Stand Close 3 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) (5 page)

T
he plane is shaking so violently
that I know this is the end. I look to my brother who finally has a reason to be afraid of turbulence, and an accepting calm overcomes me. Sean’s reaching for the mask and failing to grab it. He looks over at me and I say his name.

I want to say I love him.

That I’m sorry.

That I regret almost everything I’ve ever done. I want to tell him what a good brother he’s been. That more than a brother, he’s been a friend. He’s always been there, always loved me, even when I was being a complete fuckhead, doing things no one should love. His quiet foundation of peace and calm gave me the ability to tornado through my life. There was always a solid thing to grab onto when the wind got too rough. Him.

I want to say these things… but all that comes out is, “Sean.”

The fear leaves him. He reaches over and we grab each other’s hands as pillows fly and the oxygen masks flop. I can’t hear him, but I can see his lips moving, can read the words, “I love you, too.” A sad smile spreads on my lips. Even now, he knows what I needed to say.

We suddenly pitch down and forward. Our hands tear apart as we hit the water with a loud crash. Our heads are nearly yanked off our necks from the collision. I’m expecting fire to come shooting into our bodies, taking our lives.

Terence appears, dipping his head as he rushes to the door, yelling, “C’mon! We have to get out before the door submerges.”

The buckles fall away from us as we leap into action. Wincing in pain, Steve, the co-pilot appears, holding his arm. From the strange angle it’s in, it’s broken. The plane dips forward, the nose tipping down. Terence struggles with the door, swearing at it. I grab the handle and Sean reaches and grabs on, too. We grunt and succeed in pulling it open with our strength, three men fighting for their lives. The emergency raft he deployed bobs outside as water rushes in. It knocks Sean back, and Steve, too. “Jack!” Sean screams as he loses his footing. The water rises quickly around all of us. Terrence unlatches the raft so it doesn’t sink and I yell for him to go. “GET THE RAFT! GO! GO!” He pauses, not wanting to abandon us, but I release my grip from the doorframe and swim-run to get Sean, yelling to Terence, “WE NEED THE RAFT!” He jumps out, the water waist-level now. Sean gains control of himself by holding onto the bar and he and I swim to retrieve our wounded co-pilot who’s crying out from the pain as he tries to paddle with one arm against the rapids. The cabin is filling up with mind-bending speed. We have to go under. “Take a deep breath! We can do this!” I yell. The three of us suck in loudly and dive under the water, swimming toward the freedom of the open door. Sean and I both have one hand on the co-pilots arms, and we’re all kicking as fast as we can. Dipping down to clear the sinking top of the doorframe, we find ourselves shrouded in liquid darkness. The co-pilot uses his good arm to help us as we all struggle for the top, the air in the life-preservers aiding our buoyancy but hindering our ability to really move our arms. I glance behind me to see an outline of the plane; now a shadow vanishing into the ocean’s depths. A fresh surge of pain in my lungs screams at me that I must get air soon. From the constantly shifting peaks and valleys lit by moonlight above us, we’re about to enter the storm.

Gasping and choking in air, I break the surface, just as a wave crashes against my head and pushes me under again. I lose my grip on the co-pilot’s arm and struggle to find him, my hand reaching and touching nothing but thrashing liquid. The water must have taken him. I break the surface again and gasp hard for breath, searching for Sean and our lost comrade. With waves throwing my body to the right, I call out their names, swallowing as much salt-water as I do air. Sean yells my name and I turn around. He waves widely and yells, “He’s gone!”

My hearts pounds in my chest. I have to find him and I have to do it fast. I won’t let him die out here. Just before a wave crashes into my skull, I dive under, swimming toward where I saw Sean. I search the ocean. If Steve was between us, then he’s still between us. That’s my logic as I reach my arms wide and search. Soon my hand finds purchase and I pull him up by his bad arm, but it’s better than dying out here. He’s passed out. A wave must have gotten him, but the life preserver kept him close the surface and I drag him up and scream in his face to wake up. He opens his eyes, coughing and sputtering. Sean is fighting waves to reach us and help. “Kick your legs, buddy! Kick!!” I scream at Steve.

Sean yells, “The raft is over there!” as the crests of smaller waves crash against his face. He shakes his head like a dog to get the hair out of his eyes. I follow where he’s pointing and see Terence off in the distance riding a wave like a fucking surfer, illuminated by a red flare over his head to show us his location. I start screaming, but he can’t see us. We’re too far out, and the darkness around us is unforgiving. “Come on!”

“I can’t make it!” Steve yells. “You go!”

“Fuck if I’m going to let that happen!” I argue, grabbing his arm. “Sean, go!”

“I want to help!”

He and I exchange a look knowing the truth. I’m trying to get him to go because Steve and I might not make it. But he’s not having it. Making up a reason, I shout, “I can’t drag both of you! Now GO!”

“Look out!” Steve yells, pointing behind me with his chin.

