Lawn Boy

I lie next to Asher, the both of us naked on top of his sheets. I lie flat on my back and Asher was on his side, propped up on his elbow and looking at me smiling. He took his other hand and ran his finger from my chest to my belly button and back up again. I giggled. It tickled a little bit.
“What time is it?” I asked him.
He turned around to look at his desk clock. “It’s almost eleven.”
“I should take a shower before I go back home,” I said.
“Ugh, do we have to go?” He turned onto his stomach and put his head on my chest.
I started to run my fingers through his hair. “Trust me, I would love lie her all day with you, but I can’t. I have to get back to help my mom with dinner.”
“I can’t believe we actually had sex,” he said.
“I love you,” I said in response.
He brought his head up to kiss me softly. The kiss lingered. Our naked were warm as we pressed up against each other.
“Can I shower with you?” he asked.
I smiled. “Yeah.”
Since we were both naked anyway, we walked across the hall to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The water was steaming, but not too hot. It hit our bodies and instantly warmed us. We embraced each other, surrounded by falling water. For most of the shower we made out, but as we felt the warm water getting cooler, we realized it was time to actually wash. We washed each other, gently running soap over each other’s bodies. At that moment in time, I don’t think I ever felt closer to Asher.
“What time should I be at your house?” Asher asked as we were getting dressed.
“Well, dinner starts at six. You can get there around four or five if you want.”
“Okay,” he said with a smile. He seemed nervous.
I stood up and put my arms around his neck. “Everyone is going to love you. Don’t worry.”
“But what if they don’t? What if they freak out or something?”
“Then I’ll be there to defend you and so will my parents and my sisters.” He let out a deep breath and I pecked him on the cheek.

* * *

Our house started to fill up with relatives I haven’t seen for years and some that I didn’t even remember. They all poured all over me telling me how handsome I was and how much I looked like my grandfather. All I could think was that in any minute, Asher could show up at the door. I was confident for Asher because I knew I had to be, but inside I was just as insecure about it as he was. When the doorbell rang for the last time, I knew everyone who was supposed to be there was already there so the only person it could be was Asher. I heard Ashley open the door.
“Max, it’s Asher!” She yelled from the door before I could get there from the kitchen.
When I got to the door and saw Asher all dressed up and his hair combed nicely, it took all I had not to fall, weak at the knees. I walked up to him and give him a hug.
“Hey,” he whispered into my ear.
“Hey,” I whispered back as our embrace broke.
Suddenly I my aunt Kate was right behind us. I turned around and I greeted her again as if it was the first time seeing her.
“Are you going to introduce you to your friend?” she asked.
“Oh, sorry,” I said. “This is Asher.”
And before I could continue, she interjected. “Oh hello Asher, I’m Max’s aunt, Kate. Don’t you have family on Thanksgiving?”
“Um, they’re out of town,” he said. “I didn’t want to go.”
“Oh and Max decided to invite you to our little shindig, how sweet. Well, I’ve got to go mingle, see you later.”
She had obviously already had too much wine. I apologized to Asher for her, but he just shrugged it off. We spent some time aside from my family and we decided to leave the part about him being my boyfriend out until it came up. Seeing Asher laugh and make jokes and get along so well with my family gave me an unbelievable feeling. I felt like my life was full and rounded. I felt like my life had purpose and that it was right.
About an hour after Asher showed up, my mom announced that dinner was ready to be served. We all sat down at the large extended table that we rented just for this occasion. The only ones who weren’t sitting there were of course the kids. If you were younger than fourteen then you sat at the kids table. Mostly everyone was over fourteen, there were only five kids under fourteen.
Of course Asher and I sat side by side and Rebecca and Ashley sat in front of us. There was a wall of sound from chatter as we all passed dishes around serving our plates with the typical Thanksgiving Day food. There were lots of food options. For vegetable sides there was corn, green beans, glazed baby carrots and peas. For starch sides, there was mashed potatoes, lemon rice, and candied yams. For meat, there was of course turkey, but there was also ham for the people who didn’t like turkey.
Once everyone was served, the men were talking about the football game and the women about the food. The younger people were talking about music and the latest movies. Ashley and I were talking about the band Muse, when all of a sudden Rebecca stopped and noticed Asher’s shirt.
“Is that my brother’s shirt, Asher? I think I got him that shirt last Christmas,” she said.
She was right.
“Um, yeah,” said Asher, obviously dumbfounded.
“Aww isn’t that cute?” said Ashley. “They share clothes.”
Both Asher and I blushed.
“Well, he didn’t have anything to wear. I couldn’t let him come shirtless,” I said.
“Oh, but I bet you would’ve liked that,” said Ashley suggestively.
“Well, he does look good shirtless,” I said, pinching Asher’s cheek to embarrass him. It worked because he blushed even more.
The family wasn’t hushed, but they weren’t loud anymore either. Most of them were talking while simultaneously watch Asher’s and my body language together. Then, my only uncle, Kevin, finally spoke up.
“Is there…something going on between you two?” He asked with a certain tone to his voice. You know the one.
“Asher’s my boyfriend,” I said.
The entire table hushed.