Page 16 of Storm Bound
“Anyway,” I said, changing the subject while we joined the highway to Mathews. “What’s new with you? What’s changed since October? Got a boyfriend yet?”
Luke snortled.
“Sure. Sure. I’ve got all the boys lining up at my door,” he said.
“And Yaya hasn’t said a thing yet? Wow. You’re really living the life, aren’t you?” I laughed.
“Oh yeah. I can have all the orgies as long as I keep them in my room,” Luke said, all serious.
“So jelly, honey. So fucking jelly,” I said full of sarcasm.
Well, if I was honest with myself, I would have loved to have experienced the crazy gay lifestyle that all those influencer gays seemed to live. Sex parties, cruises, wild hookups. I mean, I think I would have liked that. Even if for a short period of time. But having a stoma didn't exactly scream sexy, Instagram-worthy bod, so I’d steered well clear of that scene. I had enough rejection as it was.
Which was probably for the best. As much as I would like to think that I had missed out in life, I was probably too old, too grumpy, and too nerdy to be a sex hunk giving it to every thirsty bitch out there. And it kept STDs to a minimum.
“Are you still seeing Rohan?” I asked, remembering the little twink who ran the Beer Residency on Main Street with his twin brother.
He shrugged. “Yeah. But we’re just friends,” he said.
“I’ll never understand you. You have a perfectly good man and yet you two won’t get your heads out of your asses and get together. Officially,” I said.
“Oh yeah? So why are you and Benji not an item?” Luke raised an eyebrow.
“Touché,” I said.
Benji and I had met at the hospital, and we’d worked together for the last seven years. We had a common love for all things nerdom, and a genuine love for each other. But even though we’d tried the dating thing at the early stages of our friendship, it just didn’t work out. We didn’t click as a couple. There wasn’t a… spark. Some people were meant to be together. And some people were meant to be good friends and nothing more.
“Don’t get me wrong, Rohan’s an absolute star and I love him to bits, but we want different things from life, and he’s just a friend,” Luke explained further even though he didn’t need to.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. One day you’ll find your Prince Charming. I’m sure of it,” I said.
“Fuck. Off,” Luke grumbled and gave me a sideways glower.
I laughed.
Yeah, this whole Prince Charming thing had been a recurring joke since we were kids. Luke had run straight to Mom after watching Cinderella and asked her if he could get a Prince Charming, too. Mom had laughed at first, but then she realized he was serious and told him he could. So she went to the store and bought him a Charming doll. But Luke didn’t want it. He broke down in tears because he wanted a real Prince Charming. He even started mopping the floor with a tea towel because he thought if it worked for Cinderella, it would work for him, too.
So, Mom ended up sitting down with Luke and having ‘the chat’ with him, telling him that he was too young to get a Prince Charming, but that one day, when he was older, he would meet someone special, and they would live happily ever after just like Cinderella and her prince did.
We’d been teasing him ever since. He was probably the first of us to know he was gay and admitting it. But then again, Mom and Dad, and Yaya, had raised us to be true to ourselves and never told us we couldn’t do something or couldn’t be someone just because it was different than normal.
We’d found out later on from our older brother, Andy, that Mom and Dad were terrified of not having all the answers; especially Dad, who didn’t want to let his sons down even if he couldn’t understand what being gay meant.
And now, after all those years, we were probably the gayest family in town, and Dad was proud of each and every one of us.
The car came to a stop, and I looked at the family home that had as many happy memories as it did sad ones. On rainy, stormy days like this, it looked particularly somber. I couldn’t blame Leo, my older brother, for leaving us behind like he did. Of course, I wish he’d stayed and stood by all our sides, but everyone dealt with pain in a different way, and as much as I hated him for practically disappearing on most of us, he had also battled his own demons.
I took a deep breath and opened the door, getting immediately drenched. Luke ran around with an umbrella, but the wind blew it inside out so it was useless. We grabbed my stuff and ran to the front porch before we caught our deaths, and when the door finally opened, Yaya was there waiting with her arms at the ready for an embrace.
“Hey, Yaya. I’m drenched, so don’t come near me,” I warned her.
“Nonsense. What’s a little water?” she said and wrapped her arms around me. “Oh dear. You’re freezing. Come on. Let’s get you warmed up.”
Luke dropped my suitcases in the hallway and followed us to the living room where the fireplace was burning, and its warmth sizzled against my skin.
“That’s better,” I said, sitting back on the armchair in front of it.
“Are you hungry? You must be hungry. You’ve been on the road all day. I’ve made some pancakes. Do you want coffee? How about a smoothie. I’ve got some berries and bananas. Oh, and I think I’ve got some croissants left in the freezer. If Summer didn’t find them. I would have gone to the store, but your brothers won’t let me go out in this weather,” Yaya started, and I was immediately at home.
