“Trev, talk to me. Are you saying…?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Say the words, Trev,” I pleaded. This was not the time to make vague comments and hope the other one understood. I needed his words. Needed his voice to tell me I wasn’t dreaming.
“I… I’m… dang, why is this so hard? You did it, why can’t I?” The quiver in Trevor’s voice warned me he was on the verge of tears. He caught hell from everyone for being too sensitive, but I envied him that. Sometimes, I wished it were so easy for me to show emotions other than angst and anger.
“It’s scary to cut yourself open and let people see the real you,” I assured him, taking a step closer. My hand slid down his shoulder to his hand. He stared at that point of contact before looking up at me with a shy smile. “It’s me, Trev. Let me see you.”
My hand shook as I lifted it to his face. It was risky, but I couldn’t not touch him. I needed to know he saw the look in my eyes when he said the words I knew he’d never uttered to another soul. My heart ached when I realized he was on the verge of tears.
“It’s okay,” I promised him. “The world isn’t going to collapse if you say it out loud.”
“I’m… gay.” I swear I opened my mouth to tell him how proud of him I was, but the next thing I knew, my mouth fused with Trevor’s and I couldn’t bring myself to stop kissing him. He gasped, and I took the opportunity to get my first taste of him. I dreamed of this moment, but never had my dream been set in a dark corner of my parents’ basement. I kept waiting for Trevor to pull away, but instead, he wrapped his arms around my waist, silently reassuring me he felt this too.
“Gabriel Aaron,did you remember to pack your shower shoes?” I sprang back at the sound of Mom’s voice. Shit, I needed to hold it together, just one more hour, or all our careful planning to keep them from telling us what a huge mistake we were making would shatter.
“Yes, Mother,” I responded sarcastically, knowing she hated it as much when I called her mother as I did when she used my full name.
“And the anti-fungal spray?” DeeDee added. I hadn’t even realized she’d come down to help us load the Jeep.The plan had been for her to make breakfast before we hit the road. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep a bark of laughter from escaping. As frustrating as my own mom could be, Trev’s was ten times worse. “You can’t be too careful with those communal showers. Not much is worse than wishing you could claw the skin off your own feet because you picked up someone’s fungus from the shower floors. They never clean those things as often as they should.”
Trevor’s faced flamed red. I flashed him a sympathetic look before darting away to avoid listening to DeeDee’s monologue about the number of germs present in a college dorm. She was a nurse at a clinic near the local college campus and while my mom had spent the summer trying to make sure we had everything every college prep list claimed to be a necessity, DeeDee spent our time at her house warning us of all the diseases we’d pick up at college if we didn’t take the appropriate precautions.
“…And condoms. Do you have those?” Out of their sight, this time I didn’t resist the urge to double over in laughter. But I perked right up, curious as to Trevor’s response. There were certain supplies we would need to stop and purchase along the way, condoms and lube being at the top of that list. Definitely lube. Condoms we’d talk about. Since neither of us had been with anyone before, I didn’t see the point but I’d never force something like that on Trev.
“God, Mom, why don’t you grab a megaphone? I’m pretty sure Mrs. Palmer didn’t hear you making sure I’ll be having safe sex when I’m earning my degree.”
“Yes, remember why you’re there. That’s good,” she praised him. “I’m too young to be a grandma.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I promise that won’t happen,” he responded. I heard his mortification from across the driveway. If I looked at Trevor, there was no doubt he’d glare at my amusement. When our eyes finally met, my stomach settled. He probably didn’t even realize how his eyes scanned my body or the way he absentmindedly licked his lips, as though he was thinking about exactlywhyit was so easy for him to promise Gwen she wouldn’t be a grandma anytime soon.
“You’re right, as long as you’re careful.” She wasn’t going to let this go. Time to step in and save the poor boy.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid with the girls at school,” I vowed, knowing it a promise I could easily keep.
“That doesn’t ease my mind, Gabriel.”
“I swear on my life.” I made a quick cross over my heart and then turned to close the back of the Jeep. We needed to hit the road soon if we were going to get to school before every other freshman and their parents descended on campus. Somehow, Trevor had managed to convince our parents it’d be good for us to drive down by ourselves. I could kiss him for that, because I’d been dreading the idea of Mom and DeeDee dragging us around campus all day to see the sights.
