Green Neon

16 A marble column

They kissed again and again and caressed each other more and more passionately, and Tom noticed that his pants were tight. When his fingers tampered with the closure of Sophia's bra, she tsk-tsked. Tom's fingers reluctantly obeyed, refraining from lewdness. The contents of his pants throbbed violently, and as they exchanged another deep French kiss, he panicked as moisture began to spread. He felt himself blushing and just hoped his face wouldn't glow in the darkness, nor would his pants reveal their "inner secret".

Just then, a soft "Hey !" sounded out of the twilight. Nikos' voice yanked the two out of their embrace. The boys approached far too quickly. Georgios puffed himself up a bit and was just catching his breath to start a sermon when Nikos got ahead of him and explained in great detail about the incredibly exciting shop that they had discovered along the way. He cleverly involved Sophia's brother by mentioning all sorts of exotic objects, which Georgios of course had to say something about. So he missed the opportunity to correct Sophia and Tom.

Georgios seemed to accept that his job as a watchdog had failed. Eventually he attempted to at least partially exercise his duty by urging the group to leave. He had promised his father to see his sister home by midnight, and he wanted to keep at least that part of his promise.

Should he tell his parents about Sophia's misconduct, which he had noticed, if only because Tom's shirt suddenly came down to his knees? And wasn't he wearing glasses? He chose not to snitch because he didn't think it impossible that his punishment could be harsher than Sophia's.

But he wanted to be extra careful for the rest of the evening, so he took his sister's hand and ran. Nikos also took Tom's hand. The custom of young men walking hand in hand in Greece had initially alienated Tom. He now found it perfectly normal and in no way offensive. However, he was aware that – back in Germany – he would have to revert to standard behavior immediately.

Tom and Nikos followed a few meters behind the siblings, who were having an intensive conversation in Greek. So Tom was spared comprehension of Georgios' reproaches. Nikos glanced at his German friend with sparkling eyes.

"No secrets," he reminded him of his promise. Tom's face was still hot to the touch and he was glad his shirt concealed his region of embarrassment. His pants must be dripping, he thought, and his happiness over the hour with his new girlfriend was clouded by his awareness of the dampness below.

"I'll tell you everything, I promise, but not now," Tom tried to play for time. Nikos' gaze was penetrating, although his eyes, which were still throwing lightning, spoke a different language. With the understanding of a true friend he replied:

"Yes, yes, it's ok. We don't want the little brother to notice anything, right?"

Tom nodded his agreement, making sure to lower his head slowly, because if he'd rather jerked his head, and nodded up first, it would have meant the opposite, as he had learned by now. He was glad Nikos didn't insist on an immediate report, because he wouldn't have felt comfortable divulging his experiences when his new love was only three arm's lengths away.

There was not the slightest doubt that she was his new love. His whole body was screaming for Sophia, and he instantly realized he had another problem. He would only be here less than three weeks, and even that wasn't certain. How many more times would he be able to see her? What if he was back in Germany?

Lost in thought, he trotted - only physically present - in Nikos' hand behind the others. All of a sudden he felt a hand on his pants right where it was most embarrassing. Nikos had targeted exactly the wrong spot under Tom's shirt in a flash. Tom gasped in shock, and then the hand was gone again. Just as his anger was about to erupt, Nikos grinned at him even wider than usual: