Taking him into the foyer, she said “alright, this may be unpleasant for both of you boys but Harley I need you to help Dante get cleaned up so I can better see his wounds to treat them. I’ll help you to the bathroom and bring you some towels then leave you guys to get him cleaned up, Okay?”
Silently we both looked at each other then at her and nodded while Char was behind her with a Cheshire grin and a wink I hoped Dante didn’t see. Once we were in the bathroom, I helped Dante lean against the sink before I said “hey mom, I think some of my clothes are in Chars’ room. There should be a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, could you grab them too. So, he doesn’t have to stay in his blood soaked clothes?”
“Sure sweetie” she said as she left the bathroom for the towels and my clothes that I’d left here the last time I’d slept over. Once the door was closed, Dante teased “you left your clothes here? Just how often do you and Char pretend to be dating?”
“Oh shut it” I said shaking my head smiling before I said “we have sleep overs like three times a week and I usually take all my clothes home but this time I forgot. Don’t worry they’re clean since I fell asleep in my jeans and t-shirt last time.” Moving passed Dante to start the water, I asked “shower or bath?” Chuckling, he teased again “I usually wait until the third date for a boy to see me naked but I guess for you I’ll make an exception” before sticking his tongue out at me.
“Ha ha pretty boy now be serious, which one?” I said sarcastically as he pretended to be wounded before saying “honestly, a bath would probably be easier for both of us because I’m having trouble even leaning here.”
“Alright, a bath it is” I said turning back around to plug the tub and let it fill while we waited. Once it was set up and running, I moved back to lean against the wall across from him as he looked me up and down.
“What?” I asked making him blush as he mumbled “nothing, that pose is just kind of sexy is all” as he looked away. Chuckling, I decided to tease him and said “Dante, I already know you like me. So, saying that isn’t really a shock but I’m glad to know I can do something unintentionally sexy.”
“Baby, most of what you do is unintentionally sexy” he said just before the door opened making me blush as I realized I was going to have to bathe my crush. Meeting mom at the door, she handed me the towels and my extra clothes before she looked at my face and chuckled as she whispered “everything will be fine sweetie, just breath.” Giving her a ‘no it won’t’ look I whispered “I know you know why I’m freaked out mom.”
“Oh I know. Just try to enjoy it without letting it show too much” she whispered back and winked before closing the bathroom door. Taking a deep breath, I turned around as calmly as I could and placed the pile of fabric on the counter next to Dante as he gave me a sympathetic look. Glancing at the tub, I noticed the water was about where it needed to be. So, I moved passed Dante to turn it off. When I stood up and turned around, he took my hand and said “relax, just pretend I’m your brother or something if it makes you feel better.”
“Dude, no... not even possible. Never mind, don’t worry about me. Lets just focus on you, okay?” I said taking a deep breath as I moved to stand in front of him before asking “how far up can you lift your arms at the moment?”
“Not very, I can lift my right but my left is basically glued to my side for now” he said trying to move both to prove his point. Nodding, I said “okay, so we’ll get the right out first then slip it over your head before sliding it down the left.” Nodding, I held onto his shirt sleeve as he slipped his right arm inside and down to the hem of his t-shirt. Sliding it up his torso, he winced when it grazed tender spots as I carefully pulled it over his head and slid it down his left arm. Once I had dropped his shirt to the floor, I glanced over his torso and sucked in a deep breath to keep from gasping as he said “it looks worse than it is.” Forcing myself to imagine what he looked like prebruises, I closed my eyes and asked “do you need me to undo your jeans?” Looking up at him, he said “no but you will have to help me out of them.” Nodding, I blushed and said “okay.” When I looked back at Dante, I noticed him blushing too before he looked away and undid his jeans one handed. Trying not to laugh as I hooked my fingers into the waist band of his jeans, I said “you know you’re cute when you’re embarrassed.” It became even harder not to laugh when his head snapped in my direction with the widest eyes I’d ever seen just before they narrowed and he asked “are you picking on me Harley?” Fully laughing as I slid off his pants and boxers, I looked up at him and teased him some more by asking “and if I am?”
