Something Like Lightning

by Jay Bell

  Kelly suspected there was more to it than that. He thought again of a roofer working late, in the dark, and how unlikely that was. Or of the cologne that had smelled more like perfume. Maybe Mr. Townson had paperwork to finish in the evenings, or a client he needed to meet with. But most likely, another sort of rendezvous was taking place, and Mrs. Townson probably knew that.

  William sighed again. “I should get home. To be honest with you, I feel a little guilty having fun when I know my mom is so upset.”

  “Okay,” Kelly said. “I understand completely.”

  He drove them back to the pool hall, where William’s car was still parked. He pulled up beside it, turned off the engine, and got out of the car. William was quiet—had been during the entire drive. Maybe a goodbye kiss would cheer him up, especially since it would be his first. Then again, what sort of memory would that be? With the possibility of his parents’ divorce looming on the horizon, surely this wasn’t the best time for a blossoming romance. The timing wasn’t right. For either of them.

  “You’ll be okay,” Kelly said, walking around to the front of the car to meet William. “No matter what happens, your parents love you. That won’t change. Even if they split up—and they might not—you’ll still be the bridge that connects them. You’ll still be a family.”

  William stared a moment before throwing arms around him. Kelly stumbled under his weight, having to hug him back just to keep himself upright. Then William eased up a little, his nose and mouth pressing against Kelly’s neck, but not in a kiss.

  And it felt good. He was warm and strong and anything but reserved. Their bodies were touching in so many places, and for a brief second, William pulled Kelly even closer before letting go and stepping back.

  “Thanks,” he said. “For everything.”

  “Yeah,” was all Kelly managed to say in response.

  “Okay.” William bit his lip and nodded once. “See you at the race tomorrow.”

  “See you there,” Kelly said. He turned as William walked past him, watching him get into his car. Just before his head disappeared inside, William glanced over at him and flashed a vulnerable smile. Then Kelly got into his own car and sat there thinking, long after William had driven away.

  Chapter Five

  The triathlon began at the same public pool that partnered with the high school swim team. When Jared first signed up, Kelly had imagined him and thirty other guys diving into a lake, eventually reaching the other side and hopping onto bikes to continue their journey. While he’d gotten the number of participants about right, he’d failed to consider countless other details. Would the rest of the race be run in a swim suit? If not, when and how were they supposed to change clothes? Would they all have equally tuned bikes, or would some be better than others?

  Most of this was probably covered in the information packet given to each participant, but Kelly had only browsed through his, mostly focusing on the maps for the biking and running portions. Now that the moment was finally here, Kelly wished he’d paid more attention. At least he could rely on William. He’d know what was going on. In fact, he was already there when Kelly arrived.

  “Hey,” William said, beaming at him.

  “Hi,” Kelly responded, not feeling quite as relaxed.

  William glanced around. “Where’s your family? I’m looking forward to meeting them.”

  “Out by the finish line. I told them to wait there instead of hurrying from event to event.”

  “I told my parents the same thing,” William said, stripping off his shirt. He was already wearing nothing but running shoes and Speedos. That, and a goofy silicone swimming cap.

  Kelly had opted not to wear one since his hair was so short. And because he didn’t want to look dorky, no matter how great the advantage. He pulled off his shirt and shoved it in his backpack, eager for the sun to warm his skin. “So what now?”

  “We have to swim a quick lap to qualify for our starting positions. Then we set up our transition station.”

  “Right,” Kelly said, only vaguely understanding what that meant. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it either, since he noticed Jared coming through the pool gate, Martha in tow. This made Kelly nervous. Originally he had planned on strutting up to Jared, revealing his presence with villainous flair. But now he found he didn’t want to be seen. Kelly moved on the opposite side of William, hiding behind his bulk.

  Before long it was time to begin. Or at least get the preliminary tasks out of the way. Coach Watson blew his whistle to get their attention, asking the spectators to return to a cordoned-off area. The remaining participants gathered around the pool.

