Re: Loitering: Cat C & Reece E
Cat smiled and there was something in it, after she finally stated aloud what she'd talked around: Reece's apparent homosexuality. He looked at her in confusion. "What? Why are you smiling like that?" He didn't think it answered much of anything. Not really. There was no 'maybe I am a normal person' relief. He still felt defective in a lot of ways and that probably wasn't going away anytime soon, gay or not. "I mean..., even if they do, I don't think it's the same. Uh. As me. That's all. And, anyway, isn't it a good thing?" A thought occurred to him for the first time, and he looked at Cat with mismatched eyes a moment. Then he asked: "Do you want to? See other people?" Which felt a lot like a conversation they'd had before, when she felt rejected because, you know, sex. (Or a lack thereof.) "Why are you 'putting it out there'? Is it like, you think I'm lying and need to experience someone else, or...? I don't get it."
Okay, you know what, Reece's expectations for how this was going to go were all over the place. Once he'd moved closer to Cat and she smiled and her eyes dropped to his lips, you know, he thought, okay, we're going to kiss. But, then she said if it was bad, they never had to see each other again. Which... what? Reece looked at the familiar-and-unfamiliar face next to his. It was Cat offering an out, he guessed, like she always did, like it would make rejection easier? To know she'd offered it? Maybe? Reece didn't let her finish the word 'Springsteen.' He was right there, so he only had to close a little bit of distance, sort of twisted toward Cat, and he kissed her. Which was weird, because the last time they'd kissed, well, she was entirely different. This new face wasn't as smooth, and Reece could feel the scratch on his chin. Her lips were soft though, and that was the same, even if the shape was different. Without her having breasts though, it was much easier to not worry about bringing his not-draped arm forward to sort of prop it on Cat's chest.