29. But you're losing your words/ We're speaking in bodies/ Avoiding me and talking 'bout you/ But you're losing your turn/ I guess I'll never learn/ 'Cause I stay another hour or two

    Calum opened his apartment door a little past eleven o'clock. Tim stood there, batting his golden eyes. "Um," Cal said, not sure what else to say.

    "I wanted to see you."

    Calum moved aside, letting the younger teen come into his apartment. "Does your dad know you're here?"

    Tim kicked off his shoes and settled himself on the satin covered couch. "Nope."

    "Tim, I love seeing you and everything, but I really don't think you should be over here. Especially when your dad doesn't know."

    "I'm not a child, Cal." Tim curled up into the couch, looking back and motioning for the nineteen-year-old to join him.

    Calum didn't want to point out that Tim was practically a child. "How did you even get over here?"

    "Uber."

    "Won't your dad see that?"

    Tim shrugged. "He just reimburses me, he doesn't look that deep into it all."

    Calum sat on his couch, curling up on the opposite side. "I'm sorry I haven't answered your messages lately, I've been busy with work and school, you know?"

    Timothy stood up on his knees, scooting closer to Calum. "No, no, it's fine."

    Cal looked at Tim's eyes, then down to his tongue licking over his lips, then back up to Tim. "Timmy, I don't think we should be doing anything."

    Tim placed himself on Calum's lap, straddling his thighs and placing his hands on either side of Calum's face. "Why's that?"

    "It's just that," he gulped, trying to spit out the words Tim needed to hear, "Tim, you're fifteen. I'm nineteen."

    Tim ran his hands over Cal's cheekbones. "It's whatever."

    "I know you hate when people say this, but you're too young to understand. You don't understand how not okay it is for a guy my age messing with a guy your age." Calum was enchanted by Tim's presence but he knew that it was time to act like an adult in this situation.

    "I do understand, I just don't care." Tim was leaning closer and closer with every breath he took.

    "I want you, I do. I want every bit of you. But, I can't, I really can't." Cal placed his hands on Tim's hips, trying to guide him back. "I need you to respect that."

    Tim could physically feel his heart shattering, dropping down to his gut. He got off of Calum, fixing his jeans and running a hand through his hair. "Fine."

    "I'm sorry, Tim," Calum said, standing up, "do you want me to drive you home?"

    He shook his head, already putting his shoes back on. "It's fine." He rolled up the sleeves of his sweater as he headed towards the front door once more.

    "I don't want you to be mad at me. Do you understand that?"

    "Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking child, Calum." Tim opened the front door, leaving without another word.

    Cal didn't follow him. He knew it would make everything worse.

    Tim sat on a bench in the parking garage, pulling his knees to his chest and taking out his phone. He dialed the one other number he knew he could call. The one number that knew it all already.

    He held his phone up to his ear and sniffled a few times.

    "Hello? Tim?" Ashton's groggy voice asked into the phone.

    "Hey, did I wake you?"

    Ashton turned down the television blaring the Discovery channel in the living room. "No, no, I'm awake. Are you not home?"

    "I snuck out. Is Dad awake?"

    Ash let out a chuckle. "You know your father. He's been asleep since 9pm." Ashton got his parenting features back on, "Why aren't you home? Where are you?"

    "Can you pick me up? I don't want to be alone."

    Ashton got up, already digging around for his keys and wallet. "Yeah, yeah, let me find my phone then I'll head out."

    "Ashton, you're on your phone."
     Ash sighed. "I hate myself, Tim."

    Tim smiled through a crack of tears. "I'll text you the address."

    "See you then, Bud." Ashton hung up, getting everything together an heading to the garage.

    Let bygones by bygones. 

    He got the text from Tim as he was already pulling out of the driveway. Maybe this was Ashton's moment to shine, his moment to prove he's trying. He was proving to Michael and to Tim and to himself.

