29. Tobias
29
Tobias
“And this kid walked out that night up $250 while I got nothin’!” Jude laughed, slapping his knee.
“It was my birthday! You said it was my night to win big.” I clutched my stomach. I’ve been laughing way too hard.
I loved summer nights like these. We were all wrapped up in blankets as the fire illuminated our faces. After the boardwalk, Elijah insisted that we all play with sparklers and lit fireworks to end the evening, to which we all happily agreed. It was incredible seeing his eyes light up as the different colors lit up his face. It took everything in me not to grab him and hold him close.
“You kids just make me so happy.” Jude sighed, shaking his head, staring at the fire.
My heart swelled. It meant the world to hear him say that. After the start we had on this trip, it means even more now.
“Yeah, well, you make it pretty easy. You’re kind of the happiest man on the planet.” Elijah laughed in his chair, squeezing the blanket wrapped around him tighter. He must be cold. I’ll give him my blanket in a bit.
“That’s not true.” Jude pointed at him. “You guys give me a lot to be happy about, which is why I’m so happy.” He reached out to hold Gwen's hand, and he smiled back softly at him. “You all make me so damn happy.” He squeezed her hand.
I looked at Elijah, who I was glad to see was already staring at me. My heart felt so full. I can’t deny it. The feelings I have for him run so deeply.
If this summer proves anything, it proves that we were always supposed to love each other. It’s our default mode. Not hate. Not envy. Just love.
I breathed in sharply, realizing what my brain just admitted.
I smiled down at my hands. I love Elijah. I love him so damn much.
“Okay, boys. I gotta call it a night.” Jude said, slapping his thighs and standing up.
“Oh, come on, it’s not even eleven yet,” Elijah whined.
“Yeah, you promised us you’d do an all-nighter like when we were little.” I laughed, kicking some dirt up at him with my shoe.
“I just can’t do it like I used to.” He yawned. Gwen stood up with him, nodding her head. “How about you boys go check out the loft in the boat house? You’ll have to be careful up there, but I cleaned it out when we got here. It’s pretty cool at night.” He said, grabbing the empty beer bottles around his chair.
My ears perked up. “The loft? I completely forgot about it.”
Elijah sat up in his chair, too. “You’ve got to be kidding. We used to have so much fun up there.”
“Yeah, it still has all your old toys and comic books up there. It’s worth a look. But I’m way too tired. You guys gotta do it without me.” Jude hiccuped, walking inside. Oh, he was so drunk. I laughed at that since I never really see him indulge in drinks.
Elijah and I had a couple of drinks since being back home, but nothing too much, just enough for me to gain the confidence to do what I’ve been dying to do.
“Wanna go–” I smiled at Elijah.
His lips curled up into one of his charming smiles with dimples I could eat.
“Right behind you.” He said, getting up from his chair.
Jude and Gwen were already inside by the time we made it to the boat house. Thankfully, there was a little light on the outside, so we weren’t completely in the dark.
“Hold my hand,” I whispered, reaching out for Elijah. He was still wrapped up in his blanket, looking adorable.
Elijah quickly did what I told him to do, poking his hand through the blanket and holding mine tightly.
Opening the door, we saw what we typically would see: the empty boat slip in the middle, swishing with dark water while the walls around were lined with life jackets, kayaks, and other boating merchandise.
“Over here,” Elijah whispered, flicking on a light next to us.
The house lit up, revealing everything more clearly, which was nice, including a staircase at the side.
“How did we forget about this?” I laughed, leading the way.
“I think we’ve been a little busy.” Elijah joked behind me.
We walked up the steps slowly, turning on the light once we got to the top.
The loft was just like how we had left it. But even better. As though it was straight out of a storybook, I looked around to see all the little lights decorating the walls, the stacks of comic books, video games, and toys tucked into the corners, and a huge Lightning McQueen Poster on the wall. This place would be every boy's clubhouse dream.
“This is insane,” Elijah said, bending down to pick up one of his old comic books. “I’ve been looking for this for so long.”
I laughed, taking it from his hands. “Batman, The Killing Joke. This one is a goodie,” I smiled, flipping through.
“Goodie? This isn’t just a goodie; this is a classic .” He said, tugging it back in his hands and flipping through the pages.
I watched him as he excitedly bit his lip. I love it when he gets excited.
I looked toward the center of the room, where a cot lay—the same one we had used to stay up all night, watching the stars through the lookout above us. I thought about how far we were from the house and how no one could hear us out here…
“I’ve got an idea.” I snapped back to reality. “Will you wait here for me?” I said, snuggling my face into his hair.
He turned to me. I saw a thought pass behind his eyes. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” He breathed.
“Okay.” I nodded. “But come back here right after.” I smiled.
“Okay.” He smiled back, dropping his blanket down on the cot.
We held each other's hands once again and walked back to the house. Splitting up once we got inside, I went to work, executing my plan.
I grabbed an empty grocery bag from underneath the sink and started filling it up with some items.
Running back outside, I realized Elijah wasn't back yet, which was perfect. I laid some pillows on the cot, set aside my portable speaker, and pulled out a vase filled with his favorite flowers. Placing the irises beside us, I tucked the rest of the items back into the bag and set it aside.
Pulling out my phone, I scanned through my playlist, picking and choosing the right songs. Thankfully, Elijah loves the same alternative/indie music that I do, so that was easy.
It’s been a good ten minutes or so, and I’ve officially turned restless. Elijah was taking his sweet time.
