“Hey bro!” he greeted, clapping me on the shoulder. “Ready for a day of fishing?” he asked a little too excitedly.
I knew he wanted to come to the lake house to hang out with me, but secretly we both knew that he wanted an excuse to escape his wife.
“Yeah buddy, come on in,” I said, letting him by me.
He set his tackle box on the counter with a clatter, then turned to me.
“So! Tell me all about your week. Let’s catch up. Are you seeing anyone new yet?” he asked.
I frowned. Jake’s nosiness was ever-present in my life. He always wanted to know who I was dating, and if they were interesting enough to introduce to the family.
“Not yet…” I said, leading him down to the boat dock.
We descended the stairs as he pestered me questions about what “not yet” meant.
“That means you’ve met someone!” he declared.
I was silent, hiding my face from him.
“Come on Adam, just tell me! It’s been months since…”
I cut him off with a stern look.
“Sorry…” he said, cowing down. “It’s just that, you’re in the prime of your life, you know? You should be going out, dating around.”
Scowling for what felt like the tenth time today, I ignored him as I began to turn the wheel and lower the boat into the water. We both secretly knew that he was trying to live vicariously through me.
“How are things going with your wife?” I asked, hoping to get the subject back to something else.
He prattled on for a minute, looking out onto the lake, giving me some domestic details of his life.
Then my eyes grew wide as I spotted some of my… toys in the boat still.
I forgot that the last time I was out here, I had him with me… and we had some fun on the water.
“Look at that jet ski!” I said with panic as I hopped into the boat, rushing to conceal the pile of ropes and restraints.
My naive brother zeroed in on the jet ski with a “Woah!” and walked to the edge of the dock. “I’ve always wanted to ride one of those things…”
“Oh really?!” I said a little too enthusiastically as I piled the ropes and restraints into one of the storage cubbies on the boat.
Just as I shut the lid, Jake turned to face me again.
There was a second of panic as I wondered if he’d seen. If my family ever found out…
Well, I just couldn’t let that happen.
“Ready to catch some fish?” he asked enthusiastically as he jumped into the boat.
Internally I sighed with relief. There was no way he’d seen.
Jake was not someone who was skilled at keeping his mouth shut. If he saw something that interested him, I could guarantee that he would ask all sorts of questions about it, and then tell his wife about it. And if his wife knew about it, my entire family would learn about it.
As I drove the boat out into the middle of the lake, I was happy to be away from his chattering for a second so I could let my mind wander to what I really wanted to focus on: Luke.
There had to be some way I could get to know him; to manufacture another meeting. I could go to that boathouse bar that Mrs. Carr was talking about, but that might be a little too premeditated…
No, Luke was special. And he needed a special introduction.
You already had an introduction and you screwed it up! A nasty voice hissed in my head.
I frowned as I killed the boat motor, and then Jake began to chatter again.
“So, there’s no one you’re seeing in your life right now?” He asked with a grin.
“Drop it,” I commanded, getting annoyed with my little brother’s persistence.
“You know they’re expecting you to bring someone to Thanksgiving this year,” he said as he pierced a cricket with a fishing hook.
An uncomfortable sharp pain pierced my gut. Last Thanksgiving, my old sub didn’t want to come with me. He didn’t want to be part of my “real life,” he said.
I had to lie to my family and tell them I wasn’t seeing anyone seriously. Which, of course, only caused them to ask more questions about it.
The whole day, which was supposed to be a day surrounded by love and family, turned out to be the loneliest day I’d ever had. Again and again, I had to answer the same questions about my singleness; why wasn’t I bringing anyone home, who was I seeing, etcetera etcetera.
Every single one of my brothers and sisters was paired up; either dating someone seriously or married. So all of the family’s attention was on me as I was literally the odd one out.
“Come on, you’re a handsome dude. There must be someone you’ve got around you…” Jake teased, his eyes twinkling.
There was no way he’d stop unless I gave him something. “Well… as you know, I had a breakup a few months ago.”
Jake’s eyes — which were a shade darker than mine — shifted to a look of empathy.
“But I’ve… sort of met someone.” I offered.
“I KNEW IT!!” Jake boomed, his cry echoing across the lake.
“Calm the fuck down!” I hissed. “It’s nothing — nothing special.”
Liar. The voice in my head hissed.
“It was just a meeting. I don’t even know if I’ll ever see him again.”
Double liar, my inner voice taunted me.
“What?! Adam you’re— you’re blushing!” Jake teased me as he whisked his pole through the air, casting his line out into the water.
“Shut up. I’m not.” I said, trying to conceal the heat that was rising into my cheeks.
I didn’t like this; I wasn’t in control.
There was something about this beautiful stranger, the one that I was telling my brother about right now — that made me feel so different. …I also felt like a huge creep for telling my brother about someone that I had met just once, in passing.
“So what else do you know about him?! Come on big guy, tell me!” Jake demanded.
“I don’t know much,” I admitted.
“Ugh! You’re such a liar….”
