Most Ardently

by Gabe Cole Novoa

The two boys sat on the sofa, so close their legs were touching, but neither moved away. Oliver’s heart pounded in his throat at the proximity, but when Darcy handed him the book he’d been reading, he took it with a smile that he hoped didn’t betray the anxiety buzzing in his chest. The two settled with their books, Darcy diving right back into the text while Oliver stared at the page endlessly, too distracted by the warmth of the boy next to him to process the words. Then Darcy shifted ever so slightly closer, and his shoulder leaned against Oliver’s. Oliver barely breathed. He stared at the open page before him, wondering how on earth Darcy was reading anything at all. Between the two of them, was Oliver the only one so affected by their closeness? He dared peek at Darcy out of the corner of his eye and jumped upon realizing Darcy was looking not at his book, but at Oliver. And he was smiling widely.