"Morning, Dutchy!" Mr. Grant said, looking up from his paper, clearly amused. "Specs was just in the middle of quoting The Rise and Fall of the Stock Market. Please take him away." Specs looked highly offended and opened his mouth to make a smart-aleck, but dignified reply. But Dutchy interrupted him with the laughter that Specs adored, so Specs gave up and abandoned his paper.
"C'mon, Dutch. We'll go somewhere else," Specs said snootily, sticking his tongue out playfully at his father. Dutchy grinned over his shoulder.
"I'll have him home by twelve!" he called.
"Twelve at night, I hope!" was Mr. Grant's reply. Chuckling, Dutchy wrapped one arm around Specs' waist and led him out of the Grants' house. The two boys had been dating since the beginning of summer. They were partnered together for a Science project, and hit it off right away. Though neither of them said it, Dutchy and Specs were both relieved to have had each other during their gruesome Freshman year at college; Specs had to endure the bullying of the Delancey brothers, Oscar and Morris. (Specs was still amazed they even got into college.) Dutchy had been the target for all the school pranks; some had been quite clever, and Dutchy had taken notes, but a few were a bit too malicious.
When summer came, Dutchy asked Specs out. Specs had said yes.
By the time July came around, Mr. Grant relied on Dutchy to take away Specs when he was getting too stuffy. Mrs. Grant set out a plate of scrambled eggs and pickles, with a side of orange juice, Dutchy's favorite breakfast. Dutchy's parents were divorced, and he lived with his mom in the summer. She designed wedding gowns, and was usually busy during the day. So, Dutchy had spent his entire summer with Specs, not that he minded.
Dutchy's mother's best friend was a flamer named Emmit, so when Dutchy informed her that he had a boyfriend, she and Emmit were both thrilled. Mr. Grant was surprised by his son's preference, but Mrs. Grant informed Specs and her husband that she had known for years. Longer, she had added smugly, than even Specs had known. So the happy couple continued as just that: a happy couple.
"So, what were you going to tell me this morning? Or were you just happy to see me?" Specs asked as they crossed the street to the park. Dutchy's face contorted into surprise. Like a little kid, he jumped up and down, spun around, and started "walking" (in a very bouncy, flamer way) backwards.
"I almost forgot! My grandma called yesterday and she wants me to come visit her in New York!" he shrieked. Specs' mouth formed an 'o' of surprise, and he exclaimed, "That's wonderful, Dutch!"
"Isn't it great? She's promised to take me to see Wicked, and Phantom of the Opera, and Hairspray, and all sorts of other plays!" His grin got even bigger. "And she'll take me shopping! Shopping in New York! Just think!" He twirled around with a dreamy sigh and collapsed on the park bench. Chuckling, Specs sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist.
"When do you leave?" he asked, breathing in Dutchy's scent. Dutchy tilted his head back to allow the warm sun to wash over his face.
"Tomorrow." He sat up and turned to look at Specs seriously. "I wish you could come with me. I asked my mom, but she says that this should just be me and Grandma. She says Grandma would probably enjoy my company, since…" Dutchy trailed off and looked away. Specs hugged him. Dutchy's grandfather had passed away in January, and the family was still aching from his absence. He'd been an incredible man, president of the NRA for a while. He's had a newsletter called the Hard Corps report, and Specs had been subscribed to it before he even knew that he was related to Dutchy. Specs looked up to him, and was almost as horrified by his cancer-caused death.
"It's okay. You ought to spend time with her. How long will you be gone?" Specs murmured, burying his nose in Dutchy's soft tee shirt.
"Two weeks. But I'll take my laptop, and we can email and IM and phone each other every day!" Dutchy insisted. Specs laughed.
"When you could be shopping? Unlikely." Dutchy pouted. "But a nice thought. At least call me once, darling." Dutchy grinned.
"I love it when you call me darling," he sighed. Specs leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
"Then I'll be sure to call you 'darling' more often. Darling," he added as an afterthought. Dutchy chuckled quietly, staring into Specs's dark brown eyes. Dutchy loved Specs's eyes; they were the most beautiful color of brown he'd ever seen, and if he ever found someone who could make that color of brown, Dutchy would paint his furniture and house that color. Dutchy had brown eyes too, but he thought they were ugly compared to Specs's beautiful eyes.
