The Freshmen - 19. Chapter 19

September 9, 2004

Escorial

Palo Alto, CA

JJ

“So you didn’t want to divert to the airport to pick us up? That was too much to ask?” Darius asked me as the limo left the airport. As if things hadn’t already gone to shit, somehow they’d heard me talking to the driver. Our driver probably told their pilot that I was a dick about this. If I was in charge, I’d fire all these fucking people who couldn’t keep their fucking mouths shut.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said earnestly. “It’s been a stressful day and I’m nervous about being here.”

“Why would you be nervous about being here?” Will asked. “Fuck. You’re visiting your family, and we’re your fucking brothers.” To Will, family was at the pinnacle of his priority chain. He was such a suck up to Grand, he’d even adopted Grand’s attitudes. It was like he couldn’t comprehend that I didn’t work that way. I was on my own, doing great, and felt no need to let them interfere with my status quo.

“I don’t know,” Travis said playfully. “If you two were my brothers, it might stress my ass out.”

“Fuck you,” Darius said, then he and Will chuckled.

“You’re going to have a good time,” Will said to me. “Just relax.” Now he was going into his mother hen mode, where he was going to pretend to be worried about me. His cloying attention would be worse than his rage.

“Easy for you to say,” I said sarcastically, but smiled so Kris didn’t scorch me.

“And easy for you to do,” he said, being snarky, only as I looked into his eyes, I got the feeling that he wasn’t being entirely candid about things. He’d played it off like this visit was no big deal, only I knew him well enough to figure out that there was a major shitstorm heading towards me.

“Tell Kris the plan for the weekend,” Travis said, jumping in to change the subject. That made me even more suspicious, but I had already spent my ‘bitch card’ for the night, and I had no more credit left to be a dick.

“Tomorrow you have a day in Palo Alto,” Will said, acting like he was the emcee on a game show. I don’t know why he thought acting like a total ass was funny. “Dad and Stef invited you down to see where they work.”

“Dude, I am so excited to spend time with them,” Kris said. It was sadly ironic that going to visit Carruthers & Schluter sounded like the most boring thing on the planet to me.

“I’m glad you’re excited,” Will said, smirking at Kris. “On Saturday, we leave in the morning and we’re going to the City,” Will said. “We’re going to do all the normal touristy shit, like ride the cable cars and go to Fisherman’s Wharf.” Terrific. We’d have to stand in line to ride the cable cars and then when we did, we’d be crammed into that wooden box like sardines, smashed up against the other passengers. Then when that hell was over, we’d walk to The Wharf, which would reek because of the nasty smell from all the dead fish.

“And go down Lombard Street,” Darius augmented, directing that at Kris. “The crookedest street in the world.” The limo would probably be too big to make the curves and we’d end up stuck, clogging up the road, and making a huge scene.

“Sounds awesome,” Kris said, while I smiled. It was a completely fake facial expression because internally I was cringing in agony at being a tourist. The last thing I wanted to do was hang out with crowds of poorly dressed people. The only positive was that the stench from the Wharf would probably block their body odor.

“We’re meeting Dad and Jake for lunch at their favorite Chinese restaurant,” Will said. I’d heard all about that place. It supposedly looked like a total dump but had good food. To go there, we’d have to go to Chinatown, which made me feel like I was in a third-world country. I had no idea why they couldn’t just pick a nice restaurant on Nob Hill or in Union Square.

“Great,” I said, and barely remembered at the last minute to make my tone positive.

“After that, we’re going to take a tour of Alcatraz,” Will said, rambling on.

“Alcatraz is pretty dope,” Darius said. I had no idea why he thought so. I had no desire to see a prison in any way, shape, or form.

“After that’s done, Jake wants us to stop by the Foundation,” Will explained.

“Foundation?” Kris asked curiously.

“The Schluter Foundation has about $2 billion in assets and focuses on charity work that primarily benefits LBGT causes and the ocean,” Will summarized. “I think you’ll find some of the things we’re doing to be pretty fucking cool.”

“Do you work there?” Kris asked.

“I’m on the Board,” Will answered. “After that, we have some time at the condo, then we’re going on a sunset dinner cruise,” Will said.

