Elroy rolled his eyes. "You're a fucking mess, aren't you?" Kyle dabbed a little nail polish remover onto a cotton ball and took Elroy's foot in his hand again. As he began to rub the messy pink polish off Elroy's toes, he said, "I had a bad reaction to bees last summer. I'd been stung before and nothing happened. But last summer I was helping my stepdad rip out bushes at the back of our house in Vermont and I disturbed a beehive. They were so small I didn't even know it until the first bee stung. When I jumped back, about six more stung me from behind. I moved away from there fast and went into my dad's shed. I didn't think anything was wrong at first because I'd been stung before and nothing happened."
Elroy's eyelids felt heavy. He'd never done yard work in his life and listening about it only made him want to sleep more. He rested his head on the pillow and said, "Your poor little thing. It must have hurt." He really wasn't paying attention to Kyle's story. He was enjoying the sound of Kyle's voice and the way Kyle was touching his feet so much he had trouble concentrating. The way Kyle rubbed his toes and held his feet left him feeling as if he'd just smoked the most expensive pot money could buy. And Elroy had smoked enough pot to know what he was talking about.
"At first I felt a little strange," Kyle said. "I felt off balance and I started to sweat. A minute after that my heart started to pound … and I mean pound … in my chest and I couldn't breathe. That's when it occurred to me that I was having a bad reaction to the bee stings. So I crawled back to the house and tried to calm down. There was no one around and I was afraid I'd lose consciousness. How I got back there I don't know. But I wound up in the kitchen, on the floor, banging my fist on the floor for help. My stepdad came in and saw what was happening. He called my mom upstairs and she came running down with Benadryl. I took it and the symptoms began to subside, but not totally. My heart slowed down and I could breathe again, but I wound up breaking out in hives all over my body, itching everywhere, and my mouth and lips swelled up. It only lasted for a few hours, and then I felt normal again. But I read later on the Internet that when someone has a reaction like that they could die the next time they get stung. So I try to stay away from bees as much as I can." He glanced at the tattoos and frowned.
While Kyle had been talking about his bee experience, he'd managed to remove all the pink polish without leaving a trace on Elroy's toes. By that time Elroy had a full erection and his eyes were closed. When Kyle stopped holding his foot, Elroy said, "You can rub my legs now with that nail polish remover. It felt good. You have nice hands. In fact, you can take off your clothes, get into bed with me, and rub nail polish remover all over my body if you want." He was still amazed at how someone so gangly could have such a light, gentle touch.
Kyle smiled and put the lid on the bottle of nail polish remover. He set the bag of cotton balls aside and stood up. "I think I'd better get to bed now, alone."
Elroy felt so relaxed and so close to falling into a deep sleep for the first time in days he didn't want to lift his head. "Don't stop. It felt so good. You have a nice touch."
"I don't want to get stung by you," Kyle said. "I told you I have a deadly reaction to bees and you have them all over your leg. I think that's symbolic and I'm not taking any chances."
"That's ridiculous," Elroy said. "Stop being such a fucking asshole."
"I don't think so," Kyle said. "You're trouble, and I'm not an idiot."
Elroy smiled. "You're probably right on both counts. But could you do me one favor before you go to your own bed?" He turned over and rested on his stomach, with one leg close to the edge of the mattress.
"It all depends on the favor," said Kyle.
"Would you sit on the floor for a few minutes and just rub my leg the way you were rubbing it before?" Elroy said. "I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I got here and I'm exhausted. It felt so good, and if you stop now I won't be able to go to sleep for the rest of the night. I know it sounds silly, but I think it will work."
For the first time since Kyle had met Elroy, he sent him a warm smile. He returned to Elroy's bed and sat on the floor beneath where Elroy's leg rested near the edge of the bed. "It's not silly. It's the first nice, honest thing you've said to me since I met you." He set his palm on Elroy's leg and ran it up and down with the same light touch he'd used before.
But Elroy didn't respond to him again that night. Elroy barely heard a word Kyle said after he sat down next to the bed. When Kyle started rubbing his leg, it only took a minute or two for Elroy to fall into a deep, unconscious sleep. Elroy didn't realize he snored. He didn't notice when Kyle stopped rubbing his leg. And he didn't see Kyle place a cover on his body, stare at him for a moment, and kiss him on the cheek before he went back to his own bed. If he had, he might have done things differently in the future.