Dutchy leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Specs's, wrapping his arms around Specs's waist and pulling him onto his lap. Specs kissed him back, smiling against Dutchy's pink lips, and reached up on hand to bury his fingers in Dutchy's blonde hair. Specs twisted around so that he was straddling Dutchy's lap and wrapped his other hand around Dutchy's neck. Dutchy's hands moved toward Specs's rear and he pulled away from Specs's lips, preferring to kiss, lick, and suck on Specs's sensitive spot, the nook between his earlobe and jaw. Specs tilted his head back in ecstasy and let out a sharp gasp when Dutchy bit down, sucking hard. He pulled away and admired the dark red mark that was sure to be a hickey that would last for days.
"I hate you," Specs said as Dutchy smirked. Dutchy laughed and kissed the hickey lightly.
"It's so you'll be reminded of me while I'm gone," he said innocently, widening his eyes and jutting out his lower lips in the adorable pout that always made Specs melt. Specs groaned and dropped his head onto Dutchy's shoulder.
"And I hate your pouty face."
"No, you love it," Dutchy argued. Specs groaned.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Sighing, he kissed Dutchy on the forehead. "Let's go get some ice cream," he said, climbing off of Dutchy's lap. Dutchy stood up and laced his fingers through Specs's.
"Sounds good to me." Hand in hand, Specs and Dutchy headed for Katie's Ice Cream, the ice cream shop a few blocks over. The first time they'd gone into Katie's, they'd been holding hands, and the manager, a girl who went by the name Two-Bits, had given them free ice cream cones for being "rainbow-ishly adorable," as she put it.
"Ice cream before lunch? Tsk, tsk, Specs. Your mother would be ashamed of you," called the familiarly cheery voice of Two-Bits. Her boyfriend, Racetrack, leaned over the counter and shook his head.
"I dunno how you get her to be so cheery! She's been really moody all week, but you walk in and she's on Cloud Nine!" he exclaimed, looking bewildered. Specs and Dutchy laughed.
"It's that time of month," Specs stage-whispered. "So the only way to make her happy this week is to leave her alone or make out with Spot." Racetrack looked revolted at the very idea. Spot, Two-Bits' cousin, threw a spoon at him.
"Most people would kill to make out with me!" he exclaimed. "You just don't know what you're missing!" Racetrack raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I'll have a mint chocolate chip," Dutchy said before an argument could start. Laughing, Two-Bits scooped out the light green ice cream.
"Whaddya want, Specsy?" she asked, handing Dutchy his ice cream. Specs frowned, examining the ice cream flavors. Racetrack, Spot, Two-Bits, and Dutchy all glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.
"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough," Specs said finally. The four of them sighed. Specs always took ten minutes trying to decide what ice cream to get, but then he always ordered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
"You're so unpredictable, Specs!" Dutchy said sweetly. Specs glared at him and took a huge bite of his ice cream.
"Thut up," he mumbled around the cold substance. Dutchy laughed and led him to a table, where they ate their ice cream in silence, watching as Two-Bits giggled happily over their presence, and Spot and Racetrack argued over whether Racetrack would be lucky to kiss Spot.
"I could see them as a couple," Specs said quietly.
"Who?" Dutchy asked, sharply. Specs rolled his eyes.
"Spot and Racetrack!" he exclaimed, as if it were obvious. Dutchy laughed.
"Yeah, it's plausible. But Race really likes Two-Bits." Specs tilted his head and smiled as Racetrack kissed Two-Bits on the cheek and hugged her from behind.
"They're so cute, for a heterosexual couple," he sighed. Dutchy laughed and made a face.
"Yeah, I guess so. But we're much cuter!" Dutchy said, nodding his head seriously. Specs leaned over and kissed him on the lips, licking off a bit of mint ice cream. He heard Two-Bits squeal, and laughed, pressing his forehead against Dutchy's.
"Apparently she agrees."
When they had finished their ice cream, Specs hadn't had enough of things with the word "ice" in them. He decided that they were going to go ice skating. Dutchy and Specs caught the 11:55 bus and got off two blocks away from the ice rink. Dutchy wasn't that great at ice skating; he just wasn't very coordinated on the ice, especially not on thin blades. Specs, however, lived to skate.
