Overboard (15 page)

Duncan hoped he would have vivid dreams. He knew exactly who he wanted to dream about.

S
ebastian sat
alone in the casino playing video poker. He hated not sitting at the table with the other high-rollers playing the exciting games, but knew he needed to start making some adjustments to the amount of money he spent.

Things could only work with Duncan if Sebastian managed to grow up. He had lost fifty dollars already. Normally he wouldn’t even get into a poker game for less than fifty dollars a hand. But the fifty dollars he had lost was like a million since he had set a strict limit. Each nickel he wasted felt like a lost chance with Duncan.

He stretched. He would just finish off his drink and go back to the room to call it a night. Spending the night alone watching TV with Duncan in their room sounded immensely better than throwing nickels into the casino’s coffers. He played one last hand, another loss, and started to rise from the chair.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“There you are,” Katey shouted above the noise of the casino. “I wondered where you and my brother had been hiding.”

Sebastian put in another nickel. He’d have to play a few hands so it wouldn’t look like he was avoiding her by cashing out and running away.

“We went to the pyramids today. It was a great trip, but between the bus ride and the time we spent there, it really did take all day.”

“I took you more as a suntan-by-the-beach kind of guy.

“Totally. Duncan wanted to go. We’ll go snorkeling or something more beach-related next time.”

It sounded like a date in Sebastian’s ears. He needed to change the subject. “Jason feeling good enough to get out of bed?”

Katey frowned. “Yeah, he was feeling a little bit better today. We were able to do a little shopping and then we actually managed to hang out at the beach for a while. But he’s just not been himself the last couple days. Poor guy just doesn’t seem to have any energy. He barely leaves his room.”

She sat down next to Sebastian and fed a twenty-dollar bill into the machine. Sebastian either needed to find some excuse to leave right then or he’d have to settle in for a longer conversation.

“So I think I’m...” Sebastian started.

“Great to see Duncan with a friend,” Katey interrupted, tapping the buttons on her machine and not making eye contact with Sebastian. “I was worried that he’s lonely up in Miami. We tried to talk him into moving back home several times, but something keeps him away. I’m sure it has to do with Dad. The two of them haven’t gotten along in years. I think they like each other most of the time, but they still just always end up fighting for some reason. Fuck. Sorry. TMI, right?”

Sebastian had no idea how to reply. He and Duncan were supposed to be business partners. Even the idea of them as close friends was supposed to be a stretch.

“Yeah, well, Duncan is a great guy. He does really good, quality work. I’m sure our business is going to be a big success and he’s going to be most of the reason why.”

Katey patted Sebastian’s knee comfortingly. “I’m sure you bring plenty of your own to the partnership.”

Sebastian waited for her to say more but no words came. He played a couple of hands to fill the silence and find a rebuttal to what she was insinuating.

“I guess,” Sebastian finally said. “But he’s much better than I am. Anyway, you think that your dad and Duncan don’t get along? You should see me and my dad. I’m a total disappointment to him. Not that he’s too far off sometimes, I guess. I’m actually a little worried that Duncan is risking too much... partnering with me.”

Sebastian wondered if she was even listening anymore. She played hand after hand without response.

“So, thanks for the kind words about the business plan. But almost everything that people like about me, I got from my family. I’m not really much of a grown up sometimes. Most of the time, actually.”

Katey finally broke her silence. She still didn’t look away from the machines. “Well clearly something about you appeals to Duncan. I’m inclined to trust his judgment. If he wants the two of you together, I think it’ll work out.”

“I hope it works out with us. He’s so worried about anybody finding out we’re together that I just hope he finds a way...”

Sebastian panicked when he realized the conversation had switched from their partnership to their relationship.

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” Katey squealed while pounding Sebastian on his shoulders. “I’m so happy for you two.”

Sebastian hung his head. “Shit. Duncan is going to kill me. He really didn’t want me to tell anybody until after the wedding.”

