Freeing (17 page)

“She’s going to be okay.”

Denying her words, I say, “I don’t think so. She’s so lost.”

“You’re her home. You can’t be lost if you’re home,” she assures me.

“But you’re
my
home. So where does that leave me?”

She shakes her head slightly when she questions, “What about Mark? What is he to you?”

“I don’t really know. God, Jace, I’ve done horrible things,” I confess as I continue to cry. “Mom and Dad won’t even talk to me.”

“You couldn’t keep lying to them though. And Mark loves you. You can’t be afraid for the world to see you.”

“I’m afraid they won’t understand.”

“Maybe they won’t, but the Jase I know wouldn’t care what others think. You’re gay . . . so what?”

Her words make me laugh, and I’ve needed to hear them for so long.

“You’re so much stronger than this. Don’t let life stand in the way of what you want—what you deserve.” She grips my shoulders under her hands and tells me, “Life isn’t gonna be here forever. It passes by quickly and the time is lost, so don’t waste it.” When she lets go of me, she turns to stare out at the water. “Jase, you have everything that was stolen from me. I lost it all and you’re wasting it. And for what? Because you’re scared?”

Taking her words, I admit, “I think I might love him.” I meet her eyes and continue, “I know I hardly know him, but I think I could really love him.”

Her smile is perfect and everything I need to see right now. We turn our attention back to watch the last of the sun before it’s completely submerged in the water. A union that should never be but always is. Day after day. A cycle that never ends.

I’m content. In this moment, I’m happy. I feel like I have everything until I look to my side and find myself staring down an endless path of sand.

My eyes flood, and I let them fall shut.

When I open my eyes again, I stare out the rain-covered window in my room. Even though Mark’s arms are wrapped around me, I want to leave him and go back. Just like that—she’s gone, and I am here, under the gray-covered sky, far from our beach.

Sitting up, I turn and shift to the edge of the bed and lower my head in my hands. I replay her words; I try not to lose the sound of her voice, but my focus is interrupted when I hear, “Are you okay?”

I hate that dreams have to end, but they do, and reality ensues.

I turn and fall back down on the bed. Mark doesn’t say anything else, he just watches me as I lie here. My chest hurts. It aches. I’m sure the pain is written on my face. Rolling on my side, towards Mark, I tell him, “I miss her.”

“Who?”

“My sister.”

He reaches over and pulls me close to him. I can see the question in his eyes, and I know he doesn’t know what to say, so I fill in the blanks for him. “She was in my dream.” I pause before revealing, “I know it isn’t real, but it feels like it is.”

“I don’t know what to say,” he admits, but I move past his words and continue.

“She knew everything; I didn’t even have to tell her.” I watch as Mark’s eyes begin to rim with tears that he never allows to fall. I’m pretty sure I know what he’s thinking:
You’re crazy. Of course she knows everything; she’s just a figment of your imagination. It’s all in your head.
I know that’s logic, but I choose not to believe it.

I lie there in his arms as I allow my mind to drift back to the beach, not wanting to lose her just yet. Pretending that the warmth of Mark’s body is the warmth of the sun. I know it’s desperate, but I do it anyway.

“What the hell is all this?” I ask as I dig through the black and white Sephora bag that Mark tossed on the coffee table.

“I told you, we’re gonna make her smile tonight.”

Taking out a small tub, I read the label, “Glam Glow? Tingling and exfoliating mud mask.” I start laughing and shake my head.

“Dude, girls like this shit.”

“Really?” I say with a tilt of my head. “How do you know?”

“‘Cause my sisters are into this junk.”

I tease Mark, but I love that he has gone to this length to give my girl a fun night. I watch him as he walks into my kitchen, takes a bottle of beer from the fridge, and returns to his bag of nail polish, pore strips, and a couple more things I can’t recognize. He makes me laugh, and I intend on thoroughly enjoying watching him emasculate himself tonight.

I take advantage of the alone time we have before Candace gets here and all but devour him on the couch. I’m surprised that we haven’t had sex yet. Normally that’s the first thing I do with guys. Hell, that’s the only thing I have ever really done with guys. But with Mark, it doesn’t bother me to move slowly.

We scramble off the couch when we hear the door open. Candace steps in and gives both of us a knowing look, but Mark grabs her hand and starts talking to her before she can say anything.

After a few beers, I sit back in my chair and watch Candace and Mark apply mud to each other’s faces.

Laughing, I say to Mark, “You know how ridiculous you look with that shit on you?”

“Shut up,” Candace teases. “Your face could benefit from a good cleansing if your panties weren’t wadded up so tight.”

Mark and I both laugh, and it’s nice to see her in a more lighthearted mood. Candace sips her wine as she questions Mark about everything from his band to his family. She props her feet on his lap and Mark proceeds to paint her toenails. I watch him with her. He sits there, wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts, with mud on his face, trying to cheer up the only other girl I have ever loved aside from my sister. It’s in this moment that I know I’m starting to fall in love. The fact that he is doing this, and I know it’s more for me than it is for her, makes me see how much he really does care.

When Mark finishes, he hops off the couch and heads into the kitchen.

“Grab me a water while you’re in there,” Candace hollers to Mark as he’s rummaging around.

When he starts sauntering back into the living room, water in hand, with his face covered in a brown facial mask, I notice the smile that finally appears on Candace’s face. I laugh at how ridiculous Mark looks right now.

