Roommates - 3. Chapter 3

“Will someone answer that fucking phone?” Brett grumbled grabbing his pillow and shoving it on top of his head. It only made the butler ring the bell again.

“It’s ok sir, I’ll wake him up,” I said waving my hand. The butler left and I looked down at Brett with his head covered. “Brett it’s breakfast time.”

“Is it?” He asked sitting up in his bed, “who the fuck was callin?”

“No one,” I answered laughing at him, “that’s just how Mom likes to wake people up.” Brett then looked down at the floor then back up at me.

“Where the hell are our clothes?” Brett asked as he pulled the covers off himself and stood.

“They’re probably in the wash,” I said shrugging.

“You don’t even have to lift a finger here do you?” Brett asked as I stood and walked around the bed to where he was.

“No,” I said and he smiled.

“That’s awesome,” he said putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Do you want the bathroom first?” I asked and he let go of me.

“I sure do,” he said, as he walked over to his bags and took out some clean clothes. There wasn’t any reason to unpack since today we’d be leaving for the Yacht. After Brett disappeared into the bathroom I sat back down on the bed and waited for him to finish.

I knew the reason why we were here. It was to celebrate my parents’ anniversary. I just didn’t know what I was going to do for the rest of the day. Mom and Dad hadn’t given us details yet and I didn’t want to be stuck on a yacht with them all summer, especially if they run out of alcohol. I also wondered if they would ever warm up to Brett. I didn’t expect them to give him a warm welcome, but when they didn’t even talk to him I was worried. A little while later Brett opened the bathroom door and I stood from where I was sitting to take my turn. He was fully dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. It wasn’t breakfast attire, but I wasn’t going to tell him to change to fit in with my family. He would never be able to do that and that’s what I liked about him the most. He is completely different than my boarding school friends whom I had pretty much abandoned after graduation. He wasn’t like my parents or their friends either.

“Are you finished in there?” I asked walking over to my bags. Unlike Brett I’ll be dressed up, every button buttoned on my shirt like Mom would expect. It was difficult to escape things you are most comfortable doing your entire life. Dressing up and looking clean was more comfortable to me than dressing up in a rocker’s t-shirt with holes in my shorts where my bright red boxer briefs could be seen like Brett.

“Yeah, done,” he said walking over and plopping down on my bed. He had styled his hair, but he hadn’t shaved and his black stubble was starting to look like a beard. Brett’s natural hair color was black, but I’ve never seen him without blond hair.

“Ok,” I said then I walked into the bathroom and started my shower. We were supposed to be down for breakfast already so I didn’t want to make my parents wait any longer for the two of us to appear. Mom was always pissed when she had to send the butler up for a second time.

After dressing and leaving the bathroom, Brett stood up and we exited to go to breakfast. We met the butler from this morning on the way down the stairs. We finally reached the dining room; Brett was walking slowly admiring all the artwork Mom has bought over the years. She had a large collection of sculptures and paintings.

“I bet there’s a huge fortune just hanging on the walls,” he said just before we entered the dining room where I knew I couldn’t help Brett; he would have to survive my parents alone when we all were in the same room.

“Good mornin’ ya’ll,” he said greeting them all with a bright smile and a wave. Kathryn was sitting across the table from Mom, and Dad was at the head of the long table.

“Good morning Dad, Mom, and Kathryn,” I said keeping my hands to my side. I walked over to Mom and kissed her on the cheek. I shook Dad’s hand then I walked around the table to sit beside Kathryn then Brett sat down beside me.

“Good morning, Will,” Kat greeted, “you too Brett.”

“Thanks, Kat,” Brett said smiling.

Our food hadn’t been brought out yet, but we all had drinks and plates sitting in front of us, Brett was nervously playing with his silverware.

“Yes, Mrs. Carlson?” Brett asked putting down his fork.

“How is working in the corporate world?” Mom asked smiling across the table at him.

“Oh, I quit that stuff,” he answered smiling, “I’m more fit for the outdoors.” Mom smirked and looked over at Dad when he said that.

“So what are you doing right now?” Mom asked picking up her drink and taking a sip.

“I’m unemployed at the moment,” Brett answered and I noticed that he frowned and looked down at his plate.

“So you’ve not been helping our Will pay the bills?” Mom asked crossing her arms.

“I have, I just lost my job recently,” Brett said keeping his voice polite.

“Mom, it’s not important,” I said smiling at her, “we will survive.”

“Just make sure Brett gets a job,” Dad said not even acknowledging Brett, “if he can’t then get a new roommate.”

