Page 3

The Beach

JUSTIN

When the main course is finished, I help clear the dishes. Anything to help speed things along. Lunch is always a production, so there’s still dessert to be offered and eaten, before I can engineer an escape to the beach. I’m enjoying Axel’s company way more than I’d expected, but I’d rather be somewhere I can relax. Lunch is too formal, what with having to make a good impression on the visitors, be polite and sit still. I have a restless energy that really needs to be doing something.

It's also highly distracting sitting across from Axel. He has an aura that draws me to him. And he’s totally gorgeous. The guy could easily have walked straight out of one of my wet dreams, which is probably why I'm sporting a half-chub right now. He's tall, has a mass of brown sort-of-wavy hair parted off-centre framing an attractive face, hazel eyes that crinkle into upside down quarter moons when he smiles, and dark pink lips I'd love to smack mine against. But more than his looks, it’s his personality which draws me to him. He’s confident, quietly and sarcastically funny, laughs readily and seems genuinely interested in me. Then he blows my mind by standing up to my grandfather when he goes off on one of his homophobic rants. I mean, that is sexy as hell.

Maybe it’s just my teenage hormones, but I can’t help flirting a little, though I’m sure the effect is ruined as I blush readily as I do so. Axel kindly pretends not to notice. He doesn’t seem at all put out by my behavior. He doesn’t flirt though he does give me an appraising look from time to time. I still don’t have him figured out.

We are getting along well and he doesn’t seem to mind my company, so as we finish dessert, I lean across and in a low voice ask, “Do you want to head down to the beach after this?”

“Don’t you want to hang around and socialize with the adults?” he asks me, eyebrows raised, a perplexed expression on his face.

Oh. Did I misjudge? My chest tightens, feels heavy. Maybe he’s not really enjoying being with me after all, maybe he’s just really good at faking it socially.

“Um, yeah, sure,” I mumble.

The side of his mouth quirks up in the faintest beginnings of a smile.

“Because I don’t,” Axel says.

What? I’m confused, didn’t he just imply he didn’t want to hang out with me?

“Let’s go to the beach,” he says, a slow teasing smile spreading across his face.

I’m having trouble processing this conversation, not helped by the fact that Axel just ran his tongue over his lower lip and I’m finding that highly distracting. He smirks. The fuck? Does he know what he's doing to me? He really must. He's just messing with me.

Feeling a little off-kilter, I stand up and start clearing the table.

“We’re going down to the beach,” I announce. No-one objects. They’re probably all happy that Axel and I have hit it off.

“Got swimmers?” I can’t lend him a pair of mine as I’m a lot smaller than he is.

“Sure. Wearing them,” he says, giving a little tug at his waistband. Apparently, he had plans to get away early too and came prepared.

“You didn’t really want to come today, did you?” It doesn’t bother me, after all I’d been the same. We’re pretty much on the same wavelength here.

“Well, let’s just say I’d rather be at the beach than all dressed up for lunch,” he leans in conspiratorially and replies in a voice low enough that no-one else can hear. Then adds, “Not sorry I came though.” And his eyes sparkle as he gives me a bit of a lookover.

I feel my cheeks heat up and I look away.

“I’m not so much the rebel so I will have to go and get changed. You okay to walk down?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Give me five minutes.”

I disappear off to my bedroom to change and hurry back with a couple of beach towels under my arm.

“Need a towel?” I ask, but Axel shakes his head.

“Got one in the car. I’ll grab it on the way out,” he says, as we head out.

After retrieving his towel from his parent’s car, Axel confesses, “I was hoping to get away early and go to the beach.”

“Sucks having to come and babysit, doesn’t it?” I joke, though a part of me worries that he might still feel that way.

“Nah, you’re okay,” Axel says and bumps me with his shoulder.

The walk down to the beach is pleasant. Mostly we talk, but when we lapse into silence, we’re both comfortable enough to leave it unfilled. I’m glad. Despite the age difference, we seem to be socially quite compatible.

When we reach the bottom of the hill and arrive at the beach, I admire the way Axel moves around with the confidence of someone who’s grown up here. He seems totally at home, and he acknowledges the lifeguards, who have their tower set up on the sand, with a half-salute.

"Heya Axel mate, whatcha been doing?" one yells down as we walk past.

"Nothing much, man, just the usual," he replies casually.

"Wanna pull a shift, mate? We're short at the moment."

Axel waves him off. "Nah, mate, I'm done with all that shit."

"Too bad, bro. See you on the waves!"

Axel gives him the thumbs up and we keep walking closer to the waterline.

“I used to do Surf Lifesaving here for a couple of years,” he explains, “but since I started working I haven’t wanted to put in the time. I like being free to just come to the beach and chill out whenever I want to, and not have to worry about schedules and stuff.”

“Must be exciting to be a lifesaver though.”

