by Chase Connor
“You know,” A.J. spoke up from his board, a few feet to my right, “when I said I wanted you to teach me how to surf, I didn’t realize it would be this cold. I mean…please tell me this is more fun in California.”
“Tons.” I looked over at him with a smile.
“I guess since I’m here with you, it’s okay.” A.J. smiled, then shivered.
I laughed loudly.
“It’s even better since you’re here, sexy.” I winked at him.
He grinned widely.
“So…are there ever going to be any waves, or…”
As if listening for an invitation, I felt a gust of wind slap against my back. I turned my head with a smile, looking out at the Atlantic.
“I think we’re about to get a couple.”
I hollered loudly to Alex and Cooper to pay attention and both of their heads turned to look in our direction. They looked out at the ocean then and all of us got at the ready with our boards. Then the water started to rise and fall and the first waves started to come. I laid on my board and started to paddle and my three friends mimicked my movements. Then the waves came, my board rose and fell over the first one, then I popped to my feet to catch the second one. A.J. made his attempt and immediately fell back into the water a few yards away. I looked over to see Alex go down. Cooper stayed on his board. Of course, Cooper didn’t fall. He took to surfing like he did everything else. He understood the mathematics and physics behind the exercise of surfing.
Cooper and I rode the wave towards shore until it petered out and we both slid off of our boards into the water, our feet barely touching bottom. A.J. and Alex were still farther out, struggling to climb back onto their boards, looking dejected. The two jocks in our group of friends just couldn’t pick up the art of surfing. Cooper turned his head to me and grinned. I gave him a wink as we waited for our boyfriends to climb on their boards, lay on their stomachs and paddle as the waves helped pushed them towards shore. Mr. Weissman, Cheryl Simmons, and my parents hooted and hollered for Cooper and I, lifting their glasses in a salute to us. Cooper and I waved to them. Katie continued building her sandcastle, not the least bit interested in our surfing abilities.
When my dad suggested that we include more people in our “guys’ trip” to Maine for Spring Break, I had felt annoyed at first. But when he said he’d like to bring mom, Katie, and my three friends to share the house he had rented for us, I realized he was trying to make it more fun for me. When he also included any parents that wanted to come along, I told my dad how much I loved him. Maybe he wasn’t a natural at being a dad, but he was a natural at being a good guy. Luckily, only Mr. Weissman had taken him up on the offer as far as parents went. And since Mr. Weissman had been dating Cheryl Simmons from the donut shop for so long, she came along, too.
“You guys suck.” Alex groaned as he paddled up to us alongside A.J.
“I’m sorry?” Cooper snorted. “We weren’t the ones who busted ass on the waves.”
I laughed loudly as A.J. paddled up to me, blushing and grinning.
“I’m never going to get the hang of this.” He groaned to me.
“It’s okay.” I reached out to run my fingers through his hair as I stood in the water and he laid on his board. “You’re perfect in every other way.”
The first night of our trip, dad and I had left everyone at the beach house to do their own thing and he had taken me to get pasta and seafood. Then we went and picked out a new wetsuit for me at a surf shop and he insisted on getting me a new board, too. I kept insisting that the board we had brought with us was fine, but he wouldn’t let up. So, I had a new wetsuit and a new board. Then we made a fire on the beach and talked until it was way too late. We just hung out and filled each other in on our lives. He told me not to tell my mom, but we also shared a few beers. It was one of the best nights of my life. And later, when I snuck into Alex and A.J.’s room and Alex snuck over to mine and Cooper’s room, it was even better.
Parents aren’t dumb. They know what eighteen-year-olds get up to—they just want to pretend that they tried their best to discourage bad behavior.
“This wetsuit makes me look less chubby.” A.J. teased, leaning forward to kiss me.
“No.” I frowned. “It makes you look sexy.”
“Leaves nothing to the imagination, does it?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“What are you imagining?” I teased.
