Protection

Dylan

I waited for Aiden to answer. My heart was beating as fast as if I’d been running. The silence dragged on and I wondered if he’d hung up on me.

“I needed to escape from it all.” He finally replied. “I couldn’t work out how I felt and why I hurt you like that. I knew I was jealous but it still didn’t give me the right to tell people you were gay and then to hide our relationship. It’s been good for me here, man. I’m working through all my shit.”

“Oh, uh, yeah that’s good then.” I knew I had to tell him my side now. “Look it was hard at first, you know, after you told everyone but truthfully? It’s been really good being out and honest. I didn’t realise how much it had been bothering me to keep hiding. Do I wish you were still here with me? Yeah, I do. But what I miss most is our friendship. We had a lot of fun together.” I hoped he understood I didn’t just mean the physical stuff we did together, although I really missed that as well.

“I miss all that too. But I still think we need time apart. Maybe we could just text and call? Keep our friendship with out the…” Aiden’s voice trailed off.

I laughed quietly.

“Yeah, that sounds good. But hey, I’ve gotta go, lunch is nearly over. Talk soon?”

“Sure. Later, bro.”

I just stood there after we hung up and stared at nothing. I felt good that we had finally talked, but part of me felt like we hadn’t really fixed anything. I still missed him so much it hurt but I was tired of being this sad version of myself. Maybe now I had spoken to him I could move on and start enjoying my life again.

I was studying in my room when my phone rang that afternoon. My heart sped with the hope it was Aiden, but the number wasn’t one I knew.

“Hello?”

“Is this Dylan?” A mans voice asked me. After I said yes he continued. “This is Brody from Sunrise Surf and we were wanting to have a meeting with you about joining our pro team and tour. Can we set up a time?”

“Are you serious? Me?” Fuck me. This was my dream.

“Absolutely.” Brody chuckled. “You’re making a name for yourself, and we want to help you get to the top. All we need is to get you signed up and we can get started.”

“Yes! I mean, I’ll need to talk to my mum first. Can she come to the meeting?” Mum was going to flip when I told her. She had been pushing me to take surfing seriously for the last few months, but I was just having fun and using it to try to take my mind off Aiden.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way, mate. We know you’re young, so we always make sure you guys have your parents support when we take you on. One other thing, we know about your orientation, and we want to make it clear that it’s not an issue for us. We’re interested in your surfing ability; your life is your own.”

“Can I get back to you once Mum gets home from work?”

“I’ll wait to hear from you. I think we’ll make a good team, Dylan.”

I couldn’t settle down after talking to Brody and mum wasn’t due home for a couple of hours yet. I ran to Meggy’s room and burst in to tell her my news. Even after telling her, I was full of all this energy. I needed to tell someone else before I totally lost it. I pulled out my phone and before I could second guess myself, I rang Aiden.

“Aiden! Dude, you’ll never guess what just happened.”  I yelled as soon as he answered. “Sunrise Surf want me! Me, dude. How is this my life?”

“Way to go, bro. This is awesome. What happens now? I knew you’d get something like this especially after that last comp.” Aiden’s voice rose with the same excitement I was feeling.

We talked about what this could all mean and wondering if it meant I’d get to go to all the places we had seen on the surf videos we watched together. Before I knew it, I heard my mum get home and I had to say goodbye to him. Talking to Aiden always calms me down and somehow excites me at the same time.

I took the stairs two at a time and yelled “Mum, Mum, wait til you hear what happened today!”