When they got to the docks, Ryan was really glad to see that Luke didn't
have one of those small little sailboat things that Seth had taken him out
on the first day he was in Newport. Luke's was more of a speedboat kind of
thing. Not that Ryan knew much about boats. Chino was in land, not on the
ocean like Newport was.
Ryan sized up the boat. Yah, he thought, I can go on this.
"Cool looking boat. I bet this thing can go pretty fast."
For some reason, Ryan felt the need to make small talk with Luke.
Luke just shrugged,
"Yah, it's not bad. Good for water skiing. We'll go some time this summer if you want."
Ryan's first thought was no way in hell. He'll ride in the boat, but he wouldn't even attempt to ski, but all he said was,
"Cool." Then Ryan noticed the name of the boat as Luke was loading a case of beer onto the boat.
"Boy's Toy?" he asked.
Luke looked at Ryan for a second before answering,
"Yah, we thought he named it after me and my brothers but well. who knows now," making a lame joke about his father's newly discovered alternative lifestyle, and then he changed the subject,
"I thought we'd head towards the bay. We can hang out. No worries."
Since Ryan was never one for small talk he just answered, "Cool", again. He didn't know what else to say.
As they pulled away from the dock, Ryan popped open a beer. He figured one or two would really help him unwind. No worries Luke said. Yah, no worries, no Marissa, no Theresa, no Cohens, no Oliver, no therapist, no nothing. Ryan was still thinking about it a short time later when Luke slowed up and stopped the boat.
"Damn, dude, you really sucked that one down. Here." Luke said as he tossed Ryan another beer before opening one for himself.
Ryan just shrugged. He wasn't much of a beer drinker, but it tasted good. He looked around and said,
"So this is the bay. Not bad."
Luke looked around, too before answering,
"Yah, quiet. You can get as wasted as you want without anyone bothering you. I come here a lot, especially lately. You know, with my dad and all that."
"How's it going with that anyway?" Ryan asked, but really didn't expect Luke to answer.
Luke shrugged. He really didn't like talking about it.
"He's gay. He likes dudes. Its gross, but. He's still my dad. He still wants to go to football games and do all that dad type stuff with me and my brothers like he did before. I don't know. It's just weird."
That's about all Luke wanted to say about it so he changed the subject,
"How about your folks?"
"My folks?" Ryan wasn't really sure what Luke was talking about, but Luke continued,
"Yah, I mean how pissed were they with all that Oliver shit. I know Cohen said you were busted for like three weeks, but I'm guessing they're over it now, right?"
Ryan just shrugged. He thought hanging out with Luke meant he wouldn't have to keep talking about all of that again. Luckily, Luke realized that Ryan wanted to talk about Oliver about as much as Luke wanted to talk about his dad so he told him,
"Hay, man, no worries. I guess you're probably all talked out by now." He then thought about it for a minute before asking Ryan,
"So, have they hit you with seeing some therapist yet?"
Ryan was not expecting that from Luke. He started to get worried about the rumors that must already be going around this small fish bowl town,
"Yah, how'd you know?" It was more of a demand from Ryan then it was a question, but that didn't seem to faze Luke.
He just shrugged,
"Cause its every Newport parent's answer to a problem. Therapy. My mom has us all in group therapy, family therapy, one-on-one therapy. The second my dad came out of the closet, we all got shipped off to a therapist." Luke thought about it for a second before he continued,
But you know, it's not that bad. You can get a lot off your chest, and they can't say a word to anyone about what you say. You know, that whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing. It's better then confession. You'll see. I'm sure your folks will be dragging you to one soon. I mean you saw a kid off himself. I'm surprised they haven't made you see one sooner."
Ryan considered what Luke said for a minute and then had to ask,
"Why do you keep calling them my folks?"
"I don't know. Why? What do you call them?" Luke answered Ryan's question with his own question.
Ryan thought about it and said,
"I don't know. Sandy and Kirsten?" He didn't know what to say.
"No, I mean, how do you refer to them to other people?" What's with this kid, Luke thought.
Ryan was thinking the same thing about Luke. He just shrugged,
"I don't. I never thought about it. They're just Sandy and Kirsten."
Luke just shook his head. The kid really has no clue!
"Dude, you live in their house, eat their food. They buy all your stuff, pay for your school. Bale your ass out when you're in trouble, and then turn around and nail your ass for it. They worry about what you do, where you go and who you're with. Face it, bud, no matter what you call them, they're your folks."
Ryan just shrugged again, wondering when Luke suddenly became all knowledgeable. Luke has a brain, who would have guessed! Ryan thought as he grabbed another beer and tossed one to Luke.
Luke just put that beer down,
"Yo, Chino, you may want to slow down. You get completed wasted, and Sandy and Kirsten, your folks, will nail your ass again!"
Ryan did slow down, but only slightly. He was too busy thinking about what Luke had said. Someone like Luke, the so-called typical Water Polo Playing Dumb Jock, calling Kirsten and Sandy his folks. After a couple of minutes, Luke changed the subject and asked Ryan,
"So, how's it going with Marissa? I saw you guys talking last night. I thought you'd work it out, but then you left without her. Then she left a little while later, and she was crying."
Again, another subject Ryan didn't want to talk about, but Luke really did seem interested.
