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As the covers slid down, Alex was exposed ever so briefly before he grabbed his pillow and covered himself. Gavin laughed, and then realized that Alex was horribly embarrassed. Only then did Gavin feel shame, turning red and then mumbling, “Oh, man, sorry. I’ll just go wait outside,” before exiting and shutting the door behind him.

Alex felt humiliated, but he didn’t feel angry except with himself. He was upset that, once again, he hadn’t locked his door. He was going to have to start wearing shorts to bed if he couldn’t remember to do that. This pattern of exposure was getting to be a bit much. Kitty jumped in bed with him – she must’ve come in when Gavin had entered -- so he pet her for a moment, before jumping out of bed and putting some clothes on. He opened the door.

“You can come in.”

“’k. I’m really, really, really, sorry. I was just taking the piss out of you.”

“Huh?” inquired Alex, unfamiliar with the expression.

“Oh. Sorry. It just means to rile someone a little in a not-so-nice way.”

“I see. So that’s what I deserve?”

“No. I’m sorry. I just didn’t think. I was being playful in my own way.”

“I know. I’m just mad at me, and not you. I’ll get over it. Don’t worry.”

“Okay. If you say so. Today’s the big shopping trip?”

“It depends on what you already own, but I don’t think you’ll need much. But needing and wanting aren’t the same. London’s weather is about the same as here this time of year, so you’re probably okay with whatever you already own. You will need at least one set of nice clothes in case we go out somewhere nice or something while we’re there.”

“So it’s going to be hot then?”

“Yes. It’s always hot in late July, especially on the tube, where it will border between insufferable and an act of torture. It can get quite cool at night though, so you’ll still need a jumper or something.”

“I guess I’m ready, but we have to stop and eat unless you’ve brilliantly thought of that, too,” said Alex hopefully.

“No, actually, I know a great place. It’s a greasy-spoon diner, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Good food. Cheap. Copious amounts of grease and cholesterol to keep your blood from moving too quickly.”

“Actually, Gavin, that sounds remarkably good,” enthused Alex, feeling quite a bit better at the thought of lots of thoroughly unhealthy but tasty and filling breakfast food.

“Great! Let’s go eat. Then we’re off to Hillsdale Mall.”

Moments later, they were in Gavin’s car driving down El Camino towards their destination. It wasn’t twenty minutes before they pulled in, and went inside. There wasn’t much of a line and they were seated quickly. Like most diners, it was loud and there were a million things going on at once.

The waitress brought them their menus and they quickly made their selections. Alex ordered one of the combo plates, which included two of everything: eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, and a heaping pile of hash browns. He ordered his eggs scrambled and his bacon and hash browns extra crispy. Gavin ordered a ham and cheese omelette with an English muffin on the side. Gavin took a moment to tell Alex, unnecessarily, that an English muffin wasn’t English and they weren’t even available in England. He wasn’t sure why they were thusly named. Alex was going to respond with a remark about French fries not being French, but the moment passed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, or to be accurate they sat without talking while absorbing the multitude of ambient noises. Finally Gavin, who didn’t like silence, said, “So, what do you want to talk about?” Before Alex could answer, the coffee arrived and they both drowned it in sugar and cream, rendering it closer to coffee ice cream than anything else.

“Why do we have to talk about anything? Not that I’m saying I won’t talk. But a little silence is okay. You don’t always have to be talking about something.”

“You’re right. I know that. But I’ve always been a bit of a chatterbox. Besides, I like you so I want to talk to you.”

“Then pick a topic and start.”

“Have it your way. We’ll talk about parents. I’ll even go first.”

“Awfully nice of you to volunteer like that. Parents, huh? Fine way to ruin an early morning appetite, isn’t it?’

“You’re probably right. I’ll start. Mostly, believe it or not, I get along with my parents. They’re not good parents or bad parents. They’re just parents. They get along okay and mostly leave me alone. Though when I want something they’re usually at odds with me, but I think that’s probably parent versus kid stuff. They really don’t try to run my life or tell me what to do as long as my grades are okay and they know where I am.”

The food arrived and they both dug in like typical teens who appear as if they’ve been starved since birth. Alex waved the waitress down for a coffee refill moments later.

Between bites Alex said, “I guess it’s my turn. My dad and I never got along great. He never knew I was there. He never seemed to care. He was cold, distant, and didn’t seem to have much in the way of emotions. That’s probably part of the reason he and Mom divorced. He’s gotten worse since then. Honestly, though, I don’t care. Why bother to fix it? He obviously doesn’t want a kid. I bet I was an accident, though once I asked Mom and she vehemently denied it. I just find it hard to believe I wasn’t an accident the way he has always treated me.”

