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Kissing was a good thing, a very good thing. Soon the boys fell into a rhythm. No more bumping into each other’s foreheads or clinking of teeth. Their display of friendship was only done behind closed doors, but Tommy had yet to turn him away so Adam never complained. But he wasn’t entirely satisfied either. Their kisses were quick, but Adam bided his time waiting to ask for more.
That time came at Tommy’s birthday party. Turing twelve, Dia had gone on and on about soon her baby boy was going to be a teenager. Tommy couldn’t wait. There was a party at his house. Kids running all over the place, creating chaos as they went. Parents did their best to keep everyone outside, but that didn’t work. Even all the pizza and ice cream didn’t hold their attention.
A game system was hooked up to the living room TV. It had been the gift Tommy had discovered under his parents bed about a month ago and had not shut up about it since. Being told every day about the gift, Adam bought his friend the game for it. One where you explore this dark demented world where misshapen monsters come to attack you. Tommy just loved it.
“Look, a flying severed head!”
“I hear if you pick up the doll, demons start coming down from the ceiling.”
“Pick it up! Pick it up!”
“No, it’s out of the health chest idiot.”
Sitting in the back, Adam watched though he didn’t scream out like the other boys. Instead, he watched Tommy playing. How his tongue poked out just slightly between his lips as he concentrated as hard as he could not to get killed in the game. But the enviable happened.
“Shit!”
“Thomas, language!”
Even from outside of the house, Dia’s ears were always on target. Handing the controller over to someone else, Tommy pushed himself off of the floor and made his way outside. Went up to the food table and made himself a bowl of ice cream. Sighing happily as a drop slowly ran down his friend’s lip. His opportunity seemed so close at hand.
“Tommy, will you grab another box of disposable spoons in the pantry?”
“Mom, it’s MY party.”
“Thomas!”
Rolling his eyes, Tommy stuffed the rest of the ice cream into his mouth as he put down the bowl and headed back inside. His eyes watching the TV making sure no one got farther than he did. Taking wide steps into the kitchen as he was a bit bored, Tommy opened up the door to his walk in pantry. “Ada...Ohh!”
Yanking Tommy inside, the boy’s bodies bumped together, causing Adam to knock a shelf behind him sending several cans toppling over. He pushed at the door to close it though it didn’t catch and stayed open a sliver. Adam moved in too quickly. There was a clash of teeth but it was immediately rectified. As the kiss slowed down, it felt better. Adam opened his mouth to allow Tommy’s tongue to enter. A soft hum came out of Adam’s mouth as he felt the cold intrusion, tasting the ice cream his friend just ate. Fingers slowly uncurling from Tommy’s shirt, they moved up to gently touch the other’s cheeks. He couldn’t explain it, but it made kissing easier.
Moving in closer, Tommy wrapped his arms around Adam’s middle. When their lower half’s touched, Adam’s eyes shot open. He felt something hard. Did Tommy forget the controller for his game in his pants?
Shoving Adam away, the door to the pantry was opened and there stood Leila, Adam’s mother, giving them a questioning look. Standing perfectly still with a look of complete guilt on his face, Adam didn’t want his family to learn about his secrets this way. But Tommy could always be counted on to get them out of any trouble.
“Tag, you’re it!” Tommy grabbed Leila’s arm before running out of the pantry.
“Adam, are you okay?” She reached out to brush some of his hair that was out of place.
All he could do was nod. Being lead out of the pantry, Adam rejoined the party. He saw Tommy back to playing the game. Taking a seat in the back, he didn’t move from that spot till his mom took him home.
It was days later in school that Adam found Tommy sitting in a hallway. More often than not, Tommy would get in trouble during lunch. Some boys didn’t understand his passion for music or his friendship with Adam. Instead of trying to get to know them, the boys would start teasing. Adam kept to himself but Tommy answered their teasing with his fist. To prevent this, Tommy was assigned to have lunch sitting on the floor outside of the lunch room. Metal Transformers lunchbox in hand, Adam sat down next to his friend.
“Hey.” Tommy said with his mouth full of pb&j sandwich.
“Hey, Tommy.” Opening his lunch box, Adam took out his juice box and carefully stabbed into it with the straw that was glued to the back. “Can I ask you something?”
“I don’t know, can you?” Snickering, he tossed the half eaten sandwich onto his lunch bag as Tommy took a sip from a coke can. “You know I’m joshing you. What do you want to ask?”
“You know at your party?” Because what Adam felt in the panty had stayed with him since it had happened. “Why do you think it was…you know…hard?” Adam whispered out the last word in case anyone was eves dropping in on their conversation.
“I don’t know but whatever you do, don’t ask your parents.”
Choking on his juice drink, Adam coughed out hard several times to clear his throat. The last thing he would have ever done was ask his parents about it. But apparently Tommy had.
-Flashback-
Ron Ratliff was in his office trying to organize his papers for work. But the more he tried to make sense of it, the more confusing it became. The door creaked and he looked up to see Tommy there leaning against it with his eyes to the floor and his hands stuffed into his pockets.
“You busy, dad?”
“Come on in.” Leaving the papers alone for now, he motioned for Tommy to sit in the chair across from him. “What’s on your mind?”
“I was wondering.” Hands out of his pockets now, Tommy grabbed a paper weight from his dad’s desk that was in the shape of an apple and tossed it from hand to hand. “What does it mean when it gets hard?”
“Hard?” Not getting it at first, Ron’s eyebrows knitted together. “What’s hard?” Homework, life, that damn video game he would not stop playing?
Sighing, he set the paper weight back. “In your pants, dad.”
“Oh…Oh!” Standing up and then sitting back down only to stand up again, Ron looked panicked. “Dia! Your son has a question!”
Later on, his mother told him something about him growing up and that he should stay away from girls, but Tommy never really got the answer he wanted. Figured it was one he would have to find out on his own.
TBC
Last ‘innocent’ chapter… dun, dun, dunnnnn!