Page 9 of A Really Gay Book
Do you know how long it had been since I’d gotten my hands on one? Two years and two months. The day before Apple stepped into town was the last time I’d gotten the joy of eating any decent baked goods.
And there he was, holding my favorite doughnut out to me like it was nothing.
“I got you coffee too, but I don’t know what you like in it,” Apple said. He looked like not knowing how I took my coffee was a personal failure he had to fix immediately.
What was happening?
The day before, he’d been the irritating, sexy little bastard I’d always taken him for. Carrying him bodily out of my house had been the single biggest highlight of my life.
I still had no idea why he’d wanted to stay in the first place. Maybe he’d felt like slumming it.
I followed dumbly as Apple led me to the only empty table in the bakery. It was by the window and had an excellent view of the maple tree-lined road. They had exploded into a brilliant shade of red, and for some reason, it felt like the first time I’d ever seen fall foliage.
Considering it was the end of November, it was a bit of an oddity. None of the other trees in town had any leaves at all.
I was so captivated by the view that I ended up answering some of the never-ending stream of personal questions Apple kept sending my way.
Yes, I had parents. No, I didn’t see them often. Why would I inflict that on the people I loved? They were safer having a solid distance between us.
I left the last two comments out of the conversation.
I was an English major. It was a fairly safe route. I was planning on being an editor since I was excellent at noticing tiny details. I had to be if I wanted to continue living.
I left that last part out as well.
I ended up leaving most parts out and answered Apple in one and two-word sentences. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed delighted by every response. Like I was giving him a gift.
It was so weird.
The weirder part was when his hand brushed mine. It was electric. Every time we touched, it felt like a live current flowed through me, but not in a bad way. It felt… good.
It felt so good, in fact, that I shot to my feet the moment I finished my breakfast, ready to make a run for it even though running was anemergencies onlything for me, considering how it tended to be a creator of emergencies when I did it.
Unfortunately, Apple stood too and said, “Here, I’ll walk you to class.” Then he followed me outside.
As we walked, his hand kept brushing mine, and the vibe between us continued to intensify. I walked faster, and Apple kept up easily. I don’t know how his short little legs managed it. Our height difference was fairly extreme.
Was it my imagination, or did his hand linger against mine just now?
“Oh shit!” Apple grabbed me by the sleeve and dragged me into an alley. “Hide me. Please.” He peered up at me and there was a touch of genuine alarm in his eyes.
Without thinking, I blocked his body with mine. It wasn’t difficult to do. He was really small. Fragile even.
If he had luck like mine, he’d be dead in a matter of days.
I scowled at the thought. Something about it made me feel like I’d been kicked in the stomach.
“I could have sworn I saw him just now!”
“Dammit, I really wanted to see Apple today.”
“We’ll keep looking, don’t worry. I’m getting a selfie today if it kills me.”
Apple flinched and pressed his back against the brick wall behind him. It seemed like he really didn’t want to be found, and it fucked with the image I’d held of him in my head. Didn’t he want to be the center of attention all the time? I’d always gotten that impression before, but right then, he looked as scared as he’d been back at the bakery counter.
Instinctively, I stepped closer to him and put a hand on the wall by his head to further block him from sight.
“Thanks,” he whispered and licked lips as red as cherries.
