Page 85 of Backward Motion

“And disappoint Matty and my mom? I’ll never live it down.”

“That’s settled, then. And as hard as it might be, I promise not to kiss you in front of an audience.”

Sam smirked. “We’re joking about that now?”

“It just shows how much we’ve both moved on from high school,” Connor said, leaning in.

“Thought you weren’t going to kiss me,” Sam teased, lifting his chin.

“On the truck,” Connor murmured, close enough to smell the lemony scent of Sam’s aftershave. “I’ll kiss you all I want before then.”

“I got the coffee, boss!” Ernesto announced, appearing behind Sam and jolting Connor from his reverie. If there was one thing their apprentice had proven to be, it was efficient.

Ernesto handed out takeaway cups from Jenny’s, and the three of them leaned against the truck, watching as the parade coordinators handed out numbers to determine the order of the floats.

“Is that Mr. Willis wearing a pill-bottle costume?” Sam remarked, taking a sip of coffee.

“I hear they’ve attached a giant papier-mâché doughnut to one of Jenny’s delivery trucks,” Connor said. “The best of Oakdale, right here.”

The coordinators signaled it was time to get rolling, and Ernesto jumped into the cab while Connor helped Sam clamber into the back of the truck.

“My complete lack of tailgate experience is showing,” Sam grumbled as Connor steadied him, one hand on the bar across the rear window. Ernesto started the engine, and the truck lurched forward.

“You’ve got to admit, this is hilarious,” Connor said.

Sam laughed. “Isn’t it? Brian said he’s here with Jules and the kids. At least they’ll get a kick out of it.”

The convoy of floats inched forward onto Main Street, which was lined on both sides with cheering spectators.

“Smile and wave, Sam.” Connor reached for the bag of T-shirts they’d had printed and began launching them into the crowd.

Sam was tossing candy down to the kids, and Ernesto gave a series of loud honks from the driver’s seat as they crawled their way along the street. Connor saw his mother standing next to Sam’s mom, both frantically waving. After his dad’s hospital stay, the twoof them had started spending more time together. Sam’s mom would stop by the house to take Connor’s mother out for coffee or a movie. Connor knew his mom looked forward to their outings as she often found herself stuck at home navigating his father’s care. Recently, she’d enrolled in a correspondence course to get her accounting diploma. She told him she’d spent enough time helping his dad with the business accounts and might as well get qualified for it. It also meant she could take some of the pressure off him. Connor still had dreams of leaving, not for good but to see more of the world and understand his place in it. With his mom as admin backup and Ernesto getting closer to sitting his journeyman electrician licensing exam, that was looking more and more like a possibility.

When the lease on Sam’s apartment had come up, Connor had suggested they move in together. It was more of a logical eventuality than a big next step. Sam spent most nights at his place anyway and had already taken over half of Connor’s wardrobe. To his utter delight, Sam agreed. The first thing they did was hang a map of the world on the living room wall and circle all the places they wanted to visit. Deciding to start small, they’d planned a trip to Mexico City in the fall. It would be the first proper holiday Connor had taken, and even better, he had someone to share it with.

“This is actually kind of fun,” Sam announced beside him.

“You don’t say,” Connor agreed, unable to resist waving at a group of sullen-looking tweens.

Sam turned to him then, his eyes shining. “Kiss me.”

Connor blinked. “What?”

“I’m not afraid anymore.” Sam’s cheeks flushed. “You’re right. Who gives a shit what people think?”

Connor grinned, so in awe of this man who had walked the school halls proudly in vintage shirts, had navigated the pain of teenage humiliation, and had come out the other side.

“You really are something, Sammy Bryant.”

“All right, Finnis, that’s enough out of you.”

Then Sam grabbed the front of Connor’s overalls and pulled him in for a kiss. All around them,the crowd cheered.