A Second Chance - 4. Choice

The weekend with Adam was nothing short of wonderful. I woke up on Saturday morning, well-rested and relaxed, feeling on top of the world. Seeing Adam sleeping next to me, his head nuzzled under my arm and one of his legs draped across mine, I felt so lucky to have him by my side.

As I glanced at the clock and saw it was only half past seven, I decided not to get up yet. I spent the next half an hour just lying there, listening to his breathing, watching his chest slowly rise and fall and enjoying the feeling of his warm skin on mine. However, nature called and I had to slowly disentangle myself from my handsome lover and go to the bathroom, careful not to wake him up. Despite my best efforts, by the time I returned Adam was awake, lying on his side with his head propped up on his right arm.

“Good morning.” His handsome smile told me he enjoyed last night as much as I did.

“Good morning,” I replied, returning to bed, wanting to be next to him again. “Did you sleep well? Sorry if I woke you up.”

“Mmm, like a baby,” Adam said, giving me a quick kiss. “No worries, it was time I woke up anyway.”

It was now his turn to visit the bathroom, and while he was brushing his teeth and getting dressed, I ordered breakfast to be brought to our room.

Soon, we were enjoying French toast, coffee, orange juice and an assortment of fruits. Adam insisted on feeding me grapes and strawberries, and let me tell you, I could get used to eating like that! I had trouble figuring out what it is I found more delicious – eating the fresh fruit or sucking on Adam’s fingers.

As we were lying just in our briefs and bathrobes, I slipped down and rested my head on Adam’s chest, allowing him to play with my long hair. I could tell he loved doing that, just as much as I loved running my fingers through his sexy chest hair – probably because my own upper body was nearly hairless. Feeling his heart beating and his fingers massaging my scalp, I was in heaven.

“So, did you leave someone behind in LA? You know, before Poa and all that?” Adam asked and I could feel some hesitation in his voice.

“You mean, like a boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“No, I’ve been single for a while now. I was seeing someone a few years back, a guy named David, but we broke up. We just weren’t right for each other, I guess. We realized we didn’t love each other enough to keep trying, so we ended it.”

“Yeah,” Adam said after a few moments. “Those things happen.”

“What about you? Any special someone I should know about? Other than Zack?”

Adam chuckled and I could feel his chest vibrating. It made me feel warm inside, being so close and feeling his reactions and movements.

“I told you about Zack, we’d just met. I doubt anything serious would’ve happened with him… even if you hadn’t shown up.”

I smiled even though I knew he couldn’t see it from his position.

“But there was someone else before him. Antony and I were together for two years.”

“What happened?” I asked softly.

“We just… drifted apart. My job, his job, we didn’t have time for each other anymore. Especially me. So he ended it. I don’t blame him, it was probably for the best. He went to Europe to ‘clear his head’,” Adam explained, making air quotes.

I wondered… How much was he hurt after the breakup? l felt bad about it, but I was glad it happened because now he was here, with me.

We spent some more time in bed, talking, kissing and cuddling, before we decided to get up and go to check out the pool. The hotel brochure showed two large indoor pools and I couldn’t wait to dive in and get wet.

The pool hall was huge and well-lit, with one wall being completely made of glass, allowing plenty of natural light inside. There was even a tropical bar nearby, decorated with nautical motifs.

The smaller, shallower pool was crowded because it had lots of children with their parents, but the slightly bigger, deeper one had much fewer people. We got into our swim trunks, left our clothes in a locker nearby and went in. The water was warm and pleasant and I came alive again. Spending all of my childhood in the ocean, I was so used to that environment. Unfortunately, in the past few months I didn’t get a chance to go swimming at all. Adam must’ve noticed my enthusiasm because he grinned at me and came closer.

“Couldn’t wait to get in, could you?” he asked.

“No! What can I say, I’m like a fish! Come on, I’ll race you to the other side!”

“You’re on!” Adam readily accepted my challenge and took his position.

“Ready, set, go!” I shouted and we were off.

I still had my moves and was soon torpedoing through the water, leaving him behind. With ease, I reached the other end of the pool, turning around and swimming back to our starting position. Adam was a few seconds behind me.

“Wow, you’re good!” he laughed as he finally caught up.

“I was raised on an island, what did you expect?” I chuckled and swam over, pulling him closer and planting a quick kiss on his lips. “Lucky for you I haven’t swam in months, so I wasn’t in my best shape.”

“You look so hot when you’re all worked up… and wet,” Adam replied, giving me a sultry look that made me horny.

As we swam some more, we were joined by a couple who seemed impressed by my swimming skills.

“I think this pool is too small for you to be practicing for the Olympics,” said the husband whose name we learned to be Mitch.

