On the Beach Ch. 15

"You had 'an apostrophe'?" Jill interrupts, kissing her on the opposite cheek.

"You mean..." Muriel starts again. Mark interrupts her this time.

"She means epiphany. It's from a movie. Go ahead," he explains.

"Not much to explain. I remember Owen that's all and the fact he worked at the pizzeria. I thought the two of them might hit it off." She smiles at the siblings. "I think I might have hit a home run." She taps herself on the top of the head. "Knock on wood."

***

"Are you guys nudists?"

Bill shakes his head. "No, well not really, not before this weekend anyway. Mark, he's the oldest, he started hanging out at this place near his college. Apparently, back in the day, so did my parents. The rest of us sort of joined in this weekend."

"Was it weird being naked around your mom and sister?"

"Yeah, but only at the very beginning. We got home and Mark was skinny-dipping in the pool. Jim, of all people, jerked off his clothes and jumped right in. Turns out he had the hots for my sister and was hopping she'd join them. She did. I did. My folks were the last. They held out to the next day. Well, really what happened was that night they got drunk and went skinny-dipping. We all heard them. The next day there didn't seem to be a whole lot of point in dealing with clothes anymore. I'm digging it more than I thought I would."

"Right on," Owen says as Bill pushes open the door to his room. It's seen the least action but, to Bill at least, the room reeks of sex. He tries to act nonchalant as he rummages through the suitcase he has yet to unpack. "I should have an extra suit in here."

Owen touches the back of his shoulder. "Uh, would it be weird if I skipped the suit? I've gone skinny-dipping a few times but always when I was sure I was alone. I've wonder what it would be like to try a nude beach. I don't want your folks to think I'm a whack job though."

Bill stands and smiles at the other man. "Don't worry, they won't."

"What about this?" Owen whispers as he lifts his tee shirt up.

"Whoa, dude, awesome," Bill hisses. "Fucking cool, bro. Sick."

He's staring at Owen's nipples. Through each, a silver bar has been inserted, each capped with a silver bearing. The gauge is small. The nipples are enhanced not mangled.

Seeing the look on Bill's face, Owen takes a chance. Holding his tee shirt up by holding his arms against his sides, he pushes the top of his shorts down. Bill gives a low whistle.

"Fuckin' an a dude, seriously," he whispers. "How bad did that hurt?"

Owen shrugs. He moves his cock around a little, so Bill can see the PA, Prince Albert, from several angles. "Not as bad as the nipples," he tells the staring Bill.

Bill reaches out then stops. "Dude, can I touch it?"

"Fuck, yeah. It's not sore or anything, not anymore."

Bill uses one fingertip to lift up the piercing. It's not very heavy. Like the nipple bars, the gauge of Owen's PA is on the smaller size. "I'm glad it's not one of those huge ones," he says, eyes still on Owen's cock. "Sometimes everything is so stretched or mangled it's a little too gruesome for my taste. This is cool though, way cool." Without looking up, he wraps his fingers around Owen's cock and squeezes slightly and pulls. He's hoping for a drop of dew but is disappointed. He shakes his head and steps away. "Dude, sorry man. Don't know what I was thinking. Fuck."

"Don't sweat it," Owen reassures him. "I liked it." He tugs at his cock. "You know I'm gay don't you?" he asks Bill.

"I was hoping so," Bill says smiling. "Uh, you got a boyfriend already or anything? I mean I don't want to assume shit you know? Is everything cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool. Mostly. Fuck. I'm not out, you know? I'm sure some of my friends know or suspect but I'm not out, not even at school. I've had a few hook ups but, I mean, fuck I don't know."

"Me, either," Bill assures him. "I just told my family a couple days ago. Dude, I came down here with Jim, he's my best friend. He fucking didn't know I was gay. He sure as shit didn't know I was in love with him."

"Bro, no fucking way. Jim? I thought he was with your sister, uh..."

"Jill," Bill supplied. "And yes he is. Fucking Days of Our Fucking Lives around here the past few days."

"Holy shit, man. Wow." His face falls. "Dude, I got nowhere we can go. My old man is probably watching baseball at home. He's cool but I try not to stress him too much over this."

Bill smiles. "Don't sweat it. That's one thing we don't have to worry about around here. Besides, what makes you think we need a place to go."

"The way your dick is pointing at me, bitch, that's what." Owen's smile is so big and bright it doesn't bother Bill to be called "bitch".

He steps closer and rubs the man's arm. He hesitates a moment and then leans in. Owen meets him. They kiss. Bill's hand finds Owen's cock. He gives it a quick squeeze and steps back.

