Now What?
Ahem.
The restaurant was (Coincidentally?) my favorite. I knew what I would get before we had even entered the door of Demos’: 8 ounce steak with a side of Marinara spaghetti. Oh, and don’t forget the tea. Their sweet tea was like fucking heaven in a glass.
“Have you been here before?” He asked as we sat at our table. It was a Thursday night, so it wasn’t very busy.
“Hell yeah, this is my favorite restaurant.” The chandeliers were so fucking cool!
He chuckled. “It’s mine too.”
“So… how was practice yesterday?” Since I had no idea what to say, I started there. I really was curious…Was this a date, or just some guy being friendly to me?
“Boring, in contrast.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I had to ask, “To what?”
“It was really bland after talking to you. I kind of wanted to ask if you wanted me to skip practice and we could hang out, but…”
Just then, a familiar voice behind me greeted, “Oh, hey, Reed. Mark.” He gave Mark a single nod, and Mark pretended he didn’t exist. For a moment I just stared.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Then I noticed a boy by his side, who looked maybe a year or two younger than us, and I realized I wasn’t the only one on a date, or whateverthefuck this was. “Oh, well hi,” I said to the guy, because, for one, he looked totally uncomfortable, and two, I didn’t want Mason to think I was really all that into him and upset because he wasn’t alone. I was into him, but that didn’t need to be said out loud.
He smiled shyly, and they took their seats at the table next to us, Mason grinning like a total idiot. Tearing my eyes away from him, I saw that Mark had his face in his hands. “I want to leave,” he mumbled.
I gaped. “We just got here! We haven’t even eaten yet.”
“He’s fucking staring at you, Reed,” He lifted his face from his hands but still spoke too soft for them to hear, “and he’s not going to stop. Even though he’s with that guy—”
“Hey, Reed. I’m sorry—this is my brother.”
“Mason, would you leave us the fuck alone.”
“Mark…” It was almost like Mason was pleading to him, but Mark stood abruptly, staring at me for a second before walking away. I glanced at the back of his head, then at Mason, then down at my feet, and then Mason said, “You wanna join us?”
Hesitantly, I nodded, and stood to join them. Mason’s brother got up from his side of the booth and slid in next to him so that I could sit alone in front of them. Well, that was polite.
“Hello,” I greeted, “I’m Reed, and you are…?”
“I’m Bradley.” The boy was lean and muscular like his older brother, but not as interesting or friendly. Maybe he was just shy. “So, what do you do for fun?” he asked after a few minutes of small talk.
Slightly insulted, I laughed and shrugged. Just because I didn’t play sports didn’t mean I was some lazy loser-geek.
“Are you comin’ this weekend?”
“Oh, I don’t know, man…” I looked at Mason, and his brown eyes begged me: please? I stuttered. “Shit—oh, whatever. I have to ask, but I’m pretty sure she’ll let me. Do you—uh, stay until Sunday?” I was so smooth with words. He was just so… fucking gorgeous that it made my mouth want to do, like, cartwheels or whateverthefuck.
“Yeah, we do. You’re not, like, embarrassed or shy are you?”
I laughed. “Me? Shy?”
Mason smiled his ever-handsome smile. “Good. You’ll meet my mom, dad, grandparents, and a few other people. But none of ‘em know anything. If they did, we wouldn’t be able to sleep in the same fuckin’ building as each other.” Laughing, he winked at me. Bradley wrinkled his nose but other than that seemed fine. “Bradley’s the only one that knows.”
I wondered… “How can you be so open about it in school, then? Don’t they ever wonder why you never have a girlfriend?”
“As far as they know, I’ve never had a boyfriend either, so I guess they really don’t care. Anyway, I’ll meet you at your locker tomorrow and we can talk about plans and what we’re doing after school tomorrow.”
I was about to ask what we were going to be doing, but then the stupid waiter guy shoved his hand right in front of my face. I scowled at him, but grinned when I saw my spaghetti. “Thank you,” I said happily and immediately lunged at my food, excited to fill the black void that was my empty stomach. “God, that shit never gets old.”
“We’ll leave tomorrow, so I’ll pick you up in the morning so you can just ride with me after school.” He winked and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stifle the giggles. Bradley stared at me like I was an idiot. I couldn’t really blame him, though. He had no clue what we were laughing at, because he had been looking at some girl when Mason winked at me.
After we finished eating, Mason drove me home since I had come here with Mark. When he parked into the driveway after taking Bradley home first, he told me to sit still, and, confused, I obeyed. He walked around the car and opened the door. I tried not to laugh… but I just couldn’t help it. Guffawing, I got out of the car, but my laughs came to a halt when his lips pressed down on mine. It was the second time he had surprised me with a kiss. I immediately kissed him back and ran my hands through his hair, hungry for Mason, Mason, and more Mason…
“Ahem.”