  “Thank you all for joining me for what I hope is the first of many triathlons. With the school’s backing, maybe a future race will begin with a swim across Lake Travis. For this event, I was asked to keep all activities on school property as much as possible. That created a challenge when it came to the pool, but I think I’ve come up with a fair solution. In a moment, you will each be swimming a timed lap. Your performance determines your starting position. The fastest swimmer will get to go first, the second fastest will enter the pool five seconds later, and so on.”

  Kelly did some quick mental calculations. If he achieved an average placement, he’d be behind the first swimmer by a minute or so. That was a huge disadvantage. He understood the coach’s reasoning, since if they all started at the same time from a lake shore, the fastest swimmers would pull ahead anyway. Regardless, he still found this news unnerving.

  “As you can see,” Coach Watson continued, “the pool is divided into twelve lanes of twenty-five meters each. You’ll swim to the end of one lane, touch the wall, and cross under the buoy rope to the next lane. You’ll repeat this process until you’ve worked your way through the entire pool. But first, you’ll each swim your qualifying laps. Okay, let’s start with Anderson.”

  Kelly turned to William, showing his concern.

  “You’ll be fine,” William said. “Even if we’re forced to go last, we’re still allowed to pass other people. Just swim nice and steady like I showed you.”

  This did little to allay his fears. He wished they had practiced switching lanes. Would his turn flips still be useful? Probably not if he had to visibly touch the wall at the end of each lane. And, if he was successful enough, how would passing work?

  “Phillips, you’re up!”

  He walked toward the coach, passing a familiar face on his way.

  “Kelly?” Jared’s eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open.

  Rather than reply, Kelly kept his expression calm and continued on his way, anger gobbling up his nervousness. Too black. Too gay. Too fucking fast to lose this race! Kelly was going to own this. He stepped up to the edge of the pool, put on his goggles, and nodded when the coach asked if he was ready. The shrill twirl of a whistle sent Kelly plunging into the water. Nice and steady might be what William had taught him, but this test was the equivalent of a sprint. He needed an extreme burst of speed. All he could muster. Despite his best effort, Kelly didn’t feel that fast. Not like he did when on dry land. After switching lanes, he did manage to push off against the wall, which helped. Or so he hoped.

  As he climbed out of the water, the coach was already calling the next name, giving no indication of how he’d done.

  “What do you think?” he asked William

  “Hard to say. Looked good to me.”

  He waited impatiently for the others to take their turns, only paying attention when Jared and William were qualifying. Jared did better than Kelly cared to admit. William was a torpedo, which was no surprise. When he climbed out of the water, he was smiling, like all of this was a load of fun. Kelly wished he could feel so carefree.

  “When I call your name, proceed to the transition station and set yourself up, left to right. Don’t choose a bike just because you think it looks prettier. Take whichever bike is farthest to the left and unclaimed. Okay, in the number one position... Anna Herbert.”

  Kelly lo
oked over at William, not hiding his surprise.

  William shrugged. “I never said I was the fastest.”

  “Is she on the swim team or something?”

  “Nope.”

  “Number two.” Coach Watson continued. “William Townson.”

  William nodded humbly and walked toward the lined-up bikes. Kelly stood there and listened to another name being called out. Then another. He had already accepted not being anywhere near the front when the impossible happened.

  “Number five, Kelly Phillips.”

  He jumped up and down in excitement, which was embarrassing afterwards, but so what? Out of thirty or so people competing, he managed to be in the top five. Not bad!

  He grabbed his backpack and hurried over to his bike. It looked okay. A ten-speed, just like Coach Watson had asked people to lend for the race. Kelly no longer owned one, but he’d biked enough that he wasn’t worried about this stretch. What he was currently supposed to be busying himself with was of more concern.

  “Congratulations,” William said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Kelly said. “So what exactly am I doing here? Should I douse the bike in holy water or something? Can I get a priest to bless it for me?”