"Put your shirt back on. Not because anyone will care but I want your piercings to be a surprise," he tells Owen. "Come on. Let's go get some pizza before Mark and Jim eat it all." As they make their way down the hall Bill tells him over his shoulder, "Jill has a feminist deal about the word 'bitch', just to give you a heads up."

"What's her take on the word 'cunt'?"

"That one's usually okay," Bill snorts. "Don't get me wrong. Jill's wonderful. Truly. Not just brother talk but she can come on a little strong sometimes."

"I'll introduce her to my mom sometime."

"She a feminist?"

"No. She's a Tea Party evangelical Christian. We don't see eye to eye on much. I love to see someone stand up to her. My dad ignores her. I try to."

"Fuck, man. That does not sound cool."

"Nope, not cool at all."

"So she doesn't know you're gay?"

"She claims not to but since her primary discussion topic is how hell is littered with faggots, I have a suspicion she's trying to tell me something."

"Sucks, bro. Utterly, totally and completely sucks."

"Tell me about it. I'm afraid she'll talk dad out of leaving me the trailer when they kick."

Bill looks at him and shakes his head. "You are going to fit in perfect around here."

***

"'Bout time, big brother. What took you so long?" Jill glances at Bill's half-erect cock and chuckles. "Oh, never mind."

"I was giving him my testimony," Owen tells her. He says it with such a straight face everyone but Muriel looks uneasy.

"How'd his testimony taste Bill?" she asks.

"Muriel?!" Meg gasps. Jill laughs so hard she has to sit down.

Owen, out of his element, decides to, for the first time in his life, say exactly what he's thinking. "I didn't give it where there's any taste buds," he tells her gravely.

"Oh, my God!" Jill screams, holding her sides.

Muriel laughs softly. Ben smiles. Jim looks puzzled; he's still getting use to white people. Mark smacks Owen on the back.

"Brah, you are so going to fit in; it's fucking unbelievable."

"Do you surf?" Owen asks him. It's his turn to look confused when Bill, Jim, and Jill crack up.

"We're not laughing at you. We're laughing at Mark," Bill explains when he gets control of himself. "We've been teasing him about calling people 'brah' since he doesn't surf. I think there's a hipster inside Mark struggling to get out. Of course, he'll have to stop shaving his body, stop using deodorant, or at least one that works, give up gluten, only listen to shitty bands that sing about the joys of green tea enemas, and buy a madras fedora, but he's working up to it."

Owen shakes off the arm Bill has thrown over his shoulder. "What the fuck does that mean? I'm gluten sensitive. Jesus."

Bill's face falls. Jill hiccups her last guffaw to silence.

Owen's face lights up. "Sorry. Just fucking with you." Everyone relaxes but Owen still feels the tension. Too far, asshole. "But I do find a green tea enema very refreshing on occasion."

Mark snorts. "I told you he'd fit in. I'm hungry."

***

The patio grows quiet. They eat serenaded by the surf and the gulls.

"Do you know him?" Mark asks Muriel, around a bite of pepperoni pizza.

"A little. His momma's batshit crazy. His daddy works hard but he's old school. He's not into giving praise or hugs. Life's a bitch, it'll always be a bitch so don't whine about it, would be his motto. Owen always struck me as a good kid. Smart. Polite without being smarmy. He's in design school or art school somewhere, up in Rhode Island, I think. I imagine on a scholarship but still I'm sure it's a struggle. There's no way he's getting any help from his folks."

"Did you know he was gay?"

"Not entirely, no. Not in the sense of having heard him shout to the world 'I'm gay' like your brother, but I had my suspicions."

"So you set this up, didn't you?"

"Yup, didn't see the harm in it."

Mark leans over and kisses her on the cheek. "And you wonder why I love you."

She reaches up and pats his cheek. "That's the easy part, baby."

***

"Are Muriel and your brother a thing, bro?"

Bill nods as he swallows. "She's trying to push him off but so far he's not taking the hint."

"She's a lot..."

"Yeah, she is, but she's one of the most decent people I've ever met in my life. I love her almost as much as I love my mom or my brother. It won't be easy but I think they'd be stupid not to try."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow." Owen takes another bite of pizza.

"I'm not a sap. I know there's a good chance it won't work. I have a better idea than most the kind of shit that'll get tossed at 'em but I think they should try anyway. If you don't try, the world just gets stupider and uglier."

"Careful. I have a thing for soulful romantics," Owen whispers but not softly enough.

Ben is walking past them, heading for the pool. He pauses to ruffle his son's hair. "He's a romantic alright." Owen looks down at his plate. "Don't be embarrassed," Ben tells him. "Bill isn't." Ben touches Owen's hair and the man turns to look over his shoulder. "Sorry, didn't mean to violate your personal space but I'm sort of taken aback. If you'd ask me about a hairstyle like this I'd have scowled but I have to say, on you, it looks right somehow. Maybe you're the reincarnation of a samurai."

