Jeanine seemed to sense my inner thoughts and smiled impishly. “So, who’s your boyfriend? Anyone I know?”
“Umm.” I hesitated; Jeanine was a junior, so she might not even know Wesley. “His name’s Wesley,” I said. I felt my cheeks burn at the mere mention of his name.
“Hmm. Wesley? Oh! Wesley Carroll?” she said loudly, and strangely, proudly. My eyes widened and I looked around the store, and then nodded. “Wow! You’ve got great taste! I’d been crushing on him for a while. How about that? Wes and Toren… I bet you guys make a cute couple!”
I TRIED calling Wesley’s cell after I got off work, but it still went to voicemail and I began to worry. He usually called by now. What if something happened after he left last night? My chest felt tight and I was hot, like I had a fever. I called his cell again, but he still didn’t answer. Tears began to fill my eyes and I fell back on the sofa. I sucked in breath, but I was still gasping for air.
I looked at the clock on the cable box and rubbed the tears from my eyes. It was a little past six and Mom and Alycia were still at work. Where was Wesley?
There was a knock at the door and I almost tripped running to answer it. Wesley stood on the other side with a smile on his face and I wanted to hit him, kiss him, and yell at him.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” he asked, walking in and brushing my shoulder with his hand.
“What? Where have you been? What’s going on? Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you answer your phone?” I shouted, unable to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks.
“Whoa. What? Are you okay?” I leaned into him and rubbed my face on his shoulder, wiping away my tears. “What’s the matter?”
“I… you…. Where have you been? I tried calling you a million times, but I only got voicemail and I didn’t want to call your house because I was afraid your parents would answer and I’ve been worried sick. Why didn’t you call me?” I rambled, hugging Wesley like he would disappear if I let go.
“I thought you had to work today. I didn’t want to bother you there. Plus, I was running around this afternoon and well, I’m sorry. I should’ve called you.”
“Damn right you should’ve!” I shouted, stepping back and looking up at Wesley. He smiled at my red eyes and flushed cheeks.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
I looked down and grimaced. But he was right here, with me.
“All right. Give me a kiss and I’ll forgive you.”
“Just a kiss?” Wesley pouted, sticking out his bottom lip.
“We can negotiate after you tell me what happened last night.”
Wesley kissed me sweetly, and I smiled before Wesley licked my lips and kissed me again. He walked to the sofa and then pulled me down on his lap. I stayed on his lap and looked at him, waiting.
“Well, nothing happened last night. My folks were already in bed, so I went to bed too. But this morning, they woke me up at, like, seven and my mom just started in on me. Obviously, she told my dad. And she went on about how they didn’t raise me to be like this and how could I do this to them. Then she started on how this was just a phase and that I’d outgrow it. Can you believe that? I actually laughed at her. I didn’t mean to. I just… did. Then my dad yelled at me and told me to shut up. He said that I had to stop seeing you and I told him that wasn’t an option. I told them that I was in love with you and that they just needed to accept it and get over it. Then, Dad said that if I was living under his roof, blah, blah, blah, so I told him I wouldn’t live under his roof. Then, he punched me and called me a fucking faggot.”
“He punched you?” I asked. I turned his face to the side and saw the red mark left by his father’s fist. “Are you okay? How could he? I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay. I’ll be all right,” he reassured me, brushing the hair from my eyes with a gentle smile on his face. “It was the first time my dad ever hit me,” he added, looking down, his smile gone. “So, I left right after that. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to get a bite to eat and then….”
“Why didn’t you call me or come over?”
“It was early and I didn’t want to bother you. Plus I knew you had to work today.”
“So? You still should’ve….”
“I know. I’m sorry. But after that, I started looking for an apartment. I went to a lot of places, but I found one I liked, and I actually signed a lease. I can move in this weekend.”
I stared at Wesley with wide eyes. His own place? “But how can you afford it?”
“Well, I’m working full-time and I’ve actually been saving up for this for a while. I’ve got enough for the security deposit and a few months rent, but, Toren.” He paused and looked at me for a long moment. “Toren, I want you to think about this carefully, and I don’t need an answer right now. I just want you to really think about it. I… I want us to live together. I want you to move in with me.”
I didn’t know what to say. What could I say? It wasn’t that I didn’t want to live with him; it just seemed like it was too soon. Everything was happening so fast. I loved him, I didn’t have any doubt about that, but we’d only been going out for a few months. I didn’t say anything.
Wesley watched my reaction and he seemed a little disappointed. “So, just think about it, okay?”
I nodded
