His Tiny Sun

Chapter 32 - Underneath the Surface （Beach Saga, Part 4）

CHAPTER 32

Underneath the Surface (Beach Saga, Part 4)

“This conversation is over!” Jonah shouted, turning around before he committed murder. His feet dug in the sand with unsatisfying thumps as he stormed off, walking back toward the area where he was seated just a few minutes ago. Marina was sitting all by herself now, Eric and Flavien nowhere to be found.

Discomfort settled in Jonah’s stomach at the sight. Although Marina had been civil the entire day so far, Jonah couldn’t help thinking she didn’t like him. After all, if he were in her shoes, he’d hate the bastard who broke his closest friend’s heart.

Jonah’s anger at the pests’ mockery deflated as he sat back down in his seat. He sincerely hoped—much more than he felt comfortable acknowledging—that Marina didn’t believe his intentions with Alan were the same as with Eric.

Jonah figured it was only natural for him to seek the approval of Alan’s friend, but deep within his heart, he knew something else was feeding his need for validation. In reality, by working hard to show her that he was worthy of Alan’s affection, he was also secretly trying to prove it to himself.

“What was the emergency?” Marina asked, addressing him for the second time today.

“There was no emergency,” Jonah said as he dropped Alan’s phone back into his bag, doing his best to mask the lingering irritation from his voice. “Alan wanted to take pictures of a hermit crab.”

“He likes those.”

Jonah’s lips stretched into a lopsided smile. “Is there anything he doesn’t like?” he asked, halfway between a joke and a genuine question.

Marina looked at him, her features unreadable. For a few uncomfortable seconds, she seemed to appraise him. Her long bangs swayed in front of her eyes, obstructing a big part of her face—which made it even more difficult to know what was on her mind. It was such an impractical haircut; it annoyed Jonah on her behalf.

“Injustice,” Marina replied after a long moment .

What kind of answer is that?

“Do you know someone who likes injustice?” Jonah asked, remembering to end his question with a friendly smile. He had to be careful; coming off as an arrogant douchebag wouldn’t help his case.

“Those who benefit from it,” Marina replied plainly.

“Fair.”

But not that simple.

Marina looked over her shoulder, then back at Alan.

She seemed uneasy, and Jonah wagered it had something to do with Eric’s disappearance. Or maybe she just hated being constrained to do small talk with Jonah. “Did they go to the bar?” he asked. It seemed unlikely, seeing as Flavien gave Nicco a call when he wanted to order, but Jonah didn’t know how else to ask Marina about their whereabouts without making it seem as though he didn’t like being alone with her.

“No. Eric said he wanted to show Flavien something.”

What, his dick?

Jonah hoped the asshole didn’t slip away for a quick fuck, especially after having cock-blocked him that morning. Jonah was almost tempted to subject Eric to the very same treatment in return, but Jonah, unlike him, had some dignity . He wouldn’t allow himself to stoop that low.

“He should be back soon,” Marina murmured, seemingly to herself. Her use of a singular pronoun wasn’t lost on Jonah. Flavien was ridiculously bad at making friends.

Some things just refuse to change , Jonah mused with a weird rush of nausea. He knew there were no exceptions to the rule, yet he couldn’t help feeling as though it didn’t apply to him. It was hard for him to find any resemblance between his present and past selves. It was like the person he used to be had died alongside Elliot all those years ago.

“He looks happy,” Marina said.

Jonah glanced at Marina, who was wearing a faint smile on her face. From what Jonah had gathered, she didn’t smile a lot, which he was fine with. He didn’t smile all that much himself, and he preferred it over someone who faked being exalted all the time just for appearances’ sake. “Hm?”

“Alan.”

Jonah followed her gaze just in time to catch the spectacle of his tiny sun attempting to do a cartwheel. “He’s had one too many,” Jonah said with a smile of his own .

“No.”

Jonah gave her a quizzical look, but she didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she kept watching Alan with a serene look on her face. “He looks happy,” she reiterated.

Jonah relaxed in his seat as he watched Sean and Isabel give Alan a crash course on how to do a proper cartwheel. Alan was still sore from his class with Sensei Gruger, yet he kept getting back on his feet and trying again and again, persevering under the guidance of his impromptu teachers.

Jonah hadn’t brought up the topic during his therapy session last Thursday, and neither had Ian. Sharp-witted as he was, however, Jonah had no doubt he’d connected the dots. They’d have to acknowledge their mutual link with Alan eventually.

After a dozen tries, Alan finally managed to do a decent cartwheel. All three of them immediately erupted into cheers, bouncing around and giving each other high-fives to celebrate his success.

Happy.

Jonah gave Marina a smile, but he once again found her looking over her shoulder. Something about Eric’s absence was making her nervous, but she didn’t seem to think she was allowed to go search for him.

Luckily for her, Jonah didn’t give a shit whether Eric wanted to be found or not, and if it meant getting payback at the same time, so much the better. Leaving Marina in the company of someone she barely knew to go get his dick sucked was a shitty thing to do, full stop, and Jonah would be damned if he didn’t give Eric a piece of his mind for it.

“I’m gonna go order something. Want another one?” Jonah asked, pointing at her empty glass.

“Hm? Sure. Thanks.”

“Virgin mojito, right?”

Marina nodded, giving him a brief smile before looking back at Alan.

