Page 27 of Paint Eater
Sure. Be there in an hour.
Jay grinned at his phone. He’d chosen somewhere neutral, where Logan wouldn’t be pressured to stay long or make out or whatever it was that had caused him to pull away, because maybe Jaydidn’thave anything to apologise for, but somethinghadhappened. Something that caused Logan to not want to spend time with Jay. Maybe he was just grounded, or maybe falling asleep together like that, curled up around each other, had been a step too far for Logan.
Despite what Jay wanted, how much he liked Logan, he didn’t want to cross Logan’s boundaries.
The skatepark was just a few minutes away, so he left his phone charging, yanking his clothes off. He had just enough time for a shower.
**********
“Of course you skate.”
Jay looked up to see Logan walking towards him, hands buried in his shorts, shoulders stiff, but looking the same as always. Jay didn’t know why that surprised him—he’d almost expected Logan to look bruised or tired, but nothing had changed.
“’Cause I’m cool,” Jay joked, standing up from the bench he’d been waiting for Logan on, worrying if he was even going to show up. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d be up for learning some tricks,” he said, waggling his eyebrows as if it were some illicit suggestion.
Logan looked at the skateboard by Jay’s feet, expression dubious.
“I have a helmet. And knee and elbow pads and stuff.”
“Youwear pads when you skate?”
“Well…no. But I did when I learnt! Don’t worry, you’ll look cool no matter what.”
Logan scoffed. “I don’t care about lookingcool.”
“Great! Let’s go skate, then.” Jay jumped up, stepping on the skateboard so that it flipped up and he could grab it, holding the duffel bag with the safety gear in his other hand.
It was late in the day, sun low enough that it wasn’t scorching as they stopped by the skating bowl, but Jay could see sweat shining on Logan’s neck. He imagined how it felt, cooling in the slight breeze, that long, exposed line of skin.
“You’re staring.” Logan’s voice cut through the haze, and Jay jerked his eyes up to Logan’s, who was at least looking amused.
“Shit.” Jay laughed, dropping the duffel and putting his arm in front of his face. “Shut up. It’s not my fault.”
Logan snorted. “Sure.”
Jay ignored him, crouching down and taking the helmet and pads out, trying not to stare as Logan put them on meticulously.
Jay stood up, reaching out to adjust the helmet on Logan’s head unnecessarily. They looked at each other between the frame of Jay’s arms, and it seemed to muffle the world for a moment, just him and Logan and the warm air between them.
“Okay,” Jay said, dropping his hands. “Let’s see how good you are at keeping your balance.”
The answer to that was… ‘kind of shit.’ Jay had fully expected Logan to be a natural, but he was almost the opposite. The confidence he seemed to exude, the control he had on his body, its stillness and precision, dissolved the moment he got up on the skateboard, as fragile as when Jay had his hands on him, making him squirm.
“Okay,” Jay said after the seventh time that Logan hadn’t leaned forwards confidently enough and he’d tilted back, the skateboard shooting out from under him so that he had to stumble to a stop. He was left standing there, glaring. “Let’s try something else.”
Logan kept glaring as Jay collected the skateboard and settled it in front of him again. “I suck at this.”
Jay studiously failed to respond to that comment. “Here, plant your right foot—no, remember, not right in the middle, closer to the front so you can turn your body and put your left foot behind—there you go. Okay, so, again, you gotta do it with confidence, man. Bend your right knee so your centre of gravity is lower, tilt slightly forwards—not too much, obviously, and then kick with your left so you’re going forward.”
“I don’t think repeating the same instructions five times is going to make me not suck at this.”
Jay ignored him again. “Imma hold onto you this time. Like, still try and kick forwards with your left foot, but I’ll hold onto your arm and keep you steady. Not that you need to be kept steady—you’re good at that. You’re just not trusting yourself.”
Logan grumbled at himself. “Why would I trust myself? I suck at this.”
“You just started. And, fine. Trustme,then.”
Logan huffed. “Fine.”
