| Lance smiled to himself as he looked into the fogged mirror. After brushing his teeth you could never tell what he had just done. How could anyone suspect him of sin. When clean, he was pure. He was so pure only God could see the skeletons packed away in his closet. It's not like Lance didn't love Joey. When Joey was away, he hurt from not seeing his smile. When he was near, he felt like his heart would explode it was so full of joy. The fact remained, though. Joey was his dark secret that no one else could know about. The world just wouldn't understand their relationship. His family would never understand. Lance opened the door to see Joey lying in his bed. "Hi." "Hey there." Joey turned onto his side to look at the towel-clad man. "How ya doing?" "Fine." Lance crawled underneath the covers of the bed to cuddle next to Joey's warm body. The older man cupped himself around Lance's body and wrapped his arms around his chest. Lance smiled as the love surrounding him coaxed him into a deep sleep. "Hello, son." Lance looked up to his father. He turned around to find Joey gone and the air around him suddenly cold and stale. "Hi, dad." "Have you been staying away from that man?" Lance nodded, bunching up the blanket around himself in an attempt to keep out the cold. "I can smell him." "I have to be around him sometimes, daddy. He's in the group, too." Mr. Bass sat down on the bed. "You're lying to me." "I would never lie to you." Lance felt like he was about to vomit as his father's hand went to the side of his face. "You know I just want to help you, son. That man is bad and wants to hurt you. I just don't see why you can't understand that." "Daddy, I do understand. Really, I do." His father pulled him in for a hug. "I know what you have done. It's sick and disgusting." "I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Mr. Bass looked into the young man's eyes. "If you do, you will be punished." Lance began to shake. "He just acts so much like he loves me, daddy. I want to make him happy." "Don't you want to make your father happy?" Lance nodded. "Well, you can't have both." "There has to be some way." "No, there isn't. I can't believe you want to make him happy. I told you he is not your friend. He wants to cause you harm." "But daddy, he's so nice and kind." "He is trying to trick you. Satan is strong and he wears disguises." Lance cried against his father's cold shirt. "I'm so weak. I should be able to see." "It's not your fault. Just try not to give into temptation." "It's so hard." The tears ran live a spring from the soft eyes. "That's why I'm trying to help you." Mr. Bass stood up. "Good night." He walked away and Lance curled up in a ball against the freezing air. When he awoke, Lance was back in the warm arms of Joey. He slipped out of the embrace and looked at the silver cross around his neck. How was he supposed to resist temptation when he didn't know where is was? |
| Loving you; Temptation |