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The randomness of the remark stopped him in his carnal tracks. “Er, yeah? She dragged your ass to Minneapolis. You were bitching about it the week before.”
“Right. Well...” Michael cleared his throat. “The thing is... I...”
Keith sat up. “Spit it out.”
Michael’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes bright. “I was bored out of my skull, so she said I could meet her later. I mean, I only went with her because I needed new sneakers.”
“Are you going anywhere with this?”
Michael sat up too. “I... I went to a bookstore.” He coughed. “It was a special kind of store.”
Keith was lost. “What was so special about the books?”
The color heightened in Michael’s cheeks. “They were... you know... gay.”
His jaw dropped. “You went to a gay store?”
Michael nodded.
Keith was impressed. “And? What was it like?”
He bit his lip. “Oh my God. Some of the stuff I saw... But I was looking for something specific.”
Keith grinned. “Tell me more.”
Michael reached under the cushion at the end of the couch and removed a book. He handed it to Keith without a word.
Keith stared at the cover. “The Joy of Gay Sex,” he read aloud. “An intimate guide for gay men to the pleasures of a gay lifestyle.” He glanced at Michael. “Whoa.”
“I know, right?”
“I can’t believe you had the balls to buy it.”
Michael snorted. “The guy at the cash desk took one look at me and asked me how old I was. When I told him I’d be eighteen on Thursday, he laughed and said, ‘Well, at least I know what you’ll be doing to celebrate.’ Then he stuck it in a brown paper bag, handed it to me and said ‘Happy Birthday.’”
Keith got up enough nerve to peer inside. There were drawings done in sepia tones, images of men talking, kissing, cuddling... Then his breath caught in his throat. “That’s a dick.”
Michael chuckled. “There’s more than one in there, trust me. I’ve read it from cover to cover about four times.” His eyes widened. “There’s some stuff in there that I didn’t expect.”
“Like what?”
He shuddered. “Stuff I don’t want to even think about. But most of it was pretty informative. And speaking of informative...” His gaze locked on Keith’s. “You know why I bought it, don’t you?”
“You... you want us to...”
Michael nodded. “Is that what you want? I mean, we’re both legal now.”
“But what about...” Keith lowered his voice. “AIDS?” It felt as though saying the word out loud would be tempting fate.
Michael reached under the cushion again, only this time he brought out a packet. He placed it on the seat between them.
Suddenly everything had gotten real.
Michael had bought condoms.
“I didn’t buy these from the local drugstore,” Michael told him. “I got on the bus and went to one I hadn’t visited before. And then I had to find another one.” He stuck his hand under the cushion one more time, and removed a tube, placing it next to the condoms.
Keith glanced at the white tube with its blue center panel. “KY jelly?”
