Miles (7 page)

We
began with a fantastic Caesar's salad and very fresh banana muffins, and headed
directly into the steak, filet you could cut with a fork, nicely broiled in
thin peppercorn au jus.  Felix and I exchanged amused glances when Arlene
and Jason hummed along to a soft country & western ballad playing on the
nearby cathedral radio.  I expected a polite, velvet-gloved interrogation
from Jason at any minute, you know, the new friend's first visit routine, but
we finished dinner in relative silence, Johnny Cash's "Home of the
Blues" notwithstanding.

"What
a fabulous meal.  Thank you for having me."

"I'd
have to die, waiting for one of my sons to give me a compliment like
that." Arlene dipped her fingers into her water glass and flicked a few
drops into Felix's face, who responded by picking up his entire glass,
threatening to wing it at his mom.

Felix
cleared the plates from the table as Jason sat back and lit a large, dark
cigar.  "Do you guys have much homework?"

"We'll
be done by nine, Dad."

"Then
get to it, so you can go swimming before they close."  We began to
leave the room.  "Did you let your parents know you're spending the
night?" 

"No,
sir, I hadn't.  I will right now."  Ugh.

Felix
touched my arm.  "You can call from my room, buddy." 
Arlene and Jason sent us off with big country smiles.  I'd rather have
made that call from somewhere out in that countryside.

*

Eight
rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi,
Dad." 

"Where
the hell are you?"

"Downtown. 
A friend of mine from school invited me to spend the night.  Is that
OK?"

Pause.

"Well,
it's too late to be taking the train home, so there isn't much point in giving
you permission."

"I
have all my school stuff.  We're doing our homework together."

"You
could have called hours ago.  You'd better, next time."

"Fine."

"I
don't need that tone of voice from you, son.  Save it for your
teachers."

My
pause.

"I'll
leave a note for your mother.  Make sure you come straight home
tomorrow."

"I
will."

"By
the way, that teacher of yours, Nicolas?  He called."

My
second pause.

"Did
he leave a message?"

"He
likes the opera you gave him."

Click.

I
stared at the phone on Felix's desk until he squeezed my shoulder from
behind.  My face was blank as he handed me a white terrycloth robe,
oversized towel, and a yellow nylon bathing suit.

"Which
one did you talk to?"  The scotched one, I think.

"My
Dad."

"Was
he pissed?"

"He's
been like that for a couple of years."

*

We
finished our calculus without too much panic, our dull sociology with a sigh of
relief, and the chapter on Prokofiev rather quickly, all before
eight-thirty.  We didn't switch off using my books.  We did it
together, sitting next to each other on Felix's bed, something I had never done
before, but thought I'd like to do again. 

It
was a nice feeling, being so close to someone for so long.

I
hid the photo album in a separate pouch of my bag when Felix took a pee break.

"Are
you ready to go swimming, pal?"

"I've
been ready since dinner."

"Me,
too."

Felix
was naked before I began to pull my clothes off.  He threw a sock at my
face when he saw me watching him.  He slipped on a pair of red floral
Hawaiian print shorts, and waited for me to try on his dad's suit, which was a
little baggy on my frame.

"We
look like we've been shopping at the Salvation Army."

Arlene
and Jason's bedroom door was closed as we passed by.  The apartment was
dark, except for the television set and the skyline beyond the window.

We
rode down in the elevator ward with an old woman, who was bundled up for a cold
night's stroll and looked at us oddly, standing there in a couple of bathrobes
and bare feet.  She seemed relieved to exit at the lobby, while we
continued to the building's second basement.

Walking
into the health club, we were instantly overwhelmed by a powerful chlorine odor
from the pool.  A cute blond girl in snug green shorts and a white sweatshirt
with the club's emblem on the left breast waved us past the reception desk
after recognizing Felix.  She smiled at me as I followed my friend into
the men's locker room, where we left our robes and towels, and acknowledged two
thoroughly exhausted racquetball players who staggered in behind us.

The
pool area was large but deserted, and somewhat claustrophobic, with a low
ceiling, dark blue walls, and fairly dim lighting.  In fact, there were
more lights inside the rectangular pool itself than there were in the warm,
musty room.  It certainly had an atmosphere about it. 

We
stood at the edge of the deep end.  "Pretty nice, isn't it,
buddy?"

"You're
right.  I love it." 

"Good. 
The last one to the other side has to strip in the elevator!"

I
stared at Felix incredulously, and he winked at me.  Before he could
react, I pulled Felix' shorts halfway down to his knees and pushed him in the
water before diving in and racing to the opposite side.  I heard Felix
begin his pursuit behind me and increased my speed, coming to a halt at the
shallow end two full lengths ahead of him. 

I
jumped up and sat on the smooth concrete edge, my legs hanging in the clear
water.  Felix stroked up to my feet and spun around underwater, hurling
back toward the deep end with a push from the wall of the pool. 
Damn!  I sprang to my feet and shot back into the water, a few feet behind
him.  I nearly caught him as Felix reached the other side.

We
draped our arms over the pool's edge, out of breath.  "I won!  I
won!  I won!  Na na, na NA na!"  Felix stuck his tongue out
at me before I decided to dunk him into shutting up.  He climbed up the
back of my legs and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, pulling me
off of the edge into the chlorinated depths.  We wrestled underwater,
trying to get a better hold on each other's twisting body before stopping to
get some air.

"I'm
sick of losing races to you, Felix!"

"Hey,
that's what you get for underestimating us little guys!"

