“Off the Record”
When I got assigned to handle the ‘Athlete of the Month’ article for the university magazine at the beginning of my junior year, I was initially annoyed because I wasn’t into sports at all. But after spending most of the school year writing that article every month, I actually got used to it and looked forward to interviewing the many male and female athletes at my college. I didn’t know any of them personally but after sitting down and talking to them I learned that a lot of them were very down to earth. However, none were as down to earth as Stephon Westbrook. I will never forget the day I had to interview him because it turned out to be one of the most interesting days of my life.
After communicating with him through e-mail for a couple of days to set everything up, I met with him in the basketball team’s weight training room for the interview. The moment I stepped inside and my eyes met his, I felt something. It wasn’t an overwhelming feeling but it was definitely noticeable. He had a certain aura that just hit me and connected with me instantly. I’d never gotten that feeling before when just meeting someone yet it felt so familiar. I suddenly found myself experiencing a serious case of déjà vu.
“Are you Gabriel Boudreau?” he asked me, approaching me with a big smile on his face.
“I am,” I replied. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” He extended his hand for me to shake and I shook it. “It’s good to finally meet you in person. Have we had any classes together before?”
“Not that I can think of. Why?”
“It feels like I know you from somewhere.”
Me (Gabriel Boudreau)
“That’s funny. I feel like I know you from somewhere, too.” We shared a little laugh but I stopped when I noticed he was still holding onto my hand. Noticing it himself, he quickly let go and sat down on a workout bench.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get picked before graduating.”
“The vote among the magazine staff was unanimous, so congrats.”
“Unanimous, huh? So that means you voted for me, too?”
“I sure did after learning that you were involved with so much stuff on and off campus. You really are a model student.” I pulled out my iPhone and iPad. “Are you ready to begin?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Okay.” I turned on my phone’s voice recorder and then pulled up my set of questions on my iPad. “What has basketball always meant to you?”
He smiled that charming smile of his before answering, “Basketball was and will always be my first love. It is what kept me going for all this time. The game and the culture is almost like religion to me. I can sit here and literally break down each and every fundamental aspect of basketball to you if you had the time.”
“So I take it basketball has been a part of your life since childhood?”
“Yes. Some of my first memories are of my dad taking me to the park to watch him and his friends play on Saturday afternoons. And then when my little brother Cameron got older, my dad would bring him with us.”
“When did you know that basketball was what you wanted to do?”
“My first game when I was six. My dad signed me up for this small team at the local rec center and I practice so much for that first game. And when we won, I knew basketball was what I wanted to do. It became the most important thing to me outside of my family.”
I was about to ask him one of my other prepared questions but something told me to ask him more about his family. I looked away from my iPad screen and into his eyes and asked, “Does your little brother play as well?”
“Nah, he was born with autism.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“He’s two years younger than me so he was always following me around and looking up to me. For the longest time, I was the only person he’d talk to and listen to. He’d run up to me after my games and be like, ‘Stephon, I wanna be just like you when I grow up.’ And it was crazy because I’m not that much older than him but he doesn’t see it that way.” He paused for a second before admitting, “He humbles me in a lot of ways. He really…” He got choked up and a little teary-eyed.
“Take your time.”
“I’m good. I just get a little emotional when talking about him because that’s my best friend. He looks up to me and thinks I’m the greatest person ever, and he doesn’t even know that he’s my hero. You know? He inspires me. It just gets to me sometimes.” He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.
I found myself getting a little teary-eyed so I asked, “Do you wanna take a quick break?”
“Nah, I’m good. I can keep going. Sorry about that.”
“You’re fine.”
As the interview continued and I got to learn more about him, I realized that Stephon was possibly the most open and compassionate student at Richland University. He was willing to discuss everything from his favorite brand of socks to what he actually thought about during his basketball games. I’d never had such an in-depth interview with any of the other ‘Athlete of the Month’ students. When the interview was over, I wanted to kick myself for not thinking of more questions to ask him. However, it was me who ended up answering questions once the recorder was turned off.
“What made you want to be a sports writer for the Rebel Reader?” he asked me. “No offense, but I can tell sports isn’t your thing.”
“I was actually assigned it against my will,” I admitted. “I wanted to do the fashion articles but there were already enough people covering that.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re doing this instead. You’re easy to talk to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I rarely get to talk about my personal life outside of basketball since everyone only cares about basketball when talking to me. I like that you asked me questions about my family and the things I’m involved with off the court.”
