13. SOUR DESIRE

ISAAC’S POV The night was thick with laughter, and the sweetness of roasted meat lingered in the air. It was past midnight, and the parents had already gone upstairs to the rooftop, while we stayed in the garden. It was going to be a long night, and every nerve inside me already felt alive. I’d just finished helping Aunt Yvonne with the dishes and headed toward the garden where the real fun was. But at the entrance, I froze. A voice I knew too well slid through me like dipping into warm water. "He is different." The sound made my chest tighten. Kenny laughed and then asked, "Different how? Didn’t you once say you’d only love a boy who made you feel like the ones in crazy novels do? Or does he fuck like one, too?" I heard her giggle. God, even unseen, I could picture it. Her head ducking, the way her teeth would tug nervously on her lower lip, that girlish shame painted with mischief. "Well, yeah," she whispered, her voice was between pride and confession. "The words…the roug