Sun-Kissed

The night same night that I found out that my parents were getting a divorce was the same night that I met the Owen. After that night, my life was never the same in many, many ways.
My parents sat down me, my sister, and my brother and told us all that their marriage was ending and that they were going to get a divorce. It’s not like the three of us didn’t see it coming, because, for the past year or so, it’s been a warzone around my parents. Lorena and Victor almost seemed relieved, but I wasn’t the least bit relieved. It didn’t affect them much because they were already pretty much independent. Lorena was in her junior year of college, home on summer break, and Victor was living with his fiance Becca. I was the only one this was really going to affect. I was just barely turned seventeen and still a year away from college. Who am I going to live with an will I be able to go to the same school? I don’t want to graduate with a bunch of strangers.
As soon as the conversation about their divorce was over, I stormed off into my room. I slammed my door and fell onto my unmade bed. Even though it was hot as balls, I grabbed my blanket and I covered my entire body. I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t help it. I fought it for as long as I could before a single tear came rolling down my face. I wiped it right away and just sat in the darkness of under my blanket. That’s when I heard a knock on my door.
“Hey buddy, it’s me,” said Lorena from the other side of the door.
I don’t answer her because I want her to go away, but I hear her open the door and come in. At that moment I had regretted not installing a doorknob with a lock on it. I hear her close the door behind her and walk over. I feel her sit on my bed next to me.
“You ok Danny?” She asks. I feel her put a hand on my shoulder.
I lift the blanket off of me and push it to the side. I look her in her eyes and it takes everything for me not to just breakdown right in front of her. I decided to just talk to her because she always just the right thing to make me feel better.
“I’m just scared,” I finally say.
“Of what?”
“Of what’s going to happen. You and Vic, you guys have lives outside of home. I’m only seventeen. I don’t have a say in what happens to me when this is all done. What if they make me move and leave my school and my friends?”
“Mom and dad would never do that to you. You’re so close to graduating. It wouldn’t make any sense.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what's going on in their head.”
“Look if it comes down to that, Vic and I will talk to them. We’ll try to convince them against it. But I really do think you’re freaking out over nothing.”
It did make me feel better that she and Victor would try and convince my parents not to move me if it came down to it. But I still needed some time to myself and something told me that I wasn’t going to get it at home.
“Lori, can I borrow your car?”
“What?! Where are you gonna go?”
“To my place. You know where.”
There was this spot of beach that was probably a ten to fifteen-minute drive from our house. It was secluded enough that not really a lot of people go there. I went there sometimes to clear my head. I would usually take my parents’ car, but I didn’t feel like asking them then.
“I don’t know Danny, it’s getting late.”
“It’s only five.”
“Please, Lori. I’ll only be like an hour.”
She looked at me suspiciously. “Okay, but if there is so much as a scuff mark on my car when you get back, I will fuck you up.”
“I promise I’ll be gentle.”
She cuts her eyes at me, gets up, walks out of my room and comes back with her keys.
“Thank you! Please just tell mom and dad that I’ll be back.”
I rush past her with her keys in my hand and race out the front door. Once I’m in her car, I turn it on, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen is blasting on the radio. I immediately turn it off. It’s not a bad song, just not my thing. I’d rather drive in silence. I drove carefully because I really believe Lorena when she says she’ll fuck me up if anything happens to her car. It’s about half past five so the sun has started to get low in the sky but hasn’t quite started to set. I park in a spot with a meter and am glad that Lorena keeps change in her car because that’s what I used to pay it.
When I got down to the beach there were some people there, maybe my age, maybe older playing around. They all looked like a big group of friends, maybe seven of them. I had only ever had one friend, my best friend Robbie. I always wanted a group of friends, but at the same time having just Robbie has always felt really special, like we have a special bond that no one else is in on.
I walk over to the beach and sit down in a spot that’s close to the water, but not close enough that I would get wet at all. I was trying to focus on the tranquility of the waves so I could clear my thoughts, but it was difficult with the group of friends a few feet away from me laughing and throwing a football. I could tell they weren’t from my school, because I didn’t recognize any of them. They were all typical jock types: tall, built, either in sleeveless shirts or no shirts at all. None of them was exactly my type, except for one guy that was with them.
He seemed to fit in, but also kind of stood out from the rest of them. He was the only one with a full t-shirt on, but I could tell that he was still in shape. He had this floppy black hair that was shiny in the sunlight. He was the only one without either a buzzcut or short spiked up hair. His skin was definitely sun-kissed. I could tell he probably spends a lot of time on the beach. I didn’t want to look too long just in case one of them spotted me looking. As soon as I turned away, their football hits my head really hard. It wasn’t actually hard enough to knock me down, but I was caught off guard so I kind of fell over a little bit.
I picked myself up and then picked the football up. I looked over and it was him. He was running towards me. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do or how to act. He was so cute, with his hair flopping in the breeze as he jogged over. He stopped right in front of me.
“Hey, sorry about that. Are you ok?”
The question, even though I knew it was about being hit in the head, made me immediately think about my parents. I thought about how my life was never going to be the same and that my whole entire childhood is basically ruined because every time I think about even the good memories, I’m going to think about my parents. Then, I’ll think about if they were even really ever happy in the first place. All of a sudden, I was crying. I couldn’t bear to stand any longer so I sat down with a thud. The handsome jock sat down next to me.
“Hey, Owen!” One of his friends called after him.
He took the football from my hands and tossed it back to his friend.
“Dude, what the hell?” His friend called out.
“Chill,” said Owen. “I’ll be right there.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “You okay man?”
“I’m fine,” I answered as I wiped my tears. “I just found out my parents are getting a divorce.”
“Ouch, that must be rough, man. Is that why you’re out here all alone?”
I nod my head.
“Do you wanna come and hang out with me and my friends?”
I looked over to his friends. They look like all the popular kids at my school and I’ve never gotten along with them at all. I wanted to keep hanging out with Owen, but something told me that his friends would not like me.
“Thanks, but I’ve gotta get back home.”
“That’s cool. I’ll see you around.” He gets up to leave.
“Okay, bye Owen.”
He stops and looks at me suspiciously. I immediately knew I put my foot in my mouth.
“Sorry, I heard your friend say your name.” I was completely embarrassed.
“I guess I should know your name too then.” He said with a smile.
“It’s Danny,” I answered.
“Cool, see you later Danny,” he yelled as he turned around to jog back to his friends.