“Oh that is so not fair Harley! Actually no, I take that back. It’s only not fair if you didn’t mean it” he said as I stood back up. Still laughing, I wrapped his right arm around my shoulders before wrapping my left around his bare back and escorting him to the tub. Once he was seated in the warm water, I turned around to get the wash cloth as he said “you never told me whether you were being serious or just completely joking.” Biting my lower lip, I turned back around and smiled before saying “you’re just dying to know whether I think you’re cute when you’re embarrassed but I think we’ve already covered what I really think of you.” Moving back to the tub, I grabbed the stuff I normally use when I stay the night before kneeling down next to the tub.
“Okay, yes I am. I know you’ve said you don’t think I’m a pretty boy but I’m not sure I buy the idea of you thinking I’m gorgeous or cute” he said as I wet the wash cloth and started squeezing out water across the part of his chest that wasn’t submerged. Pausing what I was doing, I stared at his face for a minute before saying “you want the gods honest truth, then look me in the eye and tell me why you fell in love with me. I know you said there was something in the fake smiles that never reached my eyes that made you want to make me happy but what made you actually fall in love with me enough to protect me from being bullied too?”
“How did you...” he trailed off as a dark pink blush crept across his cheek. Maintaining my serious expression, I said “it was in the way you kissed me in the hospital. There was so much care and passion in that kiss that it took me a few days to figure out why.” Looking away and closing his eyes, he said “honestly, you’re right. I’m in love with you Harley, even knowing you don’t feel the same about me. I didn’t fall in love with you until after we started actually talking. Once I got to know the real you that only a few people know, that’s when it happened. I know you don’t feel the same and I won’t force you to. I just want to stay friends with you.” As my heart did it’s own happy dance inside my chest, I said “I was never joking when I called you cute or gorgeous. That was the complete and gods honest truth.” Deciding to focus on getting him cleaned up, I went back to carefully squeezing water out across his bare chest while pointedly not looking at his waist and thinking about what he’d just told me. Laying the wash cloth on the edge of the tub, I reached under the sink for the container Char and her mom had used to help me rinse the color out of my hair. Filling it with water, I asked “can you scoot forward a little and tilt your head back so we can wash the blood out of your hair?”
“Yeah” he mumbled before doing as I asked. As I scrubbed his hair, I looked down over his facial expression and down at his naked body seeing all the forming bruises and open cuts, the worst of which was on his left shoulder. Frowning, I carefully rinsed his hair making sure to get all the shampoo and conditioner out of it before telling him “okay, you can scoot back now.” Without a word, he did as I said as I made the wash cloth ready to wash the blood from his skin. Reaching across the tub, I carefully wiped the blood from under the cut on his left arm and down before moving across his chest seeing small amounts of black ink amongst the bruises and down his right arm.
“Okay, lean forward for me” I said and he followed my directions again without a word. The only sounds he made was to wince when I’d hit a particularly tender spot which I’d mumble an apology for before continuing. When it was time to wash below his waist, he grabbed my hand and said “I’ll do it.”
“Okay, just tell me if you need help” I said handing him the wash cloth and sitting back on my feet. When he was finished doing that, he handed me the wash cloth back for me to put it in the dirty clothes hamper. Letting him sit in the hot water for another few minutes, I asked “are you ready to try standing up again?” His only answer was to nod. Taking a deep breath to keep from getting frustrated, I said “okay” then stood up offering my hand to steady himself as he moved. Once I had him standing, I put both hands on his sides as he put his one good hand on my shoulder before trying to step out. As he took the last step out of the tub, he looked up at me and quickly looked away making me roll my eyes. When he was steady on his feet, I turned slightly to reach behind me for the towel. Drying him off, I left his gorgeous golden locks for last getting his bottom half covered before having him sit on the lid of the toilet so I could carefully towel dry his hair. After a few minutes of quiet, I said “you know if you keep this up Char is going to know something is off between us and she’ll try to pry until we tell her.”
“I know, it’s just...” he trailed off making me chuckle before I said “you didn’t realize you’d showed me how you truly felt with one single kiss.”
