Page 87 of Catching Sparkles

Relieved, I let myself relax a bit in the seat. “Thank you. I think you might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Sparkles.”

When I let myself glance over to him one more time, the smile carved across his mouth was painfully adorable. And now I was the one that had to keep from launching across the console at him.

“Not to be conceited, but I think I might be, too.”

Laughing, I punched the gas to pass a yellow light just before it turned red. “Alright, I’m taking you home. You look like you’re in serious need of cuddles.”

“Oh, um, wait!” He said, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. “I know today’s already been a lot, but… there’s something I’ve been wanting to do. And I don’t think I want to do it alone.”

“Whatever you need.”

“You know that empty lot in your parents’ neighborhood?”

“Yeah?” Sometimes people would bring picnic stuff over there, or kids would play in it.

“Can you just park there?”

“Uh, sure. Why do you want to go there?”

“I want to walk over to the house on Mulberry. There’s something I need to get, but we’re not really supposed to be there, so…”

“Got it.”

The daylight was almost completely gone, and that neighborhood was really quiet at night. It was highly unlikely we’d be seen or run into any issues sneaking a few properties over to the spooky house. By the time I pulled into the back corner of the empty lot, the sun had completely set, all the fiery warmth drowned out by the inky, star-dotted sky.

We silently made our way over to the abandoned house, dodging the pools of lights from the street lamps. I didn’t think anyone would call the cops on us if they saw us, and if they did I highly doubted Sheriff Henderson would make a big fuss about it, but it would be kind of embarrassing to be caught sneaking into this place at 28 and 24 years of age.

When we finally got into the yard, Kendall led me around to the back of the house and showed me a tiny window down below the soil line that must have led into the basement of the house. It would only be reachable by lowering down into the window well, pushing it up and squeezing through the minuscule opening.

“Ah… There’s no way I’m fitting in there,” I informed him quietly, eyeing it hesitantly. The last thing I wanted was to get stuck halfway with my ass hanging out like Winnie the Pooh when he’d gorged on too much of Rabbit’s honey.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting you to go inside,” he responded, giggling a little. “I should still be able to fit. I haven’t grown too much.”

“You probably stunted your growth with all that caffeine you used to guzzle,” I remarked, thinking about all the Saturday mornings he and my brother would spend in front of the TV chugging sodas. It was weird, thinking about how that twerpy little bean pole and the toned, pretty-faced model next to me were the same person.

“Probably. Well, it all worked out,” he sighed. “My subscribers are totally into the twink thing.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” I said, trying to keep the dryness out of my voice.

I’d made the mistake of checking out some of his social media accounts a few weeks earlier, making myself totally jealous in the process. His comments were flooded with flirtatious compliments and pleas for him to make another account for spicier content, especially on the posts that were less baking-centric and more about him personally. He’d laughed at me when he’d realized I’d been jealous of the attention, but he’d soothed the sting by putting his thighs around my waist and letting me fuck him against the wall while assuring me that my dick was the longest, thickest, and best he’d ever had. The obsessive creeps online would never get to have him like I had him.

“Okay, you just wait here for me,” he ordered, before sitting on the lip of the well and then hopping down. There was a boulder in the corner that I imagined he’d use to scramble back up to ground level once he got out.

“Ah, what if something happens?” I asked, suddenly nervous. I wouldn’t be able to see him or reach him if he ended up getting hurt. “It’s pitch black in there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this a billion times,” he assured me. “Plus, I have my phone light.”

“What are you getting, anyway?”

He laughed a little, nervously twirling a loose strand of his rosy hair around his finger. From up here, he looked even smaller. “Um, I’m not sure if I want to tell you yet.”

“What!?” I asked, eyes popping wide. Was it something dangerous, like a gun? Had he been keeping it for protection, but hiding it here?

“I’m kidding,” he assured me, wincing a bit at my response. “Mostly. It’s just kind of embarrassing. Hang tight, okay?”

And then he pushed the window up and wriggled through, lithe as a slippery otter.

I strained my ears to listen, but when I realized I couldn’t hear anything from inside, good or bad, I decided to look around a bit and distract myself from visions of Kendall tripping and shattering his leg in the darkness. At least I could see his light bobbing around through a window here and there.