“I try to write well-rounded articles about the people I’m interviewing, so I like to get more than just one aspect of their lives.”
“Do you ever get nervous when you’re interviewing somebody?”
“Only at the beginning or when I first meet them. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous when I met you.”
His eyes seemed to light up as he asked, “You weren’t?”
“No. Most of the men athletes I’ve interviewed don’t actually smile upon meeting me. They’re usually a little distant at first because they can tell I’m gay. After a little warming up, they become more open and comfortable.”
“Have you ever liked any of them?”
When he asked me that, I became a little tensed. I tried to smile and think of a way out of answering that question but for some reason I couldn’t lie to him. “Yes, I actually have.” I picked my phone back up and turned on the camera. “I need to take a pic of you for the article’s header. It’s up to you how you want to do it.”
“I basically live in here so here’s good. One second.” He picked up a basketball with one hand and a bottle of blue colored Gatorade with the other. “Is this good?”
“Yes, it’s perfect.” I snapped a pic of him and then reviewed it to make sure it was okay for the article.
Stephon Westbrook
“So, which athletes did you like specifically?”
“I’m not comfortable detailing that kind of info.”
“Come on; we’re off the record, right?”
“Yes but…”
“Then I don’t see how it could hurt anything. Are any of my teammates one of them?”
“No.”
“Anybody on the football, soccer or baseball teams? Track and field?”
“That’s for me to know and for you to speculate.” I packed my things up.
“Okay, but are you involved with any of them now?”
“Why?”
He looked around before explaining, “Because I don’t wanna ask another dude’s boyfriend out on a date. That would be disrespectful and I’m a very respectful man.”
When he first said that, I had to make sure I wasn’t hearing things. It took me a few seconds to realize he’d just asked me out. I smiled and blushed because I wasn’t expecting him to do that at all. I could usually tell when a guy is DL but Stephon had me damn near in shock. All I could do was smile and blush like a middle schooler being asked out on his first date ever. It had been forever since I’d been asked out on a date so my mind was spinning.
“Maybe I should actually ask you,” he said when I didn’t respond. “Gabriel, will you go on a date with me tonight?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
“Cool. I’m a little old-fashioned so sorry if this is creeping you out. I know dudes our age don’t really go about it this way, especially when it comes to same-sex dating. I’m different as you can see. I actually like to ask the guy or girl out on a date if I feel a connection to them. And Gabriel, I felt something the moment you walked in through that door. I don’t know what it was but I felt it.”
“That is so crazy.”
“What is?”
“I felt the exact same thing.” I laughed a little and so did he. “It’s weird.”
“I think it’s more special than weird.” He stared into my eyes. “So, can I pick you up at eight?”
“Eight is fine.”
“Alright.” He pulled his iPhone from his pocket and unlocked it before handing it to me. “Put your number in there and I’ll text you to get directions to your place.”
“Okay.” I stored my number in his phone and handed it back to him. “Wait, where are we going to go? It’s one thing to be seen with a gay journalism major when he’s interviewing you for the school magazine; it’s a whole other thing to be seen with a gay journalism major out in public on or near campus.”
“Who said I was worried about being seen with you? Just because I like my privacy doesn’t mean I’m some paranoid downlow brotha. I wanna show you a good time. Is that alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool, then I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you then.” I had to keep my knees from giving in as I made my way over to the door to leave. I couldn’t believe what had happened. And I had no idea that that was just the beginning of an even more interesting day.
I hadn’t been nervous that whole day but now that I was about to go on a date with Stephon, I was shaking. I guess the thing that made me so nervous was how upfront he was. I’d never been asked out the way he’d asked me out before. Most of my relationships—if I can even call them that—started through social media and then it wouldn’t go anywhere after I had sex with the guy. With Stephon, it was universally different. He was so refreshing and I found myself getting caught up in it all as I got ready for my date with him.
“Why are you getting all spruced up?” my roommate Brendan asked me, peeking into my room.
“I’m uhh…going to a study session,” I lied. “Some people from one of my journalism classes are picking me up and we’re holding a session at Starbucks for the midterm.”
“Hmm, I’ve never seen you get this dressed up for a study session.”
“One of the guys in the group is super fine.”
He laughed and said, “Say no more. Good luck.”
As soon as he disappeared out of my room, Stephon texted me and told me he was on the way and needed my address for his GPS. I texted him back with my address and about ten minutes later, he texted back saying that he was parked on the side of the building waiting on me. I gave myself one last look in the mirror before heading out of the apartment and down the stairwell to the building lobby. I exited the side doors and there he was, sitting on the trunk of his white Camaro looking at me with a sexy and cute smile on his face.