Axel shrugs. “Sometimes, but it can also be scary because when things go wrong in the ocean, they go wrong really fast. But most of the patrols are actually really boring. You just spend the time sitting around talking and you have to deal with all the dumbasses that think they don't need to swim between the flags. God, that's a chore and a half. People do not get it."

“Do you surf?”

“Yes, sometimes. But I prefer bodysurfing.”

We find a quiet place on the beach and lay our towels down. Axel strips off his shirt, revealing a massive set of shoulders. To avoid staring I look more closely at the unusual necklace hanging from his neck, a white fibrous cord with a starfish charm entwined with something that looks like it might be a snake. I peer at it, squinting, to get a better look, when I realize the snake-starfish is sitting over a chest that’s… oh, my . Quickly, I turn away. The sight of his firm chest with its smattering of fine dark hair, and the smooth skin of his abdomen with the flat toned stomach and happy trail into his shorts which I just had to notice, has my dick starting to pay attention.

I roll onto my side away from Axel to conceal the evidence. I’m enjoying the companionship and I don’t want to lose a potential friend by an ill-timed erection. I distract myself by looking at the different groups of people sitting on the sand. Lots of families and a few larger groups of young people, one or two couples. Yes, there’s a seagull over there too. And someone’s dog. An interesting tree. Plenty of things to look at. Not thinking about Axel at all.

Axel swats me with his towel. While I was busy not looking at him, he’s pulled on a rashy – thank God – and is ready to hit the waves.

“C’mon,” he says, “I don’t like sitting on the beach and getting hot, it just makes it harder to get in.”

I have a brief thought that he’s hot anyway, before we race each other to the water – I win – and throw ourselves in. The water is icy and we come up gasping and laughing, and we push each other back into the freezing water just for fun.

There’s a sandbank and we make our way out to it. Axel is a strong swimmer and reaches it first. He waits for me, then we wade out through the knee-deep water to where the waves are breaking.

I watch fascinated as he fearlessly and effortlessly bodysurfs the waves, some of which are twice his height. He shoots across the face of the wave, and somehow manages to avoid getting tumbled in the white water as the wave crashes onto the shallower water of the sandbank, and then he continues riding the foam.

“You’re good at that,” I tell him, impressed, as he makes his way back out to where I’m standing near the break after he’s ridden a wave almost to the end of the sandbar. He could have ridden it further but I saw him drop off the wave early enough that he didn’t have to swim back out.

“I’ve been around the beach all my life, so it's not that big a deal," he shrugs off the compliment.

“Even so…”

Axel’s body is a thing of beauty, which I really ought not be staring at. He has the appearance of someone who’s been active all his life - muscular, though not over-developed, lean but not skinny, and sexy as hell. His abs are to die for and his biceps and shoulders are wide. I bet if I touched them they'd be firm as hell. Add to that, the shimmer of the water running down his arms and torso…

I must have zoned out for a moment, because Axel asks, “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” I give my head a little shake and duck under an oncoming wave. I need to get a grip on myself and just enjoy the company. And Axel is great company, especially now we’re away from parents and grandparents. Here, he’s relaxed and playful. What we’re doing is enough, but I really wish I knew what team he played for. Though it probably wouldn’t matter anyway. He’s gorgeous. I doubt I’d be on his radar.

I try catching a couple of waves, but I’m not terribly successful. The mass of water moves me along a few metres, but then I just sink as the wave continues on without me.

Axel notices.

“It’s your timing,” he tells me, coming closer. "Mind if I help?"

"Sure," I reply, getting ready for my next wave. He lays a hand on my shoulder to stop me launching myself onto the next wave. The warmth of his hand tingles on my cool skin. It feels good, but I try to ignore it.

He keeps his hand there, holding me in place.

“Not this one, it’s too full,” he coaches, letting a wave wash through. I watch it, and sure enough, it doesn’t curl up enough to create the right momentum.

“Wait, wait,” he still has his hand on my shoulder.

“See how this one’s not so bulky, it's steeper and it’s curling up? This will be a good one. Not yet, not yet, now!” he says and lifts his hand.

I stroke for the wave. I feel the wave catch me, propel me and push me slightly ahead of its foam as it crashes and I ride the wave onwards. The sensation is amazing and I don’t want to stop so I ride it as far as I can, which leaves me partway between the sandbank and the shore and I have to swim back out.

Axel is waiting for me when I get back out there with a face-splitting grin on my face. He smiles at me as I almost bounce in my excitement.

“That was amazing! I have to do that again!” I enthuse.

I do better at selecting a wave this time, and Axel helps me with timing again, and I get another great ride. This time I’m smarter and stop myself before going over the end of the sandbank.

We spend the next hour or so bodysurfing and by the end of that time, I’m a pro (in my own mind) and I’m also exhausted. We collapse on our towels, although it’s probably fair to say I’m the only one actually collapsing. Axel looks like he could still manage a jog or something now, but he can probably see I’m unaccustomed to this sort of exercise and he doesn’t push, for which I'm grateful.

