Chapter 16

The championship game was Saturday. Friday night Kevin paced the room, stressed. He wanted to be at a party to keep his mind off the impending game, but the coach had given them a strict rule of no partying before the game; he didn't want any of his players to be hung over when focus counted most. The day before Kevin had stayed after practice to come out to Coach. While his teammates hadn't exactly been avoiding playing with him, the chemistry on the field hadn't been the same since Chris's unexpected pre-championships "present." Coach had yelled himself hoarse at practice the last few nights, and that night was no exception.

"Everything alright, Kev?"He said looking up from his clipboard and rubbing the back of his neck. His voice cracked. He coughed a little, spit a gobbet of phlegm and tried again. He took in the fact that Kevin lagged behind, helping pick up balls and stalling. The rest of the team had vacated the field. "Didn't seem like yourself out there the last couple nights."

He shook his head. "I gotta tell you something."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"I—the rest of the guys already know so it's only fair you know too. I'm—I'm gay. And—"

Coach shrugged. "I already knew but I appreciate the honesty. That why the team seems to be falling apart?"

He shrugged. "Yeah I guess so. Chris told me I should quit the team. That gays have no place in athletics. I think some of them agree. Jason told me no way."

He nodded. "Jason's a smart kid. Chris is an ass. The rest are stupid sheep with no more brains in their heads than in their asses." He paused and when Kevin said nothing, he continued. "Do you want to quit?"

"No—I don't know."

He raised his eyebrows again and stood patiently looking at the boy in front of him.

"Soccer has been everything for me since I was a kid. I love it. But I'm tired of being something I'm not. I want my boyfriend at the games. And I don't want my team to hate me because I have one in the first place. It's—it's complicated."

He nodded. "Sounds like you need to do some thinking."

Kevin frowned. He had been hoping for some actual advice.

Coach seemed to notice and nodded. "I can't tell you what to do. People are stupid, and your teammates can be especially so. But you've got a real talent and it'd be a hell of a thing to waste. You need to decide what's best for you."

"What—what do you honestly think?" He didn't want to sound like a lost kid, but he had never felt more lost in his life, and he didn't know who else to turn to. He'd thought about calling his dad, but he was out of the country on business and wouldn't know what to do anyway. They still didn't discuss the awkward revelation in his bedroom, though he always made a point to ask about Edd during their brief phone calls.

Coach shrugged. "I think that as long as it doesn't affect how you play on the field, it's really no one's business. But then again," he slung a bag of practice balls over his shoulder. "I'm probably in the minority there. A lot of coaches operate on a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. I honestly don't care as long as you're at your best. But I want you to make a decision because it's affecting the whole team and that does make a difference. We can't have distractions this close to the finals."

Kevin muttered that he hadn't planned on coming out before the championships. Coach merely shrugged. "I didn't plan on coaching a soccer team at your age. Shit happens. It's life. Get it together and move forward. Figure out what you want to do. I expect an answer by next semester at the latest so that we can replace you if you need replacing or start in on getting you and Jason working on being captains if we don't."

Kevin nodded. He was no closer to finding an answer now than he had been, but he felt better now that everything was out in the open. And the game was tomorrow, bright and early. The team tried to play like they used to, but there was a definite difference in the way they interacted since the episode. He could feel it and no matter what he said or did, there was no way for him to fix it.

So Kevin paced. He had asked Jason if he wanted to come over to watch a movie or something, but he said he had other plans for the night. He suspected his other plans were the same reason Wilhelmina had turned down a similar offer from Edd.

Edd looked up from his book at his nervous boyfriend. "Are you going to do that all night?"

Kevin shrugged but didn't stop. "Sorry, is it annoying?"

Edd shook his head. "You're not bothering me but it isn't going to help you calm down either."

He nodded. "I know. I just don't know what else to do. I've got all this nervous energy built up. Going for a run didn't help, neither did the shower you insisted on afterward."

Edd set his book aside and looked at Kevin. "Come here."

Kevin asked "Why?" but still came forward and leaned his hips against the bed.

"No, no, get up here. Sit."

Kevin sat on the bed and Edd immediately crawled up behind him. They had recently pushed their beds together, figuring a little extra room would be nice, and that there was no reason not to since they weren't really hiding anymore. The extra room didn't really make a difference because they still slept wrapped up in each other, but it let Edd spread out his books even more when he wrote papers or studied. Edd settled in behind him. His hands started to work into the tensed muscles. Kevin immediately began to melt under his hands, slumping forward and letting out a low groan as Edd work his thumbs in the muscles under his shoulder blades.

"Lay on your stomach," Edd instructed him in a low voice, his breath stroking his ear in a small puff. It sent a shiver up his spine.

