Get-Together Summer (4 page)

When the lights finally began to dim Simon glanced to
his left, where Haley was settled comfortably, her hands folded in
her lap. He glanced to the right, and Dirk still had his feet on
the empty seat before him. Both of them were watching the screen,
so he sank a little lower in his seat, eating popcorn a single
piece at a time.

The movie began with a monologue over a sweeping
panoramic scenery shot. Somewhere around the appearance of the
title screen, Simon felt something brush the back of his head. He
peeked and saw Dirk's arm stretched up and over the back of his
seat; when he looked the other way, he saw Dirk's fingertips
brushing Haley's shoulder -- she had shifted to lean a little
closer, though her eyes were still focused on the screen.

Something about it, how utterly and artlessly casual
it was, made Simon's throat lock up again; it reminded him too much
of earlier that morning, sitting alone in his shower. He could feel
himself being slowly squeezed out, even though he was in the middle
of the two of them, and that nagged and ached like a sore tooth. He
scowled down at the mound of popcorn. In the middle of his sulk, in
the lull as the movie began properly, he heard Dirk shift, and from
the corner of one eye he watched Dirk shift in his seat, leaning
closer, so he could grab popcorn with his free hand.

As he did, Simon shifted to bump his knee against
Dirk's. It was a small gesture, one that could be easily mistaken
as adjusting his own weight in his seat. Watching Dirk's face
sidelong, he didn't even see recognition of the contact
register.

It was annoying. It nagged worse now, an unreachable
itch. Simon sank just a little lower in his chair, but didn't move
just yet. He kept his eyes on the screen, watching as the
generically handsome lead swung his way through the plans for some
heist or other -- Simon would be the first to admit he wasn't
paying attention -- counting the seconds until an opportunity
presented itself.

As the lead actress made her first
appearance onscreen, Dirk reached to grab more popcorn. Simon moved
at the same time, bumping their legs together again and reaching
into the box as well, so that their knuckles touched. He saw Dirk
blink and glance at him, but he kept his own expression neutral,
pretending to be engrossed with the action on the screen. (If you
could even call it that. For a movie that was supposed to be
action
, there was an
awful lot of talking about things Simon had lost track of long
ago.)

Somewhere during the next couple of scenes, as the
two leads met at a fancy dinner party and flirted with each other,
Simon felt something brushing the back of his neck again. He
glanced at Haley and saw that Dirk's hand was no longer touching
her, and his stomach did a nervous little flipflop. He'd never felt
Dirk's arm move away, either, which meant ...

Something tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck.
Simon bit the inside of his cheek and deliberately pushed back
against the touch. The movement made his leg brush against Dirk's
again, more firmly than before, but he was focused on the fingers
against his neck. They were warmer than he expected, especially in
the chill of the theater, and he had to admit, on some small
embarrassed level, that it felt rather good. No one had ever
touched him like this, not even Haley, who was more given to
petting his hair when he caught her in an affectionate mood.

A night scene came up, leaving the theater
fractionally darker. Simon took the opportunity to openly look at
Dirk sidelong, though he was careful to not turn his head. After a
moment of thought, greatly daring, he stretched in his seat --
pushing against Dirk's hand once more -- and let his hand dangle
off the arm of his theater seat, so his fingers were just above the
curve of Dirk's thigh in the chair. His heart was pounding in his
chest. All he had to do was stretch just a little further, and
they'd be touching ...

And then Dirk himself moved, his leg coming up to
bump against Simon's fingers. He almost yelped aloud, but instead
sucked in a quick hiccuping breath. Haley leaned forwards him, her
face concerned in the illumination from the movie. Simon waved a
hand, gesturing weakly at the popcorn in his lap. She rolled her
eyes but smiled, pressing her cup into his hand and giving him an
expectant look. He ducked his head briefly, taking just the tip of
the straw in his mouth and sucking a quick sip. Part of him wanted
to believe he could taste something more than the too-sweet cola
even as he handed it back to her and settled into his seat again.
Once he was, he glanced at Dirk again, and caught the movement of
Dirk's head turning away. It was impossible to tell in the dimness,
but Simon half-wondered if he was blushing.

