Connectivity

by Whitney Cannon

  “It might be good information for us to have as well, Diane. Then we’ll know how much we can say and what we’re allowed to say. Obviously people will scrutinize us as well for allowing Cory’s boyfriend to move in with him after such a short time and with them not even finishing high school yet. Of course none of that matters since we know the real story, but people will talk, and we might need a plan as to what we’re going to tell people,” Jim chimed in.

  Diane nodded in agreement. “Of course.” Turning to Josh she spoke again. “We have no problem with you having any friends over. It’s your house too now. Just let us know your plans so we can be prepared if there will be company for meals, or if you guys won’t be home at all, that’s fine too. Just let us know. But I think it’s best for you to talk to your dad and grandpa regarding how to handle your friend and what to tell him. We don’t mind explaining the situation if that’s necessary, so see what they say and we’ll go from there. But either way, it might be nice if you guys can get the dresser finished and into the room by Monday. I know it will take time to dry, but next week’s forecast calls for more rain and it will take longer to dry in the humidity.”

  “Sure, Mom. We’ll call Brian and go from there,” Cory said and looked at Josh to confirm. He nodded in agreement and they finished their meal making small talk about yesterday’s game and the landscape business.

  ~

  After the phone call with his dad, Josh lay on his bed with his head propped on his hand. Cory was playing a video game of some sort on mute, and he paused it when he realized Josh was no longer talking.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “He said he’d talk to my grandpa and see what he recommends, but he doesn’t see a problem with telling only our very closest friends, and only if they keep a lid on it. He also said that maybe they don’t need to know the whole truth, just enough to keep them from being weird. He figures they’re going to question things moving so fast anyway and wonder what all of the parents involved are thinking. So I guess it’s really up to us and how much we want to be scrutinized until we hear back from my grandpa. What do you think?” Josh asked.

  “I guess that depends on your friendship with Jersey. Before this week I would have said the only person I would ever tell the whole truth to would probably be Nick, but now I’m not so sure. He’s already wound up just by having you in the picture, and if he knew you were living here now, I’m not sure what he’d do. Of course, he can’t really do anything, but I’m sure he’d have plenty to say and lots of people willing to listen. So, what kind of friend is Jersey to you? Even if Nick won’t admit it to himself, it seems pretty obvious he’s the jealous type,” Cory finished as he set down his controller and moved up to sit next to Josh.

  “Well, not that it matters much since Nick is questionable at best, but Jersey likes to think of himself as bi-curious. I’ve only ever seen him with guys, but he says he’d be open to things with a woman if he felt a connection with someone. Do I think he’s the jealous type? No. Not at all. I mean, you met him. He’s totally cool and has always been accepting of me, not that he has room to talk, but I don’t think he’d rush to judge. And no, we’ve never hooked up, or even kissed, if that was going to be a question of yours.”

  Cory blushed and took Josh’s hand. “Can you blame me for wondering? I know you don’t have much experience, but you said you’ve gotten off a few times with other guys, so naturally my mind goes there if your best friend is gay too, or bi, either way.”

  “No. Of course I’d wonder if the tables were turned. There were only three guys and two of them didn’t go to my school. The one that did graduated last year and moved to Miami. Jersey has a type, and I’m not it, so no worries there. He’d probably laugh in your face if you even suggested it to him. But, all that aside, I guess where do I see my friendship with Jersey going? He’s going to OSU, so he’ll be around and it might be nice to have one friend who knows what’s up with us. We probably won’t have too many people that we can ever trust, or tell, but I’d like to tell him if it’s okay with you.”

  “Of course. If you think it’s fine and he’ll be cool with it, then we should try to keep him in our lives. He seemed like a cool guy and it would be nice to have someone to pick on you with,” Cory teased and bumped his shoulder into Josh’s.

  Josh chuckled and wrapped his arm around Cory, dropping a kiss on his Complement’s temple. “Thanks, babe. I’ll call him and see what he’s up to. He’s probably being boring and just sitting at home, and he may not actually be much help with the dresser, but it will be cool to hang out with him for a little bit either way.”

