Page 3 of Another Chance
Maybe it was shock which had him frozen in place. He would argue that to himself for a long time, that Eric’s sudden movement, that kiss which had never happened before and which Theo had never even remotely thought might ever happen, had been too surprising to him, and that was why it took him so long to pull away.
One kiss turned into another, and the pressure, which had been light at first, quickly deepened until they were pressed against each other, Eric’s grip still burning around Theo’s wrist like the heat might mark him in the form of his fingers.
Theo didn’t pull away. Theo wasn’t frozen in shock.
Theo was kissing him back, and it was only when he felt the insistent pressure of his best friend’s body against his, only when he felt himself being pushed back against the fallen trunk of the tree, that panic set in.
Whatever would happen if Eric got him lying down, Theo realized, he couldn’t handle. So he did the only thing that he could do. He gave in to the fear which raced through his body and ignored the desire.
He ignored, too, the look of hurt in Eric’s eyes as Theo pushed him away and ran. Once more, he was running, this time not with Eric but away from him, his lips still tingling from the kisses he should never have given the other boy. His body ached in a way which had nothing to do with the exercise, and part of why it scared him so much was how much he wanted it.
“Damn it,” Theo swore in panted breaths, trying to ignore the way his cock throbbed between his legs, the way his heart demanded that he go back to Eric. That he kiss him again, and that he not run from what this was.
This was too much, though. Too much for his brain, which had told him, almost hysterically, that he was straight and had always been straight and always would be straight.
He ran, and when he found his father, who was still at the grave site, he went home with him without a word. And the next day, when the time came to get into the truck with him, he went, and he boarded the airplane to New York City without hesitation.
It was just easier that way.
