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Riding the Waves By: Sean Roberts
-- Chapter 9 --
It was the final meet of the semester as well as the last day of classes before the Christmas break. After winning against Trinity, Tyler invited everyone in the locker room to his place for a party the next day, making it a point to avoid Dylan.
Dylan would not have wanted to go anyway as he did not need to see more of Alice fawning over Tyler. The other members of the team, even Trevor Lancaster, had started to warm up to him. Lancaster gave him a sympathetic look, to which Dylan responded by shrugging and smiling. The whole school found out very quickly that Tyler's parents were out of town. And then, when Dylan checked his phone, he had no choice but to respond to a text from Lisa asking him to go with her.
The house was ablaze with music and teenagers. Lisa put her arm around Dylan as they walked in together. Nobody paid any attention to them until Tyler caught his eye. Tyler looked pleasantly surprised until he saw Lisa leaning over, whispering something into Dylan's ear. His reverted to his angry face.
Dylan was a terrible dancer, but after he drank enough, he did not care. Lisa's body was close enough to his that it did not matter. She seemed ecstatic to be there with him. They danced and drank; she spent almost no time with anybody else. Every time they ended up around Tyler and Alice, Tyler would find some way to touch Alice, who was enjoying the attention she did not always get from him.
As people started to leave, Dylan took Lisa out to the pool and took out a joint. She leaned over to kiss him while they were smoking, and they fell asleep on the lounge chairs. Dylan woke up a few hours later, needing to find a washroom. The deserted house was quiet and dark as he walked through it. He walked past some bedrooms, one with the door ajar. He heard voices. He looked at his watch, it was around three o'clock. He stopped outside the door to listen.
"Come on babe," he heard Alice whisper. "What's the matter? You were all over me tonight."
"Alice, I—we're drunk. I don't want to do it this way."
"It's always something." Dylan heard the sound of kissing. "You never tell me what's really the matter. Don't you love me?"
"Of course I love you," Tyler said, kissing her back. Dylan heard the hesitation in Tyler's voice. He found a bathroom at the end of the hall. It took him a long time to fall asleep again. He was trying to forget about the conversation. He had no right to be a part of the privacy of that moment.
--
"What the hell Lewis?" Dylan woke up to Tyler standing over him. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you leave with everyone else?" Tyler's eyes were wide; his face red. Dylan looked around for Lisa.
"She's in the kitchen with Alice, having coffee. Just get the hell out of here, okay? I have to get this place cleaned up and the last thing I want is to stare at you while I'm doing it." Dylan nodded. He rubbed his eyes and stood up to go inside. Alice met his eyes, then looked away.
"I can help you clean up," Dylan said, walking into the kitchen.
"Well that isn't the worst idea in the world," Alice said. "Seeing as how I don't want to. I can always drive Lisa home."
"I'd rather do it on my own," Tyler said, sipping his coffee. Lisa poured Dylan a cup, which he accepted gratefully.
"Oh come on, don't be like that," Alice said to Tyler. They finished their coffee, and Alice left with Lisa.
"What's the matter with you? I specifically did not invite you," Tyler said to Dylan when they were alone.
"I know. Lisa invited me," Dylan said. Tyler glared at him.
"Look man, just tell me where the garbage bags are. This place is a disaster, you need help." Tyler looked around and decided that Dylan was right.
The boys went through every room, rendering the house as spotless as it was before the party. Luckily nothing had broken. They took the bags to the bin outside.
"I'm sorry I crashed your party," Dylan said, sincerely, as he unlocked his car.
"Yeah. Whatever man. Thanks for the help."
"Hey, Tyler. Here." Dylan took another joint out of his pocket. "Might as well enjoy it while your parents aren't here." Tyler took it from him.
"Why did you have to show me up on the team Dylan?"
"Because you weren't pairing the practices fairly."
"What difference does it make? Better for you to show up the worst swimmers than the top ones."
"You mean I should swim better than anyone except you," Dylan said.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I'm the captain, in case you haven't noticed. And on top of doing that, you keep rubbing Lisa in my face."
"As if you never rub Alice in mine? This situation isn't any easier for me than it is for you," Dylan said.
"You know why I can't breakup with her," Tyler said.
"Yes, I know. But you want me to breakup with Lisa? Even though you and I aren't together? Are you seriously asking me to do that?"