    He was at the parking garage fifteen minutes later, Tim hopping in when he recognized Michael's Mercedes. "Hey," he said as he buckled his seat. He wiped at his eyes, hoping Ashton didn't notice.

    "Who's the boy?" Ashton asked as he pulled back into the city streets. Ash knew exactly who it was, but he wanted to hear it from his son.

    "Calum, Dad's assistant," Tim murmured, knowing Ashton knew. He crossed his arms over his chest and put his feet up on the seat. Michael hated when Tim did that but Michael wasn't here.

    "He's hot, I'll give you credit for that."

    Tim smiled again. "Yeah, he is."

    Ash turned onto the highway, revving the engine to get up to speed. "I'm not gonna lecture you, you know that. If you wanna talk, I'm open."

    "I don't really want to talk." Tim was mortified, he was beyond embarrassed. He hates himself for pushing himself over the edge, he figured Cal would be there to catch him. He had a hopeless crush on a sensible boy.

    "Your dad used to sneak out, all the time."

    "Yeah?"

    "Of course," Ashton smiled, "that's how you were conceived."

    "Ew, Ashton, stop."

    Ash laughed again, "I'm just stating the facts." He cruised down the highway and back into the suburban areas. "I used to pick up your dad a few times a week and we'd just hang out."

    "'Hanging out' doesn't conceive children."

    Ashton couldn't help the bellowing laughter from his throat. "You're funny. But, no, really, we used to go out to the pier and sit there and look at the stars. It was nice, we never got caught."

    "He rejected me," Tim said softly, "I thought he felt the same way, but I was wrong."

    "It happens, it's not your fault."

    He shrugged, "I feel stupid."

    "Good things come to those who wait, yeah? I'm the living, breathing proof of that." Ashton kept his hands on the posh steering wheel as he cruised down the dark and curvy road. "Your dad was, honestly, so rebellious. You can't believe how mad his parents got when they found out about me."

    "Really? I can never imagine Grandma yelling."

    Ash low-whistled, "She was ready to kill Michael."

    "I thought Dad was like a model child—besides the whole knocking-up-your-boyfriend thing."

    The thirty-year-old smiled and shook his head. "Before you came around, he and I would always sneak out after third period and smoke in my car."

    "No way." Tim looked up at his other father, smiling with his eyes.

    "Yes way! Michael was a total young pothead."

    "And I ruined that?" Tim half-joked.

    "You probably saved him from being me," the brunette responded. "Seriously, could you imagine two me's? That'd be hell!"

    Tim smiled again, wiping the dried tears from his eyes.

    "You're not on anything, right? Like, you know that you probably have an addict problem too and that you shouldn't fuck around with—."

    Timothy rolled his eyes. "I have to take drug tests for varsity before every game. I'm 100 percent clean, Ashton."

    "If you ever need help passing one, I got you," he joked (although he was serious). "Good for you, though. When I was your age, I was probably high off my ass." Ashton pulled off the main road and onto their desolate neighborhood.

    "I can't believe Dad was just like you. That doesn't seem real."

    Ash shrugged, "People change, you know? I could be the next Michael."

    Timothy and Ashton made eye contact and both broke out laughing.

    "Maybe not," the brunette said, "but I can try. I want to be there for you."

    "I know you do." Tim knew he's been harsh to his other father.

    Ash pulled into their garage and killed the engine. "I love you, Timothy, I really do. I know I"m a shitty person and a terrible father, but I will love you forever and ever."

    "I know you do," he repeated, not wanting to say those words back. "Can we keep everything about tonight between you and me?"

    Ashton nodded, "Of course."

    Tim didn't hate Ashton.

Progress?

What do you think of the whole age thing?

As you guys all know, I have quite the thing for older guys. But, I do believe it's not appropriate. I think any adult shouldn't be dating a teenager. You guys are all around 15-16, right? You wouldn't go dating an 11 year old, I'm almost positive of that.

You'll probably feel that way when you're 18 and more.

You're always entitled to your own opinion, though.