Gap Year - 34. Chapter 34

February 21, 2004

Santa Cruz, CA

 

Will

“I am so glad you know how to cook,” I said to Jake. He had just finished putting together a decent breakfast for all of us. Of course, they’d smirked when Bongo came out of my room with me, but they were cool enough to make sure he didn’t notice.

“Good thing, otherwise we’d starve,” Jake said.

“Probably,” I agreed. “I’m planning to have a party tonight.” I had thought about phrasing it as a question, but that implied that I required their consent. I was trying to not spark an argument without giving my father veto power. It said a lot about how frayed our relationship was that something simple like this occupied a considerable amount of my brain energy.

“How many people will you have?” Dad asked.

“I think about 15,” I said. “It’s variable. Bongo is inviting about a dozen, and I’m hoping that Marie, Ryan, John, and whoever John is fucking these days will show up.”

“Bongo?” Jake asked.

“That’s my nickname,” Arthur said shyly. “I’m a drummer and I sing.”

“Really?” Dad asked, but in a positive way.

“Couple of my buddies will be here tonight,” he said. “We usually play on the beach. You should come hang out with us.”

“We don’t want to crash your party,” Jake said, worried that they’d kill the vibe.

“You are invited,” I insisted. “It’s not like an orgy is going to break out. You’ll have fun.”

“Damn,” Jake said, acting like he was hoping for an orgy.

“That’s a pretty big party,” Dad said. Before I could flame him, he went on. “Better call in the Escorial party squad.”

I laughed at that, while Bongo looked at me with a confused and questioning expression. “Those are the people who help us out when we have parties at home. They make sure no one leaves drunk, and they cater shit.”

“You don’t have to go to that much trouble,” he insisted. “We’ll bring our own stuff.”

“No, we’ll handle it,” I said. “Tell them that food and drink are covered.”

“While you finish breakfast, I’ll call Stef and let him know,” Dad said.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to wrap my mind around this cooler and nicer version of my father. He left the room and I looked at Jake. “Dude, you must have rocked his world for him to be this easy to deal with.”

Jake shook his head. “He’s always more relaxed here. He’s working hard to recover.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “I didn’t realize how tough all this was on him.” I could hear the guilt all but oozing from him.

“I think you should just be glad that you figured it out and be happy that he loves you enough that he blew a circuit when you said you were leaving him,” I said.

“You guys are breaking up?” Bongo asked. “Dude, you seem like soul mates to me.”

“I think you’re right, and I think my father gets that, but Jake isn’t quite there yet,” I said, taunting him.

“Whatever,” Jake said, a bit frustrated. “I’m going to go get ready.”

“Thanks for breakfast,” Bongo called out to him as he left, and got a wave in response from Jake. “Did I upset him?”

“No, I did,” I said. We went back to our room and while we both finished getting ready for the day, I laid out the deal with Jake and his situation in the Army, and how that fucked up my father. I told him how my dad had gone on a week-long meth binge, but he was working to get over it now.

“No one will have meth tonight, but…” Bongo said, and then stopped.

“What else will they bring?” I asked curiously.

“Probably weed, shrooms, and maybe some acid, but not sure about that,” he said.

“Going to be a fun night,” I said, winking at him. “We’ll probably have some ecstasy and coke to toss into the mix.” I had a little bit of both of those things, but John was the guy who usually had a supply, so whether I had enough to share depended on him being here.

He smiled. “It is going to be a fun night. I’ve got to go. I’m working brunch, then I’ll be back,” he said. He was about to leave, then paused. “Last night was a lot of fun.”

“It was,” I agreed, although I was sore as a motherfucker from taking his fat dick. He was trying to say something, but couldn’t seem to express it, so I took a gamble and tried to guess. “It doesn’t mean you’re gay, it just means you let loose and had some fun.”

“I fucked a dude,” he said. “I mean, more than once.”

I laughed. “And you did it really well.” That seemed to bother him even more. “You fucked me probably the same way you’d fuck a chick. It was nice.”

“Good to know,” he said.

“Here’s how I’m seeing things,” I said, to try and put him at ease. “If we’re hanging out, and the mood strikes us, maybe we’ll mess around. Otherwise, we’re just buds, and that’s all your friends will see.”

“The funny thing is that they could give a shit less,” he said. “Shit, a couple of the dudes would probably be after me to fuck them too.”

“Will they be here tonight?” I asked suggestively.

“Maybe,” he said, laughing.

“If you find a bitch who gets you going and you decide to fuck her, I am not going to cry or make a scene,” I promised. “I’m going to hand you a condom and slap your ass.”

