Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it. Let me know what you think.
High Tide
Chapter 11
[Kenneth’s POV]
As I finished my shower and picked out some clothes, I thought about what Tyler told me. I know that what he was going to say had to be something bad, but I wasn’t expecting that. I’ve heard stories about abusive parents, but never knew anyone that has been through it. After hearing what he said, he is lucky to be alive. His dad wanted to kill him. If Brent hadn’t stopped him, he probably would have. I want to thank him for being his hero, but I’m not sure that would be appropriate. Brent is his ex-boyfriend, and probably still feels something for him.
I never really had the chance to meet people and make friends, or even date. I knew and played with most of the kids in my apartment complex; but as we grew up, and they found out I was gay, they slowly stopped hanging out with me. They started excluding me from games and anything else remotely fun.
At first I hated being left out. I couldn’t understand why. But as a result, I got to spend more time with the wonderful person that is my mom. Now we share everything. There isn’t a thing about me that she doesn’t know. Even still, I was afraid to tell her about the feelings I had towards other boys. I didn’t even have to tell her; she called me out one day. I was staring at this incredibly cute boy at a restaurant. I think I was in middle school, or would have been had I gone to public school. While we were eating, she dropped her fork and said “Staring is rude, either get up and talk to the boy or pay attention to the conversation I’ve been trying to have with you.” I was completely caught off guard.
From that moment on, no matter what was going on, I told her. She never disappointed me when it came to advice: either to change my course of action or stay the course. But this time I’m not sure what to do. What Tyler told me was done so in confidence. This is not my story to tell. If Tyler wants her to know, then he will have to be the one to tell her. Yet I feel terrible for even considering it.
I walked out to the living room and found my mom sitting on the couch reading one of her “sexy” books on her tablet. I once made the mistake of looking at the screen while I was watching TV. I read something about what a guy was doing to a woman that made me want to throw up. I quickly moved my gaze back to the TV screen and tried to get the mental image out of my head.
“So what happened to you two last night?” She asked as she clicked the power button to shut the screen off.
“Tyler had something come up that upset him so I stayed over there to make him feel better.”
“What came up? I hope he’s alright.”
“He’ll be fine. We’re going to the Zoo with a couple of his friends to help get his mind off it.” I hoped she would catch the hint that I didn’t want to tell her what had happened.
“How am I supposed to help if I don’t know what is going on?” Apparently she didn’t catch it, or didn’t care.
“I know I tell you everything that is going on with me, but I can’t this time. Tyler has to, or at least tell me that I can tell you. It’s really personal.”
She looked hurt by what I said; but at the same time, she looked like she understood. “Tell him how good I am at giving advice and that I’m here for him.”
“I’ll tell him.” I said as I slipped my shoes on. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I made the super long trek back across the hall and went inside Tyler’s apartment. I found him sitting on the couch. He looked so cute. I still can’t believe that he came into my life.
“You ready to go?” He asked as I sat down beside him.
“Yeah.” I didn’t get to enjoy the comfort of the couch for very long. It wasn’t the couch I was longing for. I still get to be alone with him for a little while longer.
For the first few minutes, the ride over to Tyler’s ex’s house was made in silence. So I thought I would break it. “So do I need to be worried about you spending time with, um, Brent?” I asked jokingly.
“What?”
“You know, since he’s your ex and all.”
“No, you don’t need to be worried. If anyone does, it’s me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, Collin is going to be there. He is the one that stole Brent from me. Other things happened, but he made the move that broke us up.”
“And you’re worried that once he lays eyes on me, that he will fall for me?” I asked, turning to meet Tyler’s gaze. “Well, you don’t have to get your panties in a bunch. I know I’m devilishly good looking, but my eyes are only interested at looking at one man.” I smiled. Tyler took my hand in his and squeezed. “That might change when I see Collin though. Is he cute?” I added quickly.
Tyler let go of my hand, made a fist and punched my arm. “Ass hole.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I took hold of his hand this time and brought it to my mouth. I kissed the back of his hand and lowered it so that our interlocked hands were resting on the center console.