“Yeah pretty much” he mumbled. Pulling the towel off his head, I used my index finger to tilt his head up as he tried to keep looking away. “Dante, look at me” I said still keeping his head tilted up. When he still didn’t do as I asked, I threw his towel into the hamper and used my right hand to caress his cheek before trying again.
“Dante... Look at me, please” I said making sure there was a pleading edge to my tone. A few seconds later, he finally looked at me as I said “I’m grateful that someone other than Char loves me for me. I know my mom does too but it’s not the same since she hasn’t seen the real me in so long. I may not love you right now but I do like you. I will be your friend as long as you want me to. And who knows, maybe one day, I’ll fall in love with you too.” Reaching up, he hugged me to him resting his head against my stomach as I thought about how much of what I just told him was already true. Glancing at my watch while I ran my left hand through his hair, I saw that it was only eleven thirty am so we still had roughly four hours to spend together before I had to go home and leave for that stupid trip. Letting him stay there for a few more minutes, I said “we should get down stairs so mom can sew up that cut on your arm and check you over.” I felt him nod before he leaned back and asked “can I do something first?”
“Depends on what that something is” I said looking down at him.
“Kneel down here and you can find out” he smirked. Quirking a brow, I did as he suggested realizing it put us on the same level just before he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine waiting only a few seconds before pushing them together. Wrapping his right arm around my shoulders pulling me closer, he licked my bottom lip making me smile before I let him slip his tongue inside my mouth as I laced my fingers through his damp hair. As our tongues fought for dominance, I fought not to show him how I truly felt about him but let him show me everything he was feeling. A few minutes later, he broke the kiss and leaned his head against mine before saying “happy early birthday baby.” Chuckling, I said “I wonder what you would’ve done if I could’ve been here for the actual day. Either way, thank you for everything you’ve done for me so far. One of the best days of my life was the day I received that first message from my mysterious pen pal.”
“Thanks for responding to the completely random message that day. I’m grateful for every day I get to talk to you because you make me feel more like myself than I have in a long time. Don’t ever stop talking to me babe” he smiled before lightly kissing me again. Pulling apart, I sat back on my feet and said “if we don’t stop now, we’ll never leave this bathroom.”
“Would that be so bad?” he teased with a wink before adding “Char would come looking for us eventually” making us both laugh. Standing up, I said “come on cutie, lets get you taken care of.” Laughing, he said “oh, I’m cute now am I?”“I thought we already covered this” I said as I helped him stand before wrapping his arm around my shoulders again and handing him my t-shirt. Opening the bathroom door, I said “turn your head, I’m gonna yell for Char.” Nodding, he did as I said before I yelled for Charlotte to come help me. When she finally made it to the top of the stairs, she asked “why’s he shirtless?”
“Because he can barely lift his left arm and he may need stitches so I thought it was better to just not even try until mom had a look. Now, just help us keep our balance as we work our way back down the stairs” I said rolling my eyes as I felt Dante stifle a chuckle at the exchange.
“Alright, calm yourself my blushing friend” she said turning so that Dante could put one hand on her shoulder for balance as the three of us slowly worked our way down stairs. Once we reached the bottom, he finally looked at me and said “you know, I didn’t notice it until now but you really are blushing babe.” Rolling my eyes, I chuckled “yeah yeah” just as mom came around the corner and laughed “I take it you guys embarrassed each other and that’s why Harley is blushing.”
“Would everyone just stop teasing me about my freaking blushing. It’s not like I can control it” I said making everyone laugh before Dante said “we only tease you because it’s cute.”
“You shush or I will drop you” I threatened teasingly. Still laughing, mom said “alright, lets take him to the dining room table.” Hobbling in the direction of the table, we finally made it there and I carefully sat Dante in one of the chairs as he mumbles a “thanks” to me. Taking a seat across the table, I watched as mom checked him over before deciding his arm did in fact need stitches. Turning to me, she asked “you didn’t use soap or anything on it right?”
“No, mom I didn’t. I didn’t touch within an inch of the actual wound, all I did was wipe the blood from below it that had run down his arm” I said with a straight face knowing the only reason I knew not to touch it was my dad. Frowning, Dante said “I don’t care that the idiot is the only reason you know that. I’m just grateful that you knew how to take care of it without the possibility of it getting infected.”
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