While Marcus wrestled with the thoughts in his head, Li had yet to let go of Marcus' hand and was still shaking it somewhat listlessly. Marcus normally would have called the taller boy out on this, playfully, but he was far too distracted to notice. As it was, the next sentence out of Li's mouth came as a complete surprise to Marcus.
"Hey...you wouldn't want to come over today, would you? I mean...I know how it goes, you being a senior and me being a dumb freshman and all but...I had a lot of fun today and..I don't really no anyone else in the school so..."
Marcus hastily let go of Li's hand, his palm feeling slightly sweaty, not sure how to respond. It was almost like Li had seen into his mind, noticed what he was struggling with, and had decided to make it easy for him. Li was starting to look unsure now, wiping his hand carelessly on his jersey. eyes focused on Marcus. The older boy finally found his voice and said, "Sure! Uh...today? Like right now you mean?"
Li nodded and said, "My parents are both at work until late so we'd have the place to ourselves. It's a pretty nice place and I have a basketball hoop in my driveway so we could practice more if we wanted if watching TV isn't your thing."
Marcus noted how nervous the teen seemed. It was hard to remember, sometimes, with Li being so tall, that he was only a young freshman and on top of that, newly moved not only to the town but the whole country! Marcus smiled reassuringly and said, "Alright! I like watching TV just fine."
Li's face broke out in a smile as Marcus agreed. "Awesome! Let's change first and we can go!"
Marcus followed Li into the changing room, having to walk a bit faster to keep up with the Asian teens longer, smooth legs...Marcus shook his head slightly, keeping his eyes up as they walked to the bank of lockers. Li immediately began to strip, much to Marcus' chagrin (and delight), Li's smooth, brown colored chest soon fully on display. He had a nice athletic build, his torso appearing a bit longer than average, no doubt due to his impressive height. There was not a trace of hair, except for a few wisps traveling down from his navel past his waistband, no doubt joining a modest collection of similar hairs. Marcus gulped slightly as Li hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of his shorts, pulling them down, letting them pool around his large bare feet, his shoes and socks already set aside. "Feels like I'm going to need new shoes soon..." He muttered, glancing over at Marcus. Noticing the staring, he raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Uh...you can change too you know. That's why we're in the locker room."
Marcus jumped, blushing slightly. "I know! I was just..." He stopped as he realized there really was no way to end that sentence without the honest truth. So he merely let the sentence drift off into nothingness, yanking his own jersey off shortly after. He tossed it aside when he notice Li smiling at him, a fresh pair of briefs already pulled up around his slender hips. His almond shaped eyes traveled over Marcus' exposed torso, along his pecs and abs.
"Do you lift or something?" Li asked, his eyes slowly locking with Marcus'. "You look bigger than your average basketball player."
Marcus nodded a little and said, "Yeah, a few days a week. Nothing wrong with working up a little extra strength and endurance."
"Yeah, that makes sense...I'm always afraid building muscle would start making me slower though." Li said, pulling on a pair of jeans.
"Speed would only end up being an issue if you ended up looking like a linebacker." Marcus said, chuckling as he stripped down completely, making sure Li was bent over picking up a shirt before changing out of his jockstrap and into a breezy pair of boxers.
"No worries about that happening." Li said with a grin. "No matter how much I eat I never gain any weight. I'm surprised I even have this little bit of muscle." He gently pounded on his exposed chest, a low thumping sound accompanying the movement.
"Consider yourself lucky man...If I go off my diet even a little I blow up like a balloon." Marcus said ruefully, buttoning his shirt.
Li just laughed, bending over slightly and holding his stomach. "S-Sorry...but that's way too funny of an image!"
Marcus looked annoyed for a second before snickering a little, full on laughs bursting out shortly after. It was just too infectious! It was nice to be able to talk to Li like they were good friends rather than the tense little bursts they'd been having before. Li was so easy to talk to, it was like they had known each other for years. It was nice to know he was warm and friendly on top of everything else Marcus already liked about him...
