In the Desert
Page 13
“Good.” Wren took three steps forward and slugged Felipe in the shoulder. “That’s for freaking me out.” He pulled Felipe into a tight hug. “And this is for freaking yourself out. One of us has to look out for you.”
“And it’s going to be you?” Felipe said weakly.
“It’s going to be me.” They pulled apart, and Wren couldn’t help but grab Felipe’s hands and squeeze them. “Seriously, asshole. Next time you freak out about something, let me know what it is so I can freak out too, okay?”
“Okay.” Felipe swallowed and kicked at the ground. “I really am sorry. I was talking to my sister about it, and she told me I was being stupid and needed to get my head out of my ass.”
“Which sister was this?” Wren asked.
“Destiny.”
“Cool. I’ll be sure to let her know that she’s my favorite of the four of you and that she’s the only one with common sense,” Wren deadpanned.
Felipe shrugged. “Honestly, you aren’t wrong. Raquel is pretty smart, though—she might give Destiny a run for her money.”
Wren rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, but did they get into Stanford on a full ride? No. You did. God, I can’t believe that is what you were freaking out over. I came here thinking I was gonna leave single and have to hide in the bathroom so no one could see me cry. But no, it’s just that my stupid boyfriend got into a stupid college no one’s ever heard of called Stanford—”
“It’s really not a big deal!” Felipe said, then winced. “I mean. It sort of is. Yeah. A tiny bit.”
“Yeah, a tiny bit.” Wren snorted. “God. Let’s get inside. I’ll be sure to yell at you more where Travis and Kyle can back me up.”
“Oh, they already yelled at me too. I’m pretty sure that it says something when those two are better at managing my relationship than I am,” Felipe admitted, letting Wren pull him toward the door.
“You know what it means? It means that you’re a dumbass who needs to stop panicking.” Wren stopped the two of them before they actually reached the patio door. He turned back to Felipe. “If we’re going to keep dating, you need to get better at talking. And I know I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I should have brought up how worried I was, but this is seriously not cool. You can’t do this again, okay? Especially not if we’re gonna try long-distance.”
Felipe nodded. “Oh no, I know that I fucked up. I know that I’m gonna be groveling for a while. If I had money, I’d buy you stuff, but I don’t, so I’ll just beg for my forgiveness instead.”
Wren rolled his eyes. “Well, I can’t say that the idea isn’t attractive, but it’s fine. I won’t hold this over you as long as you promise not to be a stupid asshole.” Wren punctuated the last few words with a jab to the chest.
“No more stupidity. Can’t promise I’ll stop being an asshole. But I’ll tone back the stupid,” Felipe reassured him.
“Good.” Wren reached up, wrapped his arms around Felipe’s neck, and tugged him down the necessary few inches for a quick kiss. “Now let’s go inside. I’m sure everyone is just dying to know whether we’ve broken up or not.”
“I’m pretty sure Kyle and Travis have money on it.”
“I’m pretty sure they have money on everything,” Wren half joked. He took Felipe’s hand again and squeezed it. Then he opened the patio door and the two of them walked back inside together.
WREN WOKE up gradually, hearing someone call his name and shaking him. It took him a moment to remember where he was: back up at Aspen, the spring breeze filtering through the tent and the soft undercurrent of Travis’s snoring filling the space the boys weren’t taking up. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, confused when he saw Felipe kneeling over him.
“Hey, you awake?” he asked, grinning.
Wren nodded, though awake was really just a matter of perspective.
“Come on. I want to show you something.”
Still too tired to make a comment, Wren nodded again and crawled out of his sleeping bag. He didn’t bother tying his shoes, just pushed his feet into them and followed Felipe out of the tent as quietly as possible.
The rest of the Scouts were asleep in their tents. A few were camping out under the stars since it was so nice out, but Wren wasn’t brave enough for that. The remnants of the campfire had been put out and the last of the food was all packaged and ready to go for tomorrow, when they’d have their last day before heading back down to the rest of society. It was strange, but Wren wasn’t ready for that. He wanted to keep camping. He wanted to keep having these trips.
But school was ending soon and he was going to be off to college before he could even say high school senior.
Felipe had a flashlight with him and began to lead the way. Wren wasn’t sure what to expect, but he followed Felipe down the trail and soon realized they were heading toward the lake. Wren almost made a joke, but something told him he should wait.
Felipe kept glancing back at him, as if expecting him to disappear into the darkness. Every time their eyes met, Wren smiled and Felipe smiled back. It was hard to see, but Felipe’s eyes still managed to catch the dim light and shine.