We both laughed at that. “Now I really do have to go,” he said. He gave me a really nice kiss, then hurried out the door.

I went back out to the kitchen and started thinking of things to do, and had gotten myself pretty stressed just as Jake and my father walked in. “I’m not sure how long I can hit the waves,” I said morosely.

“The party squad will be leaving Escorial shortly,” Dad said. “You can take that worry off your list.”

I smiled, so relieved. “Thank you for arranging that.”

He put his arm around me in an affectionate way. “Glad I can help. Now let’s surf.”

In what seemed like no time at all, the three of us found ourselves in the water, watching the pathetic swells with disdain. “It should pick up,” Jake said in an unconvincing way.

“Maybe,” I said, although I didn’t see it. Still, it was fun just being out here in the water with them.

“So what’s the deal with Arthur, I mean Bongo?” Jake asked.

“He just broke up with his girlfriend last night, so I was his rebound,” I said.

“Way to prey on the vulnerable,” Jake teased.

“You have to grab an opportunity when it presents itself,” I said sagely, making us chuckle.

“Did he break up with his girlfriend because he’s gay?” my father asked.

“No,” I said. “He’s pretty much straight but can be adventurous when the mood and situation are right.”

“Then what caused this rupture?” Dad asked.

“He and his girlfriend, her name is Kelly, had an open relationship. It was working pretty well, according to him, but their friends who were together were more committed, as he put it. She decided that she wanted that kind of deal with Bongo,” I explained.

“He wouldn’t make that commitment,” Jake mused.

“No,” I said. “I think he’s the kind of guy who will live up to a commitment he makes, and in this situation, he didn’t think he’d be able to do it.”

“That’s a pretty honorable approach,” my father said, in his annoying way of pronouncing judgment in situations like this.

“Seems like it,” I agreed. “He was pretty upset at first, but by this morning, he was pretty much over her.”

“Is she coming to the party tonight?” Jake asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I mean, if he wants to invite her, he can. If she shows up, should make for some interesting drama.”

“No doubt,” Jake agreed.

“They’re juniors in college, and he said that’s why everyone was getting more serious,” I said, even though that confused me.

“That’s pretty typical,” Dad said. “You’re getting close to being done with college, and that means that real life starts. Basically, people start thinking of who they’ll spend their lives with.”

“Did that happen to you?” Jake asked my father.

“I actually had two men who wanted me, so I had to make a choice,” he said, acting like everyone wanted him. Maybe they did.

“And you chose Robbie,” I said in a strange stream of consciousness.

“I did, but he sure as fuck didn’t make it easy,” Dad said, rolling his eyes. It was funny, because as soon as we brought Robbie up, the waves changed, and that occupied our attention. What started out as a completely lame morning turned into a fun day of surfing.

At around 2:00, I decided that I needed to go in and get something to eat, then get ready for this big party. I was so hungry that I didn’t even get jealous when Jake and Dad stayed in the water. The weather was nice: it was sunny with light winds, and it felt like it was probably 60 degrees. I went through my normal process of washing down my board, stripping off my wetsuit, and rinsing off. Wearing just a towel, I walked into the house and right into a whole bunch of activity. The first person I noticed was Carmen, the chef at Escorial. “You were allowed to escape?” I teased her in Spanish. “They’ll starve without you.”

“This is probably true,” she replied in the same language. “They have decided to go out to eat tonight, and this is much more fun.”

“I think you’re right,” I said, gave her a nice but distant hug since I was only wearing a towel, then went back to my room to take a proper shower and get ready. I opted to wear a pair of jeans and a tee shirt with a long-sleeved shirt over it. For shoes I slipped on my trusty flip-flops. I went back out to the kitchen and before I could even ask for food, Carmen put a burger in front of me.

“Thank you,” I said with a big smile. I’d just finished eating the burger when John came in. I didn’t expect him to get here this early, and I was really surprised he was alone. “Hey!” I said enthusiastically and gave him a big hug.

“Was that a burger?” he asked, his eyes focused on Carmen. He was so handsome and so charming he was almost irresistible.

“I will make you one,” she said, then turned to me. “And I will make you another one.”

“Thanks Carmen,” we said, almost in unison.

“I’m so glad you got here early!” I told him.

“I’m glad you’re glad,” he said. “How were the waves?”

“Better yesterday,” I said. “Today they started out shitty but ended up okay.”

“I’m hoping that’s how my life will go,” he said, and got all morose.

“What’s wrong?” I prompted.

“I’ve been thinking about whether to join this band with Ryan,” he said. Like I didn’t know that, and like he’d talked about anything else for the last few months. “I decided to do it.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” he asked, almost belligerently. “Look, I love my music, and it’s really exciting to have a chance to try and be the next Justin Timberlake.”

