Wesley looked back at him and smiled then turned his attention back to the boat gliding across the water. He handled it well, taking turns at the right speed and not overdoing it. The smile he wore as he really pushed the throttle made Patton glad he’d invited Wesley to share this with him.
The remote in Wesley’s hands beeped and he looked down at it.
“Sorry. We can really only run it for about eight minutes on a charge,” Patton explained.
“That’s so short,” Wes griped but handed the remote to Patton and he brought the boat in to shore. He quickly knelt down and set to changing out the battery pack and when he was finished, he handed the remote back to Wesley.
“Another eight minutes all set to go,” Patton said and Wesley grinned.
“Do you want to drive it?” he asked, holding the remote out to him. “Show me what you can do?”
Patton smiled. “I drive it all the time and have been doing this since I was like five or something. You can drive it.”
Nodding happily, Wesley set it off again and asked, “So what got you into this? I’ve never seen anyone use one of these before. It’s kind of cool.”
Patton blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed that he was going to admit to the story. Wesley turned back and glanced at him when he didn’t immediately reply.
“When I was four, my parents took me to Southern California. We did all the touristy stuff but spent a day along the coast one day. I fell in love with boats that day and have loved them ever since.”
Wesley stopped the boat and turned to him fully. “Really? You still remember the exact day that something changed your life as a kid?”
“Yeah. Although the memory’s faded a bit, I still remember the restaurant we ate at and the little red and white boat I got to drive around the harbor.” Patton shook his head, the memory still bringing a smile to his face. “I know the actual trip lives in my memory through a child’s eyes, but the feeling of it is there.” Patton didn’t say anymore and after Wesley studied him for a moment more, he finally turned back to the boat and they spent the next six minutes watching as Wesley discovered the joy of trying to flip the boat over while riding in his own wake.
Wesley offered to carry the boat back to Patton’s car and Patton used the towel he’d brought along to wipe it down before securing it in the back. There were few things worse than wrecking a propeller on a sharp turn while driving.
Once the boat was secured and the back door closed, both boys stood there awkwardly, and Patton kept sneaking quick glances at Wesley as they looked around.
“You want to come over?” both of them blurted at the same time, looking hopeful, then turned away from each other to laugh.
When they looked back at each other, Wesley asked with a grin, “Your place or mine? I just live a block over but you need to like cats if we choose my place. My mom is literally the crazy cat lady.”
Patton smiled, a wave of relief flowing through him that Wesley wanted to hang out with him some more. “Would you mind coming to my place? I mean, my sisters will be there and they’ll probably ask you a thousand questions about everything, but I know I can follow my meal plan at home, and I can cook you breakfast too. If that’s alright?”
Wesley was already nodding. “That’d be fine. I don't mind kids either. I never had any sisters so maybe we can all paint our nails or something.” He held up his manicured nails and waggled them around happily.
Patton chuckled and nodded, subconsciously tugging at his shirt. He was still a bit sweaty and could feel the back sticking to him as the day warmed up. He’d already lost almost eight pounds in a week on his new meal plan and that was before he’d added any regular exercise. He knew his losses wouldn’t show on his larger frame yet, but he thought he’d already noticed that his shorts felt a tiny bit looser around the waist.
He fidgeted with his keys. “Follow me over?”
Wesley grinned and nodded as well. “Sounds good. Let me just shoot off a quick text to my mom and I’ll be good to go.”
They each got in their respective vehicles and as Patton watched Wesley pull out his phone to message his mom, he did the same with his dad, giving him a heads-up that he was headed home and bringing a friend with him.
Only a moment later Wesley waved, indicating all was well and Patton backed out, watching in his rearview as Wesley did the same. He spent the next ten minutes with his eyes half on the road and half on Wesley’s car.
