CHAPTER 12

ajay

New Year's Eve had suddenly descended on us and I was at a loss about our plans for tonight. Originally Dee was meant to join us out here for the celebrations but that plan had been derailed when she had chosen to go back to Sydney with Kira.

Dane was far from impressed. And he was letting me know about it too.

He'd gone up to bed by the time Nick and I made it back home last night and I'd felt a sense of relief at that. Yesterday had been enough of a rollercoaster of emotions without having to deal with Dane on top of it. If it wasn't for Nick I don't know what I would have done.

Nick.

I'd never met anyone like him before. Someone so kind hearted and selfless and deeply caring and just so genuine. So real. He was just one hundred percent authentic, more so than anyone else I'd ever met. He'd been the friend I needed at my side yesterday.

Even though I'd missed Dane's opinions and feelings on what had gone down yesterday, he'd let me know about it when I came back in from my morning surf with Nick. I found him in the kitchen, leaning back against the cabinet with a cup of coffee.

"Hey," I muttered, my greeting a little more stilted than usual.

"Hey," he replied. I was about to leave it at that when he continued on, not one to let things lie. "I thought you'd want to know that Kira got home safely yesterday. Thanks to Dee who drove her all the way back."

I swallowed, a sense of guilt creeping in that he had lost his holiday time with his girlfriend who he so dearly loved.

"I'm sorry that Dee left," I offered, all I could really give him. Dane just grunted at that, lifting his mug for a sip. "I guess that means we have no plans for tonight?" I continued.

"No. We do not," Dane counterpunched, a little acid in his tone.

"You'll just have to come up to town with us then," Nick added affably as he brushed past me on his way upstairs. "It'll be fun. There'll be fireworks, a live band, lots of alcohol, hopefully some of those sparkly lighter thingos."

"Stop. You had me at sparkly lighter thingos," I grinned at him, ignoring Dane's pointed huff. Nick sent me a wink, my stomach pinching as he continued up the stairs. "We should go," I said to my best friend who was still not looking at me.

"Maybe," he shrugged. I figured that was the best I would get from Dane this morning so I followed Nick upstairs, stepping into the bathroom. I could hear the sound of the shower going in Nick's ensuite which shared the wall with my bathroom. I wondered if he was in there already, bronze skin all wet and naked with the warm water cascading down over his golden, ripped body.

Okay, what? I shook my head like I could rattle my weird tangent of thoughts out of it and stepped into my own shower, setting the taps to run a little cooler than usual.

My skin was hot and antsy, my insides all itchy, that unsettled feeling going nowhere, not even with the relief of parting ways with Kira. And so what if I used the nice cool water for a little longer as I stroked my cock which had been perking up a little too often lately. It wasn't like I was neglecting myself either but I didn't dwell on that too closely as I shut my eyes and just let that little bit of tension fall from my shoulders as I listened to the sound of the water in the ensuite next door.

Dane had finally conceded defeat and agreed to join Nick and his friends up in town for New Years Eve. The evening had grown a little cool so I'd pulled on a pair of jeans with my black Vans and matched it with a short sleeve, blue button down. It was the most dressed up I'd been since arriving on the coast but Dane put me to shame as usual when he stepped out in his tight black jeans, fancy leather boat shoes and a grey button down.

Nick had left a little while ago with Rob and Mateo and I had tried not to feel anything when I'd watched them leave, waiting impatiently for Dane to finish getting ready. Nick had worn a pair of light blue jeans, the kind with lots of rips in all the right places, plus a white t-shirt that had stretched across his pecs and biceps, showing every muscle off to perfection. He'd also pulled his golden brown locks into a leather strap at the base of his neck.

I was still not sure why I was finding it so hard getting that mental image of him out of my head as I'd watched him walk away from me, surrounded by his down to earth best friend on one side and the super model/possibly the most beautiful man on the planet/ex-lover on his other.