I don’t even look. I know what’s coming, the rise pushing my body up and warning me about the inevitable fall. “Go under the water!” We all breathe in air and dive under just before the crash hits. Our bodies ricochet around but it’s nothing like it would have been if we’d stayed on top. Gasping for air, we resurface one after the other, and start kicking. Sean and I flank Steve, with me pulling on his vest as his arm floats painfully like it doesn’t belong to him anymore.

I call out the plan: “When a wave comes, do that again! Go under the water!” They nod understanding and the next wave wastes no time. We all dip under before it has a chance to throw us around like rag dolls. Clawing our way back up, we gasp for air, and continue the swim. The technique works and though none of us can believe it, after awhile we finally make it to the raft, hoisting Steve in first. “God, I feel so pathetic,” he says loudly as Terence scoops him up.

“Go, Sean! Get in.” He glances at me, hair matted to his head. Pulling himself up is a struggle after the ocean robbed us of our strength, especially with the waves that still haven’t let up. He grimaces and Terence reaches under his arms, using his body weight to fall both of them backward into the raft successfully. I see my brother’s feet go over and notice he’s only got one shoe on. Shaking my head, I go to pull myself up but a wave tears me away before I make it even halfway up.

“JACK!” They all yell, Sean and Terence reaching out for me. I stretch my arm but I’m being carried away. I don’t think I have the strength to do this one more time. Powered under by another crash, I’m at the mercy of the ocean. I choke as my body gets tossed. Remembering Rue at the bottom of the pool, I feel a sense of urgency overtake me from deep inside my soul. Praying to a God I don’t even know I believe in, I battle my way to the surface and explode out of it, sucking in air and coughing out the water I took in. Crashing my arms and legs as fast I can, I make it to the raft and reach my right hand out to grab Terence’s. Sean latches clawed fingers into my shoulders, his body bent far over the raft. Together, they hoist me over, panting.

“You had me going there,” Sean mutters.

“The ocean had me going there,” I joke, coughing.

He shakes his head, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Terence laughs from sheer relief. But another wave nearly knocks us over and we all hold onto the sides. As it tries to turn us over, we shift our weight, Steve in the middle of us on the floor off the raft, crying out from a pain we can only imagine.

As it levels out, Sean shivers and says, “We made it. I can’t believe we made it.”

“We haven’t made it yet,” Steve calls up from where he lies, gloom overtaking him.

I shake my head and exchange a committed look with Terence. “Are we going to let this storm win?”

He grins. “Fuck no!”

Sean laughs and with his knuckles tight, prepares for the next blow. We’re all drenched, our bones nearly frozen, but it doesn’t matter. We’re alive.

T
he rising sun
is a welcome warmth we all very much need. My teeth are past chattering. Everything is numb, even the ache in my muscles. The waves have finally died down, retreating to the hell from whence they came, leaving behind a docile flicker of light blue surrounding us as we lightly float along. I wish that’s the last we’ll see of the storm, but with our luck, we’re not hopeful. The co-pilot is lying on his back in a puddle of water, ears-deep and snoring. There’s only a slight rocking now, tiny aftershocks of what was, and it’s enough to soothe his pain away with blessed unconsciousness.

“You know what I want to do when we get back?” Terence asks.

I’m eager for the idea of survival, but I can’t hide the skepticism in my voice. “No, what?”

He smirks, kneading his hands. He’s a good man. I hired him because he was a family man, and a loyal one at that. I figured a family man would be more careful with the plane because he always had someone he cared about to go home to. I should have interviewed weather conditions, too. I wonder if a thunderstorm has a list of references. “When I get home, I’m going to take my wife on that vacation to Australia she’s always wanted to go on. I’ll take her there, show her some kangaroos and then fuck her senseless.”

Sean and I laugh. Rubbing my hands together, I pick up the cue, and take a deep breath. “Okay, since we’re playing the we’re-going-to-be-rescued-somehow-miracle-game, I’ll bite. When I get home, I’m going to direct one of Sean’s screenplays into a feature film. I’m going to hire Emma Stone as the lead, and we’re going to fall in love on set. I’ll definitely without a doubt fuck her in her trailer while people whisper outside.” Sean and Terence laugh, and I add, “And maybe we’ll even get married.” Sean’s eyebrows go up over a wide grin. Terence chuckles, throwing me a knowing look. With comedic flare, I admit dryly, “And then we’ll get divorced of course. That’s how we do things in Hollywood.”

We wait for Sean to throw his hat in the ring. The sky is brightening with every passing second and the knowledge that we’re going to be at the sun’s mercy next, with no water or food, has just occurred to all of us. This little game is a welcome distraction.

Sean inhales and closes his eyes for a second. Then he opens them like he’s looking to heaven for courage. “I’m gay.” He sighs. “When I get back, I’m going to have sex.” He looks down at his hands. “For the first time.”

I blink and my jaw slackens, completely taken off guard with this one-two punch revelation. He turns his head and slowly meets my eyes, resigned to whatever is about to come. I’ve always known Sean didn’t date a lot of girls. There have been a few, but compared to the multiple notches tagged in my bedpost, they were nothing. But I always attributed that to his romantic, idealistic nature. I thought the guy wasn’t satisfied until he found one he truly cared about and that just hadn’t happened yet. I had no idea he was a virgin… and I never in a million years would have guessed he was gay. My own brother, who I spend most of my time with, and I didn’t know.

