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“Hey Boss,” Penelope tapped the computer keys with her pink and purple nails. “You should totally party with us on Saturday. It’s sure to be a good time.”
“I'm sure Hotch has better things to do.” Anderson said. He groaned as he put another dedication to the side. The paper clearly said to print legibly. Maybe it should’ve said read the part about printing legibly carefully.
“Why do you call me Boss?” Hotch asked from behind his computer.
“You're like a boss.” Penelope turned and smiled at him. “You're a big man on campus; it’s a term of endearment.”
“Well what's happening on Saturday?”
“We’re having a sweet 16 for Spencer. His birthday was over a month ago but we did it this way so it can be a real surprise. It’s gonna be at my place and it will be awesome. A small affair but still made of memories. Gift is optional, since you're new and all, but you're definitely invited. Do you like Murder by Death?”
“Do I like…?” Hotch was confused. He was a lot when Penelope was talking. She went a mile a minute.
“Nevermind. Just be prepared for a mind blowing experience.”
“Bring Tylenol,” Anderson said. “You might need it.”
“Well I don’t have plans so I can make it.”
“And what's with you never having plans?” Penelope turned back to the computer. “You're young and foxy, there must be tons of cute boys and girls vying for your attention. Enjoy it while you can.”
“I do so much at school that I'm usually sleeping it off on the weekends.” Hotch replied.
“The only thing I want to sleep off is a hangover.” Penelope laughed at her own joke. “You need to have some fun, Boss. You’ve totally come to the right place because I am the queen of fun. Aren't I, Anderson?”
“You are.” The teen nodded. “Still, our crowd can be just as cliquey and rude as the next. I don’t want Hotch to feel out of place.”
“I can handle it.” Hotch looked at him.
He didn’t know what Anderson was thinking but he saw the wheels in his head turning. They had been OK since Hotch confronted him after the weeklong silent treatment. Still, it might be a little uncomfortable having him invade the space that Anderson made his own. He didn’t want to step on any toes. Hotch didn’t like parties much anyway. Something in him wanted to go to this one though.
“If you're sure.”
“He's totally sure.” Penelope waved her hand as if she had a wand in it. “He can't wait to chow down on cake and ice cream. He's going to love it.”
000
“Huh?” Anderson looked at him as they walked the through the dark parking lot to Hotch’s car.
It was the end of November, just a few days until Thanksgiving. The whole school was looking forward to the long weekend off right before midterms. It was make or break time for the seniors as December 15th was the deadline for most college applications. 96% of LBJ students got into top tier universities studying everything from chemistry to comparative literature. Anderson had his fingers crossed on Towson, where he planned to study Criminal Justice and minor in psychology.
“I don't want to step on your toes. We’re friends but I don’t want to be that friend, you know the one. I don’t have a right to infringe on your time with other people.”
“If friends don’t infringe on your time with other people then they're not real friends.” Anderson said.
“I'm being serious.”
“Me too. It’s not that I don’t want you to come; Spencer’s party is going to be a good time. Just be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” Hotch asked.
“Anything.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Well it’s not like we’re into orgies or anything but there has been a fair share of inter-dating and we’re all pretty comfortable with each other even if we’re not comfortable at all. So there will be a lot of boyfriend jokes, possibly some inappropriate touching, and lots of quotes you may not even understand. I'm thinking you can hold your own.”
“I know more than you think.” Hotch said.
“I have no doubt you're smart. What you're going to need this coming weekend is a degree in smartassery.”
“Do you want to go and grab some pie?” Hotch asked.
“What?”
“My mother isn’t the world’s greatest cook and I'm just in the mood to eat something I’ll enjoy.”
“You're opening yourself up to way too many inappropriate jokes, Aaron.”
“You called me by my first name.” Hotch unlocked his car.
“I'm feeling sassy tonight. So you want some pie?” Anderson asked.
“Yeah. The Georgetown Diner has the best pie in DC. I'm sure you’ve been there before.”
“It used to be open all night.” Anderson got into the car. “We used to hit shows at the 18 and over clubs and then go out for midnight breakfast. Except by then it was two in the morning and we looked like something out of Near Dark.”
“Is that another movie reference I don’t get?”
“I swear, as your friend I've got to show you some good films.” Anderson smirked and shook his head. “The best was Spencer. He was like 14 but kinda tall and gangly for his age and he had this shitty fake ID but the bouncers always let him in anyway. One time we were at this place that got raided by the cops and he had to crawl out of a basement bathroom window and make a break for it. His mom would’ve had a cow if the cops brought him home. Good times.”