“Damn, look at you,” he said as he climbed down and approached me. “You look great.”
“So do you,” I replied, looking him up and down. “You somehow look even brighter outside of gym clothes.”
He laughed and opened the passenger side door for me, which was sweet but unneeded. After I climbed in, he closed the door and then hurried over to his side and climbed in. He started the car up and asked, “I don’t have to have you back by a certain time, do I? Because I can nix the movie idea if you gotta be back early.”
“Movie? Oh no, I don’t have to be back at a certain time. I’d love to see a movie.” I actually had to write up the ‘Athlete of the Month’ article on him but I probably wasn’t going to be able to get any sleep that night after the date anyway, so I figured I’d just pull an all-nighter.
“Cool. After dinner, we can hit up the theater.” He backed out of the parking space and pulled out onto the street and away from my building. “Mmm, you smell so good.”
“Thank you.”
“Let me guess, you’re the bath type?”
“How did you know?”
“You just have that look. I bet you soak in a bath forever after a long day, huh?”
“I sure do. There’s nothing like a good warm bath.”
“I wouldn’t know. I take nothing but showers. I haven’t sat in a bathtub since I was a kid.” He stopped at a red-light and looked at me. “Are you sure you don’t have a boyfriend?”
“I am as single as single gets. Why is it so hard for you to believe that?”
“Because you are like the prettiest dude I’ve ever seen on-campus. Hell, you’re the prettiest dude I’ve ever laid eyes on. And I’m not trying to be corny or anything like that. You’re stunning. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“No.” I blushed so much that my cheeks felt like I’d just eaten something sweet for the first time in years. “I’ve been called cute before but never pretty or stunning. Thank you, Stephon.”
“I could spend hours talking about how beautiful you are.” He noticed that the light had changed green. “See that, you got me all distracted.” He laughed and continued driving.
When we arrived at a place called Kenyatta’s Soul Kitchen, he parked the car and turned it off. We were on the outskirts of town in an area I’d never been in. He climbed out of the car and before I could even open my door, he opened it for me. I had to get used to that because I knew he would keep doing it for the rest of the date. After locking the car up, we entered the small restaurant and I immediately smelled an appetizing aroma. My stomach growled because all I’d had to eat that day were a few energy bars.
“What is this place?” I asked him as we sat down at a booth.
“You’ve never been here?” he asked.
“No.”
“I come here all the time. I’ve never eaten in before but I always get me a catfish dinner to go. This place has the best soul food in the city. Makes me miss my relatives down in Macon, Georgia.”
“You have family in the South?”
“Yep.”
“I’m from the South. Louisiana.”
“So this place should remind you of home, too.”
“Yes, soul food is all my family knows. Well that and Creole.”
“You’re Creole?”
“Yes, that and a lot of other heritages. My family is a big mixture.”
“Can you speak other languages?”
“I can speak Haitian Creole and French fluently.”
He smiled big and said, “Wow, that’s cool. You gotta teach me some of that one day.”
The waitress walked over and took our orders. I was amazed by how much food he ordered. For someone so skinny he sure did order enough food for three people. When our food arrived, I was taken aback by how great everything was. I swear that macaroni and cheese tasted identical to my grandma’s, and the catfish was amazing. I understood why Stephon loved the catfish so much. As we ate, we talked more about where we were from and what made us want to come to Richland University. He chose Richland because while he wanted to play basketball, he didn’t want to be at well-known basketball school or to continue playing after college. His plans were to be a high school basketball coach and math teacher.
After eating dinner, which he paid for by the way, we headed over to the movie theater. Since it was a Tuesday there weren’t many people there. He bought two tickets to see a horror movie called Don’t Enter the Red Door. I absolutely hated seeing horror films by myself but since I had Stephon there sitting beside me, I didn’t mind it too much. He had his arm on the back of my chair so that made me feel somewhat safe. Whenever something scary happened, I buried my face in his chest. I could tell he enjoyed that because he’d chuckle and put his arm around me. By the time the movie was over, it was raining outside.
“I’m glad I didn’t leave my windows down,” he joked as we stood under the theater awning. “You wait here, I’ll go get the car and pull around to get you.”
“I don’t mind getting wet,” I told him. “Stephon, I know I’m a little feminine but I’m not a girl. You don’t have to be extra sweet with me. It’s adorable but it’s unnecessary.”
