“Yes, Tom, really. You know I needallthe details.”
“Fine. He had on black jeans and a pale-blue button-down. With a leather jacket. He looked so hot.”
“Nice,” Char told him. “What else happened?”
Tom talked about the rest of their date, laughing about their attempt to walk around in the slightly too-cold weather. “When he brought me back home, he parked in the driveway and told me that he had a good time, and that he liked me. Then he leaned over and kissed me.”
“Ooooh,” Char squealed. “Is he a good kisser?”
“Um, I think so.” Tom was hesitant. He’d need to admit that he had fucked up a little. Ah well, might as well just tell her.
“Whaddya mean, you think so?”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it, so I kinda froze up. I’m not sure if I actually kissed him back or not,” Tom said. “I think I fucked up.”
“Oh, Tom.” Char sounded crestfallen. “Hopefully you’ll be prepared for the next time. There’s gonna be a next time, right?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there will be. After all, he said he liked me and wanted to see me again. And before I went to sleep, Itexted him and said I enjoyed the evening, too, and wanted to do it again. Especially the kiss.”
“Wait, you told him you wanted to kiss again?”
“Yeah, why? At first I thought it might be too much, but then I sent it before I could change my mind.” Tom was suddenly confused. Had he fucked it all up again? His stomach growled as he heard his mom walking in the hallway. That meant breakfast would be ready soon.
“That’s perfect,” she said. “You saved it by saying that. Even if you didn’t kiss him back, you told him you wanted to kiss him again. That’s good. Very good.”
“Whew, okay. That’s a relief,” Tom said, slumping down into the covers. “I’m so out of practice with this whole dating thing. You know I’m not good with people.”
“You’re gonna be fine. Did he respond to your text?”
“No. I figured he was already asleep.” A thought occurred to him. “Should I be worried about that?”
“No. It was late, so you’re probably right. But hopefully you’ll hear something from him today. Either way, let me know.”
“Okay, I will. I’ll let you go now, kiddo. I heard Mom a few minutes ago, so I’m gonna go see what’s for breakfast. Love you.”
“Love you back. Bye.”
CHAPTER NINE
Will
Will reachedfor his phone on the nightstand, where it had been charging. He shook his head as he checked the weather app on his phone.How did it get to be almost the middle of November?Fortunately, the weather forecast showed sunny weather, with a high in the mid-sixties today. It seemed they were enjoying a second summer in New England.
That was fine with him since he and Tom were double-dating with Char and Cee Cee today. It was Veterans Day, so school was closed, and the four of them miraculously all had the day off. Will silently thanked whoever was gracing them all with such good fortune. He and Tom had managed to go out on a few more dates—after comparing schedules, they realized they were both off on Wednesday nights, so that had become date night for them. Nothing fancy, but usually dinner and conversation followed by kissing. Lots of kissing. Will learned that even though Tom had been really shy when they kissed the first time, he turned out to be quite a good kisser.
And now he was really looking forward to this double date. Sure, he loved spending time with Tom, but he really wanted to get to know Char better and to meet Cee Cee, so Tom had suggested today’s outing.
The plan was for him to pick Tom up, then drive over to Char and Cee Cee’s apartment since he had the largest vehicle between them. They were gonna drive down to Provincetown, at the very end of the Cape. While technically off-season, tourists still flocked to P-town—as it was known—all year long. It was extremely gay friendly, so it was a perfect destination for the four of them this fine fall day.
Will decided he’d best get his ass in gear and scooted to the bathroom to shower.
He got ready in record time and climbed into his vehicle to head to Tom’s, who was just coming out of the door when Will pulled up. As he slid in beside Will, Tom smiled, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Hi.”
“Hi, you.” Will’s pulse quickened, and he thought this might be the best feeling in the world. It seemed that Tom was finally starting to get over his shyness, and that made Will smile.
Tom rested his hand on Will’s thigh as Will drove away.
“Hi, Tom, hi, Will,” Char said as she got in the back seat. “Will, this is my girlfriend, Cee Cee. Cee, this is Will.” Will had met Char at school one day. Since she was a nursing student, their paths didn’t cross much, but Tom had wanted to introduce them since Will was becoming more important in his life. The three of them had gotten together for coffee in the student lounge a few times since their first meeting.
