My Best Friend is Gay

by Victor Thomas

Chapter 12

I walked across the bridge toward the camping section of the park with my copy of 'The Last of the Wine' . I needed to get away from all the distractions so I could read. My attention span wasn't that great and it was especially hard to keep my mind on a book when a football magazine or the TV, called out to me. I had tried reading in the main park earlier, but there were girls there. Girls were the ultimate distraction.

If I had any sense, I'd forget about Rebecca and stick with casual hookups. There wasn't much better than receiving head or sliding into a girl. Just thinking about it made me… I forced my thoughts away from sex.

I couldn't forget about Rebecca. It felt as if she had cast a spell on me. I laughed. If she could work magic, she'd cast a spell to make me go away. Why couldn't I charm her as I could other girls? She was a mystery.

I kept walking through the forest that surrounded the park, toward an old abandoned house and barn. I'd attended a few parties here and slipped away from those parties with girls. I'd also brought girls out here in my car to make out and do more.

Why did my thoughts always go straight to sex? I swear, sometimes I think there is something wrong with me.

The old house came into view. I walked up and sat on the front steps and began to read. The only sounds that came to my ears were those of birds and insects. There was nothing to distract me here, so I could make some real progress.

I read about Alexias practicing in the gymnasium, which was quite unlike a modern gym. The biggest difference was that everyone exercised naked, which sounds totally hot, except for one thing, there were no females. I would be up for exercising nude if there were girls around. Okay, there were some distractions here.

Read, Philip. You are here to read.

I focused and was able to get into the story. I had feared reading this book would be a major chore, but it wasn't so bad. I actually began to enjoy it.

I paused. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I could have sworn, but no… there it was again. This time I definitely heard whispers and a giggle. The giggle was that of a young boy or a girl.

There was no one in sight. I turned toward the door. The sounds were coming from inside. I closed my book and stood. I turned toward the doors and walked across the porch. The door was partially open and I slipped inside. The hallway was dark except near the other end where another partially open door let in light.

I walked forward slowly, disturbing dust that had not been disturbed in some time. I continued on quietly. If there was someone in here maybe I could have the fun of giving them a fright.

I reached the middle of the hallway and could just make out footprints leading to the stairs. There were two sets of small footprints. It was most likely a couple of kids. I was certain kids explored the old house now and then, just as Spencer and I had when we were kids. The footprints could be days or weeks old.

The footprints led up the stairs. I followed as soundlessly as possible. Halfway up, I heard voices again. They sounded more like girls than boys, but I couldn't be sure.

I reached the top of the stairs. The second floor also had a hallway and had four bedrooms, two on either side. The trail was easy to follow. It turned to the right and followed the hallway, passing an open doorway. I stepped into the room for a better look. There was a very old single bed that still had a mattress. There was a ruined dresser and a small desk and chair.

I turned and continued my quest. I could clearly hear voices now. One was definitely a girl, but I wasn't sure about the other. I crept forward silently. Had the pair been a couple of boys exploring I would have tried to scare them, but if it was a couple of girls, I wasn't going to do that. Boys would think a good fright was funny. Girls would think I was a creep. If it was a boy-girl couple I might be interrupting something I shouldn't interrupt. I thought about turning back, but I was curious. If it was a couple, I'd take one look and then leave.

The voices stopped and I wondered if I had been detected, but I heard movement coming from the room on the right. I heard the sound of a bed squeaking. I was going to have to be careful. I didn't want to interrupt a hookup. I should have turned back, but the voyeur in me wanted just a peak.

I stood just out of sight of the edge of the open doorway. I heard a girl giggle and then a slight moan. I edged closer and peered through the crack of the open door. I gasped slightly, jerked back and held perfectly still. The sounds in the room stopped. I didn't move. The seconds crept by until finally the sounds resumed.

I slipped away. My mind reeled. It had been a couple. They were making out and letting their hands roam. It wasn't a boy and a girl. It was two girls, and one of them was my sister Valerie.

I made my way down the stairs and outside, trying not to make a sound. Once outside, I moved quickly and was soon back on the path.

My sister is a lesbian! I had somewhat suspected. She was very close to one of her friends, the girl she was with now, but it was hard to tell with girls. Girls held hands, walked arm in arm, and even kissed. If guys did any of that they would instantly be tagged as gay, but not girls.

My best friend was gay and my little sister was a lesbian. Were there others around me who were into members of their own sex? I guess that wasn't important right now. What was I going to do about this?

The easiest course would be to say nothing, but then I thought about Spencer and how I wished I had figured out he was gay long ago. I could have let him know I was cool with it. I don't know. Perhaps I wouldn't have been cool with it when I was younger. It didn't matter. If my sister was a lesbian, it was fine with me, not that she needed my approval. I needed to let her know that. She might be scared that I wouldn't love her if I found out. Spencer had told me how rough it was in the closet for him. I didn't want it to be like that for Valerie. I couldn't take away all her problems, but I could let her know that her big brother loved her and was there for her whenever she needed me.

