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me to take in a surprised breath as Oliver leaned forward, and as the other
boy’s lips came to rest at the corner of Frank’s mouth he counted off the th
ree delicate seconds that the kiss lasted.
When Frank looked at Oliver again, he was sitting back on the sofa, still
watching Frank in the calm manner that Oliver seemed capable of pulling of
f no matter what the circumstances, causing Frank to believe that he was t
he only one experiencing any amount of awkwardness. He told himself that h
e would have let the moment pass, accept the gesture of comfort for what i
t was. Innocent. Sweet like Oliver. And he would have. But then the corner
of Oliver’s mouth quirked up in a shy smile as he regarded Frank sidelong
, and suddenly Frank wondered if Oliver was innocent at all. Innocent, per
haps. But something in the dark-haired boy’s expression gave him away, tol
d Frank that he’d known exactly what he was doing. There was something the
re. There had to have been, or Frank never would have lifted his hand to b
rush a stand of soft hair behind Oliver’s hair, or slide his hand to the b
ack of Oliver’s head to pull him forward.
Frank’s approach wasn’t nearly as gentle as Oliver’s, and he paid for it when
a sting rose from his injured lip, but his aim was more intimate as his mout
h collided with Oliver’s. He heard the other boy’s breath hitch, and then fel
t Oliver’s lips parting beneath his, feeling soft and careful. Their tongues
lightly touched, Frank acting first, but then Oliver startled him as he deepe
ned the kiss in a way that suggested that the experience wasn’t at all new to
him. It was Frank who pulled back first.
Frank could feel the color rising in his face, but it had nothing to do with
embarrassment. Staring at Oliver, he felt depleted. Perhaps it was the earl
ier adrenaline leaving him, and the excitement of the day, but that kiss had
unexplainably drained him and he discouraged himself from wanting to do it
again. Not only because he was afraid that to continue would exhaust himself
, and perhaps Oliver, too, completely.
Frank rubbed at his mouth, and gently touched the wound there as he glanced
at Oliver. “I’m sorry, Oliver,” he said, feeling that an apology was neces
sary, even though he didn’t sound sorry. Maybe he wasn’t. Caught in the mom
ent, Frank had felt closer to Oliver, and as much as he wanted to convince
himself that there had been an underlying meaning in Oliver’s kiss, he stil
l saw it as a gesture of comfort that he’d promptly taken advantage of, and
Oliver’s naivete on other matters had Frank questioning whether or not Oli
ver had kissed him because he wanted to, or because he was trying to do wha
t Frank wanted.
Oliver, on the other hand, changed Frank’s mind again when he appeared to b
e irritated over the interruption. “Why, Frank?”
Frank shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”
Oliver frowned. “Well can I do it, then?”
Frank outright laughed, while Oliver continued to study him with a faint,
but detectable amount of annoyance until Frank leaned forward again. Olive
r’s frown faded, and for the moment, so did any doubts Frank might have ha
d.
.....................................
It sounded like someone was scratching on the ceiling. Scraping over old woo
den boards. The creak of a door opening, and the thud of something falling.
Perhaps a box, spilling small objects which rolled across the attic floor.
Frank was standing with his back firmly against the living room wall, right
where he could see the entrance to the kitchen, the dark hall leading to the
bedrooms, and the stairs leading upwards. His eyes darted from place to pla
ce, each moving shadow causing another knot in his throat, but nothing was g
oing to get by him.
Cats , he told himself, it’s just the cats. In fact, he believed himself to
be correct in that regard. But it still did nothing to rest his mind. Frank
was tired of being on edge. He was tired of every sound making him jump, and
the stiff sensation in his neck and back, caused by uncontrollable anxiety.
An hour ago he’d been fine. Stretched out on the sofa with Oliver, watching
a funny movie to calm both of their nerves, and a few shared kisses had mad
e it easier for Frank not to think about the strange occurrences he didn’t u
nderstand. The physical intimacy with Oliver had been a comfort, and a chall
enge, when Frank realized that if their innocent affection escalated, he’d l
ikely cross an invisible line he’d set for himself as far as Oliver was conc
erned. And he didn’t think Oliver would have minded, which only made the dil
emma worse. But, he still felt like hiding Oliver away when Mr. Martin had p
ulled up alongside the house in his yellow truck just after seven o’clock.
Oliver seemed happy to see his dad, though. And, his dad treated Oliver in
the same respect, confusing Frank. His gut still told him that something wa
s wrong, but whatever it was, he couldn’t seem to see it, even if Mr. Marti
n seemed more than a little standoffish towards Frank when he discovered th
at Jessica had left them alone at the house. Frank had done nothing to smoo
th over the situation. He didn’t like Mr. Martin as it was, and despite his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]