19. FALLON

He made my stomach all fluttery with butterflies from kissing me out in public. There weren't many people out by the pool we were in, but it was still a nice feeling to have him do it. Henry had expressed his jealousy of me getting a Daddy for summer and he was still without one. I wished I could've helped him, but Sterling was practically on our doorstep, it was practically impossible for me not to see him.

We played mermen in the pool for a little longer. A couple of adults came in and started doing laps, it really ruined the fun we were having.

Sterling's words were held over me as we got out. "Remember to put sun block on once you're out of the water." I would never forget, especially knowing he would ask me later and I couldn't lie. I liked being a good boy for him.

We sat around the pool afterwards, making the most of the sun loungers in direct sun.

"You do my back and I'll do yours," I said, shaking the bottle of sun block.

Henry laid on his front. "Do mine first then."

"But you have to promise you'll do mine," I said.

"I promise." It wasn't like I thought he wouldn't, but he'd been acting a little strange since things with Sterling had gotten more intense and I felt like we were arguing a little more. But we were best friends, and we never spent so much time together, of course, we were going to argue.

After applying the lotion to Henry's back, I laid on my sun lounger and he applied it to me. It was cold. "I don't want to go back to the office," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I don't want to go back to work for my dad," he said. "I'm so sick of reading contracts in an office all day."

It was the first time I'd heard him speak negatively about his job. In my mind, Henry was living his best lawyer life. "You don't have to work for him." I sat up on the lounger and faced him.

"I do," he grumbled. "Where else would I work? Nobody is going to employ me, they'll just think I'm trying to steal clients because of my last name. And I haven't even finished rubbing the lotion on your back. Lay back down."

"I'm sure there are more people with the last name Beck who are lawyers," I said, going chest first on the lounger.

"With my experience of working at Green and Beck?" he grumbled. "They'll know from the jump on my resume who my dad is."

I hadn't exactly thought of that. It had been a while since I'd updated my resume. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I want to work in entertainment law," he said, biting on his lip. "I want to read over contracts for actors and musicians. I want to feel like my work is doing something. Instead, I'm just—" he stuck his tongue out and scoffed. "I'm just wasting my life reading contracts for firms or looking over wills and stuff. It's boring as hell."

I wasn't in any real position to be giving job advice, but Henry was my best friend. "Do it," I told him. "If it makes you happy, you should do it."

"Thanks," he said, swiping his hands across my back, spreading the lotion. "I just wanted to vent. My dad is putting so much pressure on me to take more responsibility at the firm, and I don't want it. His area of law has never interested me."

My knowledge of his job was minimal, and I liked to keep it that way. It was confusing as hell trying to remember all the long words he would say, but what I would always remember was how he said something, so I knew if it was good or bad.

"And do you have anything in mind?" I asked, turning to face him, I propped myself on my elbow.

"Yes," he let out all giddy. "There's a firm in Manhattan, they're actively hiring. A friend from law school recently got a job there and they're expanding. I really want to apply."

"Do it! Do it!" I chanted and clapped.

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"I wondered why you were looking so sour," I said.

"I'm not sour."

"Just a little. I thought it was because of Sterling."

He laughed, patting my arm and swiping me with the residue of lotion. "No, I'm happy that you're getting some D on the daily. It actually kinda was the reminder I needed to take control of what I want to do. I just don't know how my dad will react when I tell him."

"It's your life," I said. Words I'd been living by for years, and somewhat destructively. "We can do it together."

"Maybe when my mom throws her Hamptons party," he said. "He won't try and cause a scene there."

"Perfect."

It was strange to think about being back in the States, mostly because I didn't want to wish away the remaining time spent in Mexico. But there was one thing for certain and that was time, it would continue to go and it would keep running. I needed time to stop for a little while, just to give me more time with Sterling.

After a little while baking in the sun, we headed back to the villa and napped for dinner. I hadn't realized just how well I was sleeping after spending all day in the sun. It was the most well-rested I'd felt in a while. It seemed to sap away at the stress I felt completely unbothered.

Henry's mood changed too. I hoped he'd gotten it all off his chest earlier. I didn't like seeing my best friend go through all that mental stress. I was usually the one going through it, so it put a different spin on our friendship for the better half of a day.

I tried to keep talk of Sterling to a minimum, because even though Henry had said he loved that I'd found a summer fling, I didn't want to rub his face in it.

In the restaurant, we sat a table with a tall lit candle in the center. It was awfully romantic.

"I hope they don't think we're in a relationship," Henry said.

"Oh my god, you remember that time we went for lunch together and didn't realize it was Valentine's Day."

He snorted laughing. "That was the day I'd just slept with that absolutely Daddy, what was his name?"

"He had a name?" I asked, looking over the menu in front of me. "Because I feel like you just referred to him as Daddy."

"That was his title, obviously," he said. "Maybe we didn't exchange names."

"You met him in that club."

Henry snapped his fingers in realization. "The Playhouse Club," he said.

A server came over. "Hola," she said. "Oh. Have you looked at the menu?"

"Oh, no, I—sorry," Henry rambled to the woman, she didn't know what he was going on about. I couldn't keep myself from giggling at the miscommunication between his action and the overexplaining.

"I'll take the tacos," I said, pointing at the menu. "Are they spicy?"

"Picante," she said. "Yes, or no. You can choose."