"I don't know. I don't know if we'll work it out. I mean, she picked Oliver. No matter what I said or did, she picked Oliver."
Luke nodded,
"Yah, I know the feeling. Remember, I was in your spot this summer when you first came to town."
Before Luke could continue Ryan groaned,
"Oh, God, not you, too. I'm really tired of people comparing me to Oliver.."
Luke was shocked. Compare Ryan to Oliver?
"Who the hell would compare you to Oliver? Oliver was a nut case. You're just, I don't know, Chino. Totally different. I'm just saying I know how you feel about Marissa. This summer I tried everything I could think of to keep Marissa and not lose her to you. But she kept going back to you over and over. Like no matter what I did, she still chose you."
"You call cheating on her doing everything you could to keep her? You know, she didn't come to me until after that." Ryan answered, a little defensively.
But Luke just laughed,
"Yah, well, I never said I was a great boyfriend." But then he continued,
"And she did leave me to go to you that night at that Model Home you were hiding out in. How do you think we found you? We followed her. That's when she chose you. I know it. I've always known it."
Ryan just shrugged, took another sip of his beer and said,
"Well, this time, she chose Oliver."
Luke just laughed again.
"Well, she's really got a problem now, doesn't she!"
Luke couldn't believe he and Ryan were sitting there, drinking beer and bonding over losing Marissa to another guy. Especially since Ryan was the other guy just a few months earlier.
"Well," Luke told Ryan, "I hope you guys can work it out. You seem good together. She and I, well, I don't know. We got together in like the fifth grade, and sort of stayed together. I guess I loved her. Hell, part of me still loves her. Not enough though to put up with everything you did."
"You know," Ryan said, "If I hadn't come to Newport, you two would probably still be together, and then you would have been the one dealing with all the Oliver crap."
"No, I wouldn't. If you hadn't come to Newport, Marissa would be dead." Luke never admitted that out loud to anyone before.
"Huh?" Ryan again couldn't figure out what Luke was talking about.
Luke took a big sip of his beer before admitting,
"Man, you saved Marissa's life in Mexico. If you weren't there, she would have died."
Ryan just shook his head. He didn't believe what Luke was saying. Had to be the beer, he thought before he said,
"Yah, right. If I hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have taken the pills."
This guy really is unbelievable, Luke thought. He really has no clue, at all.
"You think that happened because you came to Newport. Her father was stealing money for years. You had nothing to do with him finally getting caught. And I was cheating on her for years. She still would have caught me in Mexico, and she still would have taken the pills. You had nothing to do with that. What you did have something to do with is finding her and saving her life."
Ryan couldn't answer. He didn't know what to say, so he quickly finished off the beer he was drinking and grabbed another one. Luke just shook his head and continued,
"Christ, Chino, who-ever you lived with before the Cohens really did a number on your head. You know, believe it or not, you coming to Newport was a good thing to a lot of people. And not just Marissa. I mean, take Cohen for example. That kid was a social moron. Now look at him. He's banging one of the most popular girls in school! He would never even have talked to Summer if you weren't here and with Marissa. I mean he went 16 years without talking to anyone, and now look at him. You think that was freakin' magic? And honestly, dude, you were like the only one there when my father went queer. That was a help to me, too, you know."
Luke then laughed,
"Especially when half the DelVista soccer team decided to kick my ass. Least you were there!"
"Lot of good that did. I got my ass kicked, too!" Ryan answered.
Luke just shrugged,
"Yah, but at least it was 2 against 8, and not 1 against 8. You were a good friend to stand up with me. Hell, Chino, you are a good friend."
Ryan just laughed at this 'nice' side of Luke. A side that without the help of the beers, Ryan would never have seen.
"Gee, Luke, I never knew you could be so sentimental."
Ryan was really starting to feel the effects of the five or so beers and no lunch. He started looking around the boat,
"Hay, you got anything to eat on this thing?"
Luke reached down into a bag, and pulled out some chips,
"Yah, here," tossing Ryan a bag of Fritos.
"I told you to slow down. You puke on my boat, and I'll show you how sentimental I can be!"
With that, Luke and Ryan just relaxed and didn't talk much more for a while. Ryan felt better with the chips in his stomach, so he grabbed another beer.
"You know," Luke told him, "I know we don't normally hang together, but I didn't know you drank so much."
Ryan just told him, "I don't usually. But once in a while, it's not a bad idea. This is my last one, though" as he popped open the top.
"Hay, no worries," Luke told him, "We got enough if you want to really get a good buzz on."
Ryan shook his head, "Nah. My real paren. my biological parents are alcoholics so I don't usually get drunk very often. Drunks are ugly, and I don't wanna be one of them."
Well, at least booze makes you honest, Ryan thought. He and Luke had said a whole lot to each other, and he knew no one would believe him, even if he wanted to tell anyone what they talked about. Hell, Ryan couldn't believe what they talked about. And as he finished off his next beer, he started to laugh about it. He knew he was getting drunk, because when he got drunk, everything was funny to him. Luke, who hadn't been drinking as much or as fast as Ryan couldn't figure out what was suddenly so funny.
"Hay, what's the joke? I miss something?"
Ryan just laughed,
"I'm just thinkin'. If anyone heard us talking, they'd definitely think we were a couple of queers. Just like your dad!" and Ryan laughed even harder at that.
