Anthony

When Dante left the room to go to the shower, I thought I was safe. I thought maybe he'd cool down and we could handle our own issues, but when he came back I was very wrong. I've never done anything with anyone else. A virgin, according to everyone else. I don't advertise it, but it is the truth and I didn't know how anything really worked, which is why when he left I had felt relieved.

When he came back, he was standing in the doorway like a predator. A terrifying and hungry predator.

"Uhhh, I'm a virgin." Great Anthony. Really smooth, could you try that again? This time make your voice crack, that'll really put the icing on the cake.

The more he stared at me, the less confident I felt, as if I even felt confident in the first place. All of my witty sexual innuendos mask my lack of experience and now I finally have the chance to get that experience and my first move is to tell him I'm a virgin. I'm drowning in embarrassment.

"Okay? That doesn't bother me. Everyone starts somewhere. Are you saying that you don't want to-"

"No! No," I clear my throat when he jumps at my outburst, "ah, I just don't know what I'm doing."

"Do you trust me? Can you be open to some things?"

The look he has is making my stomach roll, "I guess . . . Don't like . . . Don't cut me or burn me . . . Nothing wild like that . . . " This conversation is so uncomfortable. If anyone had said that I'd ever be faced with a situation where I had to ask someone with an erection not to cut me or burn me, I'd laugh in their face. I'm shaken from my thoughts by obnoxious laughter.

"Pfft, haha, what in the world would I do that for?!" His laughter is now shaking his entire body and I'm ready to disappear. "I'm not going to hurt you Anthony, nor will I do anything you don't want or aren't aware of beforehand. If you want me to stop, just tell me. I promise I'll stop. Unless you want to choose a different word to stop because you want-"

"Stop- stop is fine. Stop is fine."

"Are you sure? I like banana a lot."

"I'm not saying banana."

"Well, suit yourself. So do you trust me?"

---

The flashes of last night were popping into my head while the groggy and now tame Dante sifted through his cereal. I'll never be able to look at a banana again and yet, I'm ready to go back to last night.

---

"I guess I trust you . . . "

"I can't do it on a guess, Anthony. You either do or you don't. Either way is okay. If you want to do something more normal, I can."

I'm simmering on that option. It isn't like I'm a prude, but the thought of letting someone else have all of the power is a little intimidating.

---

"Why are you staring at me?" Dante brushes his face as if he were wiping food off of it.

"No reason, you're just really beautiful." When he looks down at his cereal and keeps eating, I can see his cheeks becoming rosy. 

I rub my wrists where the ropes had been and stretch. It wasn't terrible. I'm not sure if I was sold on it, but maybe next time we could try something more tame. 

"So yesterday something happened." I'm not sure how to even bring this up.

"I was there. Are you regretting it? I know it was your first time." 

"Bahhh! It's not that!" My face is a tomato, my whole head out to the tips of my ears feel hot. "It's when we were at the ice rink. Kadence was there." I've said the wrong thing. I shouldn't have told him. The dark look on his face as he looks at me expectantly puts a rock in my mouth, momentarily stopping me from talking. "He says he's leaving for home soon to leave us alone." I'll leave out the rest. Maybe it'll be best.

"Is that it?" I nod, giving him a half smile for support, or maybe in hopes that he'd smile, too.

"It's probably a lie. I told you. Kadence Captain always gets what he wants." He shrugs. "I don't care what he does so long as it doesn't involve me, or you for that matter."

The bowl drops in the dishwasher as he tosses the spoon in the utensil holder and pushes the washer closed.

"Come on. Let's go shower."

"Let's, like let us, like together?"

"Unless you don't want to." He waltzes upstairs, leaving me to choose. I'm not even sure this is a good idea. Didn't this just start last night? Doesn't he need time to like . . . I blush at my own thoughts. Whatever. I'll go anyways since he'll be gone at work all day.

---

Dante

Anthony is adorable. Honestly, I'm smitten all over again. Admitting that he was inexperienced so awkwardly and blushing with such ferocity. And then afterwards when he was so elated. He was practically glowing like the sun. The best part was showering together. He gets so nervous so easily when it comes to these few interactions and it's easy to tell when he's daydreaming about anything similar. Nothing really happened in the shower, but it was fun to watch him try to awkwardly bring it up. Rest assured that your showers will not all be so uneventful. I pull out onto the main street as I feel my cheeks aching from smiling. How can anyone possibly make me so happy?