Even though Patton had made the offer for Wesley to come over, he felt a weird ball of something creeping into his stomach as they neared his home. He was nervous and anxious and could feel himself starting to sweat again. He’d hoped the friendship he was forming with Wesley wasn’t one-sided and found himself overly happy that Wesley had offered to have Patton over to his place as well. He was so relieved that Wesley seemed to want to spend more time with him just as he wanted to spend more time with Wesley.
They hadn’t really spent too much time together just the two of them though, and Patton really hoped things didn’t end up being awkward. He knew how big of a geek he was, after all. So, with one last glance in his mirror before he pulled into his driveway, he sent up a silent plea that Wesley wouldn’t judge him too harshly once he got to know him better.
Chapter 8
Patton’s house was only across the highway from where Wes lived but actually backed up to Round Lake and the nature preserve that surrounded it. Most of the smaller lakes in their area had protections on them for use regarding motorized or non-motorized boats, fishing, and hunting, and because of that, Round Lake was a place that Wesley had never been to before.
As he pulled up the driveway following Patton’s car, it wasn’t hard to see the type of lifestyle Patton probably enjoyed.
The house was a large two-story, white-sided home with black shutters and a red door. As was common for their area, large trees dotted the property and Wesley could tell they were probably beautiful in the fall. There were tall grasses and hedges in the planters under the windows and three steps led up to the entryway that was framed by climbing roses.
It wasn’t immediately obvious how large the property was, but Wes could imagine that it went all the way to the water’s edge and was equally as wide as it was deep since there were no fences denoting any property boundaries.
Patton parked his car in front of the three-car garage and got out, waiting by the walkway for Wes to join him.
“Nice place,” Wes commented as he reached Patton’s side.
“Thanks. My dad is a realtor and has a thing for lake-front property,” Patton explained.
“It’s really nice. I assume only property owners have access to the lake?”
Patton nodded. “Yup, and no motorized watercraft. I can drive my little boat around but nothing for fishing or any water sports, obviously.”
“Do you fish?” Wes asked, curious to know if Patton enjoyed one of Wes’s favorite hobbies.
“I do, though I’m not as good or as patient at it as my dad. But yeah, we all fish. We have a little rowboat that we use sometimes and some plastic kayaks for the girls when they want to go out.”
“That’s cool. I love to fish. It was always something I did with my dad too. We mostly went to Legend Lake since we live so close, but I’ve been to most of the lakes in the area.”
Patton nodded and motioned for Wes to follow him up the walkway toward the house.
“Should we get your boat to charge the batteries?” Wes asked, gesturing to Patton’s car before they’d gone too far.
Patton blushed a pretty shade of pink and made an embarrassed about-face as he returned to his car. He muttered his thanks to Wes as he grabbed his things, and they returned to the front door with his boat and workout bag in tow.
Patton pushed the door open to reveal a nice entryway and a wide staircase bisecting what appeared to be a formal living room and den.
“Let’s head up to my room and drop this off then we can come down and I’ll cook us up s
ome breakfast,” Patton suggested and Wes followed, taking in all the little details of his new surroundings.
About halfway up the stairs, Wes noted the sound of muted laughter and probably a TV, and as they topped the stairs, the room opened up to a large loft area. There was a TV playing some Disney movie Wes thought he remembered seeing ads for and lots of toys littering the space. Two light green sofas and a well-worn rug sat in front of the abandoned TV.
Somewhere down the opposite hallway a door slammed and more giggling ensued. Wes followed Patton in the opposite direction of the noise, assuming the cause of all the chaos were Patton’s younger sisters.
Patton pushed a white door with several children’s paper drawings taped to it open and Wes followed him inside, taking in what was obviously Patton’s room. The walls were a sea greenish-blue and his full-sized bed was placed between two windows. There was a sitting chair and table in one corner, and Wes could see Patton’s black backpack and textbooks covering the tabletop. There was a tall dresser along one wall and a long workbench-looking table along another with built-in shelves mounted above it.