“If I told you, we definitely wouldn’t be good boys anymore.” He winked.
I laughed and gave him another kiss.
“You guys are disgusting.” Alex groaned.
A.J. and I just laughed and kissed again. Alex slid off of his board to stand beside Cooper, trying to ignore the two in love teenagers kissing a few yards away.
“Do you mind if I go warm up?” A.J. whispered against my mouth as he pulled away.
“Nosir.” I winked at him. “I’m going to see if I can catch at least one more wave.”
“Are we getting out of this shit or what?” Alex whined comically. “I mean, the fireplace is sounding good right now.”
“You are such a poon.” Cooper teased him before giving him a kiss.
“I’m getting out.” A.J. replied. “Logan wants to catch one more wave, dude.”
We all laughed at his “surfer voice”.
“I’m going to catch one more wave with Logan, babe.” Cooper told Alex.
“You guys have fun, then.” Alex laughed and began wading towards the shore.
“Make me proud.” A.J. gave me another quick kiss before following his friend.
I watched my boyfriend push through the water to shore, dragging his board behind him. The way his wetsuit fit across his shoulders and back, and then when he was in shallower water, the curves of his ass, made me grin. Even when I had thought I was in love with Cooper, I had never felt these feelings. Everything about A.J. made me want to push my body against his until we became one being. When he wasn’t nearby it was like my body missed the feel of his against mine.
“Are you going to stare at A.J.’s ass all day or are we paddling back out?” Cooper teased.
I turned to my friend.
“Let’s catch a wave.” I winked.
Cooper jumped up onto his board almost as easily as I did and we laid on our stomachs and paddled out far from shore. We turned ourselves around, Cooper doing exactly as I had taught him the first time we had surfed, and we sat up, letting our legs dangle off of our boards into the water. We sat there, a few feet away from each other, waiting for our next opportunity for a wave.
“I’m really happy, Cooper.” I sighed as I smiled up at the shore where our boyfriends were huddled under towels by our parents.
“You deserve it.” Cooper said. “You’re the best guy I know.”
I turned and smiled at him.
“I guess like attracts like.”
He smiled back.
“Sorry it’s so cold.” I chuckled. “I promise it’s a lot more fun when you surf in California on a sunny day.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than surfing with my best friend and getting to spend time with our boyfriends and families.” Cooper replied. “It could be hailing and I’d still be this happy. Everything is perfect.”
“Suit makes you look as scrawny as you are.” I quipped.
“Yours gives you a muffin top.” Cooper snapped back.
We both laughed loudly as the sky began spitting misty rain at us again. Up on shore, everyone was signaling for us to just give up and come on in so everyone could go back to the beach house.
“Well, shit.” I looked up at the sky.
“Damnit.” Cooper groaned.
Then a gale of wind slapped against our backs again. Cooper and I both perked up. We turned our heads at the same time to look out at the ocean.
“Just in time.” Cooper turned his head to grin at me.
“Praise be unto the ocean gods.” I agreed. “Think you’ll stay on your feet this time?”
/> “Don’t I always?” He grinned.
“Let’s do this.” I nodded and fell to my chest on my board.
Cooper followed my lead.
“Ready?” He asked, looking over at me.
“Ready.” I nodded.
And then we began paddling furiously towards the shore.
Continue reading for an excerpt from Chase Connor’s next LGBTQ YA Book, Aaron’s Handbook to Navigating the Apocalypse.
The Zombies were already coming for me.
Usually I didn’t have to worry so early in the day.
Obviously, I knew the Zombies were going to attack. They always attacked. It was the nature of the beast. Zombies. Love. To. Attack.
But not this early.
Not before I was fully awake.
After an evening of fighting them and a night of hoping they didn’t come during my sleep, morning was my reprieve.
My safe time.
One thing people never tell you about Zombies, though:
They have absolutely no manners.
No matter.
