Parasitic Love

A/N: This is my lazy story. Updating wed-Sunday right now

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Connor had never understood the world’s obsession with sex. He’d been a teenager once, and horny all the time for no reason. Unlike the other guys that had chased relentlessly after girls though, Connor’s hand had always suited him just fine.

Sex was complicated, messy, and sometimes awkward and unpleasant. You never knew what would piss the other person off or turn them on. One person liked it this way and the next liked it so completely different it was like Connor was sleeping with aliens.

“Grab my boobs!” Hannah gasped as she bounced away in Connor’s lap, and in the hopes it would finish her off quick, Connor complied.

They were at it again. He and Hannah and the oh-so-hated act of intimacy. Hannah wasn’t Connor’s wife; she wasn’t even his girlfriend. She was just a friend that came over to fuck a couple of times a month. It usually made her happy, so they’d made a habit of it.

She was doing this new move tonight though, reverse cowgirl, and it was especially dumb. All the awkward shifting, all the uncomfortable placement of hands. She had some sex book, with hundreds of different positions and she’d tried to show it to Connor once. He’d had so little interest; the whole book was nothing but a blur of arms and legs. Sex just didn’t interest him.

Never had.

“C’mon, you’ve got to thrust your hips up,” Hannah groaned. She turned to look at him in the gloom of the little bedroom, her eyes pleading.

They were on Connor’s full mattress, just a tad smaller than a queen with the covers kicked down on the floor. The room was filled with the scent of Hannah’s vanilla-scented perfume. It was overwhelming in the heated space between them, and Connor could almost taste the nasty shit on the back of his tongue. Hannah’s bleach-blond hair was lit with the moonlight pouring through the window. It streamed down, covering her tits and Connor’s big hands and sticking to their sweaty flesh. Her insistent moans were irritating, and Connor knew they were another ploy on the girl’s part to get him to fuck her harder.

Sighing, Connor ramped up his efforts. It was always so hot in here when things got sexual. He wished he had turned on the box fan in the window.

Hannah cried out at the change in pace and reached back to grab at Connor’s thighs for leverage. She held on, bracing herself for Connor’s orgasm, and almost grudgingly, Connor focused on the pleasure pooling in his groin and slowly, his cock worked itself up and erupted.

Hannah finished as soon as Connor did. She usually took what he offered and didn’t ask for more. The same was true tonight. She sighed contentedly as she rolled off Connor and curled into his side. Once there, she nuzzled against him. She didn’t say anything, but Connor hated this part the most. The after-fuck cuddle. It really was hot in here. Connor’s skin was sticky, wet with perspiration, and the sheets were bunched up in the small of his back. Hannah’s body was like a furnace next to him and Connor shifted uncomfortably against her, their skin sticking together like velcro.

They lazed around for a while. Neither of them could sleep in the heat. It was the dead end of summer. The frogs croaked outside in the swampy marsh and occasionally the bug zapper hanging just beyond the window flared up, killing some dumb insect. Besides the sounds of nature, however, it was very quiet. Connor lived far from the beaten path in a shoebox sized trailer that, while not much, suited his needs perfectly; it let him have the silence and solitude he craved.

Of course, Hannah’s visits were a distraction from the solitude. As was the sudden and deafening crash that sounded just outside the bedroom window followed by a blinding flash of light.

Connor jerked up.“What the fuck?”

Hannah covered her breasts and sat up as well.“Did you see that?”

Connor was already up, grabbing his boxers off the end of the bed. He hopped into them as he rushed down the short hallway and into the living room. There was an aluminum bat in the corner, next to the screen door, and Connor grabbed it then shoved his way outside.

His bedroom window looked out on the swamp behind the trailer, so Connor quickly rounded the house and scanned the marsh. Where the light had come from wasn’t apparent. There’d been some kind of explosion preceding it, as well.

“Hey.”

“Fuck!” Connor jumped as Hannah put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry.” The young woman stood behind Connor wearing his discarded t-shirt. She nervously tied her hair back. “See anything?”

“No,” Connor grunted. “But you just about scared me to death.”

“It almost sounded like a car crash,” Hannah said, gazing over Connor’s shoulder at the swampy backyard. “Maybe that light was somebody’s headlights.”

“Tck. I doubt it.” Connor rolled his eyes. If some asshole had driven off the road, for the past 2 miles, missed the trailer completely and had gone off into the marsh, maybe that’d explain the noise and the flash of light. But nobody came around here.

“Could have been a drunk,” Hannah offered.

Just then, the air came alive with splashes and panicked cries of distress. Several yards into the marsh, a dark humanoid figure struggled in the water.

Hannah grabbed Connor’s arm. “Oh! There’s someone out there!”

“There’s a flashlight on the top of the fridge! Go grab it!” Connor shook Hannah off and stepped into the warm, slimy swamp water. He instantly wished he’d grabbed his boots but fuck it, he’d requested the flashlight so Hannah would stay out of the way.

Connor pushed forward, toward the splashes tearing through the otherwise silent night. A mosquito buzzed incessantly in his ear and he impatiently swatted it away as he got closer.

The moon was almost full. It slanted through the tree branches, lighting the rippling water below. Connor’s eyes had adjusted by the time he was within arms range of the figure. The person wasn’t large, nor threatening, but they were trespassing and seemed to either be drunk or on some serious drugs because the water was only waist deep.

Connor lifted the bat menacingly over his shoulder. “Who’s there? You’re trespassing, do you know that?” The figure didn’t react. It continued to struggle, thin arms flailing out of the water, pale legs kicking with fright. Whoever it was floated face down in the dirty water. They appeared to be drowning.

Connor hesitated. He scanned the area once more, but saw nothing else out of the ordinary. After a moment of indecision he stepped forward and used the bat to flip the figure over.

A face emerged from the water, young and softened in the pale moonlight. Eyes, large and wide with fear, gawked up at him. It was a teenage boy!

Connor gaped, shocked to find such a pristine looking boy blinking back at him. What the hell was this kid up to?! This had to be a prank or something. Kids from the apartments a few miles off sometimes liked to mess with him. They’d leave shit on his doorstep,do the old ding-dong-ditch, or play other fun tricks every now and then.

But this was new. They were definitely getting creative. Pretending to drown in the swamp? Fucking stupid. How they’d made that noise though and the flash of light…

Connor looked around, waiting for more kids to pop out of the woodwork, laughing, but the kid in the water continued to splash around, apparently helpless and Connor turned back to him.

“Alright. Get up.” Connor crouched down to grab the kid by the front of his shirt but he grabbed nothing but skin. He tried again, grabbing the boy’s arm and yanking him upright.

“Guh!” the boy gasped and choked up dirty water. Connor looked the boy up and down and then quickly looked up again, his face filling with heat. The boy was completely naked! Bare ass naked!Was this part of the prank?!

