Social Skills (32 page)

He
chuckled. “That seems like a long time.”

“Well,
that’s how long it’ll take me to be eighteen, and after that I won’t need them
anymore. I mean, not as long as I have a big brother to help me out.”

The
heat that rose in Connor’s face was from some internal warmth rather than
embarrassment. “But haven’t you always thought I was a screw up?”

“Nah.”
She hit him on the shoulder. “I guess you have some skills, after all. Besides,
Amanda says it’s really cool to have a gay brother.”

“I
thought you promised you weren’t going to tell anyone.”

“Duh,
Connor.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t tell her. I used a hyperthetical
situation.”

“
Hypo
thetical,”
he corrected automatically.

“See.
That’s a skill. You can proofread my English papers for me instead of Mom and
Dad.”

“Oh…um,
sure, I can do that.”

“And
anyways, I’m
so
relieved you told, ’cause now hopefully Mom’ll get off
my back. I was trying to bring up the topic to see how she’d react, and I think
she got really worried
I
was trying to tell her I was gay. She started
buying me tons of frilly dresses…taking me out for manicures and pedicures…” Melissa
shuddered. “
Way
too much bonding time.”

Connor
shuddered, too. He could only imagine the horror. “Sorry. Guess you shoulda
stuck with that ‘don’t say anything’ suggestion of mine.”

Melissa
glared, but made it a playful look with a few bats of her eyelashes.

“Anyways,
you’d better get going,” he reminded her. “You’re gonna get in trouble.”

She
grimaced and finally released him. “You’ll talk to me later, right?”

“Yeah,
I will.”

“See
ya, Connor.”

He
watched her small figure sprint down the path and disappear from sight.

Much
stronger arms soon replaced Melissa’s thin ones as Connor was embraced from
behind.

He smiled
out into the darkness. “I thought I told you I’d call.”

“I
know.” Jared’s chin came to rest on his head. “But I was worried. So sue me. I
heard part of what your sister was saying…it sounded like it didn’t go so well.”

“It
wasn’t ideal.” Connor placed his arms on top of Jared’s and laced their fingers
together. “But it wasn’t too bad. I guess the important thing is, I’m okay…and
I think things will get a little better with them, eventually.”

“I
hope so.” Jared’s lips brushed his ear. “And…I love you, you know.”

Connor
leaned into Jared’s chest, enjoying the way their breathing settled into an
even, matching pace. “I know. I love you too.”

The
words came naturally again, without fanfare or circumstance. But that didn’t
make them any less true.

They
were a good match, after all. Despite their differences, they’d brought out the
best in each other…and really, wasn’t that the greatest thing he could have
hoped for when socializing with his fellow man?

Well,
that, and a little bit more.

Connor
turned and stood on tiptoe to kiss the man he loved under the stars.

About the Author

Sara
Alva is a small-town girl currently living in big-city LA with a husband, two
cats, and an avocado tree. She has a day job but loves writing enough to have
turned it into a night job. For information, free short stories and news on
upcoming releases, visit Sara’s website at
http://saraalva.com/
.