“Your secret is safe with me. I just want my brother to be happy. And if you make him happy, then I’m happy. So keep making him happy. Where did you guys meet? When did you guys meet? How long of you two been together? Are you two serious? Sorry for all the questions. I’m just so excited. I can’t remember the last time my brother dated anyone. I have to know everything. But I’ll slow down. Where did you guys meet?”

Sebastian leaned back in his chair. He rolled his eyes at himself. “We met at one of those be speed-dating things. I was being a complete ass. Your brother wanted nothing to do with me.”

Katey fake frowned. “Sounds like a rough start. Then what happened?”

“Well after that...” Sebastian realized that he couldn’t explain too much about the construction part. It would lead to the Jason situation, which he didn’t want to think about.

“Duncan and I bumped into each other on a project he was working on. We really didn’t have much to do with each other until very recently. Right before the cruise. We decided that we were going into business together and kind of hit it off a little. Things have really taken it to another level since the cruise.”

Sebastian thought he had covered enough to make Katey happy, without risking throwing Jason under the bus where he probably deserved to be.

“Well I’m just so happy for you guys. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for either of you at the wedding to make it more fun. It’s got to be rough to go to a wedding while keeping your own relationship under wraps. Duncan’s a quiet guy. I get why he won’t blab. Hopefully he’ll open up after we get back home. I haven’t seen as much of you two as I would like, because of all the wedding stuff, but every time I see the two of you together, I can see that little spark. There’s a passion there even if the two of you are trying to hide it. Sometimes I just wish we had a little bit more of that.”

Sebastian was overjoyed at Katey’s support. He had thought a lot about how the family might react after Duncan came out. He was pretty sure Nancy would be fine, and now he knew Katey would. That just left George. That might still be a problem, but if Duncan had support from his mother and sister, things would probably work out well enough.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine being with someone I didn’t have those kind of sparks with. Your brother’s a lot of fun. He can just walk into the room and change my mood completely.”

Katey had continued playing while they talked. The lights and buzzers erupted on her poker machine. “Oh my God. What did I win? I don’t even understand. Did I just win two hundred dollars?”

Coins poured out of the machine.

“I’m going to quit while I’m ahead. You have a good night. We’ll catch up tomorrow.”

Katey scooped all the coins into her bucket and rushed away.

Sebastian stayed in his seat and played a couple extra hands, losing even more nickels. He shook his head.

Not at the money, but at Katey.

Sebastian was glad that someone knew. Duncan would be too. Eventually. Sebastian just hoped that Katey could keep it secret until Duncan was ready to tell her himself.

Sebastian eventually left the casino. He wanted to go back to Duncan, but knew that Duncan really needed the sleep.

Instead he wandered up to an outside deck. The sun was just setting. Sebastian leaned over the railing watching the wake the ship left behind, and the reds and purples exploding in the sky.

He wished Duncan were there to share the view with him.

He couldn’t see land in any direction. Everything was so calm and peaceful. Off in the distance, Sebastian noticed some storm clouds. He hoped that they were going in a different direction. On a ship this big, a storm wouldn’t be too bad, but who wanted to deal with crummy weather. Sebastian sat in one of the lounge chairs waiting for the sun to set and the stars to come out.

He’d give Duncan another hour or two and then go back to wake him up and make sure he ate something before the late comedy show the whole family had tickets for that night.

D
uncan woke alone in bed
. He had hoped Sebastian would have joined him, but he must have found something more entertaining to do. Not that Duncan blamed him. Sleeping during a cruise did sound pretty lame. He just prayed that the more-entertaining thing was something he would approve of.

Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he threw on some clean clothes. He liked the feel of the soft fibers of his new clothes.

He figured he should look for Sebastian and some dinner. Based on the growling in his stomach, not necessarily in that order.

While the ship frequently felt very small while they were trying to avoid his family, it felt enormous when trying to find Sebastian on it. Duncan looked for a half hour with no luck. For all he knew, Sebastian could be looking for him and they were walking around each other in circles. Hell, Sebastian might have returned to their room.

