Page 32 of The Other Half

My lips twist. “I guess. That’s just always been the plan.” It was the plan before I considered any other options. Before I knew there was someone like him living right down the road from me this whole time.

He nods but doesn’t respond.

“What about you? I mean I know you said you’d start working at the mill but…is that what you want?” I ask hesitantly.

He sighs as he mulls over the question. “No.” He finally admits. “I don’t want to spend my life in a soul sucking job in a factory… But what other choice do I have?”

“You could go to college, Oliver. You’re smart. I’ve seen the list of GPA scores for our class. Your name is close to the top.” A lot higher up than mine.

“I can’t afford it.”

“But you could get a scholarship, maybe? There are lots of scholarships for low income students.”

He shakes his head. “I gotta stay here. I need to help my parents.” He pauses. “And plus I don’t even know what I’d study. What I really wanna do is make art, but I know I can’t make a career out of that.”

I sit up, looking down at him, the moon and stars providing just enough light for me to see his face. “You could if you wanted to. You’re really talented, Oliver.”

He doesn’t look right at me, instead he continues gazing up at the stars. “What are you going to study?”

I lay back down beside him. “I don’t know. Maybe history. I love old things, and I love learning about where they came from.”

He chuckles. “That’s why you have all those old knick-knacks in your room?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I admit. “I like antiques, my grandma has been taking me antique shopping with her since I was little… My parents think it’s weird that I have all that stuff in my room, but something about it is just special to me. I like it a whole lot better than the shoddy, mass-produced crap they buy from Williams-Sonoma.”

He doesn’t respond, instead he slowly reaches for my face and cradles it gently in his hand, leaning it up toward his. He presses his lips to mine and I open mine in response, inviting his kiss to deepen, but it ends sooner than I want it to.

“You’re so cool,” he whispers, and I laugh in response because I know I’m the furthest thing from it. He stares into my eyes for a few seconds, like there’s something else he wants to say.

“You’re cool too,” I whisper back.

“I love you,” he says resolutely. I feel my face burn with heat despite the chilly air enveloping us.

I blink a few times. “You what?”

“I love you, Oakley.” He repeats, brushing my lips softly with his thumb.

It feels like he’s stolen all of the oxygen from my lungs and replaced it with fire. The threat of tears prick at my eyes, and I’m not sure why. Happy tears? I’ve never experienced those before. I swallow. “I love you too,” I whisper.

He leans in and kisses me softly, squeezing his arms tightly around me. I feel so purely content in this moment. I don’t want to think any more about college, or jobs, or the future. I just want to wrap up this memory and keep it intact forever, so that I can replay it in my head for the rest of eternity. I’m afraid that as soon as it’s over I won’t be able to grasp this same level of happiness ever again.

After a few more minutes he stands up and reaches for my hand. “It’s cold. Let’s go inside,” he suggests in a low, gravelly voice.

I nod and stand up. We both brush the dirt off of ourselves and head down the trail back to his house. When we get back to his room we both collapse onto his bed on top of each other, holding each other tight to create warmth. There’s no heat in his house, so he piles up layers of blankets on his bed to keep warm.

Nate is working the nightshift tonight, some nights we have to share the space with him, which doesn’t bother me too much, but it’s nice having our privacy sometimes.

“I wanna show you how much I love you,” he whispers, still squeezing me against him.

“You already have,” I laugh.

“No, like this,” he says as he moves his hand over the seam of my jeans. I shudder a tiny bit at the contact. I look up at him and watch as desire burns in his eyes looking back at me. “You won’t have to do anything if you don’t want to,” he promises. “Just let me make you feel good.”

I feel heat collecting between my legs, as my heart suddenly beats faster. I say nothing, but I nod gently.

“You sure?” He asks, his eyes searching mine.

I’m still nervous, but there’s no one else I’d want to do this with. I’m shocked he’s waited this long just to try, which makes me believe he isn’t in this for sex. If he was, he would’ve peaced out a while ago. “Yes.”

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