As I pull into my regular parking spot, I see Beth outside on her phone, arguing with her husband most likely. When she sees me pull up, she ends their conversation to wait for me to get out of the car.

"Mike is on a rampage in there. Be warned." She holds the door for me before putting her apron between the locking mechanism again. 

When I make it inside, I can see Mike's face turning purple as he yells through the kitchen. "That damned weasel! It was him, I just know it!" Dishes clang and clatter to the floor as I peek around the corner to find Mike pounding on the table.

"Hey, Mike." I greet him quietly, putting my hand on his arm. "Hey, Mike, what's going on?"

"My gym, that's what! That yellowbellied liverwurst set my precious haven on fire! It's that Captain kid. He stopped in here this morning to bid us farewell. Then coincidentally not an hour later, my gym is burning down!" When I look across the street, the firetrucks are still in the parking lot. There's equipment pulled out and crews cleaning up the area as Mike glares. 

"The damage is minimal, but I'm still furious. I'll kill that bastard."

"Mike, how about you go do what you have to do. Beth and I can certainly take care of the diner together until her shift is up." Mike nods, stalking out the door already as he grumbles. 

D: Anthony, someone burned down Mike's gym.

A: what?!who would do that

D: Mike says it's Kade. He was here earlier to say goodbye?

A: M is gonna be real mad about this

Ugh. Could he at least try to use punctuation? I glance at the gym one last time before I get into my work, losing myself in the customer's gossip reel as they come in and out of the diner for lunch.

When my shift is over, it's dark and all of the mess across the street has been cleaned up. As far as anyone can tell, it's only damaged in one small corner of the building, so the tension has died down a bit. As I'm walking out, Mike follows me, locking the front doors. 

"Boy, you be careful. That kid has crazy all in his eyes. He's nothin' but trouble." I nod, putting my hands in my pockets as I get in the car.

As the house comes into view, Anthony is pacing on the porch. When I park the car, relief is already flooding his face.

"Dante!" He comes skipping to the car for a hug and helps me carry the groceries to the kitchen to put them away.

"How was work?"

"It was okay. Beth poured tea all over Mrs. Beeker while she was talking to her husband. Wolf came in, he told me to give you this." Anthony's face lights up when I drop the little woven charm thing in his hand and he opens the island cabinet to pull out a small circle, hanging the charm off of it before holding it up.

"What is that, Anthony?"

"It's an old mobile that my mom made for me when I was a baby. Wolf has been fixing the charms on it because they were worn and falling off. This was the last one." The small circle dangles from his hand, spinning as his fingers twirl and swinging little colorful charms around. 

"Do you want to hang it in our room?" Anthony smiles, running straight up the stairs. 

After putting away all of the food, I follow him. He's standing on the bed, the mobile dangling from the ceiling now as he jumps around on the bed. He can be so childish at times. I swing my hand out, pulling his knee from the back until he falls, laughing as he is sprawled out on the bed. He reaches over, pulling me down onto the bed with him and rolling over me, kissing me all over my face. His playful kisses turn more serious as he moves to my neck, turning my chin up with his hand as he moves his thumb past my chin and over the opposite ear. It feels like fire is spreading by his touch and soon even my feet are engulfed in these hungry flames that ravage my heart and soul, but I just don't feel it enough. I don't know what it is missing.

It isn't until he has stopped to look at me that I realize why it feels like he's both holding back and also fully invested. I tilt my face up, reaching out for his lips again to confirm my consent before he floods every part of my body with want, greedily exploring every part of me. 

"Is it still banana?" His question makes me laugh in spite of the frustration I feel with every passing moment and I pull his hands open to find zip ties. I'd be giggling if I weren't so ready for him to take control. I put my hands up to the headboard and turn my wrists together.

"I haven't said it yet, Anthony." His sudden rush to pull the ties around my hands is making my heart race and at the sound of the clicking and the feel of tension in my arms, I'm already semi-regretting not teaching him how to tie the knots first. However, I can hardly keep my mind on that and soon Anthony unleashes a side of him I didn't expect.

A couple of hours later, I'm resting against his chest, the cool air in the house finally feeling cold again as I rub my hands. 

"Tomorrow you get a lesson in tying knots. Those zip ties are going to leave marks on my wrists." I can hear him mumble an apology as I pinch him.