"Maybe," Owen shrugs. "I am pretty lethal with a pizza cutter."

Ben laughs. "Mark's right. Sorry, didn't mean to intrude. See you at the pool later or are you guys taking off?"

Owen looks at Bill. "I'm not sure. I'm cool with chilling here if Bill is."

"Cool. As long as mom and Muriel don't try to get us to announce we're engaged or something. Did they set this up?"

"No," Ben says, shaking his head. "Muriel, probably but I'm sure your mom didn't know about it. Not that she wouldn't have approved." He looks at his son. "Easy champ, don't scare Owen off before he has a chance to finish his supper."

"It's cool, Mr. Casey," Owen tells him. "It's pretty rad being someplace where no one seems to care if I'm queer."

"You don't seem very queer to me. I'm not sure I like that word. I know some are trying to reclaim it but I fear it's a turd that can't be polished." Ben sighs. "Any who, see ya at the pool if you stick around."

He walks away.

"Jesus, dude you are lucky to have a pop that chilled."

Bill nods. "I know."

Meg walks by. "Couldn't you find Owen a suit or are you two not swimming?"

"He says he doesn't need one, mom." Meg beams. "Aren't you suppose to wait an hour after eating before getting in the water," Bill continues.

"Don't be silly, honey. There aren't any sharks in the swimming pool." She giggles at her joke and leaves to join her husband.

"Huh?" Owen whispers when she's out of hearing range.

"She loves to make goofy non sequitur jokes. Mixing up aphorisms that kind of thing."

"Oh, like 'a watched pot is right twice a day' or 'a watched clock never boils'?"

"Jesus," Bill groans, "it's like you're a missing brother, kidnapped at birth or something."

Jill and Jim hurry past. "Come you guys. Partay!" Jill shouts as she skips past them. Jim shrugs, accepting the fact there's nothing he can do about his always enthusiastic lover.

Mark and Muriel walk over. The light is fading. They pull over two chairs and sit.

"Dude, excellent pizza. I've been trying to get Muriel to tell me where you guys are located but her lips are sealed. I'm thinking of denying her carnal pleasures, see if that will loosen her up some." Mark shakes his head in wonder. "You guys don't even have the number on the top of the box. That makes zero marketing sense. Zero."

"It's not that big a secret," Owen tells him. "The kitchen is in the basement of the First United Methodist church. It's a work release program for meth and heroin addicts. Instead of jail time, they learn pizza-making skills. All the profits go to help capture and sterilize feral cats on the Outer Banks. Fuck, last year Sandra Bullock came up from Georgia for a charity event. I'm sure it was on the news."

He takes a bite of pizza. Muriel suppress a smile. Bill and Mark look at each other.

"Mother fucker. Goddammit. You had me going again," Mark says with a scowl then chuckles.

"Tell the truth Muriel. Did you set us up?" Bill asks her. Muriel tries to look innocent.

"I just ordered pizza."

"And Jim just happened to tell me to deliver it and tell me to call it a night. Uh-huh," Owen teases her. His smile fades. "Am I that obviously queer?"

"No, honey. You act and look like any other red-blooded sperm-toting chick-loving American male, even with that hairdo. Folks that know you well, might wonder but not many. I happen to be a keen observer of the human condition."

"She's fucking psychic, is what she is," Bill chortles. "You didn't want me feeling all alone did you?"

"Honey, I don't want a soul in this world feeling 'all alone'. Besides, you weren't, aren't. You got more people who love you around you than most. Be grateful."

Bill walks over to Muriel and hugs her. "I am grateful." He kisses his cheek. "Very grateful, not everyone gets to have two completely wonderful mothers." He kisses her cheek again. "I love you."

"I know it, sugar," Muriel sniffles. "Now scoot, go swim, show off and impress Owen here."

"Okay," Bill says as he straightens. He holds one of Muriel's hands. "You know we are all rooting for you and my dopey brother don't you. You'd be the best thing that ever happened to him."

Muriel's eyes glitter. "I told you to scoot," she huffs.

"And I told you, my family thinks you'd be doing them a favor but keeping me out of an institution or something," Mark tells her. "Come on," he says, pulling at her other hand. "Let's go enjoy the pool before I take you to bed."

Owen head snaps to Bill. Bill smiles. No one seems bothered by the comment.

"Come on," Bill says, taking his hand. "Let's join them. Unless you're still hungry?"

