Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 41

[adminnovelsaudio]

Listen Audiobook Version:



Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 41

“Oh shit, that feels heavenly.” Eli leaned into the breeze produced by the fan, his eyes closed.
Sweat ran down the length of his neck.
Nick looked away and drank more of his beer.
Jamar cleared his throat and said over the top of Nick’s head, “So, Eli, where are you living these
days?”
Eli swallowed down the last gulp of water. “New York.”
Ernie lit up. “No way! I’m from Queens! I mean, I lived there for years and years before I came
down here. But I don’t mind Orlando. Yes, it’s Florida, but at least there’s some culture, you
know?”

-- 136 of 228 --

Nick tried not to let the flippant remark get to him, pursing his lips inward to keep from
responding. It was true, but still.
Ernesto caught his look and gave a tiny cry of dismay. “Ah, I did not mean to insult you, Nick.
Staying in your hometown is fine if that is what ends up happening.”
Ends up happening. Nick felt the phrase dig deep into his bones. Every step of the way, his life
had just… ended up happening. Like he’d had no control. Like it was the weather.
Eli jumped in. “Well, also, it’s easier on someone like Nick. Living in New Port Stephen while
straight isn’t too bad.”
Okay, now Nick was getting pissed off. Here he was, trying to find a good way to tell his oldest
friend that he was dipping his toe into the Questioning waters, and he couldn’t get a word in
edgewise without being reminded how fucking heterosexual he supposedly was. It was getting
to the point where he was ready to shout it out for the whole club to hear.
Probably a bad idea.
Nick set his beer down on the bar with a thunk. “I’m going to get some air.” He left without a
single glance at Eli.
Outside was downright crisp and cool compared to the stifling atmosphere inside. Nick stood on
the sidewalk that ran down the length of the strip mall and put his hands on his hips, breathing
it in. A pair of smokers stood a few yards away, but not the same ones that had been there
before. Nick could feel their eyes on his back as he stared out across the parking lot at the traffic
passing by on Route 1.
This night was not going the way he had hoped. There never seemed to be a good time to talk
to Eli about how he felt. Maybe there would never be a good time. Maybe the whole thing was
a bad idea.
Nick spun to face the smokers, who immediately averted their eyes like they could pretend they
hadn’t been caught staring. “Can I bum one from you?” he asked.
He’d taken up smoking back in college because almost everyone in the Asian Society had
smoked. Then he’d gone to work at the Manatee, and since cigarette breaks were the only
breaks they got in the restaurant business, he’d kept it up. Snatches of time out in the parking
lot by the dumpster, sitting on milk crates
with the line cooks, shooting the shit—he’d loved that. Of course, he’d quit when Laurie got
pregnant.
Tonight, though, who cared if he had one cigarette?

-- 137 of 228 --

“Yeah, no problem.” One of the smokers, the one with long hair dyed neon green and a stud at
the corner of their mouth, shook a Marlboro Light from the box and held it out.
“Thanks. Seriously.” Nick leaned in, letting the other smoker light it for him.
It didn’t exactly feel good, inhaling until the tip glowed orange, but it felt familiar, and Nick
needed that after an evening of being so unmoored. It seemed like every time he was making
some progress with Eli, he got shoved into uncharted territory. For every slow dance, there was
a protracted reminder that he was only a straight friend in Eli’s eyes, and a loser who still lived
in the Neeps to boot.