The Island - Chapter 2

Sometimes things aren't how we want them to be. I want summer to arrive already because this ridiculous rain is annoying. And I want all the words to come quickly.

That's not too demanding, is it?

Either way, I'm determined to keep bringing you these early Island chapters. The newsletter subs will start getting them every two weeks from July 1st. By then you'll be way ahead of the game and you can tease them all 😂

Last time we saw Gabe on the ferry about to arrive at the island. Who's going to pick him up?

Keep on reading to find out!

Zak

What do you do when your best friend asks you to pick up his little brother from the ferry terminal while he, his two husbands and father prepare for the welcome home party of the year?


You say yes, of course. 


So that's what I did. Like the best friend that I was.

Even when the thought of seeing Gabe for the first time in two years unsettled me more than I cared to admit.

It was probably a good idea to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. He’d get off the ferry, we’d share an awkward hug, he’d pretend he didn’t know about the surprise party, I’d pretend I hadn’t missed him every single day of the last two years, and we’d make awkward conversation all the way home.

The home he shared with his dad. The place I’d also called home for the last two years. The reason I couldn’t allow myself to think about Gabe as anything other than my best friend’s younger brother. No matter how differently I may have behaved two years ago.


I owed everything to my best friend Jake and his family. We'd been best friends since college, hooking up whenever one of us needed the release. We knew each other’s most intimate secrets and most of all we knew we would both always be there for each other.

My friendship with Jake had been solid, but we didn’t truly test it until I turned up at his doorstep two years ago needing somewhere to stay. With a mask firmly in place I'd come to search for the same solace I'd found during my college years. Except Jake had fallen in love both with his boss, Mal, and his husband, Griff.

I hadn’t wanted to be in the way of my friend, but his father’s business had needed me, and then the island needed me, so I’d stayed.

Two years later and the trio were more in love than ever and I had carved myself a little spot in the family and in the community. I was Jake’s best friend, and in Gabe’s absence I’d become a surrogate son of sorts to Frank, who’d become everything my own dad hadn’t been from the day I came out as gay.


My phone rang for the third time in ten minutes. 
"Jake, dude, you need to chill," I said.


"Is the ferry in yet? When you see it in the distance, you need to give me the signal. That gives us twenty minutes until it docks and an extra–"


"Ten minutes until we're at the front door. Yes, I know. You've told me this a dozen times, not to mention I’ve lived on this island for two years. I know how the ferry works.”

I heard a sigh from the other side of the call. “I know. I just want to make this right. We miss him so much and we want him to stay.”

My breath caught. “What? What do you mean? Why wouldn’t he stay?”

“You know how it is. Gabe’s had a taste of the big city. There’s a million opportunities out there for him,” Jake said, his voice almost breaking a little.

“I thought he was coming back to work with Frank and take over the resort business.”

“That’s the plan but dad wants Gabe to be happy with the career he chooses. He doesn’t want the resort chain to be an obligation, something Gabe feels he has no choice on. If he decides this isn’t the life he wants then we’ll need to accept and let him go.”

In the distance, among the glistening water I saw the ferry, which gave me the perfect excuse to end the call because I had exactly twenty minutes to come to terms with what Jake had just said.

“The thirty-minute clock is on,” I said.

“Oh crap, I have to go. See you both soon.”

There was a chance Gabe would leave again, and I didn’t know how I felt about that.

My phone dinged with a message.

Sam: I’m off babysitting duty so we’re on.

Zak: You know you could bring Griffin with you.

Sam: What, and have my nephew take all the attention?

Zak: No lies. He is adorable.

The dots of a new message appeared and disappeared a few times.

Sam: Are you sure this is a good idea?

I sighed. No. But I needed my other best friend with me to get me through today. Sam understood how hard this was. When we’d agreed to be just friends two years ago, we also agreed not to pretend we never wanted more.

It was all too complicated. My feelings for Gabe. My feelings for Sam. My feelings about having feelings.

Zak: Yes. I need you there. And I know Gabe will be happy to see you too.

That was a wild guess. How could I know how Gabe felt if he’d barely said a word to me since he left to finish his degree and then moved to New York straight away.

I thought I’d helped him. We’d helped him. But he was gone in a heartbeat, leaving me and Sam to figure out how to move on from the night that we’d started referring to as that night.

As the ferry got closer, the butterflies that came to life in my belly every time I thought of Gabe, moved like they were trying to leave my body.

I grabbed my sunglasses and put them on, leaning against the side of the car, watching as the large boat became clearer in the distance.

It wasn’t hard to spot Gabe’s figure on the top platform of the ferry. Even from far away he looked as good as the last time I saw him, except he wasn’t alone.

Whoever he was with hugged him before leaving.

Was Gabe wiping tears from his eyes?

Maybe he was just tired from traveling.

The other guy didn’t return and after a while Gabe disappeared from the upper deck, no doubt making his way to the lower deck to come off the ferry.

I gave myself a pep talk and walked towards the terminal. My cool act didn’t last long because as soon as I saw Gabe on the pedestrian bridge from the ferry I practically ran until he was in my arms.

He froze for a moment before he relaxed.

“Hi,” he said into my neck. The warmth of his breath on my skin did things to me. Things I had no business feeling and especially liking.

“Let me look at you, stranger,” I said, pulling away. He looked the same but so different. “You’ve grown your hair.”