Shaking my head at myself, I push his shoulder, making his body sway back. “You’re a virgin and you’re gay? What the fuck, Sean? So… that means you’re an idiot, too?”

His blue eyes ice into narrow slits, ready to fight me. “Jack… I knew you would never understand. That’s why I….”

I cut him off. “Damn right I don’t understand. If I was gay, I’d be fucking EVERYBODY. What have you been doing pretending you’re straight and not taking advantage? Never having to worry if you’re going to get laid or not? Do you know how much ass those guys get? Excuse the pun.”

Surprise lights him up and he laughs. “Fucker! You had me going there.”

I grab his head and grate my knuckles into his head. “Yeah, you were going to fight me, weren’t you? How would that have played out, do you think?”

He’s laughing hard, years of pent up shame released. I let him go but not before mussing up his hair and looking at him like
I can’t believe you never told me.
He’s smiling from ear to ear, tiny lines creased into the sides of his eyes, but his expression shifts as he looks at Terence.

Terence gives him a cockeyed smile and shakes his head. “Don’t look at me. You like what you like, and that’s how God made you. But wow… since we might just die out here, can I be candid?”

“Lay it all out,” I say.

Terence looks up at the sky, then back to alternate between us. “I’ve always been a little jealous of you two. I’ve been taking you all over the world, and yeah, that means I go there, too, but I can’t take my wife with me, and you know, it’s different without her there. Lonely. And I’m on the clock. But the photos of you guys with all these women and parties–your youth and everything laid out in front of you. It looks incredible. But here you are Sean, this whole time, you’ve been a virgin and lying about your sexual preference. And Jack, you’ve been wanting to make films, is that it?” I nod, finally admitting it without hesitation. “I guess no matter where you are in life, you’ve got dreams you’re not fulfilling. Why is that? I mean, what are we waiting for?” He glances down to Steve sleeping in the raft, and quiets his voice out of respect. “I’ve been telling my wife
someday
for Australia for over a decade now. What the fuck am I waiting for? It’s always been there! What if I don’t make it back and can’t take her?” He gets choked up, and like a man does, he quiets himself before it gets out of hand.

“You think we’re going to survive this?” Sean asks.

I exhale deep and long. “I don’t know. I keep expecting to see fins circling us any minute.” I begin humming the theme song for Jaws.

Sean pushes me. “Stop it! Not fucking funny.” We all quiet, looking out at the blue horizon, infinite in all directions. Fiddling with the tattered belt of his life vest, Sean admits, “I’m glad it’s finally out.” He straightens his shoulders, leans over and lands his elbows on his knees, the vest pushing up around his shoulders. “I’m gay. I’ve known it forever, but it’s finally out there. For whatever it’s worth, I feel good. It’s been really hard hiding that from you.” He turns his head and looks at me from the corner of his eyes.

“Yeah, well I wish you would have given me a little credit.”

His eyes narrow on a smile. “I never know with you.”

“So you keep telling me,” I mutter, slightly annoyed. I shake out a leg that’s falling asleep, and bring my ass of the raft to punch it a few times, get the blood moving.

Sean stares out and his eyes narrow as he leans forward. “Hey, look!” His arm shoots out to point. “What’s that?!”

Terence and I look to our right and squint into the distance. It takes me a second to see the thin line stretching up out of the ocean. We watch it grow taller and Terence’s spine lengthens with it. Mystified, he whispers, “Holy shit. That’s a submarine’s periscope!”

Sean and I look at each other in shock. “Is it one of ours?” We all wait in suspense. A few moments later a U.S. Navy submarine breaks the silvery surface, ripples cascading off from it, the dark shadow of its hull like a whale under the ocean’s top layer.

The three of us rise up and yell, laughing and waving our arms wildly in the air, as the raft rocks beneath us. Steve wakes up with a jolt and cries out from the horrible ache in his arm. Staring up at us, and waking up to what’s happening, he marvels in disbelief, “What’s going on?”

Laughing from our guts, we all yell at him, “We’re saved!” “We’re fucking saved!” “I can’t believe it! It’s a submarine! Look!”

His face lights up and he rises up on his good arm. “Oh my God!” He laughs, eyes wide with joy. He joins us yelling.

“HEY!” “OVER HERE!” “WE’RE HERE!” “HALLELUJAH!”

The sub’s cockpit opens and an officer rises up out of it, waving at us as the hull makes its way steadily toward our raft. “You okay?!” he calls over through cupped hands.

We explode. “YEAH!!” “WE ARE NOW!”

Terence starts to weep. “I get to see Cory again.” He screams to his wife loud enough that she might just hear him, “I’M COMING HOME, CORY! Don’t give up on me, baby! And warm up those sheets because we’re not leaving that bed FOR DAYS!!”

Sean and I clap each other on the back, grinning. “We’re gonna make it,” he whispers, astounded.

With adrenaline pounding, I wipe away the wetness from my eyes with one hand, the other around my best friend. “We sure are.”