by J. M. Lamp
“You ready?” he says.
I smile. “You mean we have to go somewhere for this surprise of mine?”
“Not far.”
He throws me a helmet, and I strap it on. The bike starts purring, and my mind starts wondering where in the hell he is taking me.
We eventually make our way to Gregor’s, and I’m instantly confused.
“Is there another surprise party in there for me?”
He laughs. “Come one.”
Instead of going through the front door, we head towards the alley. Once we’re behind the pub, I watch as Oliver pulls down a ladder that I assume leads to the roof.
“I didn’t even know you could get on the roof like this.”
He puts one foot on the ladder and looks over at me. “Me either. The air conditioning unit is up there, and some guy came and fixed it last week.” He takes a few more steps up and looks down at me. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”
I shake my head, and he starts climbing up the ladder again.
Once we make it to the stop, I look towards the entrance side of Gregor’s, and I see the most beautiful view imaginable. Gregor’s sits parallel with a major intersection and at night, looking out is like looking at a tunnel filled with nothing, but gorgeous, multi-colored lights and tall buildings.
“I never realized that there was a view to be had here.”
“Really?” Oliver says. “You’ve been here how many times?”
I laugh. “I come here to drink.”
“Speaking of.” He makes his way over to the edge of the rooftop, and I see that he has two lawn chairs and a cooler sitting out. He dips into the cooler and hands me a beer.
“This is cute.”
He smiles, and he says, “I try.” He sits down in the chair to the left and looks at me. “So, you gonna tell me what the deal is with your parents?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Well,” he laughs, “you stormed into the living room once you heard that they were there. You went straight to your sister’s room once you actually were inside. You barely spoke to your parents at the dinner table.”
“We don’t exactly get along.”
“Yes,” he nods. “That much I gathered.”
I put my hands behind my head.
“Oh shit,” he says. “Things are about to get real. He put the hands behind the head, everyone.”
I laugh, and I say, “I’ve never fit in with them. They are your typical classy people with way too much money, and they don’t care who knows it. Don’t get me wrong; they aren’t evil or anything. I just don’t care for them as people.”
Oliver raises his eyebrows, makes a sad-puppy face, and I laugh.
“That all? It’s just because you don’t care for them as people?”
I shake my head and look away from him, up at the sky.
“No one knows this about me. Not Elliot, Ethan, or even my sister.” He doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “I had my first boyfriend in high school. I came out during my sixteenth birthday at a party and after that, I got said boyfriend. My parents were OK with me being gay they said. They were so OK with it, in fact, that they paid that boyfriend a shit load of money to transfer schools and never speak to me again.”
He crosses his arms, and he says, “I don’t believe you.”
“Swear to, God. The only reason I even know is because I saw him years later, and he told me everything. My parents don’t even know that I know about it.”
“And here I thought my dad cheating on my mom way back when was a big deal.”
“It might seem stupid—that being the reason I loathe them—but I’ll never get over the fact. It doesn’t bother me and keep me up at night, but I’ll never be close to them again.”
“You’ve really never told anybody that?” he asks me.
I shake my head and look out towards the lights and buildings.
Oliver is the first person I’ve ever admitted to about why I don’t talk to my parents. If he thinks it’s a stupid reason, he doesn’t say so.
He sighs and takes a drink of his beer.
“What?” I ask him.
“I have to pee.”
I laugh, shake my head, and I say, “You’re such a dork.”
“You’re the dork, dork.”
“I hate my birthday, ya know.”
He turns to me, rests his chin on his palm, purses his lips, and he says, “Because it reminds you that you’re just getting closer to death.”
“Um… yeah. That’s exactly the reason.”
He shrugs. “I’ve never been a fan of birthdays, either. I tend to just not think about mine every year.”
“I like celebrating other people’s with them,” I say. “I just don’t like celebrating mine.”
“I stopped enjoying mine the first time I went and visited my dad.” He gets out of his chair and puts his hands on his sides. “I spent it with him, and the woman that he ruined his marriage with, too. They took me out to eat, and then they basically ignored me the rest of the week that I was there. I just remember sitting on the beach and thinking about how I would never let someone cheat on me or do me wrong like he did to my mom. Obviously, I wasn’t able to stop it from happening.”
“We can’t prevent things like that from happening. We can only learn from them and hope they don’t happen again.” I sigh. “And then, eventually allow ourselves to trust again.”
“So,” he says, making his way over to me, “was this a decent birthday?”
“Olli,” I say as he kneels down between my legs, “this has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
***
“Get a good dickin’, did ya?” Kelsey asks me once I get back home.
I laugh. “Seriously? For your information, we don’t just have sex every time we are together. That’s none of your business, anyway. But no, we just hung out on a roof and talked about life.”
“How deep,” she says. “I put all your gifts and cards on your bed. Except for mom and dad’s.”
“You can have that one.”
“Just fucking open it, Sam.”
