“I guess it’s not much warmer down here than Pennsylvania,” Brian added. “It’s probably boring. Hey, we can ask Jen tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Carey answered absently. He wasn’t looking forward to their dinner with the girls.
“Do you think there are any ice cream bars left?” Brian asked.
“What?”
“Ice cream bars. Do you think there are any left?”
“Go see. I’ll take one if there are two.”
Carey was left sitting on the patio by himself. He felt as though the trip was moving along too quickly without going the way he wanted it to go. They had five more days, one of which, he had to share with Jen and Katie. Jen alone was fine, even if she did ogle his boyfriend. But she didn’t know, and that was Carey’s fault for not being up front about it. Katie, on the other hand, was too flirtatious and, in his opinion, not cute enough to get away with it. Plus, she teased Brian a little too much about how bad at basketball he was. He wasn’t positive, but he thought he heard her call Brian a fem. Not that he wasn’t at times, but no one was allowed to call him that, according to Carey. He wondered if Jen shared her suspicions about Brian with Katie. Regardless, he simply didn’t like the girl.
Brian didn’t seem to mind though, and since he was actually looking forward to hanging out with the girls and trying the seafood restaurant, Carey held his tongue.
“Here you go,” Brian handed him an ice cream cone with chocolate sauce and nuts. “All that was left was these.”
“It’s all good.” Carey licked it. It was already starting to melt in the humid summer heat. “I can’t believe all the junk you’ve been eating.”
“It’s vacation. I’ll go back to my regular food after we get back.” He looked down at his body. “Do you think I’m getting chubby?”
Carey laughed. “Brian, you couldn’t get chubby if you tried. Enjoy.”
◆◆◆
Despite what Brian said the night before, he ordered cold peel and eat shrimp with cocktail sauce instead of butter at the Dockside for dinner with Katie and Jen. There were really no vegetables to speak of, so he stuck with a baked potato rather than fries.
Carey was looking forward to fish and chips. It was his favorite comfort food, next to burgers.
When they walked over to pick up Jen, Carey almost didn’t recognize her again. She wore a pink halter top and baby blue cut off shorts showing off her lean, tan legs. The neckline of her shirt was just barely low enough to show cleavage, but not be obvious. Her hair, which she wore down for the first time, was golden blonde with soft waves flowing through. She wore a little make-up, though not enough to distract from her soft brown eyes. Jen hardly looked at all like the sporty girl they played tennis with the day before.
Katie was waiting at the restaurant when they arrived. Carey thought she was definitely trying too hard to get noticed. Dark purple eyeliner rimmed her eyes, too harsh against her pale skin. It matched the purple of her snug fitting scoop neck t-shirt. Unfortunately, Carey couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering down to have a look. Worse yet, she noticed.
“I’m glad we came here instead of going to Romano’s,” Katie said. “But you should have gotten the crab cake sandwich. It’s the best.”
Carey shrugged. “I like fish and chips.”
“I’ll make sure to save you a bite of mine,” she said suggestively.
He tried to ignore her, but it was difficult with her sitting right across from him. Brian sat on his left and Jen was across from Brian.
“So, what are you into Carey?” Katie asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, like, Jen is into the environment. She works at the wildlife conservatory and volunteers for nature stuff. She’s going to be a marine biologist or something.”
“I hope to. I don’t know, it’s a tough major,” Jen said.
“That sounds interesting,” Brian said. “Are you going to be like one of those people on TV scuba diving and explaining all the fish?”
Jen laughed. “That would be fun. But I think being a marine biologist is a lot less glamorous than that.”
“So. What’s your thing?” Katie asked Carey again.
“Music, I guess. I play in the marching band and a few other bands.”
“Do you play guitar?”
“Yeah.”
“He plays guitar, trombone and clarinet,” Brian interjected. “And he’s too modest to say, but he’s really good. He was first chair this year as a junior. Usually that goes to the seniors.”
Carey blushed slightly.
“Oh, wow, that’s great. Id’ love to hear you play sometime,” Katie leaned a little forward, smiling, and fully aware that he could see straight down her shirt.
“I didn’t bring any of my instruments,” he lied. His guitar was safely in his room at Dina’s place. He had to will himself to look her in the eye until she leaned back up.
“Aw,” Katie pouted. “Too bad.” She took a seductive, or what she may have thought was seductive, sip of her freshly squeezed lemonade.
Attempting to keep the conversation going, Brian asked Katie what she liked to do for fun.
She shrugged. “I don’t really have a talent for anything in particular, like music. My parents work for an investment firm. I’ll probably end up doing something like that. How about you Brian? What are you into? My guess is not sports,” Katie laughed.
“Brian is a dancer,” Jen said. “They told me that the other day.”
Katie laughed until she realized Jen was serious.
“Oh. Like, what kind of dancing?”
“Jazz and ballet mostly,” Brian answered.
“He’s really amazing,” Carey added. “And he was in the Spring musical.”
“Oh, no. You sing too?” Katie giggled.
“Yeah, I’m in a few of the choirs,” Brian replied. A line began to form between his brows. “I plan on majoring in musical theater in college.”