I lay down on the cot and started scrolling through TikTok when, all of a sudden, one of The Pizza Junction account videos popped up on my feed.
My eyes widened. Is that me?
I watched the video in amazement as it flicked through different shots of me busy at work. In the video, I’m laughing, smiling, and just having a great time. It's a weird feeling to be viewed by another person like this, but it’s so nice that someone cared enough.
Elijah’s the manager of this account, so he must’ve put this together. That made my chest feel so warm. He posted this over the March break, which means he saw me this way long before we started whatever this is together.
He did this when he hated me.
Did he ever really hate me at all?
I opened up the comments and was shocked once again. Hundreds of thousands of comments full of people just swooning over me.
“Holy shit!” I laughed. This video was a hit.
People from all over the world apparently thought I was attractive.
“Is that your video I keep hearing on repeat?” Elijah laughed, climbing up the stairs. “Trying to rack up those views, are you?” He smiled, rounding the corner and coming into view.
“I wouldn’t have to try too hard. Elijah, you did so well on this video. I don’t even know what to say.” I said, covering my face with my arm.
He flopped down on the cot beside me, watching the replay with me.
“You’re so beautiful.” He stated, laying his head on my chest. “It was hard not to film you.”
Beautiful? Woah. “It’s kind of crazy that you see me that way,” I said.
He lifted his head up and looked me over. “You really can’t see it, can you?”
“What?” I smiled, raking my fingers through his hair.
“How special you are.” He breathed.
My smile faltered once I realized how serious he was being.
Elijah grabbed my hand. “Tobias, people literally stop to stare at you all the time. The girls at our school. People on the street. Hell, did you see the cashier today in the sex shop? She was drooling over you. It’s not just because of your looks either, even though you are truly dashing, you Prince.” He smiled. “It’s your positive energy. It fills up a room. You make people happier, and you don’t even try.”
Elijah laid back down to stare at the stars above us. “You’re the best person, and you don’t even know it. You’re like a dolphin who thinks they’re a goldfish.”
“Elijah” I breathed. “Who would’ve thought being compared to a giant fish would be so romantic? That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I sighed, looking up at the stars.
“Good!” He laughed. “I love being the one to tell you nice things. I never want to stop.” He rolled over quickly to give me a soft and long kiss.
“What happened to the Elijah who didn’t want me to be in his life?” I smiled, looking down at his precious, slicked lips.
His smile faded from his face. “He’s done holding himself back from the best thing that’ll ever happen to him. ”
I swallowed deeply. “And what happened to the Elijah who hated me?” I was nervous to hear this answer.
Elijah picked up his head again and rolled over on my chest so he could look me in the eyes.
“Tobias… I never hated you. Not really. You consumed every thought I had. Even back in school, I was constantly thinking about you. I was always wondering how you were, and where you were going. I didn’t hate you… I hated how pathetic I felt. I’ve been hung up on you ever since our first kiss in grade school. Probably even before that, if I’m being really honest.” His eyebrows furrowed, and I realized how much courage it was taking him to say this. “Tobias, if I didn’t push you away…I never would’ve been able to let you go.”
I thought about his words. I never thought anyone would feel that way about me. Nonetheless him. All this time, he’s been feeling the same way I had been, and I had no clue.
“I used to wish you were lonely.” I blurted.
He looked at me, confused. “Romantic.” He smirked.
“No, listen.” I smiled. “I used to wish you were lonely so that you’d miss me. I wished so badly that you would call me.”
“Would you have picked up my call?” Elijah asked in a hushed voice.
“Any time. Always. Forever– ” I breathed.
In an instant, our lips collided. Our tongues tangled with each other. His hands gripped the back of my neck to pull me in while I grabbed his waist to hoist him on top of me.
Elijah closed me in with his legs, and I happily took advantage of this position by grabbing hold of his ass in my hands.
“Tobias,” he moaned softly between kisses.
Listening to his soft noises, I squeezed his hard dick through his pants.
“Yes, baby,” I answered, slowly slipping my fingers into the waistband of his black shorts and gently tugging them down.
“It’s my birthday,” he said breathlessly. Elijah pushed me down so my back hit the mattress, and I watched in awe as he pulled his beige oversized sweater up and over his head, revealing his beautiful body and V-lines even more. “and there’s one last thing that’ll make this night perfect.”
My mouth quirked up into a smile. “Really? Are you sure you’re ready?” I breathed, staring up at him. The moon illuminated around him, creating a halo effect.
“I’m 100% ready. I even… prepared for it.” He blushed, smoothing his hair back on the side of his head.
It took me a second to realize what he meant. My eyes went wide. “Holy shit! Was that why you took so long in the bathroom?” I laughed, sitting up to nuzzle my head in his neck.
“Shut up! Douching isn’t as easy as it sounds, okay? It was my first time.” He laughed, shoving me off. “Tobias, you’re making me shy, you dick.” He laughed, covering his face with his hands.
I laid back down on the cot and sighed, taking his hands into mine and laying them down on his chest. “I’m so fucking lucky. Honestly, it’s really sexy that you’d even prep for me. You’re the sexiest person I’ve ever known.” I smiled, rubbing my hands up and down his thighs.
“This is sexy.” Elijah gestured around the room. “This is sexy.” He pointed to my body, running his pointer finger softly down my abs. “ This is sexy .” He laid his hand flat across my heart, bending down and drowning me in another one of his intoxicating kisses.
“Okay,” I panted, trying to catch my breath. “Let’s celebrate your birthday.”