I’d been doing well, but the mention of a sunset dinner cruise conjured up in my mind one of those terribly tacky boats that jammed as many people on board as possible then sailed them under the Golden Gate Bridge, all while feeding them crappy food and strong drinks. We’d probably end up in a fight with some drunken passengers when we got off the ship. “A sunset cruise?” I asked, and I was unable to modify my tone to make it anything less than snippy.

“Yeah,” Darius said, and gave me the same condescending big brother look he usually gave me when he thought I was being an idiot. “We’re going out on Stef’s ship.”

“Oh,” I said, since I’d been busted being an ass. “That sounds like a lot of fun.” I’d been expecting them all to get mad at me and pout again, but they just seemed to think my reaction was funny and chuckled.

“It should be,” Will said.

“That seems like an awful lot to cram into one day,” I said, even as I grappled with how I would possibly handle that much time with my relatives with no appreciable break.

“It is,” Will said, zeroing in on me. “I thought that since it’s 9-11, it would be good to be busy.”

“Makes sense,” I said, and looked at my brothers sadly.

“If you, or anyone else, gets too tired or wants some space, the condo is always available,” Will said.

“Thanks,” Travis said lovingly, although I had no idea why.

“Sunday, Jake wants to meet with you,” Will said to Kris, “then dinner will be a big deal.”

“Because we’re leaving?” I asked.

“No, dipshit, because Marie and Will fly out to Boston with you on Monday,” Darius said.

“I was just kidding,” I lied, but it fell flat. Travis started to get all choked up, so Will changed the subject to distract him.

“There may be some drama this weekend,” Will said in a conspiratorial way.

“No shit,” Travis agreed, shaking his head.

“Drama?” I asked curiously.

“Drama,” Darius concurred. Talking about hobnobbing with idiots visiting from Iowa was agonizing, but gossiping about family members was much more interesting. I felt my mood improving with this change of topic.

“Alright, spill it,” I ordered, but in a playful way.

“Aunt Claire has been going out with Luke Carruthers for the past three days,” Will said.

“He’s Stef’s and Dad’s business partner, right?” I asked. He was a handsome older guy who wasn’t very interesting to talk to.

“That’s him,” Will said. “They hit it off so well, they’re going to New York next week so maybe you’ll see them there.” It was hard to see what Aunt Claire saw in Luke. Talking to him was like talking to a computer.

“They’re going to New York and they’ve only been together for three days?” I asked.

“Dude, you guys moved in together faster than that,” Darius said. It was infuriating that he remembered that and tossed it in my face, and I was intensely embarrassed until they all started laughing. I opted to laugh with them, and that finally managed to work me out of my bad mood.

“Then maybe it’s appropriate that they’re coming to visit,” I said, winking at Kris. “Do you know if they’re planning to stay with us?”

“They’ll be there to greet you tonight, so you can ask them shortly,” Will said. “Meanwhile, just to spice things up, Jack is coming to dinner on Sunday.”

“Don’t Claire and Jack have some sort of open relationship thing going on?” I asked.

“Yeah, but Aunt Claire hates it, so she’s pretty much where Dad was when Robbie dumped him for Carson,” Will said.

“That could make things a little rough,” I said to Kris.

“I can handle rough,” he said in his sexy way, getting a considering look from Will and Travis.

“Don’t I know it,” I said with bravado, wondering what the fuck had possessed me to say that. I figured they’d tell me I was being an ass, but instead they laughed with me.

We got to Escorial and they let Kris and me exit the car first, as if they were making us face the wolves alone. “This place is fucking incredible!” Kris said, as he paused to stare in awe at the massive edifice Grand called home.

“It is, but it’s just a house,” I said, then grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. The doors opened to reveal Grand and Stef waiting for us.

“How wonderful to be able to welcome you!” Stef said effusively and gave Kris a warm hug. “This is my partner, JP Crampton.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kris said to Grand. It was annoying that Grand seemed pretty stunned by Kris, probably because he figured there was no way I could score such a hot dude. I ignored him and gave Stef a hug.

“The pleasure is mine,” Grand said smoothly, then led us into the foyer. There we met my two favorite family members. I introduced Kris to Grandmaman first, then to Aunt Claire.

“I have heard so many great things about you,” Aunt Claire said to Kris warmly.

“I have heard even more about you,” Kris said, smiling at her.

“Luke Carruthers,” Dad’s business partner said, shaking hands with Kris.

“I understand I get to see your operation tomorrow,” Kris said. “I am so stoked!”

