Serpentine Walls (20 page)

“Oh, that’s okay, dude. I promised to lend you
Call of Duty: Black Ops
, so I wrapped it up instead. You can keep it, though.”

Pete laughed, relieved. Jed’s version of being boyfriends was so laid-back it was easy to miss. Still, he was beginning to feel like a jerk, because Jed deserved more than Pete was willing to give. And Jed was awesome in his own way, proving it again tonight by providing them with the video game excuse to escape his family’s prying eyes without Pete even having to suggest it.

“Thanks, man. Hey, Bud’s got a system in his room, let’s grab some food and go play.”

I
T
WAS
12:10 a.m. and officially Christmas Day, but instead of being at midnight Mass, Pete sat in Jed’s car in the dark parking lot of his old elementary school, getting a blow job. He clutched Jed’s hair as Jed moved his mouth up and down his dick. Jed’s technique had definitely improved.
Oh fuck, yeah
.

“That’s good.” He stifled a groan as Jed sucked him harder and put his hand at the base of Pete’s cock. “Yeah. Like that.” A memory of Aidan’s generous mouth engulfing him helped to tip Pete over the edge, and he came with a strangled gasp.

Jed raised his head, red-faced and panting a little, with a dribble of Pete’s come on his chin, and he smiled when Pete wiped it off. Pete then set to work unbuttoning Jed’s slacks. Jed’s erection tented his underwear, and Pete reached in, enjoying the feel of his hard, warm cock. It jerked in his hand, and Jed made a soft sound, twisting his body to face Pete more fully. He was always quick to come, which was good, because Pete was getting paranoid about the possibility of the cops cruising by. Christmas would be a screwed-up time to be busted for indecent exposure or worse.

He bent down and slid his mouth over Jed’s cock, and a few hard sucks, along with his hand groping Jed’s balls, was all it took for Jed to come with a muffled groan. Pete sat up, swallowing. Neither of them moved for a moment as they caught their breath. Then they rearranged themselves and started pulling up their pants.

“That—um, that was good,” Jed said.

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing New Year’s Eve?”

Crap.
New Year’s Eve. Kissing at midnight. It was definitely a boyfriend-type activity.

“Uh, my family’s got something. I kinda have to do it, I mean, for my mom’s sake.”

At Jed’s puzzled look, Pete realized he’d never even told him about his parents getting a divorce. He’d never told Jed anything, actually. He tuned back in to what Jed was saying.

“I was thinking we could hang out or something. My family sits around and watches the ball drop on TV. Major excitement.”

Pete smiled at Jed’s rare display of sarcasm. “Yeah, that’d be nice, but I’m kind of roped into this thing with my mom.”

There was no “thing” with his mom, but Pete didn’t want to spend New Year’s Eve with Jed.

“That’s cool.” Jed turned the key in the ignition, and Pete peered at him as the engine came to life. He didn’t appear to be upset, but Pete still felt like a shithead.

Just tell him
.

“Uh, Jed.”

“Hmm?” Jed drove the car slowly out of the school parking lot. “Do I take a left here?”

“Yeah, and then the second right.”

The car moved smoothly along the empty streets.

“Did you—were you going to say something?” Jed glanced over, and Pete froze.
Fuck me. I can’t
.

“Naw.” Jed made a right onto Pete’s street. “I’m the third house on the left, the one with the Ford minivan in the driveway.”

He should wait until they got back to school. Maybe… if he kept not getting together with him and not responding to texts, Jed would figure it out on his own. Maybe he’d even get interested in someone else, someone who was really into him.
Right. Maybe pigs will fly.
Not that he thought Jed wasn’t capable of attracting someone else, but the way Pete’s life was going, he wasn’t going to hold his breath.

Jed pulled up in front of the house and kept the engine running. “Well….” He shifted in his seat. Pete opened his door and then turned back to Jed.

“Thanks for the video game.”

Jed nodded. “No problem. Merry Christmas.”

After he got out of the car, Pete leaned back in, his hand on the doorframe.

“You too, bro. Happy New Year.”
Bro? Jesus Christ.

Pete shut the car door and walked quickly up the driveway, berating himself. Safely inside, he stopped at the sight of the Christmas tree, its colored lights twinkling in the darkened living room, piles of presents underneath, filled stockings lying on the hearth, just the way they always had. He felt a deep wrench as unbidden memories appeared—memories of childhood Christmases when life was safe and full of promise.

