I really do want to spend the whole week just lying in the house, but Mum keeps telling me to not be so lazy and get out of the way.

“How was your walk with Peter,” she asks me when I refuse to get out of the house. This may be the perfect ploy to force me to go outside, but I’m determined to resist for a little bit longer.

“It was fun. We seem to get along quite well and it was a real workout. I could barely keep up with him, he’s so fit.”

“And that’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all. Well, actually, it’s not quite all. Peter told me he likes me.”

“That’s good isn’t it. Do you like him?”

“It’s a difficult area for me. I don’t know if it’s related to my anxiety, or if it’s just the way I am. I’m not really attracted to people. I think I need a lot of time to become attracted to anyone in that way.”

“Oh, you think you’re aromantic. That would explain a lot.”

“That’s what Tasha said.”

“Yes, well she always was very perceptive. Do you think you might become attracted to Peter?”

“I think so. I already feel more comfortable with him than I’ve ever been with anyone after such a short time, so yes, I do think I might like him too.”

“Just remember to be careful.”

“Mum, I’m gay and I’m not having this conversation with you. This is not a conversation a gay teen has with his mother!” I pause for a moment as mum giggles. “Actually, not with their father either. Not with anyone.” I stand and head into the hallway to put my walking shoes on.

“Oh, you’re going out after all. That’s nice.” Mum’s not giggling now, she’s laughing out loud and I know that I’ve lost this round which just makes me turn beet red as I storm out of the front door.

I retrace our workout path as fast as I can manage. I’m back at the house in only about ninety minutes and can barely stand long enough to make it to my room when I finally get home, exhausted.

“Where are we going?” I ask Peter as I get into the cab beside him and the door closes behind me.

“To the Dhoon. I thought we’d walk down the glen and on to the shore.”

“I’ve been told it’s really steep.”

“Oh yes, hundreds of steps, but the waterfalls are pretty spectacular and I’ve got us a snack.” He pats the small shoulder bag at his feet.

The walk starts at the very top of the glen, literally at the main road, and the hundreds of steps cut into the ground down to the valley floor are genuinely spectacular. The deep forest is cool and calm, sheltered from both the sun and the wind equally well. Even in late summer, the water in the stream tumbles over rocky cascades and then plunges over vertical falls for almost fifty metres in a couple of steps.

Somehow, it’s another place that I’ve never visited and it really is beautiful. Once past the falls, the path levels out and winds through more dense woodland before opening out on to a rocky beach surrounded by stunning cliffs that, to the south rise 200m back to the height of the road where we started.

“Have you never been down here before Nick?” Peter asks as he opens his bag to reveal a small blanket which he spreads out on a flat space before inviting me to sit.

“No, never. My family aren’t really into the outdoors. It’s stunning. I never knew it was so spectacular. When you drive along the road above, you know you’re high up, but it is almost beyond anything you can imagine. It’s so easy to forget what a beautiful Island we live on, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I try not to take it for granted. That’s one of the reasons I like to get out here so often.”

“Well, the walk down was worth it.”

“Good. Just remember we have to climb back to the top.” He points over his shoulder to the south where a path clearly zig-zags up the side of the cliffs.

“Well, I definitely need a snack then, to keep my energy up.”

We sit in companionable silence, shoulders almost touching as we enjoy some light snacks and a soft drink together. The sun is high in the sky and the waves are breaking on the rocky shore just a few metres from our feet. The whole small bay is completely deserted, despite the excellent weather.

“I’m surprised that there are so few people. Is it always this quiet.”

“Yes. I think most people stop at the top of the falls. They are mostly scared by the steepness of the climb. Actually, it’s no worse than the first climb we did last week. Almost the same height and just a fraction shorter.”

“We’ll start up in a couple of minutes then.”

“How are you enjoying our second workout?”

“Very much. It is very nice to be here with you.”

“Can I ask you something then?”

“Of course, you can. Ask me anything.”

“Okay. Nick, I know we are taking things slow, but would it be alright for me to kiss you?”

“I…”

“Don’t worry, there’s no pressure. We have as much time as you need.” Peter reaches out to gently take my hand in his and intertwine our fingers. His grip is warm and firm yet deliberate and so gentle that my heart almost misses a beat.

“I… Yes, Peter, I think I want to kiss you too.”

Peter pulls me towards him with our intertwined hands, bringing his other hand up to place a finger under my chin as we move close together and his lips brush over mine, lightly, barely more than a breath of wind. I open my eyes and stare into the bottomless pools of his incredibly blue irises before lifting my hand and sliding it across the back of his neck, closing my eyes again and drawing him into another, firmer and longer kiss.

As he draws away from me, he whispers “Enough for starters?”

“Yes,” is all I can manage between deep breaths.

When we finally make it back to the road and our waiting cab, we can’t resist holding hands once more and Peter steals a single kiss on my cheek as he drops me off outside the door of my house.

I’m not sure whether Tasha or I am the most excited to share our news at lunch the next day, but I’m so worked up that I have to go first, even before our lunch has made it to the table.

“We had a really good date yesterday,” I manage to blurt out.

“Wow, I’ve never seen you this excited. Something really good happened, didn’t it?”

“Peter asked me if he could kiss me.”

“Yes, but what did you say?”

“I said yes. It was incredible. We held hands on the way home and he kissed my cheek when he said goodnight.”

“Oh, Nick, I’m so happy for you. Are you both still happy to take it slowly?”

“Oh, yes. I think that’s the only way I can do this, but I do want to kiss him again. What about you? Not taking it so slow?”

“No, not quite so slow. We haven’t, I mean I haven’t, oh bugger it. We haven’t had sex.”

“No, there’s no rush.”

“But we have done some other stuff. Pretty intimate stuff. It’s really nice. Messy but nice.”

“Oh, wow, that sounds like serious stuff.”

“Yeah, I think it is. I always thought that guys were, well, 15 centimetres.”

“Oh, as I understand it, that’s just an average. There can be quite a lot of variation. Why, is there a problem?”

“Not unless there’s a problem. Remember what I said last week about the bikini thing?”

“Yes, you said it was impossible to not notice Jack’s excitement.”

“Yes, well, it’s big. I’m not sure I can even…”

“Woah, don’t get ahead of yourself. I told you he might be a little bigger. Size doesn’t matter, unless it matters.”

“Yes, I know that, but it must be nearly 25 centimetres and it’s so thick.”

“Tasha, we shouldn’t be talking about the size of my friend’s erection. It’s not right. I’ll never be able to look at him the same way ever again. But, fuck, I don’t think I could manage that either!”

Thankfully, the food arrives at that moment and when we resume our conversation, we have both decided that the subject should change.

“Nick, how is the job-hunting going?”

“Oh, I haven’t even started really. I have no idea what I want to do.”

“Well, I have some idea, but I can’t find anything that fits yet. I don’t want anything important or serious. I just want to work, meet people, earn some money.”

“It all seems so rushed. We should have been thinking about this for years,” I moan.

“Well, school has been telling us that since we were about fifteen, so you can’t blame anyone but yourself.”

“No, I know that and almost all of our friends seem to be in the same situation. As soon as I start my therapy, I’ll try and knuckle down.”

“Yes, that sounds like at least the makings of a plan of action. Have you decided what to have for dessert?”