The Beautiful You

Forty-six ~ Seven

"I'll see you at the picnic, right?" Amory asked, leaning against my car door. I nodded, pressing my forehead against his, placing my hand on his lower back. . A small smile crept onto his lips, and I could guess what he was thinking. "You have some time...we could mess around for a little."

I shook my head and tousled his blond curls. "I'm meeting Diego at the diner in like 15 minutes."

Amory sighed and nodded, slowly tracing his fingers up my arm. I stared at him, watching his disappointed pout turn into a small smile. "Okay."

"Besides, your dad is home and I'm not trying to get lectured."

"It was one time."

"That was all it took," I added. "I'll meet up with you later."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a tight squeeze before glancing up at me. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered.

Diego was in town this weekend, and I was planning to come out to him.

He called me yesterday and let me know he'd be making a quick visit to town. He was hoping to stop by and see me before he stopped in the city. It took me a while to get back to him. I just kept listening to his voicemail. Debating whether or not I wanted to see him.

But in the end, I thought it might be the right time to ask for help. If he was willing to give me any.

If everything goes wrong with my dad, then maybe he'd take me in. He might mind, but I think he'd rather do things in spite of our dad than care if his little brother liked boys. But I was still scared, and in the back of my mind I could only picture his disappointment, or his anger.

But for once, I was hopeful.

"Okay," I said.

I sat at the booth, anxiously waiting for him to appear at the doors. I picked a relatively popular place in town. I wanted it to be public–just in case he wanted to–I don't know–I just don't know what to think anymore. I still can't figure my brother out.

All I knew for certain was that I didn't want to hide. I especially didn't want to hide Amory, he was always meant to shine. I wanted to show him that this thing we had together–it felt real to me. Too important not to share with my friends or my family.

"We need a haircut, muchacho." Diego pulled me from my thoughts as he stood tall at the end of the booth. I nervously laughed and reached out for his hand, but he pulled me up for a hug.

"You look tired," he said.

I pulled away from his embrace and shrugged. "I've had a lot on my mind recently. It kinda shows, I guess."

He sat across from me in the booth and peaked through the menu. "I get it, you're getting closer to graduating. Only one more year left and then it's off to college, right?"

"Yeah, but that's not–"

Suddenly our waitress appeared, her eyes immediately locked onto Diego. "Can I get you two boys anything to drink?"

Diego glanced up from his menu and pointed towards me, "What do you want?"

"Oh–I don't–a Sprite, I guess."

He nodded. "One Sprite and I'll take Dr. Pepper," he said, smiling at the waitress. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.

"I'll be right back with those drinks," she said, keeping her gaze stuck on my brother. He awkwardly glanced at me and nodded. Diego always drew attention; he's popular. It's something no one in my family ever lets me forget.