Page 58 of Crying in the Rain

“Do we need to discuss this?” Ade nudged him forward.

“I guess.” Kris opened his bedroom door and made a grand gesture with his arm to welcome Ade, officially, because it was different than the previous night. This marked the beginning of their relationship for real.

Ade sat on the end of the bed and patted the space next to him. Kris sat too. Ade took his hand and looked him in the eye.

“One question, and I want the truth. OK?”

“OK.”

“Is it over with you and Shaunna?”

“Haven’t we already—”

“Hold on, hear me out. You’ve both told me it’s over, and I believe you mean it. You’re telling me what you think is the truth. You said you’re monogamous…”

“Yes.”

“Yet you slept together in the last month.”

“We did, but it was only one time, spur of the moment. There was a reunion, we’d had too much to drink, and we were both feeling…you know.” Kris shrugged. “Horny and lonely.”

“Did you use a condom?”

“Yes, for contraception. It’s not like either of us has slept with anyone else. Not since Jack.”

“It’s just that ‘we had too much to drink’ and happening to have condoms lying around, which, incidentally, come in packs of at least three, doesn’t sound very spur of the moment.”

“OK. I see where you’re coming from,” Kris said diplomatically. He could explain, if Ade gave him a chance.

“No, you don’t, because…” In a blink, Ade went from accusing to contrite. He let go of Kris’s hand and ducked his head. “I’m sorry. It’s absolutely none of my business.”

“Yeah, it is.” Kris took back Ade’s hand. “You need to know you can trust me, I get that, and I should’ve explained instead of going on about condoms. Believe it or not, I was trying to pluck up the courage for this conversation. Well, not this one exactly, but we should talk about how fast we want to take things, what we like and don’t like…”

“Consent,” Ade said.

“Yeah.”

“OK. We should definitely do that. I forget sometimes how these things are supposed to work. Can I ask, though…and this isn’t an accusation…”

“Go on.”

“The other two condoms?”

“There’s a box of about a hundred in Shaunna’s room, but I didn’t want to ask her. Not because there’s anything between us, or there is, as you’ve seen, but I promise it’s just friendship. We always use condoms—I meanused to use. They’re what’s left over, probably expired by now.” The more Kris said, the bigger the hole he was digging. Ade gave him a reassuring smile.

“You don’t have to explain. I’m just being silly. If you’re saying it won’t happen again…”

“That depends,” Kris teased, attempting to change the dynamic.

“Does it now?” Ade challenged flirtatiously. “On what, exactly?”

Kris turned and pushed Ade backwards onto the bed. “On whether you’re planning to interrogate me all night.” He paused to check Ade was OK, which his smile suggested he was, and then gently pinned him down by his arms.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to shut me…mmm…”

Kris kissed him, slowly and deeply, savouring the smell of Ade’s cologne mixed with the sweet-tea scent of his breath.He was nervous and hoping his uncertainty didn’t show in his actions, because he wanted this. He wanted to make love to this beautiful man, but he wasn’t used to taking the lead. He trailed his lips away from Ade’s, over the crest of his chin, and stopped, his attention drawn and held by the bruising. It was healing, yellow, red, purple, still horrific.

“Don’t look,” Ade said.

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