Chapter 2
2
MALACHI
One Year Later – Nineteen Years Old
Every year at the end of the summer before school started up again, my family and Jesse’s would go camping at a lake an hour or so from where we lived. We’d fish, rent kayaks, hike, and also play games like disc golf, horseshoes, volleyball and cornhole. It was a blast, so even though Jesse and I had graduated last year, we still went with our folks.
And Jasper.
Jasper Bennett, my best friend’s younger brother.
The summer before he started high school, he told all of us he was gay. I’d always thought he was cute, but, I knew he was off limits because if things were to happen between me and him, Jesse would cut off my balls.
Besides, no one knew I was bi. Not even my best friends. Before graduating, I was known around school as a ladies’ man.
And I was.
Every chick wanted a piece of me, especially when they heard me sing. Who was I to deny them? I could melt their panties off as I serenaded them. It was kinda my thing and that hadn’t changed since leaving high school.
What had changed in the last year was I’d finally hooked up with a guy.
One night, I went to a gay nightclub that had an eighteen and over night. I was nervous and excited as I walked into Chrome alone, and I was instantly drawn to a guy sitting at the bar. We hit it off and ended up fooling around in his car. We hadn’t had sex, but having his rough hands work me as he blew me had been a whole new experience, one that’d made me come harder than I ever had with a girl.
With X Ambassadors blaring through the speakers of my yellow Jeep Wrangler Sport, I took the exit for the lake as I followed behind my parents. I’d opted to drive so we could bring more stuff for the week, and Jesse rode with me. His folks, Jasper and Jasper’s friend were already at the campsite. I was looking forward to seeing Jasper shirtless for seven days.
Jesse turned down the stereo and said, “I was thinking we should apply to be on The Band Showdown .”
I furrowed my brow as I glanced at him. “The reality show?”
“Yeah, bro. How else are we going to catch a break?”
Our band, Surrender, had been playing together for six years. It was me, Jesse and our best friends, Elliott and Silas. Jesse was our lead guitarist and backup vocals, Silas was the drummer, Elliott played bass, and I was the lead singer and played a few chords here and there when I needed to. Our sound had a pop-rock feel, and we covered bands like X Ambassadors, Twenty One Pilots, and Imagine Dragons. We had a few songs we’d written ourselves, but mostly, we played what people knew.
“I don’t know.” I blew out a breath. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone will discover us when we’re playing at Flanagan’s.”
“Right.” Jesse snorted. “I think we’ll have a better chance trying out for a reality show than praying someone will stumble upon us at some random Irish pub.”
“Have you mentioned this to Elliott and Silas?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Just thought of it right now.”
“Well, I guess we can ask them when we’re back home.”
“I’ll look into all the details tonight.”
“All right.” I nodded and pulled into the parking lot at the campground. After parking beside my parents, we piled out, including my sister, Norah, and her friend Gabby from my parent’s car. We all got to work unloading our vehicles and then walked to the campsite where Jasper and his parents were setting up one of the tents. I saw no sign of Jasper’s friend around. Interesting.
After we said our hellos, we started to set up our tents too. The entire time, I couldn’t help but steal glimpses of Jasper—his dirty blond hair reflecting the sunlight, the faint sheen of sweat glistening on his tanned skin. He flashed me a smile when he caught me looking once, and my heart did a little flip, despite the familiar warning bells ringing in my head.
“No friend?” I asked him.
“AJ couldn’t make it.”
“Ah.”
While hammering stakes into the ground and securing the guy lines, I glanced over my shoulder and caught Jasper looking at me. And because I couldn’t help myself, I winked at him.
“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Jesse asked as we got the final stake in the ground.
I shrugged. “Probably the usual. You know, a bonfire, roast some marshmallows, scare the shit out of Norah and her friend with ghost stories.”
Jesse grinned. “Yeah, probably, but maybe a little night fishing? That was fun last year.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it was.”
As we finished setting up camp, I looked around at the other campsites, wondering if I might find a girl to take my mind off of the guy I couldn’t have.
Mom and Mrs. Bennett set out chips and drinks for all of us while Jasper and Mr. Bennett manned the grill, cooking burgers and hot dogs for everyone. After we all had our plates, we gathered around the crackling fire and pigged out.
Once our parents went to bed, Jesse and I grabbed our poles and headed toward the shore to fish, but neither one of us caught a bite.
The next morning, I rolled over to see Jasper wasn’t in his sleeping bag. I climbed out of mine, and left Jesse to continue sleeping in the tent.