  ~

  “Hey, Jersey,” Josh called out, as he approached the car. Cory stayed back on the lawn to let them do their thing. Climbing out, Jersey gave Cory a wave and then greeted Josh with their customary handshake.

  “So you’re hanging out at Cory’s place now, and if I want to see you I need to drive all the way out here, huh? Couldn’t we have just met up halfway for lunch or something?” Jersey pulled no punches when it came to expressing his thoughts.

  “Well,” Josh said, as he walked over to Cory and they laced their fingers together. Cory nodded in support. “We wanted you to help us repaint my new dresser.”

  Jersey looked between the two of them. “Why are you repainting your dresser? And why are you doing it at Cory’s house?”

  “I needed a new dresser that would fit in Cory’s room, so we bought one used, but it needed new paint. Cory picked out tangerine,” Josh said, shaking his head affectionately at Cory who smirked in return. Both of them turned their attention back to Jersey as he processed the information they had given him. They had all slowly been walking up the driveway to the open garage and stopped just outside, when Jersey looked at the dresser, then back at them.

  “Why do you need a dresser in Cory’s room? What’s going on? What are you not telling me?” Jersey asked, looking between them. He didn’t really sound suspicious, just wondering at what they were hinting at and what he didn’t know.

  Josh looked at Cory again and pulled his Complement into his side, wrapping his arm around Cory’s waist. Cory returned the gesture, and they looked to Jersey again.

  “I live here now,” Josh stated.

  Jersey’s brows scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean you live here now?”

  “That’s what I mean. I live here. With Cory. At least until we graduate and start working. Then maybe we can save up and get our own place, but for now, I moved into Cory’s room with him.”

  “Why would you do that? I mean, I get that you two are together now and disgustingly happy and shit, but you’ve only known him a week, Josh. No offense, Cory. But, don’t you think it’s a little soon to be moving in together?” Jersey questioned.

  They hadn’t really discussed what they would say when they told Jersey Josh had moved in with Cory. He didn’t want it to seem like they had no other choice and wouldn’t be together otherwise, but all things considered, that was exactly what their situation was. If they hadn’t been Catalyst and Complement, and in exactly in the right place at the right time, they might not have met and even worse, Josh shuddered to think, Cory might still be lying in that hospital with no hope of waking up.

  Josh looked into Cory’s eyes, and perhaps he had been thinking the same thing because he wrapped his arms tightly around Josh and buried his face in Josh’s neck. Josh held him back just as tightly and almost ignoring Jersey, kissed Cory on the temple.

  “No.”

  Jersey watched them, and Josh could only wonder what they looked like to an outsider. “Okaaay. Intense much. Um, I’m not really sure what to say here. I assume your dad is fine with this, otherwise, this wouldn’t be happening; and Cory’s parents. You’re not even eighteen, Josh. I assume this is the reason, whatever it is that’s going on, that you aren’t coming to school anymore?” Jersey asked, as Josh and Cory separated.

  Josh nodded. “We have something to show you, but it’s going to seem a li
ttle weird. Can you just keep an open mind, and we can talk about it after we show you?” Josh asked.

  Nodding his head, Jersey replied, “You know I’m not going to judge you for your choices, Josh. I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”

  “Alright, thank you. We’d like to explain, but we can only tell our closest friends and even then we weren’t really sure if it was something we should share,” Josh finished.

  “Okay, but really quick?” Jersey said as they looked at the smirk on his face. “Cory, you’re not really a vampire are you?”

  Josh and Cory broke up into fits of laughter, and Jersey even chuckled a little as well.

  “No, but I could probably pull off sparkly skin really well,” Cory replied with laughter in his voice and grabbing Josh’s hand, motioned for Jersey to follow them into the house.

  Once they were in their bedroom with Josh next to Cory on his bed and Jersey sitting opposite them on Josh’s bed, they explained a little bit about what was going on and what was going to happen when Josh left the room.

  Jersey looked at them like they were one screw short of a DIY project, but he humored them nonetheless.

  “You ready?” Josh asked, holding onto Cory’s hand as he laid down on his bed.

  “Don’t be gone too long,” Cory teased. “If you’re out until midnight I might turn into a pumpkin.”

