Crush (boy x boy)

Part II: Daniel

Part II: Daniel

I was actually having fun. Me, having fun at the beach! Who would say that such a thing was possible?

I used to hate summer time. Living in a town by the beach meant that, as soon as the weather got warmer, all my friends began to gather there pretty much everyday. Me, the only one who preferred to be anywhere else but by the ocean, was condemned to spend most of my free time alone.

In that particular day, I was left with no choice.

“Aw, come on! We’ll be playing volleyball most of the time. We won’t abandon you for the water, I promise!” Annie had said, for the nth time.

I’m one of the few males who can still say ‘no’ to Annie, probably because I know her since she was a skinny, breastless brat. This time, however, she begged so hard and for so long for me to join them that I ended up saying yes, on the condition that this would be a one time thing. And, surprisingly enough, I wasn’t regretting it.

That was, until Carol accidentally kicked the ball too hard and it ended up on his hands. I found this guy holding my ball as if he was frozen, not answering to my words, just staring at me and, for a moment there, I thought I might be in trouble. I don’t usually judge people by their looks, but the guy had ‘troublemaker’ written all over his face.

It was a false alarm, though. The boy was not a bully, I guess he had just jumped out of his nap or something. He gave me the ball and I went back to my friends not to think of him again. Or so I thought.

Minutes later, he showed up next to us. I was surprised, not for the action per se – when one hangs out with a bunch of pretty girls, it’s easy to get used to boys wanting to join out of nowhere – but because he was accompanied by an exact copy of himself. At first, I was unsure of which one of them had caught my ball, but it didn’t take me long to figure out. The way each one of them returned my gaze was entirely different. Even disregarding that, it was quite easy to tell them apart. Firstly, his brother was a funny, quick witted guy, while he was quiet, as if he was thinking of something else most of the time. Plus, his twin actually knew how to play volleyball.

When I was about to leave and he asked me to wait, I thought that maybe one of the girls had caught his eye and he was about to ask me her dating status, or phone number, or something. That was another thing I was used to. Instead, he just asked me my name, and in return I got to know his.

Michael. There had been a time in which the sound of that name would turn my insides into turmoil. Now, it caused only the familiar light pang in my chest that I swiftly dismissed by joking.

This Michael, he intrigued me. Just by exchanging a few words with him I realized I hadn’t glimpsed his true self so far. He was talkative, good-natured but provocative. All in all, he certainly wasn’t a quiet introvert.

I never had a lot of male friends. Most boys I know can’t talk of anything but sports and boobs and, since my personal interests go a little beyond that, I end up hanging out with girls most of the time. Michael felt different. Maybe it was the way he addressed me, like he actually wanted to be talking to me, and not to use me as a way to get closer to my friends. So, I ended up telling him I would be back the next day, even after I had so adamantly told Annie that I wouldn’t.

And that was how I ended up going to the beach two days in a row. The second time, however, didn’t promise to be as fun as the first one. The weather was much hotter, so the girls were not into volleyball. As soon as we found our spot on the sand, not far from the volley net, I was left to guard their valuables while they ran to the waves.