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“Thanks, Rat. Catch you tomorrow?”
“Sure thing. And, dude, I’m sorry you’re hurtin’.”
“I’m getting there. Promise,” I said.
“Hey,” he added before I paddled off. “What was the deal with you and muscle stud?”
“Clint?” I asked, even though I knew who he was referring to. He nodded. “Clint decided he was straight.”
His face registered shock as his mouth popped open. “You can do that shit?” he asked. “Like go back to being straight?”
“Apparently you can,” I replied. “He went back to his wife.”
“Nah, dude. Really?” I nodded. “Jesus! No wonder your dick’s in the dirt.”
I laughed out loud. “Interesting way to put it, but, yeah, he did.”
Rat looked away for a moment before turning to me. “I ain’t wantin’ to be actin’ all gay and shit, but you’re a good guy, Chad. I love ya and I’m fucking sorry, dude.”
“Stuff happens, my friend,” I stated, checking my ankle to make sure the tether to my board was secure before I caught a wave in.
“Yeah, but this shit happened to you,” he began, motioning toward me. “Doesn’t make us mere mortals feel safe, man. You’re a different breed, C. And I, for one, am hoping you get back to what you are, bro.”
His attempt at showing his love was a kind thing to witness. “And what exactly am I?”
“You’re like that diamond we all aspire to be, bro. Like, real and shit, and I love ya.”
I looked up, and we locked eyes. “You already told me that,” I said, struggling to speak. I could only nod my appreciation to avoid trying to speak any more words without breaking down and crying. “Thanks,” I whispered, quickly laying on my stomach and paddling for shore.
“Hey,” he yelled. I stopped and looked behind me. “I mean it, buddy.”
CHAPTER THIRTY: Cole
I’d spent the afternoon looking through binoculars at Chad and his buddy. The two of them were surfing alone today. It wasn’t a Wednesday, so maybe that was the reason. But then again, I’d seen Chad surfing quite a bit lately. I knew he’d quit the hotel job and apparently he still wasn’t working.
Once I was convinced that Bodie wasn’t joining them, I decided to pretend to be out on a casual stroll in an attempt to reengage with Chad. My performance on the side of the road last week had been childish, and frankly, I was embarrassed. Chad had been kind to me that day, and I owed him an apology.
After a few pathetic back-and-forth trips on the beach, I was running out of ways to make my walk seem casual. About to give up, I turned away from the path to my house for one last lap, and that was when I spotted Chad standing in shallow water twenty feet away. He held the board over his head as he waded to shore. Having the board lifted overhead caused his abs to stand out like a roadmap to heaven, biceps swelling from the board’s weight. He was a goddamned vision.
He smiled at me and dropped the board to the sand, running his fingers through his sun-bleached hair as he tried to untangle the mop. “Hey,” he said, hiking his shorts up.
I preferred them where they were. With an incredible view of his tight lower stomach. And by lower, I mean he was an eighth of an inch away from exposing his pubes. I swore that every time I saw the guy, I noticed one more attribute. One more reason, on a fast-becoming long list of reasons, that he took my breath away.
Most of the time when you’re exposed to a great-looking person, it doesn’t take long for you to start noticing imperfections. I wasn’t there yet. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure a person could ever get there with Chad. There’s hot, and then there’s Chad hot. Being as hot as he is, the word hot simply doesn’t do him justice. He possesses something extraordinary. Perhaps his physical appearance isn’t the whole package. There is this extra thing. Like an aura, or like God decided to shine a perfect light on him at all times, giving you one incredible view after another. Godlike. That was it.
I made my way to him. “Hi,” I said, cupping my eyes with a hand and smiling at him. “Kind of quiet out there today, huh?”
“Yeah, it sure is. Still nice to be on the board, though,” he added. “How’s your walk going?” he asked.
“It’s okay,” I said. We stood silent, both at a loss for words, me losing courage faster than the speed of light. “Can I say something?”
“You can.”
“I’m sorry about the other day,” I began. “I’m just… I’m, well… I’m just outta sorts lately and I was not myself.”
“We all have those days,” he said, letting me off the hook too easily. “Me included.”
I gazed at him in amazement. He couldn’t know what I was thinking, but I was just so impressed with his sweet ways. After a few seconds, and possibly because I wasn’t speaking while I continued staring, he looked behind himself in case I was looking at something or someone incoming.
