Finding Myself - 2. Chapter 2: Aedan The Artist

June 30 2017

Friday was pretty relaxed. It was a nice day and I practically dragged Jake out of bed at 6AM to go out and see the old bones because I really wanted to draw them. We left the house after getting dressed and eating some breakfast.

“Why did you drag me out here?” Jake asked, groaning as we stepped on the cold wet sand with bare feet.

“Because I want to draw,” I said.

“But why this early?” Jake complained. “I just wanna sleep in.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his green shorts and yawned.

“Because it’s a great sunrise, and I want you to come with me because you’re my best bud.”

“I’m flattered,” Jake sighed. “But I’d be better off going in the afternoon.”

We stepped over some rocks and reached the place. The view with the early sun angle was amazing. “Jake, you can’t tell me this ain’t amazing,” I sat down on the sand and pulled out my sketch book and pencils.

“I don’t like it when you’re right, but you told me so, dude,” Jake sat down on a log of driftwood, not wanting to get sand on his green shorts or orange t-shirt. I smirked a little at that.

“I promise this afternoon, we can do what you want instead,” I chuckled as I began my sketch. Ten minutes went by and I had a basic sketch done. I could tell that Jake was getting restless and bored.

“Wanna include me in your sketch?’ He stood up and stood next to one of the bones and flexed his arms.

“No! Get out of the way, dork!” I laughed.

Jake ended up spending his time building a sand castle and going into the water to swim and body surf while I continued to draw. As the tide came in and began splashing my feet, it wrecked the sand castle. My purple shorts were now getting wet with each wave. We had to move to higher ground, where I finished drawing the puffy clouds and the sun.

“Can I look?” Jake asked, as I was chewing on the pink eraser tip on the end of the pencil.

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes. His mouth gaped open.

“Holy shit, that’s great, dude.”

“Thanks,” I blushed. My watch was reading nearly 10AM. Had we really spent 3 hours out here?

Jake began walking back to the house as I stood up and dusted the sand off my shorts and dark grey t-shirt. That afternoon, after we ate lunch, Jake and I hung out at the boardwalk arcade. I suck at video games, so Jake won against me a lot in the arcade. We also got ice cream and spent time staring at cute girls in bikinis and telling jokes and goofing off to try and impress them. That earned me a slap on the cheek from one girl. That night, on the beach behind the house, Jake and I had a small campfire and made s’mores. It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full and I could see so many stars. Jake was more into astronomy, so he started naming off constellations and I just silently nodded, half understanding. Getting to chat by the fire was nice. I opened up some more about my father’s abusive behavior while Jake comforted me. I didn’t tell him that dad hurts me though, because Jake might tell someone and break apart my family. He mentioned how he wishes he had more quality time with his parents, who were always busy with work. He’s thankful for the wealthy life they provide, but he’s entirely dependent on friends for enjoyment. I almost mentioned that I’ve been having bisexual fantasies that started a few months ago. Yeah, I like girls like every other boy my age, but I also have attraction towards other boys! I wasn’t quite ready to tell Jake. I wouldn’t know how he’d react. Maybe he'd be cool with it. Maybe he'd freak out... ugh...

July 1 2017

Jake and I stayed home most of Saturday. It was the weekend, so more people than usual were in town and the boardwalk was crowded. I spent some of the afternoon on the back porch putting some finishing touches on the drawing I started the previous day while Jake went down to walk on the beach. A bunch of people were down there enjoying the nice weather. I was shading some stuff when Jake came running, almost startling me. “Careful, I’m shading,” I mumbled. Don’t interrupt me while I am in art mode, please!

“Dude, do you wanna come play sand volleyball? A couple girls our age invited me to play and I came to you to be my teammate.”

I really wanted to continue working on art, but the idea of meeting cute girls and playing shirtless volleyball was appealing. “Sure,” I rolled my eyes and followed Jake fifty feet to the sand volleyball court. There was a tall blonde girl and a shorter brunette who was around my height. “Hey,” I blushed, waving to them. Both girls looked cute, and I’d be ok asking either one out if I could get over my shyness. Jake and I pulled off our shirts and began playing. The girls clearly had more experience with volleyball but Jake and I were athletic enough to score a few points but we lost in the end. I probably played a little better than Jake, but neither of us were good.

I sat down on the sand, panting as the shorter girl handed me a cold water bottle. “Thanks,” I opened it and took a long drink. It was a hot day, and sweat was pouring off my back after volleyball. The sun was starting to dip down towards the horizon. My chest was sandy too from diving a few times to save the ball. The shorter girl dusted the sand off my chest. “Huh,” I asked, confused. I was probably also blushing.