“Who the fuck are you?” Connor growled, embarrassed and jumping to anger as a first resort. “This is private property, kid!”

“I-I-I-” the boy stammered, before he spit up more water.

His level of frustration growing, Connor snapped. “Are you high or something! Speak up!”

“I-I’m l-l-lost!”

“Screw you,” Connor grunted. “What, is this some kind of dare or something? Come bother the dude in the trailer down Woods Trail?”

The boy’s eyes rolled up in his head, and he cocked his chin up toward the sky but he’d stopped spitting up water. He was looking up at the moon. “Lost,” he said again.

Off in the distance, back toward the trailer, Connor heard Hannah calling him. Her voice was frantic.

“I’m fine! Stay there!” he yelled back before rounding on the boy again. “Listen, I don’t know what the hell you want, but you need to scram.”

The boy slowly oriented his gaze back to earth, looking at Connor with a hell of a lot of confusion. “Scram?”

“Beat it!”

“Wh-what shall I beat?”

Connor looked the kid over again, gave him a good hard look despite his nudity. The boy didn’t even seem to notice he was naked. He stood, a little off kilter, but totally unashamed of his exposure. Connor couldn’t help eyeing his penis again. It was sizable, and was paired with a nice handful of balls with a light covering of hair.

Connor nervously locked licked his lips, tearing his gaze away from the kid’s pride and joy. “What’s your name?” he asked roughly. Why didn’t this kid have anything on?! It wasextremelydistracting!

“N-name?”

“Seriously?” Connor frowned. “I’m Connor. What are you called?”

The boy smiled. “Connor,” he said softly, looking deeply into Connor’s eyes. “Connor,” he repeated.

“Oh my god!” Connor grabbed the kid’s arm and pulled him back towards the trailer. “I really don’t want to do this, but I think I’d better get the cops out here.”

“What are cops?”

“People that can help!”

“Can’t you help me? Y-you saved me.”

Connor grunted, annoyed with the entire situation. Some fucked up kid on drugs had wandered onto his property and didn’t even have the courtesy to remember his damned name. Stupid fucker had been drowning in a foot of water. What the fuck kind of night was this?!

They sloshed and fought their way back onto dry land, following Hannah’s flashlight. The boy struggled to keep Connor’s pace, but Connor didn’t slow down until the boy stumbled and latched onto his arm, smearing him with mud. Connor cringed but he let the kid clutch him for dear life, just wanting this to be over with.

“Come on,” he grumbled. “We’re almost there.”

The second they stepped on shore, Hannah hurried closer and shone the flashlight on the boy. “Who’s that?”

“I have no fucking idea,” Connor sighed.

“He’s naked!”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious!” Connor snatched the flashlight from the girl’s shaking hand then started for the trailer. “Come on, I’m getting eaten alive out here.”

Hannah mumbled something in reply, but Connor ignored her. He led the way back inside, pulling the boy by the arm.

He followed docilely, without protest. The keyword of ‘cops’ hadn’t affected him, of course he’d happily enter a stranger’s home!

Once inside, Connor clicked off the flashlight. He dropped the bat by the door and hit the lights.

“Sit,” he ordered the kid, pushing him towards the ratty couch under the small living room window,but even that seemed to throw the kid. It looked like he was going to plop right down on the floor, in the middle of the room, but Hannah rushed forward in an instant, her fear chased away with the light.

“Oh, come now,” she said in her best mothering tone. “Come sit with me.”

The boy smiled at her and Hannah beamed back. Sheled the kid to the couch, put an arm around his thin shoulders and they sat down together. Connor took them both in.

Hannah was a small girl with a slim figure. She was pretty, and although not a natural blond, she pulled the bleached look off decently, Connor supposed. She wore very little makeup, and the little she did only highlighted her natural beauty. People had been asking for years if they were dating and after many attempts to explain that they were not, Connor just let them think what they wanted. She was a good catch, Connor just wasn’t into romance. Or sex. Or girlfriends.

Connor’s gaze moved to the boy next. He was a blond, too, and had incredibly light hair, Connor could see now. A natural platinum blond. He had delicate eyebrows, pale green eyes, a cute button nose, and a luscious mouth, red and plump.

As Connor’s eyes lingered on that mouth, he licked his lips. Again, he couldn’t seem to help looking at the kid’s genitals which were so prominently on display. Connor’s belly filled with heat, a warmth that had nothing to do with the muggy summer air.

What the fuck?

“What’s your name, honey? Why were you out in the swamp?” Hannah asked the blond.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Were you in an accident?” Hannah rubbed the boy’s shoulder, drawing him further into the couch so his legs closed a bit. The peep show was over, and Connor guiltily looked away.

Flustered by the situation, and knowing only one way to make it better, he rushed down the hall and hit the lights in the bedroom. He listened to Hannah’s line of questioning as he selected a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. In just seconds he was back in the living room, clothes in hand and he thrust them towards the boy. “Here.”

The cute little blond stared up at him curiously.

“Go on.” Connor shook the clothes. He did it right in front of the boy’s face. But the kid blinked his long blond lashes and smiled cluelessly.

Connor glared at the stupid idiot. He didn’t know what it was with this kid but something about him set his nerves on edge. The boy was just so…gorgeous.

Hannah gently took the clothes in the boy’s stead.“He says he doesn’t know his own name,” she said, her eyes glued to the kid. “He says he’s lost.”

“I know.” Connor said. “I already asked those same questions. I found him drowning in waist deep water!”

“I’ve never seen water before,” the boy said, beaming pleasantly from Hannah to Connor. “I thought you could drink it.”

Connor gaped at the kid while Hannah stared in silence.

“Check his fucking eyes, he must be on something,” Connor muttered.

“On something?” Hannah asked.

“Drugs! He must be fucked out of his mind!” Connor cried. “And put some fucking clothes on! What the fuck. Don’t you have any shame?”

The boy held his hands up, looking at them inquisitively. “Umm, no?”

Connor threw his arms up. This was ridiculous. He turned on his heel and marched into the kitchen area. It was separated from the living room by a half wall and cabinets affixed to the ceiling. There was a window under the cabinets that looked into the living room, a small sad place with brown Berber carpet, the brown ratty couch Hannah and the boy sat on, a beat up easy chair and a crappy TV wired for basic cable.

Connor moved to lean over the sink, looking out the dirty little window there, into the darkness and the gravel drive that led out to Woods Trail. Connor again thought about calling the cops.

“C’mon. Let’s get you cleaned up and dressed,” Hannah was saying out in the living room. “Connor’s a grumpy guy but he’s got a good heart. You can wear his stuff until we find you something that fits.”

