Chapter Ten
The beach was crowded, which didn't surprise Brady. There was some big festival in town that brought in a lot of tourists. Various tents and vendors stretched out along the pier and the smell of fried food made Brady's stomach growl.
Ignoring the tempting smells, Brady focused on waxing his surfboard. Now was the time for surfing, though he figured that he and Tanner would end up at the festival eventually. After all, he did owe Tanner an ice cream cone.
The two boys surfed until the sun began to set and their empty stomachs forced them to stop. Exhausted, they towed their surfboards onto the beach. They left the boards on the surfboard rack and headed to the pier where the festival was located.
"Where to?" Brady asked. "Any booths you want to check out?"
"If I recall correctly," Tanner mused, "you owe me an ice cream cone."
"Are you sure about that?" Brady teased, a grin forming on his face. "I don't remember any such debt."
Tanner shoved him playfully. "Hey, you promised."
"Ice cream it is, then."
They headed to an ice cream cart parked on the edge of the pier. Brady ordered two ice cream cones—both of them very overpriced—and handed one to Tanner. Then both boys sat down at the end of the pier, letting their legs dangle off the edge.
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly caused this fight between you and Lela?" Brady asked cautiously. "You said it was because you were too distant, but as far as I can tell you've always been that way with Lela. What set her off?"
Tanner was silent for a while before replying. "We've been together for three years, as you know. I guess Lela started to expect certain things from me. Things I wasn't really prepared to give her."
"She wanted you to propose?"
"Not exactly." Tanner's face became a deep shade of red and he looked down at the water. "Lela and I have never, uh, you know."
Brady choked on his ice cream cone. "You haven't?"
Tanner looked mortified. "Uh, no. At first we both wanted to wait, to take things slowly, you know? Then after a while, Lela wanted to take things to the next step and I didn't. It just didn't feel right. Now I'm worried it's because Lela isn't really the one for me."
"Wow," he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He tried to ignore the satisfaction he felt. "I would've thought you two would've, um, done it."
"Shut up," Tanner snapped defensively.
Brady raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not making fun of you. I think it's fine that you haven't... yeah."
The situation had become unbearably awkward. Both boys looked for something to say that would relieve some of the awkwardness. Brady stood up, needing to get away from the situation.
"We should probably head back," he said. "It's getting dark."
"Yeah," Tanner agreed, eager for something else to talk about. "Can we just pretend this conversation never happened?"
"What conversation?" Brady joked.
Things returned to normal fairly quickly after that as they walked back to Brady's house. However, Brady couldn't just forget that conversation. It had given him a small glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Tanner felt the same way about him.
Brady fished his keys out of his pocket as they approached the door to his house. As he fumbled to unlock the door, Tanner leaned against the doorframe.
"Thanks," he said. He was so close that they'd be almost nose-to-nose if Brady turned to face him.
"Don't thank me," Brady said. He knew that if he turned to face Tanner, he'd end up kissing him. "I owed you that ice cream, fair and square."
"Not just for that." At Tanner's words, Brady turned to face him, knowing very well what he might do. "Thanks for getting me out of the house. Ever since this whole thing with Lela, I've been kinda down-in-the-dumps. Thanks for helping me snap out of it."
They were so close. It'd be so easy for Brady to just lean in and kiss Tanner. He could do it. He could end the constant speculation. He could find out if he and Tanner were meant to be or not. All he had to do was lean in.
This time, however, Tanner's eyes flickered down to Brady's lips. Brady felt like he couldn't breathe. This couldn't be real. As Tanner slowly leaned in, Brady was sure his heart would explode. He wondered what Tanner's lips would feel like.
Suddenly, the door swung open, casting a bright light over them. Both boys jumped back, avoiding each other's eyes. Brady turned towards the door, using his hand to block out some of the light.
"Mack," he said, feigning a casual tone.
Mack smiled. "Hello, Brady."