Long Time No Call

 

By KatiKat

 

 

Toby poured himself a cup of coffee and taking it outside he sat down on the chair on his porch and propped put his legs up against on the banisterrailing. It was a beautiful morning outside, the sun just climbing above the horizon. Sipping the hot dark liquid, Toby enjoyed the peaceful view his porch offered, his mind completely at easy ease for the first time in a long, long time. And when his cell phone rang a moment later, he flipped it open with a smile. He didn't have to look at the display to know who was calling.

 

"Hey, Van," Toby greeted his best friend, grinning.

 

Over a the great distance, her amused laugh reached to him and wrapped his heart in a cotton-like warmth. "Hey there, stranger. Long time no call."

 

He laughed. "Sorry, I was just about to call you," he assured her.

 

"Liar," Van answered, snickering.

 

Toby laughed again, taking another sip of the delicious brew that was so unlike the undrinkable concotionconcoction Van usually shared with him.

 

"So," Van began after a moment of comfortable silence, "what keeps you so busy these days? Or should I maybe say who?" she added in a conspiratory tone.

 

He smiled. "You know me too well, girl."

 

"Well, I should, after all the years," she said, sounding almost indignant.

 

Smiling and peering at the rising sun, he answered truthfully: "I met someone."

 

"Really? That's great, Toby." She sounded as happy for him as he knew she would. "Tell me more about him."

 

A picture of his lover surfacing in his mind, Toby knew that would havehe had no words to describe him and the wonderouswondrous feeling that had takentook root in his heart, but he did his best to convey his feelings. "His name is Kevin. He is blond with brown eyes, the sweetest smile-"

 

"And the hottest body, I assume," she finished for him and Toby laughed.

 

"Hey, you obviously know him already," he teased, but then his voice softened. "He makes me feel... I don't think I have ever felt something like that, Van," he admitted softly, almost dreamily. "It feels like I have found something I didn't even know I was missing. It's like he is the other part of my soul. When I'm with him, my heart beats so fast and I feel high on life."

 

"So, he is The One, huh? The love of your life?" she asked gently.

 

Staring in the distance, Toby slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. All I can do is think about him..."

 

Van stayed silent for a moment, then asked cautiously: "Toby, I don't want to spoil anything for you but..." She sighed, the concern for him evident even over the great distance. "You have had some bad experiences in the past. You attract misfits and pour yourself in impossible relationships that end with in unrequited love..." Another awkward pause. "Are you sure that he is gay?"

 

Toby sighed a little. He knew that Van was talking about Adam and the fiasco that was his love life in high school. "I'm sure, Van. Don't worry."

 

"Really?"

 

"Well, the sex was amazing so I can be pretty sure about thatit," he answered with a touch of sarcasm.

 

He could almost hear her eye pop wide. "Sex? Toby, you have been in Laguna Beach for what? A week? Two? You usually don't rush things so much."

 

Toby smiled again. Yes, he knew that such a behavior was completely out of character for him but... "I know, Van, I know. But with Kevin, it feels... I don't know how to explain it. It feels right. It feels as if I've knewknown him my whole life."

 

Van remained silent for a moment. "Well, if you are sure." She didn't sound so certain, though.

 

"I am," he assured her.

 

"Alright," Van said, apparently content with his answer. "So there are no hidden buts, right?"

 

He longed to say no, but he knew he couldn't. And his silence was a telltalingtelltale sign for her.

 

"Toby?" Now Van sounded really worried.

 

Toby took a deep breath, then reached out and put the cup down on the banisterrailing. "It's... there may be some problems with his family," he admitted quietly, his tone unhappy.

 

"Don't tell me that they don't know he is gay. Please, please, please, not that, Toby. That's like a disaster waiting to happen!"

 

He propped his head on the backrest of his chair and sighed. "They are really homophobic and... they are giving Kevin the hell about homosexuality. He thinks he has convinced them that he has a girlfriend but from the way they treat him, I don't think this that tactic was really very successful," he admitted. He didn't understand how parents could treat their son this that way but then, he was raised in a loving family where his sexuality has had never been a problem.

 

"Toby..."

 

He sensed what she wanted to say, but he just couldn't help himself. Maybe he really was attracted to misfits only. "Van, I... well, I can't say that I know what I'm doing but I just can't let him go. He needs me. He needs someone who will show him that it's not bad being different." He took a deep breath and added with more conviction: "And I think we can make it work despite all the diferencesdifferences."

 

The pause on the other side of the line was full of concern uneasiness. "Well, if you are sure..."

 

"I am," he said, quenching silencing the small voice in the back of his mind that was telling him otherwise.

 

"But should something happen, call me immediately, okay? I'm here for you, any time."

 

He smiled. "I know." He knew that he didn't couldn't relieve put to rest all her misgivings and if he was honest with himself, he felt a bit anxious too.

 

Trying to lighten up the mood, Van added with a smile in her voice: "And take a picture of him. Blond and gorgeous, I must see that man!"

 

Toby laughed a little, grateful for her attempt to disperse the gloomy mood.

 

"Call me?" Van said.

 

He nodded. "Of course. I miss you," he added and when she responded alikelikewise, they both hung up.

 

Stuffing the cell phone into his pocket, Toby sighed, trying to bring back the peaceful feeling that had permeated his soul when he woke up, still smelling Kevin on the pillow next to him. He pushed away the dark clouds that arose from his conversation with Van, holding tight on tight to his love for Kevin. He knew their path wouldn't be an easy one, but they would make it somehow. He wouldn't allow anybody to step come between him and his lover. Because if he lost Kevin, there wouldn't be anything left for him to live for. Of that he was sure.

 

The End