Maybe she didn’t hate him after all.

Jonah put his flip-flops on, then stood up and grabbed Marina’s empty glass, giving Alan one last glance before going the other direction. Alan was making some kind of sand sculpture with Sean now, which looked like nothing more than a pile of excrement. Knowing Sean, it was possibly what they were going for.

Jonah didn’t like having Alan out of his sight when he was tipsy—and right next to a body of water. Something about Marina made him feel at ease, though. She seemed like a reliable and capable friend for Alan, and seeing as she could practically throw Eric over her shoulder, Jonah had no doubt she could keep Alan safe from nearly anything.

‘You’re not his mom.’

Jonah grumbled internally as Sean’s obnoxious voice invaded his brain. First, they reproached him for being too self-centered, and now they mocked him for expressing concern about Alan. Was it so wrong for Jonah to care about his boyfriend’s well-being? There was no winning with them.

Jonah followed the path leading to the bathroom, resisting the temptation to look over his shoulder to see what the three pests were laughing so hard about. Some things were better left unknown. Still, he hoped it had nothing to do with him getting spanked…or the obsession Sean imagined Jonah had about other people’s shit.

Jonah took a deep breath, relishing the fresh scent of nature. He still had a long road ahead of him before he became a doctor and started making good money, but as soon as he did, he’d get a beach house of his own. Well, after clearing his mom’s mortgage, that is.

He wouldn’t buy one as big as Flavien’s, though. It was impressive, but who the hell needed a decorative living room?

Jonah didn’t need all that space. All he wanted was a small, isolated cabin with no neighbors in sight, where he could escape life’s nonsense whenever he needed to. He would find one with a sun room, in which he would place a drafting table. Perhaps an easel too.

Jonah would spend most of his spare time creating art while Alan read books about hermit crabs or whatever, and then they would end their days outside, Alan curled up in his lap, making sappy wishes every time he saw a shooting star.

‘Love you.’

Those two words, said in Alan’s voice, had deeply shaken Jonah. Alan had just been drunkenly messing around, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d told him the ‘L’ word for the first time.

Jonah came close to making up an excuse and fleeing the scene, but the look on Alan’s face had served as a much-needed wake-up call. It had reminded Jonah that he didn’t have a monopoly on fear of commitment, and that Alan was just as new to this whole intimacy thing as he was.

In Alan’s case, it hadn’t been out of choice, however; he’d simply always been dumped before he had the chance to experience being in a relationship. That was the reason Jonah had managed to keep his cool and defuse the situation, even though he’d felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

Dr. Gruger had drilled into him that nobody did the right thing at all times. What mattered most was how one faced whatever consequence stemmed from their clumsiness or ignorance.

That advice didn’t only apply to him. Jonah wanted Alan to feel safe enough to allow himself to make mistakes around him, too.

Although…maybe Jonah would still spank Alan later, for having had the audacity to mock him in front of the two pests.

Then Jonah would kiss the sting away, cradle Alan in his arms, and kiss his forehead too—for good measure.

“—wasn’t my intention.” Flavien’s words reached Jonah’s ears.

Jonah stopped dead in his tracks and quietly pressed his back to the bathroom’s outer wall. He wasn’t normally one to listen in on people’s private conversations, but something didn’t feel right, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

“They’re my family, ” Eric’s voice said.

“I assure you—”

“—The most important people in my life.”

“And I’m delighted—”

“—Did you even want to meet them?”

“Of course—”

“—Or was it all just a ploy?”

“Eric, please. I have no idea what you’re—”

“—Don’t give me that bullshit,” Eric said, raising his voice.

No wonder he wins all his debates , Jonah mused. He doesn’t let his opponent say a thing.

“You haven’t told Alan a single word today,” Eric continued. “That’s his name, by the way.Alan. He’s my best friend. My brother. And if you can’t treat him as such, then I’m getting the hell out of here and you’ll never see me—”

Jonah tiptoed away. It was getting far too personal. His bathroom break would have to wait.

Eric was a better actor than Jonah had given him credit for. Not once had he let his frustration show until now…or maybe Jonah had just been too busy admiring Alan to see it. That was the most likely explanation.

Jonah had been convinced Eric was too self-centered to notice how Flavien had been blatantly ignoring Alan, but he’d been mistaken. It was a relief; Jonah didn’t know how long he would have been able to hold his tongue. And now Eric had taken care of confronting Flavien in his stead, so Jonah could keep gathering information without arousing suspicion.

Jonah had no doubt that Flavien was scheming. He’d known from the very beginning. Flavien wasn’t one to easily let go, and he could be quite the manipulative bastard when he set his mind to something—in this case, getting Eric back.

The fact that Jonah couldn’t figure out what role Sean and Isabel were playing in Flavien’s ruse was the only reason he’d decided to accept his sneaky invitation. Jonah still had no idea, though, and it was starting to get on his nerves, especially since Flavien’s behavior didn’t align with his goal of luring Eric back into his bed.

“My man!” Nicco exclaimed, pulling Jonah back to reality. “What can I do for ya?”

“Hey. Another virgin mojito and…a regular one. Thanks.” Jonah hadn’t intended to consume any alcohol today, but he wasn’t sure he could take on more drama without a bit of liquid support.

“Right away, my good sir!”