The Outside Lines (boyxboy) - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Noah's POV
So, what crazy adventure are we onto next. I asked Taylor as I slowly twirled through the parking lot.
She shrugged. "Dunno." There was a silence. "Maybe we could have a walk around town and look for something interesting."
"That sounds like fun." Nathan chimed in, still in the process of devouring that poor slice of cake.
He's quite the slice himself. Nooo, shut up Noah!
"Noah and I already had a gander in that direction." She pointed north.
"Let's go..." I trailed, trying to decide which direction looked the most interesting. "There." My finger pointed north-west. The streets looked faintly decorated for the on coming fall season.
The others didn't disagree so I marched off, leading the charge.
Our footsteps all had unique sounds. Mine were pretty average, Taylor's were faint and infrequent, while Nathan's were solid. I found myself paying attention to the oddest things to pass the time.
I hopped along the stone walls accompanying the sidewalk. I grabbed onto the fences, swinging bar to bar and kicked rocks along the way.
"Your leg's doing well I see." Nathan pointed out with a smile.
"Oh, yeah." I replied awkwardly. "It took a bit, but it's finally almost healed."
"Awesome, that means you can participate in PE." He noted. He was right, and I couldn't wait for it! I finally had an excuse to be active again, and this time it didn't have to involve Chad!
What sounded like a party in the distance caught the group's attention. Taylor and I paced ahead to see what all the commotion was about. If it were an actual party, I had every intention of crashing it. We reached a left turn and were greeted by a large opening of land inhabited by several bodies. I decided to go up to someone and ask what was going on. I trudged through the semi-soggy grass dividing where we stood from the rest of the land. After reaching the other side of the baby swamp I reached an older woman cheering for... someone?
"Hey, my friends and I were just passing by and saw everyone over here, what's going on?" I inquired, slipping my hands into my pocket.
"Oh hello." The woman greeted, turning around to face me. "Every few months or so the local community gathers together and compete in silly tournaments and games. It's just an excuse for us to get together and have an all around good time." She explained in her heavy southern accent.
"Oh that sounds awesome!" I beamed, excitement dominating my tone. It was such a cool idea.
"Y'all are welcome to join. There are several outsiders competing in the race already." She pointed to the old looking running track with her beer.
"Oh, I'm good at running. Taylor, let's do it!" I pestered my best friend.
"I don't know, I wanna see how this plays out." She said furrowing a brow.
"Let's go to the field then!" I pressed, already half sprinting before she agreed. Nathan just caught up to us as soon as we began to move again. It made me feel a little bad for him, but oh well.
"Entires for the next race, line up here!" Some guy with a megaphone yelled from atop a small wooden lookout. "The rules are simple; find a partner, carry them to the checkpoint, and your partner will take on the rest of the race from there on." The man explained.
"Taylor please! Now you have to do it!" I pestered her again. "I really want to run."
"Neither of us have the muscle to carry each other to the checkpoint." She pointed out.
"C'mon, I'm not that heavy." I pouted.
"Well neither am I." She retorted narrowing her brow.
"Have Nathan do it." She crossed her arms and nudged her head to the big guy staring off into space next to us.
"Huh? Oh, sure, let's do this!" He responded enthusiastically, taking a few steps in my direction.
I scowled at Taylor.
*sigh* I guess I can't say no at this point.
"We have to line up over there." I informed him, pointing in the direction of the growing crowd. I don't know why I did though, the guy with the megaphone had been repeating himself for the past several minutes.
Without another word Nathan made for the waiting group, me following behind.
While waiting for the next race I watched the current runners on the track. They were pretty fast, but I was definitely faster. The more I watched the more pumped I got, though with my growing excitement there was also a growing fear. I was nervous to piggyback on Nathan for... several reasons.
The race had finally ended and it was our turn to take the field. The carriers all lined up, bending over for their partners. Nathan did the same, waiting for me to climb onto his back. I was taking my time. He looked over his shoulder, confused. I inched closer with hesitant steps towards the large body hunched over in front of me.
I placed my hands on his shoulders one at a time. Holy moly were they defined. With another burst of hesitance I parted my legs, allowing myself to be lifted off the ground. Nathan's large hands sank into my bare thighs as he raised me onto his back. I nearly whimpered at his firm hold.
How embarrassing would that have been?
"Hold on tight, I want to go pretty fast." Nathan warned. Good, cause I want to win this.
"Alright." I tightened my grip on his shoulders.
"Wrap your arms around my upper body." He instructed.
"Ohh, right." I nervously chuckled. I did as he commanded and holy crap, despite his shoulders being so tight his chest was like a cushion, or a brand new pillow straight from the store. It's like his body was intentionally trying to tease me. I was terrified. The thought of getting a stiffy while slothed around him... it was mortifying. There was no way he wouldn't notice.
"On your marks!" The announcer's loud voice suddenly snapped me from my thoughts.
"Get set." Nathan bent over, taking me with him.
"GO!" With one final signal we were off, running like a herd of spooked gazelle.