“A real drama queen, huh?” Katie was still chuckling.
Carey frowned. “You think it’s funny that Brian wants to be in musical theater?”
“There aren’t too many men that want to do that.”
“Well, you can’t do theater without men,” Brian defended. “In Shakespeare’s time, it was all men. They had to play women.”
Katie burst out laughing.
By this time, Carey’s mouth had become a hard, straight line. Clearly, Katie was making fun of Brian and insinuating that he was gay. It didn’t matter that he was, it was insulting. As if sensing his anger, Brian had placed his hand subtly on Carey’s leg to calm him. It didn’t work.
“Hey Katie,” Carey leaned forward slightly. “You want to know what I’m really into?”
She leaned forward as well, smiling as if about to be given a treat. “What? What are you really into?” she asked in her most alluring voice.
He leaned just a bit further. “Brian,” he said.
He let it sink in for a second or two, then leaned back and turned to Brian, kissing him firmly on the lips. The kiss was long enough for anyone to know it wasn’t a joke or a dare, but short enough for a family audience. When it was over, the expressions on all three of his companions’ faces told him he’d once again gone too far.
Their waitress, in her wonderful sense of timing, showed up with food at that very moment.
“Uh, who gets the crab cakes?” she asked.
◆◆◆
“I’m sorry,” Carey said for what felt like the millionth time.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Jen asked. “I thought maybe you liked her. She sure liked you.”
After muddling through an extremely awkward dinner, Jen walked home with Brian and Carey. Again, Carey walked behind the other two as they talked. The only thing that salvaged the dinner had been Jen and Brian’s ability to carry on a normal conversation. Katie, who was completely mortified, barely ate and had her food wrapped up to leave early. Carey ate in silence, hardly looking up at any of t
hem.
“She was totally making fun of Brian. I couldn’t just sit there and listen to it.”
“But you didn’t have to humiliate her like that,” Brian said. “Besides, people talk about me all the time. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”
“Well, it bothers me,” Carey said. He didn’t say anything else the rest of the way.
When they got back to the houses, Jen asked if they were interested in surfing again in the morning.
“No thanks,” Carey replied. “I suck at it anyway. You go ahead,” he told Brian.
“Maybe Wednesday or Thursday?” Brian smiled at Jen.
“All right. It would probably be good to take a day off and sleep in anyway. Goodbye.”
“Bye,” Carey mumbled.
“Don’t take it out on her,” Brian scolded. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“How many times do I have to apologize?”
Brian smiled.
“What now?” asked Carey.
“You were trying to be my knight in shining armor again, defending me against the red-haired witch.”
“You didn’t seem to appreciate it at the time.”
“We were in a restaurant. Nobody likes to see people making out while they’re eating. No matter how cute we are,” Brian giggled and fanned himself. “But I do appreciate the effort.”
“Jen’s pretty pissed.”
“I think she was more shocked. She agreed that Katie was taking it too far,” Brian said. “But it’s done. Look at it this way, you probably won’t have to see Katie again.”
“Yeah, that’s good.” Carey brushed the hair out of Brain’s eyes. “I can’t help myself when I’m around you. I want to be everything for you. Your knight in shining armor, your friend, your lover . . .”
He kissed Brian, more deeply than he had in the restaurant, the way he always liked to kiss him. Brian kissed him back, becoming almost dizzy from the emotions.
“I . . . I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet,” Brian said quietly.
“No, I guess not me either,” Carey whispered, touching his forehead to Brian’s. “But you just get me so . . . so . . .”
Brian grinned. “Me too.”
Chapter 16
The boys took Jen’s advice and slept in the following morning, mainly because they stayed up too late watching television Monday night. Brian wandered downstairs when he smelled something cinnamon baking. He was wearing plaid pajama pants and a Hello Kitty t-shirt.
“Good morning,” Dina said. She noticed the shirt but decided not to comment on it. “Actually, it’s almost noon.”
He yawned. “Morning. What smells so good?” He sat down at the breakfast bar. Maude went directly to greet him.
“Sour cream coffee cake. It’s almost finished, but it’ll take a while to cool. You should have something else if you’re hungry.”
“Mind if I make eggs?” he asked.
“You’re welcome to anything that’s here,” she told him.
He got out eggs, cheese and the leftover chicken cacciatore. Dina watched him make an omelet out of all of it.
“That’s interesting,” she commented.
“I could make one for you if you’d like,” he offered.
“That’s all right, I’ve already eaten.”
Brian poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat down to eat. He only dished out half of it for himself, leaving the rest for Carey.
“You having a good time so far?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re having a great time. Thanks again for having us.”
“It’s nice having company. Sometimes it gets so quiet around here.”
“You didn’t want to have kids?” he questioned casually.
“We didn’t try very hard,” she answered honestly. “I guess we could have tried infertility treatments and things like that. But we traveled and liked to go out. Kids didn’t fit into our lifestyle. Even when Carey was born, we still weren’t exactly envious of Jeannie and Malcolm. They stopped going out, Jeannie quit working, and they seemed like they never got enough sleep. Don’t get me wrong, I love Carey and Michelle. If I could have had sixteen-year-olds instead of babies, I may have tried harder. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Brian’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You didn’t. Rob and I are happy. And we’ve got our two little babies,” she said in a high-pitched voice. Harold wagged his tail and scurried over to Dina. She leaned over to scratch his belly when he fell at her feet. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
Brian shrugged. “We didn’t make any plans.”