Luke couldn't help but laugh, too. Maybe he wasn't getting as drunk as fast as Ryan, but he was feeling good, too.
"No way, man. I like women! No doubt there! All kinds of women! Well, except maybe fat chicks."
Ryan laughed even harder and said, "And French chicks, cause they don't shave their pits!" "Hay, I got it," he continued, "we'll find you a fat, French chick with hairy pits."
"Not unless you do her first!" Luke shot back.
"Hell, I'm not that drunk!" Ryan answered.
After they laughed about it for a couple more minutes, Luke turned to Ryan and said,
"Don't worry about me, man. I got someone."
"Who?" Ryan asked, "Who you got that you didn't bring to the dance?"
Luke leaned closer to Ryan and said,
"Look, I'll tell you, but you gotta swear you won't tell anyone..."
"Why, what's the big deep dark secret? She got a boyfriend already? It's not Summer, is it?" Ryan would really hate to have to kick Luke's ass if it were Summer. Seth's Summer, he thought.
Luke laughed. Ryan's still protective of Cohen, he thought.
"Nah, it's not Summer, and she doesn't have a boyfriend. She's just. a little older, and well, its all kinds of weird. Hot, definitely hot, but definitely weird.."
"Weird, huh? Why, is it like Julie Cooper or something?" Ryan started to laugh at what he thought as a real good joke. Except Luke wasn't laughing, too. He was shaking his head yes.
"No way!" Ryan shouted. "How the hell did that happen? WHY the hell did that happen? Julie Cooper? That's just sick, man, just sick!" He tried to picture it, but there wasn't enough beer in the world for him to wrap his head around that picture.
Luke started to get very defensive at Ryan's obvious disgust.
"No, look, Ry. It's not like that. I mean it is like that, but well." Then Luke started to get annoyed at having to defend himself to Chino,
"Look, if you tell anyone," he threatened, "I swear I'll kick your ass!"
Ryan, who was half way through another beer trying to picture Luke with the Dragon Lady, just laughed,
"First, who the hell would I tell? No one, and I mean no one would believe me. And second, dude, you can not kick my ass. I can so kick your ass!"
Of course, Ryan and Luke then spent the next twenty drunken minutes arguing over exactly who could kick who's ass and reliving all their past fights and arguing over who won each one of them. Finally Luke told Ryan,
"Look, we can settle this. Let's head back, and I can prove that I can kick your ass."
Ryan was surprised,
"You wanna fight?" He hadn't really thought about fighting Luke again. Luke thought about the idea, too, for a minute and said,
"Hum, yah, maybe not. But there's gotta be something. Head for the arcade? Miniature golf? Nah, too queer. Batting cages?"
"Batting cages? Yah, ok. I'll take you on at the batting cages." Ryan told Luke. "Here, I'll even give myself a handicap," as he downed his last beer.
By the time they got back to the dock and headed towards the batting cages, Ryan realized he was having a really good time. He knew even drunk, he could out hit Luke. He used to spend hours down at the batting cages in Chino. Whenever he needed to let off some steam, he'd head over there. He'd just picture the ball as the face of who ever pissed him off - Trey, his mother, or one of her boyfriends, whoever. And since it seemed like he was pissed off a lot back then, he spent a lot of time using this visual technique as Sandy called it. It made him a really really good ball player.
Ryan was still thinking about the batting cages in Chino when his phone rang.
"Hel-lo?" He answered. He heard Seth on the other end say,
"Ryan? Is that you?"
"Hey, Seth! Hey, Luke, it's Seth! Hey bro., how's it hanging?" Ryan was really happy to hear from Seth. But it didn't sound like Seth was too happy to hear from Ryan,
"Ryan, what's the matter with you? Are you drunk?" he whispered, hoping his parents couldn't hear him. When Ryan just laughed, he knew, though.
"Dude," Seth warned, "if you come home drunk, you will be so grounded! Where's Luke? Is he drunk, too? Can I talk to him?"
"Hey, Luke. Here. It's Seth. He wants to know if you're drunk." Ryan said as he handed his phone to Luke.
Luke answered the phone like nothing was wrong,
"Hey, Cohen. What's up?"
Seth started to rant,
"What's up?" he demanded, "What's up?! Luke, Ryan's smashed! My parents will kill him if he comes home like that! What are you guys doing?"
Luke looked around and said,
"Right now?"
No next month, you moron, Seth thought, but said,
"Yah, right now."
"Well, let's see," Luke said, "right now, we're heading over to the batting cages where I'm going to totally kick Chino's ass.."
Seth heard Ryan laugh in the background,
"You wish, Abercrombie!"
"Luke, listen," Seth pleaded, "It's 4 o'clock now. Ryan's supposed to be home in like 2 hours for dinner. You've got to do what ever you can to sober him up. He's already been grounded for like the past three weeks. This is the first weekend he's been allowed out. He can not, I repeat, can not come home drunk."
Luke just laughed.
"God, Cohen, don't be such an old lady! We're hitting balls at the batting cages for a while, and then we'll grab some grub. Ok, mom?"
Seth really didn't know what Ryan saw in Luke. He still thought Luke was a jerk,
"Just sober him up, Luke. Ok? Let me talk to Ryan."
Luke handed Ryan the phone without saying goodbye to Seth.
"Hey, bro!" Ryan said.