Connor grit his teeth but when he looked back through the window into the living room, Hannah and the boy were gone. Down the hall, he could see the bathroom light and could hear water running. Connor hoped the kid wasn’t going to fall into the sink and die.

Connor ran through his options while Hannah took care of the boy. Besides calling the cops, or just flat out kicking the kid to the curb, it really didn’t seem like he had any.

Connor was a 25-year-old college dropout. While he was still in school a couple years ago, he had picked up a job delivering pizzas. Honestly, his prospects hadn’t improved much. Besides having the best times on delivery, Connor hadn’t achieved much else. He’d moved into this shit hole because it was what he could afford and drove a rundown Honda that needed a new muffler. He was used to having limited options.

But Hannah was already acting like she’d found a cute puppy and wanted to keep it.

Connor was having no part in this. The kid had to go, no matter what.

“Do I have some shame now?”

Connor snapped to attention. The boy was in the kitchen now, straddling the peeling linoleum and the Berber carpet. He was in one of Connor’s old jogging t-shirts and nothing else. It fit him like a dress. Hannah stood behind him, biting her lip to hold in a laugh.

“The sweats fell right off. He’s covered at least,” she said.

Connor shoved his fingers through his dark hair and shouldered past the kid, into the living room. He sat on the easy chair and within seconds he was followed by the other two. They claimed the couch.

After a moment of silence, Hannah spoke up again.

“What’s the last thing you remember? Maybe we can help you get un-lost.”

“I…” the boy was pulling at the hem of his t-shirt. His bare legs were slender. The kid was pretty bony actually, especially next to Hannah’s curvy figure and Connor’s more muscled one. Connor felt stupid for not even noticing how thin and tiny the kid was. “I remember being with mother.”

“Ok, what’s her name? What does she look like? “

“She doesn’t look like anything,” the boy said, not even pausing when Connor scoffed, annoyed with the answer. “And her name is mother.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Connor rolled his eyes. “That narrows it down to no one!”

Hannah smiled gently. “Connor, you didn’t see a car or anything out there? Nobody else? Just him?”

“No! Nothing!” Connor cried.

“Maybe we should look again in the morning. I think he’s showing some classic signs of amnesia.”

“Oh and you know this how?” Connor snapped.

“We both took psych,” Hannah said, her smile becoming a bit lecherous.

The two of them had met in psych class actually and Hannah had refused to let that be the end of it. Their whole relationship consisted of Hannah pushing and prying to get into Connor’s life. Now she was here, in his private home, coddling the boy they’d found together like he was a potential pet. Connor wished he’d never taken that class. A whole lot of good it’d done him anyway.

Connor grunted with disgust, shrugging off Hannah’s reminiscing.

“Anyways, I checked his eyes. One is super dilated.”

“See.” Connor said. “Drugs.”

“Or a head injury…”

“So we take him to the hospital. Let them figure this out.”

“Or we just let him stay. Keep an eye on him. He doesn’t seem to be falling over and I checked his head. No bumps, no blood. Nothing.”

“Then no amnesia,” Connor said. “Drugs!”

“What are drugs?” the boy asked suddenly, his green eyes wide with interest.

Connor rolled his eyes again. “I can’t handle this.”

“Oh, shush. This boy needs our help.”

“Why? Because we were stupid enough to find him?”

“Something weird happened out there. This boy can’t even tell us what. He can’t even remember his name! We found him. We owe it to him to look after him—”

“The fuck we do! And what do you mean ‘we’?!Youdon’t live here.Youhave class all day tomorrow!Youstart an internship next week!Youhave three annoying ass roommates and I don’t think they’ll want a fifth. A squatter!”

Hannah looked up at him with her dark pleading eyes. “C’mon Connor, he’s sweet, he’s clueless, he’s harmless—”

“Says who? You’ve known John Doe for less than twenty minutes!”

“Let him stay.”

“No!”

“He can crash on the couch while we figure this out. Tomorrow’s Monday, you don’t even work Monday.”

“I don’t fuckingcare.”

“You work Tuesday… 4 to 11:30?”

“So what if I do?!”

“I’ll skip out of class a little early. I’ll be here to watch him while you work. Please, Connor,” Hannah was really begging now. She had her damned hands clasped; her eyes misty with compassion. “I think they’ll scare him at the hospital. They’ll just rattle him up and it won’t help.”

“Yeah sure, the medical professionals are idiots!” Connor cried, finally getting out of the easy chair to tower over the two on the couch. Hannah’s pleading look refused to be banished but the kid looked a bit scared. Like he had out in the swamp.

Connor deflated a little, glaring at the kid.

“What if we can’t help him?” Connor asked, taking his tone down. He felt stupid, but he did feel bad for the kid, whatever his problem was. Connor still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t all some kind of fucked up prank, an elaborate one at that, but for all they knew this is exactly what the kid wanted. To be unassuming and cute.

Maybe this wasn’t even a prank. Maybe this kid was a fucking lunatic. Who wandered into the woods in the middle of the night completely naked? Someone insane, that’s who.

Connor eyed the boy with apprehension. The kid was hanging his head now, his short blond hair obscuring his eyes. He could totally be playing innocent until they were unaware. Then he’d take out some fucked up jagged knife and plunge it into their chests!

Or something like that. Where he’d been hiding the knife buck-ass naked was a mystery but this was all fucking mysterious. The very fact Hannah wanted to keep the boy to themselves was almost as insane as the kid’s arrival.

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll take him to the hospital. Or the police…” Hannah said. “But let’s try to help him. Please, Connor. Please…”

“This is not a good idea, Hannah,” Connor stressed. “Other people are more equipped to handle this. I don’t thinkIcan handle this.”

“Well, I want to help,” Hannah said, gently tousling the boy’s hair. He looked up at her, smiling tentatively. “But you’re right. I have school in the morning. And you’re right about my roomies, too. I don’t think they’d be super happy if I brought someone home to stay.”

Connor’s blue eyes flickered between the two very different blonds on the couch. The boy was mostly covered now, but Connor’s gaze kept getting drawn back to those smooth, creamy thighs. His eyes drifted up the sensuous curve of his neck and something deep inside Connor began to flare. The boy looked damned good.

Connor forced himself to look away. But he was already caving. “This is fucking insane.” He crossed his arms and fell back into the easy chair. “Fine! He can stay for now. But I’m warning you,” Connor poked a finger at the boy, and the kid looked at him fearfully. “One lick of trouble from you, and I’m kicking you to the curb.”

“Not a single lick,” the boy said earnestly.

“Awesome!” Hannah leapt up and into Connor’s arms, kissing him passionately.

Connor allowed it. He rarely forced Hannah to stop. She was his only real friend in the world and that was because she’d pushed that as well. Honestly, Connor wanted to be normal, even if it didn’t feel right to him.

