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It was a Friday after school- the one day of the week where dad taught until after the time the high school let out.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go to the river, but it’s cold as hell. You’re gonna get cold feet about it and we’ll have to bike all the way back,” Rhett explained as he shoved his hands in his too-loose, washed out jeans.
“Whatever, man. We can hang here. I have some chocolate coins leftover from Christmas,” Link dug two half-smushed tin foil coins from his bag and deposited one in Rhett’s waiting palm. “Is your dad gonna take us both home?”
“It’s frickin’ thirty degrees out, ‘course he’s gonna,” Rhett tucked the tiny tin foil ball into his pocket. “But his lecture ends at five, so we’ve got an hour. Better to stay close.”
“We could…” Link trailed off only to give a well-timed shrug when Rhett threw a quisitive glance behind him.
Rhett shrugged back, kicking a stray pebble. He said, “Let’s go up to the roof again.”
The roof was fun . They had discovered it by chance a few months back when the boredom of summer got to be too overwhelming and they let themselves into Campbell University for some unauthorized exploring. Rhett had seen the ladder first, but Link was the one who encouraged him up to the transparent hatch at the top.
They’d been on roofs before. Dozens of ‘em. But this roof had a wide expanse and a generous view of all of campus- it was their favorite. Something about being up this high made them feel safe in a way the ground didn’t allow.
“Can’t get caught,” Rhett grinned, enjoying the thrill as much as the sneaking itself.
“Won’t,” Link promised, shirt baggy and sneakers caked in mud as he went first up the ladder.
The sun counteracted the chill, baked the chalky-white of the roof in a radiating warmth as the two boys trekked to some metal box in the middle.
“Air vent,” Rhett said too confidently.
“Radiator?” Link said less confidently.
“Come on, sit down,” Rhett slid down the side of it to sit on the grainy surface.
Link obeyed, always obeyed Rhett, and slid down until their shoulders pressed together tightly. “How long do we have?”
“Where’s your watch?” Rhett said, not unkindly.
“David Kassidy said it was lame,” Link shrugged, staring pointedly at the sharp angle of Rhett’s jaw. “And the tan got bad over the summer.”
“I don’t think it’s lame. Gotta tell time somehow, and what if you need a calculator?” Rhett jabbed into Link’s side.
Link smiled. “Thanks, man. It’s still at home, maybe I’ll wear it tomorrow.”
“Until then, I think we should prob’ly hurry up. Just watch for traffic to pick up- it’ll mean class let out.”
Link nodded, licking his lips hard before turning to find Rhett already staring at him with his lips parted. Rhett nodded once and they leaned in, chapped lips colliding messily for a minute or two.
“Can I…?” Link tried to find a way to make Rhett more accessible, opting to sit on his lap sideways after a second of debate.
This time it felt more natural, with one of Rhett’s hands on his hips and the other on his thigh. Link closed his eyes and leaned into the warmth. His hands moved anxiously as he tried to find a good place to put them, ultimately deciding to put one on Rhett’s chest.
“You pretending I’m Sarah Martin, or what? Eyes all closed,” Rhett teased, pinching Link’s hip.
“Ow,” Link frowned for a second before grinning again. “Nah, should I keep them open?”
“Opened ‘em to look at me last year at the party,” Rhett winked.
Link rolled his eyes and scooted a little closer, partially because of the cold and partially because of a growing comfort in the act. He had gotten progressively braver when he and Rhett did this- it had started with “practice” at the beginning of summer. They decided they needed to be ready for whatever girls awaited them in the new school year.
Now, it was a weekly event that Link looked forward to, even if it wasn’t supposed to be anything more. Boys didn’t count, after all, it was just-
“Link?” Rhett’s voice broke through Link’s thoughts again.
“Sorry, just distracted,” Link assured, “Let’s keep going.”
Trembling lips resumed their unskilled dance, hands began to wander and grip across each other’s chests. Link thanked God that Rhett was his space heater out here, radiating warmth enough for them both.
“Rhett McLaughlin!” A voice echoed across the roof, startling Link straight off Rhett’s lap.
Rhett scurried to his feet, hands up like Mr. Frank was a police officer here to arrest them both. Link bit his tongue, cursing himself for being too distracted to hear the hatch open yards away. The man, the Chancellor of the college, nonetheless, clearly had seen everything happening between the two boys on the roof.
Rhett bolted in the other direction suddenly, prompting a terrified Link to chase after him, wondering what could possibly wait at the end of this run. Would he have to jump off the roof? Would he never get to kiss Rhett again?
“He’s not chasing us!” Link yelled when Rhett’s long legs had carried him too far.
“He’s not?” Rhett panted, hands on his knees as he searched behind them anxiously.
“No. Let’s just go, man. Face the music,” Link had a low tolerance for the anxiety churning and boiling in his gut. At the ripe age of sixteen, he’d learned to just confess.
“Dad’s gonna whoop me bad ,” Rhett swallowed hard and looked up to the sky as if he could escape that way.
“The roof was unlocked,” Link shrugged, always a little on edge when Rhett was afraid like this. Always motivated to calm him down.
“Not for the roof, dingbat,” Rhett sneered, raking a nervous hand across his short hair. “For the- the other stuff. Fine. Fine, let’s just go. Dad’s class lets out any minute.”
Nervously, they marched back to the hatch. To their great surprise, Mr. Frank was nowhere to be seen. They slunk down the ladder and calmly went to wait outside of the building. When Professor McLaughlin came out fifteen minutes later, his eyes were dark, but he was quiet.
It wasn’t until dinner, long after they dropped Link off, that Rhett sat stone-faced across from his dad. His mom chattered away about Cole’s scholarship details until his dad cleared his throat.
“Chancellor Frank came to talk to me before class let out,” He began gravely.
Rhett and Cole went dead quiet, all forks paused.
“And?” Diane cocked her head, immediately knowing someone had it in for them.
“Said he caught you and Link up on the roof,” His gaze lowered.
Rhett’s entire throat was closed, his mouth desperately dry, only allowing for a small head nod from the teenager.
“On the roof?” Diane pipes in, her voice more irritated than angry.
“Said they were throwing rocks at passing cars! What the hell, boy?” His dad says, “Both of you should be belted, Diane, call Sue after dinner. Can’t believe it.”
Rhett blinked, head absently tilted. Throwing rocks ? At cars? That’s not- “Yessir, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“You two are old enough to stop with the shenanigans, okay?” Jim huffed.
Rhett nodded, kept nodding until after dinner when he heard his mom ending the phone call after talking to Sue. He picked up the upstairs receiver before the call can drop and he said, “Ms. Neal, may I talk to Link, please? We’ll real sorry.”
“Hey Rhett,” Link’s voice was already there, having had the same idea on his end. “It’s me, Link.”
“We’re getting punished,” Rhett said, his voice almost giddy.
“Why’dya sound so pleased ‘bout that?” Link frowned, already knowing Rhett’s punishment would be tenfold worse.
“Because we were just tossing rocks, Link. Just throwing rocks off the roof, is what Mr. Frank saw,” Rhett’s voice lowered to a whisper, a relieved, private sound that resonated through the line.
“Tossin’’ rocks?” Link’s voice was soft, confused.
“Just tossin’ rocks, man. That’s all we were doing,” Rhett almost laughed, slumping against his parent’s dresser.
From across town, both boys just sat on the phone and breathed deeply. Their breathing matched until it turned into stifled giggles because, after all, getting away with shenanigans is getting away with shenanigans.