"That is one seriously big fence."
"I know," Court responded, "Keith was telling me that the oldest daughter of the preacher who built this place had a tendency to pull all Lady Godiva."
"Lady Godiva?"
"We'll wiki it later."
Mikale pulled the backpack out of the hatchback and slammed the trunk. The clink of the unhindered beer cans made him worry they might be worrying the evening's libations. He felt the bag and informally checked the temperature.
"You know Keith Tremain? Is that who's house this is? I wondered why his mother was dropping him off every morning at school."
"Yeah, Mizz Tremain," Court explained, emphasing the 'Z' sound, "didn't want him to change schools in the middle of his senior year, with being on the swim team and all."
"Ummm. Swim Team." Mikale rubbed Court's stomach.
"Dude, don't, wait until we're inside."
"You see people? There's nothing out here."
The inside of the house had settled some since Court got the grand tour last week. Keith and his mom had trusted him with taking care of the animals several times before, the two boys were friends since elementary. No one was surprised at all that Court was willing to make the trip all the way out to the new house.
And Court used the rumor of the house to be haunted to tempt the lead of the school musical for a night out. The ruse was great. Keith had said some weird stuff was happening, but Keith was never any good at texts and emails. If Court wanted more of a story, he had to sit next to Keith.
Court lacked awareness that Keith suspected that he was dating anyone. The closet Court and Mikale had many layers. Surely, everyone at school knew about the male lead. He was not necessarily flamboyant a talent one would suspect, but society had opened up to him and he was comfortable enough to be himself in the pressures of high school.
The beer was cleaned quickly enough and Court kept the lights low, in part for mood and in part since he was not sure where all the lamp switches were. They were old pieces of work, a press-button system and were just waiting to electrocute the next one.
Court was not wasted on the details of the house; if this was a haunted place, it had all the trappings. Toile. Thick velvet drapes without pull strings. Furniture built directly into the walls.
And a strange attic with some round tower-y thing.
It would be fascinating to explore.
But Court's life was truly taking a turn for the better. The beer had worked its magic in less than three cans. The two had moved to the upstairs spare bedroom. He respected Keith and his mother enough to stay out of their rooms. The thought was creepy, besides. Boxes piled themselves mostly in this room, the necessities already being emptied out of the others. Here lay those things that held purely sentimental value, that would not be touched until they were remembered that they were needed.
Court bowed over Mikale and started to kiss his neck. They both were new at this, so the pleasure decreased due to a bit of unpreparedness. Mikale but his arms back, supporting himself upright, wondering if they should take off their shirts or something. He wondered if thinking about what to do next was meaning that he was distracted. He wondered if being distracted meant that he was nervous. Was he nervous because they were meeting in secret? Was...
...he opened his eyes to glance at his lover's head, now nuzzled into his neck. The soft breath of the both of them was all he could hear and the moment dazzled.
A man was in the doorway. He wore all black and had high cheekbones, as if he had never eaten any kind of food. He looked beyond the two lovers to something beyond the bed, something the two might have missed in their fumbling ecstasy f the moment. Mikale was taken aback and glanced over his shoulder to see what the stranger was staring at before his brain flipped towards focus. He snapped his head back, simultaneously pressing Court back up.
"What? Did I do something wrong?"
"Who the FUCK ARE YOU?"
Court reeled to an empty doorway.
"There's someone in the house!" Mikale stood up and ran for the doorway. Court missed the action and headed out. He thought he heard footsteps and passed Mikale.
Mikale reached for Court's sleeve but missed and started to close the door and reach for his phone.
Court got the nonverbal and looked down the hallway of the upstairs.
Empty. Shadows. A small table with several shoe boxes.
The attic door creaked apart.
"Aw, fuck. It really is haunted."
"Get your ass back in here, I'm calling someone."
"Who?" He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
"Funny," Mikale panted.
"Can you even get a signal?"
Mikale looked down. The battery, three-fourths full prior, was down to one percent. And no signal.
"What did you see?"
"Some pervert watching us. It was, not, not, not what I was expecting. I figured they'd wait until sundown. Not when we're getting out game on."
"It's okay. Just calm down some. We're not alone."
"Where's the dog barking? Where's the cat? Aren't you worried about them?"
"Keith says the cat leaves and the dog?" He walked over to the window. "The dog is, right, ah, there," he pointed, "hiding in the yard."
"Yeah, ghosts kill romance I guess. Can we head downstairs for a bit?"
"Sure," Court opened the door and peeked out. More shadows. He opened it fully and stepped out.
Mikale did not follow.
"Dude, I'm not a romantic fellow, but I know better than to just leave you there. How about some television?"
Mikale nodded from the spare bed.
Court took a deep breath. He had prided himself on not needing the physical necessity of courtship. However, he remembered, others did.
He put out his hand to hold.
Mikale was not quite sure what to do with it.
Holding hands, they made their way downstairs.
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