My journey to the old house was a bust as far as reading was concerned, but I didn't care so much about that at the moment. My sister was more important than even Rebecca. Sure, both my sisters were a pain in the ass and I'd long wished I had brothers instead, but I loved them.

I crossed the river and returned to the park where, thankfully, the girls had left. I was going to have a talk with my sister as soon as possible, but I was determined to get through at least a couple of chapters of my book. I had to finish it before I met Rebecca.

I was quickly lost in the world of Ancient Athens. I didn't know much about history, but it wasn't necessary. Alexias, the main character, was an athlete much like me. If he lived in the present, we could have been friends. We were separate in time by hundreds of years and yet he reminded me a great deal of my teammates and myself. I think he reminded me of Shawn and Steve the most of all. Part of that was because they were gay, but the bigger part was because of their exceptional bodies and athletic skills. Either of them could be Alexias reincarnated.

I finished two chapters before I needed to head home. I was making good progress and the task of reading the book was not as painful as I had feared. I actually liked it. If only they'd played football in Ancient Greece. I would have loved the story even better if Alexias was a football player.

I watched for my chance to talk with Valerie, but when I arrived home, she was in her room giggling with a couple of her friends. One of them was the girl she had been kissing earlier. Later, she was gabbing on her phone. Before I knew it, supper time arrived. I sure couldn't speak to her with the entire family present. I thought she was going to head out right after supper, but she returned to her room instead. She was finally alone.

I knocked on her doorframe. The surprise evident on her face as she looked up from her book made me smile.

"Can we talk?" I asked.

"We never talk," she replied.

"Yeah, which is why we should," I said.

My little sister shrugged. I stepped in, closed her door, and sat on the desk chair near her bed where she was lounging.

"I may have never said this, but I love you," I told her.

She sat up quickly and put her hand to her lips.

"You're not sick, are you?" she asked. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I am," I said. "I didn't mean to scare you by telling you I love you. Mostly I find you and your friends annoying, but I love you anyway."

"You're mostly a jerk, but I love you too," she said, grinning.

"I need to talk to you about something. Don't worry, this is just between us," I said.

"Okay."

Her face paled slightly.

"I know… about you," I said. "I know you're into girls." She gasped and her eyes widened. "It's okay. Like I said, this is between you and me. I'm totally cool with it. Some of my teammates are gay and I have a friend who's gay as well."

"Are you…"

I shook my head.

"No. I'm not gay, but it's not a big deal to me."

"I thought it was," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've heard you say things in the past about gays," she said. "You weren't being nice."

I let out a long breath.

"Yeah, I have said things," I admitted. "It was stupid and I'm sorry. Those are the kinds of things that dumbass boys say. I've learned a few things since then, and I know I was being a jerk. Whatever I said in the past, that's not how I truly feel. I'm talking to you now to let you know that I'm here for you. I know you like girls and it doesn't matter to me. You're my sister and I love you and I want to help you."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I laughed. "Yeah, I'm not the Philip you know, am I?"

"No kidding," she said. "You usually ignore me or treat me like a pest."

"Well, you often are a pest," I said. "You bring your friends over and you all giggle whenever you see me."

"That's because some of them are into you," she said.

"Yeah?" I said. "Never mind. Your friends are too young for me."

"How did you find out?" she asked.

"By accident," I said. "I went out to that old abandoned house near the park today to be alone and read, but then I heard voices."

"You were there?" she asked.

I swear her voice raised an octave.

"Yeah," I admitted. "I thought it was a couple of boys exploring the hold house and I was going to give them a good scare, but instead it was you and your friend. I saw you making out."

"You watched us?"

"For a moment only," I said, "then I left because what you do is your business not mine, but that is how I know."

"Emma is my girlfriend," she said.

"She's cute."

"Hands off."

I grinned.

"She's too young for me anyway," I said. "Do you like boys too or only girls?"

"I like boys a little, but mostly girls," she said. "Do you like boys at all?"

"No," I said. "I know when they're attractive, but I'm not attracted to them. I'm fine now with guys who are attracted to guys."

"Because of your friend?"

"Partly."

"Is it Spencer?" she asked.

"I can't tell you who it is," I said. "He's not ready for anyone to know."

"I understand," she said. "I'm not either, but I bet it's Spencer."

"No comment," I said. "If you need to talk or… anything, I'm here, okay."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"Does Mary know?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I think she'll be okay with it, mom and dad too," I said. "Even if they aren't, I'm here."

"Thanks," she said and hugged me.

I hugged her back.

"I do love you," I said.

"I love you too."

I left her room, relieved. Our talk didn't go badly at all. I also felt rather good about myself. I wondered how I would have reacted to discovering my sister was a lesbian before my discovery of Spencer's sexual orientation. I liked to think I would have been supportive, but I wasn't sure.