Kindred Love

Discovered

"Kinney! A word please." Coach Riley yelled at Brian after the gym class was dismissed. Brian walked over to the coach. He was flushed and sweaty, having just completed running several laps around the field.

"Yeah, Coach?" Brian asked, still catching his breath.

Coach Riley looked at Brian and smiled. "You impressed me with your time in the mile run today. You did very well. It looks like David Conner finally has some real competition," the coach said.

Brian smiled at that. "Thanks, Coach," he replied.

"Listen, Principal Schwartz told me that you're interested in being on our soccer team. Do you play the game as well as you run?" Coach Riley asked.

"Better, sir," Brian answered confidently.

Coach Riley gave him a pleased expression. "Well, we can certainly use another strong player on the team. Conner is our strongest player now, and it is mostly because of him that we are undefeated, but we can always use another strong player," the coach told Brian.

Brian nodded, letting what the coach was saying to him sink in.

"What is your strongest position?" Coach Riley asked.

"I can play them all, Coach, but I guess my best position is striker," Brian said.

"Great. We could definitely try you out for that position. We could sure use your speed, that's for sure," the coach said.

"Thanks, Coach! You won't be sorry," Brian said excitedly.

"I doubt I will. Practice is tomorrow after school. I'll see you there."

"Yes, sir," Brian told him.

"All right, get out of here. School's out."

Brian nodded and ran into the locker room to change and find Michael. The last bell had already rang, and he knew that Michael was probably waiting for him at his locker. The locker room was practically empty, all the students having practically run out as soon as the bell sounded, indicating that school was out.

Brian headed towards his locker when he noticed a small group of guys surrounding that area and laughing. As he got closer, he saw David Conner shove Michael against his locker. The group of boys seemed to be encouraging David's actions. Michael looked terrified.

"Hey! What the hell is going on over here?" Brian demanded.

The group of guys seemed a little startled and quieted down as they stared at the new boy. David just smirked at Brian.

"What the fuck is it to you? Why don't you beat it, newbie. Mind your own fucking business," David spat. Brian shoved his way through the group of guys and stepped in front of Michael protectively.

"Michael is my fucking business. He's my cousin. You fuck with him, then you're fucking with me," Brian said sternly.

David seemed surprised that Brian was standing up to him, but didn't let it show that he was feeling a little intimidated by it. This new kid wasn't small like Michael. Brian was about the same height and build as David, and knew that Brian could probably kick some ass if he wanted to.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you're hot shit just because you can run fast?" David stated.

"That has nothing to do with this, but for your information, that is not the only thing that I'm good at. In fact, Coach Riley just asked me to be on the soccer team. So you better get used to it. I'm not going away," Brian told David.

David's mouth dropped at the mention of Brian being on the team. David had always been their prize player; the best. It was because of him that they won game after game. He wouldn't let this new kid take that away from him.

"Just stay the fuck out of my way, Kinney, or you'll be sorry," David threatened.

Brian challenged the boy with his own cold stare. "Don't fuck with me, and we won't have any problems," Brian said. He didn't flinch. He stared the other boy down, making sure David knew he was serious.

David turned to look at Michael. "Watch your back, Notovney. Your cousin can't be there to protect you every time," he said coldly.

Michael didn't say anything and kept his eyes to the floor. He wished he were as big and brave as Brian was. He hated that he couldn't defend himself. It was inevitable that he didn't stand a chance against a big buy like David Conner, in a fight.

"You touch him, I'll kick your fucking ass," Brian told David.

David let out a little laugh. He did feel a little threatened by Brian, but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing it.

"Yeah, right. Come on, guys," David told his followers, and they left the locker room.

Brian turned to his cousin. "You okay, Mikey?" he asked.

Michael nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He look over at his cousin in awe. "Shit, Brian, you were awesome. Nobody's really stood up to David like that. Everyone's afraid to mess with him."

"Yeah, well, my dad is way bigger than him. That guy is nothing compared to him," Brian said as he unlocked his locker and started to change into his regular clothes.

"Hey, Brian, really. Thanks. No one has ever done anything like that for me before," Michael admitted.

Brian just smiled at Michael. "Well, we gotta stick together, right? Help each other out. Isn't that what you said before?"

"Yeah," Michael smiled. Then, suddenly, the words dawned on him, and he thought about the conversation that they had had before.

"So, does this mean that you're no longer 'confused'?" Michael asked, making the quote symbols with his hands.

Brian smiled back at him, and stuck his tongue inside his cheek. "What do you say we get something to eat at this infamous Liberty Diner you keep yapping about?" he suggested as they walked out of the locker room.

Michael laughed. "Sure, Ma's working right now. We could get some free burgers and fries. Oh yeah, and the lemon bars are the BEST," Michael said.

"All right, let's go," Brian said, and they headed for the bus stop that would take them to Liberty Avenue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian and Michael entered the Liberty Diner and all eyes seemed to follow Brian as the two boys made their way to the counter and waited for Debbie to notice them.

"Brian, all the guys in here are staring at you," Michael pointed out, giving his cousin a smile. Brian blushed. He wasn't used to the attention; at least not from men, and suddenly started to feel a little shy.

"They are not," Brian argued.

Michael just giggled. "Uh, yeah, they are. They are looking at you like they want to devour you," Michael insisted, then sighed. "God. Your first day out of the closet and you can have your pick of any of these guys if you wanted," Michael pouted.

Brian slightly blushed again, and playfully hit Michael in the arm. "Shut up," he said with a modest smile.

Debbie finally noticed the two boys and came over to them.