Seth signed, "Ryan, go. Hit some balls at the batting cages. Hit a lot of balls. Maybe the exercise will help. Then go get something to eat. I'll tell Mom and Dad that you'll be home after dinner. Ok?"
Ryan just laughed again, "Sure, Mom. See ya later!"
As Ryan stuffed the phone back in his pocket, Luke asked,
"Is he always such an old lady?"
"Nah, he's cool," Ryan told him, "He's just been a little freaked out lately with everything."
Luke couldn't believe Cohen was even cool, but Ryan was the one who lived with him so he just shrugged it off.
"Well either way," Luke said, "he bought you some more time. One hour at the batting cages then the diner. Winner hits the most balls and Loser pays. Hope you got enough cash!"
Ryan laughed, again, "Why, I'm not gonna need any!"
They had only been at the batting cages for fifteen, maybe twenty, minutes when Luke realized that Ryan was good, really, really good, and Luke was losing, badly. If this kid could hit like this wasted, Luke thought, what the hell was he like sober?
"So, dude," Luke asked after Ryan was done hitting, "You trying out this spring or what?"
"Trying out for what?" Ryan asked as he took his batting helmet off.
"Girl's Field Hockey," Luke deadpanned. "Baseball, you moron."
Ryan shrugged, "Don't know. Didn't think about it."
"You're up," Ryan continued, "and you need to hit all 15 balls or you lose, my friend. And I gotta tell ya, I'm hungry, really hungry!"
As Luke was about to take his turn, he heard,
"Hey Luke, what's up?"
Luke turned around to see Brad and Chip, two friends who still were willing to talk to him, despite his recent gay father troubles.
"Hey, Brad, Chip. How's it going? Ryan and I are just, you know. At the batting cages."
Ryan added, "Yah, loser pays for dinner."
Luke looked over at the two of them and asked,
"Hey, you wanna join us?" He knew he could at least out hit the two of them, even if he didn't stand a chance with Ryan.
"Yah, sure," Chip said and then looked over at Ryan, "Hey Chino, I didn't know they had batting cages where you were from."
"Batting cages? Nah, no batting cages. We didn't even have baseballs or bats. We just used to hit rats with big sticks." Ryan sounded so serious, Chip wondered for a minute if he was serious. That is until Luke added,
"Yah, Chino Ratball!"
At that, Ryan and Luke lost it. They started to laugh really hard, which made Brad and Chip even more smug. It was obvious that Ryan and Luke were both pretty buzzed, especially Ryan. Brad and Chip figured it would be pretty easy to beat them both. They were wrong. Ryan beat all of them, and as they headed towards the diner, Brad looked at him,
"Dude! How the hell could you hit like that? You're totally wasted!"
Ryan just smiled, "I was really good at Chino Ratball..."
They all laughed, except Chip. He was mad. He lost, and now they were heading for the diner, his treat.
"You set us up!" Chip accused Ryan. Before Ryan could answer, Luke did,
"Lighten up, Chip. He didn't set you up. You jumped at the chance because you thought you could kick his ass. But face it man, you suck!"
"Yah, totally." Brad agreed.
As they reached the diner, Ryan turned to the group and asked,
"You guys really want to eat here?"
"You don't eat here?" Chip asked. It was a diner. Why wouldn't Chino like a diner?
Ryan just shrugged,
"Nope, haven't been here since, well, August."
Luke caught onto what Ryan was thinking,
"Yah," he said, " well, at least now there's something you like about rich kids!"
They all laughed, remembering the last time the four of them were at this diner. Ryan had knocked Luke half way across the table for picking on Seth. This time, though, they were there together as friends. And as strange as it seemed, Ryan was enjoying himself. Maybe it was the beer, he thought, but the three of them were pretty funny. Ryan was actually relaxing and having fun. They all laughed a lot, and since Chip was footing the bill, they also all ate, a lot.
Shortly after 6, Ryan realized he probably should head home. He said he'd be home around dinnertime, and even though Seth told him he'd tell Sandy and Kirsten he was eating out, he thought it would be better not to push his luck, again. He figured it had been a couple of hours since his last beer. He had worked off some of his buzz at the batting cages and had a full stomach, so he figured it wouldn't be a real problem to act sober in front of Sandy & Kirsten. He'd only make small talk, and duck out to the pool house.
Ryan looked at his watch and said,
"Look, I gotta jet. I'm supposed to get home early.."
"Why, your folks still up in your grill or what?" Chip asked. He was actually enjoying Ryan, too. He was pretty cool.
"Yah, kind of," Ryan said, "But I'm going back to Harbor tomorrow so.."
Brad remembered, "Oh yah, you had some great vacation time off. Sucks you're going back!"
Ryan just groaned,
"Believe me, it was anything but vacation time. It'll actually be better at school then has been at home. Especially if I don't get there soon."
"Hey, I'll drive you. Give me a sec." Luke said. Then he added, "How you going to get past them? Cohen said they'd have a cow if they saw you wasted."
But Ryan just shrugged it off,
"Nah, I'm not that wasted anymore. It'll be a piece of cake to get past them. No worries!" he said with a smile.
"Oh, and speaking of piece of cake," Ryan said, "Thanks Chip. It's good to know that there is something rich kids are good for!"
"Next time, Chino," Chip told him, "I'll take you on again next week and then we'll see who's paying!"
