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Anthony nodded, and I found myself nodding as well.
Jay smiled, a spark of mischief glowing in his eyes. “In that case, we can either be a bunch of sissies and let it slide, or we can use the balls God so kindly gave us to settle the score.”
Anthony and I exchanged worried looks. The words ‘settle the score’ made me nervous.
“Don’t look so scared,” Jay said. “I’m just saying what we all are thinking. Now, it just so happened that while Anthony here told us his gay version of Fifty Shades of Gray, I got myself a nice idea we should consider.”
“Do I want to know?” I asked.
“You do, buddy. Should I continue?”
“Go ahead,” Anthony said. “Not like we can stop that mouth of yours from working.”
“You know me better than my mom, Ant.”
“What is it?” I asked. My heart was gaining speed in anticipation. I could tell whatever was playing in Jay’s head wasn’t going to be pretty, yet I wasn’t sure I wanted it to be.
“The cabin,” he said. “I think we should have a getaway like old times.”
“The cabin? We haven’t been there in years.” Memories rushed through my brain. We used to drive upstate to Saratoga Lake and stay at the same cabin a few times a year for a whole night. Beer, poker, movies, and talking until we fell asleep. But like many things in the last few years, the cabin had also become a relic of our past.
“Why do you want us all in the cabin?” Anthony asked.
“I’m still putting the final touches on my plan. What I’m worried about is getting Chris to agree to our reunion.”
“He won’t agree,” I said. “After what you two told me, there’s no way in hell.” I remembered the times I tried to get the four of us back together in the last few months, and how it seemed I was fighting a losing battle with no clear understanding of what was going on behind the scenes.
“He’s right,” Anthony said, “and I don’t want to see him.”
“For the sweet taste of revenge, you’ll put what you want aside and focus on what youneed. And if you won’t do it for you, at least do it for me.” Jay's eyes moved from Anthony to me. “He destroyed my life. You know I don’t like to talk about prison, but I will say this: they almost broke me there. I didn’t think I'd make it out in one piece, so I have every fucking right to make him pay. Will you help me?”
I watched Jay closely, reading the desperate need in his eyes. It made me realize he wasn’t as okay as he pretended to be. There were demons beneath the surface, and they were restless. I licked my dry lips. “There might be a way to get him to the cabin.”
Jay leaned closer and nodded. “Go on.”
“It might not work.”
“Still worth discussing.”
“After what happened at Chris’s birthday party, he called me to apologize and said he’d make it up to me. Anything I want, all I have to do is ask.”
Jay frowned. “That could just be something he said to butter you up, not an unbreakable promise.”
“I agree,” Anthony said. “You’re reading too much into this.”
“Listen, he was being honest.”
“Well,” Jay said, “assuming you’re right, we are talking here about making him agree to do a bunch of things he wouldn’t like. First will be going to the cabin after all these years. Second will be seeing Anthony again after whatever the hell went down between them. Third, and the biggest problem, will be seeing me again.”
I nodded, agreeing with his logic. Although I believed Chris meant what he said about letting me ask for anything, making him agree to spend an entire night with Jay was pushing it too far.
“You could lie,” Anthony said, looking uncomfortable with even raising such an idea. “I mean, about Jay and me. You could say it will just be the two of you there.”
“Interesting,” Jay said with a nod, “but I think that having both Ant and I crashing the party will be too suspicious. Tell him you’ve already pitched the idea to Ant and me, but I have other plans that night. He’ll feel he dodged a bullet, and if he says no because of Ant, pressure him into telling you why. That should put him on the spot.”
I nodded. “That could work. So when the three of us are in the cabin, what will you do?”
He spread his arms. “Surprise, boys! My other plans got canceled. Let’s get the party started.”
