Dennis shifted so he was close to eye level with me. "You ever make out
with someone on it?"

I couldn't keep back a slight laugh, drumming my fingers on the wooden slats
of the swing.  "I was twelve and there was this girl who lived across the
street.  And one day she was over and we were sitting on the swing, and she
up and kissed me."  I thought back for a moment.  "It was kind of romantic,
till Glenn started yelling "Mark and Maria, sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"  That kinda killed the mood."

Dennis giggled. "I can only imagine."  He paused.  "You called him Glenn."

Did I?  "That's his name, isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes.  "No shit.  But he told me you haven't called him that
since the fire."

"Well, I thought he wanted me to call him Kane."

Dennis shrugged.  "I don't think he does.  John calls him Glenn."

I threw up my hands in defeat.  "What is this?   Top ten reasons why Mark is
a jerk day?"

Dennis snuggled closer to me.  "Hey, relax, I wasn't trying to piss you off,
I was just trying to make conversation."  Damn, who made him so calm?  He
looked up at me.  "So, did you like that Maria girl?"

I smiled.  "Oh yeah.  She was my best friend when I was little.  Real pushy
bitch though, always getting me in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"  Dennis's smirk was evil.

"All kinds of trouble.  Climbing stuff we weren't supposed to.  Going places
we weren't supposed to.  Beating Ka...Glenn up."

Dennis moved so that he was kneeling across my lap.  "Did you like kissing
her on the swing?"

I shrugged.     "It was ok.  Didn't have much to compare it to."

Dennis pressed his lips to mine, a kiss that was much more sweet and tender
than the way we'd ever kissed before.  "Was it anything like that?"  he
whispered.

"Not really.  There was a lot more bumping of noses involved.  But I think I
like how you kiss on the swing better."  I caught his lips and this time the
kiss went a little deeper.  Our tongues met for an instant, and it was
nearly electric.  We'd gone over a month without touching or being touched,
and it showed.

When we broke apart, Dennis shifted, letting his legs wrap around my waist.
"I think I could get used to making out on a swing."  The next kiss started
to show a bit more passion.  The cicadas even seemed to get louder with the
intensity.  I traced the inside of his mouth with my tongue, while his hands
clenched in my hair.  Damn, it feels good.  We can both leave all the
baggage behind...

"That's so damn cute!!!"  Ok, almost all the baggage.  I looked past Dennis
to see Kane and Bradshaw's car in front of the house.  "Mark and Denny,
sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"  Some things never change.  Kane joined
Bradshaw for the next verse.  "First comes love, then comes marriage, then
comes the baby in the baby carriage...."

"Shut up!!!"  I yelled.  "Go home, get your delinquent asses off my street,
out of my yard....away from here!  Don't you guys have a LIFE???"

Meanwhile, Dennis was laughing his ass off.  "Come on Mark, let's go inside.
They'll eventually get bored."  He pulled me inside the house and we flopped
onto the couch.  There was silence for awhile, as we both laughed quietly,
then settled down.  Then, Dennis spoke.  "I still can't believe it was
Stephanie."

I brushed some of his hair out of his face.  "Don't start blaming yourself
now.  There was nothing you could have done."

Dennis took a ragged breath.  "You'd think....I mean, if I was going to lose
control that much, it wouldn't have been to her..."

Lose control....words played through my head, part of what someone had told
me before my first night working the street.  "Sex makes men feel powerful.
They think if they can be in control in bed, they can control everywhere
else."  I knew what I should do, what the right thing would be, what a good
person would do.  Unfortunately, it's also something that quite honestly
scares the hell out of me.  I don't look at him when I ask my question.
"Dennis?  Does it...does it hurt you when we have sex?"

Even though I'm not looking at him, I can feel his eyes on me in surprise.
"No, Mark.  It...uhm...it isn't supposed to hurt, usually, if everything's
being done right.  Why do you ask?"

I took a deep breath and held it.  Ok Mark, this is it.  This is the moment
in which you finally stop being a prick and do something for someone else.
"Show me."