“Morning,” I greeted my friend’s brother as he stood next to one of the coolers.
“Morning,” he replied and cracked open an energy drink. After Jesse and I had fished—or tried to—we’d come back to the camp and found our parents asleep and Jasper playing cards with Norah and Gabby. I had no idea if he went to bed or not.
I grabbed a fruit punch energy drink and opened it. “How are you even awake right now?”
“Who said I went to sleep?” He smirked.
I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you stayed out late to hook up with Gabby.”
He snorted a laugh. “Nothing like that. I don’t think it was much longer after you and Jesse went to bed.”
“Guess I passed out. Didn’t even hear you come in.”
“Or I’m just good at sneaking around.”
A grin spread across my face. “Good to know.”
Before he could reply, the zipper of my parents’ tent opened and both of them crawled out.
“Morning,” I greeted.
“You boys are up early,” Mom stated as she stretched.
Dad went straight for the instant coffee supply. “After hearing you kids playing cards all night, I expected all of you to sleep until noon.”
Jasper shook his head. “Needed to get breakfast started for everyone and then I was thinking of going for a hike before it gets too hot.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Mom grabbed a coffee cup.
“That does,” I said. “Maybe I’ll go too.”
“Go where?” Jesse yawned behind me.
I turned as Jasper replied, “For a hike.”
“Maybe you should bring your sister and Gabby,” Mom suggested. “Gabby’s never been here, remember?”
When I said maybe I’d go too, I didn’t mean as a group. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Jasper cocked an eyebrow, and I shrugged slightly. “Hope you didn’t want to go alone.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “The more the merrier.”
After breakfast, we kids changed into clothes to go hiking. As I waited for everyone else, Gabby walked out of the tent she was sharing with Norah and sat next to me on the picnic table.
“How far are we going to hike?” she asked.
I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“What if we see a snake?”
“Then we see a snake.”
“What if we see a bear?”
“Then we see a bear.”
She ran her finger down my bicep. “Will you protect me from a bear?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “You’re Norah’s friend. I don’t think she’d be too happy if I let anything happen to you.”
Gabby leaned in a little closer. “Oh, come on. Just because I’m friends with your sister doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.”
I stood up, glancing around to see if anyone was coming. “I think we should focus on the hike. Besides, I’m sure there won’t be any bears.”
“You’re no fun,” she teased with a little pout on her lips.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to find the right words to put a stop to her attempt at flirting, but before I could, Jasper came out of the tent, saving me. For a split second, I could have sworn I saw a look of jealousy cross over his face.
Once everyone was ready, we headed out, but not even five minutes into the walk through the woods, Gabby stopped and whined, “Can we go back now?”
All of us turned, and Norah asked, “You want to go back already?”
“Yeah. I’m not much of an outdoorsy person,” Gabby replied.
“You came camping,” I deadpanned.
Gabby lifted a shoulder. “I thought we’d swim in the lake the whole time.”
“We’re doing that after,” Jesse stated.
“It’s fine. Let’s go back.” Norah blew out a breath and gave me a tight smile. I returned it and the girls turned and walked back toward the campsite.
“Chicks, man. Am I right?” Jesse clapped me on the back.
“You know it.” I chuckled and then glanced at Jasper. He rolled his eyes, and we started back on the trail.
As we hiked along the path, the sun filtered through the trees, providing a little bit of shade from the heat at times. Jesse led the way, and I couldn’t help but notice Jasper lagging.
“Hey, you doing okay?” I asked, dropping back to walk alongside him.
He shrugged. “Just tired, I guess.”
“Yeah, only a few hours of sleep will do that to you.”
“Thought the energy drink would help.”
“Only temporarily.”
“Right.” He snorted.
A few more steps down the trail, a buzzing caught my attention, and then suddenly, Jasper yelped. “Ow! What the ...”
As I looked over at him, panic surged through me as I remembered his allergy. “Shit! Were you just stung by a bee?”
He nodded, his bright blue eyes wide. “Yeah, and I don’t have my EpiPen on me. It’s back at camp in my bag.”
Without hesitation, Jesse bolted back down the trail as he called out, “I’ll go get it!”
I knelt beside Jasper as he sank to the ground, his head between his legs as if his lungs were closing up. I supposed they were, and my heart thumped rapidly as I tried not to show how worried I was about him. “Hey,” I murmured, “you’re gonna be okay. Jesse will get your EpiPen, and everything will be fine.”
