We stayed up late into the night even though we were both exhausted from such a full day at the beach. It was the last night of our trip, and Wesley was suddenly very ambitious. He didn’t feel like just staying in bed. I couldn’t keep up with his unending supply of energy until I got a second wind around midnight. I thought my legs were going to give out while we were in the shower, but Wesley supported me until we both came. After that, we decided it was definitely time to sleep.
We woke about ten minutes before checkout time. We gathered our things together and hurried to the front desk. We left so fast that I didn’t even have time to be embarrassed about the evidence of our weekend together that we left behind.
Chapter 18
I DECIDED to surprise Wesley by coming over instead of just calling, and I walked over to his house around three o’clock. It was a hot day, but the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze from the north. When I turned down his street, I saw him out front starting the lawn mower. He smiled and waved when he saw me and cut the engine.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” he asked, meeting me halfway.
“I just thought I’d stop by,” I told him, smiling timidly. It had been a couple of weeks since our trip to the beach and the time we spent together was limited now. I was working four days a week at World Store, and our days off were usually spent doing chores. Not to mention the time we had alone was virtually nonexistent, and my body ached for the freedom we enjoyed while on our trip.
“I was gonna call you after I finished cutting the grass. I gotta do it today or my mom’ll kill me,” he complained.
“That’s one of the nice things about living in an apartment,” I teased.
“Yeah, yeah. Hey, if you don’t wanna wait around for me to finish the lawn, I can come by after,” he offered, wiping sweat from his brow.
“That’s okay. I’ll keep you company.” I didn’t mind waiting for Wesley. I didn’t mind watching him mow the lawn either.
Wesley looked at me and took hold of my wrist. Even though there was no one on the street, I shook my head. Wesley led me back to the detached garage and kissed me. I closed my eyes and accepted him; this was what my body was yearning for.
A car pulled into the driveway and underneath the shine of the windshield, I could see Mrs. Carroll. I stepped back from Wesley as he turned and faced the car. Mrs. Carroll got out and stared at us with wide eyes that soon narrowed in anger.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted, slamming the car door.
Wesley looked at her with surprise and I turned my eyes to the ground. My stomach tightened, and I had a hard time catching my breath.
“I said, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, stopping in front of Wesley and glancing at me.
“Mom, calm down,” Wesley said. His voice was surprisingly steady.
“I will not calm down! I didn’t raise you to be like this!” Her face was hard and she gritted her teeth. She took a step forward and glared at me. “You. Get out of here! Don’t you ever come near my son again!”
Wesley stepped in front of me. “Don’t talk to him like that,” he said firmly. He looked down and took a deep breath. His voice wavered for a moment as he looked back up to his mother’s angry face. “Mom, I’m gay.”
“Don’t say that! Don’t you ever say that!” she shouted. Then she looked at me. “This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you….”
“I told you, don’t talk to him like that,” Wesley warned. He lifted his hands, palms up, trying to explain. “Mom, I’m gay. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Get out! You leave my son alone!” she yelled.
“Mom. I’m in love with him. Why can’t you just be happy for me?”
Mrs. Carroll’s eyes widened, and she slapped Wesley across the face in one fluid motion. She was breathing heavily, and her nostrils flared. She stared at the ground, her eyes darting back and forth, as she shook her hand limply. Wesley touched his cheek tenderly and stared at his mother, and then he took my hand and pulled me past her without a glance in her direction. He walked fast and pulled me along with him. My arm hurt at my shoulder but I tried to keep up. “Fucking… goddamn it,” he seethed under his breath.
We turned the corner onto the main street and Wesley still kept his pace. We passed several storefronts before he slowed down to a normal walk. He was still holding my hand.
“Fuck! I’m sorry,” he said. “I knew my dad would flip, but I thought my mom would be different. I’m so sorry.” I squeezed his hand and Wesley glanced at me. He had tears in his eyes and then he laughed pathetically. “Heh, you can’t choose your family, can you? But just so you know, I choose you,” he said, looking forward again. “No matter what, I choose you.”
I stopped, letting his hand slip from mine. I looked at the ground and took a deep breath.
“What? What’s wrong?” Wesley asked, stopping and turning to face me.
“You… you said… that you were in love with me.”
Wesley’s eyes widened and he looked to the side. He blushed and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I
