Read Something Beautiful Online

Authors: Jenna Jones

Something Beautiful (5 page)

BOOK: Something Beautiful
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"California Spanish is nothing like Castilian."

 

"Well, yeah. They lisp."

 

Dune cleared his throat and looked at him pointedly.

 

"Okay," Micah said with a sigh. "Lucas and I didn't just fight. He wanted to get married."

 

"Are you serious?"

 

"Completely serious. I told him I wasn't ready and he left."

 

"Oh, honey," Dune said quietly and squeezed his knee.

 

"Thanks, Dunie." He put his hand on top of Dune's until Dune moved it away to drive. "So when Stuart called I told him everything, and we went out to dinner and had such a good time that when he offered to put me up for a while I said yes."

 

"I knew that part." Dune handed over the parking ticket to the toll booth attendant.

 

"I just wanted somebody to be nice to me, and Stuart was. I mean, Lucas said some stuff -- do you think I'm a coward?"

 

Dune didn't hesitate.
 
"No."

 

"Sometimes I think I am," Micah said. "Lucas said the real reason I didn't want to marry him is because if I got married I'd have to tell my family that I'm gay. And he was right. I'm not ready to do that."

 

Dune reached over and rubbed Micah's knee a moment. "It's not easy for anybody, you know."

 

"I know. I don't think it's any harder for me than it is for anybody else -- but it's still fucking hard." He went on when Dune didn't respond, "Some people keep it a secret their whole lives."

 

"Yes, they do. They're usually miserable."

 

Micah laid his head back and pulled up his knees. "If I ever decide I can, I will. Until then -- I mean, I'm really doing okay." He shrugged, then added, "I saw Jamie's murals at Stuart's place. They're beautiful. I took pictures, but I want to ask Jamie if it's okay before I post them."

 

"I'm sure he'll let you. He'll probably be happy to see them again."

 

"Yeah." Micah noticed a hole in his jeans and started picking it idly.

 

They were quiet for a while as Dune drove them eastward. Eventually he said, "So tell me this. You love Lucas, don't you?"

 

Micah looked out the window again.

 

"Micah," Dune said. "Honey."

 

"I don't know if I've really loved anybody," Micah whispered and hugged his computer satchel to his chest. "I mean, I thought I loved Jamie, but he's happy without me, and I thought I loved Ryan, but he drove me crazy, and I thought I loved Lucas, but --"

 

"But not enough to come out for him."

 

"Does that make me a bad person?"

 

Dune leaned over and hugged him quickly. "No. Absolutely not. It makes you a normal person."

 

"Thank you, Dunie," Micah said and kissed his cheek.

 

"It's what I'm here for." He scrubbed his hand through Micah's hair and slowed the car to take it off the freeway. "Are you going to be okay with your folks?"

 

"Of course. I've been editing my life for them for three years. As far as they know Lucas is just my friend that I had a fight with."

 

"One of these days they're going to notice all of your friends are gay."

 

Micah snorted. "They wanted me to fix you up with Shiloh once. That someone they know and like might be gay doesn't even occur to them."

 

Dune laughed. "Your sister's cute, but not my type.
 
She's dating somebody, anyway."

 

"Who? Anybody I know?"

 

"Aidan, one of Jamie's friends from Virtuoso. He's working for some design firm now."

 

"I remember him," Micah said. They were approaching his neighborhood now -- sights familiar to him as his earliest memories: his elementary school, the park where he'd played pee-wee soccer, the Safeway, his father's church. He sighed. "She could do worse, I guess. He's a nice guy, even if he did always call me Squirt."

 

"He's a very nice guy. He's been hanging out with us a lot over the summer. Hey," Dune added, "we're all invited to a Labor Day barbeque Monday at Laird and Tristan's. Do you think you can make it?"

 

"Probably. I don't know if Mom and Dad have anything planned. I can probably get away even if they do, though." Dune glanced at him skeptically, and Micah said, "What?"

 

"I've heard that before. Your batting average for 'getting away' isn't so good."

 

"Oh," Micah said. "Okay. I'll definitely come on Monday. What time does it start?"

 

"Six. Do you need directions?"

 

"No, I've been there before."

 

"Good. I'll expect to see you, then." Dune pulled the car into Micah's driveway and turned off the engine. "There you go. Home sweet home." They kissed briefly, and Dune smiled as he touched Micah's cheek. "Call me when you're recovered from the trip, okay?"

 

"I will. Good night, Dunie." He got out of the car, took his backpack from the back seat, and climbed up the steps to the front door. It took a few minutes for him to find his keys, but he finally managed to unlock the door and put his backpack inside. He turned to wave good night to Dune, who blinked his high-beams and pulled out of the driveway.

 

Micah went into the house and locked the doors again, picked up his backpack and climbed the stairs to his room. There was a Post-It note stuck to the door: "Wake us up when you get home. Love, Mother." He smiled and put his bags away, then went to his parents' room and knocked softly on the door before he opened it.

 

"Mom? Dad? It's Micah. I'm home."

 

There was a muffled, confused sound, and his father said, "Micah?"

 

"Yeah. I'm home. Dune met me at the airport and gave me a ride."

 

"Who?" his mother said sleepily.

 

"Dune Bellamy, Mom. You've met him. Anyway, I was just letting you know I'm home. Go back to sleep."

 

"Tell us about your trip," his mother said, already sounding like she was asleep again.

 

"In the morning, Mom," Micah said, and gently shut the door. He went back to his bedroom and pulled off the clothes he'd been wearing for almost two days, dropping them into the hamper. He'd finish unpacking in the morning, he decided, and took fresh sleep pants and a T-shirt from the bureau. He went to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth, and jumped when he came back to his bedroom and saw his sister Shiloh yawning on his bed.