The rest of the drive was silent. I was perfectly content with it. I was holding Tyler’s amazing hand, feeling the softness of his skin against my own. I don’t even need to make it to the Zoo; I could just spend the whole day driving around, not saying word, just making small caresses against his fingers. I smiled as a thought popped in my head.
I hope this is driving him crazy.
The blissful touch came to an end as we pulled up to a house on snob hill, at least that’s what my mom and I called it as we drove through the neighborhood, both secretly wishing that we were going to pull into one of the driveways and that was our house.
I opened my door and stepped out. All I could do was stare at the house. Tyler started walking up the stairs to the front door. He knocked and then turned around. He stepped back from the door and held out his hand and smiled. I walked up and took his hand. The shock of the house was suddenly replaced by nervousness. In just a moment I’m going to meet Brent and his boyfriend. I didn’t know or even think that I was worried about this. What is it that I’m worried about? Maybe it’s because I don’t think I’m good enough for Tyler, that I can’t make him happy. Maybe Brent will see that as well and convince Tyler to set me aside for someone that he deems worthy.
A few moments after Tyler knocked on the door, I could hear footsteps getting closer to the door. I took a deep breath and the door opened. A gorgeous guy stood in the doorway. Tyler released my hand and stepped toward him. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
“Hey, there. Glad you decided to come today.” The guy said. I could only assume it’s Tyler’s ex. In my nervousness, his name escaped me.
“I’m glad that you invited us. I had a rough night.”
They broke the embrace, and the guy looked at me. Tyler turned and smiled. “Brent,” he started, reaching for my hand again, “This is Kenneth, my new main squeeze.”
“I better be the only squeeze.” All three of us laughed. “It’s nice to meet you Brent. I’ve heard some great things about you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Brent said “Come on in guys. We are almost ready to go.”
We walked inside. Tyler led me into the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of sodas, and then we went to the living room to wait for Brent and Collin to come down. We were sitting on the couch when they walked into the room. Both Tyler and I were just looking around the room. I couldn’t believe how nice the house was. Being inside only made me more jealous of the people that lived here on snob hill. We were still holding hands when they walked into the room. Tyler lightly squeezed my hand at the sight of Brent and Collin; I think mostly because Collin had his arm around Brent’s waist.
“Hi, Tyler.” Collin said, giving a forced grin.
“Hi, Collin.” Tyler said back, with the same forced grin.
Sensing the tension, I asked “Are we ready to go?”
“I think so.” Brent said, rubbing Collin’s shoulder. “Do you guys wana get food there, on the way, or take something with us? The food there is a little on the expensive side.”
We all just looked at each other, waiting for someone else to make the decision. “How about we decide when we get there.” Tyler finally said. “I mean, it all depends on how long we are there.”
“Well, it’s only 9:30, we can get some breakfast from McDonalds on the way out of town.” Collin said. “That will tide us over for a while.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I said and stood up. I walked over to Collin and introduced myself.
We made our way out to the cars. We decided to take two cars so if either of us decided to do something after, we could. As we walked to each other’s cars, Brent suggested that I ride with him, and Collin ride with Tyler. Tyler didn’t seem to like the idea and neither did Collin. My only thought was this is how Brent is going to get to know me and make his decision about me.
Reluctantly, Tyler and Collin agreed to ride together. I swallowed hard and got into Brent’s car. Tyler and Collin followed us to McDonalds. We went through the drive-thru. We placed our order. When we got to the window to pay, I tried to hand him money for my part, but he told me not to worry about it. He handed the lady his card and told her he wanted to pay for the car behind him as well. The lady looked shocked but ran the card a second time.
Brent and I ate our food in silence, only the music from the radio filled the air.
“So I bet you’re wondering why I suggested that you ride with me and those two go together, huh?” Brent finally said as he swallowed the last bite of his breakfast sandwich.
“Yes and no.” I responded. “I think you wanted to get me alone so you could feel me out to see if I’m good enough for Tyler.”
Brent laughed. “Partly, but that not the main reason. But so you know, you are off to a good start.”
“Thanks, but what was the main reason?”
