Free Sweaters & Cigarettes by Mika Fox

and looks up.
    “Okay,” Theo says unnecessarily, and Max
looks up at him, turning so that they're standing in front of each other,
face-to-face. He’s pretty much the same height as Theo, but still, the way he’s
looking up at him is something Theo hasn’t seen him do before.
    “Dammit, Davis,” he says with a sigh,
shaking his head. “I actually kinda like you.”
    Theo swallows again, nervously this time.
    “Okay,” he repeats, his voice low and
weak. His heart is pounding, though, pounding against his ribcage so hard it’s
almost uncomfortable.
    “I mean,” he adds, catching himself,
fumbling. “I― I kinda like you, too.”
    He feels a blush creep up his neck,
reaching his face, but he’s hoping that Max can’t tell in the dim light of the
streetlamp they’re standing under.
    But he does notice, of course he does. And
he smiles.
    “You’re blushing,” Max says, with just a
hint of smugness, and Theo actually turns his head the other way, exhaling
slowly. He doesn’t need this right now. It’s enough that his pulse seems to be
going haywire and that he’s so acutely aware of Max's warm hand in his―he
doesn’t need to have it pointed out.
    Max chuckles then, and Theo glances at the
ground instead.
    “Hey,” Max says, putting his hand by his
face, making Theo look up at him again. Max lets his dark blue gaze wander
across his slightly freckle-dusted face for a few moments, taking it in. “I
like making you blush, remember?”
    He catches Theo’s eye for a moment, before
looking at his mouth. And Theo doesn’t move a muscle when he leans in slightly
and kisses him, so softly it’s actually surprising. Surprising, because there’s
no urgency, this time, no greed or impatience.
    Instead, it’s just… sweet. It's a kind of
kiss that Max hasn't really given him before.
    So Theo relaxes into it, savors it and
kisses him back, and just for a little while, the night air doesn’t feel quite
as cold.

Chapter 6
    Touch
     
     
    It's not unusual for Theo's parents to be gone in the morning, when he
gets ready for school; they're not always gone early, but sometimes they are,
and this is one of those mornings.
    Theo doesn't mind. It does, however, mean
that he's responsible for breakfast, and making sure his brother has some
before leaving for school.
    "You don't have to do that, you
know," Riley says, sitting down at the kitchen table.
    Theo is perfectly aware of the fact that
Riley is fourteen years old and completely capable of making his own breakfast,
and that he really doesn't need Theo's help. But he likes doing it; he has
always done it, when their parents are gone. It's a habit he's having a hard
time breaking.
    "I'm making some for myself,
anyway," Theo replies. It's the truth, but it's also an excuse he has used
to cook for Riley, ever since they were kids.
    He's standing by the kitchen stove, frying
up some eggs and bacon, and Riley sits at the table, watching his back.
    "Fine," Riley says, skimming
through a book. Theo isn't surprised; Riley is really smart, especially for his
age, and he always seems to have a book or something in front of him.
    The brothers don't talk for a little
while, the morning silence occasionally broken by the popping and sizzling of
the frying pan, until Riley closes his book and slides it into his bag.
    "Hey," he says. "I saw that
goth kid yesterday."
    Theo tries not to flinch. He's almost
entirely sure that Riley is talking about Max, and just the thought of Max
makes his heart skip a beat. And it makes him smile, too, as he's reminded of
the other night, when they walked home together from the tattoo parlor. When
Max held his hand and kissed him like that.
    Theo is so wrapped up in his own thoughts,
that he's barely even surprised at Riley's mere mention of the guy, and he
slowly comes back to his senses.
    "So?" Theo musters, trying to
sound casual. No one really knows that he and Max even know each other, and he
has gotten used to pretty much lying about