Chapter 18

Toward me.

I had just enough time to press myself back

into the corner between the wall and counter before he hit the door

with one hand, bouncing it off the track and pushing it out of his

way. Fortunately it unfolded as it struck the counter, hiding me

from view, but I cowered behind it as he crossed the kitchen

hitching up his pants. Oh God. Had he seen me? Did he know?

If he turned on the light it’d all be over. Then he’d turn to put

the door back on its track and find me here. He’d know…

But he didn’t hit the light switch. Instead

he took the stairs heading onto the lower level of the house, his

footsteps heavy in the darkness. I held my breath, waiting, until

his back disappeared down the stairwell, and I didn’t dare release

it until I heard the bathroom door slam shut.

I barely managed to thank God before the door

was folded aside and RC stood there, that crooked grin of his

trained my way. “Enjoy the show?”

“I…” My throat closed as the words dried up

in it. I didn’t know what to say or do, how to explain myself. “No,

I mean…I wasn’t—”

“Watching?” RC’s grin widened as his hands

worked at his waist. I didn’t dare drop my gaze from his to see

exactly what they were doing there, but I heard the rustle of

fabric and the telltale purr of a zipper pulled back into place.

“Did you like it?”

My cheeks burned as I glanced at the dish

cloth I’d left on the counter. With two fingers RC picked it up and

raised it, sniffing. When he caught the whiff of my sex, his grin

threatened to split his face. “I’d say. I knew you were like that

the moment we met.”

I didn’t ask what he meant by like

that. I already knew.

He tossed the dish cloth at me and I flinched

to catch it. As I balled it between my hands, he studied me

closely. “So why are you down here again? Did you hear us or

something?”

I shook my head. “I—Mikey wanted me to get

some beers. I was just supposed to sneak down and bring them back.

I didn’t know…I’m really sorry. I won’t say anything, I

promise.”

With a laugh, RC ran a hand through his hair,

disheveling the loose curls. “Shit,” he drawled, suddenly closer to

my age than Mr. Pierce’s. “I ain’t worried about that. If you were

going to tell, you would’ve called your friend down here to watch

for himself. And you wouldn’t have gotten off on it, either.”

I ducked my head. My face felt like it was on

fire and I wanted to press the dish cloth against it just to cool

off but didn’t dare.

For a moment RC studied me as I frowned at

the rag in my hands, the silence between us not uncomfortable. Then

he turned, crossed the room, and opened the fridge. Holding the

door aside so I could see in, he asked, “Which ones did you want

again?”

I had to clear my throat before I could

answer. “The Killian’s. I liked those.”

RC laughed. “This ain’t your first bottle

tonight, eh? You boys.”

Leaning in, he grabbed two bottles by their

necks, then shut the door and returned to where I stood, too afraid

to move. Was he going to tell Mr. Pierce that he had found me? That

I knew? God, I’d never be able to show my face around here again if

he did. As it was, I wouldn’t be able to look at Mr. Pierce without

thinking of his dick or the way he’d thrust into RC over and over,

but if Mr. Pierce knewthose thoughts were in my head? I’d

die, pure and simple, right here, tonight. I’d just die.

RC held the bottles out to me. When I didn’t

take them immediately, he motioned with them that I should. I

transferred the dish cloth to one hand and grabbed the bottles with

the other, holding them both the way he did. They were awkward but

I didn’t drop them, thank goodness. “So when do you leave for

Tech?” RC asked.

I fumbled the bottles and he took the rag

from me so I could carry one beer in each hand. “Next week.”

“Hot guy like you will have all the boys on

campus on his ass,” RC said.

I blushed, ducking my head to hide the silly

smile that pulled at my mouth. God. Sudden lust raced

through me like wildfire. Did he really think I was hot?

With an overhand shot any ball player would

have envied, RC tossed the rag toward the trash can beside the

fridge and it went in without hitting the rim. “Two points, and the

crowd goes wild!” He made a soft ahhhsound as if cheering

for himself. To me, he asked, “You play?”