Alex resumed eating and then continued. “Mom’s a different story. She has her moments, but mostly she treats me like a person. She’s very old school though. She had a proper upbringing for years and thought being a stay-at-home wife and mother was perfectly normal. She didn’t mind a husband who ruled the home. I can’t say much about that because they never discussed it with me – actually they didn’t discuss much of anything with me. I do what I can to help Mom because I know this change in her life has been hard, and she does try: I’ll give her that. I wouldn’t say we’re friends but I guess I love her as my mother. She means well, but she comes across as formal and straight-laced, which is probably because that’s how she is. A true old-fashioned lady with a world-view and life-view to match.”

“That’s lots of words for you, Alex. At least it seems that way from the few days I’ve known you.”

“A few days. Hard to believe it’s only been a few days. And yet, this very morning you tried to get in my pants.”

“LIES!” shouted Gavin with a smirk on his face, before lowering his voice. “I didn’t try to get into your pants because you weren’t wearing any.”

Alex nearly choked on his food trying to suppress a laugh. “You, sir, are an evil man.”

“Rather. I do try. Anyway, if you’re done, let’s pay and go to yon mall for our supply run.”

“Yeah, sure. We can go,” said Alex taking a last sip of coffee, and grabbing the check before Gavin could. Alex would have been mildly upset if he knew Gavin had left it there to assuage the guilt he’d expressed when Gavin paid for the expensive lunch.

Alex paid while remarking to Gavin, “I can’t believe all that food and it was only $12 with a tip included.”

“Sometimes quantity triumphs over quality and, truth be told, this place isn’t half bad. It’s not the Sunday Brunch at the Swiftwater Café, mind you. But still....”

“Isn’t that at the Hyatt at the airport? I’ve heard good things.”

“The one and the same. I highly recommend it. You haven’t been, obviously. That’s something we’ll have to do one morning. It’s a bit pricey but well worth it.”

“Sounds great. Let’s get this ordeal over with,” said Alex as he got in Gavin’s car.

“Ordeal? Shopping isn’t an ordeal, Alex,” said Gavin as he drove towards the mall.

“Yes it is. Unless you’re shopping for books or CDs, it’s an ordeal. Oh! And electronics. Shopping for electronics is never an ordeal.”

“So some shopping is an ordeal to you?”

“Sort of, yeah. I don’t mind walking through malls just browsing and stuff. Or even walking down a street, window-shopping. I don’t even mind going out shopping for a specific item, but going out in quest of some unspecified item or clothing is sort of boring.”

“Ah, you’re a hard case, son. Maybe we can still fix you, though. Anyway, you don’t need much. So just have fun and if you see something you like, buy it.”

Alex thought for a moment and then thought of his money troubles. He’d look and maybe feign interest in an item or two, but he wouldn’t buy anything. Just because they were promised the debt would be forgiven, didn’t mean it would be done soon. Alex and his mother were still deep in debt. “Okay. I’ll look. But the only thing I really need is a new wallet. I like these Velcro wallets,” Alex said waving his current one at Gavin, “but, as you can see, mine is so ratty the Velcro doesn’t stick any more.”

“See? Now we have a mission.”

“Happy, happy, joy, joy,” muttered Alex half under his breath.

“I love Ren And Stimpy! You have good taste.”

“Of course I do. Once you realize how perfect I am, you will strive to be just like me,” said Alex, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Yes. Once you have enough minions who think that way, we can elect you to President, and then ultimately the ruler of the world. After that perhaps Hegemon of the Universe.”

“Yes. I do like the way you think. That will suit me fine.”

“Right. Okay. Enough. You win. You’ll carry this on forever, won’t you.”

“Of course. It’s part of my charm, Gavin.”

“I don’t believe charm is the word we’re looking for here,” said Gavin as he pulled into a parking space.

“What? You don’t think I’m the most charming person you’ve ever met?”

“Um, probably not. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like you. You certainly have an interesting personality. I’m just pretty sure the word charm isn’t involved. You’re complex, interesting, unique, and very intense.”

“Gavin, how do you like me?” Alex asked with trepidation.

“How? I don’t understand. That’s an odd question.”

“I’m getting so many mixed signals from you, I’m not sure what’s going on. In what way do you like me? I think we need to get past this before we leave for England.”

Gavin looked at Alex, opened his mouth to reply, then stopped. It was a few moments before he spoke, and then he looked away as he did so. “Alex. I’m just not ready to discuss this right now. Please? Can we let it go just for right now? The car park at the mall isn’t exactly the place to discuss it.”

“Okay. I can accept that,” said Alex, not really wanting to let it go. His brain was going into over-analyze mode. “Will you promise that we can finish this topic later?”

“Yes. If that’s what you want, I promise.”

“Good. Let’s go find a wallet,” said Alex, following Gavin into the mall.

