Beats shook his head, appearing more surprised than anything else. “Why? What’s in it for you?”
I forced my eyes up, embarrassed. “Isn’t it obvious? If you’re off the streets, we can hang out together.”
He stared at me. “And that’s what you want? To hang out with me?”
“Only if you want to.”
He didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure why.
“What’s in the box?” he asked, flipping the lid to look. Inside were men’s swim shorts in every conceivable waistband size. My mom kept a supply in the pool house for the occasional brother who forgot to bring his over, although she also kept sizes that went all the way back to their childhood. With Beats being so long and lanky, I wasn’t sure what would fit his waist, so I brought everything.
“Take your pick.”
I watched as he rifled through the lot, holding some up to test the waist. “Does your family own a surf shop or something?”
“I have five brothers… and a pool,” I said by way of explanation.
Beats finally settled on a pair of Kyle’s old trunks—no surprise considering the two shared a similar body type. We walked side by side to the park’s entrance, casting furtive glances at one another as we went. Without his buckets and clothes and baggage to weigh him down, Beats could have passed for any other teenager. And that was the point—to make him feel like a kid again, if only for one day.
* * *
My drummer layon his back, his eyes closed and his head floating in the water. With his face angled up toward the sun and his body soaking in the rays, Beats was in the REM portion of the afternoon. He’d earned it. From the minute he’d stepped out of the water park bathroom freshly showered and wearing my brother’s brightly colored swim trunks, it had been a whirlwind of activity. We spent the time running from one waterslide to the next. Some we rode alone, while on others his arms were firmly around my waist, keeping us locked when we hit the water.
While we waited in the long lines, we got to know each other. I told him all about my family, though leaving out the single most noteworthy bit. It wasn’t that I actively wished to deceive Beats, but keeping our budding relationship Jake-free allowed him to focus solely on me, and not what my brother brought to the table. I knew how musicians were, and Jake would be a huge lure.
I might’ve felt bad about keeping that information away from him had Beats been an open book about his own life. But he wasn’t. Not even close. I had to fight and claw for every tiny piece of information, and even then, most of it I suspected wasn’t true. See, according to Beats, he had no parents ‘that he knew of,’ but actually, he might’ve known who they were.Huh?Oh, and he had a sister. Kinda. Sorta. But not really. Couldn’t remember her name either.Okay.He was a junior in high school; but wait, he was also a senior. And he was born and raised in Los Angeles, although he might’ve also lived out of state… but probably not. You get the idea.
Beats was lying so hard about his past that I half expected his head to blow off partway through his fictitious storytelling. But I wasn’t offended. If Beats felt the need to keep his history close, there had to be a reason, and it wasn’t my place to force it out of him. He didn’t trust me yet; I got that. He barely knew me. But he would, and someday, I’d be the person who knew all his secrets. And he’d be the one to know all of mine.
There was something else I noticed about Beats as he lied his way through the afternoon. He would alternate from being the animated, flirty smart-ass from our conversation last night to losing himself in thought. I asked him once if everything was okay, but that only led to him playing the finger drums all the way up the staircase to the Aqualoop, and that was a long-ass line. Obviously, something was stressing him, but I knew if he couldn’t even get his story straight about what grade he was in school, he certainly wouldn’t be spilling the dirt on whatever was bothering him.
Thankfully, all the lying was behind him as he floated down the lazy river with seemingly not a care in the world. For the first time all day, he was still. No tapping of his fingers. No bouncing up and down on his toes. And the stress line between his eyes—the crease that deepened as he scanned the periphery with an eagle’s eye—had completely vanished. I thought this might be as close to peace as this boy got, and I felt a sense of victory being the one who gave it to him. Beats would soon return to his world of stress and worry, but for one short, lazy afternoon, he could take a well-deserved breather.
I turned to my side on the inner tube and watched him. God, he was attractive. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I wasn’t going out on a limb here by saying that most people would find him striking, with his medium-length hair, lanky build, and half-naked body. Of course, he came with a few modern upgrades, like a nipple piercing and a bucket lei.
I was used to the guys at my school who were beholden to the norm. Someone like Beats, who was unapologetically himself, was cool without even trying, and I, for one, appreciated his lack of effort. So, it seemed, did many others. I’d noticed girls staring, and I felt a sense of pride being the one walking beside him. If he was aware of how popular he was with the ladies, he didn’t let it be known. His focus was on me… and the lies that carried him through the day.
Perhaps sensing me staring, Beats stirred on his inner tube, raising an arm to block out the sun before turning his head and squinting over at me.
“A picture will last longer.”
“I know. I’ve already taken a few.”
“You have?” he asked, not seeming entirely thrilled.
“No.”
That wasn’t true. I’d taken some.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”
“You would know.”
“What does that mean?”
“Have you said one truthful thing to me all day?”
A smile swept his face as he cast his gaze downward, hair falling over his face. I gulped. “One.”
