“I’m not trying to be dramatic about this, but if that was to happen… I would want to enjoy every second I could possibly have with Kaine before we go,” he finished.
“Nicki and I have been best friends for years. If we wanted to sneak around behind your backs, we could have done it already. We’re trying to be mature about this,” I said. Despite the embarrassment that came with talking to my parents about sex, I did my best to convey how seriously we were taking this.
“We promise to stay out of the X-rated zone,” I continued.
“It’s easy to promise good behavior when there is no temptation, boys,” Mama D said. “It’s quite a different thing to behave when no one is watching.”
“Yes, but we’re always watching!” Nicki said. “Kaine and I want what's best for each other. Even with us moving to Florida, Kaine wants me to do it if it can help find out why I’m sick all the time.”
I leaned forward, hands on my slightly grubby knees.
“Nicki doesn’t want us to have sex because he’s worried I’ll catch whatever he’s got. He didn’t even want to kiss me at first, until I convinced him I’d already be sick if he was contagious. We just… we want you to trust us,” I finished.
Nicki nodded and dug around under the table.
“So, we created a contract,” he said, proudly passing the somewhat-worse-for-wear piece of paper to his mom.
She stared at in bemusement as she began reading. We had done so many revisions of it that at this point, I had it memorized.
The page read, “We, Kaine Devereaux and Dominic Terhune, promise our parents that we will not have sexual intercourse with each other until we are much, much older (at least eighteen), or maybe even REALLY old, like twenty-one!
In exchange for our solemn vow, our parents will STOP trying to keep us from having sleepovers and spending time together! When we do decide to have sex, we will treat this experience with the seriousness that it deserves, and we will be responsible.
Sincerely, Kaine and Nicki."
"P.S. When that happens, we also promise not to get each other pregnant.”
Nicki’s mom passed the paper to my parents, who read it solemnly, but I could see a twinkle of laughter in Mama K’s eyes. I was pretty sure in that moment we had made our case, but I still held my breath. While our three parents looked at each other, Nicki and I had held each other’s hands tightly, waiting for their verdict.
Finally, Nicki’s mom nodded.
“I trust you, Nicki,” she said. Then she looked at me. “And I trust you, Kaine. I know how much you love my boy. I know you would never do anything that would put him at risk.”
Mama D and Mama K looked at each other for a moment, and it was one of those times when I knew my parents were reading each other’s thoughts. They both looked back at us.
“Okay, but when the timedoescome,” Mama D said. “You promise to be responsible.”
We had both nodded happily.
Those last few weeks had been almost heaven. Just “almost” though, because we’d quickly found out that Nicki’s parents had, indeed, made the decision to move the family to Florida.
The slamming of Nicki’s door made me jump and brought me out of my reverie.
I climbed out of the car and walked over to the front door. I unlocked it and stepped inside, Nicki following close behind.
The house looked just as it had when I’d left earlier in the evening. The couch in the living room had a crocheted afghan thrown haphazardly across it.
“Do you want something to drink?” I asked, my own throat suddenly dry as I walked across the room, suddenly hit by a major case of nerves. What the heck was wrong with me? I’d had Nicki here a million times as a kid.
Maybe that was the issue? We weren’tkidsanymore.
I turned around and saw Nicki hanging his jacket up on the coat rack. He lifted it to hang it on a hook, his shirt riding up just a bit to show a mouthwatering strip of skin between his low-slung jeans and the hem of his shirt. I could just see the band of his briefs sticking out from under his jeans. It was dark, but as I looked at his back, I could just make out what looked like… a scar?
“Hey, what do you think—” he began, then froze as his eyes tagged mine. For a moment we stood still, our gazes locked on each other. His skin was the color of light cream, his dark auburn hair like heated copper in the light. His eyes… his eyes were like ice, so cool and beautiful, sucking me into their depths.
I swallowed, and watched his eyes drop to my throat. I could swear his whole body shuddered as he looked at me, and I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I moved toward him, my skin suddenly feeling too tight, too hot, like the only thing keeping me from exploding was the cool light in his eyes. As I moved closer, I saw his tongue flick out to lick across his lips nervously, and with that one small gesture, I was done for.