The guys had left their cars and motorbikes behind at the Tempe's house tonight. It was only a thirty minute walk into town along the beachfront, but Dane still managed to grumble as I pulled him down onto the boardwalk that wound all the way to town to walk with me. For a guy who had grown up a stone's throw from the water, Dane was really not at home on the beach.

"I'm really sorry Dee's not here," I said for the twelfth time, watching as the sun spread its golden wings across the calm ocean. There was a light breeze in the air that I had a feeling might turn cold later on.

"It's okay," Dane grunted in a way which spoke only half truths. "She and Kira are planning to go watch the Harbour fireworks together tonight."

"Oh, right," I offered. Not that I cared what Kira did with her time but I had a feeling Dane didn't want to hear about that.

We finally made it to the centre of town, the whole village of Esperance out for the night of celebrations. The long jetty that jutted out to the sea was festooned in colourful decorations and banners fluttering in the light sea breeze. A makeshift stage with a live band was set up on the foreshore playing 80s power rock covers with throngs of people already dancing to the steady beat of My Sharona.

There were hundreds if not a thousand people on the beach already, none of them recognisable and I suddenly panicked that we would never find Nick in this crowd.

Dane did not share my concern as he directed us straight to where a long line of tents were set up on the foreshore serving drinks and a surprisingly vast array of different types of street food. He ordered himself a blood orange gin which I quickly declined, knowing I needed to start standing up for myself with Dane. Especially when it came to buying expensive drinks.

I found a slightly less ostentatious drinks stall and ordered myself a cider, about to pay with my phone when a credit card landed on the machine before I could even blink. I glanced up to see Nick standing beside me, a wicked grin on his face.

"That was very naughty," I pouted at him, unable to keep the smile from spreading across my face.

"I told you your money was no good out here," he replied, picking up my drink from the bar top. He twisted the lid off the top and handed me the bottle.

"Were you a bartender in a past life?" I asked.

"Mmm, no. I just have this strong impulse to help out pretty boys in distress," he chided.

"I am not in distress, thank you," I huffed, ignoring his reference to calling me pretty. Because speaking of pretty, he really was something else tonight with his hair pulled back from his face like that, highlighting his square jaw and those nice cheekbones. And that white t-shirt was really quite tight and could possibly even be described as a tad distracting. I mean, for people who might be so inclined to look, especially with the way the material was squeezing his pecs and hugging those biceps. I could see his peaked nipples and I was pretty sure I could count all the washboard abs on his stomach for that matter too.

"Come on," Nick smirked, a knowing glint in his eye as he led me down to the waterfront, hand low on my back. "Everyone's down here by the jetty."

I caught Dane's eye and he fell into step with us as we made our way towards the jetty where I could see Rob and Mateo in the mix with a number of Nick's other friends. I could make out a few of the crew who had been at our beach party the other night including Mateo's girlfriend, Tate.

"Ajay!" Rob crooned, pulling me into a one armed hug as though we were lifelong friends.

"Hands to yourself," Nick joked, pushing his friend off me while Dane just rolled his eyes.

"My intentions are pure, I promise," Rob returned, swaying a little with his next step. I could see Mateo eyeing me in what I could only describe as disdainfully from the other side of the group, his girlfriend hanging off his arm.

"Oooh, you must be Ajay." The girl from the other night came up beside Rob, her elbow perched on his shoulder as she grinned at me. "I'm Kat."

"Nice to meet you, Kat," I said.

"Aw you really are cute. I approve," Kat grinned, eyes on Nick with a secret smile that no doubt came from years of friendship.

"Ignore her," Nick cut in, narrowing his eyes back at Kat and saving me from asking what exactly Kat approved of. I could feel a lot of eyes on me and I wasn't entirely sure why as I hovered uncertainly at Nick's side. I took a nervous sip of my cider as I glanced at Dane, noting how out of place he looked amongst Nick's group of friends.

