Page 5 of The Summer that Ruined Everything

CHAPTER 5

I t took Cal until after dinner on Monday to take Jack up on his whispered offer of the night before.

First, his mother had headed him off after breakfast and saddled him with a handful of errands. He’d been about to head out to the beach — the sunny weather having blessedly returned — in the hopes of running into Jack with his crew, but instead he found himself visiting various businesses downtown. He picked up altered clothing, delivered invitations, stopped for flowers...nothing he really minded, except that it was keeping him from doing the one thing that he really wanted to be doing.

Then, while he was grabbing a sandwich at Lou’s, he ran into the Wallace twins. They’d arrived in town over the weekend, and were anxious to get back into the swing of the Westerly summer life. After some attempts at finding a way to decline, Cal had given up and agreed to join them at the club for an afternoon round of golf. He liked Sally and Richie Wallace, at least, and had been looking forward to spending time with them. If his mind hadn’t been so focused on what had happened the night before, he’d have been more enthusiastic, but he didn’t want to burn his bridges.

He’d decided to have dinner with his parents, so that he could mention he’d spent the afternoon with the Wallaces. It had the expected reaction: Judith decided to call Felicia Wallace to invite them over for dinner later in the week and Theodore mused that Richard Senior might be interested in some cigars he’d gotten his hands on.

Over dessert, Cal mentioned he might be going out. As expected, his parents assumed he was seeing the Wallaces again, which was going to come in handy. Theodore told him not to stay out too late and Judith told him to be quiet when coming in, and he was finally free to go see Jack.

This time, as he approached the back patio with a six pack of beer in his hands, laughter mixed with the music echoing across the lawn. The back patio was more lively than it had been on Friday — when he’d stumbled upon just Penny and Grant — and Cal hesitated. He hadn’t expected there to be a party in full swing on a Monday night. Had more people arrived from Los Angeles?

He thought about turning around and going home, but the thought of not seeing Jack left him feeling empty and hollow, so he continued up the stone steps. A few people greeted him with a hey as he passed. In the dark, he couldn’t quite make out faces, so he just smiled and nodded.

The back door opened easily, and he entered the house, not entirely sure where to go. Then one of the girls from Friday night — J.C., the pretty brunette who had offered to make out with him — wandered past. She stopped and grinned.

“Oh, hey,” she said. “Cal, right?”

“Hi,” he said. “That’s right.”

“Far out. Jack will be happy to see you.”

She wandered away, leaving him to his own devices, but he felt marginally better, and a little less nervous. Did that mean Jack had been talking about him?

He turned toward the kitchen, deciding to take the route Penny had led him last time. The kitchen was also livelier than it had been the other night, and he navigated around bodies to get to the fridge. He deposited the beer and then continued towards the living room and rec room.

The living room looked different. Furniture had been shoved to the side or removed and the rug rolled back, to create a large space in the center of the room. People were dancing, spinning and grooving to the fast beat pounding out of the massive speakers.

In the middle of it all was Jack.

Cal watched, captivated, as Jack wiggled and writhed, his feet moving in a complicated pattern on the wooden floor. He was dancing with Ginny, and he clutched her hand, spinning her around and pulling her close for a moment before bouncing away again.

A pang of longing reverberated in Cal’s chest. He wished he could do that . Instead, he was standing off to the side, feeling suddenly too large and too awkward to be here.

The song ended, and another began, a slower song. He recognized this one, an Elvis number that had hit the charts last year. Something about falling in love. Ginny sidled up to Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he looped his around her waist.

Now the pang in his chest was an ache, and it tightened around his lungs. No matter what Jack had said about not being in a relationship with Ginny, they looked awfully cozy.

Cal looked away from Jack. It didn’t matter, he told himself. He had no claim to the guy, certainly not after one simple, stolen, two-second kiss.

He was thinking about going home, or at the very least going to a different room and finding some way to distract himself from the sight of Jack dancing with Ginny, when he realized something.

He recognized these other people. Some of them, anyhow. They lived in town. A wave of cold washed over him. These were townies, and they’d recognize him, too.

That meant he shouldn’t be here. Or, if he stayed, he shouldn’t flirt with Jack or make it look like they knew each other in any way other than very casually. It would be too easy for word to get back to his parents.

He glanced back over towards Jack just as Jack looked up, and their eyes met. The expression of surprise followed by pure joy that crossed Jack’s face punched Cal in the gut, and he was grinning back before he could catch himself, all of his doubts dissolving in an instant.

Jack pulled away from Ginny and said something to her. Then she headed into the rec room and he was weaving through the dancers towards Cal. Cal stiffened at his approach. What was he going to do? How should Cal respond?

He didn’t make a decision fast enough, and Jack slid up to him, running an affectionate hand down his arm and squeezing his fingers.

