“Chad’s not up yet.”

I stepped inside the small foyer and mentally gawked at the number of bags on the floor as I faced my aunt, “Oh? When will he be up?”

Aunt Sarah shrugged, “Not sure. I don’t think he’d mind if you woke him up though. He’s been really excited about this weekend. No wild parties.”

“Tell that to Chad,” I countered. “I’m always good.”

She chuckled as Uncle David strode around the corner, wearing his jacket. “Every male seems to be a bit crazy, Calix,” she said.

"I might be a 'male' but I've got my female side you know? You can thank my sisters for that." I emphasized the sentence with a mischievous grin.

Aunt Sarah laughed again, picked up a couple of bags and carried them out to my parents’ Toyota van. Uncle David tousled my hair in farewell and took care of the rest of the luggage, staggering out the door. The door closed after that and I saw the lock turn, heard the click.

A mixture of excitement and nervousness began to boil in my belly. The house was Chad and mine for nine freaking days. And it was quite a beautiful house. Three stories of tastefully appointed furniture--dark wood paneling, artful carpets that belonged in a museum rather than on the white marble floors. Floor-to-ceiling windows encouraged the light to flood in, but it didn't illuminate every corner of the house. Which only added to my excitement. Perfect places for hiding and games and...

I glanced at myself in the mirror. Despite my glasses, I thought of myself as quite handsome. I had inherited my dad’s glossy, thick blond hair; my mom’s oval face, chocolate-colored eyes and a mouth that many people said would rival Brad Pitt’s.

I pulled off my bomber jacket and took great measures to try to hang it in the closet. My aunt treasured unique things and when she found something, she would somehow buy it for half its normal price.

My sigh when I was finally done seemed to echo in every nook, every corner that the gray morning light did not yet touch. Rain pounded the windows, barely visible against the cloud-heavy sky. I went through the kitchen—noticing with relief that pancake batter was next to the stove with a note from my uncle, inviting Chad and I to eat up. The cold wooden stairs creaked as I climbed them and finally my bare feet nestled in the carpeted hallway.

I headed for the door that was adorned with a Beyoncé poster on it from 2005. I opened the door quietly, smiling at Chad’s head protruding from the blankets covering his body.

Chad's room was strewn with clothes, the low black couch having a cushion of magazines. The king-size bed could hold three people, but instead was occupied by only my cousin. There were posters of Shakira, Justin Timberlake and others tacked to the walls. Looking at his bookshelf, you could find that he liked men's magazines, comic books and action books and men's erotica.

I entered the bedroom, closing the door, dancing between the clothes to get to his bed. Sitting down on the plain blue covers next to a body part that strongly seemed to resemble his butt, my hand reached out, snaked under the covers to grip Chad’s shoulder.

A groan resounded in my ears and Chad shifted, his face now towards me, his chocolate-colored eyes open to only a slit. His full lips curved in a sleepy smile when he saw his visitor.

“They gone?” he asked, his voice almost a mumble. I nodded. Chad smiled at me. I suddenly realized my hand was still on his shoulder and, blushing, I took it off.

“C’mere, kid.” Chad scooted over to the middle and held the covers open. “Seems like a good day to stay in bed,”

"What will your parents think?" I asked.

Chad shrugged, "They're leaving, don't worry."

Hesitantly, I slid underneath the covers. Instinctively, I burrowed under the blankets, asking Chad, "You are clothed, right?"

He only laughed, pulling me against his chest. I smiled, both at the look on my parents' faces if they saw me and my cousin like this and at the carefree expression on my cousin’s face. But I found it hard to shiver as my arms brushed his chest, his breath hitting my ear. My heartbeat raced and I glanced nervously at the door, my fears dissolving as I heard the hum of a car start up then began getting fainter.

“Says the person who’s fully clothed,” Chad teased. “What do you want to do today?”

“Uncle Dave left us some pancake batter,” I told him. “We can make pancakes.”

“And then?”

I shrugged.

Chad's breath hit my ear again, “Lemme pull on a shirt.”

I reached for a shirt on the floor and tossed it to him. He pulled it on, “Thanks, Calix.”

“No problem,” I replied as we headed downstairs. “My bag’s on the kitchen counter. Where should I sleep?”

“My bedroom,”

I paused on the very last step. Chad entered the kitchen and then seeing me frozen, stood in the kitchen doorway, “What’s up?”

“There are some people that wouldn’t approve of that,” I muttered.

"Of what?"

"Of us...the same sex, in the same bed..."

“Those people aren’t here, Calix. But if you feel uncomfortable…”

“I don’t,” I nearly shouted. Chad smiled, “Then we don’t have a problem.”

We cooked the pancakes, the smell of chocolate-chip, blackberry and plain pancakes filling the air. Soon we sat down at the sunlit breakfast bar and begun to plan our day.

"I wanna take you out for a drive. Did you see my new car?" Chad was referring to the sleek Ferrari I had drooled over when I had arrived.

"I did," I replied. "It's fantastic. What can we do tonight?"

"I got The Holiday to watch. But, if you want to watch another--"

"No, no," I interrupted. "The Holiday seems good."

"Good..."

There was a silence broken only by our forks clinking against the plates as we finished the last of our breakfast.

“And then?” I asked.

“Er, go to bed," Chad said quickly.

I raised my eyebrows, smiling, “You’re a really bad liar, Chad. What do you have planned?”

He only shrugged, blushing all the while.