It’s my birthday!

My 16th!

Not that it matters much to most people, but Josie is here and we’ll celebrate. And with some luck I’ll see Remy later on.

I pound down the stairs, still in my usual sleepwear (boxers and a T-shirt) and I can hear the radio in the kitchen playing “Dancing with Myself”. It makes me bounce on my heels because it’s the Vampire Lestat cover version. Any day that starts with Lestat and ends with Remy (hopefully!) can only be a good day.

You don’t hear Lestat’s songs on the radio much these days. He was a real hot shot and then basically disappeared overnight. But his music is still around, and I fucking love it!

As predicted, my sister is in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in front of her. When she sees me entering the room, she looks up from her phone with a beaming smile.

“Hey, baby bro!”

I groan and roll my eyes. “I’m 16 now. I’m not a baby anymore!”

Josie laughs and gets up to give me a big sisterly hug.

“Happy birthday, Lell.”

She plants a big kiss on my cheek, and I rub my palm over, pretending to be disgusted. I’m not. I love my sister.

“And even when you’re 60, you’re still my baby bro. You’ll always be my baby, no matter what.“ She whispers into my ear and pats my cheek. I poke my tongue out at her.

“Is there coffee?” I try to peek over her shoulder and at our ancient coffee maker.

“Coffee, huh? “Josie cocks an eyebrow. “I thought it was still a glass of milk for you.”

I make a derisive noise in my throat. Please! I started drinking coffee ages ago. Which means two months ago, when Remy bought us a cup from a vendor near the park. In my defence, no one told me before that coffee was the elixir from the gods in liquid form.

“Oy, don’t get cheeky with me, baby bro! Or don’t you want your present?”

I give her my best bashful smile with pleading puppy-dog eyes. “A present? For me? I’ll be good! Promise!”

Josie laughs. “Sit down, you menace, and stop fidgeting! Caffeine is really a bad idea for you.”

I slide onto the bench behind the kitchen table while Josie fixes a mug for me and pushes it over alongside a gift-wrapped present.

“Happy Sweet 16, Lell.” Josie smiles fondly at me and brushes her hand over my knuckles.

My present looks so beautiful and shiny, wrapped in navy blue paper and a yellow bow on top. I almost don’t want to open it. Curiosity gets the better out of me and I peel the paper off carefully layer by layer until I reveal what’s inside. Josie watches me expectantly, a small smile curling her lips.

“A water bottle?” I murmur. But not just any water bottle! The tag says it’s made of stainless steel, and it’s isolating. It’ll keep my water chilled even during the hottest New Orleans summer, even after a long, gruelling basketball practice. And it’s sleek and black and so cool!

“Turn it around,” Josie tells me, and when I do, I gasp. On the black surface there is a red circle with two Ds interlaced inside.

“You got me a Daredevil water bottle!” I whisper in awe.

“Do you like it? I wasn’t sure if you’re not too old for superheroes now that you’re at the advanced age of 16.” She winks at me.

I huff. “I don’t think I’ll ever be too old for superheroes, Josie. And Daredevil is just dope, man! The way he fights and never gives up and…”

“All right, all right, I get it. I picked the right one,” Josie laughs. “Just thought you need to stay hydrated when you play in the NBA.”

I roll my eyes. As if I’m NBA material… right… but I still jump up to give Josie the biggest hug. “Thank you, that’s like the best birthday present ever!” I burrow my face in her neck. “I love you, sis.”

She pats my back. “You’re welcome, baby bro. I love you, too.“

I’m so fascinated by my new water bottle that I keep stroking it tenderly and don’t want to put it down. Josie laughs at me: “All right, lover boy. Before you propose to the bottle, what do you want for breakfast?”

I help myself to a bowl and cereal with milk. Josie offered to make waffles and bacon which makes my mouth water but I’m trying to eat less animal products. Remy is vegan and he told me all about animal cruelty and how much we destroy the environment by eating so much meat. It was really quite the eye opener. I’m not 100% on the vegan train but I try to be a bit more conscious with what I eat. Most of the substitutes cost a lot more money, though, and I don’t want to make a fuss. So I slurp up the cow milk with my cereals. The cow that gave this milk already suffered anyway. So it would be kind of rude to waste it, wouldn’t it?

