We Lit Up Like Fireworks

Kenzie and I sat on the couch, our legs curled up under the cashmere blanket we were sharing, the smooth fabric draped over our legs as our arms brushed every time one of us moved to take a bit of the desserts we were devouring. Kenzie smiled gently as he popped a spoonful of scorching apple pie and vanilla ice cream in his mouth, swallowing quickly as he turned to me, barely paying attention to the dramatic soapie playing on the television. I gulped every time he looked at me, and every time he moved to snuggled closer to me I just lost it. My brain was a mess, muddled thoughts of Kenzie, Kenzie and more Kenzie. He was just so beautiful it was criminal, and he knew it all too well. He always had that slightly amused and pleased grin on his face that I was too whipped for to complain about. He was younger than me for fuck's sake! And he's still in school, with a girlfriend. He's off limits.

"What time will Nikki be home?" Kenzie asked, as he grabbed my finished bowl, getting up, the warmth plastered to my side leaving my body, making me feel empty and cold. I had to restrain my arms from grabbing onto his hips and pulling him back down, but instead looked at the clock hanging wonkily on the wall above the plasma.

"If she's not back in an hour, then she'll be back tomorrow morning," I said, and Kenzie nodded, before ducking into the kitchen. There was a momentary clatter of the dishwasher and porcelain chinaware, before Kenzie re-emerged and took his rightful place by my side once again. I pulled the blanket over his legs and he laughed slightly, taking the moment to lean against my side, his head resting carefully on my shoulder. His hot breath flitted across my bare collar bone, the neck-line of my shirt not covering that area of my chest, and every time he exhaled the hairs on the back of my neck bristled. I felt myself tensing with every breath he took and he giggled childishly.

"Relax, Jay," Kenzie murmured, his legs crossing over my lap so he was half sitting on my, his hands around my neck. He looked up, eyes sparkling with something unusual before they darkened, a sigh escaping his lips. He had a conflicted expression on his smooth face, his brow creasing slightly as he gnawed on his bottom lip in guilt.

"We've only just met, Kenzie," I whispered huskily, and he nodded in agreement, running his fingers through his locks. "And you're under age... and you have a girlfriend."

"Way to make a kid depressed," Kenzie teased half-heartedly, shoving my chest as he smiled wryly. "You must be a hit with the ladies, Jay, giving them the ultimatum that breaks the heart."

"S-Sorry, Kenzie. I d-didn't mean-" I stammered, and Kenzie rolled his eyes before hugging me tightly.

"Nah, you're just being real. I understand, Jay. I don't care about my girlfriend. Well, I care about her, but I don't care about her like... like I care about you," Kenzie said, his voice with a vulnerable twang. "It's so weird. When I saw you, I don't know, I just wanted to get to know you. And I still want to get to know you, Jay, you and Miles. I really like you, and I'm not just a kid when it comes to shit like that. I, honest to god, like you, Jay."

Oh no. This is not good, not good at all. I thought that I could stay away from him, slowly put a bit of distance between this amazing boy and my feelings that were so undeniably wrong. But when he says something like that, and says it with that lisp in his voice and that forlorn, love-sick look on his face, it's hard for even a grown man like me to deny it. It would kill me not to... not to let this relationship continue on, because if I cut it off right here and now then Kenzie would be just heart broken. He didn't deserve something like that, and now that he was right there in front of me, there was no way I was letting him go.

"I like you too, Kenzie," I murmured, kissing the top of his head swiftly. "I like you a lot."

"You don't act like you do. You're pretty awkward around me, Jay," Kenzie laughed, winking. "But that's what I like about you. You are so unpredictable."

I wasn't unpredictable. I was so blatantly obvious with my feelings it was almost embarrassing. I couldn't hide the blush that crept across my cheeks every time he winked at me, I couldn't form coherent words when he was pressed up against me, and my thoughts were nothing more than jumbled phrases and images of Kenzie smiling, laughing and just being that care-free Kenzie I barely knew but loved nonetheless. Kenzie was right about my being awkward though- Nikki never let me hear the end of it. She always said if I didn't get over my... my social-retardation then I would never be able woo other guys or girls. I guess that made Kenzie seem even more amazing in my eyes- he accepted me, awkwardness and all.

"Do you play, Jay?" Kenzie suddenly asked, his finger pointing towards the guitar propped up against the wall.

"A little," I replied airily, as Kenzie climbed off my lap, grabbing my guitar before making his way back towards me, handing me my instrument. "Kenzie?"

"Play something," Kenzie said, hopping up and down on his feet in excitement. "And don't even try lying to me- I can tell you know how to play 'more than a little'."

"Oh? And how would you know that?" I asked, raising a brow as Kenzie shrugged.

"You have the vibe. Anyway, let's go outside so we don't wake Miles up. The kid was pretty stroppy when he woke up before."

"Smart," I said, getting up, wrapping the blanket up as I carried it outside also, Kenzie on my heels, his arm slipped through mine. "Are you sure? It's cold outside."

"Then you'll have to keep me warm," Kenzie replied quickly, sitting down on the edge of the back decking, his legs hanging over the edge as I sat next to him. I lay down my guitar to wrap the blanket around Kenzie's shoulders, before picking it up again, pulling the strap over my neck. I strummed a few cords as Kenzie looked up into the sky, the yellow-silver glow casting shadows across the planes of his angular face. He raised one arm up to the moon, his fingers splayed out as he moved his hand from left to right.

"What do you want me to play?" I asked, and Kenzie shrugged once again, his hand dropping to his lap as he snuggled up in the blanket.

"Anything. I just want to hear your voice."

I really had to control my heart, or I sweat this boy was about to give me a heart attack or a stroke.

"U-Uhm, alright then. Here I go," I said, sucking in a deep breath as he closed his eyes, leaning onto his arms that were crossed over his tucked legs. I moved my hands, almost mechanically, but soon enough I sunk into the song: Your Guardian Angel, by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It was meant for Kenzie, and he knew it.

Time seemed to stop; the only things I could register were my words and Kenzie's reactions. He stayed still the entire time, every now and then the smile on his face would widen, before relaxing back into the slight, dimpled curve. He swayed every so often too, his mouth moving to the words pouring from my lips.

"I'll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven," I concluded, my voice drifting off as I opened my closed eyes, to see Kenzie's face right in front of mine, a beaming smile on his face.

"I'll hold you to that promise," he whispered, before closing his eyes, his mouth moving closer to mine.

As his lips touched mine, there was a crackle in the sky as rainbow glimmers of lights exploded against the moon. Fireworks. They were gorgeous, but nothing could be more beautiful than Kenzie. Nothing.