AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let ’em talk.” Michael leaned in. “And now you’ve got me thinking. You did get your flu shots this winter, didn’t you?”
Aw crap. “No.”
Michael scowled. “Keith... you know better. You have asthma, dude. That makes you a high-risk candidate. And it’s not as if this is the first time you’ve gotten sick, right?”
“If all you came here for was to bawl me out, you can—”
Michael laid a finger against his lips. “Hush. I’m here because they finally let me in to see my boyfriend in the hospital, okay?” He leaned over and pressed his lips to Keith’s forehead. “I’m here because I love you, doof.”
Keith couldn’t stop the tears that trickled down his cheeks. “I was so s-scared. I thought I was gonna—”
“Hey, hey.” Michael got out of the chair and sat on the edge of his bed, kissing him on the lips. “You’re going to be fine. Your mom said so.”
“But I might have died.”
“But you didn’t, okay? And you’re not going to die until I get the chance to tell the world I love you.” He sighed. “Especially our parents.”
“They’d only worry. You watch the same news I do. It’s getting worse.”
“But if we told them, we wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore,” Michael remonstrated.
Keith managed a snort that morphed into a cough, making his chest ache.
“And you think they’d say, ‘Sure, Michael. Stay over this weekend. You can sleep in Keith’s bed. We don’t mind if you fu—’”
Michael stopped his words with another kiss. His hand was warm on Keith’s cheek.
“When I remember those times we’ve been together—not that there’ve been many, but I can still recall every moment—I never, ever think of us fucking,” he said in a low voice. “In my head, in my memories, we’re always making love.”
Keith smiled. “Me too. I was just trying to make a point.”
Michael glanced at his room. “How long do they want to keep you? They’ll let you go home for Christmas, won’t they?”
“I don’t know. They say they’re watching my progress.”
Michael straightened. “Then I’ll be here every day. Even if it means spending the whole holiday in the hospital. I’d rather be here with you than at home anyway.”
Keith studied him. “What’s happened?”
Michael was silent for a moment but laced his fingers through Keith’s. “They’ve set a date for the wedding. Next summer. June twenty first.”
Keith’s chest tightened, and it was nothing to do with the flu. “You knew it was coming, right? I mean, they’ve been engaged for a while. Did you think they’d change their minds?”
“Maybe part of me hoped my mom would see what I see and come to her senses.”
“You still think he wouldn’t be supportive if you came out?”
Michael worked his lower lip with his teeth. “I’ve got nothing concrete to go on, just a feeling, but yeah. I know I said I hate the sneaking around, but coming out? I’m deluding myself. Bill’s the reason I’m still in the closet, why I can’t tell my mom about us.”
“Has he said anything?”
Michael fell silent.
Keith squeezed his hand. “Hey. You can tell me anything, remember?”
He sighed. “When the news comes on and they’re talking about AIDS, I... I watch his face. He’s good at keeping his feelings to himself, but now and again? The mask slips and I get a glimpse.” Another shiver. “And I don’t like what I see. But whatever it is, my mom is blind to it. So I guess I’m gonna have to suck it up and act happy for her.” He squared his shoulders. “But enough about my troubles.” He stroked Keith’s hand. “I can’t wait till we’re back in school, and I’m sneaking into your room again, or you into mine.” He grinned. “We might not be in the same classes, Mr. I’m-going-to-be-an-architect, but at least we’re in the same university.”
Thank God. School gave them the chance to be together. Not that they were the only gay couple on campus—Keith had seen two or three since the semester had begun—but they still kept a low profile.