While I finish eating, Josie gets up to prepare dinner. She’s making her famous gumbo. I’m really looking forward to it. Josie seldom has time to cook a big meal for us, only on special occasions. But I know Remy is waiting for me at 4pm at our Palace and I don’t want to keep him too long. I casually ask Josie about her boyfriend Norman, but she’s strangely evasive. I don’t know why but I have a feeling that Josie might not be that into Norman after all. They’ve been dating for a few months and Josie spends every free minute at his house, but lately it sounds like she’s spending more time with Norman’s mother than the guy himself. Not that I blame her. Norman’s a bit of a stuttering idiot, if you ask me and my sister deserves better. Someone who’s kind and generous and treats her like a queen.

At one point Josie grows suspicious about my incessant questions about when dinner will be ready and whether she wouldn’t like to spend the evening with her boyfriend instead? I wouldn’t mind at all! I’m a big boy and don’t need a babysitter! Josie turns away from the stove, plants her hands on her hips and squints at me.

“Spill, kiddo. What the heck is going on?”

I squirm in my seat, and pretend that ‘nothing…’ is going to keep my sister off my tracks. She just lifts an eyebrow and gives me a pointed look.

“It’s… um… the team… we… er… they’re meeting at the park and…” I stammer, frantically trying to come up with a cover story. I hate lying to my sister but desperate times, desperate measures and all that.

“The team, huh?” Her eyebrow lifts even higher. “The whole team?”

I mutter something about ‘dunno’ and ‘maybe’, and Josie’s other eyebrow meets the first one.

“Or is it maybe just one member of your team?”

I cough and splutter and try to hide my face in my coffee mug that’s unfortunately empty already. Josie chuckles and turns back to her cooking and dicing green pepper, onions and Andouille sausages. She stays quiet for a while before she says in a soft voice.

“Jay-zuhs, Wendell, you’re really not a baby anymore, are you?” She peers at me over her shoulder while I pretend to busy myself with the last drops of milk in my bowl. “Is it like a date?”

I nod awkwardly. Kind of?

Josie puts the chopped ingredients away and proceeds with celery and garlic.

“If you want to meet another boy, Wendell, you can tell me. Don’t ever think you have to hide things from me.” I nod again, smiling gratefully, while pushing my bowl away. Josie takes a deep sigh. “I guess I’ll get this one going so we can eat early and you can go on your date, yeah?” She throws another look at me, and I grin at her sheepishly. Her eyes dance across my face, and then she shakes her head.

“Lawd, I remember like it was yesterday when I helped Mama change your diapers.”

I groan. “Josie…“

She giggles and points a wooden cooking spoon at me: “But I want you back before dark, you hear me?”

I get up to put my bowl in the sink and wrap my arms around my sister: “Thank you, Josie, you’re the best.” I kiss her cheek.

Josie grumbles something about leaving her alone so she can get this gumbo on the table. I still grab a knife and help her chop the remaining vegetables and set the table for later. I hesitate when I get the place from the cupboard. Josie sees it and remarks almost casually.

“He’s not here. His bedroom door stood open this morning, and the bed looked untouched. “I should be upset that my dad cares so little about my birthday, but I’m actually relieved I don’t have to deal with him today. “I think he has a new lady friend who feeds him and provides a warm bed for him at night.”

Huh, good for him I guess. And even better for us. I put down two plates and cutlery. This is already the best birthday of my life.

It’s just after half past four when I bike at top speed towards the palace through another one of New Orleans’ famous downpours, My heart is almost thumping out of my chest from the exertion and the excitement about seeing Remy soon. I know it’s silly, because we’ve only seen each other less than 24 hours ago, but I really miss him when we’re not together. It’s not just the fooling around – don’t get me wrong, that’s definitely great – but all of it. We talk a lot. He tells me all about his dog Nola and shows me pictures of her on his phone. She was a beautiful black-and-white border collie.

Remy doesn’t talk much about his family. I get it. I don’t like talking about mine either. I know he has an older sister, like me; her name is Frances and she lives in Boston. He often texts her or calls her; I think they’re really close. Big sisters are awesome! He never mentions his dad, so I don’t ask. Remy and his mother lived in Missouri until about a year ago when his mother presented him with a U-Haul truck and all their belongings packed up, telling him they were moving to New Orleans to live with his grandma. She didn’t give him a chance to say good-bye to his friends. Or Nola. They couldn’t take her with them, so his mother had her put down.

Remy told me that part and then clung to me. I think there were tears in his eyes, although he tried to hide them.

“I hate my mother for dragging me here, for taking everything from me I ever loved back home.” He said and I didn’t know what to do, so I just hugged him and told him how sorry I was. He shook his head vehemently. “Don’t be sorry, Wendell. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I hate my mother for bringing me here, but I will never be sorry for being here. Because this is where I found you and I’d never change this for anything in the world.”

