Shelter by Ashley John Page B

going?”
    “You look nice,” Caden smiled, “I mean – new shirt?”
    “It’s just something I found,” Elias tugged at it, wondering if he was showing off too much of the body underneath.
    “Hungry?” Caden pushed his hands into his jeans.
    Were they tighter than the ones he usually wore? Maybe this is how he normally dressed and he dressed a little more casual when he was working. Or maybe he had been standing in front of a mirror for an hour trying to find something to wear, like Elias had.
    “Starving,” Elias smiled back, looking into Caden’s eyes for the first time.
    There it was in Caden’s eyes. He knows you tried to kiss him . Elias hoped Caden was going to pretend nothing happened so they could get through the day without any awkwardness.
    In a strange and tense silence, they headed towards the town square, which had been completely transformed. If Elias hadn’t known better, he would have thought a rock star was about to perform because everybody in Havenmoore seemed to have turned out. The steps of the town hall had been turned into a makeshift stage, where Havenmoore 106 was broadcasting live. White tents and stalls covered the square from corner to corner, the smell of fish strong and thick in the air. It seemed like a pretty big deal for the town, which made Elias wonder how he had gone his entire life avoiding it.
    “Are you ready for your first lobster?” Caden clapped his hands together, rubbing them in excitement.
    “Sure,” lobster was the last thing on Elias’ mind.
    They approached the square, the buzz of the people drowning out the awkward silence between them. Wandering from stall to stall, they hovered over the different lobster themed products on offer, neither of them approaching. Glancing around the crowd, Elias wondered if the mayor was in the mix somewhere or if she had shown her face and gone back to her office to get away from the locals.
    “Can I interest you in a lobster cupcake?” somebody leaned out of their stall, “Made with real lobster!”
    “Elias?” Caden looked to him.
    “You’ve got to be kidding.”
    With a wink and a shrug, Caden pulled out his wallet in exchange for two bright red cupcakes with decorative iced lobsters adorning the top. To his relief, they were filled with sweet red goo and the lobster theme didn’t extend beyond the outside.
    “You’ve got a little –,” Caden pointed at Elias’ chin.
    Elias was about to reach up and wipe away the frosting but before he could, Caden’s thumb dove in to scoop it up. The contact was brief but it was just as electric as it had always been. Elias watched as Caden wiped it on the empty cupcake wrapper, wondering if Caden had felt it too.
    As they headed deeper into the festival, Elias wanted to bring up what had happened at Caden’s house, if only to defuse the underlying tension. He hated to admit that a support worker was the only person he felt like he had in life but it was true. As much as he resented what Caden was there to do, he had grown not to hate him. He was stuck between thinking that was because Caden was gay or just that Caden was a nice guy.
    “Hey, Dad,” Caden waved to a balding man who was propped up behind a stall selling freshly cooked lobster chowder, “how’s it going?”
    “Slow,” he grumbled, “when did this place become such a circus? People used to come here to eat lobster but now they come to buy the trash people are selling. I saw one woman with lobster claw earrings. Earrings! ”
    Caden’s dad stretched out, wiping his hands down the front of his apron. He shared the same pearly green eyes as Caden, making the family resemblance striking. Elias felt like he was shrinking into Caden’s shadow but his dad suddenly looked to him, assessing the stranger.
    “Dad, this is Elias,” Caden patted Elias on the shoulder, “somebody I’m working with.”
    “Buster,” he held his hand out with a cautious smile, “pleasure to meet you.”
    “You too,” Elias