Chapter 6

• After Emerson’s confession, a tense, awkward silence followed. And William immediately let his hands fall off Emerson’s body.
• Emerson got off the bed and found his clothes neatly folded on the nightstand. He made haste to put them on, standing at a safe distance from the bed and the boy on it.
• “Breakfast?” William asked, his voice coming out raspy.
• Emerson blocked out all the voices that scream at him to reject the offer, and gave a single nod. Hands buried in his pants pockets. William eyed him but remained silent, he got off the bed and led them out of his room.
• Everywhere Emerson gaze on was either painted in white or black, a series of pendant lights illuminated their way down the wooden stairs. The living area floor consisted of polished hardwood, much like William’s room, large floor-to-ceiling windows lined the walls allowing natural light to flood into the space.
• A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling illuminating the area with warm ambient lighting that reflected off plush sofas and armchairs.
• “Lights.” William said immediately they stepped into the kitchen and the lights came on.
• “Whoa!” Emerson exclaimed.
• The kitchen was no less impressive than the living area, a long island crafted from marbles sat at the center, dividing the kitchen into two parts.
• He noticed how quiet the house was, William saw the look on his face and it was as if he read his mind.
• “Oh…don’t worry, my parents are probably at work.” He said. He tilted his head toward the ceiling listening. “Yeah, we’re definitely alone.”
• “Working on weekends?”
• “Yeah, they are rarely home.” William glanced over his shoulder at Emerson as he made his way toward the walk-in pantry tucked behind a cabinet.
• Emerson looked around marveled. “And you’re home alone all the time?”
• William just shrugged. “After a while you get used to it.” He said disappearing into the pantry.
• “What would you like?” William asked. “ I could try to make us something, if you don’t mind.”
• “You know how to cook?” Emerson asked, entirely surprised by that.
• William’s head poked out through the pantry door and gave Emerson a sheepish smile. “I could manage a few meals.” He answered.
• Emerson nodded excessively, tearing his eyes off William. “Pancakes then?”
• “Okay…pancakes it is.”
• He sat down on a stool by the island watching William. William hummed a tune as he got to work getting their meal ready. Putting the first batch of batter into the pan, he cut Emerson's intense focus on him. “What?”
• “Nothing.” Emerson answered, he placed his elbow on the island and watched as William nervously tucked locks of hair behind his ears and shuffled on his feet.
• Emerson found himself smiling, captivated by William's nervous action. He let himself stare without consequences, watching as William who still remained shirtless made him breakfast.
• Along the line, William got distracted, and they both found themselves staring at the other. William with a giddy smile on his face and Emerson just trying to be in the moment.
• “Is it supposed to do that?” Emerson asked, pointing at the smoke filled pan.
• “Oh crap.” William hurriedly turned off the gas but the pancakes were beyond salvaging. “This is your fault.”
• “My fault,” Emerson repeated, “How is this my fault, I didn’t do anything.”
• “You kept staring at me.” Williams deadpan, like that was enough reason to have their breakfast burnt.
• “What does that have to do with burning the pancake? You said you could cook.”
• “And I can! You…you’re the one who distracted me with those…those eyes.”
• Emerson gave him a dead fish stare before blindly looking around. “Okay.” He said, pulling out his phone and typing rapidly.
• “What are you doing?”
• “Goggling how to make pancakes.”
• “Put that away, I know what I am doing.” William said, irritated clear in his voice.
• “Really?” Emerson drew, raising a challenging brow. “Because that shrunk up…substance over there doesn’t look edible.”
• William’s cheeks colored with embarrassment. He wanted to impress Emerson with his cooking skills. He turned his back to him facing his burnt failure. “One more word Emerson...and I would smother you with this pan.”
• Emerson raised his hands in surrender and made a motion of zipping his mouth and discarding the key. He found himself oddly at ease around William, and although William burnt the first batch of pancakes, the rest came out perfectly.
• “So what do you do with your free time?” William raised the conversation again while they dug into their meal.
• For a brief moment, Emerson thought about his father and how he wasn’t really allowed to have a life that wasn’t mapped out for him.
• “Practice takes up most of my free time, I usually just stay home or hangout with the guys…well most of the time it’s just Mason and I.”
• A sour look came across William’s face, he immediately tried to mask it but failed.
• “What?” Emerson asked with his hand covering his mouth filled with food.
• “You’re really close with Rivers huh?”
• Emerson gulped down his food, interest peaked at his best friend's name. “Yes…” he answered slowly, “…what about Mason?”
• William sighed and looked away, his brain searching for a suitable way to express himself. He would prefer not to have this conversation, at least not now. “We had a few…disputes that’s all.”
• “Dispute…?” confusion was written over Emerson features. Emerson was almost sure Mason did not interact with William, much less had a disagreement. But then he recalled when Mason spoke to Emma after their game, William had been present then.
• He pushed all thought away, asking instead. “What about?”
• “Let’s just say, he isn’t very fond of guys like me.” A heavy sigh escaped his lips when Emerson's confusion only grew. “Okay.” William said tentatively, “I’ll rephrase. He isn’t very fond of boys that like other boys.”
• Several seconds passed by before William’s words registered and Emerson let out a strangled “Oh.”
