Page 32 of On Thin Ice

“That’s his loss then. I think kissing guys is fun. So does your father.”

Dad choked on his spit. My eyes flew from Mom’s shoulder to my dad.

“Okay, so I think that might have been taken out of context. What I said was that, if I were into men, I would so plant a lip-lock on Idris Elba,” Dad explained while Mom gave him a soft little glance that was all “Uh-huh, you’d so do Idris,” and really who wouldn’t? “But I’m only into your mom, so there is no kissing on Luther-slash-Heimdall.”

Mom kissed my head. “You just go on being the best Jonah you can be. And ignore that dickhead Miles and his brat pack.” Dad snorted. “The girls are all in bed, so they didn’t hear it, and it’s the truth.”

“Massive walking peen,” I commented from my mom’s strong shoulder. “Tyler is cool with me, which I don’t get. Why is he so okay with all the shit that I did to him?”

“I’d say because he was raised right and taught that empathy and forgiveness are gracious gifts to bestow on those who are trying to better themselves,” Mom whispered as she hugged me tight. “I’m glad you have him on your side now, and the other boys on the team, too.”

“Even Felix?” I asked, and Dad made the same sound he makes when he sees the neighbor’s dog using our yard for a toilet.

“Felix is a work in progress for us, but yes, even Felix. See, even us old people can strive to better ourselves.” She lifted my face from her shoulder and kissed my cheek. “Now, why don’t I bring you some warm milk and cookies, then you can get some rest. Winter break starts tomorrow, and I’m sure you have big plans with your new friends.”

“Tyler asked me to go to his place and swim on Saturday,” I confessed as they slowly stood. Mom shot a look at Dad. “They have a heated pool.”

“That’s lovely,” Mom replied with sincerity. I knew, probably, deep down, she was maybe feeling a twinge of jealousy, but she wasn’t letting it darken her soul.

“Why does he get the okay on the cookies, but I caught the dickens?” Dad asked, giving me a wink as he followed Mom out the door.

“Because he’s my baby boy,” Mom tossed over her shoulder.

“Yeah, but if you give me a few more cookies we can go to our room and y’know…” Dad replied, easing up behind Mom to grab her butt. They both ran out of my room giggling like freshman girls who’d wandered into the swim team locker room by mistake.

There were some things that a young man should not see or hear. One thing a young manshouldsee and hear is that his parents love and accept him no matter who he dates. Also, that he’s still got a guy who is willing to date him—maybe—even after that young man has been a royal scrotum.

* * *

Tyler’s housewas bigger than ours, and I knew he and his mom had moved back into the old family home—his dad off somewhere, and the judge ruling the property was his moms. I knew that because Soren had told me, in that warning-me-not-to-overreact kind of way.

Roomy and quiet. No little girls screaming all day long. I loved my sisters, but man did little girls scream. All the time, for like, no good reason. Mad? Scream. Sad? Scream. Happy? Scream. Hungry? Scream. So much screaming. Also, there were no hair barrettes, tiny cheese fish crackers, or Barbie shoes anywhere to be seen. Nothing but nice, new furniture, shiny floors, and one mom who was smiling way too hard.

“Thank you for having me over,” I said as politely as I could to Mrs. Corrigan as Tyler stood at my side, worriedly working his lower lip. “My mom said to pass along that she and my dad are having a little party on Christmas Eve at our house, just a few couples, and that if you and Mr. Sinclair would like to come, you’d be more than welcome.”

“Oh, that’s so nice. Thank you. Yes, we’d love to come. Tell her I’ll send her a friend request on Facebook, and we can settle the details.”

“I will,” I said right before Tyler took my wrist, and hauled me to a small, enclosed room where we could get changed into our swimsuits in privacy.

“Sorry about Mom being so weird,” Tyler called through the door of the bathroom/cabana-type space I was now stripping down in. Small little pictures of white sands and blue skies hung on the wall. There was a shower unit, some hooks by the door, and an off-white toilet. And a bidet. I stood there in my birthday suit staring at the bidet. Tyler’s family had cash. If we had a bidet—which we wouldn’t be able to afford since we still had the old toilet that made gurgling sounds in the upstairs bathroom—but if we ever did, my sisters would use it as a Barbie Dream Shower. No doubt in my mind.

Tyler was still talking. “She’s still trying to get over the whole ugly past we have. At least we’re back in the old house, better than an apartment, but it seems wrong for just me and mom.”

I stepped into my trunks, sun-bleached from a summer spent at the local public pool. I opened the door, leaving my T-shirt on, and found Tyler playing with his hair. One pink strand was wrapped around his finger, his big green eyes moving up over my bare feet to my face. “I hope the pool is close.”

“Yeah, just outside. It’s nothing fancy, but…” he paused and dipped his gaze. “You look really nice.”

“Oh, this old thing,” I laughed as I plucked at my trunks. I was happy to see that the anxious look had left his face.

“I’m glad you’re here.” He rose to his bare toes to kiss me on the lips. A fast peck that made me giddy. He took my hand, and we raced outside. The temperature was a balmy fourteen degrees. My skin instantly broke into goosebumps as my naked feet hit the light dusting of snow on the patio. “Oh, shit, it’sfreezing!”

Tyler raced up the steps, and I ran after him, peeling off my T-shirt, then jumping into the water with a splash. Tyler was a quick swimmer, darting around the pool, and I had a time catching up to him. A wild and wooly game of Marco Polo broke out, the rules being that when you touched the other, you got to kiss them. I think Tyler had one eye cracked open since he found me too quickly to not be cheating. I wasn’t complaining. When we wore ourselves out doing laps, Marco Polo, and a round of pool noodle combat that I won, we’d kissed about seventeen times.

Now, we were resting at the shallow end, steam rising around us, my sight on the solar panels on the roof as Tyler explained that was how they powered the house, as well as the heating units for the pool.

“My mom is big on trying to do our part,” he explained as we sat on the lowest steps, the water tickling our chins. Well,mychin, Tyler was on the step behind me because he was shorter. His arms rested on my shoulders; his damp lips were beside my ear. It was really pretty perfect. “So, are we okay now?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re tight. I just wish I could go back in time and change things.” I turned my head, and he pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I’d change so much. Do things differently. Not be such a massive dickwad.”

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