“I can see that,” I said. That would be even more true for a straight dude like him. For a gay guy, it would probably just mean hiding deeper in the closet.

“It’s not like if I do this for a few years I can’t go back to school,” he said.

“That’s pretty much what JJ did with skating,” I said. “I mean, he had tutors and shit for some of the time, but after he was done with figure skating, he went back to a real school.”

“I made that same point to my parents, but they didn’t agree,” he said bitterly. “They told me that until I’m 18, they get veto power over my decision, and that’s what they did.”

“Bummer,” I said. I tried to sympathize with him but couldn’t really relate. If I wanted to do something and I knew it was best for me, I’d fight like hell until everyone else gave up. John wasn’t like that; he normally wasn’t a rebellious guy. Plus I was willing to fight dirty, while he was too nice of a guy to go scorched earth.

He broke into his spot-on and hilarious imitation of his mother. “We cannot see how you will benefit from living that kind of life before you are old enough to truly handle it.”

I laughed. “She knows you’ll fuck all the groupies.”

“Damn right,” he said. “That’s the big benefit to being in a band.”

“So what are you going to do?” I asked.

“I think I need to get away from the situation there for a bit,” he said. “I planned to stay at Escorial for a few days.”

“It will be awesome to have you around, but that won’t change their minds,” I said, like I was clairvoyant.

“Sure it will,” he objected. “It will bug them that I’m not around and they can’t keep tabs on me.”

Carmen came over with our cheeseburgers, and after we thanked her, I got back to our conversation. “No, they’ll just think you’re pouting.”

“I guess I’m fucked,” he said.

“Not necessarily,” I said, as an evil idea began to germinate in my brain. “What does Marie think?”

“She thinks it sucks, and argued with them too, but she doesn’t see a way out either,” he said, then looked at me more intently. “What?”

“The most important thing to them is that you stay in school,” I said.

“Yeah, so?”

“So don’t go to school,” I said.

“You mean just blow off school? Seriously?” he asked, stunned.

“Yeah,” I said. “Get up and leave like you’re going to school, then do something else instead. And if they force you to go, don’t do anything while you’re there. Don’t pay attention, don’t take notes, and don’t turn in anything.”

“I don’t know,” he said as he pondered my idea. The kind of defiance I was outlining to him was so unnatural to him, he was having a hard time contemplating it. It was really a shame that Jack and Claire had backed him into this corner, and an even bigger shame that they didn’t seem to appreciate his compliant nature. My father would probably give just about anything if I was like John, I thought, and chuckled to myself.

“Your mother will get calls from the school then she’ll confront you. When she does, tell her you’re not into school and you’re not going,” I said.

“I’m not sure about that,” he said nervously, probably thinking about how painful that conversation with his parents would be.

“Do you want to join the band or not?” I asked. “If that’s your goal, you have to fight for it, and it won’t be pretty.”

“They could make my life hell,” he said, being a total pussy.

“What are they going to do to you?”

“Guess they could get the cops involved,” he said, thinking of truant officers.

“First of all, the last thing your mother wants is for there to be a public scene about this. I mean, I think she’d find the calls from the school horrifying enough as it is. And on top of that, I think you’d end up talking to a social worker, not a cop,” I said.

“She wouldn’t want that either,” he said, and started laughing. “Jack, it was dreadful. Some social worker lady came and tried to tell me how to raise my son,” he said, imitating his mother. “And worse, I don’t recall ever seeing her at the Junior League meetings.” I was laughing so hard I almost spit up my burger.

“That’s what I’m saying,” I finally said.

“Thanks,” he said, and put his hand on my shoulder in an affectionate way. “All that drama you cause has trained you to be a real warrior.”

“Right,” I said, and gave him a dirty look that was mostly fake, probably because he was mostly right. My afternoon ended up being awesome. Marie and Ryan showed up shortly after that and I filled them in on Bongo and his friends, along with my trip to New York. Bongo called me and told me that he’d be there with his friends around six, which was fine with me. John had just finished telling Marie and Ryan my big plan to get his parents to let him join the band when he had a call and left to go take it.

“I think that might actually work,” Marie said. “Not something I would do.”

“Me either,” I agreed. “I don’t think either one of us could stand to let our GPAs drop like that.”

“Wouldn’t bother me,” Ryan said, getting eye rolls from Marie and me. He was an even less dedicated student than John.

“My parents are going to lose their minds,” Marie said, shaking her head while she smiled. “Especially if their friends find out.”