Duncan decided to grab a burger and a drink at the bar and figure it out afterward. Sitting in one spot for a while would give Sebastian a chance to find him. If he didn’t show up, Duncan would head back to the room to see if Sebastian was there.

They were having a karaoke night at the first bar he found. A man and woman of about Duncan’s age were singing a horrible version of “I Got You Babe.” They knew they were bad, but they were having fun being bad together.

Duncan missed Sebastian and wondered what he sounded like when he sang. If Sebastian showed up, Duncan would drag them up on stage to sing a duet together.

No I wouldn’t. Someone might see us.

It was driving him crazy how much he worried about his family. The wedding couldn’t get over with quickly enough.

The bartender served Duncan his burger. Duncan took a huge bite, trying to swallow his frustrations at the same time.

He tried not to think about where Sebastian really was. There was almost no chance that he was back in the room already. Sebastian was a night owl, a party animal. He was more likely to be dancing somewhere then checking on Duncan back at the room. Duncan imagined Sebastian in the arms of another man. Probably that masseur.

He took another large bite of the burger.

He needed to be more trusting and less jealous or he’d end up sabotaging the relationship without Sebastian actually doing anything wrong. Sebastian seemed willing to put his past behind him. Duncan needed to do the same.

The couple ended their song. The crowd clapped and whistled sarcastically. The old couple from the shuffleboard court took the stage to sing the next song. Duncan laughed when he heard the opening to “Sweet Caroline.”

It felt good to smile. Things were going to be okay. He just needed to relax.

“Asshole!”

Duncan turned toward the voice, hoping that a fight wasn’t about to break out in the bar.

Jason shoved him in the chest. “What the fuck, man? What are you doing here? I don’t need you cock-blocking me on this cruise. It’s bad enough that I’m about to be hitched, I don’t need you ruining my side action.”

Jason’s eyes darted to a table in the corner. The pretty woman from the dock sat there, pointedly ignoring the two men. She forced her attention toward the stage instead.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just getting a burger. What are you doing here with her? Where is Katey?”

“Listen, dickwad. I don’t give a shit who you fuck. And you don’t give a shit who I fuck. Got it? Any word of this gets back to Katey, I’ll tell everyone that you’re fucking Sebastian for money.”

Duncan nearly fell off his barstool. “For money? What the hell you talking about?”

He floundered, trying to figure out what Jason might know. If he was even guessing anything though, it was going to be a disaster. He couldn’t have Jason out him to his parents.

Duncan needed to convince Jason that he was wrong.

“How do I know? Sebastian told me. He was in here a little while ago. He came over and talked to us. After a couple drinks, he was bragging about how he was fucking you more than I did with the basement project. Shit, man. You sure do like getting screwed by us men, don’t you? Yeah, I figured out that you were my guy from Sebastian’s basement. But since you haven’t said shit, let’s keep it that way.”

Duncan wanted to vomit.

Had Sebastian really bragged to Jason?

Between Jason bragging about screwing him over, and the thought of Sebastian blabbing so readily to an asshole like Jason, Duncan didn’t know what was happening anymore. He just wanted to be off the ship, done with the vacation, and curled up in his bed at home.

No more people. They weren’t worth it.

“Don’t worry,” Jason said with an ugly smile. “He sang some gay song up on the stage with some pretty boy with lots of muscles and a beard and then they left about a half hour ago. Do you gays need longer than that to fuck? Anyway you might not need to worry about your family finding out about your gayness. If Sebastian stays with that other guy, you might be okay. Your secret will be safe with me. As long as my secret is safe with you.”

Duncan ran from the bar. He hurried to the outside of the ship, leaned over the railing, and threw up into the ocean.

His sister was being cheated on, and he was being blackmailed to not say anything about it.

He had to tell her. But if he did, it would force himself out of the closet.

“Damn it!”

Duncan collapsed to the ground and curled up into a ball, crying.

He wanted Sebastian to come and comfort him. It was stupid, but he needed someone to hug him and the only one he wanted it from was the man who was probably cheating on him and causing him all the grief in the first place.