  Josh smiled even though he knew the joke was just a mask for the anxiety Cory was playing off. He brought Cory’s hand up to his lips and gave it a tender kiss. “Never, Sleeping Beauty. I’ll be right back,” he said and moved to the doorway of the room. Jersey watched them both with uncertain eyes. “Stay with him for me,” he said to Jersey, and with one last look at Cory, he stepped out of the room and made his way out the front door.

  With a sense of déjà vu, Josh went out to sit on the same bench he sat on only days ago when doing the same thing with his dad. He could feel the angry bee magnets swirling around in his stomach and it was only his knowledge that Cory was safe and fine inside on his bed that kept Josh from immediately returning to his Complement’s side. He knew, or at least tried to understand what Cory was experiencing when he was away, so he didn’t want to dwell outside too long. There was no need to make Cory uncomfortable any longer than necessary.

  After one more minute, in which Josh paced and counted to sixty trying to stave off the irritation of the bee magnets, he finally walked up the path and back inside, down the hallway, and into their room, where he only briefly noted Jersey still sitting on his bed, and right over to Cory, who blinked his eyes open and reached up to rub his forehead. Josh sat next to him and reached for his left hand and when Cory focused on him, he unsteadily clambered up and into Josh’s lap, gripping him tightly around his neck.

  Josh closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of his Complement in his arms again. The irritation in his stomach all but forgotten, Cory’s solid weight and warmth was like a balm to his inner turmoil. “I’m sorry. You okay?”

  Cory nodded and Josh rubbed his back soothingly, helping Cory relax and come out of his fog.

  A creak from the other side of the room drew Josh’s eyes, but all he saw was the blush on Jersey’s cheeks as he mouthed, Sorry.

  Josh closed his eyes again and when Cory pulled back he spoke aloud, but never took his eyes off Josh. “Can you give us a minute, please?”

  Josh heard the bed creak again and when the latch on the door snicked shut, Cory moved.

  He didn’t attack Josh like he thought he might, but he reached for the hem of Josh’s shirt and removed it then removed his own as well. He pulled Josh into his arms and fused their bodies together, wrapping his legs around Josh’s waist and his arms around Josh’s neck. Josh hugged him back and savored the skin to skin contact, slowly absorbing Cory’s warmth and allowing their heart rates to synchronize.

  When Cory pulled back once again, he did go for broke and sealed his mouth to Josh’s, opening for him immediately, needing to solidify their Connection just as much. They took long, savoring pulls from each other, each of them taking a turn to lead their dance. The moment wasn’t meant to lead to anything more, they were simply giving and receiving comfort and love.

  “That just doesn’t get any easier, does it?” Cory sighed softly a moment later, rubbing his cheek alongside Josh’s.

  Josh shook his head and rested his hand over Cory’s heart. “No. It doesn’t. Let’s not do that again for a while, huh? The bonding period doesn’t allow for much flexibility for either of us. I don’t like being apart from you.”

  “I don’t like being apart from you either,” Cory replied. He placed another few tender kisses on Josh’s lips and finally climbed off his lap. “Should we go find Jersey?” he asked, pulling his shirt back over his head and finger combing his hair.

  Josh watched him fidget for a moment longer, then moved to retrieve his own shirt. “If we must. I’d be happy to avoid the whole Q and A and just keep kissing you though if that’s an option.”

  Cory laughed and smacked him on the chest. He pulled Josh into a loose hug. “He’s your friend, who we both invited over, and he’s now currently roaming around our house unchaperoned, thinking we’re crazy. We should probably go find him and save the kissing for later.”

  Josh grumbled, muttering under his breath about intrusive friends and sexy times and Cory laughed again, just as Josh hoped he would.

  Cory reached up and attempted to smooth out Josh’s wayward strands and they left the bedroom together.

  They found Jersey sitting at the dining table with a plate of cookies and a soda while Diane sat opposite him with a muffin and a glass of tea.

  “Hey, boys. Jersey filled me in on what was going on. You guys good?” Diane questioned.