Connor glanced in the boy’s direction as Hannah finished her unwanted passion. The blond licked his lips and his cheeks pinkened delicately. His eyes were sparkling with excitement.

Connor suddenly felt like a spectacle. He pushed Hannah off of him.“What?” he asked the smiling boy.

“Are you two mates?” the kid asked, beaming. His teeth were a little messed up, crooked, but for some reason that just made the smile seem cuter. Connor all but shoved Hannah to the floor.

“No,” Connor said roughly. “Just friends.”

“Oh!” the boy said, easily missing Hannah’s saddened look, her cringe.

She did that a lot lately when Connor went out of his way to deny their coupling. They were basically an item to anyone that actually knew them. Connor’s coworkers rolled their eyes when Hannah stopped by the pizza shop after school to get a drink. Hannah’s roomies bit their tongues whenever Connor was around, obviously dying to make assumptions. Connor figured they all talked behind their backs, figured Hannah’s roomies grilled her regularly, but Hannah never admonished Connor and Connor, when asked, tried to be truthful. No. They weren’t dating. They were just friends.

Hannah got up, avoiding Connor’s gaze. “Well, it’s past midnight. I should probably get home. School in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Connor said, watching Hannah walk back towards the bedroom, probably to retrieve her actual shirt and her bag. Connor’s eyes trailed after her but zipped back to the boy on the couch as she disappeared into the hallway.

“What?” Connor snapped. The boy was still smiling at him.

“That looked nice,” the boy said. “Shall I put my mouth on Hannah? So we can be friends?”

Connor blinked. “Uh, no. Probably not.”

“Shall I put it on you?”

“Definitely not,” Connor scoffed, getting up. He still had mud splattered up his legs and he was thinking maybe a quick shower would be best before Hannah skipped out the door.

He slipped into the bathroom. It was a real hell hole in here. Connor had never been much of a cleaner, but with missing tiles, a hole in the wall above the toilet and a leaky, rusty shower fixture, no amount of cleaning would fix it.

Connor shut the door and glanced at himself in the mirror over the sink. It was cracked in one corner and spotty from water from the sink, but Connor’s reflection stared back at him. His brow was wrinkled and his mouth was turned downwards into a scowl. Connor flexed his muscles in the mirror, hoping he looked a threat to that scrawny kid on the couch. This was going to be quite a night. Connor just hoped he wouldn’t wake up dead.

He took a quick shower, washing off the dirt and grime from the swamp. He’d kicked his boxers into the corner and picked them up lazily as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

He paused to look at himself in the mirror again. Staring at himself critically.

Connor narrowed his blue eyes. His reflection mimicked him. He didn’t know who this boy was or why all of a sudden he felt all these annoyingfeelings, but ultimately he just wanted to be normal. And being gay wasn’t normal. So Connor decided he wasdefinitelynot going to act on impulse. Never again would he be humiliated. Not like last time…

When he came out of the bathroom Hannah was dressed properly again. She had her pink tank top on, and her bag was over her shoulder. She was talking quietly with the boy on the couch and they both looked up as Connor emerged in a cloud of steam.

“Alrighty!” Hannah stood up, arranging her bag on her hip. “I’d better skedaddle.”

“See ya,” Connor said awkwardly.

“Goodbye! See you soon, friend!” the boy said excitedly.

Hannah smiled at the boy. She turned to give Connor a quick hug. “Call me immediately, no matter what time, if something goes wrong,” she said.

Connor nodded. He felt incredibly pressured.

Hannah dashed out the door. Her little Prius was in the gravel drive, and she usually ran to it when it was dark out. Scared.

Tonight, Connor didn’t blame her.

The screen door shut behind Hannah. Connor went to lock up behind her.

And suddenly they were alone. Connor and John Doe.

“Are you hungry?” Connor asked, turning back to the kid on the couch. He hadn’t moved an inch since he’d sat down. He was still playing with the hem of Connor’s oversized t-shirt.

The boy squinted his eyes and Connor shook his head with amazement.

“Food! Do you want to eat?”

“Oh! Food!” The boy danced in his seat. “I would love to try eating. I’ve never ate before.”

Connor gaped but said nothing. The towel still around his waist, he hurried into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and hid behind the door. This kid was so fucked on drugs. Maybe he’d snap out of it after some food and a little rest. Fuck. He’d never ate before? What a load of shit!

There wasn’t much in the fridge. Some expired coleslaw. The dregs of a gallon of milk. A couple Gatorades. There was a box of pizza from Saturday when Connor had last worked. He took the pizza out.

“Hope you like banana peppers,” Connor mumbled. He brought the last three slices into the living room. Connor absolutelyhateddishes, so he brought the box only. If this kid was going to be staying with him, Connor wasn’t going to be a goddamn servant. The boy was just going to have to learn to slum.

Connor sat on the couch so a fair amount of distance was between him and the boy. He set the pizza box between them and opened the lid.

“It’s colorful,” the boy said, peering at the slices.

“It’s a garden party. The newbie added banana peppers and the customer didn’t want it,” Connor said neutrally. “I work at Pizza Hut.”

“Oh!”

“Just try it,” Connor sighed.

Cautiously, the boy reached out and plucked a slice from the box. He edged it up to his mouth and let the pointed end touch his lip. Then he withdrew it, giggling.

“That tickles!”

“Uh huh,” Connor rolled his eyes.

The boy slowly worked the pizza back up to his mouth. He parted his lips and Connor tried not to look. The boy was making strange shapes with his mouth though and after a moment of indecision Connor finally reached over the box and guided the kid’s hand, all but forcing the pizza into his mouth.

“Are you serious?” Connor grunted. “Bite it.”

The kid’s teeth came down on the cold veggie pizza and his lips came down after them. He sat there with the pizza hanging out of his mouth.

“Move your teeth up and down.” Connor couldn’t even believe this was happening! This kid seriously didn’t know how to eat!

The little blond followed instructions, moving his mouth mechanically. He immediately started to choke.

“Oh, c’mon! Let it go in your mouth. You have to swallow it.” Connor yanked the kid’s hand, pizza still within its grasp, away from his mouth. The boy was mashing the bite around in his mouth, chewing and chewing and making weird, gross noises.

“Swallow.”

“I dunno how,” the kid mumbled around his mouthful. Connor grabbed the kid’s chin and tilted it back.

“It goes all the way into the back of your throat and then you let it go down,” he said impatiently. “You’re insane, you know that?”

The kid gulped audibly. And then gasped for breath.

“That hurt,” he said, his face screwing up with pain.

“Take a smaller bite then. Shit! This is how you eat, retard,” Connor used his handhold on the boy’s arm to bring the pizza to his own mouth now, taking a bite right behind him. He faced the boy fully and showed him how to chew.

The boy nodded, watching Connor with intense interest.

