“You’re ...you’re not coming?”
“With you?Up there?”Sully drifted into the truck, leaning over the bench seat to yank the latch and swing open the passenger door.Eventually, Dean slid in, yanking the rusty door shut behind him.“Hell, naw, kid.”
“But you...But we...”Dean was incredulous, waving his arms and nodding as if to point to the side of the truck.Or, in this case, the scene of the crime.“We just kissed.”
“Yeah, kid, we did.”Sully fired up the motor of his old Ford truck, setting the engine to rumbling and rocking as he backed out of the silent side street, heading off down Main Street toward the old Route 9 that would bring them back to Pistol Creek.
“Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”Dean pressed, clinging to his seat belt the same way he had the whole way to dinner.
“Of course it does, silly,” he teased, winking as he glanced over at his passenger.“I’m the one who did it, remember?”
“Not sure if you could tell, but...”
“That was your first?”
“That bad?”Dean hung his head.
Sully steered with his left hand, elbow out the open driver’s side window per usual.Quietly, in the darkened cabin, his right hand reached out to give Dean’s knee a little squeeze.“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
“Then why are you dropping me off, damn?”
Sully chuckled.“You think I want to?”he groused.“Think I like sitting on these big, fat, overstuffed blue balls of mine?No, fella, I certainly don’t.”
“Then come upstairs and let me do something about them, sheesh.”
Sully gritted his teeth and drove down the empty two-lane road back home.He slid his fingers from Dean’s knee and gripped the wheel with both hands, smiling.“Look, Dean, not to overstep but have you ever been with a guy before?”
“No.”His response was quick and certain.
“Ever been with a girl before?”
“Also no.”
“So then, you’re gonna waste your V-card on some broken down country boy whose hands smell like beer in some flea bag storage apartment?”
“Sounds divine,” Dean beamed, eyes moist and dreamy in the truck cabin as if he was watching his favorite romcom.
Sully snorted.“Okay, then, fine.Give it tonight, Dean.We had some fun.I’m pretty excited, are you?”
Dean glanced down at his lap.“Obviously.”
Sully kept his eyes on the road, lest his already crumbling willpower cave altogether.“Fine, then sleep on it, if you can, and tomorrow?We can maybe take things to the next level.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, Dean.One quick sleep from now.Tomorrow.”
“What’s the next level in this self-imposed country courtship of yours?”Dean harumphed, crossing his arms over his chest.“A firm handshake?A swift pat on the ass?”
“Keep talking like that,” Sully growled playfully, doing his best imitation of a high school football coach threatening his star player with another ten pushups after practice.“And I’ll make it two days.”
“What?Why?This is bullshit!”
Sully took his eyes off the admittedly empty road and gave Dean a shuddering glare.“You wanna make it three, City Slicker?”
