestly, it was a little bit of a surprise to see Mr. Calm and Collected so frustrated. "I never said that. I asked you what's wrong, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. But don't blame it on me because I never said anything to you that would make you think otherwise."

He straightened, his impressive size would probably intimidate most but I was too annoyed with the ridiculous transgressions of the night to even care at this point. "You have never spoken to me in all the time we've been in school together, why start caring now?"

He challenged me. "You queer or something?"