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1
“Hold this.”
“Why?”
“Trust me.”
“Dante.”
“Ari, please.”
The box looked like an innocent birthday gift. Ari would have no trouble accepting it had it been his birthday. But it wasn’t.
He shook it. It rattled. He glanced up at Dante and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“Is this what I think it is?”
“You know the rules of gift-giving, Ari.”
“I don’t want your shoes, Dante.”
“I gave it to you, so now it’s yours forever.”
It was worth it. Dante was smiling.
2
The water at the lake was green and untrustworthy, but Ari still dared to dip his feet in the water. But Dante dove inside enthusiastically. Ari waited for him to peak his head out of the water, and when he did, Dante had a smile of victory.
“Ari.”
“What?”
“I just lost my shoes.”
“How?”
“I dove in with them on.”
“On purpose?”
Dante laughed.
Yeah, it was on purpose.
3
Ari had never been camping before, but the best part was the bonfire. He could never have enough s’mores.
In a single movement, Dante pulled his face close and kissed him. Without warning. That was Ari’s favorite way of kissing.
“I can taste the marshmallow in your mouth,” Dante whispered.
“I know.”
The bonfire was crackling more than before. Dante’s shoe was deep in the middle, roasting like their marshmallows.
“That was sneaky, Dante.”
“And it was fun.”
4
He didn’t know why they had suddenly stopped during their morning jog, except that Dante was now walking away from him.
“Dante?”
Dante stopped in front of a homeless man resting against a dirty wall. Ari caught up to Dante, eyes furrowed in confusion.
“You don’t have shoes,” Dante said.
“What’s it to ya?”
“You can have mine.” Dante slipped out of his shoes, along with his white socks, and handed them over to the homeless man. “They’re clean.”
The homeless man took them after a moment of hesitation.
5
There was a bulk behind the sheet that covered up Dante’s newest painting. Ari had a pretty good guess as to what was behind it even before Dante uncovered it.
“What do you think?”
The tennis shoe was resting firmly on the large canvas. There were tracks of mud all over, which looked purely intentional. Ari could only imagine the fun Dante had making this piece.
“Not bad.”
“I figured this way, Mom can’t be mad.”
“At least you found them a good purpose.”
“At least I did.”
6
Dante had given Ari’s bed a whole new purpose. Together they had discovered the perfect place to make out.
At night, right before sleep took over his consciousness, Ari thought of Dante in his arms, in his bed. The nightmares rarely resurfaced that way. His bed was a place of comfort.
In the midst of their laughter and fast breathing, Ari heard a thud close by. His lips stopped their motion when he realized the house was empty aside from the two of them.
“What was that?”
“Shoes,” Dante gasped.
Ari couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t realize you were still wearing them.”
“Forgot to take them off.”
Dante brought their lips back together, and his soft fingers tangled in Ari’s hair.
Before Ari’s eyes fluttered shut, he saw the second tennis shoe flying out his open window, moving the curtain along.
7
Ari and Dante hovered close to a black construction hole on the street. With no one around in sight, they exchanged an inquisitive look.
“How deep do you think it goes?”
Dante’s eyes lit up. “Should we test it?”
“How?”
Dante removed his shoes quickly, and handed one to Ari. “I’ll go first.”
Ari watched as the shoe disappeared into the darkness of the hole, and they both waited patiently until they heard it splash against water.
“We can’t measure this, Dante.”
“Who cares? It’s your turn.”
Ari smiled as he let Dante’s other shoe fall into the hole. The water splashed again, and satisfaction settled over them.
“That’s teamwork, Ari.”
“We make a great team.”
Dante reached for Ari’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.
8
There were a multitude of stars in the clear night sky. None of that light pollution. Ari closed his eyes, feeling at ease on the bed of his truck with Dante’s arm against his.
A kiss woke him from the sleep he never realized had overtaken him. Dante was glancing at him with expectation.
“You miss me?”
“No. I have you.”
Ari laughed because he knew Dante was right.
“I have an idea, Ari.”
“Tell me.”
“I want to drive your truck.”
“You’ve only had three lessons, Dante.”
Ari sat up and ran a hand through his long hair. He expected a haircut soon.
“Let me try. Please.”
And if that sweet quiet voice wasn’t convincing enough, Dante also had kisses to offer his neck, right below his ear. Ari shivered, though it wasn’t cold.
When Dante was given the keys, Ari hurried to the passenger seat to make sure everything went okay. Dante didn’t have much trouble starting the truck anymore. He was a fast learner, after all. After a few long circles in the desert, Dante headed back to their original spot. The perfect spot.
Ari noticed the pair of tennis shoes that had been left on the sand. Dante looked determined and excited as he speeded ahead and let the wheels of the truck run over his shoes.
“Dante, just a word of advice. When you’re driving on an actual road, never willingly drive over objects. Including people.”
“Unless they’re shoes.”
Ari smiled. “Unless they’re shoes.”
9
They were sitting on the roof of Ari’s house. Dante wanted to know what it was like being on the roof of a house, so they asked Ari’s dad for a ladder and climbed it. The view wasn’t beautiful, but they had a nice white glow from the full moon.
“I wish I’d brought a book up here,” Dante said.
“You can’t read outside at night,” Ari said.
“I can try. I have a flashlight.”
Dante turned on the flashlight in his hand and pointed it at Ari before turning it off.
“Now I’m blind.”
Dante laughed. He wrapped an arm around Ari’s shoulder and leaned his head against his temple.
“Nights with you are my favorite,” Dante said, real quiet.
“Me too.”
The moment grew longer, and they said nothing. Ari moved closer until his hand was gripping Dante’s side, mostly to assure he wouldn’t fall down.
“Too bad for the light pollution,” Ari said.
“The moon is ours anyway.”
On the way down the ladder, Ari noticed Dante’s shoes had been left behind. He glanced at Dante, who had reached the bottom. Ari didn’t say a thing about them.
10
“How do you still have so many shoes, Dante? You keep getting rid of them!”
In his room, Dante was building a tennis shoe pyramid. He was focused, with a bead of sweat on his forehead.
“I’m making a sculpture,” Dante said.
With a sigh, Ari joined Dante on the floor and handed him the rest of the shoes.
“Art takes effort.”
“Who would have thought? The boy who hates shoes found in them a new muse.”
Dante smiled as he continued to stack the shoes in a precise manner. He was nailing each shoe together somehow. It seemed like a lot of work.
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
The last shoe went at the very top, but Dante didn’t nail it. He just let it sit there and then scooted back to admire his creation.
“You’re my muse, Ari.”
The kiss he received left little to argue with.