I winced as she touched one of my bruised areas. “Oh, sorry...” she removed her hand. “Oh my god, Aedan, you’re all bruised.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s nothing! Seriously! Stop it!” I stammered. “Don’t worry about it.” I huffed and rested my forearms on my knees.

“Um, okay?” she sat down next to me. “You wanna talk about it?” she traced a finger on my faint abs.

“Not really...” I gently pushed her hand away from my bruised torso. “It’s complicated.”

“I... had a lot of fun today,” she said, her pale cheeks blushing a little. She twirled her hair in her fingers. “My name’s Kate by the way. My sister there is Gail”

“I had fun too,” I smiled at her. She looks so nice in a pink and orange bikini. Fits her perfectly. “And, uh, thanks for brushing the sand off my chest,” I laughed awkwardly, patting my chest. God, my flirting skills suck!

“Y-you have a cute accent,” she laughed. I blushed. We continued talking for a while, awkwardly of course. Kate was thirteen just like Jake and I. I can’t believe Jake did this to try and hook us up with girls. “Um, hey, do you want to, like, trade numbers, so we can text? Since I’m leaving town Monday.”

“Sure,” I smiled. She handed me her iPhone and I put in my number while I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my baggy cargo shorts for her to put in her number.

“Well, we should get going back to the hotel, Kate,” Gail said.

“Bye, Aedan,” Kate kissed me on the cheek, and I blushed.

“Girls, am I right?” Jake said, once they had walked far enough away.

“Yeah,” I smiled leaning back in the sand. “That was awesome.”

“I don’t think either of them were very interested in me,” Jake blushed as he helped me up and I grabbed my pink tank top. “A shame really. Both of them were cute.”

“They were super cute. Especially Kate,” I laughed. I pulled out my phone and texted Kate as we walked back home. I put my shirt on before re-entering the house. The place smelled like pizza, which made my mouth water. I hadn’t eaten pizza in so long.

“There you boys are,” Jake’s mom smiled. “Dinner’s ready in five minutes.”

“Mkay,” Jake nodded, and my friend led me to our bedroom.

“Dude, I need a shower,” I pulled my shirt back off when we were in the privacy of our room.

“Me too,” Jake said. “I got all sandy from that volleyball match.” He paused. “There’s not enough time for each of us to shower though...”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked, grabbing my shower towel.

“We can shower together though. Save some time.” Jake offered. He saw a puzzled look on my face. “It’s no different than showering in the locker room after flag football practice.”

I blushed. “Um, okay...” I stuttered before getting undressed as did Jake. He let me get in the shower first. I kept my eyes to myself and above Jake’s waist as I cleaned myself in the cool water, but his eyes seemed to be drawn to me. “Um, why are you staring at me?”

“I’m not!” he blushed, stuttered, and looked down at his bare feet. Jake, keep your eyes to yourself...

After the quick shower, I dried off and got dressed quickly. “Jake. You were looking at me in there...” I blushed as I confronted him.

“Aedan, I... er... well... I’m... jealous? Of you?” Jake stuttered. I blinked a couple times in shock before combing my shaggy hair at the sink. “You’re way more mature than I am.”

“Mature? Me?” I laughed. “Dude, I am far from mature. We’re thirteen year old boys.”

“I mean... like... you’re more... developed than I am. Like. You have muscle... and, well... you’re actually in puberty. And you get girls to like you.”

“Dude, you’re lucky. Puberty sucks...” I shook my head. “My body hates me. I feel weird and awkward a lot. You’re not missing out.” I said as Jake pulled on a fresh shirt. “My voice cracks all the time. It’s the worst.”

“Oh...” Jake said... shuffling his feet. “I’m sorry f-for making you do that. That was dumb of me.”

“I’mma go eat. I’m starving,” I said. “You coming...?” Jake nodded silently and followed me to the kitchen. I put a few pizza slices on a plate and sat at the table. Jake followed suit.

“You boys have fun today?” Mr. Grant asked.

“Yessir,” I nodded, my mouth full. “We got to play sand volleyball for a bit.”

“Yeah, the girls couldn’t keep their eyes off of Aedan.” Jake teased and laughed. I gave him a glare. How could he be JEALOUS of me?! He has a perfect life, a huge house, a beach house, and normal stable parents…

“I’ll be taking the yacht tomorrow for some fishing on the bay. Do you boys want to join me.” Mr. Grant offered in his British accent.

“Please...” Mrs. Grant begged. “It’ll make the house a bit quieter for me.” Jake and I laughed. We tended to get a bit loud.

“I love fishing, so it’s a yes from me.” I looked to Jake for his answer. He was also in agreement.