Andy Squared (15 page)

Andrew glanced over at him as he turned the key in the ignition.
First Christmas
. He'd never had a first Christmas with anyone. He'd never had a first holiday with anyone. He smiled to himself as he backed out of the space.
If we have a first Christmas, are we going to have another first holiday?

Andrew arrived at the dance with Karina at seven thirty. He had picked her up at six and headed to the Italian restaurant in the center of town and met everyone else there. It seemed like half the school population decided to go there before the dance because hardly any seats remained open. They couldn't find ten seats together, but they were close enough that they could lean over and talk without interrupting too many people around them. Even then, half the time the other tables got into their conversations anyway. Relief flowed through Andrew when they all got up to leave for the dance.

Karina looked beautiful in her knee-length, cream-colored dress. Held up with three thin straps on each shoulder, it went well with her darker skin. She'd pulled her hair up high on her head and a few curls escaped to frame her face. She was thin and tall, nearly his height, and most of it leg. Holding out his arm like a gentleman, he gave her a goofy grin and led her into the dance. She laughed and shook her head.

“I'm glad I said yes. I would be missing a hell of a party,” she said, and Andrew agreed.

Though the cafeteria had been decorated before, it looked completely different without the harsh white lights on. The long tables had been packed away, and only a few of the round ones remained around the edges of the dance floor. Against the wall were chairs for students to sit on when they decided they'd had enough dancing. A strobe light reflected above the DJ, throwing bright patterns on the floor. The snowflake motif repeated in cut-outs and banners around the room. A few groups of chaperones were huddled here and there around the floor, keeping a close eye on the students.

An arm wrapped around Andrew's shoulder and he looked up to see Ryder grinning widely. “So this is how y'all party up here, eh?”

Melissa stood next to him in a simple black dress that went just past her knees. It had a small sash around the waist that tied in a bow at the back. She looked around a bit nervously, with Ryder's other arm secure around her waist. Andrew noticed she wasn't wearing her glasses.

“Contacts?” he asked, and she blinked up at him in surprise.

“Oh, yes,” she said so softly Andrew had to strain to hear her.

“I love your dress,” Karina said with a gentle smile. Melissa returned it and they moved off to the side to talk to each other.

“Guess they know each other,” said Ryder with a shrug. Andrew nodded.

The music changed and soon the girls dragged them onto the dance floor. Andrea and her date, along with Charlie and Sarah, popped up next to them seconds later. They all moved to the music, their bodies close and swaying together with the beat. Melissa's discomfort faded quickly with Ryder, and she livened up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and letting him rest his hands at her waist or on the small of her back. Karina and Andrew danced apart for a while, until she turned, fitting her back against his chest. Because of Andrew and Karina's nearly identical height, the girls traded partners, eliminating the awkward difference.

“Maybe I should have come with Ryder,” Karina teased. “You short boys are seriously lacking.”

“I'm wounded,” Andrew replied jokingly, holding on only tighter to Melissa, who visibly blushed even in the low lights.

The four of them danced through three more songs with a techno beat, the girls dancing between the boys. Every so often Andrew caught Ryder's gaze and held it. Ryder's eyes were heated, but he continued to dance, entrancing Andrew even more. His movements were fluid, just like when he rode Cobalt.
I wonder where else he can move like that
, Andrew wondered and had to stop that train of thought quickly. Even though he was starting to sweat from the heat in the room, his face flushed for other reasons.

When the music turned slow, the girls switched back to their original dates and danced with them. As Andrew moved in a slow circle with Karina, his hands secure around her waist, he caught a glimpse of Ryder watching him. As their eyes met, his expression turned serious once again, almost burning through him. Andrew held his stare when the song ended. With a barely perceptible movement, Ryder nodded toward the door. Andrew flicked his eyes over to confirm it and stepped away from Karina.

“Where you going?” she asked.

