"Heya Jack, you got back to the lodging house pretty late last night," Mush started as he laughed with some of the other boys. "What were you doing?"
Jack shrugged and laughed with them. "You know, I was with somebody." They all stared at him, expecting him to continue. "None of your business." Jack didn't really want to tell them that he hooked up with a really cute guy due to the criticism he could get.
They all groaned. "Come on, Jack, you gotta tell us."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Saw a cutie and started flirting with them, not expectin' em to flirt back so, you know, we went somewhere," Jack chuckled as the other guys cheered at him and patted him on the back.
Blink walked up to the group. "What happened?"
Mush nodded his head towards Jack. "Jacky just got laid." Blink joined in the whooping. "Go Jack!"
"Yeah, shaddup," Jack grinned, going to buy his papes. He sat down next to Race afterwards, looking through them when some kid sat down next to him and he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"I paid for twenty papes but I only got nineteen."
Jack felt his heart stop for a moment. He knew that voice. From last night. He remembered it moaning out his name from under him. Jack stood up trying to act like he hadn't just fucked the guy and took his papes to count them.
Jack brought David and Les to his usual selling spot. "Why are you acting like you don't know me?" David asked once Les went off to sell some.
Jack shrugged. "Makes it less awkward, don't you think?" he answered, collecting a dime from a customer.
"No. I don't-well, you see-" David stuttered, trying to form a response. "Last night, it was-it was...you know. Don't you think it'd make more sense if you didn't talk to me at all?"
Jack stopped selling for a moment to turn and face David. "That'd make the guys suspicious. Listen Dave, I honestly didn't expect to see you again, let alone today." Jack paused a moment to see a hurt look on David's face. "But," he said, feeling a need to make things right, "I'll make it up to you, okay?"
David shifted and opened his mouth to say something but Les came to get some more papers. "Can we talk about this later?" Jack nodded and continued on as if the conversation never happened.
Jack and David got along pretty well, which was surprising to David. After the small talk with Jack earlier in the day, he expected to never want to speak with him again after today. "Could we talk now?" David asked once the two were alone on the fire escape.
"Sure, watcha wanna say?"
David sighed. "I don't really know where to start." David paused, hoping Jack would say something, but he just looked at him in silence. "I guess, first of all, I don't really do that kind of thing often. Or, you know, at all. I've actually never…" David faded off. He didn't exactly want to tell Jack he's never had sex before last night so he decided to start the second thing he wanted to say. "Also, my parents don't know. I know it's, well, wrong, so obviously I-"
Jack rolled his eyes. "David, shut up." David nodded and obliged. "I get what you're saying. Something was in the air or whatever and I was just a mistake. We don't ever have to talk again, it's fine."
"No, Jack, that's not what I'm trying to say." Another moment of silence. "Can I ask you something?"
Jack nodded. "Sure."
"Why me? Why not a girl?"
"Well," Jack started with a long sigh. "I don't even like girls like that, so that answers that. And, I thought you were cute, so I thought 'What the hell? Why not give it a shot.'"
David felt himself blush a little. "How'd you know I'd respond?"
"I didn't. Guess I just got lucky. Just so you know, I don't do that all the time either."
The next few minutes passed slowly, neither of them talking, but just staring down at the ground. Jack hesitated before saying, "We should do it again sometime." He saw David's face turn a deep shade of red. "If you wanted."
"No. I mean, yes, but-well, you said you'd make it up to me. I do like you. And I think you're cute too. Clearly. Maybe we'll just wait a little. Go out together and have a nice time."
"Like a date?" Jack asked, finding how flustered David was adorable.
"Y-yeah. Like a date. But we can't tell my family. Wouldn't want them to kick me out."
"See you tomorrow," Jack smirked. "We'll plan it out then."
David nodded as Jack headed to leave. "Wait, one more thing." Jack turned around and raised an eyebrow. "So, you really never planned to see me again? You just planned on doing something incredibly intimate and running away?"
"Figured that's how you wanted it. I'll see ya, Dave," he smiled as he turned back around and headed down the steps.