“Try again,” Connor said forcefully, releasing the kid’s arm.

The blond, even more cautiously now – if that were fucking possible – brought the pizza back to his lips. He took a small bite, chewed, and then tilted his head back. He swallowed a bit easier this time.

“Good?”

“It—it tastes strange,” the boy said, lowering his eyes almost apologetically.

“Maybe you don’t like banana peppers either,” Connor said. He peeled the large neon yellow pepper from the kid’s slice and plunked it into the pizza box. “Try it now.”

The kid took another small bite and repeated his awkward chewing.

“Better?”

The boy tilted his head back and swallowed. He nodded slowly. A bit of sauce dotted the corner of his mouth.

“See, these peppers are sour,” Connor said. “And the red onions are sweet, the spinach is just a little salty…” Connor felt stupid for explaining. The kid had eaten the pizza down to the crust and was humming with pleasure as he tried the flavored crust.

“I like this part.”

“It’s got garlic butter on it,” Connor said. “Everyone likes garlic. It makes your breath smell.”

The kid sniffed the crust. “Yummy!” he happily munched away. It seemed like he was starting to understand the process of eating and Connor sat back and watched him slowly eat the rest of the two slices. He got up to get the kid a Gatorade and the boy seemed to like that fine as well.

“Thank you,” the boy said, and Connor nodded solemnly.

“It was a free pizza, kid.”

The boy beamed at him. His green eyes sparkled in the dim overhead light.

“So, you’ve got to have a name,” Connor said. “I can’t call you ‘kid’ forever,” not that he expected to have this kid in his life much longer.

“Your name is Connor,” the boy said, smiling. “How can I figure out my name?”

Connor sighed. “Someone named you. Your mother, I’m sure. Remember her?”

“Yes,” the boy said cheerfully. “But she didn’t call me anything. I was just her favorite son!”

“Ooookay,” Connor drawled. “Hold on a minute.”

He got up, leaving the kid and the now empty pizza box behind. He trailed down the hall and into the bedroom. He dropped his towel once he had a little privacy and he grabbed a pair of loose sleep pants, stepping into them as he looked around the room for his phone. He spotted it on the dresser, where he’d left it earlier when Hannah had insisted on sex.

He was already Googling the 100 most common names when he stepped back into the living room. The boy sat complacently, waiting cheerfully for Connor’s return.

“Maybe I can try and jog your fucked up memory,” Connor mumbled, sitting beside the boy. The blond smiled at him some more, but Connor didn’t return it. He glanced down at his phone as the first result from Google loaded up.

“What is that thing?” the boy asked, his attention switching immediately and intensely down to Connor’s phone.

“Umm, a Galaxy Express?”

“Wow!” the boy gazed at the screen. It was a list of names, divided into two rows, one for boys and one for girls. It was plain black text, nothing fancy. Connor didn’t get it.

“I seriously hope you snap out of this shit in the morning,” he said. “Please don’t tell me you don’t know what phones are.”

“Is it something you can look at squiggly things with?”

Connor peered at the boy. “What?”

“Here.” The boy picked up the empty pizza box and moved it to the side. He slid closer. Much closer. And pointed at the phone’s screen. “The squiggles.”

“The words?!”

“Words?” the boy asked, looking up at Connor. His face was so close to Connor’s now, Connor could smell his pizza breath. Connor flushed a little and attempted to scoot away, but there was nowhere to go, his thigh dug into the wooden armrest of the couch.

“You know how to speak, right?” he bit out, extremely nervous with the lack of space between them. “You’re speaking words!”

“Oh, that’s right,” the boy said, then his eyes flickered down to Connor’s mouth, just a few inches from his own, and he grinned. “I forgot about written language.”

“Just shut up, ok!” Connor snapped. “We’ve got to get you back to where you belong. Let’s figure out what your fucking name is.”

“Alright,” the blond said, and luckily, he settled back into his seat and the weird connection between them was broken. “I hope I have a cool name like yours.”

“We’ll see.” Connor rolled his eyes, then started on the first male name on the list. “Ok. Does John sound familiar?”

“John?”

“Just tell me if any of these ring a bell,” Connor huffed and he buried his face in the phone and began reading names off. “James, Robert, William…” He glanced up but the boy was merely smiling.

“Anthony, David, Michael—”

There was a sudden choking sound and Connor glanced up to see the boy grab his throat, like was struggling to breathe. He watched in shock as the kid’s eyes rolled up in his head and his body stiffened.

“What the fuck!” Connor jumped up, his phone falling away, forgotten. He hovered over the kid, afraid to touch, afraid to make it worse. “Shit! Snap out of it!”

Still choking for air, theboy slid sideways until his head hit the cushions. He was still shaking; the whites of his eyes were the only things visible. He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, but it looked like a damned seizure!

“Fuck me.” Connor shoved his fingers through his dark locks. “I’m going to have to call an ambulance, aren’t I? Fuck!”

And just like that, the kid stopped shaking. His body fell limp. His eyes closed and he sucked in a shaky breath, moaning.

“What the fuck was that! Hey! Sit up!” Connor knelt before the kid and patted him on the cheek. His skin was soft, Connor thought randomly. Soft and warm.

The blond opened his eyes a crack, displaying the beautiful green coloring.

“Hey! Hey! C’mon now, sit up for me,” Connor encouraged. He took the kid’s hand and helped him to sit up. The boy slumped bonelessly into the back of the couch, but his eyes fluttered open.“What the fuck just happened?” Connor asked, still crouched between the kid’s legs.

“That name…” the boy muttered. For the first time tonight, he didn’t look like a crazy grinning loon. His face was ashen.

“What? Mich—”

“Please don’t,” the boy hissed. His eyes fell shut and it looked like he was cringing at the very sound of the half-uttered name. Fuck! It had obviously caused the seizure!

“I guess that’s the one then. That rang some fucked up bell, alright,” Connor laughed, but the blond wasn’t smiling. “Let’s just call you M for now. That doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No,” M said softly.

“Ok,” Connor stood up, carefully keeping his eyes on the boy.

This shit was beyond bizarre. Connor had a suspicion he and Hannah had passed out after their romp in the bed and this was all a dream. The sooner Connor went to dream-bed, the sooner he’d wake up and all this shit would be over.

“We should get some sleep,” Connor said, his words echoing his thoughts. “I don’t know what happened to you tonight, but we’ll try to figure it out in the morning.”

Weakly, M nodded in reply.

Connor snatched up the empty pizza box and tossed it into the kitchen through the little window. It slid across the back counter before coming to a rest against the microwave. Next, he went around the little room and turned the lights off. All of them except the one over the stove, thinking M might like a nightlight.

Because what young man didn’t want a fucking night light, right?