"I got you some glowsticks," Nick suddenly remembered, pulling out a handful of the colourful sticks from his back pocket. "You definitely need a necklace." I laughed while Nick proceeded to activate the sticks into a bright array of colours before curving them into a necklace around my neck. He made a couple of bracelets for each of my wrists too which he slid on for me.

"What do you think, Dane? Do they suit me?" I asked, showing off my latest fashion accessories.

"Well, they're certainly bright," he returned, eyebrow raised.

"You want a couple of glowsticks too, little bro?" Nick asked, holding out the packet to Dane.

"I'm good," Dane replied. Nick just shrugged and I decided to let it go. I had a feeling nothing was going to make Dane enjoy the festivities tonight. Part of me felt a whole heap of guilt for being the reason Dee was not here with him.

The other part of me decided I was just going to enjoy myself tonight and not worry about all the other stuff going on in our lives.

I managed to do just that, helping design some amazing glowstick jewellery for Nick to wear while the sun sunk beneath the horizon, the dusky pink of the evening replaced with a curtain of black sky dotted with diamonds.

I met most of Nick's friends, all of them as friendly and welcoming as I had come to expect from the South Coast. Well, all of them except for Mateo who had still not even acknowledged my existence other than with the occasional glare. Dane managed to bump into an old friend from his primary school days who seemed happy to talk with him for the night so at least I didn't have to worry about him.

Nick was always somewhere within my vicinity, always catching my eye and sending me one of those bright smiles. He always somehow managed to have another drink for me whenever my bottle ran low, though I couldn't have said how.

We drank too much and we danced side by side to the live band, shouting out the lyrics to We Built This City and You Shook Me All Night Long while getting a little sweaty to the heavy riff in Paradise City.

The countdown clock hit zero and the fireworks lit up the sky, poppers, hugs and kisses happening all around us. Nick was at my side as we lay on the sand, eyes on the explosion of glittering fireworks as they set off up in the sky, the kaleidoscope of colours reflected in his eyes.

Afterwards Nick and I just lay in the sand, his body a warm presence at my side, nowhere else I really wanted to be than right here, right now on the soft sand of this beach on the South Coast. Next to him.

Dane left for home to phone Dee, calling out a goodbye as he walked by us on the beach and I waved back, not really wanting to move from exactly where I was.

"I promised you those sparkly thingos," Nick suddenly recalled, sitting up and looking around.

"You did. I am most disappointed," I pretended to pout.

"Well, I am nothing if not a man of my word," he returned. "I just can't remember where I put them." He jumped up to look around where we had managed to scatter a whole heap of stuff before returning triumphantly with a packet of sparklers and a lighter.

"For you," he said, holding a single sparkler out for me. I took it from his hand, smiling like a kid as he lit it up for me. I watched him through the little sparkles of fire as they sizzled between us, his eyes on me until it became too intense so I waved the stick around, painting golden stripes in the air like I used to do when I was a kid. Nick watched the whole time until I started to feel self-conscious, pausing as the sparkler fizzled out.

"You didn't make one for yourself," I noted, nodding towards the full packet in his hand.

"Sorry. Got distracted," Nick replied, shaking his head as he pulled out two more sparklers. He lit them up and we both stood there, watching the sparkles flicker and flare until they were nothing but ash.

"I've always loved sparkly thingos," I said quietly.

Nick just laughed at that, laughed so hard until I joined in until neither of us knew what we were even laughing about anymore.

Rob and Mateo joined us then and I realised most of the others had gone home already and the band had stopped playing. I hadn't even noticed. There were still small gatherings of other groups along the beach and the foreshore but it was just the four of us still here from Nick's group.

"Here's to another year of hijinks, a mountain of good fortune and hookups too plentiful to number," Rob announced, handing what I could only assume was a marijuana joint to Nick. They both lit up the ends and we all lay back down on the sand which had gone a little cold in the night air.

"Have a try, Tassie," Rob offered, holding a fresh joint out to me.

"Peer pressure's not cool, dude," Nick spoke up from beside me and I looked his way. "You ever tried it before?"

