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“I’m cool with that!” he said, getting back into bed.

They resumed their former positions, with Silvia on her back and him lying next to her. Omar didn’t want to rush into anything and make her uncomfortable, so he started with a kiss. Then he stroked her bare skin, delighted when she responded with a shiver of goose bumps. When he finally let his hands go where they’d never been before—it was fucking incredible, but the crazy thing was, he spent most of the time looking at her face, happy that he got to do this withher. She might not be in love with him just yet, considering what she’d said earlier… but Omar was no longer sure if he could make the same claim.

CHAPTER 20

October 10th, 1992

Anthony paced back and forth between the downstairs bathroom and the window next to the front door. He couldn’t figure out if he was nervous or excited or both. He wished the living room was empty. The evening was just beginning, and his parents had settled down to watch TV. Why here instead of the family room? They had terrible timing. After peering outside, he made another trip to the bathroom and wondered if he should try to poop, because his stomach was going crazy. Oh god… What if he had diarrhea? On his big date with Cameron!

His tummy gurgled as he checked himself in the mirror again. He was wearing a slashed-up long-sleeved T-shirt, black of course, but this time he’d opted for a pink shirt beneath. The red hair dye he’d used on his roots had faded and he wanted it to match the shirt. He’d had to borrow it from his mother. Anthony wasn’t sure if his father knew about that, but Joe had looked him over earlier, shaken his head, and sighed. Admittedly, the outfitwasa little gay. But so what?

Anthony returned to the front door again, his mother rising to join him.

“What are you up to tonight?” she asked. “Hanging out with Omar?” The inflection in Dawn’s voice suggested that she knew this wasn’t true. She was prying.

“No, it’s a different friend of mine. Cameron.”

“Oh! What do you have planned?”

“I don’t really know,” Anthony said with a chuckle. “He’s going to surprise me.” Feeling exposed, he forced the happy expression off his face and shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“I think it’s nice, hon,” his mother said. “I really do. Have fun but be careful, okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, checking the window with a jolt of excitement. Cameron was coming down the sidewalk. “I gotta go!”

She smooched him on the cheek and he was out the door. Cameron was already grinning at him. He wore a brown button-up shirt that also just happened to match his hair, blue jeans, and tan hiking shoes. Cameron always dressed so square and it never failed to turn Anthony on. He couldn’t figure out why exactly. At the moment he had other concerns.

“My mom is probably watching us,” Anthony said from behind clenched teeth.

“I shouldn’t use tongue then?” Cameron joked. “How about this?”

He raised his fist so they could bump knuckles.

“Can’t wait to hang with you, bro,” Cameron said, making his voice dry and deep.

“Shut up,” Anthony said with a laugh. “Let’s get out of here.” He wasn’t able to relax completely until they turned at the end of the block and began heading toward Main Street. “Where are we going?”

“I have a few ideas,” Cameron said, “but I wanted to stay open, since I’m not sure what you’re into yet.” He looked Anthony over. “How do you feel about bowling?”

Anthony grimaced. “I love bowling alleys. My dad is part of a league. But I don’t like to bowl. I suck at it. I find gutter ballswaymore demoralizing than I should. I usually just hang out and eat nachos or play arcade games.”

“Good to know,” Cameron said, not sounding upset by this revelation. “Are you hungry yet? I was thinking we could go to The Charred Pig.”

“Yeah, that works!” Anthony said, his pitch higher than intended.

Cameron noticed. “Not your favorite place to eat?”

“I’m not crazy about barbeque. Or meat in general.”

“No? Are you a vegetarian?”

“Sort of,” Anthony admitted sheepishly. “I’m the world’s worst vegetarian. I haven’t gone cold turkey yet… because I still eat turkey. Chicken and fish too. I’ve only managed to give up beef and pork so far.”

“That’s fine,” Cameron said. “Any reason why?”

Anthony exhaled. “I feel bad for the animals. Whenever I get hungry, I try to imagine myself slaughtering a cow or whatever before I can have the burger I’m craving. That usually kills my appetite.”

“Except when it comes to birds and fish.”