“Hi,” Jack said. “You’re here.”

Cal pulled his hand away and took a tiny step backward. The flash of confusion on Jack’s face had him regretting it instantly, but he just nodded.

“Yeah. I was...I didn’t realize there’d be so many people here.” He gestured at the crowd. “On a Monday.”

Jack looked around and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the guys wandered into town yesterday while I was with you and met some people and one thing led to another, I think. It grew a little more than we knew it would, but the more the merrier, right?”

“Sure.” Cal cleared his throat. “I also kind of know some of these people. And they know me, and my parents. Maybe I should...” He looked over his shoulder.

“Oh. Oh.” Understanding passed through Jack’s eyes, and he nodded, relaxing once more. “Don’t worry, we’re solid. Wait here a minute.”

He disappeared through the door to the rec room. Cal stood awkwardly against the wall, waiting and wishing he had a drink to at least make him look like he had something to do.

Eventually, Jack reappeared, this time with Ginny and J.C. in tow. To Cal’s shock, J.C. went straight for him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.

“I’m your distraction for the evening,” she said in his ear. “Lucky me.”

“You’re my what?” Cal asked.

“I’m your girl,” J.C. murmured. “You can’t keep your hands off me.”

With that, she grabbed his hands, planted them on her ass, and laid her head against his chest.

Cal stiffened and shot a glance at Jack, who was holding onto Ginny in a similar manner and smirking.

“Problem solved,” he said.

“Relax,” J.C. said. “I do this all the time. I’m a pro.”

Then she kissed him, and it all clicked into place. Jack had gotten them a buffer, so they could hang out and no one would suspect what was really going on. Or what might go on, if they got the chance. He could do this. He’d done it before.

Cal did his best to respond to the kiss, relying on all of his acting skills to pull it off. He was used to it, had been kissing girls and pretending to enjoy it since high school. Idly, he wondered about Jack’s comment the day before — kissing is fun — and whether he was missing out by viewing this as an obligation rather than an opportunity, but it still felt like going through the motions rather than anything else.

When J.C. broke the kiss, he smoothed her hair back and smiled down at her. “Thanks,” he said.

“Not too shabby a deal for me,” she said with a smirk. “You’re not a bad kisser.”

They went back to the rec room to play darts. It was fun at first, but eventually Cal began to get antsy. J.C. was playing her part well, but it wasn’t her Cal wanted to be wrapped around. He watched Jack, playing with Ginny’s hair and chatting with other guests, and felt like a complete heel for wishing it were yesterday, so he could have Jack’s attention solely on him again.

Eventually, they migrated outside to the back patio, grabbing drinks on the way. They found a sofa to settle on, Cal and Jack on the outside and the girls in the middle. J.C. nestled under Cal’s arm, her hair tickling his cheek and her hand on his knee. They lit cigarettes and let the smoke swirl in a haze around them, creating an illusion of privacy.

Despite Cal’s initial reservations, conversation came easily to the foursome. Cal found that both girls had a dry and acerbic sense of humor that was more than amusing, and he enjoyed listening to their commentary on the little beach town and its inhabitants. When he steered the topic to Hollywood, they had just as much to say.

Cal listened, exchanging amused looks with Jack. Occasionally, Jack would let the tips of his fingers brush lightly against Cal’s, and a frisson would wash over Cal, his skin tingling.

As the night matured, things began to quiet down. Eventually, during a lull in the conversation, Jack smiled at Cal and then whispered something in Ginny’s ear. Ginny stood and pulled Jack with her. He followed her into the house. Cal sat up, wondering if he should follow.

“Give them a few minutes,” J.C. said, pushing Cal back onto the sofa.

“For what?” Cal asked.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she finished her cigarette and smashed it out in an ashtray on the coffee table. Then she turned, swung a long leg over him, and straddled him, grinning. When she kissed him, it was with enthusiasm, threading her hands through his hair and pressing against him. He did his best to respond, but when she pulled away, she sighed.

“This really does nothing for you?” she asked, pouting slightly.

He glanced around wildly to see who might have heard her, but they were alone.

“Relax, there’s no one here,” she said.

“Then why the show?” he asked.

“Curiosity,” she said. Then she shrugged. “Anyway, Cal, you’re a good kisser, and a nice guy. Anytime you want me to play your girl just let me know. I won’t even charge you.”

“ Charge me?”

She laughed. “I wasn’t kidding before when I said I was a pro, I do it for guys back home all the time.”

Cal’s mind was spinning as she climbed off of him. She grabbed his hands and tugged him to his feet.

“Come on, gorgeous, show’s not over yet.” She winked and then led him back into the house. He followed, feeling a little dazed. When she started up the staircase to the second floor, he hesitated.

“Maybe I should go home,” he said.

