She watched his face contort as he worked through it all, resisting the urge to reassure him again, because he had a right to his reaction, no matter how angry or hurt he might be.
He searched her eyes before asking, “Is it wrong that I still think it’s hot? I mean, if it had been another guy, I’d be losing my mind right now. But another girl? I can’t compete with that, but it also means that she can’t compete with me. Right?”
“If it was a competition,” Silvia said carefully, “you would have already won.”
“Cool,” Omar said, seeming to make peace with the idea. “Do you feel like being bisexual is something you still need to explore? Like in front of me maybe?”
Silvia’s jaw dropped. Then she reached outside the raft to splash him. “I am not going to kiss a girl so you can get off on it!”
“Hey, I’m just trying to be supportive!”
“I bet.” She affectionately wiped water off his cheek. “I really am sorry. I felt terrible afterwards.”
“It’s all right,” he said, taking her hand to kiss it. “I know it’s a double standard or whatever, but it doesn’t bug me much, since it was a girl.” A funny smile came over his face. “I’ve got something similar to tell you. Remember when I let Anthony think that you gave me a blow job? I did that because it was actually Ricky.”
She waited for him to laugh, but he seemed serious despite the grin. “So you’re…”
“Straight.” Omar shrugged. “I was just horny. And it really was before we started dating. That part was true.”
Silvia shook her head playfully. “Who’s keeping secrets now, mister open-about-everything? Your first gay blowjob is a major life experience. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
“Ha ha! I guess I am a hypocrite. To be honest, I thought of you while it was happening. Oh, and there was also a hand job. But that’s it, I swear.”
“So you and Anthony never messed around together?”
“Nope. How come?”
“Because that would be hot,” she said, understanding Omar’s reaction to Keisha a little better. Had she known he would be turned on instead of traumatized, she would have told him sooner and not bothered blackmailing a certain someone into silence. “Hey! Speaking of Ricky, I have a story to tell you about him. And this raft!” She grabbed the rounded side in her excitement, except it wasn’t firm like she was expecting. Instead the raft felt squishy, like it had lost air.
Silvia glanced around and saw that the edges had pulled away from the water and risen into the air. Omar must have noticed her shock, because he looked around too before squeezing part of the raft experimentally.
“Shit!” he said. “Where’s the paddle?”
Silvia pointed to the mud where it had gotten stuck when Omar used the paddle to push away from the shore. And it was the only one they’d had.
“Oh right. I thought the current would have brought us back by now.”
“We’re in a lake,” she said, “not an ocean or a river.”
“No problem. I’ve got this.” Omar took off his shirt. Then he began working on his jeans.
Silvia watched him strip down to his boxers. “What are you going to do, swim for help?”
“Nah.” Omar rocked onto his back, lifted his legs, and pulled off his boxers, exposing his hairy butt. “I’m going to be your motor.”
And with that, he rolled off the raft and into the water. His wet hair was clinging to his head when he resurfaced. Omar brushed it out of his eyes before he bobbed toward the raft, grabbed hold, and started kicking. The partially-deflated material gave way, bowing inward. It seemed like he would end up in the center of the raft until he got enough momentum for the raft to begin moving toward the shore.
Silvia laughed and didn’t stop until the bottom scraped against the shore. Which was close enough that she only had to get her feet wet. She dragged the raft onto dry land and turned to watch her boyfriend slowly lurch out of the water while completely naked. He made no effort to hide the fact.
“Feel free to join me,” Omar said, putting his hands on his hips while panting.
“Omar!” Silvia said, alternating between staring and looking around for witnesses. “Aren’t you going to put any clothes on?”
“Once I dry off,” he said with a grin.
“Um… Why are you getting a boner?”
“Because I’m standing here nude in front of my girl. It’s perfectly natural.”
She laughed and tossed his boxers to him, but even when he put them on, it was obvious that he was still turned on.
“I don’t know if it’ll go away on its own,” he said leadingly.
“I’m not doing it here,” Silvia said.
“Then tell me your story so I can get my mind on something else.”
She had almost forgotten that they’d been interrupted. “Oh! Well, when I was on my way to your birthday party, with this raft actually, I saw Ricky pass out in the street. I’m the one who took him to the urgent care center.”
Omar’s smile tightened. “You’re the mystery woman he keeps talking about?”
“Yes! He didn’t have his glasses on, and we hadn’t met yet, so he didn’t recognize me. Plus, he was on all those pills.”
Omar’s brow was creased. She figured, like the other revelations of the day, that he needed a moment to put the various pieces together. Except he didn’t say anything. Although he did keep looking at her funny. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah!” Omar opened his mouth, hesitated, and closed it again. After another moment, he added, “Yeah.”
She nodded at his crotch. “Looks like it worked.”
He glanced down at himself. Then back up at her again. “Yeah. That did the trick.”
Omar tromped over to the raft to collect the rest of his clothes. He got dressed in silence, and even though the day was warm and he wasn’t shivering, something about him felt cold. “Wanna call it a day?” he asked when turning around.
“I thought we’d fish again. See if we can’t catch something this time.”
Omar’s lips pressed together. He walked over to their poles, picked them up, and returned to her with them. “Good idea,” he said, holding out a rod stiffly until she took it. “Let’s try that.”
She grabbed his free hand when he began to turn away. “Are you all right? I know it was a lot to take in. The potential move, Keisha, the bisexual thing… all of it.”
“Yeah!” Omar said, smooching her briskly. “We’re good! Let’s just chill and catch some fish.”
“Okay!” Silvia said, trying to sound just as upbeat. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.
— — —
Cameron felt a jolt of anxiety the moment he woke up. He shoved it aside, got out of bed, and with the clock radio still playing music, fell into his routine of push-ups and sit-ups. He did more sets than usual, wanting the extra time before he had to go downstairs to see if his mother was still passed out on the couch. Usually he would have roused her from sleep and helped her get into bed, but he was sick of it. Something had to change.