It’s hard to leave, but Dante has to stop by
the skate shop on his way home to pick up a new blade cover and he
should really get some sleep if he’s going to be at his best
tomorrow. Ryan sees him to the door, much to Mrs. Talonovich’s
surprise—she’s used to her son being uncooperative and moody after
therapy, not this laughing boy who lets Dante push his wheelchair
onto the porch. “She’s watching us,” Dante says, nodding at the bay
window in the sitting room. The lace curtains ruffle closed.
“I’d say kiss me but that might give
her a heart attack,” Ryan jokes. Still, he frowns at him—Dante’s on
one of the porch steps so he’s eye-level with his boyfriend—and
it’s written in his face, he wants another kiss, which will
lead to another, and another, and Dante will never get home.