Merry Christmas, Pete, you asshole
.

“T
ELL
me again why we’re going to this,” Pete said to Missy as he drove into the parking lot.

“Because Dad wants to spend the day after Christmas with his beloved children?”

“And make us spend time with him and his mistress? Charming.” Aidan came to his mind, sprawled on the Lawn in his black tee, saying “charming” after Pete told him about the divorce.

“Dude, do you have any money I can borrow?” Nate asked from the backseat.

“What for?”

“Me and Mooney are going to the midnight showing of
Monsters, Inc.
in 3-D, and I don’t have any cash.”

“Yeah, I’ve got some.”

They walked into the lobby of the fancy apartment building in Tyson’s Corner that Dad had moved into with Mallory this past September.

“What floor?” Pete asked Missy, who reached around him and pushed an elevator button in reply. He fished a twenty out of his pocket and handed it to Nate. “Don’t spend it all in one place.”

“Thanks.”

At the door to Dad’s apartment, they paused. Pete gave Missy a funereal glance, and she whispered to him, “Let’s just get through this, okay?” He knocked on the door.

Mallory opened it with a wide smile, standing back for them to enter. She was wearing a festive outfit—a red-and-green plaid blouse shot through with silver and gold thread, bright-green turtleneck, and black velveteen pants. Add in her sparkling red earrings and the gold barrettes in her red hair, and the effect was like a shiny but overdressed Christmas tree. She flicked her gaze over the three of them in their jeans and casual tops.

“Come on in. Gary, the kids are here,” she called. “He just got back from Red, Hot, and Blue. I hope barbeque is okay.”

“Yum,” Nate said, while Missy gave a quick nod and Pete could barely manage a shrug.

Despite her smile, Mallory appeared nervous. “Um, come in and sit down.” She gestured to the living room, where a small artificial tree stood in the corner and a gas fire flickered in the fireplace. A Kenny G. CD, what Pete liked to call “faux jazz,” was playing in the background. A small pile of tastefully wrapped presents sat under the tree, and the coffee table held platters of cheese and crackers and a bowl of mixed nuts.

They followed her in, Pete and Missy standing in the center of the room while Nate made a beeline to the coffee table, grabbed some nuts, and shoveled them into his mouth.

“Help yourself,” Mallory told him belatedly. “What would you all like to drink?”

Before they could answer, Dad entered and boomed out, “My progeny! So nice of you to grace your dear old dad with a visit!” He was wearing a dorky tie with snowmen on it, and he came up behind Mallory and put his arm around her waist. “You’ve met my three youngest, right, babe?” he inquired, bending his head toward her.

“Of course, what kind of a silly question is that?” She laughed—a tinkling, girlish titter that made Pete want to throw up. He noticed Missy staring at Dad’s hand on Mallory’s hip. “We saw Pete in Charlottesville, and I met Missy and Nate at his basketball game, remember?”

“Okay, good. I can never keep track, what with everyone going in different directions these days.” He and Mallory smiled at each other, seemingly lost in their own world.

“Can I use your bathroom?” Missy asked and walked away before either of them could answer.

After a short silence, Mallory murmured, “I’ll just get the food on the table,” and headed to the kitchen.

“How’s school, Pete?” Dad walked over to the gas fire as if he was about to stir the logs like he used to do at home. He stopped and straightened a plant on the mantelpiece instead.

“Fine.”

“Hey, Dad, did you see the game the other night?” Nate asked. He sat down on the couch and crammed a cracker with cheese into his mouth.

“The Wizards? What did you think?”

“Jones is a moron, man. I can’t believe he missed that layup.”

Pete wandered around the living room, waiting for Missy to get out of the bathroom while Dad and Nate talked sports. He supposed he could go into the kitchen to help Mallory.
Fat chance
.

“Are Rob and Austin coming?” he asked, interrupting Dad and Nate’s lively debate.

“Rob couldn’t make it. They have Christmas with Jennifer’s family tonight. Austin should be here at some point.”

Yet another reason for Pete to resent Rob—despite acting like he was somehow the favored child, he found every excuse to bail on family events. Missy came back in carrying a beer in each hand, one of which she gave to Pete.