After about a thirty-minute walk, they finally came to the lake. When Wren saw it, he gasped. The stars shone down and reflected off of the almost-still water. There were more stars than he had seen before, and with the water, it seemed like they never ended. He didn’t think that there was anything that could be more beautiful than Felipe, but this was definitely giving him a run for his money.
“The stars sure do look beautiful tonight,” Wren murmured as he went to wrap his arms around Felipe.
Amused, Felipe shot him a small smile. He raised one of his eyebrows, and Wren nudged him.
“Come on. Play along,” he whispered.
“Okay, okay.” Felipe cleared his throat. “Yeah, they are.”
“You know who else is beautiful?” Wren asked.
“Who?”
“You.” Wren smiled wider as Felipe chuckled, then kissed him on the cheek. “Seriously, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe you never showed this to me.” He poked Felipe in the side. “Someone’s been holding out on me. Trying to make sure I’m in your good books before you fly out to California?”
“Yes, that’s definitely my only goal ever.” Felipe rolled his eyes and pulled away from Wren, took his hand, and led him over to a small picnic bench. They sat down next to each other, thighs pressed together, hand in hand.
Wren was content to sit there and just take it all in, much more awake now that he had walked for so long and was sitting next to Felipe, but he could tell something was up with him. He debated bringing it up or just letting Felipe stew, and decided to let it happen whenever Felipe wanted. Of the two of them, Felipe was definitely more awkward and had trouble with the more romantic parts of being in a relationship with another guy, but he tried and Wren appreciated it.
He wasn’t afraid to let people know, which was what mattered the most to Wren.
“I, uh, know it’s kind of stupid, but we’ve been dating for almost six months and I was going to wait but I just thought that this was the perfect time to give this to you and I’m going to just shut up now.” Felipe reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped bundle.
For a heart-stopping moment, Wren thought that there was a ring inside and that he and Felipe were going to have a serious conversation about what exactly their relationship was, but thankfully it was only a thing of leather.
A strap, really, not very long and a deep red color. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Wren took it gently, held it up, and grinned when he realized how soft it was. His fingers brushed over something that was burned into it, but he couldn’t read it without more light.
“Those are the coordinates for the campsite. For Aspen. I, uh, thought that maybe you’d want something to remember the first camping trip you ever went on.” Felipe rubbed the back of his neck.
“Did you make this?” Wren asked.
“Well, I got t
he leather, and I got one of the guys at school to burn the numbers in, so no? But yes?” Felipe laughed. “It’s one of a kind, if that’s what you’re asking.” He swallowed. “Do you like it? It’s a bracelet, see.” He gently took Wren’s hand and pulled the leather around it. Now that he had help, Wren saw that. Felipe had used an adjustable knot so Wren could take it on and off without having to untie it completely. “Do you like it?” he repeated.
Wren beamed. “I love it.” He licked his lips. “I… you….”
“You know, I think I loved you at the beginning. I just didn’t know it,” Felipe burst out. He groaned. “Oh God, I can’t believe I said that.”
Despite himself, Wren couldn’t help but laugh a little. He leaned forward and kissed Felipe to stop him from stammering out an apology. “It’s okay. I had the biggest crush on you ever since I saw your eyes.”
“My eyes?” Felipe went to touch just below them, confused. “What do you mean?”
“They look like… like the sky. The clear, summer sky when it’s hot as balls out and there isn’t a single cloud in sight.” Wren frowned. “That was supposed to be more poetic… sorry.”
If he was offended, Felipe didn’t show it. He kissed Wren back, the two of them fitting together like the wind rushing through the mountains or rustling through the trees, not a single gap between them. It felt right. It felt good.
In the desert, Wren didn’t feel so alone.d/p/g
ELLIOT JOYCE is a social-media obsessed, selfie-taking millennial and he’s proud of it. He can usually be found in his room playing D&D or in a theater lurking on the catwalks. Sometimes he even writes.
Other notable facts include the fact that he’s bisexual, he cannot juggle, and he regularly trips over thin air. Catch him on tumblr or really any social media, he spends enough time on it.
Tumblr: theonewiththewords.tumblr.com
Twitter: @eleldelmots
By Elliot Joyce
In the Desert
Published by Harmony Ink Press
Harmonious Hearts 2017 (Harmony Ink Anthology)
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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DREAMSPINNER PRESS
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
In the Desert
© 2018 Elliot Joyce.
Cover Art
© 2018 Brooke Albrecht.
http://brookealbrechtstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-448-7
Digital eBook published May 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of Americadpg
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