Handing Candace the bottle of water, he says, “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“Thanks.” She shakes her head at him and grins.

I hear her let out a small giggle and then she turns to look at me. I feel less weight in my chest knowing that Mark just gave her this. If only for a moment, he gave her a piece of her old self back.

I give her a wink before Mark falls across my lap and pulls me in for a kiss, getting mud all over my face. “Dude, that shit is everywhere!” I try to say with force, but it’s betrayed by my laughter.

“Come on. Kiss me, Jase,” he teases, and I try pushing him away, but he fights to stay on top of me, smearing that crap all over me. Mark and I both stop wrestling when we hear Candace laughing loudly at us. The three of us stare at each other, all knowing each other’s thoughts without even speaking. We know what just happened was big, so we just absorb the moment.

When it starts getting late, Mark and Candace go to the bathroom to clean their faces off, and I get ready for bed. I can hear the two of them laughing quietly over the running water. It’s the best damn sound in the world to me right now, and he gave it to me.

When they walk into the room, Candace slips under the covers, and I wrap myself around her as Mark slides in behind me and wraps himself around me. I love that the three of us can be here. These are the two people I love the most, and knowing they love each other too is near perfect.

Candace lets out a deep breath and says, “Thanks guys.”

I kiss the top of her head when Mark says, “Anytime,” and then presses his lips to the back of my neck.

Candace wound up spending most of the day with me. Mark had to get some stuff done before his show tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve heard him play, but tonight I’m going with him to Blur to hang out.

I shrug on my shirt and throw some gel in my hair when I hear my cell ring.

“You here?”

“Yeah. I’m around the corner by Peet’s,” Mark says.

Walking out of my building, I round the corner and see Mark’s white Range Rover parked by the curb. When I hop in, I lean over and give him a quick kiss before he starts making the short drive to the bar. He parks in the back lot and grabs his guitar from the backseat.

“So, Ryan, the guy that owns this place, wants us to start playing every Saturday,” he says as we start walking through the lot to the back door.

“Yeah? You guys gonna commit to that?”

“I think so. The money is really good and saves us the headache of trying to find gigs around the city.”

Opening the door, we walk through the back and into the bar. The place is packed, but then again, it’s after nine o’clock on a Saturday night.

“Hey, man.”

“Hey,” Mark says to a guy whose arms are covered in tattoos. “Chas, this is Jase.” Looking over at me, he says, “Chasten plays drums.”

Nodding my head, I say, “Yeah, I think we’ve met before.”

We shake hands and then he tells Mark, “Everyone’s ready, so we should—”

“Hey, guys, can you get the others and meet me in my office real quick.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Mark says to the guy that is approaching us. “Ryan, this is Jase, the guy I was telling you about.”

Ryan reaches out his hand, and I shake it as he says, “Jase, man. Good to meet you.”

“Yeah, same here,” I respond, and I wonder what Mark has told him. I start to feel a little insecure being with Mark like this around these guys. I wish I didn’t. I wish I could be as comfortable as Mark is, but I’m not. Not yet.

Chasten follows Ryan to the back and Mark tells me, “I gotta go with them. I’ll catch up with you later though.” I nod my head, and I tense up when he kisses me. I know he senses my reaction by the look on his face.

“I’m gonna go get a beer. I’ll see you later,” I say before Mark turns away.

I walk over to the large bar and have to wait a while before one of the girls comes over.

“Hey, sorry about the wait. I’m Mel. What can I get you?”

“You have Full Sail? Amber?”

“Yeah. In the bottle,” she replies as I nod my head.

“Jase.” I turn to see Ryan standing beside me, leaning his elbows on the bar top. “You ever been here before?”

“Yeah. This crowd is a bit insane though,” I say when Mel hands me the beer.

“Here you are.”

“Don’t bother with a tab, Mel,” Ryan tells her.

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” he says when I hear Mark’s band starting to play.

The music is loud and blasts through the bar. I take a seat on the stool that opens up next to me and drink my beer. Leaning my back against the bar, I watch Mark as he plays. He looks hot with his guitar slung low on his body. Muscles flexing in his arms and shoulders as he plays.

“Your guy’s band is fuckin’ popular. They brought in a huge crowd last time they played here as well.”

Having him refer to Mark as
my guy
makes me uncomfortable. The fact that he knows I’m gay and that Mark is my boyfriend, embarrasses me. Not because of Mark. It’s me, and I know this. Ryan doesn’t seem to be phased by it at all, which surprises me. To look at him, you can tell he is all man.

“You go to school together?” he asks when I don’t respond to his last statement.

“Yeah,” I holler over the music. “We’re in the same major.”

“And what’s that?”

“Architecture.”

He turns around and yells for Mel to grab him a beer when a guy approaches him from behind and claps his shoulder.

“Ryan! Fuck, man!”

He turns around and questions, “What?”

“That chick you flung on me last night was a fuckin’ psycho.”

Ryan shakes his head and introduces us. “Jase, this is my dick of a friend, Gavin.”

“What the fuck ever,” Gavin says as he laughs at Ryan. Looking at me, he says, “Watch out for this dipshit, and don’t let him hook you up with anyone. His matchmaking skills suck balls.”

“Find your own ass, Gav. I’m not your fuckin’ hookup.”

“Not anymore. What the hell has happened to you lately?”

“Nothing,” Ryan tells him. “Just sick of wasting my time.”