Brad and Kevin spent until Thanksgiving barely speaking. The night after midterms was a distant memory and the tension between the two of them was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Brad kept wondering what he had done wrong and Kevin was so scared of being hurt he had withdrawn himself from everyone, including Brad. Most people went home for Thanksgiving break. Brad and Kevin packed in silence and made their way downstairs at the same time. Almost a month ago Brad had offered to drive Kevin home since they lived in the same town. They had actually had a long conversation about how they lived so close together yet had never met. Brad had gone to the public school and Kevin had gone to the private Catholic school.
They made their way to the parking lot and into Brad's sports car. It was a typical guy car. It was red and had all sorts of extras including a great sound system. Kevin got into the passenger seat and pulled out one of his textbooks. Brad noticed this, turned on the radio to his favorite station, and they drove in silence for a while.
"Your parents don't know do they." Kevin looked up from his textbook and saw how concerned Brad looked. Brad had always been the carefree wild guy, but at that moment Kevin realized he was actually caring and sensitive.
"No, they don't."
"Mine either. I never dated anyone, guy or girl, in high school because, knowing my parents, the first girl I dated, they would be dragging me to Birks to buy an engagement ring."
"I'm Catholic. I'm a sinner and my mother would die of a heart attack if I told her."
"I'm sorry." Brad reached out and held Kevin's hand. Kevin squeezed his hand.
"I'm sorry too. I was a jerk for what I did to you. I dated one guy in high school and it was a disaster."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
Brad let go of Kevin's hand as he pulled in Kevin's driveway.
"Pick you up Tuesday at 10am right?"
"Yep."
Kevin got out of the car and after getting his suitcase full of dirty clothes out of the trunk, he walked into his parent's house. He saw Brad pull out into traffic and drive to his home.
The weekend was relaxing for Kevin as he got to see his sister, Sarah, and was able to enjoy his mom's home cooking. Brad spent the weekend at his parent's house alone. His parents had gone to Italy for the month and had forgotten to mention that. He had arrived to an empty house and after calling his brother, had found out that he was spending Thanksgiving with his girlfriend.
"So tell us about college life sweetie." Kevin's mom was grinning from ear to ear and hadn't stopped since Kevin had gotten into the house. The family was sitting around the living room after a huge turkey dinner. Sarah rolled her eyes and tried not to giggle.
"It's busy, but fun. My roommate is very nice. He's just like me except he's not a neat freak. We're in all the same classes and we hang out a lot."
As Kevin continued to go on and on about Brad, Sarah watched and began to wonder. He also mentioned how he lived in the same town and was spending Thanksgiving with his family.
"Oh, you should invite him over tomorrow then. I'm sure he's having a great dinner with his family tonight, but we should meet him."
"Um. Fine." Kevin looked at his parents and knew they would not take no for an answer. He called and left a message with Brad asking him over and then got into his room and began to get ready for bed. He heard a knock on his door and before he had a chance to say anything, his sister bounced into his room.
"So how long have you been together?" She jumped on the bed and was grinning. Sarah was just a year younger then Kevin and was a senior in high school. She had dark brown hair and eyes and except for them being in different grades they could be mistaken for twins.
"What?"