“Fuck!” Mason lunged off of me, and I swear he jumped 2 feet in the air. Embarrassed, I just laughed a little. My mom had seen us, and she walked up to us and scared us shitless. He looked at her. “Oh, um… I’m sorry, ma’am.”
She just gave him that “Mom” look that basically was more amused than angry. “Come inside, boys.” With that, she turned and walked up the driveway and stood at the front door, watching to make sure we came straight in.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered with a worried expression.
I laughed. “She’s seen it before. Don’t worry.” That seemed to shock him for some reason, and when we walked inside, Mom gestured for us to sit down on the velvet couch.
“Ah, boys. Not outside, please. We wouldn’t want anyone thinking us indecent, now would we?” She winked at me, and walked into the kitchen. “Is this Mark?” she called to the living room where we sat. Mason was staring at me with a shocked-as-fuck expression while I was just chuckling softly.
“Oh, no. This is Mason. Some… weird things happened at the restaurant.”
Walking back in the living room, she threw a rag, and it smacked me right in the face. “Did you ditch that boy? No offense, Mason, I haven’t heard too much about either of you…” she thought for a second, “Well, actually, yes I have, but not enough to really know you. And I need to know you if you plan on taking my son 2 hours away for the weekend.”
“Um. Yes, ma’am, but you must understand, my parents… they don’t know.”
“That you’re gay?” He just nodded once. “I understand. Reed didn’t tell us until a few years ago, but I knew before he ever said anything. Do you work anywhere?”
“I—uh— get paid for working at the farm. It’s my life.”
“That’s good to know. You seem very polite.”
“Well, I guess my parents just raised me right.” He looked so uncomfortable it was almost pathetic.
“Look,” she said, noticing his discomfort as well, “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m cool with all of this, alright? I just don’t want my son getting hurt, like any other parent wouldn’t. If you don’t plan on hurting him, then I’m fine with you. Again, just like any other parent.”
But she really wasn’t like any other parent. She was lenient on most things so that if I did break one of the few rules she gave me, I would be punished. Most of the time, though, I didn’t, because I had so much freedom. After a while of talking with her, he started to become a little more relaxed, and she even agreed to let me go with him to his farm.
Eventually, we all knew he had to go, so he said, “Before I go, I’d like to apologize for… for the first word you heard me say tonight.”
Mom laughed, and this, too, startled Mason. “Oh, I get it from Reed all the time. What am I going to do? You’re just teenagers.” Mason smiled and she returned it. “Goodnight Mason.
“Bye, Mason, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” I was so excited I could hardly see straight. He said goodnight as well, and I watched him drive away through the window.
“Have you been here before?” He asked as we sat at our table. It was a Thursday night, so it wasn’t very busy.
“Hell yeah, this is my favorite restaurant.” The chandeliers were so fucking cool!
He chuckled. “It’s mine too.”
“So… how was practice yesterday?” Since I had no idea what to say, I started there. I really was curious…Was this a date, or just some guy being friendly to me?
“Boring, in contrast.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I had to ask, “To what?”
“It was really bland after talking to you. I kind of wanted to ask if you wanted me to skip practice and we could hang out, but…”
Just then, a familiar voice behind me greeted, “Oh, hey, Reed. Mark.” He gave Mark a single nod, and Mark pretended he didn’t exist. For a moment I just stared.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Then I noticed a boy by his side, who looked maybe a year or two younger than us, and I realized I wasn’t the only one on a date, or whateverthefuck this was. “Oh, well hi,” I said to the guy, because, for one, he looked totally uncomfortable, and two, I didn’t want Mason to think I was really all that into him and upset because he wasn’t alone. I was into him, but that didn’t need to be said out loud.
He smiled shyly, and they took their seats at the table next to us, Mason grinning like a total idiot. Tearing my eyes away from him, I saw that Mark had his face in his hands. “I want to leave,” he mumbled.
I gaped. “We just got here! We haven’t even eaten yet.”
“He’s fucking staring at you, Reed,” He lifted his face from his hands but still spoke too soft for them to hear, “and he’s not going to stop. Even though he’s with that guy—”
“Hey, Reed. I’m sorry—this is my brother.”
“Mason, would you leave us the fuck alone.”
“Mark…” It was almost like Mason was pleading to him, but Mark stood abruptly, staring at me for a second before walking away. I glanced at the back of his head, then at Mason, then down at my feet, and then Mason said, “You wanna join us?”
Hesitantly, I nodded, and stood to join them. Mason’s brother got up from his side of the booth and slid in next to him so that I could sit alone in front of them. Well, that was polite.
“Hello,” I greeted, “I’m Reed, and you are…?”
“I’m Bradley.” The boy was lean and muscular like his older brother, but not as interesting or friendly. Maybe he was just shy. “So, what do you do for fun?” he asked after a few minutes of small talk.
Slightly insulted, I laughed and shrugged. Just because I didn’t play sports didn’t mean I was some lazy loser-geek.