I didn’t know what more to say. He’s so intense sometimes, like there are so many emotions bubbling underneath the surface that he desperately tries to keep a lid on. Sometimes I don’t know how to deal with it, so I just hold him tighter and hope it helps. In these moments, his body is coiled tight, but after a while his muscles ease and he moulds himself into me, like he can’t stand even a hair’s breadth of space between us.

We don’t only talk about heavy family stuff either. Actually most of the time we honestly just hang out. Since we discovered our Palace, we started bringing stuff there that we enjoy: I stashed some of my favourite books there, including one that I recently found again on my shelf. It’s actually for kids, and I must have read it when I was 8 or 9, but I love it. It’s so funny. In the book a boy – Tony – meets and befriends another kid named Rudolph. Only Rudolph is a vampire! Rudolph’s family are all kinds of crazy – think Addams Family, only as bloodsuckers, I guess. My favourite is Rudolph’s older brother Gregory, who is 14 and in puberty. Perpetually misunderstood and brooding. Gregory also sings in a rock band. Sounds familiar? Right.

To keep with the theme, I also have the latest series of Blade comics. Balance the kiddie book out with something aimed at an adult audience? You’ll find me right in the middle. While I read, Remy plays video games on his phone until the battery runs out or doodles something on a piece of paper. His textbooks in school are covered with little manga-style characters.

So when I hide my bike in the backyard of our Palace, I expect that’s what we’ll do today. Talk, read, draw… fool around. I’m surprised that his bike isn’t there, but maybe he got held up. Wouldn’t be the first time. That’s cool. I’ll just wait. If he doesn’t show up before sundown, I’ll go home. I’ll see him tomorrow at practice. Honestly, it sucks that I don’t have a phone and can’t text him. What kind of teenager doesn’t have a phone? I sigh and trot upstairs to ‘our’ room when I’m suddenly attacked by two strong arms and a firm body pressing against my back. My eyes are covered by two sweaty hands, and I can feel someone’s hot breath on my neck.

I laugh. “Get off me, idiot!” But instead I feel Remy’s mouth caressing the skin of my neck. Mhmmm, that’s not too bad. I turn around in his embrace, and our lips quickly find the other. Before kissing can turn into something else, Remy pulls back, grinning. There’s also a rather mischievous glint in his eyes that is never good.

“You’re finally here,” he says, booping a kiss on my nose. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

I mumble an apology, but Remy already tugs on my hand impatiently. He isn’t pulling me upstairs for naked time on the spotty mattress but back outside, where the rain has started to fizzle out.

“What are you doing?” I ask, confused.

“Surprise!” He sing-songs and throws his arms wide in front of an old, tattered truck that is parked at the kerb.

“A car?” I’m baffled. “You’re surpring me… with a car?”

“It’s my grandpa’s old truck. I borrowed it.”

“Didn’t you say your grandpa died when you were little?” I squint at him.

“He did. My grandma just never got rid of his truck. It was just there in the garage, so I fixed it, and here it is!”

“Did your grandma say you could use it?”

He grins like the devil himself. “Well… she never said I could not have it…”

“Jay-zuhs, Remy, you’re going to get in trouble one day,” I huff.

His grin only widens. “Maybe, maybe not. Today is not that day. Come on!”

He opens the door on the passenger side for me, and I hop in. The inside looks as ancient as the outside; the leather upholstery is cracked with age, and it smells faintly of tobacco and old-man cologne. Only one bench seat spans the entire cab. The door on the driver’s side creaks when Remy joins me, but the old engine purrs to life when Remy turns the ignition.

“To infinity and beyond!” Remy exclaims, and I laugh. Then we’re off to god-knows-where on this late afternoon in New Orleans. I didn’t know Remy could drive. I shoot him a glance from the side. He looks so confident doing it. Like with everything else, it just seems to come so naturally to him. I remember seeing him for the very first time on the first day of school in August last year.

The skies had opened up in a downpour that could have matched the Noachian flood. Girls (and a few guys, too) sprinted across the yard squealing and shrieking, as if the water were melting their skins like acid, trying to find shelter underneath the awning, which was already packed with students. Including me. I was squeezed into a corner, clutching my backpack in front of me. It contained my most prized possession. Wedged in between my school books was the newest Marvel comic, released only last week: Avengers: Armageddon #1. I bought it on release day last week, and it hasn’t left my hands since then. But it can’t get drenched in the rain.

