It took barely any effort for Nathaniel to convince Mrs. Hozicki of his plan, and because Reverend Westerson wasn’t so heartless that he’d stop his son from helping a student as unfortunate as Dallas Carpenter, the next Thursday afternoon saw Nathaniel riding home with Dallas in the old car that Dallas’ father had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday. It was a ‘project car’ that Dallas was refurbishing himself, with the added bonus that he could use it to run errands for Rosalie once he got his driver’s license. Dallas felt it was a worthwhile exchange, especially now that they were coasting down the road with the windows open and radio blasting. Nathaniel could barely contain his excitement.

“Are you really sure that your stepmom won’t mind me coming over?” he asked again, nervously playing with the cuffs of his long sleeves.

Dallas rolled his eyes. “I told you, she’s cool with it - just wait until the commercials if you want to talk to her. Aren’t you hot in that shirt? You can borrow one of my tees when we get to the house.”

“I’m fine,” Nathaniel replied. “Is Rico home from school already?”

“Yeah, he’s got morning kindergarten,” Dallas answered. “I told him you were coming over this afternoon, so be prepared to be smothered.”

And indeed, Rico was waiting on the front porch when they pulled up the driveway. The little boy bounced up and down waving at Nathaniel, who waved back out of the car window.

“Hurry Nathaniel!” Rico called. “Mama made queso dip and I want to eat, but I’m not allowed to start without you!”

Nathaniel laughed as he got out of the car and his legs were immediately wrapped in Rico’s tight hug. Dallas clenched his fists and tried to fight down the jealousy that surged through him.

“Are you really getting jealous of a five-year-old?” he told himself. “How stupid, you asshole! Nathaniel’s not something you can call dibs on!”

“Come inside and meet my mom!” Rico said as he dragged Nathaniel to the front door. “She’s watching TV, but it’s OK to ask her questions during the commercials!”

Nathaniel turned to exchange a grin with Dallas before they both followed Rico into the house. The Carpenters’ house wasn’t as big as, say, the Westersons’ house, but Rob Carpenter did pretty well for himself and he could afford one of the nicer homes in Cooper’s Creek. Rosalie was a fastidious housekeeper and took her role as a stay-at-home mom very seriously, so the interior was clean and tidy despite the many toys and stacks of law books. Rosalie herself was lounging on the couch in front of the living room TV when they arrived, but she glanced up as they walked past her on the way to the kitchen.

“Hold up, mijos, let me take a look at this famous Parking Lot Prince!” she called, leaping off the couch.

“Come on Rosalie, don’t call him that,” Dallas begged, but Nathaniel laughed.

Rosalie was a petite, curvy woman with dark eyes and a warm complexion. She was precisely ten years older than Dallas and twenty years younger than her husband, which was one of the reasons why their marriage was so scandalous to the citizens of Cooper’s Creek. Rosalie had been working as a paralegal in Rob Carpenter’s office while he was going through his divorce with Dallas’ mother Madeline. And yes, they did start a relationship before the divorce was officially settled, but by that point Madeline had already moved out of the house and was on her third boyfriend, so Dallas decided his dad was allowed to have Rosalie.

Right now Rosalie was smiling at Nathaniel, who blushed slightly.

“Thank you for having me over, Mrs. Carpenter,” he said politely. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. You have a very nice house!”

Rosalie put a hand on her chest and sighed longingly.

“Oh, such manners!” she said. “It really is like having a prince in the house! You’ve got no idea what it’s like living with a bunch of ill-mannered ruffians, Nathaniel – you’re a breath of fresh air to me!”

“You’re the one who’s always swearing in Spanish, Mama,” Rico pointed out.

“And you’re the one who isn’t supposed to understand what I’m saying!” Rosalie replied, pointing at him accusingly. Rico only grinned and she ruffled his hair before smiling at Nathaniel again.

“But I think we’ve had enough of this ‘Mrs. Carpenter’ business,” she said. “You’re going to call me ‘Rosalie’ and that’s that. Are you boys hungry? There are chips and dip in the kitchen, but please don’t leave any leftovers because we’re trying to watch Rob’s sodium and he’ll definitely eat that queso if he finds any when he gets home.”

“The doctor says Daddy’s fat,” Rico added helpfully.

“Rico!” Dallas hissed, but Nathaniel was laughing again.

Rosalie cocked her head towards the TV and said, “My show is starting – go on, get out of here! We’re supposed to find out today if Fernando or Esteban is the father of Stefania’s baby!”

She hurried back to the couch, shooing them away. The boys obediently went to the kitchen, where they fell upon the promised snacks. Dallas made a plate for Rico to share with Rosalie in the living room, before he and Nathaniel took their lion’s share of the queso dip upstairs to Dallas’ room. Dallas was a little shy about showing Nathaniel his room. He’d cleaned up that morning, but still he wondered if Nathaniel would say anything about his model cars or the sci-fi movie posters he’d hung on the walls. Nathaniel, however, sat on the bed and beamed his real smile.

“This room is really cool!” he said. “It feels very…you.”

Dallas snorted. “You think I’m cool?”

Nathaniel flushed a little. “I mean, yeah. You’re cooler than me. My room’s just got a cross on the wall…I’m not allowed to have any posters. And if I did have any, they’d have to be for those Christian bands I don’t like. Or Bible verses, more likely.”

His expression grew tight and guarded as he talked, so Dallas changed the subject by shoving the bag of chips at him.

“Eat,” Dallas commanded. “Rosalie wasn’t kidding about no leftovers or my dad’s sodium. She’ll make you take home what we don’t finish.”

Nathaniel obediently fell upon the queso dip while Dallas pulled out his homework assignments. He didn’t really need Nathaniel to help him, but it was nice to have the other boy read over his work and provide corrections if asked. They sat there for almost an hour, eating chips and doing their homework in silence. Dallas was happier than he could remember and occasionally he glanced up at Nathaniel to admire the way the afternoon sunlight played over his face.

“Yup,” Dallas thought, his stomach and chest fluttering. “This is definitely not how a friend is supposed to feel for a friend.”

But Dallas didn’t need Nathaniel to share his feelings; he was perfectly happy just to have him nearby, to know that Nathaniel enjoyed his company and they could share this moment together. He wasn’t going to ruin it by confessing his deeper feelings and make Nathaniel uncomfortable enough that he avoided Dallas - because Dallas was definitely certain the New Life Church didn’t approve of boys who loved other boys.

* * * * * * *