  William chuckled. “Just make sure your stuff is ready to go. I put my shoes next to the rear wheel, since I’ll need them first. I’m not bothering with socks, are you? I’m also leaving my pack open, so I can pull on my bike shorts. The girl next to me is swimming in hers. That’s either clever or stupid. I can’t decide.”

  “I wouldn’t bother at all if no one was around,” Kelly said, “but I don’t want people to see me running around in scuba panties.”

  William smirked. “The pros use special suits for the entire race. Anyway, be sure to check your bike helmet too. Mine had the strap buckled, which would have slowed me down.”

  They worked together on getting him set up. Kelly had decided to drape his shirt and running shorts over the seat, happy to fret over the details since it distracted him from the pre-race jitters.

  “What are you doing here?”

  At the sound of Jared’s voice, his muscles tensed up. Kelly made sure he was wearing a cool expression before he turned around. “I took another look at that trophy and decided it would look good in my room. You didn’t have any plans for it, did you?”

  Jared’s face flushed as he stared hard at Kelly. “You’re not going to ruin this for me. Either of you.” He spared William a glance before he stormed away.

  As usual when Jared was around, Kelly’s heart thudded in his chest. But with anger this time, not affection. He stared after his former best friend, shaking his head.

  “Geez, you must really like him,” William said.

  “Seriously?” Kelly said through gritted teeth. “That’s the vibe you’re getting?”

  William shrugged and frowned. “If you didn’t care about him, you wouldn’t get so upset. It signifies an emotional investment or whatever.”

  “‘Whatever’ is right.” Kelly returned his attention to the bike. He tested the brake handles and adjusted the seat. When he turned back around, William was gone. Kelly exhaled. Maybe he really should let it all go, start having fun like William did. Then again, he’d come this far. Why quit now when his plan was so near completion? Satisfied he was set up correctly, Kelly stepped forward, counting down the row to where Jared was. Number seventeen. Ouch. He’d have to wait for eleven other swimmers to hop into the pool before he could give chase. That had to sting.

  Soon they lined up according to number. Coach Watson had one more lecture for them before they were allowed to begin. “Play nice out there. If you need to pass someone in the pool, tap their left foot. If someone taps your foot, once you reach the end of the lane, let them go ahead of you. This isn’t a game of tag and it’s not a demolition derby. If I see anyone playing rough out there, I’ll pull you out of the race and you can go home. Practice good sportsmanship. Your friends and family are watching you. Make them proud.”

  That’s exactly what Kelly intended to do by being first across the finish line. He felt a little less confident when Anna splashed into the water. She was a little chubby, but this didn’t seem to hinder her as she practically glided across the pool. Then came William, churning along like some kind of machine. He was already four lanes over when Kelly stepped up to the edge of the pool. Just before the whistle blew, he saw William steal the lead from Anna.

  Then Kelly was swimming, trying to remember everything William had taught him. Nice and steady. That made sense because twelve lanes was a lot, and he’d still need plenty of energy for the rest of the race. Besides, he already had a strong lead. He only needed to maintain it, hop on a bike, and afterwards do what he did best. Kelly focused on his technique, feeling surprisingly calm as he proceeded. He was in the tenth lane when his hand brushed someone. At the end of the lane, the other swimmer grabbed the wall, trying to catch his breath as Kelly moved ahead. Fourth place now! Just two lanes to go!

  Finally it was over. Kelly climbed out of the pool, accepted the towel offered to him, and dried off while rushing toward the bikes.

  “No running, no running!” Coach Watson shouted.

  “Not yet,” Kelly murmured to himself, feeling cocky. Soon there would be some real running!

  He felt a little less confident when he reached the bicycles. The guy in third place was still getting dressed, but Anna and William were already gone. Kelly rushed, putting his shirt on backwards but catching his mistake before he had both arms in. Just a few seconds lost, but those could add up quickly. Another person joined him at the bikes. Then another and another. Kelly struggled to get his helmet on correctly. Once he finally did, he hopped onto his bike, glancing over once and seeing Jared just reaching his. Ha! Way too far behind!