It didn’t take but a moment to discover what Patton did in his spare time. The workbench was covered in bits and pieces, odds and ends of every conceivable thing one could possibly need to build a boat. And not just a motorized or remote controlled boat. No. Patton apparently built ships in a bottle as well.
“Holy shit, man,” Wes exclaimed excitedly. “This is awesome. Look at all this stuff.”
Patton blushed again, something Wes was finding he liked the look of on Patton’s handsome face, and he set his boat down in what appeared to be a small stand of some sort.
Rubbing his neck, Patton said, “I know it’s a lot. I’m really just the biggest geek ever.” He shrugged and fiddled with something on the workbench, then set his gym bag down in his desk chair.
Wes went over and lightly ran his fingers along several of the various bottles that lined one of the mounted shelves over the workbench. “This is incredible, Patton. You made all of these?” Wes asked, indicating the bottles he was looking at. There were two large glass bottles and a variety of medium and small bottles, all with various types of ships in them that Wes couldn’t even begin to name.
When Wes looked back at Patton, he nodded, looking sort of unsure.
Wes went back to his perusal and saw what looked like the beginnings of a small ship being put together and a slightly greenish bottle at the back of the workspace. “Is this your next one?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Patton answered, fiddling with the back of his desk chair.
“What do you do with all of these?” he asked. “They’re so cool. I think I’ve only seen, like, one ship in a bottle in my whole life and it was totally cheesy. These are amazing,” Wes praised, feeling totally blown away.
“Thanks. I don’t really do anything with them. My dad has one in his office, and my mom and Gary have a couple at their place, but otherwise”—he shrugged—“they just sit here.”
“That’s too bad. You should try to sell them or something,” Wes said, looking back at the workbench again. It appeared about half the space was for Patton’s remote-controlled boats and the other half was for his shipbuilding. Wes noted another smaller RC boat that looked like it had been gutted and stripped for parts sitting alongside a newer-looking boat that appeared to be getting a makeover. There was a soldering gun, little wire cutters, tiny nuts and screws, bottles of glue and paint—it went on and on. The whole space was covered with materials. There was even a pair of earbuds hanging down from an overhead shelf.
Wes turned to Patton. The other boy was looking around at everything, studying his own space quietly, and apparently not wanting to face Wes for some reason. When the silence finally became too much, Wes stepped into Patton’s line of sight and lowered his head so his face would be in Patton’s field of vision. He finally snagged Patton’s eyes and smiled. “Are you worried what I’m thinking of all your extraordinarily amazing dorky-ness?”
One corner of Patton’s mouth hitched up, and he shrugged a shoulder.
“If you are, you don’t need to be. I think what you’re doing is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time.” Patton studied him. “Honestly,” Wes continued. “I can’t even tell you how impressive it is that you know yourself so well. You literally found your passion when you were, like, four years old. I don’t know anyone else who can say the same, myself included. All of this”—Wes gestured around—“just confirms what I already suspected about you… You’ve got your shit together. You know who you are, and you know where you’re going. You don’t need to worry about what anyone thinks of that, especially me. I already thought you were a pretty cool guy. Now, I just know that it’s true.”
Patton looked down at the hardwood floor. He didn’t respond for a moment, but when he tried to, he needed to clear his throat. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he murmured softly. He looked up at Wes and his eyes looked a little watery. He took a deep breath and exhaled silently then came over and pulled Wes into a quick hug. “Thank you,” he said into Wes’s ear, and when he pulled back, Wes had the strongest urge to kiss him.
They looked at each other for a moment, and Wes couldn’t help but wonder what Patton was thinking. Unfortunately, he turned away, leaving the moment hanging and asked, “Are you hungry? I usually do the breakfast cooking, and I’ve gotten really good at cooking eggs this week.”
Even though the only thing on Wes’s mind was pulling Patton back and exploring that new little feeling a bit more, or a lot more, and kissing the guy senseless, he let it pass and said, “Of course I’m hungry. I’m always hungry. Eggs sound amazing right now, and if I haven’t said it already, thanks for having me over.”