I shook my head. Nope, I'd been a good boy all my life but something about the way Nick lived his life called to me in ways I had never expected. I was envious of the way he approached life. How he approached everything really.

"You want to?" Nick asked, eyes intent on mine. I nodded, waiting a little breathlessly as he shifted closer to me, holding the joint he had been sucking on up to my lips. "Don't inhale on your first go."

I sucked on the tip, immediately coughing when the smoke went straight down into my lungs.

"I told you not to inhale," Nick laughed, patting me on the back while I tried not to choke.

"Let me try again," I said, holding his eye as he held the joint back up to my mouth. His fingers touched my lips where he was holding the joint and I sucked in a lot more softly this time, managing not to cough. Nick watched me with a soft smile on his face as I lay back to rest my head on my arm beside him, the air warming from his proximity.

He shared the rest of his joint with me and I started to feel a nice light buzz as I looked up at the sky full of stars, contentment settling in my bones.

"Where does your name come from, A-jaaay?" Nick asked from beside me, looking up at the stars as he tried out my name.

"From my sister actually," I told him. "The story goes that my parents spent the whole nine months arguing over my name. My dad wanted Andrew and my mum wanted James. Emily was four at the time and couldn't say the names properly, so she started referring to me as Ajay."

"And it stuck?"

"Well only after I was born. Apparently, Mum took one look at my head full of ringlets and decided she couldn't give me such a serious name. So Ajay it was."

"I love that," Nick mulled. "She was right too. You're way too cute for a serious name."

I laughed, the sound nice and mellow in my ears. "What about Nick? Is that short for Nicolas?"

"Nope. Just Nick. My parents weren't all that creative."

"I like it. It suits you."

"Funny how names always seem to grow to suit people."

"Right. That's totally a thing."

A breeze whipped up from the sea and I involuntarily shivered, kind of wishing I'd brought a jumper with me.

"You cold?" Nick asked.

"A little."

"Scoot over if you want," he offered. "I don't bite."

I hesitated for a second, unsure why when he looked so nice and cosy and warm. And he'd offered. I shifted over the miniscule distance between us, leaning into his warmth as I rested my head on his arm.

"Your bicep is surprisingly comfortable."

Nick laughed, the sound rumbling from his chest which I could feel with my head pressed up against him. "Just what every guy wants to hear."

We were silent for a while, just the gentle lap of waves on the shore and the occasional shooting star in the distant universe, making me feel so miniscule.

"So is Henry Cavill your type?" I asked after a beat of silence.

"Sorry, what?" Nick laughed.

"Your type, you know. Like, you're attracted to guys like him."

"I don't think I really have a type," he answered. "I'm as attracted to someone's kindness as much as I am to their looks."

"That doesn't surprise me. You're so nice."

"So are you, Ajay."

"Where do you think attraction comes from? Like is it purely science or is there more to it?" I asked, something I'd been pondering lately.

"It's probably just a bunch of hormones at play," Nick shrugged. "Although I think it's more than that. You can be attracted to the way someone smells, the way they smile, the way they think as much as just raw sexual attraction."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Do you always think this deeply or is it just the weed?"

"Oh it's definitely the weed," I laughed. "Or at least, the weed is responsible for loosening my tongue."

"Oh really? Don't tempt me, Tassie boy," Nick returned. "Otherwise I'll have you confessing all your deepest, darkest secrets to me."

"I don't think I have many of those," I admitted.

"No? That's a shame."

"Why? Do you?"

Nick huffed out another laugh. "I have plenty of those."

"Are you gonna share with the audience?"

"Nope."

"Aww," I pouted.

"Don't you try that pout on me, Ajay Olivier," Nick said. "I'm onto you."

"Damn. I thought that was my secret superpower."

"Oh it's a superpower all right. I just have a stronger sense of self-preservation."

"I'll get it out of you eventually."

Nick was silent for a while and I assumed the conversation was over until he sighed quietly.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I think he said but I couldn't quite be sure.