"Yah, right, Chip, any time!" Ryan told him as he and Luke were leaving. "Just remember - you need to get yourself some rats and a big stick.."
Ryan sized up the boat. Yah, he thought, I can go on this.
"Cool looking boat. I bet this thing can go pretty fast."
For some reason, Ryan felt the need to make small talk with Luke.
Luke just shrugged,
"Yah, it's not bad. Good for water skiing. We'll go some time this summer if you want."
Ryan's first thought was no way in hell. He'll ride in the boat, but he wouldn't even attempt to ski, but all he said was,
"Cool." Then Ryan noticed the name of the boat as Luke was loading a case of beer onto the boat.
"Boy's Toy?" he asked.
Luke looked at Ryan for a second before answering,
"Yah, we thought he named it after me and my brothers but well. who knows now," making a lame joke about his father's newly discovered alternative lifestyle, and then he changed the subject,
"I thought we'd head towards the bay. We can hang out. No worries."
Since Ryan was never one for small talk he just answered, "Cool", again. He didn't know what else to say.
As they pulled away from the dock, Ryan popped open a beer. He figured one or two would really help him unwind. No worries Luke said. Yah, no worries, no Marissa, no Theresa, no Cohens, no Oliver, no therapist, no nothing. Ryan was still thinking about it a short time later when Luke slowed up and stopped the boat.
"Damn, dude, you really sucked that one down. Here." Luke said as he tossed Ryan another beer before opening one for himself.
Ryan just shrugged. He wasn't much of a beer drinker, but it tasted good. He looked around and said,
"So this is the bay. Not bad."
Luke looked around, too before answering,
"Yah, quiet. You can get as wasted as you want without anyone bothering you. I come here a lot, especially lately. You know, with my dad and all that."
"How's it going with that anyway?" Ryan asked, but really didn't expect Luke to answer.
Luke shrugged. He really didn't like talking about it.
"He's gay. He likes dudes. Its gross, but. He's still my dad. He still wants to go to football games and do all that dad type stuff with me and my brothers like he did before. I don't know. It's just weird."
That's about all Luke wanted to say about it so he changed the subject,
"How about your folks?"
"My folks?" Ryan wasn't really sure what Luke was talking about, but Luke continued,
"Yah, I mean how pissed were they with all that Oliver shit. I know Cohen said you were busted for like three weeks, but I'm guessing they're over it now, right?"
Ryan just shrugged. He thought hanging out with Luke meant he wouldn't have to keep talking about all of that again. Luckily, Luke realized that Ryan wanted to talk about Oliver about as much as Luke wanted to talk about his dad so he told him,
"Hay, man, no worries. I guess you're probably all talked out by now." He then thought about it for a minute before asking Ryan,
"So, have they hit you with seeing some therapist yet?"
Ryan was not expecting that from Luke. He started to get worried about the rumors that must already be going around this small fish bowl town,
"Yah, how'd you know?" It was more of a demand from Ryan then it was a question, but that didn't seem to faze Luke.
He just shrugged,
"Cause its every Newport parent's answer to a problem. Therapy. My mom has us all in group therapy, family therapy, one-on-one therapy. The second my dad came out of the closet, we all got shipped off to a therapist." Luke thought about it for a second before he continued,
But you know, it's not that bad. You can get a lot off your chest, and they can't say a word to anyone about what you say. You know, that whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing. It's better then confession. You'll see. I'm sure your folks will be dragging you to one soon. I mean you saw a kid off himself. I'm surprised they haven't made you see one sooner."
Ryan considered what Luke said for a minute and then had to ask,
"Why do you keep calling them my folks?"
"I don't know. Why? What do you call them?" Luke answered Ryan's question with his own question.
Ryan thought about it and said,
"I don't know. Sandy and Kirsten?" He didn't know what to say.
"No, I mean, how do you refer to them to other people?" What's with this kid, Luke thought.
Ryan was thinking the same thing about Luke. He just shrugged,
"I don't. I never thought about it. They're just Sandy and Kirsten."
Luke just shook his head. The kid really has no clue!
"Dude, you live in their house, eat their food. They buy all your stuff, pay for your school. Bale your ass out when you're in trouble, and then turn around and nail your ass for it. They worry about what you do, where you go and who you're with. Face it, bud, no matter what you call them, they're your folks."
Ryan just shrugged again, wondering when Luke suddenly became all knowledgeable. Luke has a brain, who would have guessed! Ryan thought as he grabbed another beer and tossed one to Luke.
Luke just put that beer down,
"Yo, Chino, you may want to slow down. You get completed wasted, and Sandy and Kirsten, your folks, will nail your ass again!"
Ryan did slow down, but only slightly. He was too busy thinking about what Luke had said. Someone like Luke, the so-called typical Water Polo Playing Dumb Jock, calling Kirsten and Sandy his folks. After a couple of minutes, Luke changed the subject and asked Ryan,
"So, how's it going with Marissa? I saw you guys talking last night. I thought you'd work it out, but then you left without her. Then she left a little while later, and she was crying."
Again, another subject Ryan didn't want to talk about, but Luke really did seem interested.
"I don't know. I don't know if we'll work it out. I mean, she picked Oliver. No matter what I said or did, she picked Oliver."
Luke nodded,
"Yah, I know the feeling. Remember, I was in your spot this summer when you first came to town."
