More than willing to oblige, Josh opened to Cory’s tentative and clumsy exploration as the tip of his tongue met Josh’s. Cory stroked his tongue over his, and they both made a small sound at their first real taste of each other. Letting Cory set the pace, Josh met his actions but didn’t press for more than Cory was willing to give. Their tongues slid and twisted in an act as old as time; the gentle exploration of a new lover.
Josh wrapped his left arm around Cory’s lower back and slid his right hand down to rest on Cory’s chest over his heart. He could feel it beating as fast as his own. Josh groaned when Cory gently sucked his tongue, and he could feel the other boy smile at his reaction. Finally letting go, Cory drew back but he kept a hold of Josh’s lower lip with his teeth. Releasing him, Cory gave the abused lip one last swipe with his tongue before he pressed his lips softly against Josh’s once more.
Breathing raggedly, they rested their foreheads together for a moment with their eyes closed. Cory slid his head over to rub their cheeks together, then past Josh’s ear, almost like a cat rubbing against his favorite person and buried his face in Josh’s neck. They wrapped each other in a tight hug and Josh relished the feeling of the other boy in a new and intimate way.
“I bet if we get our own place we can do a lot more of that,” Cory breathed.
Josh chuckled and squeezed Cory a little tighter. “I think I could be on board with that, too,” Josh murmured into Cory’s neck. “Thanks for talking to me, Cory. I know it’s kind of hard to talk about some of these things, but I appreciate you being open with me.”
Cory pulled back and looked at Josh. “If talking to you about my lack of sex life leads to that, maybe we can do more talking later?” Cory asked hopefully with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Josh laughed and pecked Cory once more. “Anytime. But first, we eat. I’m starving. Let’s go see what your mom has around for lunch.”
“Alright,” Cory sighed. “But only because I like you and plan to keep you around for a while,” Cory teased.
“Gee thanks. How about the last one out there has to cook,” Josh said quickly and both boys took off for the kitchen laughing.
~
After a simple meal of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, and soda that Cory had to ‘cook’ the two of them took to the backyard since it hadn’t rained yet.
Cory knew their patio was twenty feet wide so they started their experiments on distance there. They moved some patio furniture around to mark every five feet after the initial twenty.
“Okay, so nothing yet, right?” Josh asked at the twenty-foot mark.
“Nope, not even a little,” Cory replied.
“Okay, next?” Josh questioned at twenty-five, moving back on the grass.
“Nope.”
“Alright, thirty feet?”
“Okay, I definitely feel the difference between twenty-five and thirty,” Cory remarked. “What about you? Does the distance affect us at the same time?”
Josh nodded. “Like you said there was a difference from the last one. I can feel the change inside me. It’s hard to describe, almost like butterflies, but with an edge. Let’s see what happens when I move back again. You’re comfortable enough?” Josh asked. Cory was still standing, but they had a chair beside him so he could sit when it became too much for him.
Cory nodded. “Yeah, I should be okay for the next one. I don’t think it will be so drastic that I fall down.”
Josh backed up to the next chair keeping his eyes on Cory the whole time. Cory visibly sagged, and Josh was about to rush back to help him to the chair, but Cory waved him off and moved to sit on his own.
“That one… was harder...” Cory forced out, sounding a little sluggish. “Everything is... foggy and that... cottony, soupy... feeling is back.”
“Can we stop now?” Josh asked with a quiver in his voice. Looking worriedly at Cory, he went on. “I don’t like this feeling and you look ready to collapse. I think the butterflies turned into bees and now they have magnets. Unhappy magnets that are making me edgy and anxious to hold you again. It seems like thirty-five is the edge of sanity so anything beyond is no good.”
Cory nodded his agreement and Josh heaved a sigh. Quickly, Josh was back on the patio, kneeling between Cory’s legs, with Cory in his arms.
“Everything all right, boys?” Diane asked, peeking her head out the back door. “How did your test go?”
