Chapter 3

Leo grabbed his lunch tray and piled some food on it. Lost in thought, he wandered up to pay for his food. He heard a familiar voice behind him say, “What’s safe to eat around here? Everything at my old school tasted like salted cardboard.”

Leo turned his head and saw the boy from last night. “Ah. We meet again. Reese? Right? They have pizza almost every day, and it’s edible. I’ve got the spaghetti today. I’m hoping it’s as good as it was last year. Overall, the food isn’t great, but it’s ok.”

“Yeah, I’m Reese. Thanks for the directions last night and the culinary suggestions today. I promise I won’t only talk to you when I need help.” Reese grinned.

“That’s quite alright. You can talk to me anytime. Do you want to sit with my friend and me? He’s waiting for me over there.” Leo pointed to where Brandon was sitting.

“I would, but there’s this girl I’m supposed to meet with.”

“A girl? I suppose that is more important. Have fun.”

“No… uh… not like that.” Reese blushed. “I need to find out the details for cheer tryouts. I was on the cheer squad at my last school, and it was fun. I wanted to try and do that here, too.”

“A cheerleader. I would have guessed you for a lacrosse star.”

“I tried that, but I like cheerleading better. I also play baseball in the spring.”

Leo heard Brandon calling his name. “Sounds fun. I gotta go before my friend starts chewing on the table.” Leo laughed. “The cheerleaders usually sit over there.” He pointed across the cafeteria. “See you later, Reese.”

Reese smiled and walked where Leo pointed while Leo walked over and sat by Brandon.

“It’s about time you got here! That’s the last time I wait for you for food.” Brandon reached over and took one of the trays from Leo. “Now spill the tea. Who was that hottie you were talking to, and was he the guardian angel you hinted at this morning?”

“He is Reese. I met him last night on the beach. He’s not my angel. He’s just a new boy. Sounds like he’s trying out for the cheer squad. My angel’s name is Charlie, and he and his mom rented the cabin by the old lighthouse while exploring our glorious little town. That’s why he happened to be on the beach yesterday.”

“Wait? Exploring? Please tell me you didn’t fall for a tourist, Leo!”

“Yes, he is a tourist, but you didn’t see him. You didn’t talk to him. Bran, I haven’t thought about anyone else since the whole thing with Jazz. I planned to get through this year and maybe start over in college, but when I looked up into Charlie’s brown eyes, I fell.”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “Maybe he’s hot. Maybe he’s fun. But how long is he staying, Leo? You’re just going to get hurt again.”

“He’s staying until the end of the week, I think. Who knows what can happen between now and then. Maybe he’ll stay longer. Maybe we can do a long-distance thing. I felt a strong connection, Bran. I know he did, too.”

“We’re not done with this discussion. Spill the rest of the story. The fight with Matt and this angel saving you.” Brandon said, eating lunch and waiting for his best friend’s story.

Leo relayed to his friend all the events from the previous day between bites of his lunch. The run with his brother, the argument and fight with Matt, and finally, the rescue by Charlie. He even confided in him about the second dizzy spell at the mall. He finished by telling him about the second meeting with Charlie and the near-kiss.

“Wow. That was quite a day. I don’t think that much happened to me all summer! First off, how are you feeling today? Any dizziness or headaches. That sounds serious, bro. You gotta tell Kam or me every time it happens. Tell us even if you don’t want to tell your mom yet.” He reached over, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Ok. Ok. I promised Kam already. I promise to tell you, too. And I will tell my mom if it keeps happening. I’m not an idiot.” Leo rolled his eyes at Brandon.

Brandon smirked. “Now, on to the good stuff. When are you going to see your hot little tourist again?”

“Today after school. He wasn’t sure what his mom had planned. If he’s not busy, I’ll meet up with him and give him the grand tour. Maybe show him the Village and get some junk food for dinner.” Leo laughed. “Mystic Village fried dough should win him over.”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “With all the running you’ve been doing, I don’t know why you continue to put that crap in your body.”