“I’m like this with anybody I take out on a date, girl or guy. It’s just the type of dude I am. I can’t help it. Sorry if it rubs you the wrong way. I told you I’m old-fashioned.” He blushed and looked down at the ground for a second which was literally the cutest thing ever.
“Okay, you can pull the car around.”
“Cool, be right back.” He dashed out into the rain to get his car. A few seconds later, he pulled up in front of the theater and opened the door for me from the inside. I climbed in without getting a single drop of water on me. He was soaked. “See, isn’t that better?”
“Yeah, but now you’re soaked.”
“It’s all good.” He put the car in gear and sped away from the theater.
I love the way he drove. His car was a stick shift so the muscles in his right arm flexed every time he shifted the gear. Every now and then he’d glance over at me as he drove. He’d smile and I’d blush and smile back. He seemed to have this effect on me that turned me into that awkward middle school kid I once was. I also couldn’t get enough of what he called his ‘old-fashioned’ ways. He was so polite and generous. He was the complete opposite of all the other guys I’d so-called dated.
When we got back to my apartment building, he parked his car out front and then turned it off. His radio was on the quiet storm station and it was playing some old-school R&B song. He looked over at me and smiled and that was all of the motivation I needed. I took off my seatbelt, leaned in close to him and pressed my lips against his. He pulled back for a second, licked his lips and then resumed kissing me. It wasn’t a let’s get naked right now kiss but rather an I had a great time and I now want you to be my boyfriend kiss. I hadn’t been kissed that good in a long time.
“Merde, ce qui était bon,” I said immediately after we stopped.
He laughed and asked, “What?”
“I’m sorry. My French comes out when I get horny. I mean…” I blushed in embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant to say.”
“It’s okay. That made me horny, too; especially you speaking French. Horny is good. That means we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah but I don’t have sex on the first date. At least I try not to. And you are making it very hard not to.”
“I can respect that rule. It’s just as hard on me as it is on you, but I can respect it. You gotta say something else in French to me though because that was so sexy.”
“Okay. Um… J'ai eu une bonne nuit et je ne peux pas attendre de sortir avec votre vieil âne façonné à nouveau.”
“What does that mean?”
“I had a great night and I can’t wait to go out with your old-fashioned ass again.” I giggled and he burst out in laughter.
“You really are something else. Come here.” He pulled me in for a hug and kissed me again. After that kiss, we climbed out of his car and he walked me up to my building door while holding my hand. “I had a great night with you, too. Believe it or not, I don’t get to do this often.”
“Why not, because of your basketball schedule?”
“No, because not many people like to do this. These days it’s all about sex and recording the sex and posting it on social media. Usually when I take a guy or a woman out on a date, they’re too distracted by their phones to pay attention to me and hold a conversation. And at the end of the date if I don’t wanna have sex with them they take it as the ultimate insult. I guess since I’m a basketball player I’m supposed to live up to how everyone thinks I should be. But that just ain’t me. Like I said, I’m old-fashioned.”
“I don’t think you’re old-fashioned, I think you’re special. Stephon, I know no one like you. Every other guy I’ve dated has been self-centered and everything you just described. Hell, even I spend a lot of time on social media. But after tonight I’m starting to see just how distracting it all is. I want more nights like this. Damn, I never would’ve thought my best date would be with a basketball player I had to interview.” I laughed a little but stopped when he grabbed my hand.
“And I never would’ve thought I’d meet someone so beautiful inside and out. I really like you, Gabriel.”
“I like you, too.”
“Can I have one more kiss goodnight?”
“Boy, you don’t even have to ask. These lips have Stephon Westbrook written all over them now.” We shared a laugh before kissing again.
Long after he’d gone home and I was up in my bedroom, I thought about him and how amazing he was. I thought about how choked up he got when discussing his autistic brother and how he’d made me laugh during dinner and how he’d made me feel safe while we watched that horror film. Stephon was so unique and I guess that’s what I was sensing when I first made eyes with him before I interviewed him for the magazine. I could tell a lot of his manners and old-fashioned ways came from how he was raised. He was so right about our generation and I was so glad that he decided to be an individual instead of following the crowd like so many others did. And I definitely couldn’t wait for our next date. Hopefully we wouldn’t have to keep it off the record for long.
[Disclaimer]: Pictures used do not reflect the sexuality or personality of people in the pictures. They only serve as visual examples of the characters.
© D.A. Morrison 2016