“I'll be back in a few. I've gotta get some air.” He reached up to wipe his sweaty forehead and she wrinkled her nose. She and Melissa were soon lost in the crowd when he stepped toward the doors leading into the school hallways.

Andrew and Ryder waved to the teacher standing watch at the door and slipped off down the hall. They could still hear the music, and it echoed in the dark, empty corridors. When they reached the end, Ryder grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows, pushed him against the wall and kissed him hard. Andrew returned the kiss just as eagerly, forgetting for the moment that they were in the school and just a few feet away were all their friends and classmates.

When Ryder pulled back, Andrew struggled to catch his breath. At some point during the kiss, his arms had wrapped around Ryder's shoulders and pulled him closer, and Ryder's arms were slipped around his waist.

“We have to go back before they miss us,” Andrew whispered between kisses.

“I know.” Leaning close to Andrew's ear, Ryder whispered, “Come back to my place tonight.”

Andrew reached up and brushed a hand against his forehead, brushing away a droplet of sweat and nodded. His heart pounded and blood raced through his body, making it hard for him to think clearly.
Back to Ryder's place tonight.
Images flashed through his mind, none staying long enough for him to grasp fully, but the intent in them was clear enough. Andrew found it suddenly harder to breathe and his palms tingled. His closed his fingers, making a tight fist to dig his nails into his sensitive skin and fight off the sensation. Ryder must have noticed because his lips suddenly quirked up in a smile. Those green eyes caught the little light there was and reflected back at Andrew.

Before Ryder could say anything more, Andrew pulled him back for another kiss, pushed him away, then hurried back toward the cafeteria.

*

Karina saw Andrew and waved him over, holding a bottle of water out to him. “Here. I got you water. You look like you could use it.”

“Thanks,” he said as he snagged the bottle and took a deep drink from it. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned half his shirt to help cool off. Karina nudged him and pointed.

“Looks like Sarah and Charlie are getting along just fine now.”

He followed her finger and nodded. “They always got along fine before anyway.” He shrugged. The pair stood off in the corner, arms and lips locked on each other.

“Not like that.”

“No, not like that.”

The dance ended at eleven, and the students lingered in the parking lot by their cars. Despite the cold air, they were without their jackets; they were still sweating from all the packed bodies dancing in the enclosed space. Andrew leaned up against his truck where he had parked it next to Ryder's borrowed car.

“So what are we doing? Going to the diner?” Charlie asked.

“Are you nuts? It'll be packed,” Andrew said.

“Well, I've gotta get Melissa home, so I'm out,” Ryder added.

“And I have a family thing tomorrow morning,” said Karina, making a face. “Can you take me home, Andy?”

“Sure.”

“After you drop her off stop by my place, Andy,” Ryder said, waving as he opened the door for Melissa.

Andrew nodded, trying to act cool though his heart raced. “You set for your ride, Andrea?”

“Yeah, Michael's going to take me home,” Andrea replied with a wink. She held a finger up to her lips and Andrew nodded. Of course he wouldn't tell. She stretched and waved to everyone else. Michael waited at his car for her and climbed in as soon as she started toward him.

Andrew slid into the cab next to Karina, tossed the tie between them, and backed out of the parking spot to join the line of cars waiting to leave. Next to him, Karina stayed silent and watched the people passing by the truck. She waved a few times to some of her friends as they passed.

“Thanks for inviting me, Andy. I had a great time,” she said after they pulled out of the lot and turned toward her side of town.

“Me too,” he admitted, smiling. He turned the heat on as soon as the truck had warmed, and they stopped shivering seconds later when the hot air hit them.

“Ahh, that's better.”

“That's the one really shitty thing about this truck. That and the radio, or so Ryder says.”

Karina laughed and pointed out a shortcut down one of the service roads that ran through a farmer's field. “Mr. Jones doesn't mind us using it. He keeps it plowed in the winter. Just as long as we don't go off it or race he says we can keep using it,” she said when Andrew hesitated. He turned onto the field and turned his high beams on.