Leo laughed. “It’s the best! It is my biggest weakness, diet-wise. I’ll just run an extra mile tomorrow. That reminds me. Aren’t you friends with Max? From the track team? Kam wants to try out, and I considered joining him.”

Brandon looked at his phone. “We have to get to class. I’ll talk to Max and find out about tryouts, then text you the details. If I don’t see you later, have fun and wish Kam good luck for me!”

The two boys put away their lunch trays and headed toward their next class.

————————————————————————————————————

The first day of senior year, finally behind him, Leo walked towards the gym to meet up with his brother and look for Max. According to multiple texts from Brandon, cross-country tryouts were held today. Now Leo was glad he skipped the morning run. Brandon said that Max would meet Leo and Kam at the track. Leo got to the gym and found Kam waiting for him. The two boys headed toward the track to look for Max. Leo spotted Max waving to him from the track infield. Max and a few other boys looked like they were doing pre-run stretching. The two brothers walked over and joined them.

“Hey, Leo! I was surprised when Bran told me you were interested in running this year. Aren’t you a senior? And is this your brother?”

“Yeah, I’m a senior. I just started running this past summer, mostly as a way of burning off anger issues.” Leo chuckled. “This is my brother Kameron. He’s a freshman, and he’s the one who suggested trying out for the team. I’m kinda along as support.”

Max stuck his hand out to both brothers. “Nice to meet both of you.” He glanced at Leo. “Running is an excellent choice for a mood enhancer, and it looks like you already have a runner’s body.” Max grinned. “Brandon mentioned track. You know we’re trying out for cross-country today, right? Indoor Track will start in November and Outdoor Track in late March.”

“Yep. We’ll try our hand at cross-country first. I prefer the long-distance stuff anyway. Little bro is the one who is looking forward to the shorter, faster events in track.”

“Ah-ha! So, Kameron is our speed demon, then?”

“Yep!” Kam laughed. “I outrun Leo all the time short distances. I’ll need to build up my endurance to run the longer races. I’ve only just started putting any effort into running.” As Kam was speaking, other boys started showing up at the track. Some were stretching, others jogging around the track to warm up before the tryouts began. Leo, Kam, and Max started running a warm-up lap. By the time they completed one lap, the coach had arrived, and everyone gathered around to listen to him speak.

Coach Stevens spoke loudly and paced back and forth in front of the boys. He was a middle-aged man but tall and incredibly fit. The coach could easily pass for forty instead of his fifty-two years. He spoke of past championships and future goals. He welcomed back current runners and thanked the new boys for attending tryouts. After his speech, Coach separated the boys into two groups. One group ran laps around the track, and the other ran around a small modified cross-country track. After each group finished, they swapped until both groups had run on both tracks.

Everything went well for Kam throughout the tryout, except for one thing. Kam decided to run a little too fast on the cross-country track, which was a failure. An epic failure, to be honest. The kind of failure that could have gone viral if only it had been caught on camera. Kam turned a corner and failed to see a giant mud puddle. By the time he finished sliding through the mud on his belly, he was covered from head to toe. Kam glanced over to the bleachers and saw that Tommy had arrived and was laughing hysterically. He also saw the new boy. The guy that Leo said he met last night. The boy was sitting by himself near the top of the bleachers, watching the tryouts.

After the tryouts, the coach pulled Kam aside and told him he would be on the JV team. He patted Kam on the back, said he expected him to do well if he trained hard, and showed the speed he showed today. He also encouraged Kam to try out for the indoor track season in November.

Kam ran over to the bleachers to fill Leo and Tommy in on what the coach said, and then they all walked back over to Max. Max made team captain, as expected. Kam made JV, and Leo made varsity. Max’s girlfriend joined the four boys as they left the track field. As they walked across the field, Leo turned back and saw Reese sitting in the bleachers. He raised a hand and waved. Reese smiled and waved back, then Leo turned and continued walking off the field.

“Becca, you remember Leo, right? This is his brother, Kameron, and,” Max trailed off, looking at Tommy.

Kam spoke up. “This is my bestie, Tommy. Nice to meet you, Becca.”

Becca walked with Leo as they headed for the school parking lot. “Leo, are you still going out with Jasper Anderson?”