“Dad,” I said, but when Dad shot me a look I lost my nerve and I felt like shit. My father has always intimidated me and I never quite knew how to speak to him for long periods of time. If it wasn’t sports or money then the two of us didn’t talk.

“Mom are you already drinking?” Kat asked after it got quiet.

“It’s just a little wine before breakfast,” Mom answered shaking her head.

“It’s still alcohol,” Kat said rolling her eyes, “you’ll be drunk before noon.”

“Now I will not Kathryn,” Mom said looking flushed and I knew that Kat was just getting Mom back for the way she treated Brett.

“Kathryn leave your mother alone,” Dad said grabbing hold of Kat’s hand squeezing it before letting go.

“What is taking the food so long?” Mom asked looking around, she grabbed her glass of wine and took two large gulps finishing her first glass. Kat elbowed me in the side and when I turned to look at her she winked.

“Sam, go see what’s keeping breakfast,” Dad said and the butler sprang to action leaving the dining room.

“So what are the plans today?” I asked when my Mom’s eyes locked on to Brett again. Brett hadn’t said anything and I knew that he was pissed and embarrassed. His face had reddened and he was chewing on his bottom lip. It was what he did to keep from throwing a tantrum.

“If we ever get breakfast accomplished we leave for the yacht,” Mom said smiling, “after that we’ll travel a few miles off shore for the summer.”

“The entire summer?” I asked already trying to think of excuses to leave Florida and return to California.

“Two months with your parents won’t kill you,” Mom said rolling her eyes, “my own kids don’t even pretend to like me.”

“It’s not that Mom,” I said crossing my arms, “I was just asking.”

“We’re going to renew our wedding vows in the church we were remarried in at the end of our trip and we want you both to attend,” Mom explained looking at her empty wine glass, “it will be like a large family reunion.”

“Mom, most of the family is dead,” Kat said, “and the ones that aren’t don’t like us.”

“The church will still be filled,” Mom said, “with our friends.”

“Oh, so the drunk billionaire club,” Kat said causing Brett to laugh. All the attention turned to him and the only thing that saved him was breakfast finally arriving.

“I’ve invited some of your friends from boarding school and they’ve humbly accepted,” Mom said picking up her silverware as the food was being served, “surprising since neither of you have kept in touch with them.”

“I didn’t have any friends in boarding school,” Kat said frowning.

“Oh?” Mom said then smiled innocently before accepting her plate ending all the talk at the table.

Everything was back to normal I thought. Kathryn was making my parents mad like she always done. Now the only thing that changed is her motives. She normally gave them a hard time of things when they were hard on her for gaining a few pounds or wearing the clothes that she did. Now though she was just doing what came naturally to her. I was usually quiet at the dinner table; it always felt like Mom was interrogating me when I was eating with them. I would always eat as fast as I could so that I could run off and do what I was doing before.

When we finished eating we all separated with the news that the limo was ready for us. We all had some things we wanted to take that wasn’t packed and already brought to the front of the house. When we got back into the room Brett walked over to my bed and picked up a pillow. He put it to his face and I heard a muffled scream and I sat down on the end of the bed waiting for him to finish.

“What am I doing here?” Brett asked putting the pillow down.

“Because I invited you,” I said smiling.

“I don’t fit in here,” he said crossing his arms, “and your parents really suck man.”

“I told you about them before you came,” I answered trying to soothe him.

“They think I’m some loser that you baby sit,” he said crossing his arms, “fuck.”

“They’ll be a lot more fun after noon,” I said and he smiled, “when they’re well buzzed.”

“Promise?” Brett asked as I stood and walked to the door.

“I promise,” I said opening it and motioning for him to come with me.

When we walked into the front hall by the front door Kathryn was standing off to the side with Mom and Dad standing at the doors. When we reached Kathryn the doors opened and I heard Brett breathe a small sigh of relief when he saw the two limos lined up in the circular driveway. My car was gone and I knew that it was taken to the garage to be locked away until we got back. Kathryn, Brett, and I got into the second limo escaping the ride with our parents. It was only a short ride from our house to the yacht on the ocean.

“So have you heard any of Mom’s surprises this summer?” I asked as we were waiting for the Yacht to pass inspections and our supplies loaded.

“No,” Kathryn answered, “she’s pretty quiet about those.”

“I bet it’s so we don’t think of ways to get out of them,” I said and she smiled at me.

“You know that’s the reason Will,” she said then she turned to Brett who was sitting beside me. Kathryn was sitting across from us in the limo sipping from her bottled water. When she placed the bottle down she cleared her throat. “So Brett, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Nah, I don’t do the committed thing,” he said offering her a bright smile, “they get too clingy.”

