Loose Ends

004.

Cai wakes up on July 4th with sore lips and a pounding heart. He'd dreamed about Park the whole night, causing the barely noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

He'd managed to convince his parents to let Jude, Weston and Everett come up for the Fourth, and the four had the whole day planned out. Scouting out hot girls, swimming -- just getting into trouble in general.

Of course, this plan had been made before Cai snuck off to make out with a boy in the middle of a party his parents were hosting.

Still, he doesn't get to see the guys much in the summer, so he decides not to let the opportunity go to waste.

He forces himself to get out of bed, pulling on a button down and a pair of skinny jeans -- which was about as casual as it got with Caius.

He's just about to walk out the door when his phone buzzes in his pocket, telling him there's a new message in the group chat between him and his friends -- Weston had named it 'The Fantastic Four" inspired by his slightly embarrassing obsession with anything involving superheroes.

Jude: dude are u coming
Jude: Everett is talking to me about Holly

Caius bites back a smile at the texts. Holly and Everett have been dating for three months now and are in the midst of the honeymoon stage, everyone thinks they're unbearable. Especially Jude.

Jude: help me Wes is talking about captain America now
Wes: shut up Jude
Caius: I'm coming relax

He shoves his hand back into his pocket, waving a quick goodbye to his parents before climbing into his jeep and beginning the quick drive to Margaret's, the cafe the guys always visited when they came to visit Caius in the Hamptons.

He feels his shoulders relax when he enters the cafe, the familiar atmosphere immediately bringing a smile to his face. It's a bit rundown, the carpet faded and the lights dull, but it's homey; welcoming.

"Caius! You're here!" Everett comes bounding towards him, closely followed by Weston and Jude, who all wrap Caius up in a hug.

"Guys, it's only been like a month" Caius laughs, but it feels good to be back in the company of his friends, so he hugs them back.

"We better stop before one of these fuckers blows an aneurysm," Wes mutters. A few people are staring, and Caius just ducks his head sheepishly and follows the guys back to their booth.

"So Caius, how's the Hamptons so far? Met any hot girls yet?" Wes groans at Jude's question, the boy's been a tad girl crazy since he broke up with his girlfriend Monica a few weeks ago. Caius hasn't exactly come out to his friends yet, it's not that he thinks they won't accept them he just hasn't figured out how to do it yet, he will though -- one day.

Still, he blushes at the question, shrugging his shoulders and muttering out a quiet "nah," praying that they don't push him.

But they do, of course they do.

"Oooh he's blushing! Little Caius is blushing!" Everett reaches over across the table to pinch his cheek, earning a slap from Caius.

"So who's the lucky lady then, Caius? Is it that Sally chick who used to be obsessed with you? Please tell me it isn't her, she tried to grab my ass at that one party when we were like 12."

Caius laughs, shaking his head. "It's not Sally, definitely not Sally."

"Well, who is it then? C'mon man, you've gotta tell us." Weston smiles in a way that's probably supposed to be encouraging, but it just makes nerves twist in Caius' stomach.