“We’re just playing around. I haven’t swam in a while, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things,” I said, laughing at his remark.

“You could definitely give Mitch a run for his money,” his wife Christine said, nudging her husband.

Both the man and his wife were also very good swimmers. We spent some time socializing with them, and I was glad to see they had no problem with me and Adam being a couple, which was evident from our displays of affection.

The next few hours were spent relaxing in the pool, playing in the water, splashing each other. Adam’s wet beard and chest hair looked even hotter and it took all of my self-control not to take him right then and there. If we’d been alone, who knows what would’ve happened. He was the perfect companion – engaging, playful and fun. With every moment that passed, I was more and more sure that my first impression of him wasn’t wrong – he was truly an amazing guy.

As much as I was enjoying every second with him, reality finally hit me on Monday morning, when he got up early to go to work. I was still lying in bed, watching him get dressed in his work clothes. He really looked good dressed so smartly!

“I’ll come straight here after work, and then we can go back to my place to check on Neptune, ok?” he said, leaning down to kiss me.

“You got it.”

“What are your plans for today? Gonna hang around here or go out?”

“Ummm, not sure yet. I have to call my folks home, tell them not to worry. Then I’ll probably go out, do some sightseeing.”

“Sounds good. Remember those spots I told you about,” he smiled and took his briefcase from the nearby chair.

“Well, I’m off. See ya later, babe!”

Another amazing kiss and he was gone. Left alone in the hotel suite, I couldn’t help but suddenly feel very alone. Adam’s life was here and he had to continue with it. He had work, friends, his own place. He couldn’t stay in the hotel with me forever. What was I to do? Could I just stay here? Move to Chicago permanently, try to find a job? I knew that the school I used to work at back in LA would probably take me back, but I didn’t want to leave Adam. Actually, that was the only thing I knew for sure – I didn’t want to leave him.

The phone rang a few times and I heard someone pick up.

“Hello?” It was my mom.

“Hey, mom,” I greeted her.

“Baby, it’s you!” Her joy was evident, even over the phone. “How are you? What’s it like in Chicago?”

“I’m good, mom, really good,” I said honestly. Next to Adam, I did feel amazing. “And Chicago is… Well, I haven’t seen much of it yet, but from what I can tell, I like it.” Having spent the past three days with Adam, we barely went outside, but mom didn’t have to know that. I chuckled at the thought.

“I’m glad to hear that! Are you eating well, dear?”

“I am, mom,” I rolled my eyes. Doesn’t matter that I was thirty-one, mom was always worried I would be hungry if she’s not there to cook. Typical mom, I thought.

We quickly caught up as she told me what she and dad were up to, about her eternal conflict with the neighbors whose kids always ruined her flowers, and all the other things I honestly didn’t care about, but would always listen to because she loved talking about them.

“So, when are you coming back?” she asked. I knew this would come up, but I was nonetheless unprepared. I didn’t know what to tell her because I didn’t know the answer either.

“Umm,” I thought for a moment. “I’m not sure yet, mom. We’ll see. I think I’ll be staying at least for now.”

I wanted to say I’ll be staying here indefinitely, but I knew very well that wasn’t possible, not with me being out of a job and a place to live. Yeah, I know Adam would be more than willing to take me in, but I couldn’t just freeload off of him. I still had the hotel booked for two more days, so whatever I was to do next, I’d have to decide sooner rather than later.

(Adam)

What was probably the most amazing weekend of my life was over, and I had to go back to work on Monday, despite my heart and body wanting to stay with Kaleo at the hotel. However, the thoughts of what we did these past few days, and the knowledge that I’ll see him again that afternoon, had kept my spirits high. My good mood was apparently obvious, because as soon as I entered the office that morning everyone noticed I was happier than usual and started teasing me about it.

“And why are you so chipper?” Sophie smirked at me.

I poured myself a cup of coffee, stalling for time.

“What, can’t a guy be happy on a Monday morning, the start of the new work week?” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, nice try. I take it the date with Zack went well?” She really loved being right and the look on her face showed that she was confident she was.

“Well, yeah it did, but not with Zack,” I grinned, watching her face suddenly transform from smug confidence to confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I got a surprise visit from someone… Someone I never thought I’d see again,” I said dreamily.

“Oh, you mean that ex you told me about… Antony?”

“No, not him,” I shook my head. “A guy I’m in love with.” I surprised myself perhaps as much as Sophie for saying it out loud, but as I uttered it, I realized I wasn’t afraid of it. I knew what I was feeling and I embraced it! Telling that to Kaleo would be an entirely different matter, though.

“Wow, so it’s that serious?!” Sophie whispered excitedly as she lightly hit me on the arm. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Kaleo and we met a few months ago while I was on vacation in the Pacific.”

