Page 36 of Take You Home

Obie’s voice floats through his head.Yes.

All right. Let’s try something else.Chester releases Obie’s hand, hovering his palm less than an inch away from Obie’s skin.Can you hear me now?

Obie frowns at him.

Can you hear me now?Chester repeats, but the tingling sensation is gone. “Huh. I was trying to push a thought to you, but it didn’t work. I guess we do need to be touching.”

“But clothing didn’t make a difference earlier,” Obie says, putting a hand on Chester’s shoulder. His palm is warm through the fabric of Chester’s shirt.You can still hear me, right?

Yep. But that fabric isn’t very thick. Maybe…Chester glances down at his denim jeans, considering.Sit down next to me and touch your knee to mine.

Obie arches an eyebrow, and vividly, Chester realizes that he technically just invited Obadiah Smith into his bed. “Oh, grow up,” he says out loud, heat flaming into his face. “You’re the one who wanted to test it, remember?”

Obie scoffs before easing himself onto the mattress and pressing the side of his knee against Chester’s.Can you hear me?

Loud and clear.Chester pulls his leg away and puts the sole of his sneaker on top of Obie’s shoe.How about now?

Obie frowns. “If you just said something, I didn’t hear it,” he says, pulling his foot out from underneath Chester’s to press the sides of their shoes together, instead. His voice floats back into Chester’s head.How about this?

Yeah.Chester shrugs hopelessly.So either the sole of my sneaker is too thick, or the connection doesn’t work through rubber.

Obie’s eyebrows pull together. “Or…?”

Chester squints at him. “Or what?”

“You didn’t finish your sentence. You said that either the sole of your sneaker is too thick, or…?” He gestures for Chester to continue. “What’s your other guess?”

Chester frowns. “My other guess was that it doesn’t work through rubber. But I definitely said it‍—in my head, at least. Did the connection cut out?”

“I guess so.” All at once, something like horror flashes across Obie’s face. “Wait.”

“What?”

Obie nudges in close next to Chester again, pressing their legs flush together. Chester almost jumps.Can you hear me right now?Obie asks.

Yes, we’ve already established that,Chester says‍—thinks?—impatiently.

Good. Now tell me if you hear this.

Silence. Chester raises his eyebrows at Obie.

Obie’s face falls. “What was the last thing you heard?”

“To tell you if I heard anything. What’d you say?”

Obie scrubs a hand down his face. “That I’m thirty thousand years old.”

Chester’s eyes widen. “What? But I thought‍?—‍”

“I’m not,” Obie cuts in. “I’m only fifteen thousand years old, at least by this dimension’s standards. Thirty thousand years was a lie.” He leans towards Chester, his jaw set in a grim line. “There was one other time today when your voice stopped transmitting like that. It was when you were saying that youdidn’tcall me an asshole. Did you say that full sentence?”

Suddenly, Chester has a bad feeling about this. “Yes.”

“All I heard was ‘I didn’t.’ And I think that might’ve been because you very clearlydidcall me an asshole a minute earlier.” Obie looks faintly nauseous. “I don’t think we can lie to each other through the bond.”

All the blood rushes from Chester’s head at once.“What?”

Obie waves a hand impatiently, his voice wafting back through Chester’s mind.Test it out. You know that game Two Truths and a Lie? Try that on me. See if I hear the lie.