"Ow! I said I'm sorry!"

"I never asked you to apologize, silly."

He pulls me closer into a hug and then faces me away from him, tucking his face between my shoulders as he wraps his legs between mine. "Teach me other stuff, too." I can feel the heat from his face and I smile.

"So you like my kinky stuff after all?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"Hmmm, what?"

"Don't make me say it again." The hairs on my neck stand up as he whispers against my back, his breath running along my skin. How unfair.

Nightfall comes faster than I expect these days and although it is only around eight in the evening, I'm dozing off to the sound of Anthony snoring. It's pleasant to have someone who will not only respect my wants, but also respect my boundaries. The lights go out in my mind and I drift off.

---

It's morning again and when I get up Anthony is not here. I drop my feet down the stairs to find him in the kitchen as normal. Once I make it to the bottom, he's holding out a cup of coffee. He's smart. When I sit down, there's fruit and oatmeal on the counter, beside orange juice and a small bowl of yogurt. I don't remember tasting the food as I shoveled it into my face. He drops an envelope addressed to me on the counter, the signature scrawl so obvious.

"You read it, tell me if it says something other than goodbye or I'm leaving." As Anthony reads, his brows pull together so close that you could easily remove the s from brows. He frowns, shaking his head and tossing the letter in the garbage.

"I'm leaving. I love you. I'll see you when you come back." The sour grimace on his face deepens as he turns to the sink and rinses his coffee cup out, reaching for a glass of orange juice.

"I'm not leaving you for him, so stop thinking that." His face lightens a shade before he frowns even harder. 

"Do you think he's going to keep causing trouble in town to make you come back or is he really leaving?"

"Whatever he is doing, I'm not leaving you for him." The need to reassure him is on impulse. I'm not sure if it is the look on his face that urges me to do it or if it's because what he's thinking is almost always written across his face, but when I say it the third time, his frown softens and he stretches. 

"I'm going to the gym for a little while. Do you want anything in town or do you want to come with me?"

I shake my head shooing him on as I fill my coffee cup. The nature of Captain is uncertain. He's like a wildfire, contained at some point, but then wild and out of control the next, destroying everything in its path. I call Beth, looking for idle chatter to lighten the mood.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Beth. It's Dante. Are you busy?"

"Baby, I've got four kids and a husband. That makes five kids when it comes to him. I'm always busy- shut up Roger, for the love of- I am on the phone, can you not see?"

"You sound really tied up." I laugh at this joke, although an inside joke, she laughs too. Hah. Double meanings. 

"Sweetie, what's on your mind?"

"I want to do something for Anthony. He's not only given me a house, but he's helped me fix it with my own money from buying it. He's given me a home and a family and a load of friends. I don't know what to give him."

"Sweetie, I have just the thing. He'll love it. Come over to my house later and I'll show you what I've got. Until then, I have to put these heathens into line or I'll go mad!"

When we hang up, I feel even better. Now I've got a solid lead as Christmas approaches. I bounce down the front steps, grabbing my keys and sliding into the car as I contemplate whether to get him two gifts since his birthday is Christmas Eve. As I fumble with the keys, I hum to myself.

Making it to Beth's house was easy, making it through her children was another story. As I tried to plow through their toys, they built their second line of defense, a fully launched assault on my body, catapulting themselves into me while screaming my name in a manner more affectionate than I expected from little children shaped cannonballs. 

"Hey, Roger." His grunt could be heard through the kitchen and into the hallway as I pulled the little monkeys along with me while they climbed up my legs.

"Beth, I think your barrel for these little monkeys is missing."

"Oh, it's not missing, sugar. It's marinating another baby and they don't fit anymore. Trust me, I'd love to give them back sometimes." She turns to her kids, brushing them off of me as she tells them that their dad wants to play. They go running through the house and suddenly you hear a loud grunt as surely they are jumping all over him like a playground.

"I have your solution to his gift. When the house was cleaned out, he didn't want any of the stuff. He tried to throw it all away. Almost the entire house was packed up by room and tossed into these boxes. I kept them because I thought maybe one day he would like to have them back. I think that day is coming and you're just the person to give them to him. You're on your own for Christmas, but for his birthday, you should bring him some of his brother's things. Some of his mother's things. He'll be so happy."

As I sorted through everything, there were so many options.