“How romantic,” she said, not knowing the actual circumstances of how we met. I wasn’t going to explain the whole story to her; better to let her think it was romantic, why not? “I wanna hear all about it next weekend!”

Sophie and I would go out for drinks usually once a week, sometimes after work and sometimes on a Saturday. It was our little ritual that we quickly settled into after I started working at ‘Sunshine’.

“Ok, you will,” I winked.

I finished my lunch quickly, wanting to go to the common area and see what the kids were doing. I knew I wouldn’t have the time to do it after work because I wanted to return to Kaleo as soon as possible. I still wasn’t sure how long he was staying, so I wanted to spend every moment with him that I could.

The kids had already finished lunch and some of them were playing in groups, while others were reading or watching TV. My eyes went to the armchair by one of the windows and I saw Doug sitting there, just like last time. I went over and sat next to him, hoping he’d talk to me more this time.

Just like the previous time we spoke, he sat with his legs up on the chair and a big book in his hands.

“What’s on the menu today? Joseph Conrad!” I said, looking at the cover of the book.

“Yeah, I love Heart of Darkness.”

“Me too, but Freya of the Seven Isles is probably my favorite story by him.”

“I don’t think I read that one,” he replied after a pause.

“I can bring you my copy if you want.”

“Really? Thank you,” he said in a surprised voice.

“No problem. You know, I don’t mind blind dates, but I usually like seeing the face of the person I’m talking to,” I teased since he refused to move the book from his face. After a few seconds, I could see why.

As he hesitantly lowered the book, I saw a big bruise under his left eye. He looked down in embarrassment.

“What happened, Doug?”

“As usual… Got hit at school,” he said dejectedly.

“What for?”

“What do you think – for being gay. Not like I asked to be this way… I hate it.”

The look on his face broke my heart. I just wanted to console him and assure him everything would be alright.

“Hey, look at me,” I said, taking the book from his hands and putting it aside. “I know what you’re going through because I went through the same thing when I was your age.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Guess what, they didn’t like gay kids back then either,” I gave a humorless laugh. He looked at me intently.

“And I’ll tell you what – the biggest mistake you can do right now is to say nothing and let it keep happening. You can’t do that. I know it seems embarrassing, but you have to tell your parents.”

“As if they would care,” he rolled his big brown eyes. “They kicked me out when they found out I was gay.”

“That’s why you’re here,” I said, more of a statement then a question. Doug just nodded.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Then we need to talk to your teachers, the school principal, and even the parents of the kid who beat you. I’ll call them all if you want to.”

Doug looked at the window, thinking. I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do.

“I don’t know…”

“If we do nothing, this,” I pointed at his eye, “is going to keep happening.” He nodded, probably realizing I was right. Still, there was fear and uncertainty in his eyes and I hated seeing him like this. I preferred when he was being a smartass like last time.

“Also, if you want, the shelter can arrange that you change schools. We can enroll you in a school that’s nearby, and someone from the shelter will go with you to explain the situation to the principal. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Now, have you had lunch yet?”

“No,” he shook his head.

“Come on then, go up to the dining room, and I’ll go talk to the boss, see what we can do about this,” I patted him on the shoulder as we got up. “And don’t worry, we’ll sort this out.” I gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back. Now that’s better!

As I went upstairs to talk to my boss, I ran into Jason and Chance, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. Once they saw me, they went quiet and approached me.

“Hey Adam, have you seen Doug?” Chance asked.

“Yeah, he’s in the dining area, having lunch.”

“Uh, you think he’ll want to talk to us?”

“I think he could use a friend or two right now. He got beaten at school,” I whispered. Chance looked worried, while Jason’s face immediately showed signs of anger.

“Some kids are fucking assholes!” he spat angrily.

“Hey, watch it.”

“Sorry, Adam,” Jason apologized.

“He doesn’t want your pity, though. He doesn’t like people feeling sorry for him.”

“Of course,” Chance nodded. “I wanna go talk to him, tell him he can count on us.”

“Ok, just don’t push him,” I said and went my way. These two were good kids and I hoped Doug would open up to them. You can never have too many good friends.

After informing the boss of what happened with Doug, I went back to the office, where I spent the rest of the day worried about the boy. Even though I couldn’t do anything yet, I couldn’t help feeling concerned for him.

Still, I could hardly wait for the end of the day to go back to the hotel and Kaleo. After everything that happened, I needed his closeness and his affection to lift me back up. He was like the light at the end of the tunnel, a face that brought me joy as soon as I looked at it. I finally had someone other than Neptune that I looked forward to seeing after coming home from work.

It was at that point that I realized I couldn’t let him go that easily. When I return to the hotel, I’m asking him to move in with me.