Answering Diane, Josh spoke with his voice still wavering. “Thirty-five is the max before neither of us can handle it. Cory almost fell over and I had really angry bee magnets. Anything more and he’ll be out. I can probably manage the discomfort if I had to be farther away, but that’s an experiment we don’t need to test right now. Maybe once Cory is already asleep I can test myself and see what happens past thirty-five feet. But we’re done for now.” He rested his hand on the side of Cory’s neck and rubbed his thumb there. “Feeling better?” he asked his Complement.
“Yeah, that part was the same as all the other times. Not much time needed to recover. It’s like, as soon as you’re back within comfy range, just a minute is all I need to feel fine and clear-headed again,” Cory finished and looked to his mom. “What do you think?” he asked her. “It’s not great, but it’s actually a little better than I thought.”
“You’re right,” she stated, coming fully outside then. “It’s not great. Forty feet is not that far, as you just determined. Maybe you should ask your dad or grandpa if that’s about average, Josh. Or maybe you can go farther with more practice or time? Just seems like more questions to me. You guys have done a great job navigating this whole thing so far and I’m sure whatever the situation is you both will adapt,” Diane said and sounded like she was trying to put on a brave face for their sakes.
“I’m really proud of both of you, I’d just like to say. In such a short time your lives have changed so much, and you’re really handling yourselves so well. We’ll get the school situation figured out and make it to graduation. Then we might have to sit down and make some more decisions; have some more talks. But in the meantime, we’re all really proud of you, and we see the men we’ve raised you both to be,” Diane said.
“And just so you know, we’re also trying to give you the space you both need in a new relationship. We all understand the Connection you feel for each other and that it can and will be a powerful thing. You’ll be wanting more time alone. No, this isn’t a sex talk, Cory. Put your eyes back in your head,” Diane chuckled at her son who moved to cover his ears but marched on with conviction. “I’m simply telling you that we understand and will be trying to allow you your privacy. That being said, as young adults, we also expect you to act the part. Respect each other and be responsible. And should either of you have questions, or need to talk, you know where to find us.”
Cory had started humming to himself, and Josh chuckled as he reached up to remove his hands. “She’s done now. Was that really necessary?” Josh asked, smirking at Cory’s shrug. Turning to Diane and standing up, Josh said, “Thank you, Diane. Cory is really lucky to have you. You’ve been amazingly understanding and supportive of this whole thing.”
“Don’t you start with that, Josh. You’re part of this family now, too. I realize you might not appreciate me stepping into a motherly role for you, but that will always be my first role when it comes to Cory. I’ll always support him and do whatever I can to be there for him. And that includes you too, now,” she said.
“No, it’s totally fine. I appreciate it actually. I’ve always just had my dad and grandparents.” Josh shrugged and Cory reached over to lace their fingers together. “I could use some more family. Having a mom sounds kinda nice.”
Diane all but blubbered right there and came over to give Josh a firm hug. She pulled Cory up and hugged him as well, and when they parted she suggested they call Josh’s grandpa for some more answers.
~
When they were back in Cory’s room and had some time to kill before dinner they decided to hit t
he second-hand store to see about a small dresser for Josh. Cory recommended a used building materials and household recycler shop that was called Repurpose because one of the guys on the team worked there part-time after school and practices were over.
As they pulled into the lot, Cory pointed out Travis’s pick-up. They parked near the entrance and laced their fingers together as they made their way inside. Cory knew his way around the store and lead them right over to the cabinet and storage area. As they walked through the rows of items, Cory kept his eyes open for his friend.
When nothing caught their eye or seemed like it would be a good fit as Josh’s dresser, they headed back toward the front of the shop.
Cory squeezed Josh’s hand and nudged him. “There’s Travis.” He pointed over to a guy around their age with nicely defined muscles, mocha colored skin, and dark hair that was in some sort of short dreadlock style with partially bleached tips.