My small body was being bounced around at Nathan's pace. He tightened his already monstrous grip around my small thighs and I secured mine around his bubbly chest. I had my head pressed up against his shoulder, hoping not to have it collide against Nathan's massive frame. And oh gosh did he smell good. I only caught scent of him briefly earlier but now my nose was pressing against the fabric of his shirt.
I could hear his heavy breaths as he strode across the track. I peeked through my tightened eye lids and saw several other groups around us. Nathan was doing a good job keeping us up to the front, but I expected nothing less.
In the corner of my eye I noticed one team making advances towards us. At first I didn't think much of it but then they started ramming into us. They wanted to throw Nathan off his game. My ride stood firm and kept running though, despite the many attempts of sabotage.
After realizing they stood no chance of getting the better of Nathan they went on to antagonize another group.
The rider wasn't having it though he released an arm from around his partner and shoved the pests tumbling to the ground. It was a pleasant sight to behold.
"SUCK IT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, feeling instant gratification. Nathan appeared to be confused by my sudden rowdiness.
"The checkpoint is coming up soon." He informed through puffs of breath.
"Alright." I began to prepare myself. Despite riding on the back of a warm, soft, and attractive being I managed to suppress my little buddy from getting too excited.
Nathan's breaths began to grow deeper as he closed the distance between us and the checkpoint.
He bent over hoping to make it easier for me to get off. I gripped his shoulders tightly and launched myself over his hunched frame. I could tell he wasn't expecting that as he appeared to be thrown off balance.
As soon as my feet collided with the ground I was off in a wind breaking dash. My small and nimble body helped me move at extremely fast speeds. I was leaving a trail of dust in my wake, quickly creating a gap between myself and the other runners. I felt the wind caressing my face as my legs propelled me forward.
The finish line was now clearly visible and only a couple dozen feet away. I made a mad dash, exerting all of my stamina to push myself beyond the goal, several seconds before anyone else. I felt like a bolt of lightning piercing the sky when I was in the zone. During the entire time I was running it was as if all sound had ceased to exist. Everything was mute, my focus being on nothing but the goal.
All sound suddenly came rushing back with my final step crossing the finish line echoing through my own body. My weekend legs, unable to hold me. I plopped down onto the dry grass below me to recuperate. I heard cheering and yelling off in the distance as I laid there.
It was at least ten seconds before anyone made it past the finish line.
"Shit man, those are some powerful legs you have on you." A guy complimented in shock as he approached. He was one of the participants.
I chuckled.
"Wow, that was sure a sight to behold." Another person came up to me with more pouring in one after the other.
"You were fantastic!" A brown haired girl praised, undoing her pony tail.
"Thanks." I smiled "I'd like to say the same to you, but I didn't see anyone so." I boasted jokingly.
"You may be on the smaller side but you certainly have a big head." A thin guy sporting medium length black hair bit.
"Yeah, be carefully, if your head gets too big it might just slow you down." Someone else chuckled.
"Sorry, it was a joke." I shyly ruffled my hair.
-
After every participant crossed the finish line we all walked back to the center of the party. There was so much chatting it almost sounded like a busy call room on a monday. It's been awhile since I hit it off with so many people. This was a common thing for me at school before I was outed. No one knew who I was here so it was sort of like getting a fresh start.
Nathan's POV
I quickly took up the unexpected opportunity to participate in the race with Noah. Not only was it a good excuse to get closer with him but it allowed me to put all my morning jogging and lifting to the test.
I bent over giving easier passage onto my back. There was a lot of hesitation from the sandy haired boy, but I understood. I can see how piggybacking with a person you're not very close to can feel pretty awkward. I was down for it regardless though.
When he finally worked up enough courage to hitch a ride his grasp on my shoulders sent chills down my spine. Though as much as I liked it, it wouldn't have been ideal or safe even running like that. His arms wrapped around my body felt euphoric though. It was almost as if we were cuddling.
I reached for his legs, lifting him up off the dry dirt beneath us. I definitely wasn't expecting to grab a handful of his thighs though, especially since his sports shorts were more so on the lengthy side. My hands sank into his soft skin as I secured him on my back throughout the first half of the race.
I think I did my part pretty well. Noah blew everyone else out of the water though. The moment he hopped over my head and onto the ground his small frame practically morphed into a cheetah with the way he picked up speed.
I could see the shock written on all of the other carriers' faces. Mine was no exception. I knew Noah was fast but I'd never seen him run like this. The way his sandy blond hair threaded through the air was truly entrancing.
He won by a landslide falling into the dry grass of the large field this gathering was taking place in.
-
We met up at the starting point, and it appeared as though he befriended all of the runners in a matter of minutes. Despite his small body being submerged in the large group of people he appeared comfortable. I definitely felt a tinge of jealousy, but I just wanted to be happy for him.
"That's just one of his charms I guess." Taylor shrugged, walking over to my side.
"Yeah." I replied with a weak smile, not removing my sight from the group.