The one joy Specs had that wasn't academic was skating, and he was brilliant at it. Dutchy loved watching him skate; it was definitely in the top ten of Dutchy's Favorite Things To Do.
Specs was at the skating rink so often, that he kept a pair of nice brown leather skates at the rink, just for him to use. The guy who handed out skates, a senior in high school named Snitch, smiled at Specs and pulled out the brown skates before Specs could even ask.
"The boss had me polish them yesterday," Snitch explained when Specs raised an eyebrow at the shined leather. "He says you're our best customer, so we need to keep your skates in good condition."
"Thanks!" Specs exclaimed, eagerly kicking off his shoes. He handed them to Snitch, and Snitch tucked them into the cubby reserved for Specs's skates. Dutchy pulled off his own sneakers and handed them to Snitch, who went to retrieve a pair of cheap, plastic blue skates. Specs laced up his skates and waited patiently while Dutchy struggled into the blue skates, clipping the buckles. "All right, let's go," he said, standing up on the blades.
Both boys precariously walked on their skates to the door into the rink. Specs literally jumped out onto the ice and gracefully turned one hundred eighty degrees, waiting while Dutchy stepped onto the ice, gripping the frame of the door for dear life. He let go and stood for a moment, pleased that he was standing up.
"Look, I'm—WHOA!" Dutchy's skates skidded out from under him, and he landed hard on his rear. Specs was doubled over laughing. When he'd stopped laughing enough to move, Specs held out a hand to Dutchy, who was glaring at him. Dutchy took his hand and pulled hard. With a yelp of surprise, Specs fell forward, half on top of Dutchy.
"That is not fair!" he exclaimed, struggling to get his knees under his body. Dutchy grinned evilly and leaned forward, pressing his lips against Specs's. Specs forgot everything and kissed back eagerly. They pulled apart when they heard adorable giggling. Looking around, they saw two little girls, blonde-haired, blue-eyed identical twins, watching them and giggling. Two men in their mid-thirties skated over to see what was going on.
"Daddy, they were kissing!" the girl on the left exclaimed, looking up at the taller of the two, a muscular man with dark blonde hair and very straight and white teeth.
"Just like you!" the other girl exclaimed, grabbing the other man's hand with one gloved hand of her own. The two men smiled apologetically at Specs and Dutchy, who were blushing.
"Sorry they've disturbed you," the second man said lightly. "They're in that stage where kissing is the funniest thing in the world." Specs and Dutchy laughed.
"I'm just glad we haven't corrupted your children or anything. I expected some het couple to come over and freak out," Dutchy said, relieved. The two men laughed.
"We won't beat you up. Promise." Dutchy and Specs climbed to the feet, Dutchy gripping Specs's arm for balance, and they began to skate with the men and their girls. The taller man was named Ben, and was a personal trainer at the gym. His partner was named Mike, who stayed at home with the girls, Becky and Marie. Ben and Mike were very interested to learn about how Dutchy and Specs got together, and the two boys never tired of telling people, so they launched into a detailed version of the Freshman year.
Ben and Mike, turns out, had been together since their sophomore year at college. Ben had started interning at the school library, and had helped Mike find the right books he'd needed for a paper. Then came coffee, and dancing, and making out. Pretty soon, they were together. Seven years ago, Mike and Ben asked Mike's sister to carry their child. She'd ended up carrying twins.
Dutchy adored the girls, and they adored him. Becky and Marie held each of his hands and kept his balance while they skated all over the rink. Specs watched fondly and discussed business with Mike, who'd been a banker before the girls were born. Ben watched Mike just as fondly as Specs watched Dutchy, and though he didn't say this, when he and Mike went home, they would discuss Dutchy and Specs, and how they thought they'd last.
The girls got tired and Dutchy took them out to the fast food area, where they sat in a booth and talked about dolls and such. Dutchy decided it was time to go home when Becky (who had the dimple her sister lacked) fell asleep. He told Marie to wait there and hurried to find Specs, Ben, and Mike to tell them that the girls were tired. Mike and Ben took off their skates, wished Specs and Dutchy luck, and took the girls home. Specs and Dutchy waved them off before Specs wrapped an arm around Dutchy's waist and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"What was that for?" Dutchy asked, smiling. Specs shrugged.
"For being so cute. You were adorable with the girls," he said. Dutchy sighed and smiled.