  Kelly abandoned his insecurity and instead focused on the route ahead. The roads were blocked off for twelve kilometers—about seven miles—in a route that wove in a broad circle around the school. After that, a five-kilometer run would end directly on campus. Easy. Kelly’s legs felt kind of funny after swimming, sort of like jelly, so he switched down to a lower gear.

  Or he tried to. The gear released but didn’t catch again, his legs freewheeling but not applying any force. He coasted forward like a car out of fuel, trying a few more times before the gear finally caught. He had no idea what it ended up on, but he was still pedaling like crazy and barely moving forward. Swearing, he kept fiddling with the gears. Finally it returned to something more normal. A few bicycles zipped passed him. How did he rank now? Fifth place? Sixth? Kelly leaned forward and pedaled harder, but he still didn’t move as fast as he thought he should. When another cyclist overtook him, he decided to risk it and tried changing gears again.

  This time it caught right away, but pedaling became extremely difficult, so he switched again. And again and again, trying to find one he actually liked. He cussed, wishing for the dirt bike he’d had as a kid. Pedal hard and you went fast. Simple as that. He passed a water station, but ignored the person who rushed out to meet him with a drink. Instead he kept fiddling with the gears, finally settling on one that seemed slightly less terrible than the others. He finished the rest of the route this way, groaning each time another bike passed him. He was dismounting and ignoring another offer of water when a bike skidded to a halt right next to his.

  Jared. Kelly didn’t hesitate, didn’t waste any time delivering a one-liner. He just ran. Before Jared could get off his bike, Kelly was running. This was it. The real race began here, and the stupid bike had cost him his lead.

  Three miles. Kelly kept repeating this like a mantra. Others were probably bemoaning the distance, wondering how they would ever make it, but to Kelly the number was hopeful. Three miles was long enough for the others to get tired and for him to make up for lost time. Sure enough, he caught up with and passed one person. Then another. He could win this! Of course Jared was probably thinking the same thing. Kelly glanced back once to see
him not far behind. Not far at all. Then he faced forward and let the world melt away. Just a blur of cars parked on the side of the road, a barber shop on the corner, a little girl waving a rainbow pinwheel like a flag as her mother held her back. Another offer of water ignored, Anna Herbert standing there and shaking her head as he passed by. Carefully pruned trees, a cracked sidewalk, a confused old man yanking on his small dog’s leash as Kelly leapt over the living obstacle. All these images were slightly distorted and fleeting, like a slideshow of impressionist paintings.

  He rounded the corner, running out into a blocked-off street. Then the world came back into focus as Kelly saw three things: William, the school, and the finish line. He forced himself to maintain the same pace until he was closer. Even this was enough to bring him shoulder to shoulder with William. For a moment they ran alongside each other, William glancing over in surprise before smiling and saying two words. “Win this.” Kelly grinned at him and nodded.

  At that exact moment, Jared passed them both.

  Kelly didn’t let this deter him. He channeled his reserves, burning the last of his energy and shooting forward, catching up with Jared in just a few loping paces. The rest wouldn’t be so easy. Kelly pushed himself, but so did Jared. Neither one was holding back now, having entered those last crucial moments. If one of them didn’t pull ahead, they would cross at the same time. A tie! A lousy crappy stalemate! Neither would find satisfaction in that. Kelly dug deep, searching for some untapped source of energy, some hitherto undiscovered miracle juice.

  “Ungh!”

  An ugly sound, like a sack of meat hitting the ground and rolling. Kelly glanced over, but his rival was still there. Confused, he looked back, his mind screaming that even this might be enough to cost him the race. William was on the ground, curled up on his side. Kelly felt like he’d been punched in the gut. The wind left his lungs when he needed it most, his limbs locking up as he instinctively skidded to a stop. Then he kept running, but in the opposite direction. He reached William’s side in seconds, surprised by just how close he was. That he’d been able to keep up at all was impressive.