Before Luke could continue Ryan groaned,
"Oh, God, not you, too. I'm really tired of people comparing me to Oliver.."
Luke was shocked. Compare Ryan to Oliver?
"Who the hell would compare you to Oliver? Oliver was a nut case. You're just, I don't know, Chino. Totally different. I'm just saying I know how you feel about Marissa. This summer I tried everything I could think of to keep Marissa and not lose her to you. But she kept going back to you over and over. Like no matter what I did, she still chose you."
"You call cheating on her doing everything you could to keep her? You know, she didn't come to me until after that." Ryan answered, a little defensively.
But Luke just laughed,
"Yah, well, I never said I was a great boyfriend." But then he continued,
"And she did leave me to go to you that night at that Model Home you were hiding out in. How do you think we found you? We followed her. That's when she chose you. I know it. I've always known it."
Ryan just shrugged, took another sip of his beer and said,
"Well, this time, she chose Oliver."
Luke just laughed again.
"Well, she's really got a problem now, doesn't she!"
Luke couldn't believe he and Ryan were sitting there, drinking beer and bonding over losing Marissa to another guy. Especially since Ryan was the other guy just a few months earlier.
"Well," Luke told Ryan, "I hope you guys can work it out. You seem good together. She and I, well, I don't know. We got together in like the fifth grade, and sort of stayed together. I guess I loved her. Hell, part of me still loves her. Not enough though to put up with everything you did."
"You know," Ryan said, "If I hadn't come to Newport, you two would probably still be together, and then you would have been the one dealing with all the Oliver crap."
"No, I wouldn't. If you hadn't come to Newport, Marissa would be dead." Luke never admitted that out loud to anyone before.
"Huh?" Ryan again couldn't figure out what Luke was talking about.
Luke took a big sip of his beer before admitting,
"Man, you saved Marissa's life in Mexico. If you weren't there, she would have died."
Ryan just shook his head. He didn't believe what Luke was saying. Had to be the beer, he thought before he said,
"Yah, right. If I hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have taken the pills."
This guy really is unbelievable, Luke thought. He really has no clue, at all.
"You think that happened because you came to Newport. Her father was stealing money for years. You had nothing to do with him finally getting caught. And I was cheating on her for years. She still would have caught me in Mexico, and she still would have taken the pills. You had nothing to do with that. What you did have something to do with is finding her and saving her life."
Ryan couldn't answer. He didn't know what to say, so he quickly finished off the beer he was drinking and grabbed another one. Luke just shook his head and continued,
"Christ, Chino, who-ever you lived with before the Cohens really did a number on your head. You know, believe it or not, you coming to Newport was a good thing to a lot of people. And not just Marissa. I mean, take Cohen for example. That kid was a social moron. Now look at him. He's banging one of the most popular girls in school! He would never even have talked to Summer if you weren't here and with Marissa. I mean he went 16 years without talking to anyone, and now look at him. You think that was freakin' magic? And honestly, dude, you were like the only one there when my father went queer. That was a help to me, too, you know."
Luke then laughed,
"Especially when half the DelVista soccer team decided to kick my ass. Least you were there!"
"Lot of good that did. I got my ass kicked, too!" Ryan answered.
Luke just shrugged,
"Yah, but at least it was 2 against 8, and not 1 against 8. You were a good friend to stand up with me. Hell, Chino, you are a good friend."
Ryan just laughed at this 'nice' side of Luke. A side that without the help of the beers, Ryan would never have seen.
"Gee, Luke, I never knew you could be so sentimental."
Ryan was really starting to feel the effects of the five or so beers and no lunch. He started looking around the boat,
"Hay, you got anything to eat on this thing?"
Luke reached down into a bag, and pulled out some chips,
"Yah, here," tossing Ryan a bag of Fritos.
"I told you to slow down. You puke on my boat, and I'll show you how sentimental I can be!"
With that, Luke and Ryan just relaxed and didn't talk much more for a while. Ryan felt better with the chips in his stomach, so he grabbed another beer.
"You know," Luke told him, "I know we don't normally hang together, but I didn't know you drank so much."
Ryan just told him, "I don't usually. But once in a while, it's not a bad idea. This is my last one, though" as he popped open the top.
"Hay, no worries," Luke told him, "We got enough if you want to really get a good buzz on."
Ryan shook his head, "Nah. My real paren. my biological parents are alcoholics so I don't usually get drunk very often. Drunks are ugly, and I don't wanna be one of them."
Well, at least booze makes you honest, Ryan thought. He and Luke had said a whole lot to each other, and he knew no one would believe him, even if he wanted to tell anyone what they talked about. Hell, Ryan couldn't believe what they talked about. And as he finished off his next beer, he started to laugh about it. He knew he was getting drunk, because when he got drunk, everything was funny to him. Luke, who hadn't been drinking as much or as fast as Ryan couldn't figure out what was suddenly so funny.
"Hay, what's the joke? I miss something?"
Ryan just laughed,
"I'm just thinkin'. If anyone heard us talking, they'd definitely think we were a couple of queers. Just like your dad!" and Ryan laughed even harder at that.
Luke couldn't help but laugh, too. Maybe he wasn't getting as drunk as fast as Ryan, but he was feeling good, too.
"No way, man. I like women! No doubt there! All kinds of women! Well, except maybe fat chicks."
