Rainbow Road (13 page)

As Nelson proceeded down the street to search for parking, he proclaimed, “They’re family!” That was one of Nelson’s code terms for “gay.”

“No way!” Jason exclaimed. “Realy?” He gazed over his shoulder back toward the girls and asked Kyle, “You think they are?”

“I hope so,” Kyle said.

Outside Score, a line of older teens and twenty-somethings stretched from the door.

“We’re over here,” the black girl caled. She introduced herself as Keesha and the brunette as Evie. The blonde was Leah. With her Texas drawl she pronounced it

“Lay-ya.”

“I sawya’l’s license plate,” she told Jason. “Ya’l sure came a long way from Virginia.” She smiled like she was checking Jason out.

“We’re driving cross-country.” Jason unabashedly smiled back.

The girls said they were sophomores at UT, originaly from Dalas.

“So is this place gay?” Nelson asked, scoping out the line.

“Mixed.” Evie giggled, darting her eyes at Keesha.

“Are you gay?” Nelson folowed up.

“Heteroflexible.” Keesha laughed, draping her arm around Evie.

Kyle had never heard that term before. Did it mean the same as “bi”?

“I like that,” Jason said, laughing too as they shuffled along the line toward the door.

“At first,” Keesha explained, “I thought kissing a girl would be nasty.”

“But then she met me,” Evie interjected.

“And I totaly flip-flopped!” Keesha continued. “You see, girls understand how girls think. So they can be there for you emotionaly.”

“My mom thinks I seem happier with girls,” Evie added. “She says I’m better off.” Leah suddenly spoke up: “Wel, I’m definitely straight.”

“Oh, yeah?” Keesha teased. “What about you and Alyson last year?”

“That was an exception.” Leah grinned and turned to Jason. “What about y’al?”

Even though they were in public, Kyle quickly took hold of Jason’s hand. “Jason and I are boyfriends.” He hoped that would put to rest any designs Leah might have, but Jason slipped his hand out of Kyle’s. Kyle wasn’t sure if he did that because they were in public, but he saw Leah notice it.

“Wel, I’m a hundred percent queer!” Nelson jumped in, obviously feeling left out of the conversation.

When they finaly reached the club entrance, a bouncer with a snake tattoo told them, “There’s a five-dolar cover.” Kyle hadn’t planned on that. It worried him to spend money they hadn’t budgeted.

Inside, the music blared so loudly you could hardly talk. Evie led their group through wal-to-wal bodies onto the packed dance floor, where they al jumped and jostled together til Nelson started dancing with some cute tan-skinned guy.

Kyle had hoped to be able to dance at least somewhat alone with Jason, like they had at prom. But the place was way too hot and crowded, with everyone bumping into everyone. So he kept getting pushed away from Jason.

“I’m going to take a break outside,” he finaly shouted over the music to Jason. “Want to come?” Jason glanced at Leah and the other girls. “I want to dance some more,” he yeled back to Kyle. “I realy like this music. Hey, can I have some money?”

“We don’t have much,” Kyle shouted, but gave him a ten anyway. Then he got his hand stamped and walked outside. He wandered down Sixth Street, past the other clubs, wishing he and Jason had stayed at the campground.

When he got back to Score, he found out he had to wait in line again.

“Why?” he argued with the bouncer. “I got my hand stamped.”

“Yeah, but it’s too crowded inside. You’ve got to wait til someone leaves.”

Kyle folded his arms and waited, thinking about Jason.

When at last he got in, a slow song was playing, and Leah was pressed against Jason, slow-dancing.

“Hey!” Nelson appeared beside Kyle, holding the tanskinned boy’s hand. “This is Arturo,” Nelson shouted over the music. “I asked him to come back to camp with us.”

Kyle smiled faintly at Arturo, who smiled back eagerly. He looked nice enough, but Kyle leaned into Nelson’s ear and yeled, “Where’s he going to sleep? The tent barely fits three.”

Nelson gave a shrug. “He can sleep in the car with me.”

“Nelson, that’s crazy.”

“What else can I do? He lives in a dorm, with a ’phobe roommate.” He grinned at Arturo and told Kyle, “Isn’t he a total lust-magnet? We’ve been making out.

Awesome kisser! And I so need to get laid.”

“Whatever,” Kyle said, less concerned about Nelson getting laid than he was about Leah hanging al over his boyfriend.

“I’m going to go find my friends,” Arturo told Nelson. “Let me know what you guys decide.” Nelson watched him walk away. “See what you did?” he told Kyle.

