Aaron Barclay was the kind of asshole I despised. I knew his kind well and it hadn’t taken much to come to an understanding when I’d cornered him in an alley after school. The threat of a thorough ass-beating by a tank usually was enough to get them to re-think their ways. And to make sure he knew I was serious, I’d bashed my knuckles into the brick next to his head. Despite the pain and blood, I showed no reaction, just stared at him until he crumpled and begged me not to hurt him. But Danny didn’t need to know I had a dark side like my father.
“My point is people are capable of surviving some of the worst things you can think of. Whether physical or emotional wounds, you find a way to through it all.”
“You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,” he said and took my hand.
“Well, I was there to put assholes in their places and now I’m here to kick your ass into doing what you need to get better,” I said sternly and turned his hand palm up. I squirted some fancy shampoo into it.
Danny smiled and it was the most beautiful thing in my world. We said no more as he washed his hair with his peppermint shampoo and silky conditioner. Every day he was beginning to appear a little more like himself before the assault and I was happy to contribute to helping him get back to normal. I helped him out of the tub and wrapped a big, fluffy towel around his shoulders, gently drying the moisture from his body. He leaned into me, his forehead resting against my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if he was tired or seeking comfort.
“I feel better,” he murmured, his words a brush against my body that momentarily heated my skin. “Thanks.”
“Why did you decide to live here?” I asked as I dried his hair gently. I ran my fingers through his uneven locks. “You used to catch lightning bugs and collect leaves. It’s hard imagining you choosing to live in the middle of concrete and steel.” What I really wanted to ask was,why didn’t you come home to me?
“I’ll show you,” he said and pushed the towel around his shoulders. “Help me walk to my bedroom?”
We held hands as we made our way back into his bedroom. He took a seat on the edge of the mattress still naked, his body flushed from the heat of the water. He motioned to the east-side window that was draped with dark curtains. I slid them open and winced at the sun rising over the water. When my eyes adjusted, I understood why he’d chosen this place. The apartment building was on the edge of The Gold Coast and overlooked Lincoln Park. Behind all the green of trees and specks of colorful flowers was a sandy beach that melted into the sapphire summer waters of Lake Michigan. This early, the sky was all kinds of pretty colors, the scene straight out of painting.
“My plan was to stay here for a few years until I saved some money and built enough credit to buy a house in a suburb. In the meantime, I am happy waking up every morning to the view of the sun rising over the park. I haven’t taken the time to appreciate the view for a while though, with everything that’s happened.”
I offered him my hand, and he took it. We stood in front of the window for a long while, watching as the sun peeked over the lake. I could see in my imagination, the early-rising joggers edging the lake and the flocks of gulls floating overhead and hear the sound of sloshing water. In our childhood, summer days were spent at Lake Petersburg and lounging on the warm planks of the dock while we gossiped about who was dating who and how well the high school football team might do that year. Sometimes I’d catch Danny staring at me a bit too long, as if he liked the way my body looked. It was those lazy, hot days that made me realize I liked the way he looked at me. I’d wanted him to do something about it, maybe touch me to see if he liked how Ifelt.
“I don’t remember if I ever told you about that mulberry tree next to my parents’ house?” he said, leaning against me.
“The one we would collect fruit from, and your mom would bake pies with?”
“Yes, actually. Before Mom moved me to Pleasant Grove, I took a cutting of the tree and propagated it in the yard. This was before we met, but that tree inspired a life-long interest in the natural world. The area where it decided to grow was a shady little corner on the side of the house where no one went except a few times in the summer to trim the weeds. The tree was tiny back then, no more than eight feet, but all the sudden we had a tree growing there. For a nature-nerd my age, it was the neatest thing.”
I wrapped my arms around him, another move that was completely natural. To my joy, he rested his head against me.
“My internet sleuthing skills helped me to identify the sapling as red mulberry, a species native to the area, but uncommon. From there, I figured out a random bird had eaten the fruit, perched itself on our fence and pooped out the seeds that would take root. I was so fascinated by how it had gotten there I begged my parents not to cut it down. This was shortly before they split up. I think it was the first time I realized something was wrong because my father had always taken care of the outside of the property. He was meticulous about mowing and trimming every corner and sweeping away the debris from the driveway. But he just didn’t seem to care anymore. The grass started to get long, weeds took over and in the autumn the leaves that had fallen just laid in our driveway. It was like he stoppedcaring. Anyway, Mom let me keep the tree and I took a clipping with me to our new place where I planted it.”
“So, my Danny became an environmental engineer because of a tree? Typical nature-nymphomaniac.”
The laugh he let out soaked into my skin and penetrated past my bones and muscles and everything tangible until it hit something that wasn’t physical. Before Danny had befriended me, I didn’t think people had things like souls and energy like in comic books, but I was seriously rethinking that idea—how else could I explain the things he made me feel?
“I think you mean dendrophile.” He smiled on an exhale, and I moved my thumb across his arm. He’d always had smooth skin, like silk or the fur of a kitten. It was fascinating in a way I didn’t quite understand.
He turned in my arms and frowned at me.
“What?”
“Nothing. I want to go back to sleep for a little while longer. Play a game with me later?” he said through a yawn.
“Whatever you want to do is good with me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Danny
I was brought back to our childhood every morning as I woke up to Jere spooning me and cuddling me close to him like I was a teddy bear. As a boy, it hadn’t fazed me when he’d crawled into my bed and wrapped his arms around me. As a teenager, it had been thrilling having my crush so close. Now, it was a reminder of what I couldn’t have. But I didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop. Nor did I want him to, because having his big body at my back made me feel safe, as if the gathering shadow monsters couldn’t ambush me from behind.
He was bigger than I remembered. More muscles, more weight, more everything. And like most mornings of our teenage years, he was sporting a half chub in his joggers, his cock pressing against my ass. A little thrill raced through me, as if my insides were moving up and down at excessive speeds. I shifted, telling myselfI was just trying to get comfortable,but I knew better. Our bodies this close, his erection riding up the crack of my ass would be the closest I’d ever come to having him and I’d be damned if I wouldn’t savor it.
“Pee?” he rasped against my neck, the hot woosh of his breath making me shiver with awareness.
“Not yet,” I said, wanting to linger in this moment despite knowing allowing him to cuddle me with a woody was dangerous. “Don’t want to get out of bed.”
For Jere, this was a completely normal thing to do between best friends. For everyone else, it was something meant to be shared between lovers. I could hear Ronnie’s voice in my head sayingare you sure he’sstraight? Because straight men do not spoon their best friends while throwing more wood than a lumberjack.