Connor shook his head at himself but grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the easy chair and hurried into his room for a bed pillow. That’d leave him with only one, but he didn’t feel too put out. He just wanted this shit to be over and the lure of sleep was tempting. There was no way this would continue in the morning. This was just too weird to be real.

“Lay down,” Connor said when he was back. The room was dark now, and he quickly arranged the pillow on one end and waited for M to lie down, his legs stretching out hesitantly. The shirt rode up, exposing M’s cock and balls again but Connor valiantly did not look.

He simply covered the boy with the thin blanket, checked that the box fan under the window was set to low, and told M to close his eyes.

“Just go to sleep. I’ll be down the hall, so don’t do anything crazy.”

“I’ll stay right here,” M said softly. “Until you come back.”

“Good.”

Connor went back to his room and shut the door so there was only a crack. He threw himself onto the bed face first. The sheets still smelled like Hannah’s nasty perfume.

“This cannot be happening,” he muttered to himself. “Just go to sleep, dummy. This isn’t fucking real.”

It took some time to get to sleep, but Connor eventually passed out, his cheek on the pillow, mouth opened just a touch. He’d never even bothered to cover up and the fact that he still hadn’t turned on the fan in his part of the trailer didn’t bother him.

He just slept. Dreamlessly.

***

Connor was lucky. He rarely had to wake up early. The afternoon sun slanted through the bedroom window when he woke and he sat up, lazily rubbing his eyes.

First things first, Connor started for his closet so he could find some jogging shorts and a loose top for his morning run. He didn’t really care about his health, fuck living until he was 100, but he liked the feeling exercise gave him. He always felt powerful when he was done. He usually liked to do a few crunches and sit-ups with the weights stored in the closet off the hall when he was done jogging. That, along with the sweat and the burn in his muscles, made him feel practically invincible.

Connor got up, idly scratching his fingers through his short dark hair as he grabbed his jogging shorts from the pile of dirty clothes in the hamper. He did do laundry on occasion. He had a washer/dryer set in the pantry behind the kitchen, a tiny, cement floored room, but why bother washing the workout clothes? They were meant to sweat in. He didn’t care that they reeked.

He chose a black tank as his top, grabbed his earbuds from the dresser top overloaded with deodorant, cheap cologne, and hair care products, and then wondered where his phone was.

With a pang, he remembered leaving it out in the living room last night. With the fucking weird drugged out kid he and Hannah had rescued from the swamp.

Fuck. There was no way the kid was still out there….

Cautiously, Connor crept down the hallway and peeked around the corner.

The tiny blond boy sat on the couch; the throw blanket pooled around him. In one hand, he held Connor’s phone.

“You’re still here,” Connor grumbled, edging into the room.

The boy, M, had been staring at the device. Its screen was black, not lit and on, but Connor still felt violated.“I missed the sun coming up,” M said softly. “And your phone. It’s been buzzing and lighting up like crazy.”

Just as the boy said it, the phone made a little chime, lit up, and buzzed in the boy’s hand. Connor stepped closer and took it from M’s little hand.

“It’s probably a message from Hannah.”

M smiled. “She’s so nice.”

“Yeah.” Connor sat beside the boy and opened the phone. There status bar was full of notifications and the phone lagged a bit.

“She can send you messages through that?” M asked and Connor nodded absently. “That’s so cool!”

There were about 10 texts from Hannah and a couple apps had updated through the night. Connor cleared the notifications and tapped into his messages.“Hannah’s probably wondering how we did last night,” he muttered. “I’m sure she’s losing her mind right now with worry.”

“Tell her we’re doing wonderfully!” M enthused. “I had my first meal! And I slept really really good on your couch. We’re having the best time ever!”

Connor wasn’t saying any of that. He texted Hannah that he was alive and unharmed. M, for the most part, was unchanged.

Immediately, Hannah texted back.

“She says she’s in class, but she’s dying to know if you remembered anything,” Connor read off.

M’s smile fell away. “No,” he said. “There’s nothing to remember.”

Connor sneered. “That’s a fucking lie. We figured out your first name, remember? We’re just calling you M for now but she’s insisting we look through the local missing people. Your first name will help.”

M frowned. It was obvious he wanted to keep his new name a secret, but Connor wasn’t playing games.

He relayed everything to Hannah in a brief text…. The kid’s name was obviously Michael, but the very sound of it had caused seizures. Connor had handled it on his own that night, successfully, and he knew he’d be able to jump into action if it ever happened again.

Hannah texted back in a flash, praising Connor for his good work and intelligence.

Connor rolled his eyes. He felt like she was beingpatronized. He texted back, saying he was going for a run and then he’d feed the kid,M, they were calling him.

The phone buzzed and chimed again, but Connor let it go. He exited the texting app and pulled up that stupid Candy Crush game Hannah had downloaded. She’d tried to get him to sign up for Facebook,again, so they could send each other lives or whatever, but she’d failed miserably. Connor hadn’t even cared enough to delete the damn game.

“I’m going to go for a run,” Connor said as the game loaded up. “I’ll be back in a half hour. You can try playing this until I get back.”

He pulled up the third level. Somehow, Hannah had gotten him to play two of these damned games. He placed the phone in M’s lap.

“See, you have to—”

“Wow!” M’s eyes literally sparkled in the afternoon sunlight that poured through the window behind them. “It’s so shiny and colorful. What are those things?”

Connor sighed. “They’re candies.”

“What are candies?”

“Well, usually, you eat candy and it’s sickeningly sweet, but this is just a game,” Connor said.

“Like theoninethings from last night?”

“What?” Connor tried to figure out what the kid meant, and then it dawned on him M was referring to the fucking red onions on the garden party pizza last night. “No, candy is way sweeter than onions—fuck I can’t believe you don’t remember what candy is!”

“Well, I don’t,” M said happily.

Connor grabbed the blond’s chin and used the shaft of sunlight to look into his eyes. The pupils seemed normal. They reacted to the light appropriately.

Maybe M’s lack of memory and general weirdness weren’t because he’d taken some wicked, mind altering substance. Maybe it was amnesia, like Hannah had suggested. It was the only explanation that made sense at this point.

“Is something wrong with my eyes?” M blinked his long, golden lashes and Connor suddenly realized he had the faintest dusting of freckles across the bridge of his upturned nose….

“No.” Connor ripped his hand away as if he’d been violently burned. “Nothings wrong with your eyes.”

M gave Connor a weird look, but he was distracted by the phone flashing. He gazed down at the ad for laundry soap in amazement.

“Look, I’m going out for a run, ok? I want you to try playing this stupid game.”

“Why is it stupid? It looks so fun.”

“You’ll probably think it is,” Connor grumbled. He waited for the as to end, then tapped into the next available level. “Here, the point is to get the candies of the same color in rows of three. You can make rows of four or five or six even, but to clear them out of the way, you only need three.”