I raise my eyebrows and look down at the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Please, just open it. You can throw it away after.”
“Is there some big surprise in there for me?”
She shrugs. “Not that I know of. There’s probably money, though, and seeing as how my birthday is just around the corner, I want to know how much I should be expecting when the time comes.”
I open the card. It simply says “Love mom and dad,” and after reading it, I throw it down and show her the one hundred dollar bill in my hand.
“What does it say?”
I hand her the card, and she nods. “To the point.”
I turn towards my room, and she says, “I’m sorry if that ruined your birthday earlier. Them showing up… I really didn’t think they were going to come.”
I turn around and smile at her. “Despite it all, this has been the best birthday ever.”
Chapter Twelve
Oliver
I T’S THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST, AND I’VE never encountered so many college kids in my life as a bartender. Classes started back up, and you would think that we were offering free alcohol at the number of people that have came and gone in the last few days.
“It tones down after the first week,” Jess says over my shoulder. She hands a guy on her side of the bar his drink and leans against the back of the counter. “You seem overwhelmed tonight.”
I shrug and turn around to face her. “None of the places that I worked were college towns, so there weren’t a lot of young people. I just find them really… annoying, I guess.”
She laughs and throws a rag over her shoulder. “Preachin’ to the choir, my friend. So, am I going to have to start calling you boss soon?”
“Huh?”
“Bruce told me that you’re thinking of buying the place.”
I nod, handing a woman her beer.
“I’ve always wanted to own a bar. But no, you won’t have to call me boss.”
“The end of September,” she says. “That’s when he’s done.”
This surprises me because he still hasn’t told me when he plans on selling the place. The end of September, though, is a lot sooner than I thought.
“I should probably talk to him.”
She nods and turns back around towards another customer. I lean against the counter beside the cash register and cross my arms.
This is it; this is where part one of my dream life begins. I smile, and then instantly feel guilty about the fact.
Bruce is dying. The only reason I’m getting the chance to buy this place is because the owner found out that he had cancer, and what was once probably his dream is now ending too quickly.
I scratch my forehead and look up at the clock beside the newly installed flat screen. My shift ends in a few minutes, so it’s a perfect time to talk to Bruce before he leaves.
“What’s up?” Bruce says, turning from his computer to look at me.
I sit down, cross my legs, and I say, “Jess said you’re planning to sell the place come September.”
He nods and takes off his glasses.
He doesn’t say anything at first, but he finally finds the words, and he says, “I want to get an early start on my trip. I was going to tell you this week. It’s still yours if you want it.”
“I’ve always wanted to own my own bar and grill. The fact that I’m getting one because you’re dying, it just doesn’t feel right the more I think about it.”
He laughs and cups his hands on his desk. “I’m actually… OK with it all.” He gets up from his chair, lets out a deep breath, and leans against the wall. “I’ve lived a good life, Olli. Owning this place was once a dream of mine, too. When my wife passed a few years ago, I just sort of stopped caring about a lot of things. I’m sad, angry even, about the fact that I caught it too late. Honestly, though, it’s OK. I get to see her again, and in the end, that’s all that I want.”
A rush of sadness runs through me, and I can’t stop the tears from flooding my eyes. I wipe one away as it starts to run down my cheek, and he sits back down.
“Listen,” he says, “don’t feel guilty for anything, please. Everything happens for a reason, and while the reasoning for this doesn’t seem very fair, it’s just how it is supposed to be. Just take care of this place for me.”
***
“They offered me a lot of money for the movie rights,” Sadie says at lunch the next day. “I’m not sure if I’m going to go through with it, though.”
I stop, the water from my glass halfway up my straw, and widen my eyes at her. “Why the fuck wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know if they’ll do it justice.”
I nod and sit my glass back down on the table. “Makes sense. It’s never been about the money with you.”
“Speaking of money, are you sure you don’t need any extra to pay for the bar?”
“I have plenty, Sadie.” She shrugs. “Thank you, though.”
“If you ever do need any, you—“
Her jaw drops, and her eyes focus behind me. I turn around, take a few seconds to focus on what she is possibly seeing, and there he is: Eddie.
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
“I don’t think he’s seen us, yet,” she says. “I’ll throw some money on the table, and we can sneak out through the back.”
I shake my head and cross my arms. “I’m not running away from him.”
“Shit,” she says.
Seconds later, I feel a presence behind me, and I hear him say, “Hey, guys.”
“Can we help you?” Sadie asks him.
“Olli,” he says, “can we talk?”
I sigh. “You know I have nothing to say to you, Eddie. Please, just leave us alone.”
“Please, Olli. Just let me—“
“Get the fuck away from me!”
The room silences, and I realize that I just shouted to the point where the whole restaurant could here me. I look up at Sadie, her jaw slightly dropped and eyes wide, and then close my eyes. I hear Eddie’s footsteps leave us through the silence.
Do I feel bad about yelling? No.
Do I think that he’s going to leave me alone now? No.
