Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 161257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 806(@200wpm)___ 645(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 806(@200wpm)___ 645(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Max chuckled and palmed Sean’s thigh, but when he pulled it over his own, he accidently bumped the horn with his elbow.
Honk!
Both stilled. Then Sean laughed. “So graceful. Thank fuck you weren’t on my gymnastics team.”
Max scowled, “Be quiet,” and eased Sean off.
“That frown is so fake,” Sean laughed again. “Nice try.”
A grin tugged at Max’s lips. He glanced at the house. “My mom’s gonna be opening that door any minute. We should probably get going.” He looked at Sean. “You ready?”
Sean peered at the house, too, then turned back to Max and grinned. “Oh, yeah.”
Max tensed and eyed him. “Why’d you say it like that?”
“Because.” Sean shrugged and gestured to Max’s ass. “You’re packed and you’re stacked. ‘Specially in the back. I wanna thank your mother for a butt like that.”
Max blinked, then frowned. “Did you just quote Salt N Pepa?”
“I did.” Sean beamed.
Max coughed a laugh and shook his head. “Come on, cat. Let’s go.”
They both climbed from his truck. Max took Sean’s hand, lingering for just a moment to gaze at their fingers. As if the things held more meaning to him then they would for most. As if the simple public display meant the fucking world.
Sean’s heart thumped, flooded with a wave of potent feels. Because Max wasn’t the only one who’d gone without a boyfriend for so long. Without a companion to keep him from feeling so alone. Sean had walked that path, too, unable to find his heart in anyone.
Until the day he walked into Max’s classroom. He’d felt the shift in that very first stare off, just hadn’t realized at the time what it was. His soul finally stirring from its apathetic slumber as it recognized its other half. In Max.
Max smiled almost boyishly and squeezed Sean’s hand. Then together, they made their way up the sidewalk. They didn’t get far, though, before Max’s mom appeared in the doorway. Sean took her in. Wow. She was really pretty. Long, dark hair, medium build, light-brown skin. With the biggest, warmest eyes he’d ever seen.
She covered her mouth, first with one hand, then with both, her gaze filling with tears as she watched them.
“Shit,” Max muttered, his timbre turning thick. “I think she’s gonna cry. Fuck. I can’t.”
“Yeah, you can,” Sean murmured. “’Cause they’ll be happy tears. Happy tears are different. Your mom needs this.”
Max nodded a little and swallowed. “Yeah… You’re probably right.”
They neared the front stoop. Ms. Kelley opened the screen door.
“Woodasti.” She stepped out and hugged Max before he could speak. “So happy to see you. I’ve missed your face.”
Max smiled, closing his eyes, and held her tight. “Missed yours, too, Mom. How’ve you been?”
“Tired, but okay.” She pulled from his arms and turned to Sean. Sean smiled. So did she. But hers was bittersweet. She looked back at Max. A silent exchange. “You didn’t do it,” she murmured softly. “You didn’t let him go.”
Max’s jaw ticked. He shook his head.
Sean’s heart squeezed at the sight. Already, Max was struggling, silently fighting back the emotion. But his mom wasn’t making it very easy.
Fresh tears welled in her eyes, then trickled down her cheeks. “I’m so proud of you, Max. You’ve made me so happy.”
But instead of falling back into another embrace, she turned and wrapped her arms around Sean. “So wonderful to finally meet you. I’ve been waiting for you for years.”
Sean’s smile widened. He hugged her back. “Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Kelley. Sorry it took me so long.”
She coughed a gentle laugh. “It’s okay. You’re here now.” Squeezing him tighter, she whispered in his ear. “Thank you... For finding him… Thank you.”
* * * * *
Inhale….
Exhale…
Max looked down at the bundle of daisies clutched in his hand, then back at the plot he’d paused just a few yards shy from.
“Do this,” he murmured. “Just do this. It’s time.”
Closing his eyes, he took another breath, then let it out slowly just like before. He lifted his lids again and willed his feet to resume.
Right—Left—Right—Left—
One foot in front of the other.
He arrived at his destination a few seconds later. Kevin’s grave. The place he vowed to never return. And yet, there he was, because it needed to be done. This visit to his past. This visit to his friend, whom he’d directed his anger at for far too long.
His eyes dropped to Kevin’s gravestone plaque. Just how he remembered it. He slowly read the words. Words, that even now, cut like knives.
Kevin Sanders
1985 – 2003
May his gentle soul find everlasting peace.
The rest of Kevin’s grave, however, looked much different. No longer the flowered mound Max had walked away from thirteen years ago. Just one rectangle of sod amidst an endless sea of grass. Grass that looked…well…thirteen years old. God, just the sight of it messed with his head. Made him feel like Kevin never even existed.