He demonstrated by switching a green candy from the left over to the right, making it a row of green. It exploded.

“Oh!” M clapped his hands as the board shifted. “Can I try?”

“Uh, sure. That’s the whole point here.”

Glancing up to make sure it was ok, M touched the screen.

Connor watched him play around for a while, correcting him, answering his questions… After about 5 minutes, he appeared to be getting the idea and Connor handed the phone over. “Just play around with it. I’ll be back in just a little bit and we’ll think about something to eat.”

“But I ate before I slept,” M said. “My tummy hurts now.”

“That’s because you’re hungry,” Connor huffed. “Just play the game, ok? I’m not stupid. I know what you need.”

M beamed with pleasure. “I’m so glad you found me,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Yeah.” Connor awkwardly scratched his neck. M had a knack of making him uncomfortable. His easy acceptance, his happy, carefree nature, his utter innocence about everything…It all set Connor on edge.

He slid off the couch as M went back to the game and became absorbed with the candies. Connor watched M play around with the phone for a few seconds, making sure he was okay, then he ducked outside and jumped down the two little steps to land in the gravel. He took a second to stretch, relieved to be alone for a few minutes, and then he was off. He started down the gravel drive at a decent pace.

He had a routine. It was about a two mile run from the trailer to the dead end of Woods Trail. Going there and back was a good workout. He took a deep breath and tried to stop thinking about M’s cute smile.

Overhead, the birds sang high in the trees. A strong shaft of sun cut through the branches and made Connor squint. Instead of complaining, he dropped his head and tried to concentrate on the trail.

Nobody else lived on Woods Trail. At the dead end, there was an old dilapidated house that had sat there long before Connor had moved into the trailer. It was a brown two story with broken windows and a slanting roof.

Connor usually ran to the abandoned house. He used it as a halfway point. But today Connor slowed just as he caught sight of the old structure. M was still on his mind, as stupid as it was, and he headed back a tad early.

Though sweat beaded on his brow, Connor’s breath was smooth and even. He really did enjoy his morning runs. By the time he was returning to the trailer though he’d already made up his mind and he made a wide arch around the trailer heading for the swampy backyard.

Hannah’s idea of amnesia was looking more and more plausible the more Connor thought about it. Any drugs or alcohol should have worn off by now, and the kid’s eyes looked fine. Again, Connor wasn’t really dressed for a slosh through the wet, muddy swamp, but he walked briskly along the embankment, nearing the area he’d found M last night.

Nothing was really popping out. There was no wrecked car. There were no signs of life. There were no other people. The birds continued to chirp and sing, and Connor scanned the area, his blue eyes narrowed, intense.

Beyond the swamp, there were miles and miles of woods, stretching out far into the distance. There was a highway on the other side of the woods, but it wasn’t close. Besides that, there were several miles until civilization and even then, it was just a small development of houses, separated from the next town over.

“Where did you come from?” Connor muttered to himself, his voice swallowed by the sound of birds, of frogs croaking, lost in the wilderness.

Connor headed back home. He’d report his findings to Hannah on his return. She was probably checking the missing persons reports now that Connor had given her M’s first name. Any teenage, blond boys with the names of Michael, were probably pulled up on her Mac in the middle of her lecture hall. Connor shook his head. Whatever, he’d let the smart people do their thing. He was just around to babysit.

Connor did another set of stretches once he was back at the trailer. He hiked his foot up on the front steps, stretching his calves one after the other. Then he did his arms. He slipped inside once he was done. He wiped sweat from his brow, the half full boxes of cereal in the cupboards on his mind as he stepped over the threshold.

Then he caught sight of M and he froze.

Silly little M had put Connor’s phone down on the couch and he was crouched over it, on his elbows and knees, totally absorbed in Candy Crush. His ass was in the air and Connor’s t-shirt had almost completely slid up around his chest.

Connor had a perfect view of the blond boy’s asscheeks, round and firm and hairless. For fucks sake, he could literallyseethe boy’s asshole, pink and puckered and oh so innocently displayed between his velvety cheeks.

“I’m on level 15!” M cried, sitting back on his heels, interrupting the glorious view.

Connor bit his lip. Hard. Because of course he wanted to say something, but he was feeling a strong and unusual stirring in his loins brought upon by another human being. Hannah was always trying to tease him, by wearing shorts and low cut tops, by giving him flashes of her breasts and butt. But it had never done much of anything. Even in the beginning, Connor had tried to avoid looking at her because it made him feel so awkward.

Seeing M’s sweet little asshole had also made Connor feel awkward, but he felt a lot more than that. His loose jogging shorts were getting tight in the crotch. His palms were starting to sweat.

“Uh, cool,” Connor said lamely. He swallowed, hard, and came to sit beside the blond boy. He glanced nervously down at the phone. “You’re almost out of lives.”

“Oh no! What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Just that you can’t play for a while. Not unless you pay for more.”

“What do you pay with?” M asked curiously, pursing his gorgeous lips.

Connor scoffed, looking anywhere but at the kid beside him.Fuck! M’s face glowed with energy. With pure happiness. He was a fucking idiot and for no reason at all, Connor wasattractedto him!

“Connor?” M placed his hand on his thigh and Connor’s thickening cock twitched in response. Fearing the erection would be noticed, he leapt up and rushed into the kitchen at break-neck speed.

“You pay with a credit card,” he snapped. “Fuck, I can’t believe I have to explaineverythingto you!”

M said nothing and Connor banged around for a minute. He wrenched the cupboard open, grabbed the cereal, and then slammed it shut again. He got out the last of the milk from the fridge and slammed that shut as well. He got down a couple bowls, yanked open the silverware drawer, and snatched up some spoons. He knocked the drawer shut with his hip.

When he turned around, M was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and as stupid as he was, he obviously knew he was the reason for Connor’s sudden burst of anger. He was twisting his fingers together and he stared down at his bare feet with their neat, cute little toes. Connorhatedhow attractive he was!

“What?” he snapped.

“I-I’m sorry,” M said, glancing up and then quickly down again, his eyes troubled. “I made you angry.”

Connor let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just frustrated. I’m not angry,” he said, but that was a lie. He wasn’t just frustrated. He was confused as well. And when Connor got confused, he got mean. “I’m not mad at you, “ he said awkwardly, turning back to the counter so he could pour Cinnamon Toast Crunch into one bowl and Frosted Flakes into the other. He doused both in the remnants of the milk and plunked spoons into each bowl. “C’mere,” he said impatiently.

M edged up cautiously beside him. His head fell just below Connor’s chin…

Connor looked down at the top of the blond’s bowed head. He wondered absently if Hannah was going to figure out who this kid was and where he’d come from. M would probably end up with a birthday that made him 15 or something ridiculous. Connor shivered at the thought. M seemed to have no idea he’d just shown his privates to Connor, yet again.