“I didn’t do anything!” Kyle shouted over the music. Then he glanced back toward the dance floor, totaly unprepared for what he saw: Was Jason kissing Leah?

Jason hadn’t meant to let Leah kiss him. It just … happened.

When Kyle had said he was going outside, Jason merely planned to keep dancing. He liked the music the DJ was playing—mostly house. And he liked this club a lot more than that bar in New Orleans.

For one thing, the crowd was a lot closer to his age. He’d felt like a kid among al the older guys at the Rendezvous. The way they kept checking him out, darting their eyes between Kyle and him had given Jason the creeps.

And he liked the fact that Score had a mixed crowd of gays and straights. You couldn’t easily tel who was what. Jason felt more comfortable that way. Plus, after spending five days cooped up in a car with two guys, he was enjoying the female company of Leah and the other girls. He’d liked BJ, too, but that was different, more complex. This was simpler.

He thought it was interesting what Keesha and Evie had said about being “heteroflexible.” He could identify with that. He liked watching them dance together. And when they started making out during one song, right there in the middle of the dance floor, it totaly turned him on.

“You like that?” Leah shouted over the music to Jason.

He felt the blood rush into his face, embarrassed that she’d caught him staring. He wasn’t sure exactly what she was asking, but he nodded. “Yeah.” Keesha finaly puled out of her lip-lock with Evie, giggling because of al the boys staring at them. Evie asked Jason and Leah, “Y’al want to get something to drink?”

Keesha led the way through the crowd, holding Evie’s hand. In turn, Evie held Leah’s hand. And when Leah reached for Jason’s hand, he took it without a second thought.

He’d realized earlier Leah was checking him out from the way she let her blue eyes linger on him. He didn’t mind; he was flattered. He thought she was cute too.

But even though she was blonde, she wasn’t realy his type. For one thing, he didn’t like how strong she came on. And for another thing, she wasn’t Kyle. Even though Kyle wasn’t blond, he was Jason’s boyfriend, and Jason had no desire to change that.

Nevertheless, at the bar Jason bought al the girls soft drinks with the ten dolars Kyle had given him.

“You’re a great dancer!” Leah shouted, leaning toward Jason’s ear, so that her breasts brushed his arm.

“Thanks!” he replied and backed up, even though her boobs were quite nice. “You’re a good dancer too!” he yeled.

A grin played across Leah’s lips. “You’re sweet!” She leaned into him again, this time resting her hand softly on his arm. “You know, I never would’ve guessed you were gay.”

Jason wasn’t sure how she meant that. Was it a compliment or a put-down?

“Did you ever try girls?” Keesha asked, apparently overhearing Jason and Leah.

“Yeah. Before Kyle I had a girlfriend for two years,” he yeled to the group.

“You’re bi?” Evie said. “That’s cool.”

Jason shrugged and sipped some of his Coke. He didn’t realy like to label himself as “bi” because it made him feel like he didn’t belong in either group, straight or gay. Besides, he was boyfriends with Kyle, so didn’t that mean he was gay? He wanted to ask Evie and Keesha more about how they dealt with their

“heteroflexibility.” Were they stil attracted to guys? Did they feel like they fit in with hundred-percent lesbians?

“When was the last time you were with a girl?” Leah shouted.

From her coy smile Jason got a strange sense of where that question was headed and he didn’t want to pursue it. Instead he glanced away toward the crowd, hoping Kyle would appear.

“I hope you don’t mind my asking.” Leah leaned into his shoulder as though they were intimate friends. “I’m just curious. I guess I’m weird that way.” Later, Jason would realize that this would’ve been the moment to excuse himself and get the heck away. But at the time it seemed like leaving her would be like agreeing she was weird. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, especialy since she obviously liked him.

Fortunately, the song changed and Keesha yeled, “Let’s dance! I love this song.” She led them al back to the dance floor and Jason sighed with relief at having dodged the Leah bulet. But where was Kyle? Why was he taking so long? And where had Nelson gone?

Jason was about to tel the girls he was going to look for his friends when the music changed to a slow song. Evie took hold of Keesha and Leah leaned into Jason.

Without even asking if he wanted to, she suddenly had her arms wrapped around him, slow-dancing. He could smel her spicy citrus perfume.

Jason hadn’t slow-danced with a girl since nearly a year before—at senior year Homecoming with Debra. Leah’s soft warm body pressed gently against his and he decided there was nothing realy wrong with just dancing. And it wasn’t his fault Kyle wasn’t around.