“Then how about a boat ride?”
“Really? That would be great,” he said. “Can we go out on the ocean?”
“Sure,” Dina said. “I don’t like to go too far out though,” she laughed. “Why don’t you wake up that sleepyhead, so we can go.”
“Okay.” Brian bounded up the stairs and burst into Carey’s room. “Wake up!” he yelled.
Carey twitched wildly and sat up. “What the hell?”
Brian doubled over laughing.
“You scared the crap out of me,” Carey grumbled. “Why’d you do that?”
“It’s after noon. Dina wants to take us on the boat.”
Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Carey flipped the covers off and started to make his way out of the room. He noticed Brian staring. “What?”
“Nothing,” Brian looked away. “You might want to put on some pants before you go downstairs.”
Carey had forgotten that he was too warm the night before and took off his pajama bottoms, sleeping only in his underwear.
“Right,” he chuckled.
“Not that I mind,” Brian muttered, leaving Carey to dress.
◆◆◆
Brian’s face beamed as he sat on the bench seat in the front of the twenty-five-foot fishing catamaran, his hair whipping in the wind. Carey sat next to him, while Dina sat in the captain’s chair behind them, driving.
“This is great!” Brian yelled over the wind.
Carey simply nodded, not bothering to try and shout. He rested a hand on Brian’s knee as the boat slowed to a gentle cruising speed. Dina had taken them about a half mile off shore, and Carey became a little nervous being out in the middle of the water.
“You okay?” Brian asked.
Carey nodded. “I don’t mind water I can stand in, but this is kind of creepy.”
“Are you afraid Jaws is going to get you.” Brian held up his hands like claws.
“Stop it,” Carey shoved.
Calling from the wheel, Dina told them, “Rob usually fishes out farther, but he’s caught some this close. Do you boys fish?”
“Never been,” Brian admitted. He wrinkled his nose. “I like being on the boat, but I don’t think I’d like fishing.”
“I’ve been fishing down here a few times with Dad and Uncle Rob,” Carey said. “But I don’t remember it being so scary out on the water.”
Dina laughed. “Kids don’t always know enough to be scared of things. I think you went last time you came down. As I recall, you went out about fifteen miles and caught quite a few fish. We had them for dinner.”
“Well, Dad and Uncle Rob did. I think I mostly complained about being bored.”
“I’m sure Rob would take you guys out tonight if you want,” she offered.
“That’s okay,” Carey smiled. “Just riding around in the boat is fun. I bet it’s great to watch the sunrise from out here.”
Dina frowned. “I can’t tomorrow, Maybe Thursday. I forgot to tell you I have to go in for a few hours tomorrow morning. You’ll be on your own for breakfast. If you don’t sleep through it again,” she chuckled.
“We’ll be fine,” Carey said.
They cruised around for a little while before Dina took them back to start an early dinner. She wanted to make sure she didn’t stay up too late since she had to get up to go into the office by eight. The boys helped with dinner prep again, somethi
ng they both enjoyed. After cutting up the kabob vegetables, Brian and Carey set some aside for a salad. Dina grilled shrimp skewers with peppers, onions and tomatoes and prepared rice while they put together the salad.
They listened to Rob’s fishing stories while they ate. He seemed to remember almost every fish he ever caught. Brian was rapt by the tales, asking questions and gasping at some of the more harrowing details. Carey thought at least some of it had to be made up or exaggerated, but he never let on. They were good tales whether or not they were true. Rob gave the boys some tips for fishing off the pier if they wanted to go in the morning. In the end, though, they decided it was best to wait for him and go at dusk on Wednesday.
After dinner the four of them sat on the patio to eat a cheesecake that Rob picked up on his way home from work. It was actually pieces of different kinds of cheesecake put together to make a whole one. Each of them tried a different kind and traded bites.
They all sat on the patio watching the sun set, until the mosquitoes finally chased them inside for an evening movie.
◆◆◆
Yawning, Dina patted Rob’s leg. “I’m going to bed.”
Maude lifted her head, then put it back down.
Rob laughed, “That’s my line. You’re confusing the dogs.”
“Are you staying up with the boys?” she asked.
“Nah, I’ve seen this movie.” He handed the remote to Carey after turning the sound down two notches.
“Don’t stay up too late,” Dina said. “There’s still coffee cake for breakfast, or eggs, or cereal. I’ll probably be home around eleven. Hopefully, not any later than that. If you go to the beach or something, leave me a note, okay?”
“Sure, Aunt Dina. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Dina, Rob and the dogs all went upstairs, leaving Brian and Carey to finish watching their movie. When it was over, Brian flipped channels to find another one. He found one that had only started ten minutes before and cuddled into Carey.
“I thought you didn’t like scary movies,” Carey said.
“I don’t want to be in one. I don’t mind watching them.”
Brian and Carey Page 17