More importantly, though, Dirk's leg was still
raised, pressing lightly against Simon's fingers. He pushed back
just a little, once and then twice, the cautious tiny gestures of a
cat kneading. In profile, Dirk's expression never changed, but his
leg pushed back, as if in encouragement.

Something onscreen was exploding. Simon shifted just
a little closer towards Dirk, inching his hand out bit by small
bit, until the top ridge of his palm hit the top of Dirk's thigh,
and his fingers curled inwards. He bit his lip, trying to keep his
breathing steady. All he could feel was denim, but it was warm, too
-- almost hot, in fact, more than he would have expected just from
touching another person. His face also burned -- but Dirk's
expression never changed, so he struggled to do the same with his
own.

What if he let his hand move up just a little more?
he wondered. Was there any way he could pretend to casually run his
fingers along the inner seam of Dirk's jeans, unsure of what he'd
find at the end of it -- hardness? Or nothing?

Torn by the indecision, he found himself unable to
move, even to take his hand away, staying like that for the rest of
the movie, through more explosions and shouting fights, until the
lead swept his assigned lady into a dramatic kiss and another wide
panoramic shot and voiceover before the credits began to roll. As
he started to move, though, Dirk caught his wrist with a
surprisingly firm grip. He paused, finally looking directly at
him.

"There's usually stuff after the credits too," Dirk
said. He smiled, but there was something edged in that; his thumb
was pressed against the soft skin of Simon's inner arm, and it
moved in a wide sweep. "We should stay for that."

"It doesn't take that long," Haley agreed, and Simon
was embarrassed at how surprised he was at the sound of her voice.
"We'll also avoid the bigger crowd this way." She stretched after,
and Simon watched her, the way the neckline of her sundress rode
up, then down, briefly showing the line of her bra. "Grocery after
this, right?"

"I think that's the plan." Dirk leaned toward her, in
front of Simon, and his shoulder brushed against Simon's chest,
hard and solid. He put his hand on her knee, squeezing it, so that
she jerked it away with a squeak, swatting lightly at his hand.
"And then I'll show you spoiled rich kids what sort of good home
cooking you've been missing."

Simon drew himself up, but Haley just smacked Dirk's
hand again, light as before. "You like us 'spoiled rich kids,'" she
said. "Don't even pretend you don't."

He caught her hand and tugged it up. With Simon still
caught behind their arms, Dirk brought her hand up and kissed the
back of her hand, smiling as he did. "You're not going to be too
rich for me, are you, baby?"

The lights began to come on around them, and Simon
could see Haley's blush. She shifted in her chair, but didn't
actually try to pull her hand away from Dirk's grasp. "If you don't
think I am already," she said with a sniff, projecting all her
dignity, "then I don't think that will be a problem."

Dirk laughed and stood, pulling her up with him
before he looked down at Simon. He arched an eyebrow, still
grinning. "What about you, pretty boy?"

Simon fisted his hands against the
side of his chair. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from
actually pouting, using the small flash of pain to scowl instead.
"My name is
Simon
."

"Close enough!" Dirk tugged Haley closer to him, then
began to make his way down the narrow aisle, leaving Simon to
scramble to his feet and follow.

Once outside, the bright sun made him recoil a
little, instinctively, shielding his eyes with one hand. For a
moment he could only see the vague outlines of both Dirk and Haley,
as if they were briefly too far away to touch. Scowling again, he
shook off the gloomy thought and nearly launched himself forward,
grabbing Haley's other hand as he did. She looked at him
automatically, and he saw an instant of surprise pass across her
face and fade.

"So," Simon said, drawing himself up again, trying to
radiate as much cool confidence as he could, "what are you going to
make for dinner?"

"Depends on what we buy," Dirk said. He didn't let go
of Haley's hand either, though he did slow his pace, so that he was
no longer leading, but she was still neatly between them. "It's
summer, so maybe something with vegetables."

"You
should
make a steak."

"Is that a hint? You've got to pay if that's the
case."

Simon pursed his lips. "If you're the one offering,
you should be able to handle requests."

"Steaks are expensive," Dirk said. "I was thinking
something simpler, anyway--"

"
I'll
pay," Haley cut in, before Simon
could protest again; she squeezed his hand hard. "Though maybe we
could look if there's something that sounds better than steak.
Okay?"

Dirk paused and half-swung around, kissing Haley's
temple. "If you want, babe," he said, but his eyes were open,
staring straight at Simon.

"It's better than arguing," she insisted, but there
was a smile in her voice. "Stop that, we're in public."

"Not in front of the children?" He continued to look
at Simon, waggling his eyebrows suggestively now. Haley tried to
shove him, and when he wouldn't let go of her hand, she stepped on
his foot instead.

"Not in public period," she said firmly, and then she
began to pick up her own pace, pulling ahead of them both and
dragging them along behind her. Simon was tempted to drag his feet,
sullen at the implied insult, but he glanced at Dirk and found
himself being watched -- outright stared at, really -- and that was
unnerving enough that he found himself walking faster, trying to
keep Haley between them like a shield. She was still familiar no
matter what, and comforting in that familiarity; when he squeezed
her hand himself, testing, she glanced at him with a smile that was
both automatic and genuine. It helped to calm him a little.

The grocery trip also passed in something of a blur.
Simon didn't like grocery stores that much: they were too cold and
often too crowded, the shelves bursting with things he didn't
recognize and didn't care about. The housekeepers did most of the
shopping for his family, though now and then, his mother was struck
with some bizarre nostalgia for the "simple life" she'd never had,
and she'd make him come with her, to try and pick special things
for the family's meal. Even if her interest lasted through the
whole shopping trip, she never did the cooking herself, so what was
the point in caring? An Oakley didn't have to do anything if he or
she didn't want to. He ended up trailing a few feet behind Dirk and
Haley as they debated and discussed and occasionally argued over
this vegetable or this cut of meat. He only moved when he saw them
move, out of the corner of his eye, keeping his vision mostly
focused on the floor.

What if he just grabbed one of them and refused to
let go? he wondered. What if he took Haley's hand and dragged her
out of the store, into some back alley (surely there had to be a
back alley; that seemed to be the sort of thing that would exist
everywhere), and pushed her against the wall to kiss her? What if
he picked a proper fight with Dirk, so that he would be the one
pinned and pretending to say no?

What
if
, he thought, and ran straight into
Dirk's back. He stumbled back with an insulted yelp, tripping over
his own feet. Before he fell, though, he felt a strong hand grab
his wrist, dragging him up and forward; a moment later he found
himself pressed against Dirk's chest instead, his other hand on his
shoulder to steady him.

"Shit, careful," Dirk said. "You all right?"

"I, um," Simon said, and swallowed hard. Up close,
physically touching, Dirk was not nearly as bulky as he appeared to
be from a distance -- which even then, was not terribly much,
though more than Simon himself -- but his entire body was hard and
solid, like the whole length of it was pure muscle. He smelled
dusty almost, a little like soap and sweat and the artificial salt
of the popcorn. Through his shirt he was fantastically warm. Simon
had to swallow a few times to get his voice to work. "I'm fine,
yes. Sorry. I was a little distracted."

"More than a little," Haley said, with a small huff.
She came over and reached to put her hand on his forehead, cool and
soft. "You're a little warm, but you're not feverish, at least. Are
you sure you're all right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting weird since this morning." She
crossed her arms, setting her jaw a little. "I know you weren't
that interested in the movie, but if you were really feeling badly,
you didn't have to come."

Simon blinked a few times. "I'm feeling fine," he
said. "I just tripped, okay? I was distracted, that happens
sometimes."

"But you were just--"

"Hey, you two," Dirk said, and Simon realized with a
small start that he could feel the rumble of Dirk's words in his
chest, "how about we just go ahead and pay and go back? The sooner
we do, then it doesn't matter who's feeling what, at least we'll be
home, and not blocking a line." He squeezed Simon's shoulders, as
if to remind him of where he was. "There'd be more privacy, at
least."