"No spice," I said. The last thing I wanted to be dealing with were stomach issues. "And is that beef or chicken?"

"Yes," she said. "You pick."

I wanted her to tell me. "Um. Surprise me," I said. I knew from the way she stared at me that I was making her job difficult. "Chicken," I added.

She jotted my order down. "And you?" she asked Henry.

"The same," he said. "Beef. Not spicy."

We giggled about it after she left.

"I was thinking of getting beef," I said.

"I know you were," he said. "This way we can share, like, I can have some chicken, you can have some beef, and we can see which ones taste the best. And what happened to you and your spice tolerance?"

"Uh—well, Sterling is coming over later," I said. That was the only excuse required. He understood immediately.

Henry tried to keep his finger snapping to a minimum, recalling our conversation before the server came over. "The club," he said. "I went once—no—twice."

"I went once," I told him. "The fees for that place were so high."

"Yeah, but I got laid twice."

"It was a little's paradise," I mumbled. "They had that room where you could draw with crayons on the floor and walls. It really allowed me to live out my dreams of scribbling on everything."

"They had the foam ball pit too."

It was sensory heaven there. I just wished it was cheaper. And I knew the reason Henry never went was because he didn't want to leave me behind.

"I'm ready for a boyfriend," Henry said.

My eyes scanned the room. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, and it wasn't even because of the food. "Same," I said. "A boyfriend would just be so much fun."

"You were looking for him, weren't you?" he said, looking directly behind me.

I flinched. But Sterling wasn't there. "You're a dick."

"I really think the two of you will need to get as much fun as you can together because I know the moment we're on the flight back, you're gonna be a mess," he said.

I sighed, my chin pressing against my chest. "You're not wrong."

"I'm never wrong."

I laughed. "Liar. I don't want to think about it ending, so I won't."

"That's the spirit," he said, once more looking behind my head and trying to trick me.

It wasn't a trick that time. Sterling approached the table. "I've finished for the evening," he said. "I will leave the two of you to eat, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm free once you've had dinner and whatever else you had planned."

I looked from him then to Henry. "Maybe like midnight."

"No," Henry said. "I've spent all damn day with you. After we've eaten, you can go get your back blown out. I'll go visit the bar and make friends."

Through a stifled laugh, Sterling replied. "There are many queer people here, so you might find someone that way."

"We'll probably be like forty minutes," I said.

"No, take your time," he said. "I need to go shower and change. But I'll see you later."

Once Sterling left the table, I let out a squeal maybe only dogs could hear.

"I think he's gonna be crushed once you leave too," Henry said. "It's a shame you can't just get a job here and like stay in a room. Maybe not his room because I think relationships only work when you give each other space."

"Honestly, I think he's over this place," I said. "One night, he told me about how this place loses its magic once you've been here for a while. I think I'd prefer to leave while the magic is still here than overstay and end up hating it."

"Ugh, that is actually really well said." Henry snapped his fingers close to the table. "I promise I'm not trying to get you to move out."

"I wouldn't mind if you were, sometimes I think it's only a matter of time."

"Shut up," he said, kicking me under the table. "You're my bestie. I'd never kick you out."

The server came back with our plates of food, cutting the cute moment we were sharing short. There were several small tortillas making tacos, stuffed with sizzling meat and salad. There were a side of sauces and cheese. "Salsa, guacamole, and sour cream," she said.

"Thank you, sorry, gracias," I said. "Look at me, being all bilingual."

She smiled and nodded, leaving the table.

"Far from bilingual," Henry shattered my dream.

"At least I'm not a B-I-tch," I said, sticking my tongue at him.

Henry placed a hand to his chest. "Wounded," he said. "Ok. You wanna try the beef first. These smell amazing."

"I don't know where to begin."

The food, while small was delicious. Each taco was two bites, and that was me stuffing my face with as much as possible. The beef had an oily tongue coating taste to it, while the chicken was a little more charred grill tasting.

By the time we finished, I could feel a little food baby in my belly. I'd eaten too much.

"Dessert," Henry said.

"I can't," I told him, even as I perused the dessert section on the menu.

"Oh, they have coffee with ice cream," he said.

"Ok, that I could go for." I was just cautious not to overstuff myself before seeing Sterling. I didn't want to immediately fall asleep. I wanted to be awake during some of the time we spent together. Especially since we hadn't played much last night, even if we had spent the day together at the temple.

As our vanilla ice cream with an espresso shot poured over the top came to us, Henry stumped me with a question. "Do you think you love him?"

It was a conversation topic I hadn't anticipated.

I never used the L-word because it seemed to jinx things.

"It's been a couple days, I don't think I can even say that," I finally spat out.

Henry had a big grin on his face. "I think you do," he said. "And I love that for you, Fal. I just don't want you to leave without knowing how you feel for him. I've never seen you happier, and I know you well."

"I'm not even gonna think it," I said. "I'm just gonna ride the next few days."

"Not the only think you're gonna ride," he snickered.

Maybe the red wine wasn't a good idea. We both got a little silly after red wine.

But maybe we were also in the business of telling each other the truth after a glass or two.

Now, I had to think about what Sterling meant to me. Because the idea of leaving here was crushing me. Sterling was the first guy to lean into being a Daddy without much persuasion. He was interested in it before I asked him. That meant we must've been destined to find each other, or something my tipsy brain was convincing itself of right now.