I laughed. “They won’t expect that kind of rebellion from John.”

“No, they won’t,” she said. “Which means they’ll probably decide he was being coached into it. And that means they’ll be after us.”

“So,” I said. “You think they’ll take it out on you if he blows school off?”

She thought about it. “No, especially when I blame it on you.”

“Bitch,” I said, then we laughed.

“If John is in, then all they really need to do is find a drummer,” Ryan said. He was like John, in that his mind was occupied by the band and getting laid. “They think they found some dude for keyboards.”

“Sounds like this is coming together,” I said. “When are you guys supposed to start?”

“They want us to start practicing as soon as they get it together, but they know we can’t really go anywhere until after graduation,” he said.

John came back out, all pissed off. “That was Dad,” he said to Marie. “I have been directed to return home at once.” He sat down right after he said that.

“Guess you’re not doing that,” I joked.

“Guess not,” he said. “I told him to fuck off.”

“You told him that?” Marie asked, stunned. Decorum was important in their household.

“I did,” John replied. “Then I hung up.”

Dad and Jake strolled up to us, still wet from the surf. “Hey!” Dad said in a really upbeat way and gave them all stunted hugs to avoid soaking them. Jake did the same thing.

“Party should start around six,” I told them both, “so you have a few hours to get ready.” I did air quotes when I said ‘get ready’, which got knowing grins from Ryan and my cousins.

“Let us know when the music starts,” Dad said, and they headed off to their room.

“So are they cool now?” Ryan asked. Evidently they’d already heard about the drama here, probably from Stef.

“Who knows,” I said. “For right now, they seem to be.”

“What’s this about music?” John asked.

“I told you how Bongo got his name,” I said. “He’s a drummer. He and his friends like to hang out and sing on the beach.”

“Let’s hope they’re good,” Ryan said.

“Now that he’s the next Justin Timberlake, he’s all cocky,” I said to Marie.

“I thought John was the next Justin Timberlake,” she said, just to taunt them both.

“We’re not N’Sync,” John objected. He always got really defensive when anything about his band came up. “We’ll do our own thing.”

“You trail blazer, you,” I said, piling on.

“Fuck you both,” Ryan said, making Marie and I chuckle.

“You’ve already done that,” I said, making Marie and John break out in full blown laughter. I gave them a look reminding them that I’d slept with both of them too, which was pretty funny.

“Whatever,” Ryan said, even though he was blushing a little bit. We bullshitted until about five, then retreated to our rooms to get ready.

A little after six, Bongo showed up, and there was a really attractive woman with him. “Hey Will!” he said enthusiastically, trying to hide his nervousness. “This is my girlfriend, Kelly.” They must have gotten back together. That explained why he didn’t come over here right after he got off work

“Welcome,” I said, then introduced them to Marie, John, and Ryan.

“This is the nicest place!” she exclaimed.

“Come on, I’ll show you around,” Marie said helpfully.

As soon as they were gone, I raised an eyebrow at Bongo, getting a frown in return. “She decided that we were fine the way things were, at least for now.”

“As long as you’re happy with that, I think that’s great,” I said, then slapped him on the ass like I told him I would.

His friends got here after him as if they were a constant stream, so by 6:20 they had all arrived. There were three couples plus two guys and a chick who seemed unattached. They all had that Bohemian/hippie look that you’d expect from Santa Cruz students. The hottest guy there, even hotter than Bongo, was one of the unattached dudes. He was about 5’ 10” and had dark red hair. His face was long and narrow, and he sported a small mustache which looked a little ridiculous. His hair was unfashionably long, but somehow it worked on him. Probably the most unique part of him was his body: he was slim and seemed to have decent muscle tone, but his torso was much longer than his legs. It was hard not to imagine him as a leprechaun.

Bongo introduced us, and I smiled to try and turn on the charm, but this dude was just plain bitchy. “Will Schluter,” I said, and shook his hand.

He acted like I had the plague, and almost glared at me. “Mike McConnell.” He turned to the girl with them, made what must be a snarky comment about us, and they both started giggling. That caused me to take in the whole scene, and it became pretty obvious that they were making fun of me and my group. We were dressed well, especially Marie, while they looked like they’d bought their clothes at Goodwill.

Raul came out to get their keys, and that got some annoyed looks. “If you’re too fucked up to drive, don’t you want this dude to stop you from making a stupid decision?” Bongo asked them. He seemed to be one of the leaders of their group, and they all fell in line after that.

“Food’s in here,” I said, guiding them into the dining room, where Carmen had laid out a buffet. “Eat wherever you want.”

“I’d rather eat with the servants,” Mike said in an arrogant way. Just then Carmen and Javier came out and got plates.