Patton smiled at him, and Wes let himself be led downstairs and wooed even further by Patton’s impressive culinary display. Without even knowing it could, or would, happen, Wesley found himself inexorably attracted to his newest and possibly closest friend. And he couldn’t help but wonder, what had the little moment upstairs been like for Patton?
— — —
“Can I show you something?” Patton asked as they stacked the dishes Patton’s dad said he’d load into the dishwasher. As soon as the rest of the family had heard Patton and Wes talking and clanging around in the kitchen, they’d come down to help out with making breakfast and after introductions, Patton had assigned them separate tasks, with the girls in charge of sprinkling cheese on everyone’s eggs.
The new dietary changes Patton had implemented for himself had been almost completely adopted by the rest of his family, with the exception of his younger sisters and their requests for toast with jam. Patton had scrambled an entire eighteen-count carton of eggs and Tim, Patton’s dad, had been in charge of bacon.
They’d all talked a bit and asked Wes several questions about himself and the assignment he and Patton were partnered for in PE and as the girls had finished and the rest of the family sent them on their way, Patton had led Wes toward the backdoor.
“Of course. But just so you know, if you were trying to impress me, you’ve already done that,” Wes teased, liking his new discovery about Patton and wanting to test their interactions a bit.
Patton snickered and pulled open the backdoor, leading Wes onto a gorgeous deck that overlooked their private backyard and lake. There were oversized patio chairs and loungers, lots of flower pots overflowing with perfectly tended arrangements, and an enormous barbeque and outdoor kitchen that looked to be built out of stones.
Bypassing all of that, however, Patton headed across the deck and down the few steps toward the side of the yard where a path led to a small outbuilding.
Patton opened the door and flicked on the lights as Wesley followed a few steps behind. The inside of the building looked a lot like a primitive boathouse and did indeed house the small rowboat that Patton had mentioned earlier.
“This is cool,” Wes commented, looking around. “Your ver
y own boathouse. Oh my God, is that an ice fishing hut?” Wes asked enthusiastically, pointing to a small outhouse-looking thing in one of the corners of the room.
“You really do know your fishing,” Patton replied quickly, leading Wes over so he could see it. “Yeah. My dad had this built years ago thinking he’d give ice fishing a try. Turns out though, that even being from northern Wisconsin, some people just aren’t cut out for that.”
Wes chuckled, imagining a cold so bitter even he wouldn’t tolerate it, and a small shiver ran through him. “I don’t know if I could handle it either, but it would be awesome to try. I assume your lake freezes over if you have this thing?”
“Absolutely. It’s small enough that it freezes to over twelve inches sometimes.” Patton pointed to two obscure shapes covered by canvas coverings. “We can easily drive our snowmobiles out on the lake before Christmas. It’s really fun. I’ll have to take you out sometime this winter and we can go for a drive or something. Maybe even ice fish if you want.” Patton shrugged.
Wes secretly loved the fact that Patton was already thinking of them hanging out together through the winter. Quick flashes of he and Patton snuggled up together in an ice fishing hut danced in his mind and were just as quickly replaced by images of them riding together on the back of a snowmobile, Wes’s arms around Patton’s capable figure. Them curled up in front of a fireplace, talking quietly while sipping hot chocolate. Stripping Patton out of his cold and wet clothes after they’d just had an epic snowball fight...
“You envisioning sitting in a little hut freezing your ass off?” Patton said laughingly, bringing Wes out of his fantasies.
“Something like that,” he replied with a bit of gravel in his voice as he stared at Patton with what he hoped conveyed his real thoughts.
It was hard to tell, but Wes was pretty sure Patton was blushing as he turned away. Wes quickly adjusted things down south and followed Patton over to where he’d stopped next to a huge box. There were bits and pieces of wood lying around, several more boxes containing things that looked like bottles, paper manuals, tools, and even a couple of saw horses.
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