He really did have no shame. He was completely innocent. Of course, M didn’t even know what a phone was. He had no memory of his name or of eating.

But if this kid needed lessons in sex? Well, Connor wasn’t going to be the one to teach him. He was cute, Connor could admit that. But Connor wasn’t up for corrupting the innocent. His cock may have been interested, but Connor had a feeling touching this kid would be wrong.

On a lot of levels.

“Here,” he said roughly, picking up a spoonful of Frosted Flakes. “Tell me which one you like better.”

M hesitated, but as he looked up into Connor’s face, his smile slowly started to return.

“Open your mouth,” Connor said impatiently, and M did as asked, tilting his head back slightly and opening his mouth wide. Connor blinked in surprise. M looked gorgeous standing there, tiny and thin and barely dressed, mouth open, eyes shining with happiness and Connor swallowed. He couldn’t help himself. His cock twitched again, and he drove his teeth into the inside of his cheeks, horrified with himself.

M gazed trustingly into Connor’s eyes, his hot mouth waiting…

Shaking, Connor spooned the cereal into M’s mouth. “Now close your lips.”

M closed his lips around the spoon and Connor slowly pulled it out from between his full, pink lips, entranced by the sight. “Chew,” he instructed, watching M struggle. “Swallow.”

M quickly gulped down the mouthful of cereal, opening his mouth right after and rubbing his teeth with his fingers. “That hurt my teeth!”

“It’s cold!” Connor almost laughed at the sight of the boy, now hopping around in pain.

“Ohh!” M whined, screwing his green eyes up with displeasure.

“C’mon. When things are really cold, you can’t use your front teeth,” and yet again he was explaining something every person past the age of 3 knew, but Connor was suddenly feeling manic and he figured he’d just smile through it. “Use your back teeth to chew, ok? And swallow the milk first. Try this one.”

Connor tried the cinnamon cereal this time, spooning it into M’s mouth. The boy closed his mouth, gulped the milk while making a strange face and then chewed.

“Mmm!” he hummed. “Can I try that again?”

“Sure,” Connor spooned more cereal into M’s mouth. And the boy hummed with approval.

“It’s sweet. This is basically candy for breakfast,” Connor said and he was smiling too.

“It’s so yummy,” M said.

Connor laughed and handed over the spoon. “Let’s go sit down.”

Connor took both bowls into the other room, followed happily by M. The two of them sat down and Connor carefully balanced the bowl in M’s lap.

“Cold!” he cried, but he put the spoon into his bowl anyway, looking towards Connor for direction.

Connor rolled his eyes, but faced M as he started to feed himself the Frosted Flakes. Hesitantly, M did the same, spilling a little milk down his front as he did so. He got the majority of his spoonful into his mouth though and he closed his eyes.

“I love it,” he hummed.

“Jesus, I bet you’ll die and go to heaven when you try some chocolate,” Connor laughed. He automatically looked towards the TV, thinking of the news, but he laid off. One new experience at a time, he figured. Who knew how M would react to seeing people on the TV. He probably didn’t remember that either.

“What’s chocolate?” M asked, affirming Connor of the blond’s complete memory wipe.

“Another type of candy. There’s all kinds.”

“I think the red one looks really good, and the blue one,” M said happily, continuing to eat. “I didn’t see a brown candy though,” he said, gesturing at his bowl.

“It’s called Cinnamon Toast Crunch and it’s cereal. It’s just sweet, like candy.”

“I like sweet.”

“I’ll bet,” Connor said, shaking his head.

Together they finished breakfast and Connor took their bowls back to the kitchen, plunking them in the sink for later. Much later.

“I’ve got to get cleaned up and changed. I’m gross after that run,” Connor had completely forgotten to do his strength training for the day, but whatever. He’d do it tomorrow.

“Maybe I can help,” M suggested. “Hannah helped me last night. I know what to do.”

“Oh really?” Connor wasn’t even considering letting M help him wash up, but he was interested in the boy’s sudden desire to actually assist instead of having his hand held.

“Yeah. She used water from the sink and a piece of fabric… a wash cloth!”

“I’m talking about a shower,” Connor said. “And usually, that’s something you do by yourself.”

“Really?”

For some reason, Connor didn’t really want to discourage the kid. He had a silly thought. Of him helping M take his first shower. He’d have to doeverything.He’d have to touch Meverywhere.And for some reason, that didn’t sound so terrible.

Connor felt like a fucking pervert all of a sudden. He remembered he had no idea what M’s actual age was and he was pretty sure whoever Michael was, without the amnesia, he’d be pissed to find out he’d been taken advantage of.

Connor needed to get the kid some clothes that fit him. He needed to get these weird ideas out of his head. He couldn’t fuckingbathethe kid!

“Really,” Connor said. He grabbed up his phone from where M had left it on the blankets. He exited Candy Crush and checked his 8 new messages from Hannah.

She was indeed still in lecture, but about to go on break. She wanted Connor to take a picture of the boy, so she could have some cross reference when she looked up local missing persons during her lunch. She said she was thinking of stopping by after class, despite the fact she didn’t need to.

Connor texted her back, feeling guilty and strange.

You should pick up some smaller clothes for him at the Goodwill after class. I don’t need you until tomorrow.

Really? Are you sure?

Yes,Connor texted back.Bring them tomorrow when I go to work.Connor hesitated.And can you look more into the amnesia thing? I had to show him how to eat. He didn’t know what a phone was. He doesn’t know how to read.

Seriously?

Yep.

Hannah was completing her master’s degree in education, her eyes were probably bugging out of her head right now.

I guess I should run over to my mother’s place then,Hannah texted.I’ll have to go through the basement, but I think she still has my old hooked on phonics.

Connor snorted.Yeah, ok. Sounds good.

“Hey,” he said, gaining the other boy’s attention in an instant.

M looked up at Connor, beaming, excited for no specific reason.

Connor swallowed again, perturbed by the boy’s never-ending smile. He raised his phone and snapped a picture of him. He didn’t want to have to go into another round of explanations, so he didn’t show the picture to M. He sent it off to Hannah and got a smiley face in response. Then he loaded up the Candy Crush game again and handed it over to M. The boy’s face lit up even more if that were possible.

“Thanks Connor.”

“No problem. Just hang tight, I’m going to take that shower.”

Once under the stream of hot water, massaging his scalp with a good amount of shampoo, Connor figured he’d introduce the kid to the television next and hopefully he wasn’t scared or anything, because Connor needed to run to the store. They had nothing to eat now and Connor, as much as he’d hated the idea of babysitting, really didn’t want the kid to go hungry. It was actually kind of fun to feed him anyway.