  Josh looked from Diane to Jersey, who nodded and shoved a cookie in his mouth, grinning like an idiot.

  “Yup. We’re good.”

  ~

  A couple of hours later, Cory and Josh sat at the back patio table with pizza, soda, and chips.

  Josh hadn’t been sure what his friend's reaction would be to their situation, but once he’d seen for himself what was going on, he’d realized there was not much left to say. Other than a few logistical questions, Jersey’d hardly batted an eye and just went with it. They were both so thankful to have Jersey’s support and understanding, and even though Cory and Jersey had only been in each other’s company twice, Josh was so glad to see them already forming a friendship of their own.

  Jim and Diane had decided to go out to dinner and a movie, needing some time to themselves after all of the previous weeks' worries, so Cory and Josh had ordered in and planned to Netflix-and-chill.

  They took Jenny on a walk after their meal and sat for a little while up on the hill. Josh took a few selfies of them on his phone, and they played around with different filters and effects, laughing when they had to stick their tongues out for the doggie filters on Snapchat.

  Just for fun, Josh suggested they take a video of themselves so they could document their relationship. They actually ended up spending half an hour talking on camera and took turns filming each other answering questions about their likes, dislikes, brief bios, telling the story of how they met, and where they stood after only one week together. They also talked about their first date, each of them chiming in with a little tidbit, or anecdote from the night. They finished off by saying one thing they hoped to work on together, as a couple, and separately, as individuals, over the next few weeks, and they promised each other they would take another video soon.

  Once they were back inside and had the house to themselves, Josh couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the fact that they were home alone. They were walking through the kitchen and Cory said something that Josh didn’t catch as his attention was focused on Cory’s butt. Cory turned around to repeat the question, but Josh didn’t give him time to do more than open his mouth before Josh was all over him.

  He walked Cory backward a step and pressed him up against
the fridge, taking his mouth in a hungry kiss. Cory made a small sound of surprise, but clutched onto Josh in return, making no move to pull away. Josh pulled Cory into him with his left hand on Cory’s butt and his right going up behind his neck.

  “Come to the bedroom with me?” Josh panted into Cory’s ear.

  “Uh huh,” Cory said breathily against Josh’s neck. Josh separated from him, but grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway.

  Neither of them moved to turn on the light, but Josh made sure the door was closed, and they stood in the darkened room looking at each other. Josh knew their alone time was limited and although he wanted to speed things along, he also wanted to savor Cory; unwrap him slowly.

  He broke their stand-off by reaching for the hem of his own shirt and drawing the garment off. Cory copied his movements after a moment of perusing Josh’s form. When his shirt was off, Josh followed Cory’s example and took in the sight of his gorgeous boyfriend. Josh realized, however, looking wasn’t enough, and keeping his eyes on Cory he moved closer and bent his head to press a series of kisses along Cory’s neck and shoulder.

  Cory moved his hands up to gently trace over Josh’s skin while he lavished Cory’s collarbones and the hollow at the base of his throat with attention. He held Cory’s waist as he moved his mouth down the center of Cory’s chest and then to the right, across Cory’s lightly defined left pec, placing several kisses along his bruise and the bandage covering his sutures. When he gently rubbed his lips across Cory’s nipple, the other boy gasped slightly and clutched onto Josh’s shoulder’s tighter. Josh used a little more pressure and pressed a kiss there, slowly opening his mouth and letting his tongue get a taste of his guy for the first time.

  Cory moaned a small sound and Josh glanced up quickly to gauge his reaction. Cory had his eyes closed and chin lowered slightly and Josh watched as he did it again. Slowly, he moved across Cory’s chest, planting little kisses along the way, giving the same attention to Cory’s right nipple.

  In a move he didn’t think he would ever want to make, or be interested in exploring, but felt right in that moment, Josh moved his attention up to Cory’s right side and pressed his nose and mouth to the juncture of Cory’s armpit. Cory pulled back slightly and looked down at Josh questioningly. Josh just shook his head indicating he wasn’t intimidated or averse to this and pressed another series of kisses there, raising Cory’s arm, and breathing in the smell of his boyfriend as he flicked his tongue lightly a few times.