Wishing At Christmas

At five Peter awoke to the sounds of movement in the room and watched as Kane dressed. He wished they had more time together, but the Wilkinses would be getting up soon. The men had prearranged that Kane would spend what was left of the night on the downstairs couch, and they would pretend to be strangers when he awoke. Peter wasn't sure he could pull it off. He didn't want to let Kane go.

All went according to plan. Kane announced that he'd driven home from school early and shown up at the house in the wee hours, much too late to awaken anyone. He was too tired to trudge up to his bedroom so he settled for a night under a quilt on the couch. Formally introduced to MJ's college friend, Peter Grandon, that same morning, the three students began to talk in typical fashion. Under MJ's solemn gaze they started to develop a camaraderie.

Every once in awhile a memory from the night before would hit Peter, and his cheeks would stain with a light blush. Kane would smile and turn his head, his own face coloring slightly, and neither of them saw MJ smile to himself. Finally he could no longer stand it.

MJ and Peter were in the kitchen alone getting second cups of coffee. "You like my brother, huh!" MJ proposed.

Peter choked and nearly spit his coffee out. "Like?" he stammered?

MJ gave him a wry grin. "Look, Peter, no offense, but I've known you were gay since the third week of school." He saw his friend tense and jumped in with an explanation. "It's nothing on you, dude. I'm not saying you act gay. The truth is," he reached up and scratched his head in embarrassment, "you left one of your gay novels out on your bed one time when you were almost late for class and I saw it. I just put two and two together. It worked too."

Peter stared at the triumphant gleam in MJ's eyes that were the same shade as his brother's. "What does that mean?"

MJ laughed. "It means I know my brother. I know what he likes and dislikes. You're my friend so I know a lot about you too. You and Kane are perfect for each other."

"You set this up?" Peter gasped in astonishment. "The whole thing?"

MJ grinned at his friend's shocked expression, glad to see it was in surprise and not anger. "Well, not exactly," he crowed. "I didn't predict you'd need a ride home, but after that, it all fell into place. I also didn't know Kane was coming home last night, so it was simply a serendipity how he decided to leave school early. I only wanted for the two of you to meet today. The family has been trying to get Kane away from that nasty Sal since last year."

"So, we were supposed to meet each other and in three or four hours... what?"

"Talk to each other and develop a friendship. Like I said, I know my brother. He likes quiet, sort of shy men with dark hair. You're both smart and athletic. I knew you'd hit it off. And when I saw the way you guys were pretending not to know each other this morning... well, it worked didn't it?"

Peter nodded, feeling dazed. He wondered if MJ knew the truth of it. He didn't have long to wait.

"That is what you and Kane did, right? Talked all night?" Peter was being a little too quiet, and the blush on his cheeks hinted at more than just talking. "Oh my god, Peter." Now it was MJ who was turning bright red. Of course, it must have been naïve madness to put the two of them in a bedroom together and expect...

"Shh," Peter shushed him, laughing. "It's all your fault. You and your plans. So if Kane and I..."

"If 'Kane and I' what?" The voice was Kane's. He stepped into the kitchen to find two rather tense, crimson-faced students looking as if they'd swallowed canaries.

"You need to speak to your brother," Peter said with a smirk and left the room.

A few minutes later Kane was chasing MJ all over the downstairs yelling "I'm going to kill you", but it was all in fun. MJ allowed himself to be caught and explained himself, thrilled and smug over successfully playing Cupid. Or maybe he was Santa Claus. Peter laughed until Kane walked by and wiped the grin off his face with a gentle kiss.

At 1:30 Peter's step-father's battered pick-up truck pulled into the driveway, and he got ready to leave. He and Kane stared at each other, both of them aware they had fulfilled some fantasies the night before, helping each other over different hurdles to move past issues that had been standing in their way. Both aware that they were embarking on a new road together. Peter thanked the Wilkins for their hospitality and waved goodbye to Kane with a twinkle in his eye.

They weren't even off the Wilkins' street when his cell phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was Kane.

"I'll see you again on the return trip in four weeks. I plan to ask my mom if you can spend a couple days with us before you head back to school for spring semester so get permission from your parents too. I miss you already."

Awesome!

He put his cell back in his pocket and gazed out the window of his step-father's truck. He was fairly certain that he had a boyfriend now because he couldn't come up with any other solution.

Awesome!

His step-father cleared his throat. "So, was the drive down with MJ okay?" the man wanted to know. "The family seems nice. Did you have a good evening with them?"

Peter grinned. "The best!"