I made a slight “oof” sound as the football player’s shoulder shoved me out of the way, right into a locker. A group of them had been coming down the main hall, in their little pack, and I had spotted them immediately. Spotting a pack of football players that conducted themselves like a pack of wild animals was one thing. Getting out of their way in time was another. Unlike a teenage jock, I’m not exactly athletic. Or nimble. Or fast. Or strong. And I have the survival instincts of a three-toed sloth. If I’m being totally honest, I also have the dexterity of one, too.
“Stay out of my way, asshole.” The football player whom the elbow belonged to laughed at me.
The pack of feral zombies laughed along.
Reform.
Regroup.
Live to fight another day.
The football players kept walking. They didn’t stop to antagonize me further. I wasn’t one of their main targets. To this pack of wild animals, I was just something in their way that they could push aside with no worry of repercussions or retaliation. A lion doesn’t worry about the vulture it just scared away from a carcass. Guess which animal I am in that analogy. If you picked the lion, you’d be dead wrong. If you picked the vulture, you’d also be wrong. I’m the bird sitting the tree, hoping that neither the lion nor the vulture noticed me.
Straightening up, I didn’t bother to look around to see if anyone noticed what had just happened. The hallway was packed right before first period—of course people saw the football player give me an elbow to the chest. You’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to not have seen something like that. But I didn’t want to look around and see the smirks on popular kids’ faces. Also, I didn’t want to see the looks of pity on the average kids’ faces. Most of all, I didn’t want to see the looks of fear, but also the joy at not having been the one chosen for the elbow, on the nerdy kids’ faces.
I’m none of those kids. I’m not a jock. I’m not popular or even average. But I’m also not a nerd. I’m just me. I’m an Aaron. I’m the kid no one notices—unless they need someone to take their anger or frustration out on. I’m like one of those kids who ends up on the news in twenty years—who cares what for—and everyone remembers him as “the quiet kid”. But, I guess, I’m not really that kid, either. I’m just…Aaron.
Aarons don’t cause trouble. They don’t stand out. They don’t draw attention to themselves. They’re neither mean nor nice. They’re not smart or dumb. They’re neither popular nor unpopular. Aarons don’t have any discernable features which make them stick out in a crowd. Neither handsome nor ugly. We’re a unique group everyone at the twenty-year reunion will joyfully greet, pretending they remember us and that we were kind of friends during all four years of high school. If Aaron shows up at all, that is.
The thing is—I’m not just Aaron. I’m not just an eighteen-year-old high school senior. Not just a son, a brother, a friend. There’s a lot to me, but I tend to keep it to myself. Mostly because no one seems genuinely interested in learning about the minutiae of my life.
Now don’t get me wrong. My mom and dad are…swell. They’re kind, loving, somewhat attentive, warm, they feed and clothe me and my younger brother. They make sure that we’re taken care of and have a roof over our heads. A very nice roof, actually. But…they’re busy. My mom’s an attorney and my dad is a pediatric oncologist and that takes up a lot of their time. So, when they ask my brother and I how our days went, you can see them mentally checking out of the conversation and into other thoughts as soon as the words leave their mouths.
My friends, the few I have, are okay, too. There’s Katie, one of my closest friends since middle school, Jeremy, who I’ve known since birth practically, and Andrew, who I met in freshmen year. They’re all great. They’re nice and kind and funny. But Jeremy is way into LARPing and I find dressing in regalia and having sword fights in the woods on the other side of the school more than annoying. Andrew started working at the coffee shop lots of gay and artsy college kids go to sophomore year and thinks he’s the barista God thought the world needed. And Katie became boy crazy junior year to a degree that is frightening. When I avoided talking to her about all of her boy crushes, it became harder for us to have our hours-long conversations nightly.
That’s where my story really unfolds. It’s not that I didn’t want to LARP with Jeremy, or drink coffee for hours at the coffee shop that Andrew works at or talk to Katie about her crushes. But any of those activities could lead to the battle to end all battles. LARPing or hanging out with college students at a coffee shop or talking to Katie about her crushes would only lead to one thing. The Apocalypse.