"Hey, boys! I didn't know you were going to stop by. I'm glad you did though. Can I get you two something to eat?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah, Ma, we'll have a couple of cheeseburgers with fries and two Cokes," Michael told his mother.

Debbie scribbled down their order on her little pad. "All right, boys, coming right up," she said cheerfully and gave them a wink as she walked away to give their order to the cook.

"Your mom is great," Brian said, laughing.

"Great, you can have her, and she can drive YOU insane," Michael joked.

"I know that she's a little over the top, but she loves you Mikey. You're really lucky," Brian said quietly. He never really felt like someone really cared about him and loved him until the Taylors. He was grateful to experience love with them. That thought suddenly made him miss his other family.

Michael noticed Brian's face dropped. "Brian, what's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Brian assured him.

Michael let it go, and the boys sat there and made small talk while they waited for their food.

"Here you go, boys," said Debbie, placing their food and drinks in front of them.

"Thanks, Aunt Deb. Looks good," he replied, as he looked at the delicious-looking food in front of him. He and Michael both started digging in their food.

"Your welcome, honey. So how was school today?" Debbie asked.

"Brian is going to be on the soccer team," Michael said with a mouth full of food.

"Don't eat with your mouth full," Debbie told her son, then turned her attention to Brian. "That's great, honey. I knew you'd fit in," she said.

"Well, I don't know about that, but I'm glad I made the team. Soccer is my favorite sport to play," Brian said.

"Ma, you should have seen him. This asshole at school was bullying me and pushed me into my locker, and Brian came to my rescue and stood right up to the guy," Michael told Debbie.

Brian rolled his eyes. "It was no big deal," Brian said. He wasn't trying to play a hero. He just wanted to make sure that Mikey was safe and stayed that way.

"That's my boy," Debbie said, mussing up Brian's hair with her hand and then pulling him close to give him a loud kiss on the cheek.

"Aww, not him too. Ma, will you let him breathe?" Michael groaned. Brian just laughed, secretly loving the attention.

The bell above the door to the diner chimed, and suddenly a man stood in front of their table, smiling down at them.

The man stared at Brian with predator eyes. Brian looked up and made eye contact with the stranger, feeling a weird and unfamiliar intensity from the man, and blushed. The handsome man had dark hair and gray eyes. They seemed to bore into him, and Brian found that he couldn't stop staring into them. The man was older, in his twenties, and was tall and toned. He wore form-fitting Levi blue jeans with a black muscle shirt, which showed off his muscular arms and chest. There was a strong sexual charge in the air when he was near.

"Hey Deb, Michael. Is this a friend of yours from school?" the man asked gesturing to Brian.

"Oh, hey, Carter. This is Brian, my cousin. He's from Philadelphia. He's living with us now," Michael explained.

"Is that so?" Carter smiled, his gaze never leaving Brian's. He held out his hand to Brian, and shook the boy's hand. "Nice to meet you, Brian. I hope we can get more acquainted some time," Carter said and gave a sexy smile.

Brian opened his mouth to say something when Debbie stepped in.

"Oh, no you don't, mister. You stay away from my nephew. He's only 14," Debbie warned.

"Well, you know I was about that age my first time," Carter said with a smirk.

"Don't even think about it," Debbie said wagging her finger at Carter.

Brian stayed silent throughout the whole scene. He didn't know what to say. He was very attracted to this man. He was feeling a little embarrassed going through all these emotions in front of all of them. He thought for sure they could all see how nervous he was.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying; a hot young lad like him, who wouldn't?" Carter said, giving Brian one last look before walking to the usual booth in the corner his friends were sitting at and joining them.

Brian watched Carter walk away and felt a combination of relief and disappointment. Debbie studied Brian's expression a moment.

"Brian, honey. There are plenty of younger gay kids you can go out with. Carter is too old for you though, sweetie, and frankly, he's not what you would call a keeper," she told Brian.

Brian stared at Debbie in shock. Michael was right. She had a way of knowing things without telling her a thing.

"Aunt Deb... how did you know that I'm..." Brian started.

"Gay?" Debbie finished Brian's sentence, and chuckled. "Come on, honey, I saw the way you looked at Carter. It wasn't hard to figure out. Besides, I have excellent gaydar," Debbie said with a loud laugh. Brian looked over at Michael.

"See? I told you," Michael said with a smirk, as he continued to wolf down his food.

"I hope my son also told you that I have absolutely no problem with his sexuality. That goes for you too. I will always love you no matter what, you understand?" Debbie said.

"Yeah," Brian smiled at his aunt. He was glad that he wouldn't have to hide who he was around her.

"So, three simple rules. The rules are: #1. Always, ALWAYS use condoms. It's very important that you're safe. Rule #2, no guys spend the night unless I okay it first. Rule #3, if it affects your grades you're grounded until further notice. Rule #4, refer back to rule #1," Debbie said calmly. Brian just looked at her, amazed.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Debbie asked.

"No reason," Brian said with a smile.

"Hey, Deb! My lunch?" a customer complained to Debbie from the table behind them.

Debbie rolled her eyes at the man. "All right, keep your thong on, I'm coming!" Debbie snapped. "Well, duty calls, boys. I'll talk to you later," she said, and walked to get the other man's food.

Once Debbie was out of earshot, Brian looked at Michael. Michael could see that Brian wanted to say something but was hesitant.

"You want to know about Carter," Michael told Brian, as if reading his mind. Brian smiled and nodded his head, a little embarrassed that he was that obvious. He wanted to find out everything he could about this hot mysterious guy, and then he would get him.