He gazed over Leah’s shoulder at Keesha and Evie. As they danced, they started making out again. Jason’s throat tightened as he watched. His heart beat faster.

Then Leah tilted her face up to him, gazing into his eyes, her lips a little apart.

Oh, crap,
Jason thought. Why was she doing this?

And next thing he knew, her moist lips were reaching up and resting on his.

They only kissed an instant before Jason puled away. “Look, I can’t.” He slid out from her arms. “Sorry.” Without waiting for a response he turned, muttering under his breath. Why had she done that? And why had
he
done that?

At the edge of the dance floor he spotted Nelson and Kyle staring at him. Jason’s heart dropped to his stomach.

Casualy, he walked over, praying they hadn’t seen him. “You guys ready to go?”

A flicker of pain crossed Kyle’s face and his tone was definitely angry. “What were you doing?” Jason bit into his lip, then answered, “Nothing.” His voice sounded false, even to him.

“Tel me what happened,” Kyle insisted, his voice breaking.

Jason gave a groan of resignation. “She made a pass at me and I walked away. That’s al!”

“Ew!”
Nelson butted in.

Jason wanted to slug him.

“You smel like her perfume,” Kyle said, his voice ful of hurt. “What did you do with her? I want to know.”

“Nothing, I told you. She kissed me. That’s al. You saw me walk away, didn’t you?” Shouldn’t Kyle feel proud of him for that, instead of griling him?

“Then why’d you let her kiss you in the first place?”

“Because you weren’t around!” He immediately realized that hadn’t come out like he meant it.

Kyle’s mouth drooped into a brooding look. “I want to go!”

“What about Arturo?” Nelson asked, but Kyle was already storming out of the club.

On the drive back to the campground none of the boys spoke. Nelson was pissed because he’d missed out on getting naked with Arturo. Kyle was ticked off at Jason. And Jason was equaly PO’ed at Kyle.

When they got to the campsite and climbed from the car, Jason tried to put his arm around Kyle and accidentaly brushed his cheek. Was it damp? Or was it just Jason’s imagination?

Kyle puled away. “You need to figure this out!” His tone left no doubt he’d been crying. He bent into the tent and gathered his sleeping bag, dragging it out. “I’m going to sleep in the car.”

“Kyle, you’re being ridiculous.” Jason grabbed his arm, trying to stop him, but Kyle puled away again, climbing inside the car.

Jason sat on the picnic table and stared at the car, frustrated by how unreasonable Kyle was being, and angry at himself for getting into this mess. Finaly, he crawled into the tent.

Nelson yawned. “I guess it’s just you and me tonight, huh?”

Jason undressed and slid into his sleeping bag, ignoring him, but Nelson kept at it. “I can’t believe you kissed her. That is so totaly
ew
!”

“Shut the hel up,” Jason muttered.

“Oh, yeah.” Nelson yawned again. “I’m so scared.”

Jason wanted to shove his pilow over Nelson’s face, but soon his thoughts returned to Kyle. Didn’t he realize how much Jason loved him?

Nelson hardly slept that night, roused time and again by Jason’s snoring.

“Hey, Pavarotti, rol over!” he grumbled and lay awake, thinking about the past day’s events.

He’d liked the heteroflexible girls and had had a fun time dancing with them.

He wished he’d been able to get naked with the boy he’d met at the club,
mucho
yummy Arturo. But at least they’d been able to make out a little. And what an awesome kisser!

Then there was the incident of Jason kissing the skeezer. Nelson understood Kyle’s fury at Jason. Nelson would be angry too if his boyfriend did that to him. But Kyle had known Jason was confused about girls before they’d become boyfriends. Jason was now probably going through one of those insecurity things by which bi guys reassured themselves they weren’t
completely
gay.

But of course Jason was gay. Nelson had told Kyle that Jason was a closet case long before Jason even showed up at the queer youth group meeting.

Why would Jason have become boyfriends with Kyle if he wasn’t gay? Kyle could give Jason the masculine affection no female could compete with. So why was Kyle taking on such a jilted wife role, complete with drama-queeny exit from the tent to sleep in the car?

Nelson turned to face Jason, sleeping inches from his face. The more time he spent with the big dolt, the more he was growing to like him. Not that he’d ever admit that. He’d always thought Jason’s thick eyebrows were sexy, and he loved the olive color of his skin. His shoulders stuck out of the sleeping bag, broad and muscled. His lips looked so tender and inviting. Nelson realy couldn’t blame Leah for going after him.