Page 30 of Meet You in the Waves
“I really need a friend today and you gave that to me.”
“I meant it. Anytime.”
He sucked in a smile and I swallowed, throat drying out. “Now I’ve gone and made it all serious and moody again,” he laughed.
“You don’t have to pretend with me,” I told him. “I can do real.”
“Yeah,” he said, eyes shifting to the ground. “I know you can.”
CHAPTER 12
ajay
New Year’s Eve had suddenly descended on us and I was at a loss about our plans for tonight. Originally Dee was meant to join us out here for the celebrations but that plan had been derailed when she had chosen to go back to Sydney with Kira.
Dane was far from impressed. And he was letting me know about it too.
He’d gone up to bed by the time Nick and I made it back home last night and I’d felt a sense of relief at that. Yesterday had been enough of a rollercoaster of emotions without having to deal with Dane on top of it. If it wasn’t for Nick I don’t know what I would have done.
Nick.
I’d never met anyone like him before. Someone so kind hearted and selfless and deeply caring and just so genuine. Soreal. He was just one hundred percent authentic, more so than anyone else I’d ever met. He’d been the friend I needed at my side yesterday.
Even though I’d missed Dane’s opinions and feelings on what had gone down yesterday, he’d let me know about it when I cameback in from my morning surf with Nick. I found him in the kitchen, leaning back against the cabinet with a cup of coffee.
“Hey,” I muttered, my greeting a little more stilted than usual.
“Hey,” he replied. I was about to leave it at that when he continued on, not one to let things lie. “I thought you’d want to know that Kira got home safely yesterday. Thanks to Dee who drove her all the way back.”
I swallowed, a sense of guilt creeping in that he had lost his holiday time with his girlfriend who he so dearly loved.
“I’m sorry that Dee left,” I offered, all I could really give him. Dane just grunted at that, lifting his mug for a sip. “I guess that means we have no plans for tonight?” I continued.
“No. We do not,” Dane counterpunched, a little acid in his tone.
“You’ll just have to come up to town with us then,” Nick added affably as he brushed past me on his way upstairs. “It’ll be fun. There’ll be fireworks, a live band, lots of alcohol, hopefully some of those sparkly lighter thingos.”
“Stop. You had me at sparkly lighter thingos,” I grinned at him, ignoring Dane’s pointed huff. Nick sent me a wink, my stomach pinching as he continued up the stairs. “We should go,” I said to my best friend who was still not looking at me.
“Maybe,” he shrugged. I figured that was the best I would get from Dane this morning so I followed Nick upstairs, stepping into the bathroom. I could hear the sound of the shower going in Nick’s ensuite which shared the wall with my bathroom. I wondered if he was in there already, bronze skin all wet and naked with the warm water cascading down over his golden, ripped body.
Okay, what? I shook my head like I could rattle my weird tangent of thoughts out of it and stepped into my own shower, setting the taps to run a little cooler than usual.
My skin was hot and antsy, my insides all itchy, that unsettled feeling going nowhere, not even with the relief of parting ways with Kira. And so what if I used the nice cool water for a little longer as I stroked my cock which had been perking up a little too often lately. It wasn’t like I was neglecting myself either but I didn’t dwell on that too closely as I shut my eyes and just let that little bit of tension fall from my shoulders as I listened to the sound of the water in the ensuite next door.
Dane had finally conceded defeat and agreed to join Nick and his friends up in town for New Years Eve. The evening had grown a little cool so I’d pulled on a pair of jeans with my black Vans and matched it with a short sleeve, blue button down. It was the most dressed up I’d been since arriving on the coast but Dane put me to shame as usual when he stepped out in his tight black jeans, fancy leather boat shoes and a grey button down.
Nick had left a little while ago with Rob and Mateo and I had tried not to feel anything when I’d watched them leave, waiting impatiently for Dane to finish getting ready. Nick had worn a pair of light blue jeans, the kind with lots of rips in all the right places, plus a white t-shirt that had stretched across his pecs and biceps, showing every muscle off to perfection. He’d also pulled his golden brown locks into a leather strap at the base of his neck.
I was still not sure why I was finding it so hard getting that mental image of him out of my head as I’d watched him walk away from me, surrounded by his down to earth best friend on one side and the super model/possibly the most beautiful man on the planet/ex-lover on his other.
The guys had left their cars and motorbikes behind at the Tempe’s house tonight. It was only a thirty minute walk into town along the beachfront, but Dane still managed to grumble as I pulled him down onto the boardwalk that wound all the way to town to walk with me. For a guy who had grown up a stone’s throw from the water, Dane was really not at home on the beach.
“I’m really sorry Dee’s not here,” I said for the twelfth time, watching as the sun spread its golden wings across the calm ocean. There was a light breeze in the air that I had a feeling might turn cold later on.
“It’s okay,” Dane grunted in a way which spoke only half truths. “She and Kira are planning to go watch the Harbour fireworks together tonight.”
“Oh, right,” I offered. Not that I cared what Kira did with her time but I had a feeling Dane didn’t want to hear about that.