“Ah, you found the beer,” Dad said. “Good. They’re a Texas brew I got special. Only thing to drink with barbeque. C’mon, kids, let’s eat.” He strode out of the room.

“I don’t even like barbeque,” Missy whispered to Pete as they trailed after him. “Trust Dad not to remember that.”

Dinner was a mostly silent affair, except for Nate and Dad continuing their conversation about sports. Mallory made a few attempts to engage Pete and Missy in a conversation about school but gave up after some one-sentence answers from Missy and monosyllabic grunts from Pete.

Austin arrived after dinner, just as Mallory was ushering everyone back into the living room for the opening of the Christmas presents. Missy was the only one who had brought a present for Dad, but he didn’t seem to mind, and no one had brought Mallory anything. Their presents “from Dad with love” were clearly purchased and wrapped by Mallory, given that Dad expressed more surprise and delight at each sweater and CD than the recipient did.

Austin left early, making excuses about work to catch up on, now that the congresswoman he worked for was home on Christmas break. Pete followed Austin to the door as he was leaving.

“Austin.”

“Hey, Pete, when are you coming over? It sucks we haven’t spent any time together.”

“Whenever. I wish I could leave with you now, but I gotta run the twerps back home.”

Austin squeezed his upper arm while looking over his shoulder into the apartment, a faint scowl on his face. “Hang in there.” He lowered his voice. “This is bullshit. Dad shouldn’t be foisting his mistress on us.” In a normal voice, he added, “I have to go back to the office tonight, but give me a call—maybe we can do Thursday night?”

“Yeah, any time.”

Austin hugged him and left, the door swinging shut.

Dad’s voice boomed out from the other room. “Pete, get your ass back in here and tell Mallory what you’re studying. I can never get it straight.”

Resentment rising, Pete walked back to the living room. He was certain he’d already had that conversation with both of them when his dad brought Mallory to visit him at school, but they were looking at him expectantly.

“I’m an Echols Scholar, so I can combine classes from different departments. My focus is on how themes of nineteenth-century literature come through in modern art, film, and music.”

“What the fuck?” Nate said, although he cuffed Pete good-naturedly as he said it.

“Wow. That’s fascinating.” Mallory didn’t appear all that interested, but she smiled widely while Dad put his hand on her knee, gazing at her like she was the fascinating one.

“Pete’s the genius of the family.” Missy wrinkled her nose and gave him a genuine smile tinged with pride.

“Too bad there aren’t any jobs for geniuses,” Dad said to Mallory. “I want him to get a business degree, but there’s no listening to poor old Dad.”

P
ETE
drove Missy and Nate home in silence. This had been one crappy Christmas. All of their usual holiday traditions felt wrong without Dad. Pete thought of the circles under Mom’s eyes.
The fucking bastard
. But as much as he wanted to hate him, Pete couldn’t deny that Dad had brought an energy to the family scene that was sorely missing these days.

As Pete pulled the car into their driveway, his phone buzzed. He was psyched to see Matthew’s name on the display.

“I’m going to take this call. Y’all go on in,” he said to Missy and Nate, who were already opening their doors.

“Hey there,” Pete said, staring through the windshield at his and Nate’s pathetic attempt at outside Christmas lights. He had no idea how Dad had done them every year, but they’d looked a hell of a lot better than these.

“Hey, yourself.” Pete got a goofy grin on his face at Matthew’s voice. “Merry Christmas.”

“You too. God, it’s good to hear your voice.”

Matthew gave a pleased-sounding laugh. “Why, thank you, sir. Nice to hear yours too. Did Santa bring you anything good?”

“The usual. Some sweaters and CDs. Oh, but I got the complete Hitchcock box set. That was exciting.”

“Sweet. Speaking of movies, that’s why I called.”

“Oh?” Pete pulled his coat closed; it was chilly without the heater going.

“Yeah, AFI is having an Antonioni fest, and he’s one of my favorite directors. You want to come check it out?”

“Totally.” Pete did a fist pump, not even knowing why but not caring either.

“Great. I thought we could maybe see something in the afternoon and then get some dinner.”

“Okay,” Pete said, almost giddy at the prospect of spending so much time with Matthew. “What day?”

“How about Wednesday?”

He was shivering now, possibly from anticipation, but more probably because it was freezing out here. “Wednesday sounds good. Dude, you’re a lifesaver.”