Apocalypse
a·poc·a·lypse
/əˈpäkəˌlips/
1. the complete final destruction of the world, especially as described in the biblical book of Revelation.
2. an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.
That’s what I’m afraid of and that’s why my relationship with my parents isn’t ideal and my friendships have suffered. The second definition of the word, I mean. “An event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.” All of these activities are just one big minefield, where one toe out of line leads to an explosion. I’m a walking hand grenade—just waiting for my pin to be pulled. And then…
BLAMM-O!
Pow!
Bang!
I’m like a hero in a comic book. Well, maybe anti-hero. Definitely not a villain…I don’t think. But I have a secret identity—one I must protect at all costs. A secret identity, that once discovered, will lead to my utter and total destruction on an awesome or catastrophic scale. And there’s no coming back from The Apocalypse, is there? The best you can hope for is some survivors to salvage what’s left and regroup. Regroup. Repopulate.
But, sometimes, no matter what you do, an apocalypse is unavoidable, I guess. Sometimes things are put into place and events happen that bring it on, no matter how much you wish time would stop. Sometimes secret identities are found out and the superhero of the comic book franchise is left in ruin—absolute destruction.
I’m a senior now. I’m eighteen-years-old. My secret identity cannot stay secret for much longer. My relationships with my friends and my relationship with my parents won’t last if I don’t unmask myself. I have to man up—face the oncoming apocalypse—do what has to be done. Hopefully, on the other side, I’ll still be standing and my relationships with…everyone…will still be intact. Hopefully, everything will be okay. But, I decided a few days ago, I had to unmask myself—and I couldn’t worry about how others would feel when I did it, either. I couldn’t worry about the rules.
Rules and manners were a thing of the past. This was an apocalypse, after all…
About the Author
Chase Connor currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his dog and partner and spends his free time writing novellas/novels and erotica when he’s not busy being enthusiast
ic about laziness and waffles.
Chase can be reached at
mailto:[email protected]
([email protected]).
Or on Twitter @ChaseConnor7
Chase has several novellas/novels for sale on Amazon or to read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited. You can find his other stories by clicking on a picture or title below.
***Chase Connor’s entire catalog can be read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited***
Chase Connor’s LGBT+ YA Novellas/Novels
Chase Connor’s M/M Romance & Paranormal Romance Novels
Just a Dumb Surfer Dude: A Gay Coming-of-Age Tale - ***CHASE’S FIRST YA LGBT NOVELLA*** Cooper is a genius. At least that's what everyone else keeps saying, even if he doesn't like it. But that's not his biggest problem. Being gay while attending Dextrus Academy, an all-boys prep school, and only having one other gay friend, life can be...difficult. Cooper wants to stay true to himself, and being a hormonal gay teen makes that difficult at times. So far, he's managed to navigate being a good son, a good student, a best friend, and not lose himself in the process. But when Logan, a hot surfer dude, transfers to Dextrus Academy, is it possible that Cooper will lose himself for a chance at true happiness?
Gavin’s Big Gay Checklist - Gavin is miserable. But it's not what you think. Okay, maybe it is. Being half-Mexican, half-white, Jewish and Catholic is hard enough. Being a closeted high school senior just makes things harder to handle. Only Eli, Gavin's best friend who lives next door--and who happens to be a white, straight, home-schooled son of a preacher--knows who Gavin really is inside and out. But that's not enough. Gavin decides to make a list. A checklist of "To Do" items to help him become an open, proud gay man before his high school career is over. Before he heads off to college and leaves behind his mother and father, hopefully with their love and support. However, what the checklist does is educate Gavin about life--not just as a gay man--but simply as a man. It teaches him about friendship, honesty, kindness, duty, responsibility, and family. Maybe...just maybe...it will teach him to not be miserable.