“I’m glad you are,” Luke said, then greeted me in a friendly manner.

“I understand you two are coming to stay with us next week,” I said to Aunt Claire.

“We would not want to impose,” she said firmly.

“It would not be an imposition; it would be an honor,” Kris said, being the smooth operator he could be.

“Then we will alert you as to our travel schedule, and look forward to spending time with you in New York,” Claire said. “And by the way, you look fantastic. Is this Givenchy?” she asked Kris.

“So I’m told,” Kris said, then grinned at me. “I’m smart enough to let JJ dress me.”

“A wise move,” Grandmaman said. We talked about Kris’s attire then I moved him on to meet my cousins and Ryan, who were all very polite. We chatted with them about our trip and our plans, then just as I was about to plead fatigue and escape with Kris to our room, he started gushing about the house.

“This place is unbelievable,” he said, looking toward the Great Hall.

“Would you like a tour?” Grand asked. “Perhaps while I show you around, the staff can make some snacks.”

“I would love that,” he said.

“I’ll let you go with Grand,” I said to Kris, then smiled. “I’ve seen it before.”

They walked off and I found myself alone with my brothers. I wanted to slap myself for not thinking ahead so I could avoid them. “I hope you’re not planning to be a total douche on this trip,” Darius said to me.

“I’m not being a douche,” I argued lamely.

“Just so you know, my patience level with you has just about bottomed out,” Will said, with fury in his eyes.

I sighed, then led them out to the patio. “Look, I’m really sorry. I’m just nervous about being here with Kris.”

“Why?” Will challenged.

“Because we haven’t been together all that long, and we’re still trying to figure each other out, and throwing family members into the mix seems to fuck things up,” I said honestly.

“You know, the times that you’ve had issues with Kris haven’t been because of us; they’ve been because of you,” Will said. “You’re creating the problems.”

“Well, there are still problems,” I replied lamely, and got glares in return. “I’m trying, alright? Can you at least cut me a little slack?”

“A little,” Darius said, then got up and stalked back into the house.

I turned back to Will, expecting a rant, but instead he looked pretty apprehensive. “What?” I challenged.

“On Sunday, when Jake goes over that stuff with Kris, it’s going to be pretty intense for him,” Will said.

“What did you do to him?” I demanded, outraged that they were trying to hurt Kris. “Is this some big scheme on Dad’s part to split us up?”

He shook his head and chuckled, presumably at my father and his controlling tendencies, then got serious again. “It has nothing to do with us, it’s about Kris.”

“What did you find out?” I asked rudely.

“When you can ask me in a nicer way, I’ll tell you,” he said, even as he stood up to leave. “Regardless, on Sunday you need to bury the self-absorbed asshole that you are and be ready to support Kris.”

He walked into the house and I stood up, staring after him, then stomped my foot in anger at his bullshit.

September 10, 2004

Escorial

Palo Alto, CA

Will

“We probably should have gone with them,” Travis said. JJ and Kris had been shuttled off to see Stanford, then they’d be back for lunch, then Kris was going to Carruthers & Schluter.

“I’m already spending way too much time with JJ as it is,” I grumbled. “Any more and I might just jack him in the face.”

Travis chuckled. “He seems to be doing better today.”

“Yeah, but he had to get up early, so by this afternoon, he’ll really be a royal pain in the ass,” I said. “I wonder if they’ll ever find drugs that calm his ass down.”

“Good luck with that,” Travis joked, making me laugh. “Maybe this is just the way he is?”

“That’s what I told my father,” I said. “I suggested that maybe JJ doesn’t have this bi-polar lite thing; maybe he’s just a douche.”

“Maybe,” Travis said. “I really think Kris is good for him, and I think JJ is just as good for Kris.”

“I think you’re right, as long as they survive this weekend,” I said with dread.

“I like Kris,” Travis said. “This is going to be really hard on him.”

“I like Kris too. I just hope JJ rises to the occasion and supports him,” I said skeptically.

“Are you going to talk to JJ about this?” he asked.

“I told him there was a bunch of shit heading towards Kris, but he didn’t ask me about it,” I said. “I guess I could force the issue, but I’m not sure how he’d handle it if I showed him the report.”

“You laid it out there that there was an issue,” he said. “If he wanted to know more, he should have asked. I mean, it’s not like he’s shy when he wants something.”