• “Yeah...” William's voice was quiet, low even. He couldn’t hold Emerson's gaze so he opted to stare down at his food. Unsure of what he would do, if Emerson was like Mason, and would show contempt or disgust for him. He frowned, but his voice was light when he spoke. “You’re not going to break my head against my counter now are you?”
• A strange feeling engulfed Emerson, he was suddenly angry, angry that any one would even try to hurt William in any way. Angry that William would be so nervous to talk to him because he thought he would hurt him. He knew what it felt like to be hated for being…different, he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
• “No.” Emerson breathed out.
• William peeked up at him through long lashes and Emerson's stomach tightened in knots.
• “No?”
• “No.”
• William released a deep breath. A smile slowly formed on his lips. “Good, cause I really like you.”
• Emerson choked on air. “Wh-ho-I…i-uhm, I'm not…I mean...”
• “You’re not gay...” William supplied a smile. “Yeah, you've said that before, I’m still going to pursue you though.”
• Emerson's heart was beating very harshly against his ribcage. He looked to his side to hide the hint of blush on his cheek. “It’s a lost cause,” He muttered, sparing William a brief glance.
• “I’ll be the judge of that.” William winked at him.
• Although he was reminded of his father’s stand on his sexuality he wasn’t opposed to William’s ideas. He was going to see just what William’s plan was.
• The two ended up finishing their breakfast and settled in the comfort of the living area, the curtains were drawn shut plunging the room in darkness, as a random movie played. During the course of the movie the two boys were situated closer on the sofas so close their knees touched.
• The room was dark save for the light of the tv casting a glow on William’s pale skin. Emerson would occasionally glance at William through his peripherals, only to find William was engrossed in the movie.
• His eyes trailed slowly from William’s neck down his slender bare torso, the gentle rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took, to the mild abs and further down his pj pants. He still contemplated what William said earlier about pursuing him, does that mean he wants us to be boyfriend? No, no, no, no, there was no way that was possible. The thought continued to plague Emerson until it became unbearable he blurted out the thing that came to mind.
• “Earlier, you mentioned…about pursuing me.” Emerson shifted on the couch. “Why?”
• “Like I said before, I like you, I really do...” William paused for a while and tilted his head at Emerson before he continued. “and…and I would really love for you to be my boyfriend.”
• Emerson still didn’t understand, he couldn’t comprehend why William, as beautiful as he was, would want him.
• “But Why?” he pressed further.
• “Why not?” That did nothing but spike new feelings within Emerson. Even without looking, he knew William's gaze was fixated on him, so he fired his own question.
• “Have you been in a relationship with another boy?
• William’s eyes returned to the screen, a distant look overtaking his feature. “A few.” He answered. Emerson felt jealousy flare in his chest, his brain immediately conjured up different provocative images of William embracing different partners. But he tucked those feelings away.
• “How does that work?” Why did Emerson even bother with these questions? He summed it off as being curious, that way he wouldn’t have to deal with these feelings he couldn’t identify.
• William turned so he was fully facing Emerson, he thought about it for a second before answering in a quiet voice. “It works the same as other relationships, you get to be with the person you like…go on dates…hold hands...” William brushed his pinky against Emerson’s and Emerson watch as he interlocked them, engrossed by the contrast between their skins. “…make out…” Emerson immediately withdrew his hand and cleared his throat. “Why?” William asked, so low that Emerson almost missed it.
• “I…uh… I was just asking.” He said.
• “You’re oddly curious for someone who claims not to be gay.” William teased, trying to make light of the situation.
• “Shut up.” Emerson said, nudging William’s shoulder as he got up, wanting to create distance between them.
• “Hey, careful!” William exclaimed. Smoothing the ache, he gave Emerson a toothy grin. “You’re going to damage this temple.”
• Emerson stared down at him, he didn’t question the urge and went with it, smacking William again harder this time. He went for it again but William dodged it, grabbed Emerson’s arm and pulled him down. His breath left him, eyes closed during the fall and when he opened them they were met with luminous eyes staring back at him. The fall situated him between William's legs.
• Emerson felt William's warmth through his shirt, he subconsciously pressed down on William, drawing a reaction that set his core on fire. William’s eyes fluttered close, as a groan escaped his parted lips.
• Something was set loose in Emerson, he could feel it. He wanted to hear that again, no, he wanted to be the reason behind every groan or moan that left those lips, consequences be damned. The feeling doubled when those amber eyes cracked open, clouded with lust.
• A vibration broke the spell, bringing both boys to reality. Emerson turned in time to see his phone discarded on the table lit up with his younger brother's name on display.
• “Hello,”
• “Emerson! Where the hell have you been?”
• “What’s wrong?” Emerson asked, getting off William.
• “Did you not get any of my texts?” Benjamin whispered through the phone.
• “No, I…” Emerson found William gaze. “I haven’t had the time to check, look, can't you just tell me what’s going on?”
• “Dad’s furious, that’s what! Come home–” The call ended with a click. Emerson immediately checked his phone and found a series of missed calls from his parents. His heart stopped beating and he just stared blankly at his phone.
• “I need to go.” He announced, almost stumbling on his way out. William's voice blended with the background lost to him. When he was safely seated in his car Emerson drove on autopilot toward his home.