Jeffery is a sports reporter in a small city. He’s always played it safe in life, until he met Troy, a skate boarding, extreme sports fanatic. Now, he’s got to risk his safe life and safe job, or let this once in a lifetime chance roll on by.
Troy has always been ready to push boundaries. He’s overcome extreme obstacles to get the life he has, and he’s not interested in compromising it. When Jeffery appears on his turf, he has to do a double take. Here’s a guy he could go the distance for. If only Jeffery would loosen up and live a little…
While their true story hasn’t been written yet, they met in their last year of high-school, and that moment is on paper, un-edited, but here as a taste of what might come for these two. I’m happy to share it with you all below.
First Encounter
Jeffery watched the boarders roll up one side of the half pipe and down the other. He’d moved from his bench under the trees to the bleachers to see better. Heat from the afternoon sun kissed the skin of his bare arms. This first nice day of spring made the outing worthwhile even if he didn’t get much information for his article from it.
A young boy, maybe ten years old, rolled down the side of the pipe, fell off his board and skidded about six feet across the bottom of the pipe. He stayed down a few seconds before an older blond, a boy about Jeffery’s own age, drifted down to the fallen kid and hopped off his board. The blond crouched, elbows propped on his knees, and spoke to the fallen boy. Jeffery couldn’t hear the exchange, but after a minute, the boy got up, picked up his board and they both climbed back to the top of the pipe. Together, they rolled down again, the blond carefully keeping out of the younger boy’s way. At the bottom, the kid broke into a grin, picked up his board, and hauled ass up to the top again.
Jeffery watched their progress a while longer, until the young boy checked his watch, grabbed his board and headed out of the park with a wave and smile tossed over his shoulder to his mentor. The blond waved back, tipped off the lip of the pipe and careened downward, up the other side where he flipped around and headed back down and up again. Jeffery’s heart gave a little stammer as the blonde’s board went completely airborne his body almost parallel to the ground, before the wheel made contact with the pipe again and he was barrelling back down and up the other side once more.
He took each pass higher and every downward plunge faster. Jeffery watched every trick, often catching his breath as the guy flipped right upside down, or turned his board all the way around in mid-air, only to land safely and roll back down the rounded surface. Jeffery found himself breathing hard and his mouth gaping by the time the skater reached the top, hopped off, snatched up the board and disappeared over the outside lip of the rink.
Reluctant, Jeffery brought his attention back to the other skaters. For another few minutes, he watched, took a few more notes, sipped at his warm, flat pop, but found the thrill had left the park with the blond. He stood with a sigh to pack up.
“See anything you like?”
Jeffery jumped, whirling in place and almost tumbling form the stands. “What?”
The blond boy stood at the bottom of the bleachers, a sweaty hank of hair escaped from a messy ponytail falling in front of his tiny sunglasses. His gaze travelled from Jeffery’s face, down his body and back up to meet the flush that heated Jeffery’s cheeks. A grin split the other boy’s face, lifting his lips, lightening his green eyes.
Jeffery shifted, jumping to the ground a few feet from him, and shoved his own glasses up the bridge of his nose with the pad of his thumb.
“I asked if you saw anything you liked.”
“I—”
“Taking notes?” One sun-brown finger poked the notebook Jeffery held against his chest.
“Paper,” Jeffery blurted. “I’m doing an article in the school newspaper.
“Oooh. Us boarders warrant an article in the school paper these days?”
“They – the city – want to close the park. I was doing research to see if they should or not.”
“It’s the only skate-board park in the city. They can’t close it.” The green eyes darkened and a delicate frown lines appeared between them.
“The neighbours think it’s an eye-sore.” Jeffery studied the drab grey concrete and cracked cement . “It is kind of ugly. And loud.”
“You really think so?” He scanned the area as well, and the frown lines disappeared. His features softened. “I like it here.” He tapped the board propped against his leg and turned back to Jeffery. “Practically grew up on this thing.”
“You do look like you know what you’re doing.”
Best boarder around.” His thin chest puffed out a bit. “So what are you going to include in your article?”
“Haven’t decided yet.” Jeffery retrieved his bag and slung it over his shoulder, stuffed his book inside and returned to the ground. “Got a few interviews with some local residents, and the guy who runs the Chicken Little place.”
“He hates kids.”
“I got that during the interview, yeah.”
“You talk to anyone who uses the park?”
Jeffery looked up, surprised by the challenge in the other boy’s voice. “You interested?”
“Oh.” That grin opened up his face again, causing heat to flare up through Jeffery’s face and a little wibble of nerves in his stomach. “I’m interested.”
When Jeffery didn’t say anything, mostly because he wasn’t quite sure if he was being made fun of, the boy laughed happily and knocked him on the shoulder. “Buy me a burger and I’ll answer all your questions.”
“Okay.”
The skateboard hit the ground with a slight clunk and rolled off down the path, blond on board, smoothly pushing along the path with one foot. Jeffery jerked into a jog, pressed his glasses up his nose and appreciated the view his inability to keep up provided.
At the end of the concrete path, the skater stopped, jumped off the board, stepped on one end and caught it his left hand, every movement smooth, precise, perfect. Completely natural. Jeffery swallowed hard and forced himself to look at the boy’s face.
An easy grin greeted his gaze. “We’ll go to the canteen. Lizzie flips a mean patty.”
Jeffery blushed ferociously. Again. He ducked his head, but only received another thump on his shoulder.
“It’s okay. I think it’s cute.”
It only made the heat rise further, spread further, until it warmed him inside, too.
“After you.” Jeffery followed where the tanned arm pointed down the narrow dirt track that lead across the grass to the canteen. His companion hopped over the flower bed that bordered the path to swing his sneakered feet through the grass as they walked.
“What kind of things do you want to know?” he asked.
“Your name.” Jeffery shoved his glasses up. “I need your name. For the article.”
“Right.” Even his voice grinned. “It’s Troy. Troy Wakefield.”
Jeffery nodded. “I’m Jeffery . Jeff. Kindle.”
For a minute they walked in silence, then Troy danced back over the flower bed to stop in the path facing Jeffery. “So, Jeffery Kindle. After this interview, do you think you might like to go somewhere?” Troy stuffed his free hand into the pocket of his baggy jeans, kicked at the earth, before looking up at Jeffery over the tops of his sunglasses, through the wavy wisps of hair.
“Somewhere?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. His lanky body seemed to fold in a little on itself. “You know, like a movie or something.”
“Like…a date?” Jeffery’s heart skipped right past racing to stopped.
Troy gave another little shrug. “Yeah.” It was just a bare whisper, and Troy was no longer looking at him.
Jeffery’s mouth went dry and he almost reached over to touch the bare arm in reassurance. “Yes!” He cleared his throat. “You know,” he gave his own shrug and shifted the strap of his bag. “Sure.”
Another bright grin got Jeffery’s heart beating double time as they entered the shade under the canteen’s canopy.
That article, and the movie to follow, were only the beginning. By the time Jeffery had graduated from his college journalism class and Troy had made his mark on the professional skate boarding circuit, they had almost four years of movies and hamburgers together and six months of waking up in the same bed behind them.