* * *

As soon as I got home, I returned the car keys back to Lorena and ran to my room to text Robbie. He was the only one at the time that knew that I was gay.

OMG Robbie, you’ll never
Believe what just happened
To me

FUCK WHAT?!

I just met the hottest
Guy!

Cool! Where?

At the beach today.

Tell me what
happened.

Well my parents told me
They were getting a divorce
And I got mad and drove to
My spot on the beach and
He was there with his friends.
They hit me on the head
With their football and he
Came to see if I was ok.

Holy shit Danny your
Parents are getting
A divorce?!

For a moment, I had almost forgotten that my parents were getting a divorce. His text shoved me back to reality with a roundhouse kick. Over text, I explained to him in more detail what happened. He was super supportive like he always is. He even offered to come and spend the night, like he’s done many times, just so I wouldn’t be alone. I told him no. I wouldn’t have been very good company.
I’ve always really appreciated my friendship with Robbie. We’ve been friends since the third grade. We would always sit next to each other in class because my last name is Garcia and his last name is Garza. We have always been pretty much inseparable. I even spent some holidays with his family instead of mine and vice/versa. We’re pretty much family.
I remember the day that I knew I had to come out to him. We were both fifteen. It was killing me to keep a secret like that from him. He would always talk to me about girls and I would always agree and try and talk about girls that I liked, even though I never liked anyone. I felt like I was lying to him. I decided to him one day during lunch at school, which we would about have behind building A because no one at there and we liked our privacy. I was really quiet and I could feel my heart beating out of my chest as we leaned against the building eating our lunches.
“Hey, Danny, you okay bro? You look kinda pale?”
“Yeah, I’m cool,” I responded. I wasn’t.
“You sure?”
I took a deep breath and then a bite of my personal pizza that I bought with my lunch money. Once I was done with my bite, I took another deep breath and turned to Robbie. I was sure he was gonna hate me and never speak to me again.
“I have to tell you something, man. I don’t think you’re going to like it, but it’s just something I’ve got to do.”
“Danny, you know you can tell me whatever.”
“I’m…I’m…”
“What?”
“I’m gay.”
“Oh, that? I know.”
“You know?” I was stunned. I almost dropped my pizza.
“Yeah, I’ve known since like sixth grade. I always saw you looking at guys, like the way I look at girls.”
“But, I would talk about girls with you. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Eh, I figured you’d let me know when you were ready. It’s not a big deal, man; you’re still my brother. We’re cool.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a pat.
After that, it was like nothing ever happened. He still slept over at my place. I still slept over at his. He was still my best friend. He was still my brother.