"Hm. 
Modest
and
aggressive."

"You'll
never beat me in any water sport - swimming, diving, water skiing, sailing,
whatever!"

"Too
bad you almost killed yourself getting out of
East Berlin
today."  I splashed him in the face.

"I'm
pretty proud of that!"

"Proud
of what?  Crawling under a train platform?"

"No,
putz, being good in the water."  He splashed me back. 
"Ever since I was two, we've spent the holidays at my Grandma's place down
in
Fort Myers
."

"Did
you ever learn how to play ball?"

"A
little bit.  I catch better than I throw, and run a
lot
better than
I hit.  Dad thinks I'm a natural shortstop, but I don't really play enough
to be much good."

"You
just don't want anyone calling you 'shortstop'."

"Well,
that, too."  We exchanged smiles.  "So what are you good
at?"

"Hitting." 
And keeping my hands off of you, Felix. 

"Do
you play in a league or anything?"  I shook my head regretfully.

"You
should, if you're good at it."

"I
hate groups."  I don't think I could handle having twenty three
friends all at once.

Before
Felix could encourage me further, the young receptionist trotted out from the
ladies' locker room with an armful of towels.  She pointed at a clock on
the wall.  "We're closing in a few minutes, guys." 

Felix
nodded and climbed out of the pool, eyeing her carefully as she straightened up
the chairs and switched off the underwater lights.  The dark pool seemed
scary, all of a sudden.  Felix offered his hand and helped me from the
water.

"Isn't
she cute?"

"You
should have pushed her in with me," I lied.

*

We
peeled off our suits and hurried into the shower.  Felix unnerved me when
he chose the showerhead facing mine, chatting happily about having won a swim
meet back in Cleveland while he rubbed hot water over his body and I nodded and
smiled and kept my eyes locked on him, forcing myself to listen

With
our wet suits wrapped in our towels, we headed back upstairs.  As soon as
the elevator door closed, Felix pointed at me.

"Take
off your robe."  Oh my God.  "You lost the race,
buddy.  Remember?"

"I
beat you to the shallow side," I stammered. 

"After
you pulled my trunks down, cheating bastard."  Felix must have sensed
my growing panic.  He smiled devilishly.  "I beat you
round-trip, though."

The
tiny elevator bell sounded and we reached our floor, thank God.  "Too
late, shortstop!"  I gave Felix the finger and ran out down the hall,
trying to keep my borrowed terrycloth robe out of his hands.  We stopped
at the foot of the apartment door and I wrestled the laughing Felix to the
burgundy carpet.  I began tickling him into submission, my hands reaching
into his loosening robe, poking and pinching and pulling every inch of his
soft, hairless chest, stomach, back, abdomen, and neck. Felix begged me to stop
through his hysterical laughter, completely immobilized by my assault.

As
soon as I saw it, I placed my hand around his thick erection for a moment and
held it there, a moment we were both still and silent.  "No,"
Felix whispered.  I squeezed upward once, slowly, as Felix put his hand
over mine.  "Please don't."  I let go and stood up, tightly
closing the borrowed robe around my shaking body.  Felix's face was
flushed as he slipped back into his, his eyes pointed downwards. 

My
throat was dry and tight.  I could barely breathe, afraid to imagine what
would come next.  Felix began to open the apartment door, but turned to
look at me, instead.  Our faces were filled with an odd mixture of
apprehension and wonder, staring at each other as if for the first time. 
He hesitated, trying to collect his thoughts.  I would have said something
first, if I wasn't too petrified to collect a few thoughts of my own.

"I'm
sorry."  Felix said it like he was afraid I might punch him to the
floor, or turn around and walk out into the night.

"So
am I."  I tried to smile, and my friend tried to smile back.

*

I
felt strangely reassured, listening to Felix lock the bedroom door behind us.
He did not turn on the lights.  My jeans, t-shirt, underwear, and socks
were neatly folded at the foot of the lower bunk, beside an extra comforter and
pillow.  The clothes were freshly washed.  The corner of the room was
illuminated by the metallic glow of the high-rise hotel outside the bedroom
window.  Felix stood beside me.

"Did
my Mom wash your clothes?  She's really cool that way."  I
nodded in the dark, suddenly wanting to tell Felix about my visiting
Nicolasha's house last weekend, about the fights with my Dad, about the
divorce, about the photo album, about everything, but all that came out was a
babyish little sob that made me feel like a clown.

Then
a few tears dropped down my cheeks, damn it.  I guess I was going to end
up crying all this week, now.

Felix's
arm was around my shoulders in an instant, the hallway carpet scene swept off
into some forgotten corner.  "What's the matter, buddy?  Please
don't cry."  Oh, well, that sure helped.  Now I really began to
cry, despite trying hard not to. Felix folded me into his arms, snuggled his
face against the base of my neck as his hands delicately rubbed my back, and
waited for me to cry myself out with patience.

And
I thought I was embarrassed in class today...

I
took a deep breath and stepped out of Felix's arms into the full view of his
toothy smile.  "I've never cried in front of anyone else, before
now."

Felix's
hands squeezed the side of my arms.  His voice was a tender whisper,
holding the assurance of someone who already knew the answer to the question he
was about to ask.  "Is it as bad as crying alone?"  I shook
my head silently and glanced away.  Felix squeezed my arms again.  "Does
that mean we're real pals, now?" 

I
looked back at Felix and held a hand out, oh so formally.  "How about
buddies?"

"I
like friends, better."  Felix took my hand in both of his and pressed
tightly.