“You’re so lucky growing up here,” I say, as Axel strips off his rashy, making me avert my eyes, and we lie on our towels, drying off in the late afternoon sunshine.

“Yeah, I am. I love it here, which is why I’m still living at home. Wasn’t always easy living here though.”

“How come?”

“W-e-l-l,” he draws the word out as he thinks how to answer. “A lot of the people here are… I don’t know, tight-knit? Cliquey? So that can make it hard when you’re surfing. A lot of the surfers behave as if they own their local break, and if you’re not from there you can run into a bit of trouble.”

“Did that ever happen to you?”

“Once or twice, not much though. I know a lot of the local guys, and my mum has taught most of them, so they tended to leave me alone. Couple of my friends got beaten up pretty badly though.”

“Jeez, that sucks! Just ‘cause they weren’t locals?”

“Yeah. We’re a fairly isolated community down this end of the peninsula, and people get some pretty funny ideas.”

“How badly were they hurt? Any long-term effects?”

“No physical effects, but one of them quit surfing and moved away. He was quite traumatized and never felt safe here after that.”

“I never surf on the weekends anymore anyway,” he continues. “I go out midweek, early before work when it’s quiet. There’s too many surfers on the waves now – and a lot of them don’t know the rules, drop in on the established surfers, cause accidents and stir up all kinds of shit.”

“And some of the locals are really badass. They’ll pick on a surfer just ‘cause they don’t know him. Could still be a local, but just not a regular. Between the entitlement of the locals and the ignorance of the tourists, I like to keep away from it all.”

“So… from the sound of it, it’s not a very inclusive place.” I take a breath, then plunge on wondering if it’s wise to show my hand, “Did… did you know any gay guys growing up here? What was it like for them?”

There’s a pause, then Axel answers slowly.

“Yeah, for sure. They copped a few slurs, but I don’t think they had major problems. I’m sure they didn’t feel safe though. There were a few serious hate crimes committed in the area about that time. Bad enough to make the news. Hard to know if that was locals though or just people from outside coming here to cause trouble. Mostly they never got caught.”

Axel shrugs. “That was a while ago and society’s changed some since then.”

“True,” I say.

After a moment, Axel asks, “What’s it like in Melbourne?”

“Surfing? I don’t surf and none of my friends do either, so I can’t tell you if our surfers are territorial or not. Probably are. As for the other… I haven’t had any problems.” I watch him carefully as I drop this one. Figure I might as well put it out there sooner rather than later. I see a slight flicker in his eyes, but other than that there’s no reaction to what is, effectively, an announcement. Probably confirming what he already suspected. As I said before, most young people have me figured out real quick.

“Good to hear.” Axel says, approvingly. “Times are changing, right?”

I’m surprised he’s taking this so well. There is one thing that gives me pause though.

“Um, I haven’t…my family doesn’t know,” I blurt out.

“I figured,” Axel responds. “Don’t worry, I know how to keep my mouth shut.”

“Thanks.” It’s kind of embarrassing in this day and age to not be able to come out to your own family, but I know it won’t go down well with mine and I’ve got no plans to go there any time soon.

“Rested?” Axel asks, smoothly changing the subject. “Ready for more fun?”

I nod. The conversation has strayed into heavier topics and I want to get back to the light-heartedness and playfulness of before.

“What do you suggest?” I ask him, sitting up.

Alex pulls a little ball out of his backpack. It’s smaller than a tennis ball, a neon yellow color and it looks like it’s made of neoprene. He holds it up with a big grin.

“This!” he says and jumps to his feet. “C’mon.”

We head down to the water, where the tide has receded further. This time we wade out to the sandbank that now only has a thin layer of water lapping over it. As the foaming remnant of each wave sweeps across, the depth increases to over knee height of bubbling white water, before the water sucks back out to the ocean again.

Axel proceeds to show me what the little ball is capable of. It’s a type of hi-bounce ball but designed for water and thrown properly it dances at speed across the surface. It’s a bit like skipping stones, only easier. We have a lot of fun skipping the ball across the water to each other, throwing ourselves into the water to catch it when a wave comes in and swallowing a lot of salty water by trying to laugh and dive simultaneously.

Eventually I can’t take anymore. I am completely done. I flop down in the water, floating on my back in the shallows, the sand scraping against my back as the water rises and falls.

“Enough! You win.” I fake a weak groan.

Axel laughs and sits down in the water nearby. As a wave washes through, the water laps at his chest, drawing attention to his dark pink nipples which have pebbled up from splashing around in the chill water.

“Of course, I win. Locals always win,” he jokes.

I hit the water with the heel of my hand and shoot a sudden spray of water straight in his face. He was totally not expecting it and cops the lot. I’m nearly killing myself laughing when he launches himself at me and flips me into the water. I manage to not swallow any of the salty water.

“Unfair!” I protest re-surfacing.

Axel just smirks.

He’s taller, bigger and older. I’m not going to win this. So, I show him the middle finger. Classy.