Jasper managed a weak smile as he lifted his head slightly. “You’re right, it’s just ... scary, you know?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, my heart aching for him. “But you’re not alone. I’m right here with you.”
As I spoke, I felt something wash over me. It was like a warmth spreading through my chest that had nothing to do with the summer sun. At that moment, with Jasper’s hand in mine, I realized just how deeply I cared for him. I could tell myself it was only a crush, but deep down, I knew it was more.
“Malachi,” Jasper whispered. “Thank you.”
I met his gaze. “For what?”
“For being here,” he said simply, his eyes searching mine.
“Always.” I couldn’t take the silence as we waited, so I finally asked, “Wanna play a game?”
“Sure, what game?”
“How about the questions game?” I suggested.
He nodded. “All right. You ask first.”
“Okay.” I thought for a moment. “If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?”
“Hmmm well, I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights. I think it would be so cool to see.”
“Yeah, it would,” I agreed, glad to see a spark of enthusiasm in his eyes. “Your turn.”
He hesitated for a beat, then asked, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
I didn’t have to think twice. “Definitely flying. Imagine soaring above the trees, feeling the wind in your hair, and getting to places faster.”
Jasper nodded. “Yeah, that would be awesome.”
We continued exchanging questions, each one a brief distraction from the worry gnawing inside me. I could see rashes start to appear on his arm, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to draw attention to it. He was already having difficulty breathing with each passing minute, and that gave us both enough to panic about.
Finally, Jesse ran up the trail and I stood, moving out of the way so he could get to Jasper. In a flash, he stuck his brother in the leg and administered the medication, and I felt my body relax.
Jesse handed Jasper a bottle of water. “You good?”
“I will be. Thank you.” Jasper took a sip. “Mom and Dad freaking out?”
Jesse shook his head. “They weren’t there.”
“Thank god.”
“Well, I’m just happy I didn’t need to give you mouth-to-mouth.” I winked at Jasper.
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have pushed you away.”
“Okay, gross.” Jesse shuddered playfully.
“Are you ready to head back to camp? We can take it slow,” I said to Jasper.
“Give me a few minutes.”
Once he was ready, I walked next to him, then said low so only he could hear me, “I wouldn’t push you away if you kissed me, either.”
After everyone called it a night, Jesse, Jasper, and I crawled into our tent. Each of us found entertainment on our phones as I lay in the middle of them. The afternoon had taken a turn because once we were back at the campsite, Jasper had gone with his parents to the hospital to get checked out. Luckily, it wasn’t far and they weren’t away but for a few hours. Once they had come back and said everything was going to be okay, I had felt a weight lift from me.
“So, we have to submit a video,” Jesse said out of the blue.
I turned my head to face him. “For what?”
“For The Band Showdown ,” he replied.
“You guys are trying out for a reality show?” Jasper asked.
“Your brother wants to,” I answered.
“It can’t hurt,” Jesse said.
He was right, but it had never crossed my mind until he had suggested it the day before. Maybe it would be our big break.
I glanced at Jasper. “Will you vote for us?”
“No way! I’ve heard you guys play.” He grinned.
A smile tugged at my lips as I knew he was joking. “Ouch. You know we’re the best band around.”
“I’m teasing. Yes, I’ll vote for you guys.”
“I’m still doing research,” Jesse advised, not batting an eye at what me and Jasper were joking about. “But yeah, we totally should do this.”
After some time, Jesse shut off his phone and curled on his side, turning away from us. Once I thought he was asleep, I rolled onto my side and faced Jasper. Reaching out tentatively, my fingers brushed against his hand where it rested between us. He met my gaze and furrowed his brow.
“Are you still doing okay after what happened earlier?” I whispered.
He nodded, his lips curling into a faint smile. “Yeah.”
“Good. Have to admit, I was pretty freaked out.”
“You were?” He rolled so we were face to face.
“Hell yeah. You mean a lot to me.”
His eyes widened. “I do?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
He shrugged the best he could while lying on his side. “I don’t know. You’re my brother’s best friend.”
“What if I wanted to be more?”
He stared at me for a few long seconds. “More?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Are you serious?”
Leaning forward, I closed the distance between us, my lips meeting his in a gentle, light press. Jasper’s hand moved to cup my cheek and deepened the kiss. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and the electricity between us sent shivers down my spine.
Once we pulled apart, I asked, “Does that answer your question?”
“That one, but I have a lot more.”