Page 46 of Hilarina and the Ogre

There wasn’t much time for thinking though. There were all the stupid finals to get through, and he was still doing the ballet classes and tagging along with Trenton to the dojo. It was there that Casey said something annoying. “You know, if you’re always together, you’ll get sick of each other.”

Trenton dismissed that without a second thought. “Not going to happen.”

“That’s what everyone says, but when the honeymoon phase ends and real life comes around, you’re going to start irritating each other. It’ll lead to stupid comments and fights, and if you’re always on top of each other—”

“Not going to happen,” Trenton said—this time with the weight of his eyes. “Now stop it. You’re upsetting Hilary.”

Hilary didn’t mean to get upset, and he tried laughing it off, but Trenton wasn’t fooled. Once they were back in the car, the boy said, very seriously, “It’s not a honeymoon phase. I told you, friendship isn’t the idiocy of lovers. It’s not a physical thing between us, so it’s not like our eyes are going to wander once the next person comes along.”

“It’s physical sometimes.” Hilary’s face burned to say it. He really had gone back to being a weenie. “I like touching you.”

Trenton pulled on him, drawing him up over the hump between the seats. It was something he did often, even when there was no space for it. “I like touching you too. But it didn’t start that way. We connected in our heads first.”

“But can’t that get tiresome, too? Once we’ve said all the things we need to say to each other, it’ll just be reruns. Like a broken record.”

“I think I’d need more than one life to say all the things I want to say to you.”

“Well, I’m not that creative. Or clever. When I look at you, I have the same stupid thoughts over and over.”

“Such as?”

Hilary clammed up, and he knew his face was beet red. Trenton laughed and squeezed him even closer. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that, no matter how many times you say it.”

It was warm in Trenton’s arms, and he smelled so good. How was it that they both did the same things, went to the same places and used the same shampoo most of the time, but Trenton always smelled ten times better than he did?

“We can make space if you want to,” Trenton said after a short time. He’d been smoothing his hair, pressing a kiss to his temple with every couple of strokes. “I’ve thought about it before. Since that time you told me—”

“I didn’t mean that.”

He knew exactly what time Trenton meant. That stupidity on the day of his confession, when he’d clumsily tried to seduce Trenton and lashed out when it hadn’t worked.

Trenton kissed him again. That small space behind his ear. “I know. But it’s true. I’m always with you, and in your space. We even share the same bed most of the time.”

“I like that part.”

The beds were only twin sized, and too small for them to squeeze into together. What they usually did was push together his bed and the new high-riser and cover them both with a king-sized mattress topper. It worked well, even if it meant taking up all the space in the room and making it difficult to get things out of the dresser drawers. That was why they always set out the next day’s clothes before they made up the beds for the night.

“I like that part too. I’m not suggesting we change it. But there are other things. You could teach some of your classes alone while I go to the dojo.”

“But I like the dojo. And you like the classes.”

“Yes.”

Hilary knew he was being annoying. Wasn’t this worry about getting tired of each other his own anxiety? Trenton was just trying to accommodate it.

“How about this,” Trenton offered. “We’ll try it when I go to work tomorrow.”

“But that’s the whole day!”

He’d gotten used to spending the workdays with Trenton. He helped out with some things, like stacking the shelves and making tea for customers. Mrs. Parson was very particular that the customers be served something. It was why she usually had a plate of cookies by the register that customers were free to enjoy. Tea and shelf stacking aside, there was still plenty of downtime. Aside from some regulars, the shop didn’t get that much traffic, even on the weekends, so usually Trenton set him up at the table with his books and assigned him math and physics problems he'd check over for him between customers. That part sucked a little, but it was only ever for an hour or two. They’d read aloud to each other while they worked. At first, they’d only done it when there was no one else in the shop, but the customers seemed to like it. He’d read shorter passages like poems or essays, things people could listen to on a brief visit. Though sometimes they sat down to listen, and there was talk of maybe establishing a reading circle. Hilary had a lot of plans like that. Too many, Mrs. Parson said, for a dinky little shop like hers. “But you can make one,” she said. “When you leave this place and find somewhere better, with more customers and readers. And I’d come visit and brag to people about the nice shop my grandchildren were running.”

“You could stop by for lunch,” Trenton suggested to him, pulling Hilary from his thoughts. “Or just stay for the first few hours. It doesn’t need to be the whole time. Or you could come with me for one day and take a break the next. It’s not meant to be a punishment, and I’m sure there are lots of things you’d like to do instead of math problems and dusting shelves.”

It was a sign of just how much of a sap he’d become, or maybe a general lack of creative thinking, but there really didn’t seem like many things better than spending the day in the shop with Trenton. There was one good facet of the plan, though. Because if Trenton went alone, he’d have time to shop for the present after all.

That was how he came to dropping Trenton off at work, trying not to look sneaky in the process. A pointless endeavor.

“I didn’t realize secrets made you so handsome,” Trenton said, ducking through the window to kiss him goodbye. “Where are you off to?”