16
BECKETT
Age 17
The night was far colder than I’d predicted, so I was thankful I had the forethought to cover the windows with a blanket when we arrived. It would probably be the last night we’d be able to sleep in the tree house until spring. The small foam mattress was warm under us, but the blankets and sleeping bags weren’t cutting it. Riley was shivering next to me, his teeth chattering.
“You awake?” I whispered.
“Y-ye-s-s.”
“Come here,” I urged, pulling him tight against me. It didn’t matter we were both boys, we were freezing our asses off and needed to get warm.
Riley remained stiff next to me, his body shaking hard enough to rattle me. I turned so we were chest to chest and folded my arm around him. He tried to pull away, but I held on.
“Ry, we need to get warm or we need to go home.”
He gave in nodding shakily and snuggled in close. Our legs tangled together under the covers and his head rested just below my chin as I held him. It took several long minutes, but he eventually warmed enough to fall asleep in my arms. His warm breath was comforting against my chest.
Holding him was a reminder of all the strange things I’d been feeling for a while now. Like how my body reacted to his… all warm and butterfly-like. Or how I sometimes caught myself looking at his lips or his cute, perfectly-round butt. I never used to notice those things before, but now I couldn’t help it. Even holding him now was causing a jittery feeling in my chest, like my heart was beating too fast. My dick began to harden and my body grew hot, yet it didn’t feelwrong.Just… different.
I did my best to ignore those feelings and shoved them aside. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a boner after all, but this time it was in direct response to Riley and that had me all sorts of confused.
Riley slipped an arm around my waist in his sleep, murmuring something sweet I couldn’t make out. It was just what I needed to be pulled back from my thoughts and remember that no matter what I felt, this guy was still my best friend above anything else. I could sort the rest of it out later. For now, I was happy to just hold him and keep us warm. It took another hour, but I eventually fell asleep in his arms.
***
Riley treated me to a late breakfast at a fun little diner in town, where we shared an order of the largest pancakes I’d ever seen in my life. They covered the entire plate, topped with fresh butter and huckleberry jam, with a side of scrambled eggs and thick cut bacon. He enjoyed all the moans of enjoyment I couldn’t hold back as I ate, his eyes light with amusement.
He held my hand as we walked down the street, soaking in the sun. “So, I was thinking, if you wanted, we could go back to the shop and you could tell me a little about that idea you had? About what you wanted me to make, I mean. We can go through some of the materials and see what catches your eye.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. I didn’t expect him to invite me back so soon. “Really?”
He squeezed my hand. “Yes, really. I liked having you over last night. It was nice.”
“Good to know I passed the test,” I teased.
Riley laughed and nudged me. “Shut up. So, I’m a little antisocial, sue me. It just, I don’t know, felt like old times, in some ways.”
“With some pretty great improvements, though,” I said, arching a brow.
He blushed. “Yeah. I think so, too.”
Riley lived on the quieter side of downtown, almost directly between the residential and commercial buildings. This meant he could walk almost anywhere, which was something I’d learned he preferred to do, especially with Lady in tow. While we walked, I noticed a tall metal sailboat near a patch of flowers in the park. I was immediately drawn to it, tugging Riley along with me. He was quiet as I studied it, tracing my fingers along the sail. I noticed tiny knots along the rope and bent to get a closer look. They were simple J knots, probably just used to form an eye-catching design.
I slipped an arm around Riley’s waist as I stood and kissed his temple. I didn’t bother to ask if it was his work, because I saw the fishhooks near the bottom of the boat, which I recognized as his signature.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you.”
Thirty minutes later, we entered his shop. He threw open the overhead door in the back for light and told me to take a look around. I could see it wasn’t as messy and unorganized as I originally thought. Each type of material had its own section of the shop, and within those sections, they were arranged by the various types of wood or metals, if a little haphazardly. It felt like he didtryto stay organized, but maybe he just couldn’t keep up with it as well as he would have liked.
It was impossible for me not to clean up a few pieces once I figured out where they went. I heard Riley chuckle behind me.
“Still a neat freak, huh?”
I rolled my eyes, though he couldn’t see them. “Maybe a little more so. I blame the army. What’s this?” I held up a long piece of metal with about two dozen bottle caps arranged sporadically on it.
