Entering the kitchen, Gary saw Danny at the table staring off into space, his textbooks open in front of him.
Gary took the chair next to his friend. Quietly he said, “You and me kind of grew up in this room didn’t we?”
Even when he was a small child, Gary wanted to be in this house with Danny and Neil rather than at home with his own parents.
Danny didn’t say anything.
“You told me about the first girl you kissed,” Gary broke the silence. “Gemma Williamson. It was behind the bike sheds. Remember?”
“It was behind the gym.”
“Oh, okay.”
“And you told me in this room that you didn’t want to kiss any girls.”
Gary smiled.
“Did you want to kiss Dad?”
Gary shook his head. “Not then. All I knew was I didn’t want to kiss girls. They were silly, giggly and…” He sighed. “Knowing I was g