"They looked just like Christine," he explained. Christine was Dutchy's younger sister, who would turn nine in September, who lived with their dad. Suddenly, Dutchy's stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting the sweet moment. Dutchy grinned sheepishly and said, "Let's get some lunch." Specs and Dutchy turned in their skates and left the rink, crossing the street to a small outlet mall. Dutchy complained about his aching feet as they decided where to get lunch.
The mall had grocery store, a Japanese fast food restaurant, a Chinese fast food restaurant, a Subway, a bread shop that made incredible bread, and a few stores, mostly expensive clothes, fabric shops, and a pharmacy. Unable to decide between the Japanese and the Chinese restaurants, Specs and Dutchy got lunch at Subway. Splitting an Italian sub, Specs listened patiently as Dutchy cooed over Becky and Marie. Then Dutchy forced himself to stay awake while Specs chattered about his conversation with Mike. Probably the thing most people were surprised by was that no matter how boring Specs's conversations were, Dutchy still adored everything about him. Dutchy would never consider trading Specs for anyone.
When they had finished eating, Dutchy and Specs left Subway and caught the 5:15 bus back to their neighborhood. They walked around for a bit, looking in the windows of the quaint shops in their small town. As they passed the shop Bears, Dutchy stopped dead in his tracks and pressed his nose against the glass of the shop. There was a beautiful teddy bear on display. It was dark brown, the same color as Specs's eyes, and a light green, silk bowtie was around its neck. Dutchy melted at the sight. Someone had finally captured the color of Specs's eyes.
"I need that bear!" Dutchy breathed, so quietly Specs almost couldn't hear him. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his wallet. Excitedly, he exclaimed, "I have enough!" He tried to push open the door, but it wouldn't open.
"Uh, Dutchy…" Specs tapped a piece of paper on the door. It read, "Closed on Sundays." Dutchy pressed his forehead to the door, and his shoulders slumped. He sighed heavily, and mumbled, "Just my luck."
"C'mon, Dutch. Let's get out of here. We can come back tomorrow," he said comfortingly. Dutchy shook his head, a pained expression on his face.
"I'm leaving tomorrow first thing in the morning!" he exclaimed desperately. Specs entwined his fingers in Dutchy's and squeezed his hand tightly. Dutchy sighed and turned away. His good mood gone, Dutchy started walking home, clinging to Specs's hand. Neither said anything. Specs kissed Dutchy goodbye and hugged him tightly, making him promise to call when his flight got in. Dutchy promised and turned to walk into his house. Specs started walking home.
As he was walking, he passed a dark green house, and a plan formed in his head. Mentally praising his own brilliance, Specs hurried up to the porch and knocked on the door.
The next morning, the doorbell rang. Dutchy was hectically making sure that he had packed everything, so his mother went to answer. She returned a few minutes later with Specs. "Specs!" he exclaimed in surprise, dropping a pair of pants onto his bed to hug his boyfriend. "What're you doing here?"
"I was worried about you going to New York," Specs said seriously. "A pretty blonde like you, who knows what could happen? So I organized for a body-guard to go with you." Dutchy raised his eyebrows and wondered if Specs had gone crazy.
"A bodyguard?" he repeated. Specs nodded and pulled out his hands from behind his back. Dutchy gasped and squealed at the dark brown bear that had been in the shop yesterday.
"SPECS! How'd you get it!" he demanded, tackling him into a bear hug (no pun intended) and kissing him furiously. Specs laughed.
"I went to the lady's house yesterday, and she was happy to let me get it for you," he explained. Dutchy hugged Specs tightly, his eyes watering up a bit. Specs hugged him back. Dutchy's mom watched the whole thing, touched by the almost-Hollywood sweetness. Glancing at her watch, she cleared her throat and said, "Dutchy, you're going to miss your plane." Dutchy released Specs and wiped his eyes with an embarrassed grin. Specs pulled his head down for one last sweet kiss before he said carried Dutchy's suitcase out to the car and bid them goodbye.
On the way to the airport, and the whole time on his flight, Dutchy hugged the bear to his stomach, thinking fondly of his boyfriend. And he called him every night while he was in New York.
Tip #1 If your partner is going on a trip, tell him you were worried about him, so you arranged for a body guard to go with him. Hand him a teddy bear.