“Are you comin’ this weekend?”
“Oh, I don’t know, man…” I looked at Mason, and his brown eyes begged me: please? I stuttered. “Shit—oh, whatever. I have to ask, but I’m pretty sure she’ll let me. Do you—uh, stay until Sunday?” I was so smooth with words. He was just so… fucking gorgeous that it made my mouth want to do, like, cartwheels or whateverthefuck.
“Yeah, we do. You’re not, like, embarrassed or shy are you?”
I laughed. “Me? Shy?”
Mason smiled his ever-handsome smile. “Good. You’ll meet my mom, dad, grandparents, and a few other people. But none of ‘em know anything. If they did, we wouldn’t be able to sleep in the same fuckin’ building as each other.” Laughing, he winked at me. Bradley wrinkled his nose but other than that seemed fine. “Bradley’s the only one that knows.”
I wondered… “How can you be so open about it in school, then? Don’t they ever wonder why you never have a girlfriend?”
“As far as they know, I’ve never had a boyfriend either, so I guess they really don’t care. Anyway, I’ll meet you at your locker tomorrow and we can talk about plans and what we’re doing after school tomorrow.”
I was about to ask what we were going to be doing, but then the stupid waiter guy shoved his hand right in front of my face. I scowled at him, but grinned when I saw my spaghetti. “Thank you,” I said happily and immediately lunged at my food, excited to fill the black void that was my empty stomach. “God, that shit never gets old.”
“We’ll leave tomorrow, so I’ll pick you up in the morning so you can just ride with me after school.” He winked and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stifle the giggles. Bradley stared at me like I was an idiot. I couldn’t really blame him, though. He had no clue what we were laughing at, because he had been looking at some girl when Mason winked at me.
After we finished eating, Mason drove me home since I had come here with Mark. When he parked into the driveway after taking Bradley home first, he told me to sit still, and, confused, I obeyed. He walked around the car and opened the door. I tried not to laugh… but I just couldn’t help it. Guffawing, I got out of the car, but my laughs came to a halt when his lips pressed down on mine. It was the second time he had surprised me with a kiss. I immediately kissed him back and ran my hands through his hair, hungry for Mason, Mason, and more Mason…
“Ahem.”
“Fuck!” Mason lunged off of me, and I swear he jumped 2 feet in the air. Embarrassed, I just laughed a little. My mom had seen us, and she walked up to us and scared us shitless. He looked at her. “Oh, um… I’m sorry, ma’am.”
She just gave him that “Mom” look that basically was more amused than angry. “Come inside, boys.” With that, she turned and walked up the driveway and stood at the front door, watching to make sure we came straight in.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered with a worried expression.
I laughed. “She’s seen it before. Don’t worry.” That seemed to shock him for some reason, and when we walked inside, Mom gestured for us to sit down on the velvet couch.
“Ah, boys. Not outside, please. We wouldn’t want anyone thinking us indecent, now would we?” She winked at me, and walked into the kitchen. “Is this Mark?” she called to the living room where we sat. Mason was staring at me with a shocked-as-fuck expression while I was just chuckling softly.
“Oh, no. This is Mason. Some… weird things happened at the restaurant.”
Walking back in the living room, she threw a rag, and it smacked me right in the face. “Did you ditch that boy? No offense, Mason, I haven’t heard too much about either of you…” she thought for a second, “Well, actually, yes I have, but not enough to really know you. And I need to know you if you plan on taking my son 2 hours away for the weekend.”
“Um. Yes, ma’am, but you must understand, my parents… they don’t know.”
“That you’re gay?” He just nodded once. “I understand. Reed didn’t tell us until a few years ago, but I knew before he ever said anything. Do you work anywhere?”
“I—uh— get paid for working at the farm. It’s my life.”
“That’s good to know. You seem very polite.”
“Well, I guess my parents just raised me right.” He looked so uncomfortable it was almost pathetic.
“Look,” she said, noticing his discomfort as well, “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m cool with all of this, alright? I just don’t want my son getting hurt, like any other parent wouldn’t. If you don’t plan on hurting him, then I’m fine with you. Again, just like any other parent.”
But she really wasn’t like any other parent. She was lenient on most things so that if I did break one of the few rules she gave me, I would be punished. Most of the time, though, I didn’t, because I had so much freedom. After a while of talking with her, he started to become a little more relaxed, and she even agreed to let me go with him to his farm.
Eventually, we all knew he had to go, so he said, “Before I go, I’d like to apologize for… for the first word you heard me say tonight.”
Mom laughed, and this, too, startled Mason. “Oh, I get it from Reed all the time. What am I going to do? You’re just teenagers.” Mason smiled and she returned it. “Goodnight Mason.
“Bye, Mason, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” I was so excited I could hardly see straight. He said goodnight as well, and I watched him drive away through the window.