I'm not exactly sure when I figured out I was into guys...or rather, Ash. Yeah, I'm admitting it straight out! My rivalry with Ash isn't just rivalry, I had a crush on him. And of course, he'd never get it in a million years, the idiot...he's always been so dense, especially when it comes to love. At least with my cheerleaders and I, they were older and some of them had boyfriends so I had an excuse. But Ash, always traveling with some pretty young girl and never making a move to get closer?
So I teased him about it, and he'd always take the bait. And of course he'd have some lame excuse about his training or Brock trying to play chaperone, but we both knew he was just plain dumb.
Or was he? At the time it was definitely wishful thinking, but maybe he wasn't into girls either. Maybe he'd even like me the way I liked him...okay, that was a long shot, but you can't blame a guy for trying!
That was ages ago, though. Last week, I finally got my answer when I teased him about Dawn.
"You better ask her out soon or she'll go off with that Kenny guy," I said. Ash gave me this look, almost as if he was testing me before he opened his mouth.
"Maybe I'm just not attracted to her. Or any girls."
Aha! So I was right about that, at least. I gave him a knowing grin, and he blushed slightly.
"So you like guys, then," I said with a shrug. "It's no big-"
"It's not guys, Gary," he said, "it's you."
He kissed me before I had a chance to respond, but it's just as well. I wouldn't have known what to say anyway and this was something I'd been wanting to do since we were ten. He wasn't as dumb as I'd always thought he was, he had picked up on my signals! Or maybe he hadn't and was just hoping I felt the same way, but those were just details.
"I was wondering when you'd get it, Ashy-boy," I finally said as we broke the contact, and he smiled.