Kyle and Johnny's Story

15 - That Park will always hold those Memories

Chapter Fifteen - That Park will always hold those Memories

On the way to the park Kyle kept thinking about how he almost texted ‘I need you’ to Johnny. Now they were together he couldn’t escape the feeling that he really did need him.

Although he didn’t know about the text, Johnny quickly sensed that there was something off about Kyle today. The way he went quiet every so often and sighed, distressed. It didn’t take a genius to work out that there was something bothering him. It wasn’t yet his place to ask outright as Kyle hadn’t yet shown any signs of wanting to discuss it, but Johnny would wait, and dote on him a bit so that maybe he might be willing to share.

When they reached the park, Kyle wasted no time in asking Johnny for his ‘coming out’ story and Johnny was happy to oblige, if apologetic that it wasn’t more interesting.

“My family pretty much knew before me,” he said as they sat on the swings, rocking backwards and forwards gently, hands entwined between them, “So it wasn’t a shock and there was never a change that they wouldn’t accept me. In fact, I didn’t really come out, Mam asked me if I was gay and I said ‘I think so’ and she shrugged, smiled and left.”

“So she wasn’t that bothered?”

“Not really,” Johnny turned to look at Kyle on the swing beside him, “But not in a bad way. She just didn’t care about it, like it didn’t change me to her. Jen reacted a little more, she was happy to have someone to discuss boys with,” he laughed, “I do - to keep her happy of course!”

Kyle nodded, “Sure. Maybe you just like giggling over hotties?” he teased.

Johnny chuckled, “Well I can’t exactly do that with Pathina,” he burst out laughing, “Last time I tried she just said ‘Eww! Boys are gross!’ and pulled a face.”

Kyle laughed and stood up, keeping hold of Johnny’s hand so that their arms were stretched between them, “Well you’ll have to stop talking about other boys now you have me.”

Johnny got up and stepped forwards, closing the gap between them, using Kyle’s hand to pull him forwards into an embrace.

“That’s fair,” he said wrapping his arms around the unsuspecting Kyle.

Kyle let his arms slink around Johnny and buried his face into his collar, crushing his nose into the worn leather of Johnny’s jacket. He smiled into the leather, cherishing how nice it felt to just be held.

A smile crept across Johnny’s face as Kyle wriggled his nose into Johnny’s collarbone, and he raised a hand to move an out of place hair of Kyle’s to behind his ear and bent to bury his own nose in his curls.

“Come and sit in the castle with me,” Johnny said quietly, his face still pressed into Kyle’s hair.

Kyle lifted his head slightly, “What?”

“That wooden castle,” Johnny loosened his hold on Kyle and raised his head, “I really want to sit inside it but I want you to come with me.”

“Sure,” Kyle stepped out of the hug and followed Johnny across the playground biting his lip at how lovely Johnny looked when he walked. Lovely? When he walks? What the hell am I thinking? He thought, but he grinned at how true his thought about Johnny had been.

The castle that they walked towards was one of those painted wooden climbing frames that are usual occupants of children’s playgrounds, with a slide, a ladder and a climbing wall leading up to a space you could stand and look over the playground in. The colours were faded especially on the little roof which was so dimed it was hard to tell what the original colour was.