I laughed at that. “JJ is definitely very assertive when it comes to getting what he wants.” We sat there enjoying a happy moment together with me pretty much just staring at him. He was happy, so his icy gray eyes had that bluish tint that I loved, and his dimples peeked out with his small smile. He had a wave in his blond hair that made his hair so much easier to perfect. I had to spend painstaking time in front of the mirror to get the look I wanted, but his just seemed to come naturally. But the best thing of all was that, as amazing as he was, I knew that he loved me, and that I wasn’t in competition with anyone else for his heart.

“What?” he asked.

“I think you are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside,” I said to him lovingly.

“What a bunch of crap,” he said, then blushed. “I’m way nicer than I look.”

“No, you’re not,” I teased, making both of us chuckle.

“You doing anything right now?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in a suggestive way.

“No,” I said, smiling back at him. “What did you have in mind?”

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said.

I started laughing. “That is not what I thought you were going to say,” I explained.

“We have time for that later,” he said, in the sexiest way possible. He led me out of Escorial and up the road toward the Stanford Dish.

“Did you hear anything about your auditions?” I asked. He frowned at me, because we’d argued about this while we were in Malibu.

“No,” he said simply. I gave him a dirty look. “What? I told you it’s bad luck to talk about things before they happen.”

“So you’re going to shut me out of what is probably the most important part of your life right now over some stupid superstition?” I asked acidly.

“I don’t want to argue about this anymore,” he grumbled.

“Alright, what if I decide to transfer from Harvard to a different school next year?” I asked. “Wouldn’t you want to know where I was thinking of going?”

“Yeah,” he said in annoyance, because he knew where this was going.

“So instead of telling you all the places I’d applied to, what if I told you that I didn’t want to jinx my chances, and I’d only tell you after I got admitted?”

“That’s different,” he said, which was so funny I had to stop walking, I was laughing so hard. He knew the context of that statement, that usually when family members said that they were full of shit.

“I’m just saying that you’re setting a pretty bad precedent,” I pointed out. He sighed, as if to tell me how irritated he was.

“Fine,” he said, caving. “You want me to tempt the fates and tell you what’s going on?”

“That’s exactly what I want you to do,” I said. He probably thought I’d cave to his weird fears, but I had limited patience for stupid shit, even from him.

“I’m up for two commercials, a bit part in a movie, and a short-term character on Sunset Valley,” he said.

“The soap opera?” I asked. Sunset Valley was the soap opera that Carmen always watched.

“Yeah,” Travis said.

“That sounds pretty cool,” I said. “You are really hitting the ground running with this.”

“Then there’s one more role, and it’s the coolest,” he said nervously.

“What’s that one?” I asked.

“They’re creating a new show called Palisades,” he said. “It’s about a bunch of mostly rich kids in high school in Southern California, presumably in Pacific Palisades.”

“That won’t be much of an acting challenge for you,” I teased.

“That’s actually Cody’s pitch to them,” he said. “He told them that it would work for me as I developed my acting skills, while at the same time I would be sort of an expert because I just graduated.”

“That makes sense,” I said, considering that strategy.

“They’re going to film it in Manhattan Beach,” he said, and smiled. “If I get the part, you may have to take a weekend and fly home to do some real estate shopping with me.”

“That would be kick-ass,” I said. “Waves are good, and beach volleyball rocks!”

“I know, right?” he said excitedly. “Be some good talent to play with.”

“There will be some good talent when you’re there,” I said, giving him a nice compliment. He really was a good volleyball player. He stopped and gave me a nice kiss to thank me for that.

“You’re good too,” he said. He was right: I was a good volleyball player, but not as good as him. In a flash of recognition, it dawned on me that I probably was a marginally better surfer than him, while he was better at volleyball.

“Cody was saying that this Sunset Valley gig may fill the time until they start filming,” Travis said hopefully. “They’re shooting that in New York.”

“Dude, that is so close to Boston!” I said excitedly. “You could come up and visit for the weekend!”

“I don’t want to jam your groove,” he said, sounding like a 70s hippy dude. I could almost feel the sadness beneath his flippant response.

“Travis, I would rather spend time with you than do anything else,” I said to him, and made sure he could feel the sincerity in that statement.

“So what is this thing?” he asked, changing the subject and gesturing at the telescope in front of us.