After getting dressed they slung their backpacks on and headed to Li's house, the taller teen leading the way slightly. Marcus was surprised when he noticed they seemed to be heading to the area of town known as "The Hills". It wasn't really called that officially; it was merely the nickname the students had given the entire area, a kind of gated off area where all the richest people lived. A less charitable version of the nickname was "Snob Hill" but that one was more the favorite of the older residents of the town. Marcus' surprise was only deepened when Li led him right through the gate fifteen minutes later, after trudging up the slight incline of the hill. His jaw plain dropped open when he saw what could only be described as a mansion. It was two stories tall and almost ridiculously wide seeming, the front door situated between two massive pillars that connected with a balcony on the second floor, no doubt leading into a bedroom. The driveway in front of it was long and slightly twisty, not to mention wide enough that two vans could drive down it comfortably side by side; and judging by the two door garage, they might very well have two vans.
Li rubbed the back of his head as he noticed Marcus' shock. "Yeah...we're...kind of rich...." His face turned a little red, as though the very idea of wealth embarrassed him. "My parents are both doctors and we ended up moving here for better opportunities...They're not exactly thrilled I want to play basketball rather than pursue a more "stable" profession."
"Wait..." Marcus said, quickly collecting himself. "Both your parents are...doctors? Isn't that pretty stereotypical?"
Li stared at Marcus for a second before snorting, sounding kind of relieved. "I guess I never thought about that...it's only a stereotype here! Where I'm from, it's called "being smart"."
They both laughed at that, walking up the driveway together. Li pulled out a small house key from his pocket, unlocking the door. "I'm a latchkey kid." He explained, slipping the key back into his pocket. "Always have been pretty much."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Marcus asked, taking his shoes off and setting them aside.
"Nope! It's just me and my parents. You know....China." Li said, raising both eyebrows in a knowing look.
"Oh. Oh! ....Oh." Marcus said, slowly understanding what Li was getting at. "Did you ever want a brother or a sister?"
Li shrugged and said, "I don't know. I just got used to being the only kid. It's nice to have my own room though."
Marcus looked around the house as they headed up to Li's room, the stairs covered in a thick carpet that made Marcus want to take his socks off and just drive his toes deep into it. The house was just as impressive inside as out, decked out in a style that combined both Western and Eastern tastes. Li's room, on the other hand, was more modern. A TV was against one wall, a video game system hooked up to it, an expensive looking laptop was on the desk in the far corner, and his king sized bed was against the wall, under the window. The room was at least twice the size of Marcus', posters covering the walls featuring various basketball players and a few that depicted Chinese actors, surrounded in writing that was completely foreign to Marcus.
"Do you speak Chinese?" He asked, looking closer at one poster.
"是的，有点." Li said, Marcus looking over at him in surprise. Li chuckled and said, "Yes, a little. I'm not sure if I was even saying it right though..."
"Sounded pretty impressive to me!" Marcus said, walking over to Li's desk. A medicine bottle immediately caught his eye, more Chinese writing printed on it. It looked like it was filled with pills of some kind. "Hey...do you have a medical condition or something? If you don't want to tell me you don't have to."
Li stiffened slightly as he looked at the bottle. "No...I don't. That's just...you know, a...herbal supplement. To keep me healthy."
He seemed incredibly uncomfortable as he headed for the door to his room. "Anyway...do you want a soda or a Gatorade or anything like that?"
"Sure, sure." Marcus said, watching Li leave and head down the stairs. It couldn't be...could it? He picked up the bottle and popped it open. The pills appeared to be ordinary capsules filled with a brown powder. Was this Li's secret? The reason why he was so incredibly tall despite his age? Marcus didn't want to believe it...Li didn't seem like the kind of guy who cheated...but then why had he been acting so suspiciously? Marcus shook a few of the pills out onto his hand, examining them more closely. Before he got too far, he heard Li heading up the stairs again! He quickly shoved the pills into his pocket and moved away from the desk.
"We're all out of soda so all we have is Gatorade. That okay?" Li asked, holding up two bottles.
"Uh...yeah! Listen Li..." Marcus said, moving in closer...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
