You guys are the best, seriously. Thank you so much, if I could give each and every one of you a kiss, I would. Unless it freaked you out, then I'd just give you a hug.

When Doves Cry
Chapter Six

"Will, your father wants you to wash the car when you get a chance."

I looked up from the fridge where I was bent, reaching for the last Coke, and I glanced at Mom, who sat at the kitchen table, reading.

"Mom, Lash is coming over." I said.

She raised her gaze and met mine. "Honey, your dad asked you two days ago to wash the car." She said. "After all, it is the one you'll be driving once you get your license."

I said nothing, grabbing the Coke and shutting the fridge. As I opened it, she watched me.

"Maybe you can get Lash to help you." She said, "If you ask him nice enough."

I paused. There was something in the way she was looking at me that made me think she knew about my feelings for Lash. Instead I gave a shrug.

"Are you kidding?" I asked jokingly. "He'd rather sit there and laugh at me as I did it."

She shrugged and just like that it was settled. I had to wash the car. I sighed a few times as I drank my soda, hoping that maybe she'd let me wait till tomorrow or something -- but don't ever sigh with liquid in your mouth. Mom fought to hide her smirk as I choked and pounded my chest lightly. I made a face at her before leaving the kitchen. Lash would be there any minute, but maybe I could just do a quick wash of the car and be done by that time.

Seconds later I had the soapy sponge in my hands and was leaning over the front hood of the car, scrubbing ferociously at the windshield. I was scrubbing it so hard in fact that I could hear the glass faintly start to crack. Time to move on. I began washing the grill of the car next.

"Looks like you're having fun."

His tone was dripping with that sarcasm that he must have been born with and I spun on my heel, almost falling because I was still crouched on the ground. Lash was standing there with his thin arms crossed over his chest, smirking at me.

"So much fun." I said, and I held the sponge out to him. "You should try it."

He held his hands up defensively. "No thanks." He said, with a grin. "I think I'll pass."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to finish with the grill. Then I moved onto the front driver's side tire, wiping at the rim with the sponge.

"I'll be done in a minute or two." I said to him, as he started around the car to look at it. "My mom's making me do this."

He let out a chuckle. "Always do what mommy says?" he asked me.

I grinned to myself, "Well I am 'such a fag', aren't I?" I asked.

He laughed again but didn't say anything. I continued with the rim, not paying attention to the silence, until just as I was finishing, I could hear the slight squeak of the sponge on the silver. The only thing I could hear besides that was the running of the hose, which I'd had sitting on the ground, running, so I could just grab it quickly and rinse the suds from the car. I glanced up -- Lash was no where to be seen.

My brow furrowed and I slowly stood up, sponge in hand. Still, I couldn't see him anywhere -- it was as if he'd completely dissolved into thin air or..he was hiding. My lips slowly curled into a smirk, and I started to lean over the car looking for him, when he sprang up near the back end from a crouched position, brandishing the hose. Before I could even register what was happening, I was hit in the face with the icy stream of water.

I raised the sponge in front of me as though it would protect me before dropping to the ground -- not so gracefully might I add. I landed on my back, sopping wet and spluttering. A few moments later, Lash appeared above me grinning like the Cheshire cat, but thankfully he was hoseless. He leaned against the car, and raised his eyebrows innocently at me.

"That was just mean." I said though it was hard to fight my smirk.

He dropped his arms as though defeated, and he nodded. "I'm sorry." he lied. "Let me help you up."

He offered me a hand, and for a moment I stared at it, thinking. Then, in one swift movement, I grabbed the sudsy sponge and I threw it at him. It hit him square in the chest, knocking the air out of him momentarily as cold water and soap exploded on him. It fell limply to the ground, and he gave a short gasp-like noise, holding his hands out at his sides.

"Jesus Will," he said, "That water's freezing!"

I grinned now, and quickly scrambled to my feet so he couldn't catch me off guard. He was glaring at me, though not in the completely menacing way, as I stood by the front of the car, holding onto it as if I were going to pick it up and hit him with it if he tried anything. He looked about ready to run at me, but instead he shook his head, faintest hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

"You're so lucky we're in clear view of everyone in your neighborhood." he said in a low tone.

I raised my eyebrows at him, cocking my head slightly. "Oh really?" I asked, and I slowly neared him. "Why?"

He shook his head again and I was now standing in front of him, almost two feet away. "Why?" he echoed.

"Yeah, why." I said, and I gave him a light shove. "What would you do if we weren't?"

