The silenced stretched between the three men as the weight of the situation slowly sunk in.
"Sorry I… I will… I'll just wait outside…" Xavier finally mumbled as he turned on his heel and left the room quickly.
Just like that, the spell was broken. All the rage and fear that had subsided from Jimmy's heart came rushing back to him, more intense than before. He grit his teeth and punched the locker closest to him with all his strength. This caused Jey to jump with surprise and he watched helplessly as Jimmy started violently shoving his gear into his bag. As soon as he was done, without looking up, he picked up his belongings and stormed out, leaving Jey alone.
Jey listened to the clock tick and all he could do was stand there in a daze. He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard the locker room door open again. Dropping his eyes quickly, Jey turned back to his locker, trying to look busy. Xavier came back in, hesitating at first, and shuffled wordlessly to his locker. Biting his cheek, Jey started mulling over whether it would be less conspicuous for him to leave first or wait until Xavier finished and left before him. As he was having these thoughts, the silence was finally broken.
"So… You and Jimmy, huh?" Xavier stated, trying to sound light and breezy.
Jey's face erupted in another blush and he didn't know what to say. How could he explain what had happened if it wasn't even clear to himself? He felt a gentle hand on his back just then and turned to face Xavier with misty eyes. Xavier just smiled sympathetically to express his support.
"If you don't mind my asking, how long has this been going on?"
Something inside Jey snapped. He sat down heavily and the events of the day came pouring out. He told Xavier about the match, Jimmy getting turned on by him, the undeniable sexual tension between the two in the locker room, how something between them had grown and how he didn't think their lives would ever be the same. Xavier just listened patiently, brow furrowed in concentration. After he was done talking, he felt lighter somehow. The fact that there was no judgement coming from his friend made the situation seem a little less daunting.
"I just… I don't know how to move forward from this…" Jey ended, wringing his hands together.
"Well… What do you want? Is this a one-time fling or is there something deeper developing?"
The question shook Jey to his core. He had harbored a hidden attraction to his brother for as long as he could remember but he never even entertained the thought that anything would EVER happen. And now that it had, he was more lost than ever. Did he dare to hope that this could be something special? Something that would last? The thin line between lust and love was swirling around in his mind. Was it the healthiest option to put the feelings back inside him and go on living like nothing had ever happened? As soon as he thought this, his heart clenched in despair. No. There was no way he wanted this to be the way things ended. He wanted more. Needed more. As soon as his mind was made up, he jumped off the bench, grabbed his gear, and headed toward the door. Xavier watched with a twinkle in his eye as Jey stopped and turned.
"Xavier… Thank you. You've done more for me than you know. I owe you one." He mumbled with a tiny smile. And with that, he disappeared from view.