“They were?”
“Oh yeah. If you don’t have at least one underage near run-in with the NPD then you haven’t lived.”
“I've had a few.” Hotch said.
“So you know what I'm talking about.”
“I don’t.” he shook his head. “None of mine were ever good times really. My dad kicking my ass was definitely not a good time.”
“You're on the straight and narrow now though.”
“Um…something like that.”
***
They sat in the plastic and Formica booth waiting for their order. Hotch had been craving pecan pie all day; he wanted extra whipped cream. Anderson always loved apple pie. The diner had an apple caramel crumb pie so he ordered that with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and extra whipped cream.
“What kind of book?”
“It’s on sex and sexuality.” Hotch lowered his voice. “I'm not completely ignorant but it turns out that I am completely ignorant. I wanted to know things so I bought it.”
“Are there pictures?” Anderson asked.
“There are lots of pictures.” Hotch almost smiled.
“Is the book helping you?”
“I think so. Every time I pick it up I shake off a little more embarrassment. And it’s really easy to understand so I don’t feel like I'm reading a text book.”
“Where do you hide it?” Anderson asked. He added more sugar to his coffee.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh c'mon, that’s definitely not something you leave in your sock drawer. Moms expect to find Playboy, and maybe even Hustler. If they find a book on sex they automatically think alternative lifestyle. As if straight people don’t want to learn to fuck properly too.”
“I'm not really straight.” Hotch shook his head. The waitress came and put his pie in front of him. He thanked her.
“You're so damn adorable.” Anderson said when they were alone again.
“Thank you.” Hotch smiled.
“So if you're not straight what do you think you are?”
“The simple answer is bisexual. That means I'm both physically and romantically attracted to both sexes, which I'm sure you already knew. There are all kinds of subcategories but some of those things confused me.”
“Bisexual is good.” Anderson said.
“Is it really?” Hotch asked. “If I can choose to like either men or women than I could just choose women, right? Would that be so horrible?”
“You can do whatever you want, Hotch. Repressing a large part of yourself to make someone else happy, even if you think that someone is the whole of society, is ridiculous. Not only that, it’s dangerous. No one is telling you that you have to come out, hit the Pride parade circuit, and where a tag that says ‘hi my name is bisexual Hotch’.
“Knowing who you are and what you enjoy is just one step in a lifelong journey. People try to keep it a secret but sexual freedom and desire is a struggle for everyone, straight people included. The patriarchy has made it such a taboo subject but it’s a basic human need. It’s like food, water, sex, sleep.”
“You're pretty comfortable with who you are.” Hotch said eating his pie.
“I wasn’t at first.” Anderson shook his head. “I was 13, my dad just died, and I’d been fighting off the feeling since I was probably 9 or 10. Without Amanda in my life, and even Spencer and Elle, I probably would’ve run into traffic years ago.
“You can't do it without a support system. Not just people who sympathize but empathize too. There are days I still want to throw in the towel. I've been bullied and even had the shit kicked out of me a time or two. I fake it till I make it, you know.”
“I think I've been a fake for too long.” Hotch said. “There's got to be another way.”
“All teenagers are fake in their own way…you're not a special snowflake. I think all humans are. We’re still figuring things out. Do yourself a big favor,” Anderson pointed at his with his fork. “Never think the solution to everything is figuring it all out. You'll just give up halfway through and miss a lot of good stuff. Dead kids can't eat pecan pie.”
“That’s true.” Hotch nodded.
They ate their pie in companionable silence. Anderson glanced up at Hotch every once in a while. Leave it to him to be crazy about the guy having major identity crises. Of course major identity crises could be a weekly thing in the life of a teen. And it did nothing to make Aaron Hotchner less attractive. The package was gorgeous and now Anderson had seen the package unwrapped. It was the stuff that dreams were made of.
“Tell me the hottest guy you can think of.” Anderson said.
“What?” Hotch looked confused.
“The hottest guy you can think of. C'mon, 30 seconds, don’t think too hard. You already know the answer.”
“Jason Isaacs.”
“And who’s the hottest woman you can think of?”
“Pam Grier in Coffy.”
“Congratulations,” Anderson smiled. “You're a pretty normal teenager.”
“The world according to Anderson.” Hotch smiled too.
“I'm thinking of writing a book. If Dr. Phil can get rich BS’ing his way through people’s problems then why can't I? And mine wouldn’t even be bullshit. I should be writing all of this down…I think I missed some prime jewels tonight.”