So I protectively curl my body around my backpack, cowering in a corner. I don’t care that kids bump into me because they don’t see me or don’t pay attention. And then my gaze falls on the boy standing in the middle of the yard. Not giving a flying fuck about the rain pelting down on him. Looking up to the skies opening up above him. Daring them, defying them. He closes his eyes, bathing in the moment. The quiet in the middle of the storm. I’m completely mesmerised.

Then the spell is broken by the voice of an older woman. Tall, light brown hair, streaked with grey and pulled back into a tight bun. Her lips pressed into a thin line. She calls his name again to get his attention and waves impatiently. When my eyes trail back to Remy again, his shoulders visibly slump and he traces a hand down his face. To wipe away the rain? To brace himself for another scolding? But then he obediently trots over to his mother. Of course, I didn’t know at the time that she was his mother or about their strained relationship. I could only stare at him and wish he would see me.

Now he sits beside me, smiling and humming a tune I don’t recognise. He steals a glance at me out of the corner of his eye, not taking his attention away from the street ahead, and wiggles his right hand at me. I take it and slide my palm into his. It feels warm and soft, his fingers curling around mine, keeping me close.

I’m actually too busy admiring Remy weaving us expertly in and out of traffic to pay too much attention to where we are going until the shore of Lake Pontchartrain comes into view. Remy keeps on driving for a little while longer until we’re past the busy areas and it is just us, the truck and the lake. He finds a place to park and looks at me smiling after he kills the engine.

I don’t know where to look first. The lake or his face, radiating with joy and only a glint of nerves in his eyes. He squeezes my hand and winks.

“Stay here. Close your eyes.”

I laugh a little uneasily. “Why? What are we doing here?”

He leans in to give me a sweet kiss. “Trust me, Lell. Just keep your eyes closed. Promise?”

There’s a strange fluttering sensation in my stomach, but I nod and do as he says. I can hear him rustling with something on the floor behind him. Then the door on his side creaks open, and he’s getting out. Am I allowed to open my eyes now? What is he doing? The suspense is killing me. Do I dare to peek? No, I promised I’d keep my eyes shut. I fidget but keep my eyes closed even when I hear the car door on my side open. A gush of wind rushes in and makes me shiver. Remy’s palms glide up my thighs, and he takes my hands.

“Don’t peek,” he reminds me in a low voice. “Turn around and get out.”

I try to drag my limbs outside and find the ground with my feet clumsily.

“I’ve got you, Lell. Trust me,” Remy assures me.

It stopped raining, and the air feels rinsed clean. Remy’s hands are slightly damper than mine, but I can’t tell if it’s from sweat or the rain. Water still clings to everything – leaves dripping slowly, fat drops sliding off the edges of branches and tapping softly into the grass. I can’t see it, but I can hear it. I also never realised how loud the city iss until now.

Out here, all I hear is water, wind, and the occasional cry of a gull overhead. The breeze smells pure, carrying hints of wet earth and sun-baked grass. The ground is damp enough that my shoes sink slightly when I step out of the truck. I stumble over an uneven patch, and Remy’s hands steady me. His lips briefly brush against mine.

“Almost there,” he says, and I smile despite myself.

When he stops, I bump into him, making us both chuckle. He takes advantage of our proximity and kisses me. No tongue, just his soft lips on mine.

“Can I open my eyes now?” I murmur against his lips, and he laughs.

“Yes, you can.”

When I do, all I can see is his face. His hazel eyes, darker in the centre and lighter around the edges, framed by long, dark lashes. His eyebrows set in a perpetual sceptical arch. His nose straight except for that tiny crook in the middle. His lips, a perfect bow. His jaw, strong and carrying the promise of the man he’ll become one day.

He beams at me in that trademark smile of his that just lights up his entire face.

“Happy birthday, Lell!” He pecks another kiss on my lips, and I gasp.

“How do you know… ?”

His grin turns decidedly smug. “Coach had a list with all the info from everyone on the team lying on his desk one day. Birthdays and everything. I nicked it.”

I laugh and shake my head. “One day, I swear…”

He shrugs. “Nah… took it back after I made a copy. No one saw.”

Then he tugs at my hand, and that’s when I notice what’s on the ground besides us. I can’t help but gasp again and clap my hands over my mouth. There’s a soft-looking, off-white blanket spread out with a small cake sitting proudly in the middle. Two layers, frosting piped into soft swirls and cherries scattered on top. Two cans of Diet Coke and a single, lit candle on a round glass holder rested beside it.