“Tyler and Collin need to talk. I’m not sure if Tyler told you what happened between us. Things didn’t end very well. One of his friends convinced Collin to make a move on me while Tyler and I were still dating.”
“Yeah, I was there when, um, I think her name was Brie, told Tyler about it.”
“Ah, ok. Well, they haven’t talked at all since that all happened.” Brent looked at me, gave me a strange smile and focused on the road again.
“So…” I started, hoping that would prompt him to start his interview.
“So…. What?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me questions?”
“No. I want you to tell me about yourself.”
I thought about it for a few moments. How is this going to show him that I’m a good enough person for Tyler? I could tell him whatever I think he wants to hear, and he would be none the wiser.
[Collin’s POV]
Why would Brent want me to Ride with Tyler? The question swirled around my head. We sat in complete silence all the way to McDonalds, not even the radio was turned on. The only words spoken were what we wanted to eat. The tension in the car was thick enough that anything short of a chainsaw wouldn’t be able to cut it.
“Well since you aren’t saying anything, I guess I will start.” Tyler said, breaking the dead silence once we were on the highway. “I think Brent wanted us to talk about what happened.”
I just sat there. What could I say?
“Yeah, uh, I’m sorry for stealing your boyfriend.”
“I want to let you know that what you did was shitty. Brent was my boyfriend. You should have respected that. I know not all the blame is yours, but you started the kiss.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“I was mad about it for a long time. More than mad, really. I pretty much wanted to strangle you. That is, until I found out that Brad was the one that convinced you to kiss him. Brad hoped that Brent and I would break up so he could step in and mend my broken heart. I talked with Brent and we decided to be friends. He did so much for me; I can’t just kick him out of my life for good.”
“And I don’t want you to. Brent gave me a short version of what happened between you. Brent was miserable when you two weren’t talking. I want him to be happy: if that means you being in his life, then I want you in it.”
“I want him happy as well. You make him happy.” He paused for a moment. He looked confused; maybe trying to figure out a way to say something without sounding rude. “I’m not going to lie. I still have feelings for Brent. They are not the same feelings I once had, but he still holds a place in my heart. Like I said, I want him to be happy and you make him that way. I don’t want us to hate each other. I hope you will agree that it will make the times we are both with him unbearable.”
I nodded my head in agreement when Tyler looked at me.
“Good. I want us to be friends.”
“Really?” I said, a little shocked.
“Yeah. I don’t mean best friends. I don’t expect us to go get mani-pedi’s together. I just mean, talk on Facebook, text every once in a while, maybe even go shopping. Just enough to get to know each other more than the ex-boyfriend.”
I thought for a moment. When I decided to do this today, I was just looking to be cordial to one another when we all met up. But he is the one that threw friendship on the table. What harm could it do? The worst thing that could come out of this would be us going back to the way they were before today. “Let’s give it a shot. I’m willing to put the past behind us if you are.”
“Ok then.” Tyler said with a smile. I can see why Brent likes him. After what Brent and I put him though, he is still willing to forgive and forget. I can’t say that I would be the same if the roles had been reversed. I would have cut all ties and pretended they never existed.
As we crossed from Iowa into Nebraska, signs started saying that the next exit would be for the Zoo. I couldn’t help but become excited. I’ve heard how great the Zoo was, and now I get to find out for myself. And I get to see it with someone that I genuinely care about; icing on the cake.
Tyler, found a parking spot near what looked like an old baseball sign. When we got out of the car, he must have noticed the questioning look I had.
“That is the old Rosenblatt stadium sign.” He said. “They built the new stadium in downtown and the Zoo picked up the land. They made a lot of it into parking space, but they made a memorial for the stadium.
“Why?” I asked, sounding a little snider than I meant.
“Well, that stadium was the home of the college world series for baseball. People would travel across the country to come see their favorite teams play. People weren’t too happy when they took it down. The memorial gives them a chance to relive some of the memories they had here.”
“Wish I could have seen it.” I said with a smile.
I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Brent, asking where they parked. He replied that they were waiting by the front gate already. I told Tyler and we made our way through the parking lot. I was so excited I wanted to run, but held it back. I have to play it cool in front of my new friend.