“I feel the need to ask one more time if you're OK with my coming to Spencer’s birthday party.” Hotch said.
“I'm really OK with it.” Anderson nodded. “I like spending time with you.”
“Me too.”
Hotch looked at him for a moment, smiled, and then focused again on his pie. Going out after a long day was a good idea. Good dessert and good company would never be a bad thing. Anderson was always really good company.
***
And you touched my mind.
Although it took a while,
I was falling in love.
I saw your eyes,
And you made me cry.
And for a little while,
I was falling in love.
“I would never peg you for a Flock of Seagulls fan.” Anderson watched the windshields move back and forth.
“I just listen to this 80s station sometimes on the satellite radio.” Hotch said. “They play all kinds of music. Thanks for coming out with me tonight.”
“That’s what friends are for, and you paid for the pie.”
“Yeah.” Hotch smiled some.
“Are you alright?” Anderson looked at him.
“I think so. I'm just a little tired and there's no end in sight.”
“The four day weekend is gonna be good. There's family stuff on Thursday but I'm free the rest of the time. If you want to get away from it all I’ll be around.”
“I'm going to Manassas on Thursday and some of Friday.” Hotch said. “We always have Thanksgiving with my mom’s parents. We’ll hang out on the weekend though.”
“Definitely.” Anderson nodded. “Bring that book of yours and we’ll laugh like 12 year olds looking at dirty pictures.”
“That sounds like a good time.”
“I'm a certified good time…ask around.”
Hotch grinned, pulling up in front of the Anderson home. He cut the engine and put on his blinkers. Anderson undid his seatbelt.
“Thanks for the pie. It was delicious and I didn’t even know I wanted it.”
“You're welcome.”
“Goodnight.” Anderson grabbed his backpack from the floor, reaching for the door handle.
“Hey,” Hotch put his hand on Anderson’s arm. He slid it down and took his hand. “C'mere.”
Anderson wanted to say something but then again he didn’t. His mouth was desperate for him so he let Hotch do it. He let Hotch coax his mouth open with his tongue and kiss him deeper. When they came up for air, Anderson let Hotch give him Eskimo kisses and then kiss the tip of his nose. Soon they were kissing again, Anderson’s arms around Hotch’s neck. He ran his hand up the nape of his neck and through Hotch’s raven hair. They both shivered, Hotch moaning into Anderson’s mouth.
“I'm sorry.” Hotch whispered as their lips came apart.
“Shut up.”
“OK.”
Anderson kissed him again. He had no idea how long they sat in that car kissing. Checking his watch wasn’t on Anderson’s list of things to do. He’d rather kiss and stroke and have those noises of desire come from his diaphragm, filling the small space. That was a lot more interesting than knowing what time it was. Time stood still in Hotch’s Mustang.
“I need to go.” Anderson pulled away for a third time. This time he was almost sure he meant it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“One more kiss.” Hotch said. He didn’t think he’d ever sounded so sure about something in his life.
“Yeah,” the teenager nodded and dove back into Hotch’s mouth. “You're a bad influence, Aaron Hotchner.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” He kissed the side of Anderson’s mouth. “Cross my heart.”
“Goodnight.”
It took a moment for Anderson to get his bearings. He finally got out of the car but had to give his legs time to learn to walk again. The rain woke him up from the hazy kissing dream because it was cold. It didn’t do much to cool his rising temperature. If the damn car had a backseat worth anything they would’ve been back there in an instant.
Anderson wanted Hotch so bad that he thought he might scream. It looked like, for the moment anyway, that the feeling was mutual. He didn’t want to get too caught up in Hotch’s sometimes mixed signals. It was better to just go with the flow. The flow felt good right now.
“Hey bud.” Anderson stepfather was sitting in the chair watching Sportscenter when he walked into the living room. “I saw a Mustang outside and thought that might be you. Was school good?”
“I hope that’s a rhetorical question.” Anderson hung his jacket in the front closet.
“You just keep those grades up so your mom won't have to kill you.”
“I will. Is she still on second shift this week?”
His mom had been a registered nurse at Children’s National Medical Center since Anderson was in the first grade. His stepfather owned his own hauling and clean out company. They got good work from here all the way to Baltimore.
“She should be home by midnight.” His stepfather replied. “But there’s some manicotti warm in the oven if you're hungry.”
“I already had pie.” Anderson said.
“That’s not exactly a balanced meal.”
“Yeah I know, but I'm still feeling nice and full. I gotta do some homework. See ya later.”
***