“The Dish?” I asked. He nodded. “It’s a radio antenna that was built in the early 1960s by the Air Force and used to spy on the Soviets. Later on, it was used to communicate with satellites and spacecraft, and now it’s pretty much just used for research.”

“How do you know all this shit?” he asked.

“Dude, this is in my fucking backyard,” I said. “Of course I’d know what it was.”

“Makes sense,” he said. “It’s pretty big.”

“It has a diameter of 150 feet,” I said, and giggled at his annoyed look. We walked up to the fence that kept out visitors like us and just stood there, gazing at this structure, as well as the adjacent facility. “That building is the STAR Lab.”

“You’re going to tell me about that too, I suppose,” he said, acting like he didn’t want to know what it was.

“I am,” I said in a perky way, making him smile. “It’s part of Stanford’s Electronics Engineering Department and they mostly focus on electromagnetics research.”

“You’re almost too fucking smart,” he said, making me chuckle.

“I am,” I agreed, getting a chuckle in return.

“Do you remember our conversation a while ago?” he asked.

That was way too vague a question for me to answer. “Which one?”

“The one when I asked you if you would marry me in four years, and you said you would,” he said.

“I remember,” I said, and put my arm around his waist. He put his around my shoulder as we stood there.

“Do you still feel that way?” he asked.

I turned to face him so he could see how sincere I was. “I meant it then, and I mean it now.” He got all nervous, and that freaked me out. “Did you change your mind?”

“No, I didn’t change my mind,” he said, and looked at me like I was an idiot.

“Then why are you bringing this up?” All he was doing with this line of conversation was making me paranoid.

“I was thinking that we should have some sort of symbol to, you know, show that we’re committed,” he said.

“Are you trying to tell me you bought me an engagement ring?” I asked, and smiled at him.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he said, smiling back. “Actually, I got one for each of us.”

“If it’s not cool enough, can I change my mind?” I asked playfully.

“You’re so shallow,” he teased, making me laugh. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry case and opened it. There were two identical rings, and they were different from anything I’d seen before. “This one is yours.”

I took the ring and studied it. The band was flat and consisted of three equal parts. The top and bottom parts were solid metal, and based on the way it felt in my hand, it was probably platinum. The center part was really unique. It looked like a series of clear gemstones designed to link together in a prismatic way. I kind of expected that those stones would be protected by something, but they were designed to fit flat against the finger just like the platinum parts. I knew enough about gems to know these weren’t diamonds, but I couldn’t identify them. “What is this?”

“The metal is platinum, while the center part is a series of hollow quartz shells that contain thermotropic liquid crystals,” he said. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“So it’s toxic?” I teased.

“No, it’s a mood ring,” he said. I smiled broadly, stunned at how cool that was.

“No shit?” I asked, grinning broadly. “This is the coolest thing!”

He grinned just as broadly, so glad I was happy. “I’m glad you like it. There’s a dude in Venice Beach who claims he crafts the best thermotropic crystals, so I had him design these for us.”

“So how does it work?” I asked.

“The crystals respond to your body’s temperature changes by twisting, and that alters their color,” he said. “When you’re happy or romantic, they will turn violet blue. When you’re calm and relaxed, they should be a lighter blue. When they’re green, that’s like the base color, and means your mood is normal and not much is going on.”

“Based on my life, I’m betting I don’t see a lot of green,” I said, making him chuckle.

“They will turn amber or gray when you’re uptight, and when you’re really pissed off and super-stressed, they turn black,” he said.

“JJ and my father will probably think the center is made of onyx,” I joked, cracking him up.

I went to put it on my finger but he stopped me and took the ring from me. “Will Schluter, will you accept this ring, and honor your commitment to marry Travis Buck on September 10, 2008?”

“I will,” I said, and he slid the ring on my right index finger. I watched as it changed colors, starting at green and then morphing quickly. “Look,” I said. “It’s purple.”

“Duh,” he said, then handed me his ring.

“Travis Buck, will you accept this ring, and honor your commitment to marry Will Schluter on September 10, 2008?” I asked.

“I will,” he said, then I slid it on his right index finger. We watched as his ring made the same changes mine did. “Mine is more purple than yours is.”

“Asshole,” I said, and playfully pushed him.

“It’s about body temperature,” he said, and smiled broadly. “See, even the ring thinks I’m hotter.”

I shook my head at what a romantic goofball he was. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said.