•strictly platonic• boy x boy •

•fourteen•

Robyn Hook

It was supposed to be a joke. I couldn't resist teasing him. But when I saw his face flush, it was the thought of kissing him that was hard to resist. He was the one who just touched my lips, so why was he getting all flustered?

I was getting mixed signals here. See, this was the big gay dilemma. Is he an overly affectionate straight bro dude that just happens to kiss your cheek and hold your hands and caress your hair and cuddle you at night and sing comforting songs and calls us (platonic) soulmates, or is there that small minuscule of a chance that there is a spark of something resembling mutual feelings?

Intrusive thoughts got the best of me, so I tested out the waters.

I licked my top lip. "Raspberry, hm? Tastes good." Hail Mary. If he didn't get the signals before, there was no way he'd think this was just a 'no homo' moment. "I wonder if this is how it tastes to kiss you." I leaned in closer to gauge his reaction and didn't expect him to completely malfunction in front of me. His eyebrows raised as his pupils darted between my eyes and lips.

"Huh?" He was too f*cking cute. I wanted to devour him on the spot, to kiss those moles on his face so badly. One by one, following the trail from forehead to his brow, to his cheek, down his neck–ugh you know what I mean. His lips looked so kissable. Just knowing the fact that I was wearing his lip balm made it seem like we already kissed and it sent a wave of electricity through my body. Gave me the power to do something bold.

My right arm rested right next to his head and was tempted to caress his chin with my free hand, but then I felt like it would've been moving too fast and I hesitated. As it was pouring outside the van, I could feel Em's breath on my lips. It was like time was at a standstill, as it seemed even the raindrops were falling at a slower rate. We were so close he could probably see the pores on my nose. He was so close I could see his two-toned eyelashes.

In a split second, his eyes widened and he swiftly pushed me back without even looking me in the eye, and yelled, "I HAVE TO PEE," so abruptly that it almost made me chuckle out loud by the sheer randomness of that statement. It was all very comedic and I wasn't too bummed about not being able to kiss him, because in retrospect I realized I'd rather have a better atmosphere than being in a mom van. (Not cute. Em deserves better). And most of all, it was entertaining seeing him get flustered. It gave me all the more reason to want him. I propped my elbows on the steering wheel as I watched him fumble with the keypad.

I sighed wistfully and got out of the car to go check on him, but instead of seeing Em, I was 'greeted' with Elsa's face. "What are you doing here?" I blurted out. I could physically feel my face quickly go from lovesick to disgust as my eyebrows dropped into a scrunch.

"I was making some dinner, actually. Piper is supposed to be discharged tomorrow. Which you'd know if you were here." I could smell her bland ass chicken soup from the foyer and I didn't need to eat it for it to leave a bitter taste in my mouth. "By the way, is your boyfriend okay?"

I pinched my nose in exasperation. "Emerson is not my boyfriend," well–not yet anyway—but that's not the point here, "what do you mean?"

"He was like super red. Is he sick?" I was both oddly appreciative and slightly disturbed by her concern for Em, but it didn't mean much coming from her.

"Yeah, a fever or something like that." This was probably the longest conversation we've had without a fight. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I knew it wasn't the right time. I just didn't want to spoil my birthday fun by talking to her aggravating ass.

Emerson walked out of the bathroom with his hairline a little wet and a sheen on his forehead which led me to believe he probably splashed some cold water on his face to cool himself down. He cleared his throat when he looked down at my aunt. "Sorry, I missed you there. It was a long drive back."