He moved quicker than I could react, and in seconds flat he had me bent over in a headlock. At first I was shellshocked -- I hadn't expected it. Despite the fact that I could've picked him up with one hand, I didn't fight back -- I think I quite liked being in his arms too much; even if he was hurting my neck slightly.

"What would I do?" he asked me, tone low. I could hear the grin in his voice. "I'd tackle you onto the car -- which would ultimately get you in trouble with your parents." He gave a small laugh and his warm breath brushed my cheek. "Not to mention I think I'd end up unintentionally violating you."

I have to say, I liked this Lash. He was playful, he was...seductive. If I'd ever had any moment of rethinking getting to know him, which I didn't, it was completely thrown away now.

"Who says I wouldn't like such violations?" I asked, though it sounded stupid when I said stuff like that.

He chuckled again, but before he could answer, someone else cleared their throat. We both looked up to find my mom, hands on her hips, and brow raised. I was instantly blushing, and there was even a light hue to Lash's complexion. After a moment of studying her though, it was obvious she hadn't heard what we'd said to each other -- thank the gods.

"Hey Mom." I said cheerily, though we were still locked in our position, his arms around my neck in a choker-hold, and one of my arms around his waist.

She sighed, but still had her good-natured smirk. "I came to tell you that when you're finished washing the car," her arms now crossed over her chest. "And drying off. We're going out to dinner." Her gaze flickered to Lash. "And you can come if you like." Her tone was much sweeter with him.

I glanced to him and gave a shrug of my shoulders. "Want to?"

He studied me for a moment before he nodded and looked back up to my mom. "Yeah, thanks Mrs. Stronghold." he said.

"Oh please," she dropped her arms. "Call me Josie -- any other way makes me sound old."

She turned and went back to the house while Lash finally let go of me. I had to admit I was kind of disappointed not to be in his arms anymore. He stretched his arms above his head, pushing his chest out, and I glanced at the large wet spot on his black tee shirt.

"Sorry about that." I said.

He grinned. "Don't be a pansy." he said. "I sprayed you with the hose first."

I mirrored the grin and walked back to where he'd dropped the hose earlier, picking it up to rinse the car. I hadn't washed the rims of the three leftover tires, but Mom would never notice. Lash then crossed his arms, expression looking very feline-like as he watched me. A few times I sprayed the hose at his feet, just liking to see him jump and dodge out of the way. When I finished I quickly turned off the hose so he wouldn't try and get me back, and then I surveyed the car.

"Boy howdy, I tell ya." Lash said, shaking his head. "You're really good at washing cars."

I laughed and hit his shoulder lightly -- well as lightly as I could. He winced slightly, but as I apologized he played it off, saying it was something he'd have to get used to. A brief silence fell over us, before I looked down at my clothes, which were still wet. I then glanced at him.

"I can give you another shirt." I said. "If you want."

He shrugged. "Doesn't really bother me." he said. "At least the soap smells good."

I grinned, starting for the front door. "Yeah, you'll smell like a brand new car."

I opened the front door and motioned for him to go first. He did, and as I went to step in, something told me to look towards Layla's house. I saw the curtains of her bedroom window move, and I sighed.

"Will, please don't tell me you walked into the house dripping wet." Mom said from the kitchen as she heard us climbing the stairs.

I paused and made a face at Lash who smirked at me, before continuing the rest of the way to go to my room. I looked over the banister and met her gaze -- she was now in the hallway.

"I...sauntered into the house?" I tried.

She rolled her eyes and disappeared to get some towels. I quickly ran the rest of the way up the stairs and to my room. Lash was laying on my bed as if he owned the place, and I walked to the closet. As I opened the door he gave a slight sigh.

"Your bed is pretty comfortable." he said -- when he'd spent the night we'd slept in the living room on the couches.

I grinned but said nothing as I grabbed a different tee shirt. Keeping my back to him, I slowly pulled off the wet shirt, trying to will away my sudden shyness. And then I could feel his eyes burning into my bare back -- that didn't help anything. I glanced over my shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow. He grinned at me, and I threw the wet shirt at him. With a laugh, he ducked and it soared over his head, as I quickly pulled on the dry one.

I turned away from the closet and put my hands on my hips. "There we go."

His brow furrowed. "Aren't you gonna change your pants?" he asked.

"I don't need to." I lied.

"Dude it looks like you pissed your pants." he replied.

I looked down slowly -- he was right. "These are my favorite jeans." I said.