"No! It's just that we agreed to stay away from each other, and then you showed up to my party with her."
"I couldn't say no when she asked me," Dylan said. He started to walk towards his car.
"Hey, Lewis," Tyler called. Dylan turned around. "That other day, a while ago, when Alice asked what was going on. Thanks for not telling her anything."
"Yeah, no sweat."
"Look, since you're here..." Tyler said, holding up the joint. Dylan nodded. "I don't know why we keep fighting like this," Tyler said after they sparked the joint.
"It's become a habit," Dylan said, smiling. Tyler punched him playfully in the arm.
When he got home, Dylan took a long shower and slept for the rest of the day and even through the night. He woke up early on Sunday morning, not wanting to get out of bed.
--
A lot of Dylan's family got flown in for the Christmas holidays, and he found there was no time to think about Tyler or see Lisa. He had a good time catching up with his cousins, aunts and uncles. They spent time at the beach and had a wonderful Christmas dinner. His life, spent with only his family, suddenly seemed much simpler. Then they started leaving. Dylan could not remember having eaten this much in a long time.
It had been long enough since his ankle healed that he could start running again. It was early in the morning a few days after Christmas and he decided on a slow run along the ocean. He had been going for about fifteen minutes when he saw a familiar looking girl coming towards him.
"Hey Lisa," he said.
"Dylan!" she said happily. "Isn't it a nice day? Glad to see you. Your family's been keeping you busy." He put his arms around her and they kissed.
"Yeah I know, sorry about that."
"It's okay. How's the running? With your ankle I mean."
"So far so good," Dylan said. They started to jog together. It was a slow run for both of them, Dylan trying not to aggravate the injury. They finished the run and sat down in the sand. She put her hand on his ankle; a light, massaging touch.
"How's it feeling?"
"It's a bit sore, but it's good." Dylan smiled at her. He leaned forward and kissed her again. She touched his face.
"Can you come home for lunch?" he asked her.
Dylan's parents were delighted to meet Lisa. They had met briefly before, but they were now officially going out. The three of them talked up a storm while Dylan ate, watching them, imagining the same scene with Tyler in her place.
"So what's the deal with Tyler?" she asked him as he was driving her home.
"What do you mean?" Dylan said.
"I don't know. You guys still seem to spend a lot of time with each other, but you don't seem to have become friends." Dylan wondered how she knew that. He had butterflies in his stomach, trying to figure out what she knew. "Alice told me," she said, after the silence. "None of us care if you two hang out, I was just curious."
"I think Alice is mistaken."
"Yeah, sure. Is it hard, not being his friend, but sometimes being his friend?"
"It certainly makes things complicated," Dylan said.
"Yeah, I can imagine," she replied. Dylan quickly changed the subject.
--
Dylan never saw the morning. He slept late, took a long shower and then started to brew coffee. His parents had left him a note that they were out for the day. The battery on his phone was dead again, and as he stared at the pot, the doorbell rang.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Tyler said, pushing past Dylan.
"Please, come in," Dylan said sarcastically.
"We need to talk," Tyler said, pushing past him into the house. He looked desperate.
"It's fine, nobody's home. I was just making coffee," Dylan said, not changing his tone. They went into the kitchen and Dylan poured two cups. "What's wrong Tyler?"
"You tell me. You went on a date yesterday?"
"It wasn't a date exactly. We went for a run and then had lunch. Why am I explaining this to you? Oh yeah, I forgot that you're allowed to date and I'm not."
"I don't give a fuck where you want to stick it, Lewis," Tyler said. "But why in the hell would you tell her that you and I are—I don't even know what you told her! Something about us having some sort of secret relationship? I mean of all the fucking stupid things to say!"
"Tyler, relax. Where is this coming from? I never said anything of the sort."
"Are you sure?"
"I didn't tell Lisa anything yesterday. Alice told her that we were spending time together. She asked about it, but I didn't say anything."
"You obviously told her something Lewis, because Alice is freaking out. So please stop and think about what stupid shit you said to Lisa."
"Tyler, if you're going to talk to me like that, you're welcome to just fuck right off."
"Don't you dare tell me to fuck off," Tyler said, taking a step closer to Dylan. Dylan stood his ground. "You are trying to ruin my fucking life; how do you expect me to talk to you?"