He raised his hand up to the bun on the top of his head. “Yeah, I…felt like a change. And barbers in New York are really expensive.”

I chuckled at his remark. Gabe had enough of his own money to visit the barber once a week, even in New York. That much I knew. His mom died a few years ago and left him with a small inheritance, which besides the money the family had from the resort business meant Gabe would never need to work a day in his life unless he wanted to.

Which brought me to thoughts of him leaving again to pursue a career away from the island and his family.

“It suits you. It really does.” I said, honestly.

The color on his cheeks deepened, leaving me stunned at how attractive Gabe was, even windswept from the ferry and the long flight from New York to LA.

“Come on, let's go home so I can pretend to be surprised by my dad’s surprise party.”

I laughed. “He never stood a chance of deceiving anyone, and he’s been so excited about you coming home. It's all he’s talked about for weeks. How did you know?”

He smirked. “I didn’t. You just confirmed it.”

“You fucker, I’ll get you back for that.”

He chuckled. “My first welcome home party was when I went to a summer camp in Colorado when I was fifteen. After that, every time I was away he’d throw a party. Mom once took me to a specialist dentist when I needed braces and we only stayed overnight in LA. I couldn’t even drink soda but he still got my friends to come over when we got back.”

“Your dad is an amazing man.”

“He is.”

We fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the way home so I didn’t press for conversation.

“Zak,” he said, placing his hand on my arm when we pulled up on the driveway. His eyes were a little red but I couldn’t tell if it was from tiredness or the overwhelming emotion of being home. “I may need a moment to myself when we get in. If I can’t–”

“I’ll help you escape.” I smiled and placed my hand on his, giving it a little squeeze.

“Thank you.”

Before we were out of the car properly the front door to the house opened and Jessie came running towards Gabe who kneeled on the grass to receive her welcome licks.

“Hello baby girl,” Gabe said, trying to avoid the full mouth-to-mouth experience Jessie loved giving.

Frank followed, with open arms, visibly emotional.

“Dad.” Gabe walked into his dad’s arms holding on for what seemed like an eternity.

I looked away not wanting to intrude on their reunion until I felt a wet nose on my hand followed by an even wetter tongue. “Hey Jessie. Who’s my bestest girl? Yes, you are.” I rubbed behind her ears like she loved.

“You’re going to have to forgive me, son, but I couldn’t help getting a few friends together to welcome you home,” Frank said to Gabe.

Gabe laughed. “You are so predictable, dad.”

Frank looked at me, and I raised my hand. “Hey, don’t look at me. He figured it out all on his own.”

“Sure, sure,” Frank said and then turned to Gabe. “Indulge your old man, will you? Everyone has been looking forward to seeing you back.”

“It’s okay dad. I might as well get it all out of the way now so we can focus on work, right?”

“No need to rush, son. You have your whole life ahead of you. Plenty of time to work. Today we’re having fun.”

Gabe turned his head slightly, and our gazes met.

His smile was the same I’d gotten used to seeing but his eyes were tired. He held himself with more confidence than before, but there was also some vulnerability in the way he kept bringing his hand up to his head, messing up his tied hair.

I followed behind them with Jessie catching up to her new favorite person.

Traitor.

“Surprise!”

Gabe managed to look surprised when everyone shouted at the same time.

A bunch of people came forward to greet him but the first one to get to him was Jake who hugged him so tight Gabe struggled to get a breath in.

“God, I missed you,” Jake said.

“You saw me a couple of months ago.”

“Not enough. I’m so happy you’re back little bro.”

When they parted they both had tears in their eyes. Griff gave Gabe a quick hug before pulling Jake away, taking him to where Mal stood.

I looked around the room but didn’t see Sam.

I’d delivered the man of the hour and now found myself without a purpose. I walked around the room for a while greeting the people I knew, which after two years was a significant part of the island’s population.

Gabe looked like he was enjoying himself so it seemed that he didn’t need me to help him escape after all.

A couple of drinks later I was feeling a little buzzed when a tap on my shoulder made me jump.

“Fucking, fucksticks. Jesus Sam,” I said at the same time as I hugged him. “What took you so long?”

“I wanted to give it enough time for Gabe to catch up with his family and close friends.”

I laughed. “Sam, your nephew is literally named after one of Gabe’s brothers-in-law. You’re family.”

He shrugged. Shy wasn’t a look that you could use to describe Sam Cortano so when he seemed so unsure of himself I didn’t like it.

“Come on, let me get you a drink,” I said, pulling him towards the kitchen where the good stuff was.

I opened the fridge and took out two beers.

“Now you’re talking,” he said. “I walked past the drinks table and it was all fancy wine or cocktails.”

“Don’t knock the cocktail.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know I knock nothing with a cock but I’m a man of simple tastes.”

I clinked my beer against his and took a long swig.

“Now what?” he asked.

I shrugged.

The sun was starting to set. When I looked out of the window, I saw a lonely figure at the end of the garden right by the hedge. The house was on a cliff so the view was nothing short of magical, especially at sunset.

Gabe’s presence added a layer of sadness to the picture, only for the way he stood, all on his own, with his hands on the metal fence looking out into the ocean. I wasn’t a photographer like Sam, but I could imagine how he would capture the image in front of us.

“Time to break the seal,” Sam said.

He put the bottle down on the counter and walked outside. I waited two heartbeats and followed him.

The three of us together, for the first time since that night.