Page 77 of Forever and Ever
“You said you wouldn’tlaugh.”
“I wasn’t laughing. I was impressed. You impress me,Art.”
Art liked the feeling his commentstirred.
“Will you tell me more about the adventures you’dhave?”
Art blushed once again, though for some reason, he didn’t feel ashamed this time. Wes wasn’t like most people, who would have thought his confession strange. And in that moment, Wes wasn’t the person he’d thought. He wasdifferent.
“I guess I would be aprisoner.”
“A prisoner? Why not thecaptain?”
“Adventures aren’t exciting if you have it all. You have to start with nothing and fight your way to everything. It is so much more fun thatway.”
“Okay, so we’re prisoners on thisship.”
Art was surprised by his suggestion, but he found it even morestimulating.
“So what do we do?” Wesasked.
“Well, the captain will obviously be searching for buried treasure on some island, and we’ll be plotting to steal it first and make ourgetaway.”
Wes took another drag of his cigarette. “We’re not just plotting ourgetaway?”
“Of course not!” Art insisted. “We need treasure so we can survive. We’re captives! We don’t have anything. We’ll just be poverty-stricken beggars if we don’t havegold.”
“Okay, okay. I’m after the gold too,then.”
Art crafted a more elaborate tale with how they would pretend to search the island on the captain’s behalf, but use the opportunity to turn on their foes, steal some of the pirates’ swords before finding the treasure and battling their way through dragons—which Wes took issue with because he saw no reason for the story to have dragons—but then they would eventually find their way to the treasure, where they would be surrounded by the captain’smen.
“Are there no girls at all in this story?” Wes asked, as though he’d just noticed. “There’s always girls for the heroes. The ones the guys kiss and then the music gets loud before the screen fades to black, and you just know they’re going to be together forever andever.”
Art thought for a moment, figuring he could throw some in there as mermaids perhaps, but then Wes said, “We don’t need any girls, I suppose. Maybe not for ourstory.”
Art wasn’t sure what to make of that either, though going by Wes’s serious expression, it seemed they were talking about somethingelse.
“I like you,Art.”
They stared at each other for a moment, Wes’s gaze shifting to Art’slips.
Art’s imagination was already geared up, and it seemed to take hold as he envisioned Wes leaning forward and stealing a kiss. The image was so powerful, Art found himself having to tense his arms and legs to restrain himself from lurching toward Wes and offering onehimself.
It would be like in the movies, full of passion and eagerness, the sort Wes was talking about: music blaring in the background right before the creditsrolled.
Wes leaned closer to him before a loud, “Hey, Wes!” filled the air, and they turned together as Joseph Duvall headed toward them. He didn’t seem to think anything of their sittingtogether.
“I’ve been looking all over for you, and then I find you down here smoking? Come on! We’re gonna be late to Cynthia’splace!”
“On my way,Joe!”
Wes rolled his eyes. “That’s my ride. I know we’ve met in the past before, but I feel like this is the first time we’ve really met.” Wes extended his hand, and they shook. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, ArtCromley.”
“You too, WesBrenner.”
“Come on!” Joseph calledagain.
Wes rose from the bench. “I’m comin’. I’m comin’.” He dropped his cigarette and buried it in the ground with the heel of his shoe, then turned to Art and winked. “Well, looks like our story isn’t finished yet, so I’ll see youaround.”
Art smiled at the reference to what was already starting to seem like a dumb pirate tale, but as Wes headed off, Art’s imagination ran wild with a different sort of adventure he now imagined with Wes, one where he got to experience those lips against his own, one where he got to enjoy the movie soundtrack blasting as the credits started toroll.
What happened when the credits were over? Did the heroes go on and stay together forever and ever? But as he watched Wes head back into the woods, he was forced to berealistic.
Forever and ever. What is thateven?
THEEND