“No. We broke up last year.”

“You’re better off without him, in my opinion. He’s a jerk and a stoner. You’re the one that dumped him, I hope.”

 “Yes. He was the biggest mistake of my life, and I’ve moved on from all that.”

Becca looked Leo up and down. “You’re hot. I know three or four boys and half a dozen girls who would fight to go out with you. Forget that jerk. Anyway, do you guys want to go with Max and me to get ice cream to celebrate.”

Kam answered for all three. “Definitely!”

They got to the ice cream shop, and all got their cones. Leo and Max shared stories about Brandon, wondering how they had never all hung out together. Leo noticed Kam and Tommy were whispering off in a corner booth. He thought it was strange but put it out of his head. Leo was distracted with thoughts about meeting up with Charlie later.

Becca noticed that Leo kept looking at his phone.

“Hot date later, Leo?” Becca smirked.

“Um, no. Well, sort of.” Leo blushed.

Kam yelled over. “Don’t let him fool ya. It’s a date. Loverboy can’t stop gushing about the guy.” 

“Shut up, Kam.” Leo rolled his eyes at his brother. 

Becca leaned towards Leo. “Tell me more. Is he cute?”

Leo sighed. “He’s not just cute. He’s totally dreamy. I met him out on the beach yesterday. I told him I’d text him after the cross-country tryout.” Leo said while looking at his phone again.

Becca stood up. “Well, let’s get you home then. Come on, Max, let’s go.” Becca led the way out of the shop, and they all followed. Max dropped Leo, Kam, and Tommy off and continued towards his home.

Leo was out of the car and sprinting towards the house almost before the car even stopped. He took the stairs two at a time, rushed into his room, and quickly picked out a change of clothes. He darted out of his room and into the bathroom. Leo jumped into the shower before Kam even got into the house. After the quickest shower of his life, Leo got dressed and texted Charlie to find out where he was. Leo started blow-drying his hair and did his best to make it as presentable as possible in as short a time as possible. Then, he ran out of the house. Glancing down to check for a reply from Charlie. He ran towards the fence but then thought better of it. His body was still too sore for jumping. He turned and went around and onto the beach.

He looked up and down the beach and spotted Charlie at the water’s edge. Leo walked up and stood next to the other boy, not saying anything for a minute or two. Then Leo looked over at him. “Sorry, I took so long. A guy from the team took my brother and me out for ice cream to celebrate. We both made the team. I made varsity, and Kam made JV.”

Charlie turned towards Leo, reached out, and grabbed both his hands. “That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you both!” He leaned in and hugged Leo.

Leo hugged him back before saying, “Thanks, Charlie. I’m happy that Kam and I are doing something together. I think running will be perfect for both of us.” Leo put his hand against Charlie’s face. “You’re so gorgeous, Charlie.” He smiled shyly.

Leo begrudgingly pulled his hand away from Charlie. “We better stop now, or I may decide to try for more,”

Charlie smiled. “You can try, but I’m not sure how far I’d let you get.” He winked.

Leo cleared his throat. “Anyway, what did you do today? I wouldn’t want to suggest doing the same things you already did.” Leo asked.

“We went out on a boat from the aquarium down the street and went on a whale watch. That took up a few hours. It was pretty out on the water, and we did see a few whales. Then mom went shopping, and I walked around town for a while and then came down here.” Charlie took out his phone and showed it to Leo. “Here are the pics of the whales.”

“Let’s walk this way.” Leo held out one hand until Charlie took it. Then he started walking up the beach, away from the lighthouse. “There’s a small carnival up here. It’s only here in the summer. This is the last week that it will be here until next May. There’s a Ferris wheel, a few other rides, carnival games, and junk food! Do you want to go? Have you eaten yet?”

“That sounds fun! No, I haven’t had dinner, and carnival food sounds perfect! Let’s go.” Charlie squeezed Leo’s hand tighter, looked at him, and smiled as they walked up the beach towards the carnival.

By the time they had been at the carnival for twenty minutes, Leo clutched a giant stuffed panda bear almost as big as he was.