 

"Shiloh! You scared me."

 

"Sorry." She yawned again. "So how was Europe?"

 

"Old," Micah said and shut the bedroom door. He flopped onto the bed beside Shiloh and wadded a pillow under his chin. "But beautiful."

 

Shiloh laughed sleepily. "You saw castles and art and things most people have only read about in history books, and all you can say is 'old'?"

 

"I did say beautiful," he pointed out. "It was beautiful. It was amazing. I mean, I can't even, you know, sum it up in a word. It was incredible. It was a life goal realized."

 

"Life goal," she murmured, and lightly batted his head. "You sound like you've been reading a lot of self-help books."

 

Micah said dryly, "Many people I know are determined I improve myself."

 

"Improve yourself how? You're perfect the way you are."

 

Micah scowled and muttered, "Thanks."

 

"Darn tootin'. Anybody who says my big brother isn't wonderful needs to have their head examined."

 

Micah rolled his head to look up at her. "Are you planning to borrow money?
 
'Cause I don't have any. Not a lot, anyway."

 

"I don't want to borrow money. I've just missed you. It's been a long summer." Shiloh combed her fingers through his hair a few minutes, and Micah closed his eyes, soothed. "Hey. Guess what?"

 

"What?"

 

"Rebecca's back." He opened his eyes and looked at her. She was smiling, her gaze distant. "She came into the store in July. I knew her the second I saw her -- it took her a little longer to recognize me. But she looks fantastic and she's so happy. They've just moved -- Justin has a new job at UC Santa Cruz. They just had a baby and she misses us."

 

"Wow," Micah said. "That's amazing. So she's okay?"

 

"Yeah. She's okay. She's been reading your blog, by the way. I gave her the URL. She's glad you got to take your trip."

 

"Oh," Micah said, smiling, and propped himself up on his elbows. "What did they name the baby?"

 

"Katherine. Kitty. She's adorable -- she looks so much like Mom. And Micah, Justin's awesome. He's not anything like what Aunt Olivia led us to believe."

 

"You've met him, too, huh?" Micah said quietly.

 

"Yeah. He and Rebecca have come out to the city a few times, and I've been out to their place in Santa Cruz." Shiloh paused and said, "I don't know how to tell Mom and Dad. I don't know how they'll react. I'd like to think they'll want to know about Kitty, but --" She shook her head again. "Maybe it'll just make them angry all over again."

 

She looked like she was going to cry, so Micah sat up and hugged her. "Maybe we should feel them out a little before we say anything. Like, do you ever think about Rebecca, do you miss her?"

 

"I've missed her," Shiloh said and sniffled. "I've missed her a lot."

 

"Me, too," Micah said. "Me, too."

 

"Can I tell her it's okay for her to email you?"

 

Micah looked at her thoughtfully, then nodded. "Yeah. I want to hear from her."

 

"Okay. I will."

 

Micah traced the stitching in his quilt. "Do you work tomorrow?"

 

"Yeah, but just until two o'clock. Mrs. Rigby is closing up early so we can do what we like tomorrow night." She added after a moment, "Hey. Do you remember Aidan Reznik?"

 

Micah tried to keep his tone neutral. "From Virtuoso? Yeah."

 

"We've been seeing each other all summer. He kept coming into the store -- he'd buy a book, chat a little and then leave, and then he's back a couple days later, and finally he asked me out to for coffee and we've been dating ever since."

 

"Do Mom and Dad know?"

 

"Are you kidding?" she said, opening her eyes wide. "They'd have a heart attack apiece if I said I was dating an older man. I've just told them I'm working late."

 

"We shouldn't lie to them," Micah said, feeling a guilty twinge. They thought he didn't date girls because he was shy.

 

"I wouldn't lie to them if they didn't make telling them the truth so impossible. Besides, nothing's happened that they'd need to worry about. "

 

Micah plugged his fingers in his ears and said, "La la la I don't want to know that status of your virginity la la la."

 

Shiloh laughed and pulled his hands away. "Wimp. Anyway. That's my life this summer. It's not half as exciting as yours, so I understand if it bores you."

 

Too late, he remembered to cover his yawn. "I'm not bored. Just sleepy. Traveling and jet lag and everything."

 

"Okay. Good night. You can tell me everything tomorrow."

 

"Okay," he mumbled, and she moved away so he could lie down. She patted his cheek and then left the room, shutting the door behind her. Micah snuggled into the blankets -- which smelled like the fabric softener his mother had been using for as long as he could remember -- and slept.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Four

 

 

Dune took a long time to fall asleep. He didn't mind staying up late to fetch Micah, didn't mind driving him out to Walnut Creek, didn't mind the drive home. He did mind that he hadn't stopped thinking about Micah since the door to his parents' house closed behind him.

 

Ever since Dune had first seen him three years ago, he'd thought Micah was a pretty boy -- but something had happened to Micah over the summer, something Dune couldn't put a finger on. For instance, Micah's hands had always seemed too big for his body, like they belonged to a much taller and broader man; today, they seemed just right. His face seemed leaner, too, and it wasn't just that he'd let his sideburns grow long or that he hadn't shaved for a few days. He wasn't merely pretty anymore. He wasn't merely slim and delicate. Though his mouth was as full as ever and his laugh as light, Micah was different.

 

Somehow,
Dune thought as he lay awake,
Micah got
hot
.

BOOK: Something Beautiful
11.78Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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