"For the last time, I didn't say anything to her. Why would I? I'm not exactly gunning to come out. Have you met my father? How do you think he'd react to his only son being bi?" Tyler's shoulders dropped a little as he thought about it.
"Why don't you just tell Alice that we've been spending time together to get your grades up? I mean, it's not like it isn't the truth," Dylan said.
"How many times do I have to explain this to you? She thinks we're going to college together next year."
"Didn't she decide on Yale?"
"Yeah."
"So that isn't happening, is it?"
"Well there's a chance. A big donation wouldn't hurt. But I still need decent grades. I'm not an idiot. I know she'll find out soon enough, but this just isn't a good time. I don't want to bum her out."
"Fine, whatever man. I didn't create this problem with your grades, and I didn't say anything to Lisa. So whatever Alice thinks she knows, she doesn't, unless you told her. Now, would you please get the fuck out of my house?"
Dylan walked past Tyler and did not look back. He took his coffee up to his bedroom. A minute later, Tyler walked in.
"Lewis, can you--."
"Can I what? What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know, Dylan," Tyler said. He sat down on Dylan's bed, his head in his hands. Dylan sighed and went to sit beside him.
"I didn't say anything to Lisa. There's nothing I can do to fix something that I didn't break. Wait, unless..."
"What?" Tyler looked up expectantly.
"Uh, maybe this is my fault, a little. Lisa's asked me before, not just yesterday, about how you and I are sort of friends, even though we're not."
"And what did you tell her?"
"That it's complicated. And I told her the same thing, the first time we kissed, when I didn't want to start something with her. I didn't know what else to say. But obviously she repeated that to Alice, and Alice is now jumping to conclusions. It's just a misunderstanding that they created. Just tell Alice that you were sneaking off with me so that I could teach you how to swim. She'll believe it, seeing as how good I am and how shit you are. Now, I have a lot planned for today, so do you think you could—"
"Shut up Lewis, you don't have anything planned. It's two in the afternoon and you're wearing pyjamas." Tyler betrayed a smile as he gave the other boy a once over.
"Fine, you caught me. But I think you need to go and deal with your girlfriend anyway."
"I already tried, she isn't listening. You have to talk to Lisa. Ask her out again and when the subject comes up, figure out something to tell her."
"Why would I do that Tyler? It doesn't exactly help me. Believe it or not, I don't exactly enjoy watching you and Alice together."
"I don't enjoy seeing Lisa with you either. But you aren't doing anything about her."
"I don't know what to do about her! We actually like each other. How am I supposed to end things?"
"I'm in the same situation, you know."
"Then why do we keep fighting about it?" Dylan said.
"Because neither of us is doing the right thing," Tyler said. He paused, playing with his fingers. "Unless we're doing exactly the right thing. Everything can change with college, so why rock the boat now? We just have to get through the next few months with them. And we're doing that for them, aren't we?"
"Of course we are. And you're right, we're all going to different colleges next year. I mean I'm going to college and you're going to stay here and surf."
"Very funny," Tyler said.
Dylan took a sip of his coffee and walked over to his desk and put it down. He picked up his dead phone and plugged it in.
"It's now or never. Either we both do it or neither of us does it," Dylan said. Tyler shook his head. "The phone will charge enough in a couple of minutes for me to turn it on. I'll send a message to Lisa and have dinner or something with her. I'll get it all cleared up."
"Really?"
"On one condition."
"What's that?"
"You have to tell me to do it."
"Didn't we just decide—"
"Tell me again. If I could choose, I would pick. You don't want that option, but you need to understand that once I do this—once I save your relationship with Alice, we're done. That means no more tutoring, no more surprise visits, no more..." Dylan trailed off as he thought about the other things they would never be doing again.
"Dylan, even if I break up with Alice, I still can't have her thinking that you and I are—whatever she thinks we're doing."
"So does that mean you are breaking up with her?"
"No." Dylan nodded and turned on his phone.
"Get out," Dylan said. He said it sheepishly, his voice shaking. "I'll do it, but please go." His arms were trembling, and then he heard the sound of a car.
"Shit, my parents are home," Dylan said. Tyler stood up to look.
"No they aren't. That's Alice's car," Tyler said.