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Rhett waited patiently at the sideline until the time was right to shoot his 77th 3-pointer of the season. With five seconds left on the clock and the Harnett Central Trojans down by 2, number 23 passed Rhett the ball and he took aim at the basketball hoop, feeling every eye in the room on him as he lifted his arms and threw the ball. It soared through the air and barely slipped past the fingertips of those on the other team trying to stop it. The crowd roared as the buzzer sounded to end the game, and the whole Harnett Central High School team rushed to embrace Rhett and congratulate him enthusiastically as the other team sulked off the court. The HCHS cheerleading squad chanted their victory cheer, before its tallest member, Link Neal, ran to catch up with the basketball team’s star player. Link had joined the cheerleading squad as a joke, but found that it allowed him to spend a lot more time with Rhett than he otherwise would have. Being two of the closest friends to ever exist, that was an important priority for both of the boys.
“Hey, Rhett!” Link exclaimed when he was almost beside Rhett, “Great job out there, buddy! That’s the school record in the bag!"
“Yeah, man, thanks!” Rhett answered him, sweat dripping off his face from the intensity of the close game. “Great job, uh, cheering,” Rhett said with a chuckle.
“Thanks, I try” Link replied sarcastically, smiling lopsidedly at his best friend. “Whaddaya say we meet up after this?"
“Well, Brooks Lee is having a party at his house to celebrate the win, so I’ll be there, and I hear all the cheerleaders are invited!” Rhett explained.
“Does that include the 6-foot tall, hairy cheerleader?” Link asked, his smile glinting under the bright lights of the gym.
“I don’t see why not, man!” Rhett laughed, “I gotta go home and get a shower first, we’re all meeting at Brooks’ house at 8. See you there?"
“Wouldn’t miss it for anything, brother.” Link replied, parting ways with Rhett and heading to his car. He, too, needed a shower after that nerve-racking game.
As he opened the car door and took his seat behind the steering wheel, Link marveled at Rhett’s exceptional talent for sports. Of course, Link was decent at soccer, and he’d kept score for the women’s basketball team last year, but he didn’t have the same passion and sheer aptitude for sports that his taller blonde friend had. Sometimes, Link was even jealous of Rhett’s abilities, but he knew that he, too, had a lot to offer to the world. The only thing that really troubled Link was the prospect of Rhett going to a different college than him. If Rhett took a basketball scholarship, Link would either have to enroll in whatever school the scholarship came from, or go off to college without his best friend whom he’d taken a blood oath with in middle school. Neither option seemed remotely inviting, but Link decided now was the time for a shower and celebration, not worrying about something that wouldn’t be a real problem for a few more months.
Link made it home and immediately stripped his HCHS sweatpants and t-shirt off and got into the shower after making sure the water was at an optimal temperature. Letting the hot water wash over his tired body, Link tried to push away worries of not seeing Rhett again after this year. Surely this was a ridiculous fear; Rhett would never abandon him for sports, would he? Surely not, Link decided as he shampooed his jet black hair and washed the sweat from his body. The thought of Rhett leaving was not one Link wanted to entertain, but it always weaseled back into his brain somehow. Perhaps it was the slight crush he had begun to develop for the basketball star, something Link adamantly denied publicly but knew to be painfully real, as did many of Link’s close friends. Quickly rinsing off, Link stepped out into the steam-filled bathroom, grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist, and went to his bedroom to dress for the party. It was nearly 7:40, so Link didn’t have much time before he would have to leave for said party. He quickly decided to wear a blue flannel shirt and black jeans, donning them quickly along with a pair of blue high-top sneakers.
Link arrived at Brooks Lee’s house at exactly 8, to find that it was packed to the brim with people. There were a handful of teens sitting outside on the porch due to the sheer volume of people contained within the house. Link said hello to the three cheerleaders and three basketball players hanging out on the wicker chairs on the porch, before entering the borderline mosh pit that was Brooks Lee’s sprawling Ranch House. Apparently, almost the entire high school decided to show up to this party, because Link couldn’t even see a foot in front of him due to the amount of people packed into the large living room. Squeezing by into the kitchen, Link finally spotted his friend standing by the island, talking to a junior cheerleader named Samantha. Noticing Link standing there, Rhett quickly ended the conversation with the redheaded girl and turned to greet his best friend of eleven years with a tight hug.
“Hey, Link, I’m glad you came!” Rhett said loudly into the shorter boy’s ear to be heard over the booming music that was blasting throughout the house. “It’s pretty damn crowded in here."
“You’re telling me!” Link yelled back. “Do you want to go see what the guys are doing?” Rhett nodded and the pair quickly surveyed the area from their elevated view to find the rest of their friend group, who were located in the den. John and his girlfriend Stacey were there sitting on the sofa, and four of Rhett and Link’s other friends were seated in a circle on the floor playing some form of drinking game, which turned out to be “would you rather.” The procedure is that one player poses a choice to the rest, and the players who are in the minority, after everyone shares their answers simultaneously, has to drink. Rhett and Link sat down and the circle expanded to include them.
“Oh, hey guys!” Their friend Adam greeted them. “Glad you came to join us. I believe it’s Gabe’s turn to give a question."