“Trust me, that’s not what you want.” She giggled, then leaned down and whispered, “Act like you can’t wait to get me upstairs.”

She turned and guided his hands to her hips. He followed her lead, and they wound their way up to the darkened second floor. She pulled him down the hall quickly, all the way to the eastern end and a closed door there. Before he knew what was happening, she had opened the door and shoved him through, closing it behind him with a giggle.

He stumbled into a set of narrow stairs in the dark. As he reached out and patted the walls around him and the ceiling that was just above his head, he realized where he was: this was the access to the house’s widow’s walk.

Carefully, ducking his head way down to avoid banging it on the low ceiling, he made his way up to the turn, and then through the open hatch at the top. Sitting in the center of the widow’s walk, his back against the chimney encasement, his knees pulled up to his chest, and the bottle of scotch Cal had brought the other night in his hand, was Jack.

The moonlight illuminated his curls and his pale skin, giving them a bluish tinge. When he turned his head, it shone in his eyes as well.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” said Cal. He climbed the rest of the way to the roof and crossed to the center.

“Have a seat,” Jack said.

Cal sank onto the gritty floor beside Jack and leaned up against the chimney. Jack passed him the bottle of scotch, and he took a drink, letting the liquor warm a pathway into his chest before handing it back.

“I have good taste,” he said, gesturing at the scotch.

Jack smiled. “I think so.”

“I’m surprised it’s not empty,” Cal said. “With so many people?—“

“I took it and hid it in my room,” Jack said.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

They looked out at the water. Someone had turned off the music in the house below, and now they could hear the waves breaking against the beach. It was one of Cal’s favorite sounds, one he missed when he was away at school.

He realized he must have said something out loud when Jack spoke.

“Me too,” Jack said, “Sometimes I think about buying a place on the ocean. In California.”

“Why don’t you?” Cal asked.

“Can’t afford it yet. But even when I can...I don’t know. Buying property feels so permanent.”

“It can be,” Cal said. “But it doesn’t have to be. Look around. Most of the houses on this beach belong to people who don’t live here year round.”

“Seems like a waste, though,” Jack said. “I mean...to have a place like this and not live in it.”

“I agree,” Cal said.

Jack passed the scotch again. They sat in silence, watching the moon glisten on the water.

“Things go okay with J.C.?” Jack asked, after a while.

“Sure,” Cal said. He wasn’t sure exactly what Jack was asking. “She was friendly.”

Jack laughed, but his tone was serious. “She is a good friend. And a fox. Don’t you think?”

Cal shrugged. “If you’re into that sort of thing.”

“Which you’re not.” Jack turned to face Cal, giving him a searching look.

Cal took another swallow of the scotch, and then set the bottle to the side. He returned Jack’s look steadily. “I think you know I’m not.”

A faint smile ghosted across Jack’s face, and he shifted closer. An inch, maybe two. He slid his hand across the roof until it rested on Cal’s, soft fingertips brushing lightly across Cal’s knuckles. Cal’s breath caught, as a shiver ran through him.

“I didn’t think I was going to see you today,” Jack said.

“I wanted to come by earlier,” Cal said earnestly. “My mother — there were errands — and then some other things came up.”

“I thought maybe I’d scared you away.” When Jack looked up, his eyes didn’t make it any farther than Cal’s lips.

“No,” Cal said. “You didn’t. Scare me. Not at all.”

“Well, okay then.”

Jack closed his fingers firmly around Cal’s and moved in quickly. Their mouths locked without effort, as though they’d done this a thousand times and not just the one half attempt in the dark.

Yes, Cal thought. Jack’s lips were soft against his, more gentle and accommodating than he would have anticipated based on Jack’s assertive and confident presence. The kiss was slow and tentative, as though Jack was seeking permission for more.

Cal granted it, lifting his hand to slide up into Jack’s hair, threading his fingers into the soft curls so that he could control the angle of the kiss. He tilted his head to the left and parted his lips.

With a soft moan, Jack accepted the invitation, sliding his tongue against Cal’s. That was all that was needed for the tone and tempo of the kiss to shift. Jack scrambled up onto his knees and then climbed on top of Cal, suddenly demanding.

Cal grabbed at Jack’s hips, positioning him comfortably in place, and focused on Jack’s mouth.

They kissed for a long time, alternating between forceful intensity and soft exploration. Cal reveled in the feeling of Jack atop him, in the way he took control and Cal could just ride the wave of sensation and desire. He felt safe in Jack’s hands, content to let the guy take what he wanted without fear that it would be too much or too little.

The ease of it stunned him.

Eventually, Jack pulled away. He gazed down at Cal with a smile.

“Wow,” he said.

Cal smiled back. “Yeah.”