All the lights were off in the house when they pulled up, and no cars were in the driveway. Andrew put the truck in park and waited for Karina to get out, but when she didn't, he figured she was waiting for him to walk her to the door. He reached out to open his door but her hand on his leg stopped him. He glanced over at her and realized how close she had moved toward him.

“Karina?”

“Shh,” she whispered and stretched up, giving him a soft kiss. Her lips were smooth and warm against his, different from what he'd grown used to in the past weeks. He pulled back and gently pushed her away. “Come inside with me?”

“Karina, I can't…”

She tilted her head, eyes pinning him with a stare, forcing him to shift uncomfortably.

“It's not that I don't appreciate the offer,” he stammered, looking out the window. “It's just—”

“It's Ryder, isn't it?”

“What?” Head snapping around, he turned to look at her and nearly gave himself whiplash in his surprise. He tried to cover his reaction and not panic. “What about Ryder?”

“The reason you won't come inside. I'm right, aren't I?”

Inside, Andrew knew he should deny everything, act like it was nothing, maybe look horrified by what she implied, but he couldn't. He just sat there and stared at her, then looked back out the window.

His silence answered everything. “I figured.” She slid across the seat and pushed the door open.

“What made you ask that?”

Karina turned to him and shut the door again, her smile soft and pleasant. He wondered briefly if it was an act and if he'd suffer the consequences later. Her next words proved that wrong.

“You haven't been with anyone in over a month—”

“That doesn't mean anything,” Andrew argued.

“I'm not finished. You haven't been with anyone in over a month and you're
never
without a girlfriend. In all the time I've known you, you've bounced around so often it's hard to keep up with you. You're always hanging out with him—”

“I always hang out with Charlie, too.”

Karina sighed and leveled a glare at him. “Can I finish, please?”

“Sorry.”

“Thank you. There's that, and the way he always has to touch you. The way he looks at you and the way you look at him. I don't think you even realize what you're doing. You're completely unaware of yourself. When you left the dance for a few minutes with him, you came back and acted all jumpy.”

“Just from all that you figured it out?”

“It was a hunch, and I see the two of you every day in class. I figured you were different a long time ago, anyway. You never act comfortable with your flavor of the week. I guess you hadn't found what you'd wanted because you were looking in all the wrong places, huh?”

Andrew nodded, staring straight out the windshield. “I guess you're right, but I didn't know. I mean Ryder's the first! I didn't even think…” He trailed off.

She smiled again and patted his arm. “I won't tell anyone, I promise. Don't worry about it. You're not
too
obvious. I only noticed because I have the eyes of a hawk and see everything.” She tapped the side of her face for emphasis and scrunched up her eyes and nose.

Andrew chuckled softly and she winked and closed the distance between them again and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks again, Andy.”

The car door opened and admitted a blast of cold air. She shivered violently in her jacket and turned back to him one more time. “And don't you dare back out on whatever Ryder offers you tonight just because I know about you two. I'll ask him, and if he says nothing happened, I'll kick your ass.” Karina shut the door and made her way to her porch. Once she was inside with the door shut and the lights on, Andrew backed out of the driveway and headed for Ryder's house.

Twice he nearly lost his nerve and turned around to go home, but something Karina had said changed his mind, and he kept on driving.
She knows and she isn't freaked out by it. She knows and I don't feel as bad as I thought I would. And she's not going to tell a single person.
He smiled and pressed his foot a little harder on the gas. He felt good, relieved almost, to have someone know his and Ryder's secret. And though he was nervous about what—if anything—would happen tonight, Ryder waited for him.

Ryder had the door open for Andrew before he had to knock. He looked questioningly at the empty driveway and then back at Ryder.

“Aunt Lisa left a note. Some friend of hers from college is in town and she went out with Uncle Kyle to meet up with her. Said they'd be out until one or so, and to make sure I locked everything up before I went to bed.”