He laughed again. "You just don't want to take your pants off in front of me." he said.

I rolled my eyes, but it was the truth. "So what?" I asked. "You take off your pants and I'll take off mine."

I didn't realize how wrong that sounded until he threw his head back and laughed. I'd never seen him laugh so much since I knew him -- it was nice, but I sounded like a complete idiot now.

"Whoa-ho, you dog." he said. "I don't think we have time for that, Stronghold."

Instant heat to my cheeks, and I tried to stutter out something smart. This only made him laugh more, and I finally gave a sigh of defeat, cracking a smile at myself. A few seconds later, he calmed himself, taking a deep breath and looking at me again. He was laying on his side, propped up on an elbow, and I couldn't help but notice just how nice his hair looked hanging sideways over his forehead like that.

"Sorry, man." he said, still grinning. "Use a hair-dryer or something."

"Good idea." I said, starting for the bedroom door. "Wait here."

He snorted. "Where else would I go?" he asked. "Nobody else offers to have pants parties with me."

After dinner, Dad had offered to drive Lash home, but the both of us had agreed we wanted to play video games with each other, so we went right back to my house. Of course, an hour later, the game system hadn't even been touched. We were both sitting on the floor in my room, our backs against my bed. We'd been talking about random things, until he suddenly brought up the subject of girls.

"So what made you realize you didn't like girls?" he asked me.

I paused thoughtfully. "I don't know." I admitted. "It just didn't feel right when Layla kissed me, I guess."

"She that bad of a kisser?" Lash asked. "She looks like it."

I laughed. "No, no." I said, "She wasn't bad. It just felt...like a chore. Weird."

"What about when you kiss me?" he asked.

I glanced up and our eyes met. He was giving me that look that made my stomach cartwheel into insanity. I got it more than I should've when he was around, so I knew my mom was right, it was the butterflies -- not indigestion.

"It's perfect." I said, and then I turned a furious shade of magenta. "I mean, it's really nice."

He grinned, and we both looked down at our legs. After my blush had cooled down I looked back up at him.

"What about you?" I asked. "When did you realize girls weren't for you?"

He made a face and shrugged slightly. "I don't know; I never really got into chicks." he said. "Speed was always there -- I didn't need girls."

I nodded, but another silence blanketed us. He gave a sigh, and waited till I looked at him till he spoke again.

"You know, Stronghold." he said. "You aren't the smartest." He grabbed the front of my shirt with one hand. "When I asked what it felt like when you kiss me, that was your cue to do it."

I started to answer, but he pulled me towards him and our lips met. As always, I felt the sparks extend from his mouth and over my cheeks, heating them. My heart began to beat quicker, and the butterflies in my gut went into a frenzy, shooting all around like those super bouncy balls you get out of quarter machines.

Deciding I wanted to contribute more to this, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me, moving my lips against his. His tongue found its way into my mouth and I shaped my lips around it. We were now crushed together, one of his arms hanging lazily over my shoulders, and the other resting casually on his thigh, and I could feel his chest rising and falling quickly with each harsh breath he took.

Our mouths separated so we could both take in air, and he bit lightly at my bottom lip, sending a shiver dancing down my spine. His eyes were darkened, by what I didn't know, and they stared into mine with such an intensity that I wanted nothing more than to blink, but somehow I couldn't tear my gaze away. As he studied me, looking to be searching for something, the hand he'd had resting on his thigh moved to my own.

Warmth spread from his fingertips like spiderwebs, immediately shooting for my groin. Blood started to seep to that special place, and I started to feel embarrassed from my body's reaction, but he pressed his lips to mine again. Biting at my lips this time with more demand, I suddenly realized his hand was moving.

He pressed his palm against the bulge in my pants, and I choked on my tongue, tearing my lips away from his to breathe. He was again studying my face. He could tell I'd never done anything before, and I could tell suddenly that he'd done everything before. The only other thing I was now clearly aware of was the throbbing between my legs.

"Will." he said, voice sounding different, more raspy and throaty. "Would your parents get suspicious if we locked the door."

I quickly shook my head. "They probably wouldn't notice." I said.

Without another word he stood up, taking the body heat that had made my body start to perspire. As he walked to the door, I quickly climbed onto the bed, perching on the edge of the mattress, shifting awkwardly, once more feeling embarrassed by my ever-so obvious excitement, and I heard him lock the door.

He returned to the bed and no words were spoken; it was exploration time.

I hate ending this here, but if I go any further it might get too graphic.