Jack traced his fingers along Cal’s jaw. “From the first second I saw you in the moonlight, I was dying to know if you were into this.”

“When did you know I was?” Cal asked. He thought he’d made it obvious that first time he’d come over, but maybe not.

“When you got upset that I was kissing Ginny,” Jack said. “At least, I was pretty sure then. I thought it was possible before that, but then…” He shrugged.

“I have to be careful,” Cal said. “This kind of thing, it’s not...my family would disown me. I’d ruin my whole future, if anyone found out.”

“Believe me, I know,” Jack said. “I guess it’s a little different for me. In Hollywood people kind of know about people, but everyone keeps quiet. I can’t be officially public about it, but there are spaces where it’s okay.”

“It just can’t get back to my parents,” Cal said. “Or basically anyone I know here.”

“Cal, I’m not going to tell anyone,” Jack said. “I’m not that big of an asshole.”

“I know. I guess I just needed to say it.” Cal smoothed a hand down Jack’s back. “So what now?”

“Now…” Jack glanced over at the open hatch that led into the house. “Now we go back downstairs and pretend we both got it on with the girls.”

“Already?” Cal asked. He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Jack’s jaw.

Jack chuckled. “Yes, unfortunately. We should go before the girls get bored and go back to the party. They’ll help us, but they’re not saints.”

He got to his feet, and held out a hand. Cal took it and let Jack pull him up. Then he grabbed the bottle of scotch and followed Jack to the stairs.

They crept back through the door to the second floor and closed it tightly behind them. Jack’s room was all the way down at the western end of the house, and he knocked softly before opening the door.

Ginny and J.C. were sitting in the center of Jack’s bed, giggling, a cloud of smoke over their heads. Cal looked around, at the piles of clothes draped over the chair in the corner, the empty beer cans on the desk, the stacks of paper on the nightstand. He suddenly felt like drinking in as many details about Jack as he could, just in case this was a dream, or a fluke, and he’d wake up in the morning and find that it had slipped through his fingers like a handful of dry sand.

“Hey, boys,” Ginny said. “Did you have fun?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Jack said. “Thanks for the help tonight.”

“Sure,” she said. “No sweat.” She passed the joint to Jack, who took a hit and held it out to Cal.

Cal shook his head. “I better not,” he said. “I should probably get home. My parents think I’m at the house of family friends, and I’m pushing the limits of how late I’d reasonably stay there.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Jack said, nodding. He handed the joint to J.C. “You better not burn a hole in my bed,” he warned, before cupping a hand on Cal’s elbow and steering him out of the room.

Downstairs, the party had apparently reached a horizontal phase. The music had come back on, but it was turned on low to match the dimmed lights. The harmonies of the Beach Boys drifted over the bodies that were draped across the furniture. Cal raised his eyes at the couples that had formed, glancing at Jack in amusement.

Jack looked like he was trying not to laugh, and pushed Cal past the living room to the back of the house. They stumbled out the back door and onto the lawn before exploding into giggles.

“Must be something in the beer,” Jack said.

“It’s the music. It hypnotizes people,” Cal countered.

“That must be it.” Jack led the way across the lawn and down the beach stairs. When they reached the bottom, he smiled up at Cal. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” Cal couldn’t help reaching out and tugging at one of Jack’s curls. “When can I — when will I see you again?”

“Whenever you want,” Jack said. “Tomorrow. Come out to the beach.”

“Okay,” Cal said. “But when...” He caught himself, then shook his head and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks heat at the assumptions he maybe shouldn’t make. “Never mind.”

“Oh.” Jack laughed. “You want to know if I’m gonna kiss you again.”

Cal chewed on his lower lip, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Jack stepped close, pushing Cal up against the cliff wall in the shadows of the staircase, and latched firmly onto his mouth. His hands swept up Cal’s chest to his shoulders and then back down to his hips, and Cal sighed at the touch, opening up instantly. He gripped Jack’s hips, and then slid his hands around to Jack’s ass, and Jack easily molded himself against Cal with a low growl of approval.

When Jack pulled away at last, he swiped a thumb across Cal’s lips. “That soon enough for you?”

Cal groaned and let his head fall forward so his forehead rested against Jack’s. “Yes.”

“I plan to do that as often as possible,” Jack said. “That’s your fair warning.”

“I can be all right with that,” Cal said. “Okay. I should go.”

Jack took a step backwards, letting Cal free. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Cal confirmed. “I’ll come out to the beach.”

Jack grinned and began to back towards the staircase. “Night, Cal.”

“Goodnight,” Cal said.

Jack turned and dashed up the stairs, and Cal watched him disappear over the top before he made his way back to his own house.

He grinned all the way up the back lawn, as he opened the back door, as he quietly got ready for bed in the silent house.

Tomorrow. Cal could hardly wait.