Gone for You (Wild Side 1)

“I don’t really feel like going anywhere. Plus, we have to be up early in the morning.”

“We’re not leaving the house, I promise. Come with me, Matty.” Oliver didn’t drop his arm, just continued to stand there waiting for Matt to take his hand. He would. Oliver knew that. He had to because no matter what had happened, no matter how different their feelings for each other were, he knew Matt trusted him. Matt likely trusted him more than he did anyone else.

It was a moment later that Matt took his hand. It was cold to the touch, smaller than his own.

He led Matt to the kitchen first, where Oliver let go of him long enough to pull a box of Lucky Charms from the cabinet.

“I’m not hungry,” Matt told him but Oliver just ignored him.

He went for the stairs next and despite Matt’s groan, he followed behind Ollie. On the way, he opened the hall closet, pulled out a blanket and two battery-operated lanterns.

“What? Are we going camping in your bedroom?” Matt asked.

“No, asshole. Now stop trying to be a prick, and be patient.” Their eyes latched on to each other before Matt gave him a small nod in what Oliver hoped was solidarity.

This was ridiculous in a way. Juvenile in a hundred other ways but he hoped it would help.

Oliver went to the far end of the hallway on his second floor. He opened the spare room door, turned on the light and stepped inside.

Matt didn’t argue with him, didn’t ask what Oliver was doing as he walked over to the large window and unlatched it. It swung ajar, the only window in his house that opened that way.

Oliver turned on the lanterns, handed one to Matt before he stepped onto the stool beneath the window and climbed out. When he got to the roof, he turned to look at Matt and saw the realization in his eyes. “You remember that?” Matt asked, his voice soft and full of wonder.

“I’m only twenty-eight, Matty. I’m not losing my memory yet.”

Matt’s house had been small growing up and didn’t leave much privacy. He had his own room of course, but it was so cluttered he used to say he never felt like he had his own space. When he’d wanted to be alone, he used to pull a ladder out of the shed in the backyard, lean it against the house, and climb onto the roof. He couldn’t do it much during the day because the damn thing would be too hot, but at night, the roof had always been Matt’s place. There were a few times Oliver had gone up there with him too.

“Are you coming or not?” Oliver asked.

A pause, and then, “I’m coming,” whispered past Matt’s lips. He climbed out of the window and onto the roof. Off to the right, the roof lowered, flattened so it wasn’t at a sharp angle, a benefit Oliver hadn’t planned but the design of the house had given him.

He set the box of cereal down, laid the blanket out, before sitting down on top of it. Matt paused again, watching Oliver with those expressive fucking eyes that tied Oliver in knots. They said more than Matt’s mouth ever would. Maybe more than his mind or his heart would let him see.

“I forgot what it’s like to have someone do things like this for me,” Matt said before he sat down beside Oliver. “I’m not sure I deserve it, but thank you.”

The moon hung low and full in the sky, adding to the light the lanterns provided them. “Of course you deserve it. It’s not different from you knowing I needed to go to the museum that day. Those are the kinds of things people do for one another when they love them—Miles and Chance would do the same thing. That’s what friends do.” He’d put himself out there, they’d had their talk and each of them knew where they stood. Oliver wouldn’t make this about anything more than friendship because that was what they had, and he would be okay with that.

“Okay,” Matt replied, but he didn’t sound as though he believed Oliver.

Oliver opened the box of cereal, stuck his hand in and grabbed a handful before passing the box to Matt. He didn’t take it at first, and the worry in Oliver’s gut multiplied. “Take the fucking box, Matty,” he told him. Matt chuckled, and stuck his hand into the box he let Oliver continue to hold and pulled out a handful of his own.

They sat on the roof and ate the whole fucking box of Lucky Charms. They spoke some, were quiet for long stretches too. When they finished eating, Oliver set the box beside him and then lay on his back, just a few seconds before Matt did the same.