Ryan laughed even harder and said, "And French chicks, cause they don't shave their pits!" "Hay, I got it," he continued, "we'll find you a fat, French chick with hairy pits."
"Not unless you do her first!" Luke shot back.
"Hell, I'm not that drunk!" Ryan answered.
After they laughed about it for a couple more minutes, Luke turned to Ryan and said,
"Don't worry about me, man. I got someone."
"Who?" Ryan asked, "Who you got that you didn't bring to the dance?"
Luke leaned closer to Ryan and said,
"Look, I'll tell you, but you gotta swear you won't tell anyone..."
"Why, what's the big deep dark secret? She got a boyfriend already? It's not Summer, is it?" Ryan would really hate to have to kick Luke's ass if it were Summer. Seth's Summer, he thought.
Luke laughed. Ryan's still protective of Cohen, he thought.
"Nah, it's not Summer, and she doesn't have a boyfriend. She's just. a little older, and well, its all kinds of weird. Hot, definitely hot, but definitely weird.."
"Weird, huh? Why, is it like Julie Cooper or something?" Ryan started to laugh at what he thought as a real good joke. Except Luke wasn't laughing, too. He was shaking his head yes.
"No way!" Ryan shouted. "How the hell did that happen? WHY the hell did that happen? Julie Cooper? That's just sick, man, just sick!" He tried to picture it, but there wasn't enough beer in the world for him to wrap his head around that picture.
Luke started to get very defensive at Ryan's obvious disgust.
"No, look, Ry. It's not like that. I mean it is like that, but well." Then Luke started to get annoyed at having to defend himself to Chino,
"Look, if you tell anyone," he threatened, "I swear I'll kick your ass!"
Ryan, who was half way through another beer trying to picture Luke with the Dragon Lady, just laughed,
"First, who the hell would I tell? No one, and I mean no one would believe me. And second, dude, you can not kick my ass. I can so kick your ass!"
Of course, Ryan and Luke then spent the next twenty drunken minutes arguing over exactly who could kick who's ass and reliving all their past fights and arguing over who won each one of them. Finally Luke told Ryan,
"Look, we can settle this. Let's head back, and I can prove that I can kick your ass."
Ryan was surprised,
"You wanna fight?" He hadn't really thought about fighting Luke again. Luke thought about the idea, too, for a minute and said,
"Hum, yah, maybe not. But there's gotta be something. Head for the arcade? Miniature golf? Nah, too queer. Batting cages?"
"Batting cages? Yah, ok. I'll take you on at the batting cages." Ryan told Luke. "Here, I'll even give myself a handicap," as he downed his last beer.
By the time they got back to the dock and headed towards the batting cages, Ryan realized he was having a really good time. He knew even drunk, he could out hit Luke. He used to spend hours down at the batting cages in Chino. Whenever he needed to let off some steam, he'd head over there. He'd just picture the ball as the face of who ever pissed him off - Trey, his mother, or one of her boyfriends, whoever. And since it seemed like he was pissed off a lot back then, he spent a lot of time using this visual technique as Sandy called it. It made him a really really good ball player.
Ryan was still thinking about the batting cages in Chino when his phone rang.
"Hel-lo?" He answered. He heard Seth on the other end say,
"Ryan? Is that you?"
"Hey, Seth! Hey, Luke, it's Seth! Hey bro., how's it hanging?" Ryan was really happy to hear from Seth. But it didn't sound like Seth was too happy to hear from Ryan,
"Ryan, what's the matter with you? Are you drunk?" he whispered, hoping his parents couldn't hear him. When Ryan just laughed, he knew, though.
"Dude," Seth warned, "if you come home drunk, you will be so grounded! Where's Luke? Is he drunk, too? Can I talk to him?"
"Hey, Luke. Here. It's Seth. He wants to know if you're drunk." Ryan said as he handed his phone to Luke.
Luke answered the phone like nothing was wrong,
"Hey, Cohen. What's up?"
Seth started to rant,
"What's up?" he demanded, "What's up?! Luke, Ryan's smashed! My parents will kill him if he comes home like that! What are you guys doing?"
Luke looked around and said,
"Right now?"
No next month, you moron, Seth thought, but said,
"Yah, right now."
"Well, let's see," Luke said, "right now, we're heading over to the batting cages where I'm going to totally kick Chino's ass.."
Seth heard Ryan laugh in the background,
"You wish, Abercrombie!"
"Luke, listen," Seth pleaded, "It's 4 o'clock now. Ryan's supposed to be home in like 2 hours for dinner. You've got to do what ever you can to sober him up. He's already been grounded for like the past three weeks. This is the first weekend he's been allowed out. He can not, I repeat, can not come home drunk."
Luke just laughed.
"God, Cohen, don't be such an old lady! We're hitting balls at the batting cages for a while, and then we'll grab some grub. Ok, mom?"
Seth really didn't know what Ryan saw in Luke. He still thought Luke was a jerk,
"Just sober him up, Luke. Ok? Let me talk to Ryan."
Luke handed Ryan the phone without saying goodbye to Seth.
"Hey, bro!" Ryan said.
Seth signed, "Ryan, go. Hit some balls at the batting cages. Hit a lot of balls. Maybe the exercise will help. Then go get something to eat. I'll tell Mom and Dad that you'll be home after dinner. Ok?"
