The Two Alphas of Rosewood Creek [MxM]

Chapter 6

Kash and I were almost back to my place when I finally stopped. I kept turning back to see Kash hesitantly scanning the trees and brush around us. This had to be at least the fifth time I caught him checking out the vicinity, like some kind of soldier in enemy territory. The minute we turned down the harmlessly average dirt road, I could hear his steps behind me instantly becoming slower--more cautious--like a startled fawn wandering through people's backyards. But I couldn't see anything that might indicate danger, and so couldn't make much sense of Kash's hesitance.

Did he just see a wild animal? Weird... What's he so worried about?

"Dude, what's up with you!?" I just had to get to the bottom of this. More than anything, I was annoyed by how much longer the walk was taking us, I started to feel uneasy by how rattled Kash was acting.

"Huh... Oh... nothing," he blurted out, breaking from his daydream and quickly shaking his head. We had finally made it to my house. I led us around to the back porch and up the small flight of stairs to the screen door. I could hear Kash almost skipping up the steps behind me. It was like I'd broken him from some kind of trance, his mood shifting on a dime, strangely uplifted.

"You sure, man?" I wasn't going to let Kash off that easy, but then I didn't want to probe too harshly. "I mean, you seemed hella nervous the whole way here. They got bears out here or something?"

"No‒or wait, I mean yeah‒bears! We've got bears here. I mean I guess you've got to keep an eye out for 'em," Kash babbled sloppily in response as if he'd been caught off guard. "No‒everything's fine. I was just... umm... checking out the neighborhood, ya know? Can't say the last time I've been out this side of town."

His eyes seemed to dart around‒between the trees, the mailboxes, the few trash cans left out on the street from the day before‒searching almost manically for any other serviceable thing to talk about. Bless his heart, Kash was such a nervous wreck, and yet somehow didn't budge whenever I had more than a two-word question for him.

"Sure, whatever man," shrugging my shoulders as I turned to open the back screen door.

"I've never been this close before," Kash murmured under his breath.

This close? This close to what?

Shaking off Kash's random antics, I invited him inside.

"Anyone home?" I called out into the house at large. I could hear boxes being shuffled around somewhere past the kitchen. "Mom... Uhh, I have a guest and I was just‒"

"In here, honey!" It was Beth, hollering from the living room, "Sorry, what was that? I'm back here. Could you come and give me a hand real quick?"

Kash and I stripped off our backpacks and he slowly followed me as I showed him through to the back of the house. Beth was squatted next to some dusty old moving boxes, sorting through a mess of yellowed old books and papers.

"Umm, Mom I brought a guest home if that's alright." I stepped aside revealing a bashful and blushing Kash behind me. I put a hand to his shoulder thinking maybe that would comfort him, "Kash, this is my mom Beth. I'm not really sure where my other mom is right now, but‒"

"Ohh, we brought a friend over, did we," Beth exclaimed, shrill with glee. Beth (the quintessential Southern belle she was) welcomed any opportunity to exercise domestic hospitality. Aside from her current mess in the living room, she kept the house at a constant ready for any small amount of guests that might drop in. She was eternally happy to do so, and at that couldn't be happier at the possibility of meeting someone I knew‒one of my friends.