“So you just bring home the sluts?” Kat asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he said shrugging. I knew that he was lying to her, but he wasn’t interested in Kat. If he were he would be putting on his charm that I knew always worked on people. Smiling and complimenting them just enough to keep the conversation away from him altogether. Brett was good at charming people and I had a lot to learn from him when it came to that.

“So Kat,” I said getting her attention, “has your transformation gotten you a boyfriend yet?”

“No, not yet,” she said, “I’ve not really gone out.”

“Were the gorilla’s good company?” Brett asked causing her to laugh.

“Better than what you’ll have on the yacht I can assure you that,” she said then our doors opened.

“The yacht is ready kids come on,” Mom said, she wasn’t the one that opened the door, but she was the one we could see. Then we stepped out and got a look at our home for the next couple of weeks. It was a large three storied white yacht and when we stepped onto it we saw the pool out front. It seemed odd having a pool on a yacht that would be floating in the ocean, but I knew it was a top class boat. Mom and Dad wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t.

“Well at least we can get away from them when we want to,” Kat said leaning in close so that Mom couldn’t hear us. She was walking slightly ahead as we walked around the deck meeting various people that would help us out if we needed anything.

Then we were separated and shown to our rooms. Kat was taken to the a whole other floor from where we were and I noticed that Dad was standing off to the side and when we were taken to where he was standing he stepped up and opened the door leading to our room.

“Brett,” he said getting our attention, “stay away from my daughter.”

“Oh, I will sir,” he said, “nothing to worry about.”

“Make sure of that,” he said then he turned on his heels and walked out shutting the door behind him.

“If they don’t leave me the fuck alone I’ll push them overboard,” he said crossing his arms.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help if they get too annoying,” I said causing him to smile. I wanted to stick up for him, but I didn’t want their focus to be on me. I knew it was selfish, but I wasn’t going to start explaining myself to them afraid that I’d make a mistake, letting them know the things about me that I didn’t want them to know.

“So I know why you won’t tell them shit,” he said sitting down on the large bed.

“Why won’t I?” I said sitting down on the bed across from him.

“Because them two are the most judgmental drunks alive I think,” he said rolling his eyes, “I bet nothin’ pleases their stuffy asses.”

“You already understand them,” I said then we felt the yacht move, the unexpected jolt forward made me roll onto Brett knocking him on his back. When I scrambled to get off of him I fell into the floor and he was laughing when he helped me to my feet. Then I watched as he sniffed of his underarms then of his clothes.

“I don’t stink, why were you in such a hurry to get off me?” He asked and I was about to ask him when he started laughing again.

“What?” I asked looking him over.

“Don’t become a prude on me Will,” he said stepping up to where I was and putting his arm around my shoulder. Then he reached up and messed up my styled hair and tugged my tie loose. When it was pulled up over my head he grabbed my suit jacket and pulled it off then he unbuttoned four of the buttons on my white shirt. It was starting to make me nervous, but I didn’t fight back.

“Now, am I fixed?” I asked when he stepped back to examine.

“You’re gettin there,” he said. Then we heard a knock on the door, when we opened it a man wearing shorts and a navy blue t-shirt was standing in the hallway.

“Your parents want you on the front deck to enjoy some tea,” he said then he smiled briefly before turning and walking down the hallway.

“Coming?” I asked not blaming Brett if he didn’t want to come. We did have a computer in the room and I knew he could entertain himself with that until I got back.

“Yeah, I’ll come,” he said as he followed me out the door. We ran into Kat walking up the stairs leading to her room. She looked me over and raised an eyebrow at me. I was nervous when she studied us. I could see Kat putting things together in her head and I wondered what exactly she was wondering.

“We didn’t fuck if that’s what you’re thinking,” Brett said and I stopped walking the two of them turning around to look at me. They both started laughing and I wanted to punch the hell out of Brett.

“What?” Brett asked innocently.

“Your mouth is going to get your ass into trouble,” I said in almost a whisper.

“He was just joking Will,” Kat said leaning her head to rest on Brett’s shoulder. It had surprised Brett when she done it but he didn’t nudge her away. “Willy has problems taking jokes, sometimes he has Dad’s sense of humor.”

“I do not,” I said crossing my arms as we all started walking again.

“You do,” Kat said and I didn’t argue with her further as we turned the corner and we saw a table set up with Mom and Dad sitting at it already. The three of us was the only ones actually served tea. Mom and Dad was both drinking martinis and Dad smoking a cigar leaning back in his chair with Mom sitting beside him popping grapes into her mouth while she talked on her cell.

“It’s now safe for you to exist around our parents,” I said as we watched the two of them before we walked to where they were.