Ryan just laughed again, "Sure, Mom. See ya later!"
As Ryan stuffed the phone back in his pocket, Luke asked,
"Is he always such an old lady?"
"Nah, he's cool," Ryan told him, "He's just been a little freaked out lately with everything."
Luke couldn't believe Cohen was even cool, but Ryan was the one who lived with him so he just shrugged it off.
"Well either way," Luke said, "he bought you some more time. One hour at the batting cages then the diner. Winner hits the most balls and Loser pays. Hope you got enough cash!"
Ryan laughed, again, "Why, I'm not gonna need any!"
They had only been at the batting cages for fifteen, maybe twenty, minutes when Luke realized that Ryan was good, really, really good, and Luke was losing, badly. If this kid could hit like this wasted, Luke thought, what the hell was he like sober?
"So, dude," Luke asked after Ryan was done hitting, "You trying out this spring or what?"
"Trying out for what?" Ryan asked as he took his batting helmet off.
"Girl's Field Hockey," Luke deadpanned. "Baseball, you moron."
Ryan shrugged, "Don't know. Didn't think about it."
"You're up," Ryan continued, "and you need to hit all 15 balls or you lose, my friend. And I gotta tell ya, I'm hungry, really hungry!"
As Luke was about to take his turn, he heard,
"Hey Luke, what's up?"
Luke turned around to see Brad and Chip, two friends who still were willing to talk to him, despite his recent gay father troubles.
"Hey, Brad, Chip. How's it going? Ryan and I are just, you know. At the batting cages."
Ryan added, "Yah, loser pays for dinner."
Luke looked over at the two of them and asked,
"Hey, you wanna join us?" He knew he could at least out hit the two of them, even if he didn't stand a chance with Ryan.
"Yah, sure," Chip said and then looked over at Ryan, "Hey Chino, I didn't know they had batting cages where you were from."
"Batting cages? Nah, no batting cages. We didn't even have baseballs or bats. We just used to hit rats with big sticks." Ryan sounded so serious, Chip wondered for a minute if he was serious. That is until Luke added,
"Yah, Chino Ratball!"
At that, Ryan and Luke lost it. They started to laugh really hard, which made Brad and Chip even more smug. It was obvious that Ryan and Luke were both pretty buzzed, especially Ryan. Brad and Chip figured it would be pretty easy to beat them both. They were wrong. Ryan beat all of them, and as they headed towards the diner, Brad looked at him,
"Dude! How the hell could you hit like that? You're totally wasted!"
Ryan just smiled, "I was really good at Chino Ratball..."
They all laughed, except Chip. He was mad. He lost, and now they were heading for the diner, his treat.
"You set us up!" Chip accused Ryan. Before Ryan could answer, Luke did,
"Lighten up, Chip. He didn't set you up. You jumped at the chance because you thought you could kick his ass. But face it man, you suck!"
"Yah, totally." Brad agreed.
As they reached the diner, Ryan turned to the group and asked,
"You guys really want to eat here?"
"You don't eat here?" Chip asked. It was a diner. Why wouldn't Chino like a diner?
Ryan just shrugged,
"Nope, haven't been here since, well, August."
Luke caught onto what Ryan was thinking,
"Yah," he said, " well, at least now there's something you like about rich kids!"
They all laughed, remembering the last time the four of them were at this diner. Ryan had knocked Luke half way across the table for picking on Seth. This time, though, they were there together as friends. And as strange as it seemed, Ryan was enjoying himself. Maybe it was the beer, he thought, but the three of them were pretty funny. Ryan was actually relaxing and having fun. They all laughed a lot, and since Chip was footing the bill, they also all ate, a lot.
Shortly after 6, Ryan realized he probably should head home. He said he'd be home around dinnertime, and even though Seth told him he'd tell Sandy and Kirsten he was eating out, he thought it would be better not to push his luck, again. He figured it had been a couple of hours since his last beer. He had worked off some of his buzz at the batting cages and had a full stomach, so he figured it wouldn't be a real problem to act sober in front of Sandy & Kirsten. He'd only make small talk, and duck out to the pool house.
Ryan looked at his watch and said,
"Look, I gotta jet. I'm supposed to get home early.."
"Why, your folks still up in your grill or what?" Chip asked. He was actually enjoying Ryan, too. He was pretty cool.
"Yah, kind of," Ryan said, "But I'm going back to Harbor tomorrow so.."
Brad remembered, "Oh yah, you had some great vacation time off. Sucks you're going back!"
Ryan just groaned,
"Believe me, it was anything but vacation time. It'll actually be better at school then has been at home. Especially if I don't get there soon."
"Hey, I'll drive you. Give me a sec." Luke said. Then he added, "How you going to get past them? Cohen said they'd have a cow if they saw you wasted."
But Ryan just shrugged it off,
"Nah, I'm not that wasted anymore. It'll be a piece of cake to get past them. No worries!" he said with a smile.
"Oh, and speaking of piece of cake," Ryan said, "Thanks Chip. It's good to know that there is something rich kids are good for!"
"Next time, Chino," Chip told him, "I'll take you on again next week and then we'll see who's paying!"
"Yah, right, Chip, any time!" Ryan told him as he and Luke were leaving. "Just remember - you need to get yourself some rats and a big stick.."