“We don’t have servants, we have staff,” I replied acidly. “And I doubt they want to eat with you, but you can ask.” Carmen shook her head at him.

“I see you managed to find an asshole,” she said to me in Spanish.

“He’s got a bug up his ass, but the rest of his friends seem cool,” I replied in that language. A couple of Bongo’s friends giggled, because they must speak Spanish.

We hung out in the great room, the dining room, and the kitchen, getting to know each other, but every time I looked at Mike, he was glaring at me. When I busted him, he’d whisper some comment to the chick with him and they’d chuckle. The other dude that had come with him was pretty cool and spent a lot of time talking to Ryan and John about music. When Mike wasn’t glaring at me, he had a really sexy expression, one that was brooding, kind of like James Dean had mastered.

After we ate, we got our shit together to go down to the beach. It took us all a couple of trips to take our cooler with booze and firewood down. On the last trip I grabbed my bong, one I’d bought the last time I’d been in Paris. “Dude, this is beautiful,” some dude named Claude said. He was French-Canadian and was here with his girlfriend Shelly.

“Got it in Paris,” I said.

“Of course,” Mike said sarcastically. “I guess normal people aren’t allowed on this beach?”

“You’re here,” I said flatly. “Not quite sure you’re normal though.”

A couple of Bongo’s friends proclaimed themselves experts at lighting beach fires, so I happily left them to it. I packed my bong with some of the amazing weed we grew at Escorial and passed it around. It was funny to watch Mike take a hit grudgingly, as if he’d somehow polluted himself by smoking my elitist pot.

“Not only is this bong awesome, but this weed is kick ass,” Claude pronounced after it had gone around a couple of times. John and I smiled at each other knowingly, because we grew the best weed.

Everyone was bullshitting and having a good time except for Mike, who sat almost directly across from me with his arms folded. The light from the fire flickered and seemed to illuminate that continuous glare in his eyes. He was fast becoming the buzz-kill at this party, and bringing everyone down. I knew I had to do something to change the mood. “Hey Mike, can you help me with a few things?” I asked.

“Don’t you have staff to help you out?” he asked caustically, causing everyone to focus on him and his attitude.

“Dude, I was just asking you to help me carry some stuff down here,” I said. “Is that such a big deal?”

“Go help him,” Bongo said, annoyed. “Shit, they fed us and shared their wicked weed. Don’t be a fucking ingrate.”

“Fine,” he said, and followed me to the ramp that went back up to the house. When we were almost to the house, he broke the silence. “What do you need me to help you with.”

I turned to face him, glaring back at him for the first time. There was just enough light from the house for him to see my expression. “I need you to leave your fucking attitude here,” I said in a way that was anything but polite.

“Whatever,” he said, backing up a bit.

“Ever since you got here, you’ve been a total bitch,” I said, tearing into him. “I try to be nice, but you just glare at me and make snarky comments.”

“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings,” he said in a condescending way. It really was all I could do to restrain myself from jacking him hard in the stomach.

“You didn’t hurt my feelings, but you’re pissing me off. And not because I really give a shit what you think about me, but because you are totally ruining what would otherwise be a fun time,” I said.

“No one is having fun,” he said.

“No?” I asked. I paused to listen and heard rowdy laughter and shouting. “Now that you’re gone, sounds like everyone’s having a blast.”

“Oh, it’s all me,” he said.

“Yeah, it is,” I said. “So as I see it, you’ve got a couple of options. You can either tell me why you’ve got this total bug up your ass, or you can get the fuck out of here.”

“I didn’t drive here, I rode with friends,” he said in his totally bitchy way.

“I’m sure the staff would be more than happy to take you home,” I said. “They don’t like you either.”

“Typical rich white boy,” he said disdainfully. “Expect that the whole world will bow down and give you what you want.”

“It will this time,” I said. We stood there, staring at each other, until it became uncomfortable. I pulled out my dugout, packed a hit, and handed it to him.

He crinkled up his face in an unpleasant way, then took the bat and lit it. I watched his sexy lips wrap around the bat as he sucked in the marijuana and decided it was one of the more erotic things I’d seen. I led him over to the table and we did about three hits each. He handed me the bat to refill. “I hate to admit it, but this time you may be right. I’m sorry I was a douche.”

I smiled and took a hit. “It’s all good.” He nodded. “Why were you so pissed off at me?”

“Dude, just forget it,” he said.

“Seriously,” I said in earnest. “I want to know.”

“I was pissed at you because the Schluter Foundation is a sham charity,” he said. I stopped mid-hit and stared at him, shocked.