“Hey, Travis,” Cory called out. Travis turned their way and a smile lit up his face causing a dimple to pop out of his left cheek. Josh gave a Cory a look, and Cory chuckled under his breath. “Did I forget to mention he’s practically a god?”
Josh snickered at that and nudged Cory’s shoulder as they approached. Travis was right around six feet tall and truly a sight to behold. He looked like he bench-pressed heavy cabinets in his spare time then modeled them wearing well-worn, faded denim and a sleeveless shirt.
Travis was already coming out from behind the counter to greet Cory in the customary bro-hug back-slap way.
“Dude, how the hell are you? It’s so good to see you. We all about broke down the doors at the hospital when they wouldn’t let us back. You look good though. Everything okay?” he asked.
“It’s good to see you too, Travis,” Cory chuckled. “Yes, I’m fine. Cracked a rib and a splinter broke off that got stuck in my heart. The doc fixed me up though, and aside from the concussion, I’m good as new. Just another few days or so for the stitches to come out.” Cory motioned to Josh with his free hand. “Travis, this is my boyfriend, Josh. He was working at the hospital when I woke up and I dunno, we just hit it off. It was like fate, or Disney princesses, or something.” Cory sighed dramatically and batted his eyelashes at Josh.
Josh barked out a laugh and so did Travis. “Disney princesses? That’s what you’re going with now? Speak for yourself, Sleeping Beauty.” Josh nudged him. Turning his attention to the other guy he offered his hand. “Travis, it’s nice to meet you. Cory’s told me a lot about the guys from the team. You all seem like great friends.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Travis said, with a big smile on his face. “We are pretty good friends. Most of us have been playing together for years. I’m glad Cory here finally found someone who’s willing to put up with his dramatics. He’s a handful for sure,” Travis teased.
“Hey,” Cory said in mock outrage. “I am not a handful. It would definitely require at least two hands for all my dramatics.”
All three of them laughed at that and Travis asked, “What brought you guys in today? Looking for anything in particular?”
They described what they needed and Travis said he’d check to see if there might be something in the back. He left them at the counter and ran back to check it out.
As they waited, Josh noticed an older man with paint-speckled clothing who kept giving them sneering looks. He seemed like the manly-man older generation type who didn’t think gays should be allowed to live. Josh pointed something out to Cory in the opposite direction so he wouldn’t notice the disrespectful man looking at them. Cory didn’t need any more negativity after his argument with Nick.
When Travis returned he was all smiles until he caught Josh looking over his shoulder the second time. He gave Josh a questioning look, but Josh subtly shook his head, telling him to leave it. Cory hadn’t seemed to notice their exchange.
“I found something in the back that might work for you,” Travis said. “I’ll have to ask my manager since it’s not on the floor yet, but it’s probably going to need a good sanding and a fresh coat of paint. Those pieces are usually pretty inexpensive though. We also sell partial gallons of paint, that people don’t need anymore if you don’t care about the color that much. The paint would probably only cost you a few bucks. Do you want to see the dresser?” he asked.
Cory looked at Josh. “Sure, can’t hurt. As long as it’s sturdy we can check it out.”
The three of them headed toward the back with Cory and Josh following Travis. The piece was made of wood and appeared to be well built. It suited their minimum three drawer requirement, but would indeed need to be spruced up. The old varnish had begun to peel and was badly sun-faded. It was missing drawer pulls as well.
“Can you check with your manager to see how much it would cost?” Cory asked Travis.
“Of course. Let’s head back out to the front, and I can page him over the intercom. Technically I’m not supposed to bring customers back here, but since you’re friends he probably won’t mind,” Travis finished.
Once the page sounded and the manager, a kind-faced middle-aged man named Steve, came up to the front they were told the price and agreed to the sale since Josh didn’t care what it looked like. Cory went in search of paint and brushes, which were just down the aisle, while Josh went for sandpaper.
After a moment of hunting for the correct sandpaper, Travis came over to point out what Josh would need. “Everything alright now?” Travis asked and gave Josh a look that implied he was talking about what had happened earlier.