They spent a little over an hour walking through the mall. In truth it was far more time than Alex wanted to spend and far less than Gavin wanted to spend, but they both hid their thoughts from each other. Instead of chatting about serious matters, they chatted about normal and safe topics such as music and books.

Alex found a new wallet, embroidered with a No Fear logo. He also bought a pair of cargo pants and a shirt even though he hadn’t planned on making any purchases. He was having fun shopping for once, but he supposed it was more hanging around Gavin that made him happy than the shopping. But he got caught up in it, and felt good.

Gavin bought a number of things, which was remarkable because had to try on everything, something Alex couldn’t understand. Alex knew what size he wore, and that’s what he bought.

Their purchases in hand, they returned to the car and put it all in the trunk. They left the parking lot and Gavin asked, “What now?”

“Well, you do owe me a conversation.”

“Yes, but later. I meant more along the lines of what are we doing next.”

“Home, Jeeves, and we can unload my packages.”

“I see, if that’s what you want. I can drop you off or, if you’d like you can come with me to my house. You’ve not been over yet. You can meet my mum, and it might be a good place to talk.”

“I guess that would be okay,” said Alex hesitantly.

Gavin picked up on it immediately. “Something wrong? Nervous?”

“I don’t like parents a whole lot. Not even other peoples’ parents. I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ve got a phobia.”

“You’re one messed up kid. Everyone’s got problems. Shit, that sounded bad. What I mean is you’ve got a lot of hang-ups. More than most everyone I’ve ever met.”

“If you say so.” Alex knew it was true. He wanted to argue, but he realized that would be pointless. His defence mechanisms led him to the old standby of changing the subject. “So, where do you live?”

“Honestly, not that far from you, just far enough to need a car. Remember the park where we met? Well, I live in the opposite direction from you. It’s about as far as a roundtrip on your bicycle between your house and the park.”

It wasn’t long before they were pulling off a winding road and into Gavin’s driveway. The house wasn’t much bigger than Alex’s but the neighbourhood was considerably nicer in appearance. It had the look of money, Alex thought whereas his own neighbourhood reeked of middle-class.

The house was a two-story Victorian model but not overly large. In fact it was probably one of the smaller ones on the block. Most of the homes had expensive cars in the driveways: Jaguars, Mercedes, BMWs, and Range Rovers. The lawns were flawlessly manicured; everything was bright, shiny, and new looking. In many yards, there were gardeners toiling away, their trucks parked in the streets and not the driveways.

Gavin popped the trunk. Alex grabbed his stuff as well, figuring it would be better to keep it with him in case Gavin’s mother took the car. “You said this was your mum’s car, right? How do you normally get around?”

“Well I’ve got a motorcycle, but I don’t like riding it around here – too many crazy drivers who think you’re fair game. I use public transport. But Mum doesn’t drive much so I can usually borrow the car.”

Gavin opened the door with his keys and shouted. “Mum! I’m home. I’ve brought a guest.”

A very tall, very attractive woman came through a doorway. “Hello, honey. And who is your guest?”

“This is Alexander Maitland,” he said with a gesture and then reversed the gesture and said, “This is my mother, Abigail Michaels.”

“Pleased to meet you ma’am,” said Alex proffering his hand.

“Oh, bother. Don’t be so formal. You can call me Abby. Or Mrs. Michaels if you absolutely insist.”

Alex got an odd feeling. He liked her almost immediately. She radiated warmth and friendliness. Of course, she had a flawless English accent – quite different from Gavin’s, which surprised him. He was struck by how unusual his feelings were for him.

“Dear, I’m going to take the car, but I’ll be back in an hour. After that it’s yours for the rest of the day. But I simply must get to Safeway to do the shopping. Oh, and before I forget, I’ve been speaking to your father about getting you a car. This simply can’t go on. He hasn’t agreed yet, but I’m working on it.”

“No worries. Thanks, Mum.”

“And Alex, I would like to speak with your parents. I like to talk to all of my son’s friends’ parents at least once to introduce ourselves properly. Would that be alright?”

Alex didn’t know how to respond. If it were someone else, he’d have said no in an instant. But he liked her, and after a moment’s thought said, “Um, if you insist. You can speak to my mother, I suppose. You probably don’t want to speak to my father. They’re divorced and I live with my mother, not my father.”

“I’m sorry,” said Abigail while looking at Alex – as a result she didn’t see Gavin roll his eyes, something she would have disproved of. “Leave me the number. I’ll call later.”

“Yes, Mrs. Michaels.”

“Come on up to my room, Alex.”

“Gavin, dear, offer your guest refreshments.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Michaels, I’m fine right now. But thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Still, I’ve got to work on my son’s manners. He’s becoming more and more American. No offence meant.”

“None taken,” he said sincerely.

“Good. Now you amuse yourselves until I get back with the car and then it’s yours for the rest of the day.”

