Friday First Kiss - Something to be Thankful For

I ducked out of the General Store on Main Street before Old Man Peterson could snag me and force me to help unload “just this one box.” It was never one box. I glanced furtively over my shoulder to ensure I had made a clean escape before fleeing back to my house. This Thanksgiving was my first trip home since I had left for college. I’d been gone three months and absolutely nothing had changed. 

All of the sudden, I practically skidded to a stop, watching as a vision from some city-fied magazine stepped off the bus just a little ways down the road. His blond hair was a little wavy and shone brilliantly in the east Texas sunlight. His muscular shoulders were perfectly outlined in a lush green button down and one of those fancy vests. My eyes traveled down the man’s back and ate up his ass in dark grey slacks and matching shoes. He was so far from the boots, jeans and plaid shirts everyone else (including me) wore that it took me a second to tear my eyes away.

Then the mystery man grabbed his bag and turned around.



“Willie Ray?!?” I exclaimed before I could stop myself. I had not just been ogling Willie Ray’s ass, I resolutely declared to myself. The last time I had seen Willie Ray was at graduation. He had been wearing his nice cowboy boots, dark jeans with a crease ironed down the front, and a tan plaid pearl snap shirt.

A look of exasperation and resignation flashed though Willie Ray’s eyes before he sighed and responded with, “Hey, Zachary. How are you doing?”

“Geez, only my Grandma calls me Zachary. Unless I’m in trouble. Don’t do it. I might get a complex.” I said with an impish smile. Then I caught myself. Crap. I was not flirting with Willie Ray. Being in Austin the last three months was really going to get me into trouble if I couldn’t control my reactions better in front of the country boys. But, damn, Willie Ray didn’t look like a country boy anymore. “So, ummm, you look different.”

Willie Ray blushed and fidgeted, “Yeah, I guess so.” He didn’t appear to have anything else to say after that and the silence seemed to just draw out.

“Well, I gotta get home to help Momma load the truck full of all her pumpkins for the Thanksgiving Fair tonight. You gonna be there?”

“Yeah, probably.” He replied, looking a little lost.

“Okay, then I’ll see you tonight.” And for some reason this made him smile, chasing away his uncertainty for a fleeting second. That smile seared into me like nothing I had ever seen before. My heart skipped a beat and I hoped it wasn’t obvious that I was having trouble catching my breath. I hurried past him towards my house before I could do something utterly stupid like kiss him in the middle of Main Street.

***

It was almost the end of the evening and I was more disappointed than I wanted to admit that I hadn’t seen Willie Ray at the Thanksgiving Fair that the town put on every year in the square. I wasn't feeling particularly thankful this year so the whole Fair was just seeming annoying and small town. I rounded the backside of the courthouse to start helping my mom load up the truck again and stopped suddenly when I heard a woman’s voice pleading with a familiar sounding voice.

“Willie Ray, I get that you’re….you know…but do you have to be so obvious about it?” the woman’s voice said.

“Mom, really. Just because I dress nicely means it’s obvious I’m gay?” He said some more after that but I remained stuck on the gay part. I don’t know why I was suddenly so aware of Willie Ray. We had never really hung out in high school and it wasn’t like he was the only other gay guy I had ever met. But for some reason, I couldn’t stop the flip flop of my stomach and the racing of my heart when I heard his admission. The sound of his raised voice brought the conversation I was overhearing into focus again.

“God, Mom. I don’t care what those obnoxious old biddies say. I like how I dress. I never want to see another pair of jeans or a plaid shirt ever again!! Don’t you get it? I always felt trapped here. And, for Christ’s sake, can you please call me William? If I hear Willie Ray one more time I am going to scream.”

“You’re already screaming.” She said coldly right before I heard the high speed click of her high heels disappear around the other side of the building. Before, I had time to react, Willie Ray…er William…came barreling into me from around my side of the building, his eyes appearing suspiciously bright.

“Great, just what I need tonight,” he bit out as he quickly untangled himself from me. He started to walk briskly past me. I grabbed his arm.

“Willie Ray, wait.” He yanked his arm out of my grasp and started down the alley again. A little more desperate I cried out, “William, come back.” At the sound of his full name, he stopped in his tracks, shoulders slumped. He was no longer running way but he hadn’t turned to look at me again either.

I moved to stand behind him and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him to face me. He allowed himself to be turned but still wouldn’t look up at me.

“Look, William, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overhear anything,” I said in what I hoped was a calming voice.

A fierce defiant look animated his face and he finally looked me in the eyes. I was trapped in his eyes when he asked me, “What did you overhear?”

My eyes darted away and back to his as I stumbled to answer, “Um, ah…you were…um…talking to your Mom about…ah…how you dress and….umm…calling you William…and….”

I stopped talking as William seemed to deflate right in front of me. All the air seemed to seep out his body and the fire in his eyes drained away, replaced by a world weary wariness.

“Look,” I started again, “I don’t care. Really. And you know she was wrong. You don’t look gay. Or at least you wouldn’t, if we were in the city. You just look nice.”

At that his head snapped up and he stared disbelievingly at me. I searched for something else to say. Something to take that look out his eyes but the longer I stared into them, the less capable of forming thought I became.

I watched as my arm reached up to his face and my hand cupped his cheek. I watched the string of emotions that went through William’s eyes as I drew him closer. Surprise. Fear. Wariness. Lust. Finally, I snapped back into myself as I felt my lips touch his. We stood there for long moments, my hand on his cheek, my lips on his lips.

I leaned back, momentarily afraid of what his reaction would be. Until I saw his eyes. Our faces were still mere inches apart but I could see the pure joy and hope shining from his eyes. Like I was the thing he had always wanted but never thought he could have. We stared into each other’s eyes forever and for no time at all.

I saw the moment his walls crashed down and he allowed himself to believe he could have what he always yearned for. “Zachary,” he groaned quietly, and for once I didn’t think of my grandmother.

All in one motion he slid his hands into my hair, slammed me into the wall behind us, and took my mouth. I was overwhelmed by his desire for me. I found myself being devoured, possessed. I had been kissed before, but God, nothing came close to passion William was gifting me with right now. I lost myself in him until we were finally forced to separate in order to breathe.

He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in the crook of his neck as we both caught our breath. Fuck a duck, his arms felt good around me.

”God, Zachary, I’ve wanted to do that for years,” he whispered into my hair.

It was my turn to be surprised. I shifted my head so I could look him in the eyes. 

“Yeah?" I replied wryly. "It was a little more recent for me.” I added, thinking back to when I had seen him get off the bus that afternoon.

I leaned back into his embrace, wrapping my arms firmly around him as well. It was scary how perfectly we fit together. A thought occurred to me. “Where did you end up going to school?”

“UT Austin.” He replied, with a slight question in his voice. A grin spread across my face and I couldn’t help but laugh that we had been at the same school all this time.

“Me too,” I whispered as I pulled him towards me and kissed him again. I guess I had something to be thankful for this year after all.

The Beginning.