“Ta-da!” Remy gestures towards the setup, and I try to take it all in. Remy, the lake, the cake… for my birthday? The breeze coming from the lake stings my eyes, and I blink rapidly.

We make ourselves comfortable on the blanket, and Remy makes me blow out the candle but then lights it again because it ‘looks nicer that way’. Before we can dig into the cake, Remy pulls something else out from behind his back.

“This is for you!” he says and presses a something into my hands. It’s rectangular and wrapped in an old newspaper. I don’t know what to say. I never get many presents. Money was always an issue, and Dad didn’t care. And now I got two on one day! I stare at Remy in disbelief, rendered speechless, until he nudges me to open it, his cheeks slightly tinged.

I’m just as careful as I was with Josie’s present, although I can feel a buzz of excitement radiating from Remy. When I peel off the last layer, I can see the content. It’s a simple notebook with a creamy white cover. When I open it on the first page, I can see Remy decorated it with a couple of his manga-style drawings. There’s a black boy with impossibly large eyes and a white boy with a wild mob of curly hair. They’re holding hands.

“Is this you and me?” I whisper, tracing the marker lines in awe.

“Do you like it?” Remy asks, sounding a little uncertain, and I can just nod.

Remy also wrote something on the first page – ‘Don’t lose this one’ – and it makes me huff and roll my eyes. “I will treasure this like it’s the holy grail. Thank you so much!”

We devour my birthday cake together, washing it all down with Diet Coke, which is a bit lukewarm, but it’s still perfect. The best part is when Remy starts kissing a dollop of frosting from my lips. He pushes me onto my back, and we start making out shamelessly. I don’t care that I can feel the dampness from the ground seep into my clothes. Remy found the perfectly secluded place for us. Before things can get too heated, Mother Nature decides to give us a cool down, though. We are too distracted to notice the darkening clouds in the sky, so when the first raindrops start pelting down on us. Remy curses the New Orleanian weather like a sailor while scrambling to gather our things. I want to help him, I really do, but I’m too busy laughing my ass off. He’s just too funny.

We flee into the cab of the truck, and I make sure my beautiful new notebook didn’t get rained on. It didn’t. It is still gorgeous and perfect. When Remy turns back around, after stuffing our blanket, the remnants of our candle and our trash on the floor behind him, I grab his face with both my hands and kiss him. He lets out a surprised ‘oomph’ but then laughs against my lips and starts kissing me back. The older truck models without an annoying centre console really do have some advantages.

The rain is coming down heavy around us now, shielding us from the outside world. No one is crazy enough to walk around in this weather, and if they were, they wouldn’t be able to tell exactly what’s going on inside this truck. Especially as our breathing starts fogging up the windows while our fingers start wandering beneath our rain-soaked clothes. Our shirts come off, and when our bare chests touch, it feels almost like a relief. Remy’s hands are in my hair, tugging me close to him. My palms glide across his skin, unhindered now by the restraints of fabric, while his are igniting a fire deep inside of me. He pushes me gently down on the bench while kissing along my neck and shoulders. He licks and nibbles down my collarbone, across my chest and down until his tongue finds my navel. This is new.

My breath comes out in ragged pants as his tongue swirls around my navel, flicking against my skin. I feel like I’m burning up with fever. I watch Remy as he starts unbuttoning my jeans and pulling them down over my thighs together with my boxers. He looks up at me through his thick lashes and throws me a wicked grin. He says something about ‘blowing out the birthday candle’, but I’m actually not sure if he really did or if it was just my imagination. Why would he even say that?

His meaning becomes crystal clear when he takes my cock into his mouth to give me my very first blowjob.

My hips almost buck off the bench seat when he wraps his lips around me. He is so warm and so wet, and his tongue feels so good running up and down my length and across my head. My dick has never been inside another body, and the sensation is almost too much. Somehow Remy must sense how close I am, and he grabs my cock by its root and gives it a good squeeze. I yelp in surprise, and he gives me a small shake with his head.

“Don’t come yet. Enjoy this. It’s your birthday, after all.” He winks at me before diving back in.

I’m snuggled into Remy’s side feeling his fingers brush across my shoulder blades. We made sure we are halfway decent again when the rain stopped. We let some fresh air into the truck to clear the windows so we can watch the sun drop lower over the lake, turning the water gold.

Today was easily the best birthday of my life. We still have six weeks left until schools start again. I have a feeling it’s going to be the best summer of my life.