"Love?"

The word comes out a whisper, like it's a secret.

I stare at the four words on the back of the board in Chase's familiar writing. He wrote that. He wrote that he loves me. Now he's just got to say it.

"Ermm yeah." He scratches nervously at the back of his neck. "Love."

My heart skips a beat as he says the word. And in that minuscule second, when I seem to be lost for words and breath, I manage to push aside the skateboard, grab the sides of his face and kiss him.

I kiss him like I mean it. Like I love him.

Because I do.

"I love you." I whisper as I rest my forehead against his. One hand has snaked it's way across his broad shoulders while the other rests in his sandy cropped hair, which I only now realise has slightly grown longer. My eyes flutter open, his remain closed and I see a smile form on his kiss swollen lips.

I brush my nose against his just to coax a reply out of him. I want to hear him say it again.

"I love you too." He finally opens his eyes. My brown eyes stare into his green ones and I feel like it's the first time I'm seeing them.

This isn't the kind of love that's destined. No. It's the type of love that comes out of nowhere. It's like you're in a boxing match and right before the end, right when you think you've won, you're opponent punches you right across the face.

Knockout.

This all feels so foreign. The only experience I can compare this to is my relationship with Rachel. But that feels like nothing in comparison to this. To him. Rachel feels like the distant past but this feels like my present and my future.

"I'm fucking terrified of love." Chase says, closing his eyes again.

"You don't have to be."

I grab Chase's hand, my new skateboard in the other and I walk him to my bedroom. I close the door behind me, putting down the skateboard and sit beside Chase on my bed.

"You don't have to be." I repeat before kissing him again. It's a greedy kiss. I waste no time slipping my tongue into his mouth. It's a messy kiss. The best kind. The type of kiss where I don't need to restrain myself. The kind of kiss that always leads to more and tonight I want more.

"I want you." Chase mumbles against my lips and it's as if he's just read my mind. His hands slip under my shirt and he raises his hands, skimming my torso and pulling off the piece of clothing. He pulls his shirt off next. Then he takes off his jeans and I follow suit.

I kiss down his neck, sucking occasionally on his soft skin, loving the sounds he makes as I move my hips against his, craving more with every harsh breath he takes and wonder how amazing he will look when I finally push him over the edge.

"Nate." He moans.

"Chase." I gasp.

He looks more amazing than I thought.

*

Chase is still sleeping when I wake up. He's still beautifully naked as am I. I look at his face and remember the events of last night. I remember how we called for each other in the dark. I remember how he tasted and how good he felt. And how he kept asking for more and I kept wanting more because I have no self control and I'm greedy and selfish. But only when it comes to him.

When I wake up the first thought in my head is that I let Nate fuck me.

And it was fucking amazing.

I kiss him when he wakes up. He smiles into it, climbing on top of me.

"You know we have school today." I say as he begins kissing my neck and I sigh contently. As I move my head to the side I spot my clock on the bedside table and see 7:02 flashing back at me.

"Yep come on, we need to go take a shower and then go get breakfast which my mum is probably making right now."

Chase groans, sliding off of me. I miss the contact of his skin and wonder if missing school would be worth it. But I have a perfect attendance and explaining why I wasn't at school to my mother would be too much of a hassle. I pull on my discarded boxers and go to my wardrobe.

"Fine." Chase says, catching the clothes I throw behind my shoulder that make up our school uniform. "But next time-" I hear him get up from my bed, he stands behind me at the wardrobe, still very much naked, and I can feel him pressing up against me. He slides his hands into my boxers, and I gasp at his warm touch, leaning my head back to rest on his shoulder. He strokes me, sucking on my neck, pulling me closer to him and I'm feeling way too many things at once. It's all pure bliss.

"I. Fuck. You."

And just like that I'm hard too.

*

We're sitting at the table now, eating breakfast with my parents. Chase had to sneak outside my window, go get his bag with his school books and then ring the front door bell as if he had just arrived. My parents were unsuspicious. We acted as if we didn't just shower together upstairs.

"I heard you boys have a game tomorrow." My dad says eagerly. "Yep. We're going against this school called Wyndell High."

"Oh, The Warriors. A friend of mine has a son who plays there."

"Are they any good?" I ask.

"I'm sure you can beat 'em son." Dad reaches for his reading glasses and starts reading the daily paper. His usual routine.

"So, Nate, did you like the little gift Chase got you?" My mum says as she pours herself more orange juice. "Isn't he the sweetest?" My mum pinches Chases cheeks and I try so hard not to laugh.

"Yeah. I told him that I loved the skateboard."

"I didn't even know you knew how to skate." My mum says. I was about to answer then realise she directed the question to Chase.

"Yeah. I've been skateboarding for years."

"He's really good at it too. He's been teaching me."

"That's nice. Make sure your careful. I don't want a call from the hospital saying you cracked your head open."

"You won't Mum." I reply, rolling my eyes at my mum's overprotective behaviour. "Besides, he makes me wear a helmet."

"Good. Safety first."

"Oh and don't forget about the knee pads." Chase adds.

"Ah yes. He's always had weak knees."

"Mum!" I say and Chase starts laughing.

"What? Remember when you couldn't go up the stairs without taking a break halfway."

"I was 8 and just had knee surgery."

"Hence my point about weak knees."

"You had knee surgery?" Chase asks, still very much amused.

"I fell off a tree but that's not the point. The point is- I don't even know what the point of this conversation is!" I lift my hands in defeat.

"The point is you need to be safe. This kid is prone to accidents." Then my mum goes on to tell Chase about every accident I've been in and I watch them. I watch as Chase laughs at my mother's stories and how she tells them so happily and I watch as my dad chuckles now and then as he not so subtly listens to their conversation while reading his paper and think how perfect life can be sometimes.