“I can never win at these carnival games. Thanks for winning this for me, Charlie. I love him. I’m going to name him Charlie. Charlie the Panda.” Leo laughed, leaned over, and kissed Charlie on the cheek. “Let’s ride the Ferris wheel before it gets too dark so I can show you my town from up high.”

The Ferris wheel line was short, and the boys were in a seat in just a few minutes. They waited as the worker ensured they were buckled in, and then he locked the safety bar. The ride began to slowly turn, stopping and starting at first while other passengers got on or off. Leo pointed out some of his favorite spots in town when the Ferris wheel neared the top.

“One of the things I love the most is that we’re at the ocean, but just a couple miles away, we can swim and fish in the river.” He pointed off to their left. “Just past where the coastline bends in is the little spot where the town gets its name, Pebble Cove. Named that way because the beach there has more pebbles than sand. The cove is pretty, the water is great, but the beach is terrible.” Leo pointed out something different to Charlie each time the Ferris wheel went up. He showed him the Seaport Village, where the old tall wooden ships were displayed. He showed him the shops that were set up to resemble a colonial village, and he showed him many other sights.

Charlie grabbed Leo’s hand. “You really love your town, don’t you?’

Leo turned his head to face Charlie. “I do. I mean, I get annoyed by the crowds during tourist season. Most tourists are jerks who don’t care about anything but themselves. They leave trash everywhere. They drink. They fight. I’m not too fond of that part. But the actual town I do love.”

“So, you hate tourists, huh?”  Charlie huffed out a laugh.

Leo blushed. “Cute tourists with hot Australian accents are the exception to my rule.” Leo turned in the seat to face Charlie, and he leaned in. Charlie was so nervous that he was nearly shaking, but he went for it. Eighteen years was long enough to wait for his first kiss. He wasn’t about to wait one minute longer. Charlie grabbed the front of Leo’s shirt with both hands and pulled him close. Their lips met tentatively at first. Charlie’s lips parted, and Leo’s tongue darted inside. Leo leaned back against the side of the Ferris wheel car, pulling Charlie down on top of him. The seat strap dug into Charlie’s chest, so he ducked under it, freeing himself. Leo ran his hands up and down Charlie’s broad, muscular back. Charlie had one hand braced against the seat to stop himself from falling and his other hand on the back of Leo’s neck, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened.

Clang! A loud metal bang rang in both boys’ ears, and they looked up, eyes wide. The ride had stopped. Their car was at the bottom, and the metal bar swung open. The carnival worker was looking at them with a look that was half scowl and half smirk.

“Get off my Ferris wheel, you two! Take that somewhere else.” He waved off in a direction away from the ride. “And you,” he pointed at Charlie. “If I ever see you on my ride again without the safety strap, I’ll kick you off permanently!”

Charlie mumbled. “Yes, sir. Of course, sir.” Then he grabbed Leo’s hand, and the two boys ran off as fast as they could away from the Ferris wheel and the line of people standing there and watching the entire thing.

They slowed down when they turned a corner and entered a different part of the carnival. Charlie spoke up. “Hey, do you want to grab something to eat?”

“Yum! Junky carnival food sounds great!” Leo chuckled. “Let’s go find some deep-fried chicken and onion rings, and when we’re done with that, some fried dough for dessert!”

Charlie rolled his eyes at the choices but followed as Leo led the way to the food booths.

After they ate what passed for dinner, the two boys walked through the carnival midway, finishing their fried dough. Leo glanced over at Charlie and smirked. He stepped directly in front of Charlie and looked up at the taller boy, then pulled Charlie’s face down to his own. As Leo leaned in close, his tongue darted out, and he slowly licked just to the side of Charlie’s mouth on both sides, then pulled back.

“What was that for?” Charlie beamed, his eyes burning with desire.

“Powdered sugar. I love it. I didn’t want to see it go to waste.” Leo shrugged and grinned and started walking again. They were passing through the carnival games when Leo suddenly stopped.

“I want to try and win something. This looks like a fun game. You won the panda for me. Now I want to win something for you.” Leo was hugging his giant panda as he spoke.

