What It Would Be Like

Meet me between buses.

That’s all the text said. Jack sat in his bunk, staring at the message from his best friend for a good ten minutes. He couldn’t figure out what it could mean. Alex had been giving him weird looks all day. Jack was afraid his friend was mad at him, but he didn’t have a clue what he could have done. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what Alex meant, he slid out of his bunk, leaving his iPod in his wake.

He climbed out of the bus, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was one of those rare occasions that they’d parked for the night instead of driving on to the next tour destination. He stepped out into the cold night, pulling the sleeves of his striped hoodie down his lanky arms. As he made his way around the bus, he wrapped his arms around his small form, keeping his body heat held in.

Alex’s form was only visible because of the soft light streaming from between the blinds of the bus’ front lounge window. He glanced up when he heard the scraping of sneakers against asphalt. The corners of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly, acknowledging Jack’s presence. He twitched his head to the left, a signal to come closer.

Before Jack took a step, he whispered, “Are you mad at me?” Alex let out a small laugh, shaking his head. He gestured for him to come closer again; Jack listened this time, sending pebbles skidding across the ground with his worn down converse.

Once Jack was close enough to touch, Alex reached for his arm and pulled him into the shadows, pressing his back gently against the bus. Jack’s heart beat sped up, not expecting such a quick movement. He cleared his throat, “What are you doing?” It was much louder than intended. His voice carried much quicker in the silent of night. Alex shushed him by putting a finger to his lips.

“Don’t freak out.” One of his hands rested on Jack’s shoulder, setting Jack’s heart beat at a faster pace.

Jack’s eyes were blown wide at the close contact with Alex. “Don’t give me a reason to freak out.”

Alex rolled his eyes, shushing his friend again. “I won’t if you don’t.” Jack had to strain his ears slightly, even in the silence for the volume Alex was speaking at. Chills ran down his back. He couldn’t tell if they were from the cold, the warm hand resting on his hip, or the comment Alex had made. He gulped back a reply and nodded.

The distance between the two became nonexistent as Alex pressed himself against Jack. He kept their lips millimeters apart, taking a second to breathe. Jack’s breath had completely stopped, watching his best friend. Alex’s lips turned up at the corners again. He pressed them against Jack’s softly, trying not to startle his friend.

Jack’s eyes fluttered closed. He couldn’t think of anything else to do, so he twitched his lips against Alex’s. That was reason enough for Alex to press a little more fiercely on Jack. He slid his hand up to Jack’s hair, threading his fingers through the dark locks. Jack moved his hands to Alex’s waist. They stayed in that position for a while, pressed together, the only movement being their lips.

Alex released his grasp on his friend suddenly, stepping back and looking at his shoes. Jack gulped, staring at him. He took a second to formulate a sentence, then asked, “What the fuck was that?”

Alex bit his lip, trying to hide a smile. He peeked at Jack through his eyelashes, “I just... wanted to know,” a shaky laugh escaped his lips, “what it would be like.”