“And what happens when you leave at the end of the summer? Do we just go back to our lives like they were before?”
“Is that something you think you can do?”
Gabriel wasn’t sure at first. Whatever this connection was with Drew, it was powerful. He wanted to see more of him, and he wanted to keep exploring Drew’s body. He wanted to make love and to spend hours talking to him. He wanted to learn everything there was to know about Drew, to share everything about himself, to watch the sunset over Lake Michigan, and share a bottle of wine. He wanted to know what Drew was reading, and read the same things so they could talk about them. He wanted a romance.
“Yes,” he said, “I think I could.”
“It will be hard to leave you,” Drew admitted.
“It will be hard for me to let you leave, but I’ll have to.”
“And I’ll have to go,” Drew said sadly.
“Let’s not think about that right now,” Gabriel said. He took Drew’s hand and squeezed it. “We have the summer, and we’re in this magical place, and I don’t believe anything happens by coincidence. I think we were meant to meet, for whatever reason, and I don’t want to let you go until I have to. And if, or when, I have to, then I will.”
“You make it sound easy,” Drew said.
“It won’t be easy.”
“No, it won’t be,” Drew whispered.
“You’re one of a kind, I think,” Gabriel said.
“And so are you.”
Drew pulled Gabriel closer, and they lay together on the bed for a while, not talking, but cuddled close and holding hands. Outside, the afternoon went on, and liquid amber light filtered through the large bedroom windows.
“Dinner?” Drew suggested after they’d been lying there for a long time.
“Dinner,” Gabriel agreed.
They showered together in Drew’s large shower, got dressed in only their underwear, and went to the kitchen. Drew put on a record and played music while they cooked together, a simple meal of pillowy cheese ravioli, fresh sliced tomatoes with lemon and olive oil and basil, and crisp white wine.
They ate on the deck looking out over the Lake, and talked for a very long time. Drew was easy to talk to, and Gabriel was greedy to learn anything and everything he could about Drew. They were halfway through the bottle of wine when they started kissing again, right there on the deck, and Gabriel pulled Drew’s underwear down and sucked his dick. There was no one close enough to see them, and he was so desperate for more of Drew that he needed him right then.
He released Drew from his mouth just before Drew came, and Drew came on Gabriel’s face, exactly where Gabriel had wanted it. He licked his lips clean of cum, and then kissed Drew again. He wanted to spend the night, and Drew had offered, but he knew that if he spent the night, they wouldn’t get any sleep. They both needed sleep. Drew agreed that he would come to the camp tomorrow to talk to Gabriel’s parents and figure out how it would work for him to volunteer as the coach at the camp.
It was nighttime by now, and neither of them was ready for Gabriel to leave. They had spent the whole day together, a perfect summer day, and they weren’t ready for the day to end. So instead of letting it end, they sprawled on the big couch in the living room, cuddled close, and watched an old movie and finished the bottle of wine. Gabriel was careful not to drink too much, because he still wanted to be able to drive home.
When the movie was over, he knew he needed to leave. They kissed one more time and agreed that they would see each other tomorrow. They didn’t make specific plans, but Gabriel knew exactly what he wanted to do. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon they would make love.
Part 2
Chapter 12
Drew
When Drew woke up the next day, he felt happyand ready for the day for the first time in a while. He didn’t think immediately about Quentin, who had been the first thing on his mind most days that he had woken up since Quentin had ended things. He felt like a new man, ready for what the summer would hold. He didn’t want to think about the end of the summer, which would mean the end of his romance with Gabriel. He didn’t want the romance to end, but if he went into it knowing that it had an expiration date, he hoped he would be okay. Maybe this was what he needed, a summer romance to cleanse his palate, to reset his system after the heartbreak with Quentin. He knew that something like this could be setting him up for another heartbreak, but he could already feel that his heart was stronger than it had been before, and wouldn’t break as easily as it had in the past.
He went through his morning routine with a smile on his face, or almost on his face. He worked out and ran, and the entire town seemed to have even more beauty than it had had before. It was a new day, and a new chapter to live, and he was ready to figure out what the chapter would hold.
He had some questions about Orion’s Belt Hockey Camp and what had happened there yesterday, but he wasn’t worried. He was a practical, pragmatic person, and he didn’t think the camp was haunted. It was probably some campers or counselors pulling a bad prank. If they tried something like that with him, he’d have words with them. And they wouldn’t frighten him. He didn’t believe in ghosts, though Gabriel had changed his mind about some aspects of the supernatural.
After his workout and his run, he ate a large breakfast, which he cooked himself, and dressed in a practical outfit of khaki shorts and a plain gray T-shirt. He poured his coffee into a thermos and texted Gabriel.
Drew: Yesterday was incredible. Thank you for showing me around Orion and for spending the day with me. I felt more like myself than I’ve felt in a long time, and it’s thanks to you. I’ve thought a lot about the Tarot reading and about new beginnings, and I’m excited for this new chapter that’s beginning. I don’t know how long the chapter is but I think it’ll be a good one. Thank you for being a part of it. I’ll see you soon, if you’re at camp. <3
Gabriel didn’t respond immediately, but Drew knew that Gabriel had early mornings because of camp, and might already be working.
