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Caught
When shortstop Mike Watson catches his Junior Varsity teammate Robby Brown slipping a tube of ChapStick into his pocket at the store, he doesn't know what to think.
Mike has had the hots for Robbie since the two boys started high school and finds it difficult to talk to him without feeling awkward and stupid. But he has to say something. What if someone else saw and Robby gets in trouble?
Does Robby make a habit of stealing things? Has Mike’s perception of his friend been wrong all these years? Is the ChapStick a cry for help or a way of getting Mike’s attention? Mike is determined to find out.
Mike has had the hots for Robbie since the two boys started high school and finds it difficult to talk to him without feeling awkward and stupid. But he has to say something. What if someone else saw and Robby gets in trouble?
Does Robby make a habit of stealing things? Has Mike’s perception of his friend been wrong all these years? Is the ChapStick a cry for help or a way of getting Mike’s attention? Mike is determined to find out.
- GenresM M RomanceShort Stories
16 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2011
22 people want to read
About the author
J. Tomas
18 books36 followersJ. Tomas writes gay YA romance and currently lives in Richmond, VA.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 15, 2011
Review posted at Brief Encounters Reviews.
Mike and Robby used to be friends. They played GI Joe at each others’ houses when they were little, but Robby has grown into the star baseball player and much more popular than Mike, who suffers whispers and insults in the locker room for being gay. To Mike, Robby is perfection. So when he sees Robby slip a tube of ChapStick into his pocket in a CVS as the team travels to an out of town double-header, it angers him that Robby has shattered that illusion. So why did Robby do it? What could he possibly need to steal something so trivial for?
I was curious and a little apprehensive before starting to read this story, because although I have a huge fear of being caught doing anything wrong and confronted by an authority figure (I was way too scared to get a fake ID as a teenager), stealing a tube of ChapStick doesn’t really strike me as that big of a deal. Especially in a teen’s mind? So I was curious to see if the author would be able to pull that off and what reason there would be not only for Robby to steal, but for Mike to be so upset about it. I was satisfied, in a way, that there is a reason for both of those things, but also a little let down. This is a very short and sweet story about being gay in high school and having your first crush, but the morality behind the story came off as a bit preachy to me.
I did enjoy the characters okay, though there isn’t much time to get to know them. Robby, for all his popularity and athletic prowess, is still a bundle of nerves inside when it comes to his old friend and his confusion over their relationship. Mike seems to channel his frustration at being the odd man out on the team into his idolization of Robby and his wish that they were at least friends like they used to be. Puppy love, maybe, but to a 15 year old there’s no such thing, only the real thing.
There are a couple of funny moments that I enjoyed. I like how Robby admitted that he read his sister’s Seventeen magazine, but he didn’t know if the same advice for chatting up guys applied to guys as well as girls:
A sweet read, for sure, but I wish there had been a bit more to get to know the characters and maybe flesh out their actions and reactions in this situation. Only okay for me. C
Mike and Robby used to be friends. They played GI Joe at each others’ houses when they were little, but Robby has grown into the star baseball player and much more popular than Mike, who suffers whispers and insults in the locker room for being gay. To Mike, Robby is perfection. So when he sees Robby slip a tube of ChapStick into his pocket in a CVS as the team travels to an out of town double-header, it angers him that Robby has shattered that illusion. So why did Robby do it? What could he possibly need to steal something so trivial for?
I was curious and a little apprehensive before starting to read this story, because although I have a huge fear of being caught doing anything wrong and confronted by an authority figure (I was way too scared to get a fake ID as a teenager), stealing a tube of ChapStick doesn’t really strike me as that big of a deal. Especially in a teen’s mind? So I was curious to see if the author would be able to pull that off and what reason there would be not only for Robby to steal, but for Mike to be so upset about it. I was satisfied, in a way, that there is a reason for both of those things, but also a little let down. This is a very short and sweet story about being gay in high school and having your first crush, but the morality behind the story came off as a bit preachy to me.
I did enjoy the characters okay, though there isn’t much time to get to know them. Robby, for all his popularity and athletic prowess, is still a bundle of nerves inside when it comes to his old friend and his confusion over their relationship. Mike seems to channel his frustration at being the odd man out on the team into his idolization of Robby and his wish that they were at least friends like they used to be. Puppy love, maybe, but to a 15 year old there’s no such thing, only the real thing.
There are a couple of funny moments that I enjoyed. I like how Robby admitted that he read his sister’s Seventeen magazine, but he didn’t know if the same advice for chatting up guys applied to guys as well as girls:
"Why aren’t there any teen magazines out there with advice for gay guys on how to chat up a hot dude at school?"
A sweet read, for sure, but I wish there had been a bit more to get to know the characters and maybe flesh out their actions and reactions in this situation. Only okay for me. C
October 18, 2011
Short and sweet.
November 13, 2012
Nice and short :)
November 20, 2012
Well written and gives the POV of both boys. The blurb pretty much sums up what the book is all about and has the J. Thomas signature leaving you wanting more of this short story.
December 5, 2011
I want more. >.<
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews