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. But tonight I am. On a school night? It s Sunday, he countered. You know what I mean.You have school in the morning. Jace defiantly tossed a can of ravioli in the backpack. It s not like I ll be far.I m practically inthe backyard.I ll take a battery-powered alarm clock with me and be at the breakfast table the sametime I always am. His mother pursed her lips. I ll literally be five minutes away, he said. Please. Ask your father. Yes! That was as good as having permission.All he needed to tell his dad was, Mom says it sfine if I camp out tonight.Is it okay with you? Worked every time.Once he was loaded up withsupplies, he paid his father a short visit.He was in the living room, watching golf on TV, which madeit even easier.Jace could have said he was moving to Istanbul and his father would have nodded.That just left Greg.Jace telephoned his house, but there wasn t an answer.Thinking Greg mightbe on his way over, he went out on the back porch but didn t see him anywhere.Greg was usually soreliable.Could it be that, sober and in the light of day, he wasn t feeling supportive of Jace ssexuality anymore? Jace found that hard to believe.The things he had felt while high last night hadn tchanged now.Pot hadn t made him a different person, like alcohol seemed to.And yet, Greg wasnowhere to be seen.In the end, Jace decided to head down to the campsite.Greg would know to findhim there.Hell, maybe his best friend was there already, lecturing Victor on further improvements hecould make.Jace had stood and was walking away from the house when the back door slid open. Car keys! his sister called, chasing after him. Oh, right. Jace dug in his pocket and fished them out, tossing them to her. Thanks, Michelle said, deftly catching them. I want to get some Christmas shopping donetoday. For real? Jace gestured around him at the unseasonal weather.But he wasn t surprised.Hissister was Christmas crazy. Don t make me cross you off the list, she teased. Hey, any progress with Victor? Jace didn t have to answer.He just smiled. What? You re shitting me! Michelle slapped his arm playfully. Oh my god, tell meeverything! On second thought, don t! She considered the implications. My big brother has aboyfriend! Kind of.He s uh Wonderful.Sexy.Mysterious. Complicated. Oh.But you guys are, you know, getting friendly in a physical way? Jace bit his lip and nodded rapidly. Good for you! Thanks.Although it s kind of hard to tell how serious he is. Michelle looked sympathetic. Welcome to the fun part.You know he likes you, but you don tknow if he really likes you.Remember Dave? Ten months together, all those presents, the horriblepoetry, and I still wasn t sure.Guys are dogs; they ll say or do anything to get and keep gettingwhat they want. Jace didn t hide his surprise. Wow.I didn t know you were so jaded. Me? No! I love the game.Believe me when I say I m getting what I want too. Michelle s face softened. But I don t mean to make it sound cold.The wondering and hoping, that s all part of love.That s what keeps you on your toes and makes it so damn exciting.Just try to enjoy it.If he makes youfeel good about yourself, and if you can do the same for him, that s all that matters. I m getting you an extra present for Christmas this year, Jace promised. Score! All right.I m headed out to see him now. Have fun, Michelle said.She was at the sliding door when she turned around. Hey! One morepiece of advice.No matter how big his thingy is, act like it s huge.Guys love that! Jace looked repulsed, causing his sister to cackle with laughter.Hopefully that was the lastadvice she d ever give him in that department.* * * * *When Jace reached the campsite, Victor was sitting under the lean-to, legs pulled up to his chest.His hair was sticking up, looking even more punky than usual.Victor s eyes sparkled when he spottedJace, inviting and welcoming, which made him feel brave.Without hesitation, he went to Victor andbent over, placing a finger under his chin to lift it so they could kiss.And just like last night, Victor kissed him right back.At first, anyway. I feel scuzzy, he said, dodging Jace s next attempt. I don t care, he said honestly, crawling onto the sleeping bag.Why had he left last night? Nowthat his head was clear, his body rested, he was ready to go further.He leaned forward to kissVictor s neck. Seriously, Victor said, gently pushing him away. Wait until I get cleaned up. Want a tongue bath? Jace said with a grin.Victor eyed him. I can see that you re going to be a handful.But no.I have a better method ofgetting clean.I ll show you later today.Right now I need to scrounge for any leftovers. There aren t any, Jace said. Blame the munchies.Luckily you have me. He dragged the backpack close and started emptying the contents, naming each and trying to putan exotic spin on them. Fresh garden vegetables left to simmer in a delicate broth, he said, handingover a cheap can of vegetable soup. Italian dough pockets stuffed with minced veal, he said, settingdown the can of ravioli. And this? Victor asked, holding up a lowly can of pork and beans. That, my friend, Jace said, taking on a tone of wonder, is more precious than rocket fuel.Why, that is the very meal that propelled the settlers across this great nation.Almost literally, Iimagine. Victor feigned awe. These must have cost you a fortune. I took out a five-year loan, he said dismissively. Seriously though, thank you. Victor picked up and frowned at a box of crackers. There s gotto be a better way.If I m going to do this, I don t want to keep mooching off you.Greg mentionedsustainability yesterday, which was cool.People used to live off the land.Settlers ate more than justpork and beans. Jace raised an eyebrow. Planning on hunting buffalo? Victor chuckled. No, but there are fruit trees, if you know where to look.Or I could fish.If Iknew how. I could teach you, Jace said.Victor looked surprised. Really? Of course! I ve lived next to a lake my entire life. He considered the sky. Today s the perfect day for it too.I can run back to the house and pick up some equipment. Victor grinned, which felt like the greatest prize in the world. All right.Let s do it. Let s eat something first, Jace said. We ll starve before we yank anything out of that lake. After sharing a meal of soup and crackers, Jace returned to the house, Victor staying behind toget the evening s fire ready.They met where the creek spilled into the lake, Jace guiding them to anunmaintained and rarely visited dock on the far side.Here they would have privacy.Jace didn t caremuch for fishing.He received his own rod and tackle box one year for his birthday.All the differentlures and methods kept him interested for a month or so before he moved on to other distractions. Worms are way better, Jace said. If you buy nightcrawlers, you ll have a fish in no time.I venever had much luck with lures, but we re going to use them anyway.Unless you want to go diggingfor worms. Victor rifled through the tackle box. We can try these.I like this one. He held up a rubbery lureresembling a tadpole aside from being bright yellow and having a giant eyes painted on each side ofthe head. What s this supposed to be? Jace shrugged. I ve never used that one.Let s see what happens. Fishing wasn t complicated.Teaching Victor the basics of the rod didn t take long.Theypracticed casting the line into the water and reeling it back in a few times.After that, the true skillcame into play patience.They sat on the dock, the sun already making its descent.Only an hour oflight, at most, remained
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