Aiden

I sat on the beach and watched as Dylan surfed and talked with the other surfers. It felt surreal that we were finally seeing each other after 4 years. I looked down at the cast on my arm and wished that it wasn’t because I had managed to get myself into a shitty mess of a relationship. When Mark had hurt me last time, the only person I had wanted was Dylan. After I had hung up from talking to him though, I felt foolish and stupid for calling him but I was so happy to know that he would be home.

I watched as Dyl dominated the waves and was still blown away by how talented he was. No wonder he was doing so well on the tour.

 I think about that moment when we saw each other at the airport earlier today. He had come out of the tunnel and all I could do was stare at him. He was tanned and tall and he was definitely not the boy I had last seen. His hair had more blonde streaks in it than ever before and his eyes were lit up with what I hoped was joy when he finally saw me.

He got to where I was standing and after giving me a bro hug he pulled away and just smiled. It was a wide, carefree kind of smile and it was exactly the same as it was when we were at school. That hint of mischievousness that made you want to know what he was thinking, the openness that made you feel included. The smile stayed until his gaze dropped to the cast on my arm and then rage washed over his features. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes as he struggled for composure. After a few deep breaths he opened his eyes and all the rage was gone. He tapped the cast and said “You know I’m going to draw rude things on here, right?”.

Water sprays over me and brings me back to the present.

“What the fuck, man?” I yell glaring up at him.

The fucker just laughs and throws himself down on the towel next to me.

“Nothing beats surfing at home. I’ve surfed at some of the best places in the world but, this beach, it’s special.” He turns his head to look at me. “Tell me you still get out there when you can?”

“Yeah, sometimes. Not so much while I was with Mark, he didn’t like it. Thought I was trying to be like you. He couldn’t understand our friendship so anything that could be related to you was a no go. I should have seen the shit show coming but I guess he was good at hiding it.” I shake my head at how I had let myself be manipulated.

“Fuck. I could kill that asshole.”

“So where will you stay? I’m crashing at mum and dads until I can get a unit or something. You can stay there?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted him there. It was overwhelming just being with him and I didn’t know if I could cope if he was next to me 24/7.

“Umm so yeah, here’s the thing. I have a house just down from here. I bought it a couple of years ago and use it whenever I need a break. I had thought that Mum and Meggy could live in it but Mum got the job in the city so they moved closer to her work. I rent the granny flat out to an old surf buddy. Shirvo keeps on top of any maintenance that needs doing.” He’s running his hand through his hair as he talks and I remember that this is one of his nervous habits.

And then it hits me. “You’ve been home? Before now?” Disbelief colours my voice and yep, that’s a little bit of hurt coming through too.

“Yeah. After Mum and Meggy left the group house I came back to see them. Hey, why don’t we head over there and have a bbq and a beer and I can tell you all the stuff I haven’t told you.”

“Is there a lot of other stuff? We talk nearly every day.” What the hell had Dylan been hiding from me? And why was I close to tears that he felt like he couldn’t tell me? Maybe we weren’t as close as I thought, maybe I was seeing things that weren’t there. The pain these thoughts gave me was worse than anything Mark had done to me. But there was only one way to find out.

“Sure, I’m hungry and a beer sound awesome.”

Dylan

I opened the front door to my home and let Aiden go inside first. I was nervous about him seeing where I lived when I was home. I know I had upset him when I told him about this place and that I had been home without telling him, but there were very good reasons for that.

“Come on through to the backyard, I’ve got everything set up out there and I need to put my board away.” I led him through to pergola out the back and waved him over to the table and chairs. “Beers are in the fridge behind the bar, I asked Shirvo to put some chips and snacks there as well.” I had rung Shirvo as soon as I knew when I would be home and he did what he always does and got the house ready for me. I knew he had had grocery delivery so there would definitely be steaks and salad stuff in the kitchen.

I watched as Aiden grabbed two beers and a bag of chips then turn and looked out over my backyard. It wasn’t much of a yard before it became the sand of the beach. I had cleared away years worth of overgrown plants and trees and replaced them with native coastal hardy plants that not only helped fortify the sandy ground, they were low enough to not block the endless view of the ocean. I could have bought a house for a lot less money but I need the water and the sand. My life revolves around the feeling of freedom that I get from hearing the waves, feeling them and the breeze that brings the scent of salt with it. Sometimes, that feeling was the only thing that got me out of bed.

“Jesus, this is fucking incredible! I didn’t even know this place was here.” Aiden’s voice is almost a whisper. “How do you ever leave?”

“Ha, it’s not easy, but I guess I always have the water and beach wherever I am. It’s not the same as here, but it does the job.”

“True.” He turns in a circle taking in the granny flat that sits to the side of the block. “So, Shirvo?”

I laugh as I think of the man who lives here fulltime. “Yeah, he’s a character! We met when I first went on tour. He was the house manager and was ready to retire. I would have been too, if I had to look after all us dicks. Anyway, he stayed on as manager when he realised I needed” my words stumbled to a halt, “he umm, he was still there when I bought here, so, I asked if he wanted to be a kind of caretaker for me. Mum and Meggy were living in the group house by then so they couldn’t do it for me.” I was really hoping the questions wouldn’t come but Aiden was an observant fucker and I knew he would want to know.

“There’s a story here, isn’t there?”

Unfortunately, yes there was.