Gavin motioned for Alex to follow him, and soon they were entering what was obviously Gavin’s room. It was almost a typical teen guy’s room. It was a little messy, but not enough to bother Alex. There were a few sports trophies on the shelves, but they appeared to be old. There was a computer and a desk, a rack with CDs for both the computer and music. A few clothes were strewn about. And it certainly smelled like a guy’s room. There were lots of posters on the walls: a few sports posters, a few posters of swimsuit models, and inexplicably, a Leonardo DiCaprio poster, which stood out. The CD collection was unusual, too.

Alex was still looking around, making observations when Gavin spoke. “Alex, let’s try on the stuff you bought since you wouldn’t try it on before we bought it. What if it doesn’t fit?”

“It’ll fit.”

“You’ll be thousands of miles away. You won’t be able to run to the store and exchange it.”

“It’ll fit.”

“Come on. It’ll just take you a few minutes. Hell, we can wear new clothes to dinner, even.”

“If it’ll shut you up, I’ll try them on,” said Alex mordantly before realizing he was being rude and said, with a friendly smile. “You are a clothes whore, aren’t you?”

“Hah! Says you! I’m just being practical.”

“I’ll give you practical.”

Gavin immediately stripped down to his boxers, turned around, and began organizing which clothes he was going to wear. Alex stood there shocked, yet still watching. He wasn’t quite prepared to deal with this. He suddenly noticed Gavin, but tried to get that out of his mind. In a few moments, Gavin was again dressed, oblivious to the reaction that just occurred in Alex.

“Why haven’t you changed?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just looking at your posters,” Alex lied.

“I see. Well, get on with it.”

Alex eyed the bathroom and finally made towards to the door before Gavin intercepted him. “You’re not serious are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re guys. Just change. You’re not getting naked. Besides I already saw everything. You’ve got nothing to hide.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m not embarrassed about it.”

“Oh, is that what it is?”

“I’m sorry,” said Alex quietly, blushing and looking towards his feet, avoiding looking at Gavin at all.

He heard Gavin making some noises, but he didn’t dare look up. He felt paralyzed.

“Alex, look at me.”

Alex looked up, and immediately felt like he was hyperventilating. Gavin had dropped his pants and was standing there totally exposed.

“See? Now we’re even. I saw you and you’ve seen me. Now you can be over this.” Gavin pulled his pants up.

Alex was still short of breath and was almost panting. Gavin looked very good and Alex knew seeing Gavin like this would certainly fuel a fantasy or two, but he shook it out of his mind as best as he could, and dropped his pants after he got the new pair ready to slip on. Alex did it as quickly as he could. He was still embarrassed. After that, he put on the new shirt and stood there, silent. He almost felt ashamed, but not quite. He didn’t know where to look so he resumed staring at the poster.

Gavin noticed Alex staring at the poster. “A good actor, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so. Not really my thing.”

“Leo?”

“No, I mean I think he’s okay but his movies don’t interest me,” replied Alex not sure he and Gavin were having the same discussion. Alex decided to leap in. “You promised we could finish this discussion later. I have to know. Are you gay? Are you interested in me? How do you feel about me?”

“Wow. That’s really fucking direct and to the point.”

“What happened was really weird. You have to admit that.”

“Maybe so. Not for me. I’m not bashful at all. Really. I’m sure you’ve already noticed that. Anyway, am I gay? No. I am not gay. I like Delos, for example. But I can’t say I’m straight, either. I don’t know what I am. I like who I like. That’s really all that matters, right?”

“Believe it or not, I really, truly, deeply understand that.”

“So why did you ask? Why does it matter?”

“Well, between your little show and the poster on the wall, I had to wonder. Even your music collection is all over the place. You’ve got Metallica and Hanson. I would have bet my life those two were mutually exclusive.”

Gavin laughed in reply. “I may be the singular person who owns both. And the brief exposé I provided was simply so you could see that there’s nothing wrong with someone seeing you naked.”

“I can accept that mentally, but emotionally it’s a bit harder.”

“Look at me, Alex. Right in my eyes.”

Alex complied and stared at Gavin, unblinking as best as he could. Gavin reached out, placing one hand on each side of Alex’s face and stared right back into his eyes. He paused for effect before he spoke.

“Alex, I will promise you, if it makes you feel better, that I will be a good friend to you if you let me. I won’t hurt you. I won’t let you down. I will be there for you whenever you want. I will admit there’s some level of attraction, but I will give you my word that I won’t act on it unless you specifically tell me you want more than friendship. I like you and want to stay friends with you. I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

Alex didn’t know what to say. He felt like crying. He hadn’t cried in a very long time and he didn’t want to start now. But he felt the drops begin to run down his cheek. Emotion overcame him.