* * *

The day after I met Owen on the beach, I convinced Robbie that we had to go to my spot to see if he would go back. I wanted to go back around the same time, just in case. As I was getting a bag ready for the beach day that Robbie and I planned, I could hear my mom and dad talking and it started to get heated. I peeked my head out of my door and then tiptoed to the living room. Apparently, I wasn’t as stealthy as I thought I was because my mom immediately called me over.
“We need to talk.” said my dad with his deep voice.
My dad was a big, burly man with brown skin and jet black hair. He played football in high school and a little in community college because he got my mom pregnant with my brother Victor, who is a junior by the way. They got married and he got a job in construction. He was pretty much everything I wasn’t: macho and strong.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I’m moving out. I’m going to stay with your Tio Pedro for a little bit while I find a place of my own. You and your mother will stay here while you finish out your senior year. After you graduate we’re going to sell the house and split the money so we can each just go our separate ways. Is that okay with you?”
I was so relieved that I wouldn’t have to leave my school, my home, and my best friend. “Sure, that’s okay with me.”
“We’re so sorry that you have to go through this, son. We just want you to know that this is not your fault or anyones. We just grew apart.” My mom had this soft and soothing voice, but when she was mad, her cry could wake a thousand dead men. She was kind of a petite woman, which where I think I get my frame from. I definitely get my height from my dad though.
“It’s alright guys. I mean, it completely sucks that you guys are getting a divorce, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” They look at me with concern. “Hey, so I’m gonna go to the beach with Robbie and then he’s gonna spend the night. Is that okay?”
“Ask your mother. I don’t live here anymore,” answered my dad.
I looked out of the living room window into the front yard. My dad’s truck was parked in front of the house and there was a bunch of boxes and bags. I gave my dad a very awkward hug before he walked out of the house. I looked over at my mom and I could see tears forming in her eyes. I reached over to her and wrapped her in a hug. Her head rested just underneath my chest.
She ended the hug and looked up at me, wiping her tears. “Roberto is coming to stay?”
“Mom, please, he liked Robbie. How many years has it been?”
“Roberto is the name his mother gave him and that’s the name I’ll call him.” She wiped more tears. “Tell him we’re having tacos for dinner.”

A few minutes later, Robbie arrived to pick me up to go to my spot. Everyone knew about my spot, but he was the only one who actually knew where it was. Well, except for Owen, but he didn’t know it was my spot. I would usually only welcome Owen there with me, but if I could see Owen more often, I was willing to make another exception.
We did have a nice afternoon at the beach, but we didn’t see Owen again. It was getting late, and my mom would be expecting us home for dinner. I actually thought that I could see a little disappointment in Robbie’s face. I didn’t bring it up to him though.

We sat at the dinner table with my mom. When she said we were having tacos for dinner, she usually just means some meat that’s grilled and chopped and put in a tortilla. She seemed to have gone all out. There was al pastor, carne asada, and carnitas. Plus, she chopped a fresh pico de gallo and made fresh salsa. I was wondering if she was trying to overcompensate and keep herself busy because it would be her first night in twenty-four years without my dad around.
“So, Roberto, any plans for the summer? Are you going to get a job?”
“I’ve been looking at some fast food places and also stuff on the pier, Mrs. Garcia.”
“I heard that Mr. Soto hiring people at his shop.” She turned to me. “Mijo, you should apply too.”
I was in the middle of a bite of my taco. Some meat spilled out as I opened my mouth to answer. “Sure, mom.”
I could tell that my mom was starting to crumble. I wanted to be there for her, but I also didn’t want Robbie to see her like that. I know for a fact she would be embarrassed. I finished my food quickly and signaled for Robbie to do the same.
“Okay mom, Robbie and I are just gonna go to my room now,” I said.
“Okay mijo, put your dishes in the sink.”
Whenever Robbie would sleep over, we would usually just watch movies on the tv in my bedroom which didn’t have cable but had a DVD player. He also would usually bring over his playstation, but this time he didn’t. We also didn’t have any new movies to watch so I just put in my Thor DVD just as background. It was just us, with nothing to do. It was a little awkward. I could tell he wanted to talk about my parents, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to talk about it. We ended up sitting on the floor, beside my bed, watching a movie that we’ve both seen more times than I can count in silence. I leaned over and I put my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me tight. I could feel myself let go and suddenly start to cry. I was never more comfortable than when I was with Robbie.