chapter 13

It has been a week since the family dinner and the effects still reverberated in full flow. Vukan laid flat on his back and smiled at his phone, waiting patiently for it to ring aloud and for his heart to melt into a million pieces once again as it had done every single night for a week. It was becoming the norm and he couldn't quite get enough of it even if he wanted to.

It felt like forever as he glanced at his phone again, smiling at the previous messages they had exchanged, knowing too well things felt better between them. His cellphone finally fizzled in his hand as a new text came through. Smiling from ear to ear, Vukan opened the message to read the words it bore;

"I have to go for now… there is something important I have to take care of", the sender had said.

Vukan felt a swarm of disappointment riddle his spine but he wasn't about to allow himself to get vexed. He understood the situation well enough to know he couldn't be the one taking all of his time.

He rolled on his belly and held up his phone to respond to the message with the biggest smile yet…

"Oliver… ", he began by typing before halting and taking a moment to think about what Oliver could be doing at such hours of the night.

He glanced at the wall clock and realized it was about the same time as the day he saw Oliver at the bridge dropping a coin into the underlying river.

Deciding to go with his instincts, Vukan got dressed and snuck out the back door, leaving his rather playful parents in the living room watching a late night movie. Dodging through the darkness and avoiding the security lights stationed around their home, he raced to his car, unlocked the door manually by plunging the key into the door handle, and finally settled himself inside the car.

Reaching for his headlight switch, he paused and thought against it, before deciding to drive out of the parking space without having his lights on in order not to attract his parent's attention.

"Things we do so we can be loved", Vukan snickered to himself as he slowly began to pull away.

Taking the quickest turn through the night, he sped ahead, hoping to see Oliver before he left the bridge. Memories of the first night he saw Oliver seemed to pump copious amounts of adrenalin through his body. He rammed his foot into the gas and pictured Oliver's face with the light atop the bride just bouncing off it in a perfect blend of the night swarming across his face.

"Please be there when I arrive… please be there", he begged within.

Upon sighting the bridge up ahead, Vukan turned off his headlights and pulled the car to a halt. He could see Oliver's frame up ahead, just about leaning over the bridge as he had done on the first night he was there. He took something out from his pocket, held it to his lips and finally let it go into the river beneath.

Vukan wondered how long Oliver had been making wishes with coins at the river. While they had exchanged teasing messages over the past few days, they had not shared information relating to any such activities around the bridge and Vukan hoped to respect Oliver's privacy by not speaking of it or even attesting to knowing anything about the ordeal.

"Take your time dear", Vukan stared at Oliver and licked his lips with his eyes burning brightly with desire.

It had taken him forever to finally wash the cloth Oliver's scent had lingered on and there was a part to him that craved for that warm hug once again.

"Be cool, tiger", he warned himself not to get ahead of himself.

Vukan realized the worst he could do was to spook Oliver and damage what they had been building over the past few days. His parents wouldn't even forgive him and he wasn't ready to answer them as well. To say they had invested time and energy into them gelling was an understatement.

Oliver finally got through and took a quick look around before turning around and walking away on foot. Vukan decided to wait for some minutes before heading over to the bridge in case Oliver was watching. It felt odd that he was sneaking around in the manner he was; he wasn't used to being the one hiding for any reason.

Yet, there was something about Oliver that seemed to ignite every aspect to him. There was something about just thinking about him that brought Vukan's desires and fantasies swimming above everything else. It was what brought him to where he was and it was without doubt, the reason for what he was about to engage himself in as well.

"It is time", he muttered before looking around to ensure he was alone.

The darkness managed to cover everything else in sight asides the bridge and it made Vukan feel a little bit uncomfortable about being there. In a world where there were sexual predators lying all around, it would be stupid to assume he was safe by himself.

"Here we go", he muttered to himself as he looked into the river and spotted the shiny coin Oliver had dropped just some minutes prior.

Vukan held his coin to his lips and wished for every single wish being made by Oliver to come to past. without further ado, he let go of his coin into the river and watched it coincidentally settle atop the same coin Oliver had dropped.

"What are the odds?" he chuckled before turning around and heading to his car.

He had never for once thought about whatever Oliver always wished for at the river. They had not spoken intimately and when they teased each other, he could swear his new buddy had demons which he was doing his best to hide.

"Whatever it might be, I want them to come true for you", Vukan said one more time before getting into his car.

No sooner had he stepped into his car that his phone buzzed and a new set of messages came through from Oliver. He shook his head and replied before igniting his car and turning around. His phone began to buzz endlessly, prompting a rather silly smile from his face before he decided to make a brief stop to have a look at whatever was going on.

"Shit!' it was his mother calling and she had left three missed calls already.

Vukan picked the incoming call and lifted the phone to his ear to listen to the woman's fury.

"Get you behind back home this instant! Do you have any idea how worried sick we were to see your car gone and you not in your room!?" his mother yelled. "You are a grown man, act like one and act responsibly!"

Vukan apologized as best as possible and tossed his phone into the passenger seat before driving off in a frenzy. He could imagine their worry not to find him in the house and without actually informing them of wanting to drive off. Being the only child came with its challenges and he was in one already.

Oliver's messages continued to come through though and that alone warmed Vukan's heart. It didn't matter if he was about to get scolded at home; he had someone to converse with and that was fine by him. He would arrive home to meet his worried looking parents waiting up in the living room with their arms crossed.

"Calm down guys. Isn't this what you wanted? Me and Oliver?" he asked them with a quizzical smile before heading straight for his room.

"We still need a responsible son!' his father's voice echoed around the house just as Vukan reached his room and slammed the door.

His wife turned to him and smiled. "He is right after all. You can tell the glow on his face has something to do with Oliver".

Vukan settled into his bed and would spend the next few hours chatting Oliver up.

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