The Gods of Song and Poetry

Chapter 21 - Glass Closet

Chapter 21 - Glass Closet

"Hey Analee, sitting all alone? Mind if we keep you company?"

I was sitting on the bleachers waiting for the girls' volleyball game to start when Mark and John came over to sit by me.

"Have a seat. I'm just waiting for my parents." After they sat down, John leaned towards me.

"So, come on, you have to tell us what's going on with you and Coach F."

"I told you, we're just friends."

Mark held his phone up, showing me Tara's picture of Kala and me spooning. They were grinning like idiots.

"Oh for Frack's sake," I said. "I figured that would pop up again. Look, nothing happened. We fell asleep in the same bed, and ended up cuddling. She's like my older sister."

Mark took a closer look at the picture. "Yeah but, she's naked, isn't she? There's no bra strap or anything."

"Eh...well..." I cleverly retorted.

They actually high-fived each other, then offered me the same gesture. I left them hanging.

"Okay, she's naked. She was telling me the story of her tattoo, which is really very beautiful and sentimental, by the way. After that, we just fell asleep. Tara was there, too. Nothing happened. I swear by the gods of social media. No kissing, no nothing. I am not. Dating. Kala."

The boys looked disappointed, but disposed to believe me.

"Still," John said, "you got to see her naked. That had to be nice."

"You two need girlfriends so you can stop trying to live vicariously through the token lesbian. Now put your phone away, my parents just walked in."

My parents took their seats just as the girls were coming out of the locker room to get warmed up. They greeted Mark and John, and handed me a bag of popcorn from the concession stand.

Kala walked into the gym along with the head coach. She scanned the bleachers as she had the last two games, looking at where I usually sit. She gave me a big smile and a wave. I returned both. Five people reacted to this.

First, Mark and John looked at me with big smiles and teasing eyes. I ignored them.

Secondly, my mom leaned over and asked loudly enough that Mark and John heard, "Is that the girl you're dating?"

I hissed, "No, mom! She's my friend from the Labor Day picnic, remember?"

"Of course," my dad responded a little too enthusiastically, making my mom glare at him. He took a mouthful of popcorn and pretended to be very interested in watching the teams warm up.

Finally, Kelly watched Kala waving, then turned to look at me waving back. She didn't show any emotion, but she looked away pretty quickly. I had to admit, if she were friends with a smoking hot bisexual girl who had been known to cuddle naked with her, I would be thinking all kinds of things whenever they interacted. I knew I needed to talk to her about it.

* * *

Lying in bed that night, I called Kelly.

"Hey beautiful, great game tonight."

"Thanks, gorgeous. I saw you stand up and cheer when I blocked that spike. I felt like I had a cheerleader." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You deserve one. That girl spiking the ball was a giant! How can you jump like that?"

"She wasn't that tall."

"Seven feet at least! That's how I'll tell the story, anyway." Then I got more serious, "Kelly, can I ask you something?"