Day
I slid my arm up to his shoulder and squeezed Wade as I kissed his chest. He laughed a little and ran his hand up my arm and into my hair.
"I'm not sure I'll ever get over that, it devastated me that he missed it."
"Wade, he knows. I'm sure he was able to see you standing there, knowing you were thinking about him as he was watching you."
"I hope you're right." Wade reached over and started to tickle me as I shoved his arm away. "I wouldn't have taken you to be the spiritual type."
"I got spirit...yes I do." I looked up and Wade was rolling his eyes at me. "Sheesh, tough crowd. I'm not a bible thumper, hell I'm not even sure I believe it, but it seems nice.
That there are spirits who watch over us? I don't know, I guess at times it helps me not feel so..."
"Alone," Wade said, letting two fingers graze over the divot in the center of my chest.
"I suppose so."
Wade made a little groaning sound. "It's weird, but—the idea that you'd ever feel alone bugs me."
I let out a long sigh and shut my eyes, wishing he'd stop saying all these wonderful little things. What kind of a sick-o does that? It was making me feel things, and I couldn't decide whether I liked that or not. I opened my eyes as Wade lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His gaze ate into me, the intensity taking me over. I couldn't look away, and though I didn't really want to, I was also aware that I needed to.
102
Sn Ho
by Ethan Day
It was like he could see through to the core of me to my soul or essence—whatever it's called. I'd seen this phenomenon depicted in movies and described in books. They always made it seem incredible and romantic. It was actually really creepy. Why the hell would I want anyone looking at my essence? I hadn't even seen the damn thing. What if my essence was sitting out there in full view and was badly lit?
What if my essence wasn't very pretty to look at or unworthy of being loved? Maybe that's why Phillip only appreciated my exterior?
"Whatever you've got going on in that very sexy head of yours right now," Wade said, startling me back into the present, "you can cut it out."
"I'll have you know there are absolutely no actual thoughts running through my sexy head." I winked at him. "Just this voice running on a loop telling me I'm hot."
Wade chuckled as he shifted his body so we could more easily look at one another. "Guys who look like you aren't usually funny."
I ran my finger over his Adams apple. "You'd need to laugh too—it took several painful surgeries to get me looking this way."
Wade shook his head at me. "You're such a liar."
"Well it is true that I wasn't always so pleasant to look at."
I smiled, feeling his body tense a bit as I ran the stubble of my chin over one of his nipples. "In high school I was a bit too gangly, with long Lurch-like arms and legs. The other kids called me Ba-Boone."
103
Sn Ho
by Ethan Day
"That was mean," Wade said, though laughing. "You should've thrown your poop at them."
I started to laugh at the mental picture I got of me tossing my shit at Jake Mitchell and Jenny Davenport as they screamed in horror. "That was actually funny, Mr. Medals."
"High praise indeed," Wade said. "Ba-Boone, huh? I can't quite imagine it."
"Oh I have pictures."
"Show and tell?"
"I don't have them on me," I laughed. "And I think we've shared enough for one day, don't you?"
Wade rolled me onto my back and climbed on top of me, pinning me down into the bed. "We're just getting started."
"You're such a girly, share-bear," I said, letting out a long painful sounding moan as I over-actingly bugged out my eyes while gasping for air. "Can't...breathe..."
Wade tickled my sides making me laugh, thereby ruining my whole performance.
"Oh fine—end scene," I said, placing my hands onto his wide shoulders. "So really, what the hell happened to you, radioactive spider...gamma ray exposure?"
Wade looked at me curiously with a half smile.
"I've seen the pictures of you at your uncle's
Tia Louise
Charlotte Hubbard
Sheena Binkley
Donna Jo Napoli
Carole Mortimer
Carmine Gallo
Joyce Carol Oates
Rob Spillman
Carolyn Hart
Bruce Wagner