“Awe. I’m glad you like your panda, but you don’t have to win me anything. It’s sweet of you to want to, though.” Charlie replied.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. Now hold onto Charlie, Jr.” Leo handed the panda to Charlie. The game had six big metal milk jugs, and the object was to toss a baseball into one of the pitchers—two dollars for three baseballs. Leo won four times and traded up for the prize he wanted. Sixteen dollars later, he handed a giant stuffed dolphin to Charlie.

“A dolphin to welcome you to our little fishing town.” Leo leaned in and kissed Charlie.

“Should I name him Leo?” Charlie smirked. “Nah. I won’t copy you. Pebbles for Pebble Cove.”

“That’s perfect.”

Charlie pulled Leo close and kissed him before pulling back and looking down into his eyes. “There are too many people around right here. Let’s walk somewhere else.”

Leo’s eyes lit up, and a devilish grin spread across his face. “Absolutely brilliant plan. Let’s go!”

The two boys headed towards the carnival exit, but Leo pointed between the fence and the Ferris wheel. “Back there. Behind the Ferris wheel. No one will ever go back there.” He pulled Charlie along by their linked hands until they were just outside the reach of the carnival lights. Now, in near darkness, Leo turned and faced Charlie. He placed one hand flat against the older boy’s chest and firmly yet gently pushed him up against the fence. Leo freed his other hand from Charlie’s grasp and slowly ran both hands up Charlie’s body until his hands were at the collar of Charlie’s light blue button-down shirt. Leo pulled on the collar, forcing Charlie to bend down slightly. Leo leaned in, and the two met in an open-mouthed kiss. Charlie was older. Charlie was taller. However, Leo was in charge. Leo broke away from Charlie’s mouth and started licking and kissing Charlie’s jawline, then moving up to his ear. After nibbling on Charlie’s ear, Leo began kissing the older boy’s neck.

Leo let go of Charlie’s collar, and his hands found their way to the top button of his shirt. He unbuttoned the top button and kissed the newly exposed skin. His fingers were shaking just a bit with nerves, and he undid the next button and then the next. He kissed and licked his way down with each button he released. Lower and lower. He was halfway down Charlie’s chest when he felt the other boy run his fingers through his hair and grip the top of his head.

“Yeah. Oh my God, Leo, that’s amazing.” Charlie said as he gently applied pressure, urging Leo even lower. Leo was on his knees in front of Charlie. More buttons unbuttoned—more kissing and licking. Leo finally released the bottom button on the shirt and spread the shirt open. Leo’s tongue darted out and into Charlie’s innie belly button. Charlie moaned and gripped Leo’s head even tighter. Leo rubbed up and down the front of Charlie’s khaki board shorts, feeling just how into this Charlie really was. Charlie moaned even louder. “Leo. Oh, God, Leo. Wait. Stop.” Charlie grabbed Leo’s shirt and pulled him back to a standing position. Charlie’s eyes were glazed over with lust, and he was breathing heavily. He took a deep breath and began to speak before Leo could cause him to change his mind. “We have to stop. I want you so bad, but not here. Not now.”

“Why? Did I do something wrong?” Leo had a worried look in his eyes.

“No. Oh, God, no. Absolutely not. It’s just that I,” Charlie hesitated and blushed before speaking again. “I’ve never done anything like this before. The kiss on the Ferris Wheel was my first ever kiss.” He put his hand up to stop Leo from interrupting. “I know we’ve just met, but I want more of my firsts to be with you. Not here, though. Not in a muddy field behind the carnival where anyone could,” As if on cue, a loud noise interrupted them.

Crash! Bang! “Hey! You two! What are you doing over there?! You don’t belong back here! The carnival is closed!” A voice yelled.

Both boys nearly jumped out of their skins. Leo spun and looked towards the yelling and saw a carnival worker. The man was emptying trash into a bin and had seen the boys. Leo grabbed Charlie’s hand, and they ran off into the darkness. They ran through the exit and out onto the beach. They never even slowed until they were near the path leading to Leo’s house, where they finally stopped.