Page 29 of Hilarina and the Ogre

“It’s just from stretching.”

“If I stretched like that, my leg would crack off.”

Trenton wasn’t helping, puffing his friend up every chance he could get. “You should see his fouettes.”

“His what?”

They tried pushing Hilary to demonstrate, which only made him shyer. “I don’t have my shoes with me.”

It was a bluff someone called with an offer to make a run to the studio. And so Hilary was forced to show them, cheeks flushed and hoping he could blame it on exertion—exertion that turned out to be real when he found himself encouraged by the cheers and Casey’s ridiculous whistles, to do at least five revolutions too many, a little dizzy when he finally stopped. Trenton was crabby. “You showed them so easily.”

“I showed you too, didn’t I?”

“Not when I asked.”

Hilary could have grumbled at that but found himself capitulating instead. “We’ll go to the studio tomorrow. Don’t sulk.”

Hilary thought that would be the end of it, but when Casey was trying to demonstrate something to him, Trenton appeared from nowhere and wrenched the boy’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t touch him.”

Trenton wasn’t quite all the way to angry, but there was something almost savage about the set of his mouth that had Casey truly apologizing. It was all a load of crap.

“Are ogres always this possessive?” Hilary asked once they were back in the car.

Trenton was driving again, as the Shitheap seemed to like him better than its true owner. “When it’s important.”

“And this was important, was it?”

Trenton was so insulted, Hilary had to take his hand to placate him. “Don’t be so prickly.”

Trenton liked having his hand. In fact, he liked it so much he refused to let it go even once they were back inside, but no one at the house seemed to find it strange, even when the boy kept dropping his food into his lap because he was trying to eat with the non-dominant one.

Albert wanted to try Aikido too. “You know, I had some great moves back in the day.”

Hilary called the bluff. “Are they the same moves that threw out your back last week?”

“That was from changing the light bulb in the bathroom.”

“I thought you left that kind of thing to Mom.”

“That’s what I like about you, Hilly. You always use both hands to crush my manhood. You never half-ass it.”

Hilary decided he’d let Trenton drive the Shitheap home. It made more sense than letting the boy freeze to death waiting out in the parking lot for him every day. But Trenton made him bundle up properly to see him off, even when he was only walking him out to the car.

“Can I do this at school too?” Trenton asked, holding up their still-linked hands through the window.

“If you don’t mind having our lockers drowned in spunk.”

Trenton seemed to debate it, and for so long that Hilary wrenched his hand free. “Don’t be dumb.”

Trenton was too big to look so bereft, so after only a few moments Hilary sighed and gave the hand back. Trenton was very pleased.

“I liked showing you off today,” the boy admitted.

“I’m not your pet.”

“Even so.”

Hilary should have pulled his hand back again, but it really was chilly out and Trenton was a little too warm to give up.