Kevin did as he was instructed, shifting to lie down. He felt Edd's thighs on either side of his hips and the hands were back, digging lusciously into the tension, this time with more strength and weight behind them. He worked the shoulders and shoulder blades for a while before Edd suggested he remove his t-shirt. Kevin complied again and Edd worked his way down Kevin's spine, rubbing the muscles that ran along side the column of bone with long fingers pressing in a firm but gentle manner. Kevin could feel the stress melting out of his body, the nervous energy going with it. As Edd worked his way up his flanks with strong, even strokes Kevin started to feel more normal and more in control of his emotions again.

Edd leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck. He kept his hands moving, working the muscles which at this point felt like putty in his hands. He kissed his way back down Kevin's spine and worked the muscles over his hips and buttocks with sure even sweeps of his thumbs. Kevin groaned into the pillow. Edd worked back up the spine a final time, dragging his lips over the vertebrae and lay down on top of Kevin, settling with his lips against his neck.

"Feeling better?" he murmured in Kevin's ear. His breath tickled and warmed him.

Kevin nodded. "I didn't know you knew how to do that."

"Do what?"

"That. All of it. Make my muscles relax like that."

Edd shrugged over him and answer with his mouth still at his ear. "It's a simple matter of knowing the position and shape of the muscles and easing the tension from them with pressure in the correct directions. I studied the musculature of the human back at the beginning of the year. You know how my memory is."

Kevin nodded. He wondered briefly why Edd would have studied muscular anatomy when he wasn't taking a course in it but decided not to pursue that line of questioning for the time being. He felt mostly better. The nervous energy still coursed through him, but he felt less stressed. He shifted a little, encouraging Edd to sit up for a moment, and turned himself so that Edd could lie on his chest, rather than his back. Edd moved his head so that he could kiss Kevin, soft lips meeting, mouths molding together. Kevin kissed him back eagerly, hands reaching around his back, one burying itself in the hair at the nape of Edd's neck. He pulled Edd forward into the kiss and he followed willingly, hands gripping at the skin they could find.

Kevin felt his tension easing even better than the massage had done, and was about to mention it to Edd when he felt Edd rut against him, pressing his hips forward into his own. All thought of conversation escaped him and he fell deeply into the kiss. Edd's hands ran up his ribs, causing a shiver to follow. He felt it pool behind his pants and pushed back against Edd's slowly moving hips. He felt Edd growing against his groin. His breath went out of his lungs as Edd kissed down his stomach and grabbed hold of the elastic waistband of his shorts. He groaned when Edd tugged them down, releasing him to the cool air of their room. Edd continued his teasing trail of kisses down Kevin's hips and thighs, avoiding his groin for the time being.

Kevin groaned loudly when Edd surprised him, suddenly taking one of his balls in his mouth, sucking gently and switching to repeat the treatment on the other. He moved his hands to take over those ministrations and replaced the space in his mouth with the head of Kevin's dick. "Fuck," he whispered on an in drawn breath and reached down to grope at Edd's hair with a firm but gentle grasp. His tongue worked its way around the crown and to the underside before he started to bob his head and hallow his cheeks. Edd worked his groin with hands and mouth for several intense minutes. Kevin tried to warn him as he felt the familiar boil in his gut. "I'm gunna—" he tapped Edd on the shoulder, but Edd merely shook his head, cock still in his mouth, and Kevin came with a groan and a jerk. The last vestiges of his nerves and tension drained from his body and he lay limp as Edd discretely spit into a tissue and crawled back up to lay in the crook of his arm.

Still lost in the afterglow of his unexpected orgasm, Edd had to repeat himself before Kevin realized he'd spoken. "How're you feeling now? Any less intimidated?"

"I'm...feeling...fantastic." Kevin rolled to his side and kissed Edd slowly with as much emotion he could muster. "You're incredible," he murmured when they finally broke the kiss, lips swollen and hearts pumping.

Color rose in Edd's cheeks but he said nothing.

Kevin hooked a hand in the waistband of Edd's pants. "Can I return the favor?"

To his great surprise, Edd shook his head. "Later." Kevin gave a puzzled look. "I don't need you to right now. Tonight is about keeping you calm so you can play your best tomorrow."

Kevin started to protest.

Edd shook his head again. "After tomorrow, if you insist, I'm yours to with as you please."

He sat quietly for a few moments, thinking about what Edd said. Finally he nodded. "I do insist, but I suppose I can wait until tomorrow." He pulled the boy closer to him. "So what's next in your relaxation plan?"

Edd mused for a moment. "How about you pick out a movie? I think there's still some popcorn in the bin next to my desk, too."

Kevin nodded. "Alright." He got out their movie collection and started browsing. "Where are you going?" he asked, looking up.

Edd took his toothbrush from his bathroom caddy and wiggled it over his shoulder as he walked out the door. When he returned, Kevin had pulled his shorts back on and was in the process of pulling a bag of popcorn from the microwave. Edd came up behind him, holding a large bowl for Kevin to dump the contents of the bag in. They got comfortable in the bed and started the movie.