Adam rested his forehead against Ru’s and just let Ru’s breath brush across his face in sweet warmth. “Sometimes I need to run. To clear my head.” Adam pointed to his forehead. “Lots of noise up here. Gets really loud sometimes. Like you saw last night.” He glanced down, embarrassed again.
“Your dad told me. Once I’d got showered up and found you still running, we went downstairs to grab a smoothie. He’s a pretty good guy.”
“He wasn’t weird with you or anything?”
“He didn’t threaten to break my arms or anything, if that’s what you mean.” Ru brushed Adam’s hair out of his face. “Asked me a lot of questions. Makes sense. He’s your dad. He wants to make sure I’m not some jerk.”
Ru grabbed his hand and let their fingers slide together. “We’re going to Dimitri’s for lunch. Your dad says the carbs and some extra protein will do you good. Food first, then maybe a nap. I think they might even let us nap together as long as we leave the door open.” Ru let go of Adam’s hand and bent over to help him into his shoes.
“I can do that,” Adam complained.
Ru just shook his head, tied each shoe tightly, then rose to his feet and offered Adam his hand. “Let’s go eat. You’re still pretty pale. I think we need to get more water and some food in you.”
When Adam stood up, hewasa little shaky. His dad reappeared, this time with a couple of bottles of water. His mom met them outside the locker room, but his dad had already pulled the SUV around. They all got in, Adam and Ru in the very back so they could sit together. Ru put the blanket from the day before around Adam after they were buckled in, then handed him the water. “Two of these before we get to the restaurant, okay?”
Adam nodded and drank, happy to have his hand in Ru’s grasp and Ru’s thigh pressed to his, even if the bandages on his knees felt a little weird.
When the group arrived, the place was mostly empty. Guess pizza wasn’t a big lunch on Sunday. They got a booth, Ru and Adam on one side, Adam’s folks on the other. Adam didn’t need to look at the menu. He was craving meat something fierce and probably needed the vitamins in veggies, so he would eat just about anything.
“Anything you don’t like, Ru?” his dad asked. “I’m good with anything except anchovies.”
“I don’t like anchovies either,” Adam told him.
Dimitri himself waited on their table, smiling and patting Ru on the back while chatting up Adam’s parents. They got two large pizzas with heaping veggies and chicken. By the time the food arrived, Adam was so hungry he could have eaten the plate. He ate half a pizza by himself. Finally full, he leaned on Ru and half dozing on his shoulder.
“Let’s get you home for a nap. ’Kay, baby?” Ru asked.
“’Kay.” Adam let Ru lead him back to the car but didn’t remember the ride home. When he awoke later, he was in bed, Ru wrapped around him; the blankets snug around them like someone had tucked them in. Adam snapped a few pictures with his cell phone of Ru sleeping. He looked very young when sleeping, and Adam didn’t want to disturb him, but knew by the set of the sun through the window and the time on his iPhone that it was getting late.
His mom poked her head through the open doorway. Adam blinked up at her, waiting for her to call for his dad since he was in bed with Ru, but she just smiled. “Dinner’s almost ready. You should both get up or you won’t sleep tonight.”
“Okay,” Adam told her, then had to ask, “Aren’t you mad?”
“Nope.” Then she was gone.
Ru opened his eyes and rewarded Adam with a tiny grin. “Hey, baby.”
Adam leaned forward and kissed him. “Not sure about the baby thing. I like when you call me anything. It’s just weird to hear ‘baby.’”
Ru returned Adam’s kiss with sweet teasing ones of his own. “How about Sport? Champ? Honey?”
“How about Adam?” Adam teased.
“Okay. Anything you want.”
Adam wanted to cuddle with Ru a while longer, but his folks weren’t having that. His dad popped in five minutes later to make sure they were awake. And they were, though they had been kissing. Just sitting up on the bed, legs crossed, kissing like nothing else mattered. Adam’s dad cleared his throat. They pulled away from each other, shared a guilty glance, and then burst out laughing.
His dad walked away shaking his head and calling out, “Downstairs for food, now.”
They headed down to dinner, hand in hand. Ru talked about his homeschooling and how he loved music. Adam’s mom invited him to play, but Ru got all embarrassed. She let it go with a “maybe next time.”
Adam had to hide a smile behind his cup. They were going to let Ru stay over again. They liked him. Adam’s dad started a conversation with Ru about the changes to rock music over the last decade.
Music was a topic that animated Ru. His hands flew around wildly, his expressions over the top, all his emotions on his face and seeming to pour up through his skin from the mere mention. Everything about him was so uninhibited, but it made sense because he hadn’t attended an actual school since he was ten. He hadn’t learned to hide what he felt or put on a mask. When he laughed, they all laughed. And no one scolded Adam when he gripped Ru’s hand under the table.
When it was time for Ru to go, Adam walked him to the door. The dark town car idled at the end of the walk. Adam sighed. Was it really over so soon? Ru kissed him on the cheek. “After school tomorrow? Do you want me to pick you up?”
They planned to go to the gym each day so Adam could run. Ru had promised Adam’s dad he’d keep Adam from running himself into the ground while he was there and would have him home by dinner. Since Adam planned to quit the football team, it made sense. He glanced at his parents. His dad just shrugged. “Sure.”
“’Kay.” Ru kissed Adam again, this time just a light brush on the lips, and then he was headed down the walkway. Adam waited until Ru got in and the car drove off before shutting the door. Now would start the countdown once again. How many hours until Adam could see him again?
His dad patted him on the back. “He seems like a nice boy. But don’t let your grades suffer over this relationship. Life is about finding a balance. Can you do that?”
Adam looked at him and thought about it. “Yeah. I think so. I mean, I can’t wait to see him again, but the faster the school day goes, the sooner I’ll get to see him. And if I’m actually working in class, studying, doing homework, the day will feel like it’s going faster.”
“That’s my boy.”