Did that feel good? Yes.
I wipe my mouth and throw my napkin on my plate. I look up at Sadie, push myself back from the table, and get out of my chair.
I sigh, and I say, “We can go now.”
***
The air feels nice against my body as I speed down the highway out of the city. Seeing Eddie just pissed me off. With him, it’s like have a crazy stalker, except he won’t ever hurt me.
Instead, he pesters me until I finally snap and yell in front of a bunch of strangers in a restaurant.
My blood pressure won’t go down as I speed up, passing car after car along the road. I look down at the speedometer and slow down a little bit, focusing in on the road and the cars.
Was he there because we were there?
Wondering whether or not he is following me now just pisses me off more.
I veer to the right and take the exit that loops back around, giving me access back into the city. Out of nowhere, a deer runs across the road, and I slam on my breaks. My bike starts going sideways, and I already know what comes next.
My bike hits the ground, and I start sliding down the hill along with it. The sleeves on my jacket tear, and once I feel the pavement dig into my arm, I let out a scream. The pain hurts only for a minute, because I focus back in on where I’m rolling.
The bike finally hits a bush, and I steady on the road. I look around, not able to see a thing in all the darkness besides the light on my bike, and grab my arm. The pain hits me again, and I lie back, realizing that this is the first time I have ever wrecked my bike.
I was going too fast down the exit ramp. If I would not of been so worked up over Eddie, this never would’ve happened.
***
A pain pill and several stiches later, I wait for Sam in the emergency room.
“How’s the bike?” my nurse, Carrie, asks me.
I shake my head and sigh. “Pretty fucked.”
She laughs, and she says, “Well, at least you only got a gash in your arm and nothing else, I guess.”
“Thank you,” I say, stretching my arm back and forth. “I’m sure you get idiots like me all the time.”
“Trust me,” she says, “I’ve seen much worse.”
“Olli?” I look up and see Cody standing in the doorway.
“Hey, man.”
He walks in the room and stands beside Carrie. “You OK?”
“Yeah,” I shrug. “I just had a little accident. Could’ve been worse.”
“You guys know each other?” Carrie says.
“This is Sam’s…”
He smiles, and I say, “Sam’s friend, Oliver. Just his friend.”
“Oh,” she says, clearly confused as to why I said we were just friends. “Sam’s a cool dude.” She points over to Cody, and she says, “Why he hangs out with this fucker I’m not too sure, but cool nonetheless.”
“Don’t mind her,” Cody says. “She hasn’t had a nap yet today.”
I laugh and get off of the bed.
“Do you need a ride home?” Cody asks me. “My shift actually just ended.”
I shake my head. “Sam is on his way to get me. Although, I’m not sure I’m really ready for whatever speech he has ready for me.”
“He not a fan of the bike?” Carrie says.
I raise my eyebrows, and I say, “He won’t be now.”
“Speak of the devil.” I turn around and see what Cody is talking about. Sam’s face is emotionless, and I instantly feel like I’m about to get yelled at like a child.
Instead, he walks towards me and pulls me in for the tightest hug I’ve ever experienced.
“Are you OK?” he says, positioning his hands on both sides of my face.
He hugs me again and lets go.
“Hey, guys,” he says. “Carrie, it’s been awhile.”
“I know, right?” she says. “Cody never invites me out anymore.”
“You’re, literally, always busy with school,” he says.
She rolls her eyes, and she says, “I’d still like the opportunity to respectfully say that I can’t go.” We all laugh, and she adds, “I have to get back to work. It was nice to see you, Sam. And it was nice meeting you, Oliver.”
“You, too. And thank you, again.”
She smiles and makes her way out the door.
“I gotta get going, too,” Cody says. “Ethan is waiting for me at the movie theatre. You guys be good.”
We get to Sam’s car, and I instantly feel relief. It has been a long day, so I’m glad that the person I’m getting to end the night with is Sam.
“Thanks for coming and getting me,” I say.
He laughs, and he says, “Of course. I just wish you wouldn’t have wrecked. I’m sorry your bike is totaled.”
“Is it weird that I figured you would yell at me?”
He turns towards me, raises his eyebrows, and he says, “Why would I yell at you?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug. “I know you think the bike is dangerous. Way back when I bought it, Sadie told me I never should have because of how dangerous they are.”
“I’m just glad you’re OK,” he says. He rests his left hand on the steering wheel and the other hand against the back of my neck, skimming my neck with his fingertips. The feeling gets me a little hard, and I smile.
“Ya know,” I say, reaching behind my head and grabbing his hand, “something else is a little sore still.”
I sit his hand on my crotch, and he rubs his fingers up and down my bulge.
“Yeah,” he says. “It definitely feels a little stiff. I should probably work on that.”
I unzip my pants and shove them down to my knees. Flipping my dick out of my underwear, it lands in his palm and he rubs the tip of it with his thumb. I moan and look over at him, seeing the hint of a smile on his face.