Looking around Josh didn’t spot the older sneering man anywhere. Speaking in a low voice, Josh said, “Yeah. There was another customer in here earlier and he kept shooting daggers at Cory and I. You’d gone in back to check out the dresser and I kept trying to distract Cory so he wouldn’t notice. He’s had a rough couple of days.”
“Oh man, that sucks. I’m really sorry. If I had seen the guy I would have asked him to leave. We don’t allow anything like that in the store, but we do attract a certain clientele, you know? Anyway, I’m sorry he made you uncomfortable. Thanks for keeping Cory out of it, though. I heard about what happened with Nick yesterday. All the guys were super pissed about it. Then today he came back to school after lunch and was ranting on and on about Cory and his new boyfriend. Sorry.” Travis had the good grace to look a little ashamed about what he was saying. “Anyway, I’m not sure what’s going on with those two. I’ve never seen them fight before or heard Nick say anything even remotely unkind about Cory. Nick’s always been so protective of Cory if you know what I mean,” Travis said, with an understated emphasis and raised eyebrows.
Nodding his head, Josh replied, “Yeah, I got that impression, too. Cory knows but there’s nothing he can do about it. This is Nick’s thing. I’m not going anywhere and he’s going to have to deal with that.”
Travis smiled wide and that dimple popped out again. “I like you, Josh. It’s about time Cory found someone worthy of him. You seem like a good guy. Thanks for being there for him and having his back. He’s a good friend,” Travis said and smacked Josh on the back. “Now let’s find you some sandpaper,” he said and told Josh all he would ever need to know about grit.
Cory met up with them with a few choices of paint in hand. “So, dark blue, this weird green-gray, or,” Cory’s voice rose as he produced another can with a flourish, “tangerine!”
Josh laughed. “I‘m guessing we’re going with the tangerine?”
“Of course we are,” he said like there couldn’t be any other choice. Josh laughed again and hugged his Complement placing a kiss on Cory’s temple.
“Alright, Travis. Ring us up so we can get out of here. It’s almost dinnertime, and Josh needs to get me home. I’m a growing boy, and I need sustenance,” Cory said, patting his nonexistent stomach.
Both guys laughed, and Travis finalized their purchase. With a little maneuvering, Josh and Travis got the small dresser loaded into the back of Josh’s car.
“It was really nice to meet you, Josh,” Travis said, with a firm handshake. “You take good care of that one for us. He deserves someone to make him happy, and he seems pretty happy with you.”
“Thanks, man. I will. Like I said, I’m not going anywhere, and it was good to meet you too, Travis,” Josh said.
Travis bro-hug back-slapped Cory once more and said something to him Josh couldn’t hear. Cory glanced at Josh and nodded his head back at Travis. After one more wave, they finally got in the car and headed home.
~
Once they returned, Cory backed his Jeep out of the garage and carefully helped Josh unload the dresser and painting supplies they purchased for the project. Josh was still a little concerned about Cory’s stitches and fractured rib, but he had assured Josh he could handle helping and if he felt any discomfort he’d back off.
Josh and Cory found Jim in the kitchen as he prepared the table for dinner. “Heard you boys did some investigating this afternoon,” Jim remarked.
“Yeah. The best we could do was thirty-five feet before I fell over,” Cory said. “Any more than that and I would have probably passed out. Josh said we’d talk about it tomorrow with his dad before their meeting with the Master,” Cory said the last word in a sarcastic tone and smirked at Josh. He’d taken to calling Headmaster Olivos at Josh’s school, Master, thinking the man just liked the title and the power it gave him. They were set to meet with the headmaster at ten tomorrow morning. Cory’s meeting with his principal was set for one-thirty.
“Well, I suppose thirty-five’s not all that great, but from what we were seeing at the hospital I think it’s better than I was expecting. It’s definitely going to be a challenge to work with. For now, though, we get through this week and next, then graduation. Yeah? One day at a time, right?” Jim said, looking between the boys.
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