"Naw, I'm good." He expects Bill to let go of his hand as the walk toward the pool but he doesn't.

***

Ben is sitting on the lowest step of the pool stairs. Meg is sitting/floating in his lap, one arm around his neck. Toward the deep end of the pool, Jim is twirling around with Jill in his arms. Owen sees her legs are wrapped around his waist. They don't notice the newcomers. Their eyes are closed. They're kissing. Owen glances at Jill's parents. They seem not to notice their daughter making out just a few yards away.

He feels his hand start to sweat inside Bill's. His heart starts to race. Part of him is ecstatic at the idea of holding another man's hand openly. Another part, a big part, is appalled. What if someone sees? What if all his friends learn he's a faggot? His parents?

"Relax," Bill whispers to him. "Sorry, if you felt pushed." He lets go of Owen's hand. "I dig it. Totally."

Owen nods.

"Let's sit on the side of pool for now, okay?"

Owen nods again. Bill catches Muriel's eye. She signals with her eyes that she sees what's going on. She sits down on one of the pool steps. Mark sits behind her. She leans back into his legs.

"Owen, I'm sorry honey but for the life of me I can't remember where it is you go to school at? It's in Rhode Island isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replies, licking his lips.

"Oh, where? Brown?" Meg asks. She slips off Ben's lap so she can sit beside him and see Owen better. Owen tries not to stare at Ben's erection.

"No ma'am," he says, shaking his head to clear it. "The School of Design."

"No way!" Jill calls from the end of the pool. She hops off of Jim and splashes her way toward Owen. Jim follows. As he gets closer, Owen sees that Jim also has a boner, a very large boner. He focuses on Jill.

"The School of Design? Really? You ever meet Seth MacFarlane?"

"No, not really. He gave a lecture once. That was cool but I didn't actually meet him. James Franco gave a lecture once, too."

"No fucking way! That is so cool," Jill enthuses. "What are you studying?"

"Mixed media mostly but a lot of graphic design as well. I need some way to pay off my student loans."

"You ever work with sculpture?" she continues. "Bill pays his rent welding but I've seen some of his iron work. It's very sculptural."

"Really?" Owen addresses his question to Bill, who shrugs.

"Come on. You might as well hop in," Jim tells him with a grin. "She's going to keep badgering you whether you're in the pool or sitting on the side."

Jill turns to stick her tongue at Jim. When she turns back, Owen is pulling his shirt over his head. She notices the nipple piercings immediately. She claps her hand and bounces up and down in the water. Owen has no doubts about his sexuality but he notices Jill's boobs look pretty nice bouncing in the water.

"Oh my God, you are so hot!" She turns to Jim, "I think we should do it."

"Do what?" Jim asks. "Get my nipples pierced? No way, girl. That'd be too g..."

"Too gay?" Bill hoots. "Busted, bro, totally busted. Dude, if you weren't black you'd be blushing. Fucking hilarious." He turns to Owen. "Don't let him fool you. He's not a homophobe. He sure didn't seem to be when I was sucking his dick."

"William Casey," Meg snaps. "Just because the rest of us tolerate you kids saying anything and everything that pops in your head doesn't mean it's appropriate around strangers. I apologize for my son, Owen."

"S'okay," Owen mutters. The truth is he's more than a little shocked by the open sexuality on display. It was strange enough to see someone as open about being gay as Bill but this was a whole other level of strange. He's not sure he wants to strip any longer. Bill touches the back of his leg.

"It's fine, dude. You don't have to swim if you don't want to but don't let my big mouth, or my sister's big mouth, intimidate you. I can grab you a suit if you've changed your mind."

"My 'big mouth'? I haven't said a thing, Bill. Leave me out of it," Jill huffs. Whatever else she might have been thinking of saying died at the site of Owen's PA.

Everyone, even Meg, leans forward.

"Wow, brah," Mark sighs. "That's intense. Why'd you do it?"

"I'm not sure," Owen admits. "Make a statement to myself, not the world since, until now, no one has seen it."

"Does it make sex better?" Jill asks.

"Dunno," Owen shrugs. "Haven't had sex since I got it."

"You must jerk off though," Jim insists. "How does that feel?"

"Different. It's a turn on feeling the hard metal against my hand."

"I bet it would feel awesome getting fucked by a pierced cock," Jill says, leaning in for a closer look.

"Maybe," Muriel, ever the voice of experience offers. "The G spot is on the front of your pussy. A reverse PA or apadravya might stimulate that area more."

"What about a tongue stud, Muriel? Seems like that would do wonders when it comes to beating the bishop."

"For goodness sake, Jill," Meg says with a shake of her head. "You're as bad, worse maybe, as the rest."