“Hi Dad,” I said sitting down and taking a glass of tea. It was too sweet for me so I sat it aside wondering why they really wanted us to be here.

“Hi William,” he said then he took put down his cigar, “do you want a cigar?”

“No, don’t offer them that you idiot,” Mom said putting the phone to her chest.

“They’re not children anymore, take a cigar son,” he said smiling at me, “it will put some hair on your chest.”

“No, don’t,” Mom said throwing Dad a glare that made Kat laugh and sit back in her seat sucking her tea through her straw. I didn’t know which parent I should obey. I didn’t want either of them mad at me and every time I reached for a cigar that I didn’t even want in the first place Mom shot me a look that had me putting my hand back down to rest in my lap.

“I’ll take one,” Brett said raising his hand.

“Son, I don’t think you need to be smoking anything,” Dad said putting the unlit cigar into the box that he had with him.

“Dad, I smoked pot in college too,” I said crossing my arms, “so if you’re going to offer me one, then let him have one.”

“William, don’t be spreading that news around,” Mom said shaking her head slamming the phone against her chest then after a few seconds she placed her phone back to her ear, “did you hear any bit of that Tracey?”

“Who is Tracey?” Kat asked placing her tea back on the table stirring the rest of it with her straw.

“The party planner,” Dad answered blowing smoke into the air.

“Dear, I wished you wouldn’t do that at the table,” Mom said rolling her eyes finally finished with her phone call. She took her last drink of her martini only to snap her fingers to have another one brought to her.

“I wished you wouldn’t talk on that phone all day,” Dad said, “so look there, neither of us get what we want.” Then they both turned to look at the three of us then smiled. It’s when I think we all realized just how drunk the two of them already were. I glanced down at my watch and it was just barely Noon.

“So do we have any plans today?” Kat asked sounding hopeful.

“No dear, just be ready for dinner by seven,” Mom said, “and dress for dinner, we may be out in the middle of nowhere, but don’t let that hinder your manners.”

“Fine,” Kat said standing, “coming boys?”

“Yeah,” Brett said standing quickly.

“You guys leaving us?” Mom asked looking all of us over.

“We want to explore,” I answered, “you two just try and relax here.”

None of us waited for them to invite themselves to our tour. We turned and walked around the deck back into the living quarters of the Yacht. We weren’t going to take a tour, but we found the entertainment room and Kat opened the door letting Brett and I enter.

“We’ll be left alone in here,” Kat said sitting down on the couch. The air-conditioned room was refreshing. The humid ocean air and the movement of the yacht was starting to nauseate me.

“Well your parents hate me, drunk or sober it doesn’t matter,” Brett said frowning and I found myself wondering why he cared so much about their approval. He didn’t care if he had his own parent’s approval. Why were my parents any different from his?

“There are so many hot hired help here,” Kat said looking around the entertainment room, “have you seen the chef?”

“Um, we don’t care about any of that,” I said pulling at the collar of my undershirt.

“The guy that came to fetch us had a sweet ass,” Brett said sitting down in the chair. I turned to look at him and he smiled and winked at me.

“So Brett is gay,” Kat said then looked at me, “are you gay Will?” I wanted to leave as I felt myself getting sick. I had my mouth open slightly so I closed it then swallowed hard. I tried not to give away anything, but when I knew if I didn’t give her an answer she would assume that I am. I just didn’t know what she felt about that whole issue. I wasn’t ashamed of myself, but I didn’t want it to be the talk of the whole summer between her and I or it getting back to my parents. I wanted them to be the last people to know, if they were going to know at all.

“Yes,” I answered not wanting to lie to her. I figured that Brett would be pissed and tell her anyway. He never liked it when I wasn’t myself.

“So are you two together?” Kat asked looking at the both of us. I sat down beside her on the couch and rubbed my temples trying to get my stomach to settle.

“No,” Brett answered for the both of us and I only shook my head.

“You can’t tell Mom or Dad though,” I said sitting up to look at her.

“Like I’m that stupid,” Kat said shaking her head.

“So you think they wouldn’t accept me?” I asked my stomach tensing up afraid of her answer.

“It’s hard to say with them two,” Kat said, “you know that as well as I do.”

“Yes, I do,” I said sighing. Brett stood and played Kat a game of pool. They both agreed to bribe some of the hired help into playing a game of strip pool sometime before the trip actually ended. I was happy that the two of them were getting along and that I could finally sit down and have fun with Kat. We were so different before, now though I could see us getting closer.