I thought he meant basketball. “No, I—”

“I mean are you a player?” RC said, nudging

me and waggling his eyebrows so I’d get his drift.

So he meant sex. How did we get to talking

about this? I just wanted to disappear upstairs before Mr.

Pierce returned from the bathroom or Mikey began to wonder what was

taking me so long. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. Despite what

I had just seen, I didn’t want to talk about it with RC. I was too

embarrassed that he’d caught me watching. “I’m not—no one knows

I’m…”

“Listen,” RC said, suddenly serious. He

touched my shoulder, then pulled me closer, draping an arm around

my back. I looked up and saw all jest had fallen away from his

face—the smile was gone, those eyes dark and grave. “You got the

rest of your life ahead of you, kid. This first year away from home

is going to be big, I promise. It’ll be amazing, if you let it. But

stay safe, you hear? Hank and I, we’ve been together a while now.

We’re exclusive. There’s too much disease and badness out there to

fuck around with just anyone.”

I nodded, recognizing this as the man-to-man

speech my own father should’ve given me but would never be able to

as long as he didn’t know I was gay. RC had a lot of years on me,

and just knowing he and Mr. Pierce—he and Hank—were an item

put what I had seen earlier in perspective. This wasn’t just a

one-time thing. This was a recurring delight, a frequent pleasure,

a part of both their lives that I had been made privy to for one

special moment. I wanted that. I wanted all of that.

Reaching into his pocket, RC pulled out

something and held it out to me. I juggled both bottles into one

hand again to take the offering and he pressed it into my palm so I

could feel the shape of it against my skin. One of those

coin-shaped condom packets. “Take this,” he told me, his voice a

ragged whisper as he leaned closer, eyes drilling into me. “Use it.

Enjoy it, because I’m telling you, it’s awesome. Have fun, but stay

safe. And when you get back, stop by and tell me all about it.”

I glanced up, surprised. He winked and smiled

at me, and before I could think to thank him, he leaned closer

still, eyes slipping shut, until his lips brushed mine. So soft, so

electric—the hint of a tongue flicked between my lips to touch the

front of my teeth and even though I’d just had the orgasm of a

lifetime moments before, that innocent kiss was enough to get me

worked up all over again.

Downstairs, the sound of running water

interrupted us. RC pulled back, clapped my shoulder, and nodded

toward the stairs. “Go back up to your friend. Hank and I aren’t

quite done yet.”

Warily I eyed the distance between myself and

the staircase. I’d have to pass the top of the steps that led to

the lower level on my way, and if Mr. Pierce chose that moment to

come out of the bathroom, if he turned, if he sawme…

RC gave me a slight push, falling into step

beside me. “Go on. I got you covered.”

At the stairs, he headed down while I hurried

around the corner and took the steps two at a time back to Mikey’s

room. Below me I heard a soft knock on the bathroom door, and RC’s

voice call out, “Hey, babe? Come lay on the sofa with me for a bit,

will you?”

In one hand, the beer bottles sweated between

my fingers; in the other, the condom burned like a secret waiting

to be shared. But it was mine, and tonight wasn’t the night to show

it off. Maybe next week, or next month, or next semester, when I

met someone special, when I had an evening like this of my own,

when the hand down the front of my pants massaging my cock belonged

to someone else, not me. Then I’d pull the condom out, remembering

RC’s words, and I’d share the secret with a boy I’d yet to meet. A

boy with whom I’d share myself.

But not tonight. Tonight it was mine, all

mine, and like a rare coin from a sunken treasure, I’d keep it

safe.

Outside Mikey’s door I paused long enough to

tuck away the condom, depositing it into the same pocket that

contained the nail I’d taken from Mr. Pierce’s garage earlier. Then

I shifted the beers into both hands again and tapped the bottom of

one bottle gently against the door. Pressing my face to the jamb, I

whispered, “Mikey, it’s me. I got the booze. Open up.”