Gabe nodded eagerly and began, “Would you rather A, lick a hobo’s armpit, or B, have a hobo lick your armpit.” The other 5 people in the circle grimaced and Link let out a disgusted “ewgh," but they weighed the options in their minds. After a moment, Gabe counted down from 3 and everyone blurted out their answers, resulting in Rhett and Colleen having to drink since they were the only two who decided on A. Link shot Rhett a disturbed look, “That’s nasty, man, why would you lick a hobo’s armpit?!"
“I wouldn’t, man, we’re late to the game, remember? We gotta drink and catch up with everyone else! Duhh.” Rhett replied matter-of-factly. Link seemed to understand and was silent as Carole delivered her question to the group.
The game continued somewhat uneventfully until it was Adam’s turn again, at which point he shot the dynamic duo a mischievous look.
“That can’t be a good sign,” Rhett pointed out, not even buzzed after his 3 shots due to his ursine body mass.
Adam cleared his throat and posed his question, looking Link right in the eye, “Would you rather A, kiss your best friend, or B, never see him again?” Adam was one of those close friends who knew the majority of Link’s fears when it came to Rhett heading off to college potentially without him. Adam also unfortunately knew of Link’s harbored attraction for the 6’7” man and, due to the alcohol, felt it was appropriate to share that information. Link’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and he made a weak choking sound. Awkward silence hung in the air and all eyes were on the raven-haired boy.
“This question is invasive and targeted clearly at me!” Link finally gasped, offended that his friend would sell him out like this, even though both were under the influence of alcohol. “I quit, see y’all on Monday,” Link spat, rising from his position on the floor and walking out the back door. As he was approaching his car to leave the scene, Link heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind him and the distinct squeak of the screen door flapping shut. Not slowing down, Link struggled to contain his frustration as his friend Rhett appeared beside him, easily keeping with the pace due to his extremely long legs.
“Link, what happened, man?” Rhett asked, distressed at Link’s storming out, “Are you ok?"
“Why wouldn’t I be ok?” Link deadpanned, keeping his eyes locked on his car as he reached the curb.
“Well, you made a sound like a strangled pigeon and left the party, brother, I have a right to be concerned.” Rhett explained, as if Link was not aware of these facts. “What did Adam mean by ‘never see him again,’ Link?"
“We’re seniors, man, we’re going to college in a year. It’s bound to happen.” Link replied, trying to sound nonchalant but being betrayed by the tears welling up in his sky blue eyes.
“That doesn’t mean I’d never see you again, brother. We made a blood oath! You’re stuck with me, dude, like it or not.” Rhett assured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“But what if you get a sports scholarship and end up going to Duke instead of NCSU? There’s no way I’d even get in there!” Link stated in distress.
“If you couldn’t go, I wouldn’t go, LInk. I promise.” Rhett said, pulling his upset friend into a tight hug. “That doesn’t exactly resolve the other half of Adam’s question, though.” He said, with a slightly troubled expression.
“It’s not important,” Link said, once again being sold out by his appearance as a heavy blush rose to his face.
“Drunk words are sober thoughts, man, Adam wouldn’t just pull something like that out of thin air.” Rhett fished for a reaction from Link, anything to signal that his own feelings were requited. The two fell silent.
“I’m going home, brother, I’ll see you.” Link mumbled, getting into the car. Rhett immediately got into the passenger seat before Link could react.
“I’m coming with you, then,” Rhett insisted, “I won’t leave you alone till you tell me the truth. We’re blood brothers, Link, there are no secrets."
Link hesitantly put the car in gear and began driving to Rhett’s house to drop him off. It seemed he had finally been found out, and there was no escaping it. He would finally have to own up to the stupid crush he’d been stuffing down inside his mind for a decade. “It’s a stupid crush, Rhett, I’m not going to say anything more on the subject! Our friendship is way too special to ruin with something that ridiculous, and that’s the end of that.” He stopped, not looking over at his friend once until he pulled up to the taller man’s home. In the midst of the silence after the engine was cut, Rhett spoke up.
“I think we should.” He said timidly but resolutely.
“Should what?” Link asked dumbly, finally turning his head to look at Rhett.
“We should kiss, if you want to anyway.” Rhett answered, shrugging, “I don’t think it’d change things too drastically. If it does, it can’t be a bad thing, right?"
Link was dumbfounded; Surely Rhett had not returned his affections all these years without saying anything. He had, though, and now all the feelings they’d both locked away were coming to a head on this one rollercoaster of a night. Rhett, tired of waiting for an answer, slowly leaned across the center console to place his large hand on the side of Link’s face, tilting ever so slightly to the right and looking into Link’s scared and distressed blue eyes. Something in Rhett’s warm touch told Link there was nothing to worry about, and after a moment of hesitation, Link leaned as well, and after what seemed like an eternity, their lips connected in an emotion-filled and genuine kiss that lasted longer than a peck but was nothing more than a brief connection. Although it wasn’t the erotic firework display some might imagine it to be, the kiss was beyond perfect in both of their minds, and as Rhett pulled away to head into his house, the two made a silent agreement that this would not be the last kiss they shared. Link found himself reminiscing about the feeling of Rhett’s lips on his until the wee hours of the morning, and could hardly wait to see him again. Maybe this crush wasn’t such a terrible circumstance after all.