Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Lots of times when they hung out, they did it at the creek. They’d sit in the water and talk or skip rocks or whatever. Sometimes August did his homework there, and he talked to Clint about animals, which made Clint fall in love with them just because August’s passion was contagious.
When they got into eighth grade, they didn’t hang out quite as much. Clint started noticing girls a whole lot more. They were pretty and soft and he thought about touching them and kissing them—not in a creepy way, of course. He just really, really liked them, and August never talked about things like girls.
August met some friends of his own, people who liked to do their own thing. Clint’s friends thought they were weird, and August’s friends thought Clint’s were asshole jocks, but neither affected Clint and August. They’d still meet up at the creek, or sometimes Clint would go to August’s house.
The first day of summer after eighth grade, August called him and asked if Clint wanted to meet him at the creek.
Clint was supposed to hang out with one of his other buddies and two girls they both liked, but he could tell something was up with August. His voice didn’t sound right, so Clint told him yeah, and they met, both of them getting wet, sitting in the water with their feet hanging over the rock wall. Clint waited because he knew August had something to say, and sometimes it took him a while to get things out.
“We’re moving,” August finally said.
Clint froze. “Where to?”
“Florida. My mom met this guy… It’s been hard for her since my dad left, ya know? And this guy is nice and he asked her to marry him.”
“How’d she meet a guy in Florida?”
“It’s where my grandma is, so when we visited, she would talk to him. I didn’t know they were dating or whatever, which is weird to think about my mom doing.”
Clint chuckled, but he felt strange inside, like there was a weight there, trying to pull him down.
“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you. We’re leaving in a week. Mom’s been packing. We’re driving.”
Clint tried to find words, but nothing would come out. The weight just kept getting heavier and heavier. He’d never had a friend move away before. Was that why this felt so devastating? So final? So much like he didn’t know how he would keep breathing or like he would never feel happy again?
August added, “You’re my best friend, so…”
“You’re mine too,” Clint answered, because even though they didn’t hang out as much as he hung out with other people, Clint felt like he could be himself around August more than with anyone else. He never had to pretend. August didn’t care if Clint was cool or if sometimes he got a little emotional, when other guys talked shit about boys who did. He didn’t care that Clint wasn’t as smart as he was and didn’t want to go to college because school wasn’t his thing.
And when August turned to look at him, Clint felt a bolt of lightning shoot through his veins, then a warmth fill his gut. But it wasn’t until August licked his lips and Clint felt like there were butterflies in his belly that he realized it was the same way he felt when he looked at a girl he liked…sort of wobbly and like he wondered what their mouth tasted like.
They were close. He could feel the warmth of August’s arm against his and the heat from his body. He could smell the sweat on his skin because it was hot and muggy, and he figured August could smell his too. There was dirt smudged on his face and under his nails.
But none of that mattered because he really wanted to kiss August. He wanted to kiss a boy. Which confused him. He liked girls and wanted to kiss them, but clearly he wanted to kiss August as well. That wasn’t the kind of thing people talked about around there, and if they did, it was usually calling a man a mean name because he liked boys instead of girls.
August was looking at him, and he felt August’s breath on his face. He wondered if August wanted to kiss him too, and if it was only boys for him, or boys and girls, or if he would be totally grossed out if he knew what Clint was thinking.
Before he could sort through what to do, August was leaning in and pressing his mouth to Clint’s. August was little, but Clint thought maybe he was the bravest person he knew.
When Clint didn’t move right away, August pulled back. “Sorry. I…sorry.”
He tried to stand, but Clint grabbed his hand. “No, don’t go.”
They both moved toward each other that time. Their lips met in soft kisses, one, then another and another. Then Clint used his tongue the way he’d seen other people do. He hadn’t even kissed a girl like that yet, but August didn’t pull back, their tongues trying to figure out what to do together. He tasted like sherbet and sunshine and…wow, Clint really liked kissing boys.