“I think we need to meet the chef,” Kat said when she lost the game of pool. It was difficult to actually play on the ocean and I didn’t see the point in having one in a yacht. Everything was secured into place and I hoped we didn’t run into any storms out here. Even if we were only a few miles off shore, bad weather would be hell out here.

“Kat, take a cold shower,” I said rolling my eyes.

“William, I have this body and I’ve not taken it out on a…”

“That’s enough of that,” I said not wanting to think of what she meant by that. Comparing her body to a car seemed to amuse Brett though as he made engine noises as he reached up to have Kat smack his hands away from her chest.

“Brett how did you become friends with a boarding school nerd like Will?” Kat asked as they took their seats again.

“He’s a good guy, keeps me out of most trouble,” Brett said looking at me as he spoke, “he needed saved too.”

“So how was college Will?” Kat asked and it only affirmed to me that we barely talked growing up. We knew nothing about one another and that made me want to stick around to get to know her better. If only we could get all of this anniversary stuff finished.

“It was college Kat,” I said shrugging.

“Which means that he was loser,” Brett said, “college rocked ass.”

“So are you dating?” Kat asked looking at me.

“No,” I said and she smirked.

“I couldn’t pay a guy to date me,” she said her smile faltering slightly, “but you’re attractive and you’re a nice guy so you have no excuses.”

“Yes I do,” I said crossing my arms, “I’m picky.”

“No, you’re just scared shitless,” Brett said and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Brett your ass isn’t helpful, you know that?” I asked causing him to smile.

“Yeah,” he said sounding amused with himself, “but it’s hot ain’t it?” He stood and shook his ass only to have Kat spank it. I laughed when Brett actually looked surprised when he turned to look at her. We all talked about our lives that the others missed. I listened as Brett talked about his childhood. I had already heard all the stories, but I watched as Kat laughed at parts the way that I did when I heard them for the first time. Then Kat talked about all of her studies she’s conducted and how she was being pushed by her boss to publish her studies to become more accomplished. Then I told Kat about college and the time that Brett and I were arrested and almost thrown out only to have Dad and Mom pull the strings to keep up there.

“So that’s why they hate you,” Kat said, “for corrupting their little boy.”

“Yeah,” Brett said smiling, “I did a good job, right?”

“Yeah, no telling where he’d be without you,” Kat said then the bell rang for dinner. When we arrived we found that it was set up, but Mom and Dad weren’t anywhere in sight.

“Richard and Gloria will be having a romantic dinner for two,” he said smiling then exiting the dining area. Brett was relieved as we all sat down to eat. It was lobster with vegetables and wine.

“Damn I’m going to have to meet the chef,” Kat said after we finished eating. We had talked so much before that none of us had felt the need to talk during dinner.

“How old is the chef?” I asked curious to know how she saw him already.

“He’s my age,” Kat said, twenty-five.”

“Why did they pick a guy so young?” I asked, expecting them to pick someone old and accomplished to prepare our meals. Someone with a good reputation and an expensive buy.

“Tracey hired everyone,” Kat said shrugging, “so he’s probably on her staff.”

When it was dark Kat left us to go shower and relax in her room. Brett was stir crazy and I could see how all of this could be boring for him. It would be getting old for me to after a while, but right now it was nice and comfortable right now. I didn’t have to worry about my job and the reasons why I was still at the bottom of the company. I also didn’t have to worry about what would become of Brett after his failed drug test. He could move up faster in the company. He had the charismatic personality to go with his education.

We walked around the outside of the yacht. My parents weren’t anywhere in sight and I was wondering where they had disappeared. I would think they expected Kat and I to be part of their experience out here, but they hadn’t demanded anything from us other than tea. I didn’t know what they had planned for tomorrow.

“It’s nice out here isn’t it?” I asked as the breeze started blowing harder. I had unbuttoned the rest of my shirt and cuffs. I also removed the tucked part of my shirt from my pants and now it was flapping in the breeze.

“Yeah,” Brett said as we sat down at the table out by the small pool in the front of the yacht.

“You can’t hear any sirens or car alarms,” I said leaning back and taking it all in, “no loud neighbors.”

“I get it,” Brett said laughing.

“Are you finally happy that you came?” I asked looking at him from my relaxed position.

“Yeah,” he said, “your parents will get tired of my ass real quick though.”

“So,” I said, “don’t worry about them they’re just old.”

“Yeah,” he said then he yawned. It was starting to get late and being out on the water sucked the energy away from me in a way that I didn’t really expect.

“Ready for bed?” I asked standing up and stretching.

“Yeah,” he said then we walked back to the living quarters and found our room. We walked in then undressed and got under the covers and let the gentle waves rock us both to sleep.