Escaping the Current

7. Porcupine and Duckling's Reunion

Kaden tried to wipe away the pieces of waffles and strawberries off Austin's shirt. It proved to be futile, because the melting ice cream seemed to be spreading as he was wiping. He finally gave up and stood straight up. 'I ruined your shirt.'

'Don't worry about it. At least we still have one.' Austin held up the surviving dessert and smiled at Kaden. He glanced around for a second, before fixing his gaze on a nearby bench. He headed towards it.

Kaden followed him, feeling quite guilty. Austin rested the dessert down on the bench. He took his shirt off, and dapped away some of the ice cream that had seeped through off his abs.

'Sorry,' Kaden whispered, eyeing Austin's torso. He hadn't realized how much he missed seeing that chest, those abs, those biceps and his veiny arms that had made Kaden drool at times.

'I was standing there for such a long time. I should have said something.'

Kaden nodded. A shroud of awkwardness blew in alongside the wind and settled in between them. They stared at each other, like puppies not really knowing how to initiate contact with their owner after doing something naughty.

'I brought us dessert, you know,' Austin smiled awkwardly at Kaden and then to the dessert that was left. 'But one took a dive onto my body.'

Kaden let out a forced laugh.

'I think you should eat that before the ice cream becomes a lake,' Austin stated, handing Kaden a spoon.

'How about we share?' Kaden suggested, sitting on one end of the bench. Austin joined him on the other side. He smiled at Kaden as he into the waffles.

XXX

It was probably one of the most awkward, yet enjoyable meals they've shared. The ice cream had melted to an extent that every time Austin would scoop a piece of waffle up, it would drip down his chin, making Austin stick his tongue out to his chin to lick it off.

As the final traces of waffle and strawberries disappeared from the paper plate, all that was left was the melted ice cream, which Kaden nudged towards Austin. Austin raised his brow.

'You're not going to lick the plate clean?' Kaden asked. 'It's your favorite thing to do, isn't it?'

Austin rolled his eyes. 'I can't believe you just asked that. I'm so offended.' He frowned and crossed his arms. 'It used to be my thing back when I was young and immature. That was a long time ago. I have matured.'

Kaden failed to keep a straight face. He raised his brow and laughed, 'You mean three months ago?'

'A lot can change in three months,' Austin retorted.

There was silence between them once again. A lot could change in three months. For them, a lot had. Their individual thoughts were a shared recollection of what had gone on in the past weeks. And they were just sitting across each other, not knowing how to talk about it.

'Kades,' Austin called, clearing his throat and avoiding Kaden's direction. 'I'm sorry about how things are. I'm really sorry.'

Kaden gulped, 'You're not the only one who's sorry. I should have-'

Austin took Kaden's hand. 'No, Kades. I should have reacted better.' His eyes were starting to fill themselves up. He let go of Kaden's hand. 'You deserved better from your best friend. I don't even know where to begin. All too fast, so much went wrong. I want to fix it. I need to fix it because life has been awful without you.' Austin finally looked into Kaden's eyes. 'I'm so miserable without you.'

'Austin, I miss you,' Kaden replied. 'It hasn't been easy for me not to have you.

There was a small sigh of relief from both of them. Knowing that they still felt the same way about each other rested their worries, a little. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, trying to preserve the tranquility.