We were inseparable since the day we first met and our folks used to call us "Pete and Repeat" because where one was, you could be sure the other wasn...'t far away. We went to school together and took a lot of the same classes. It made for a reliable study partner and we helped each other make it through school all the way until we graduated. We helped each other through our individual girlfriend crises–Amy and I broke up and Paula broke Brian's heart. There were a lot of good times, and some bad. My sister and her husband were involved in a very bad car smash in which the whole family except for Peter was killed. He came to live with me and as he did not know anyone in this area I asked Joe to come with his daughter to a barbeque at my house so that he would know at least one person when he went to his new school." Everything else flowed from that," Joe said with a laugh. "When a beautiful co-worker asks you to her house for a day, you would be a fool not to make the most of the. Eli's eyes watered. His throat burned.Coughing followed immediately. The burning sensation reminded Eli of thetime Cory had accidently hit him with pepper spray when they werefooling around with Cory's father's emergency preparedness kit in theseventh grade. It wasn't as bad as that, but the air tasted spicy. Itwas difficult to breath. He had to get out of this cloud. In the back ofhis mind, he knew that was exactly what whoever created this cloudwanted. But that didn't matter at the moment.Eli. I lean against the wall beside your shower and with one hand reach in to turn on the water. You part your lips for the first time and your tongue cautiously run it over my lips, they taste a little salty. I slowly part my lips, letting your tongue explore further. I slide my tongue to meet yours, you pull your head back. I smile, look into your eyes, and brush your hair behind your ear. You feel the dirt on my fingers. I gently pull you towards me. This time when our lips meet I can tell you.