Stand Close 3 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) (6 page)

A
lec
and I are on the couch in the sitting room with Mrs. Stone still asleep upstairs. It’s dark outside, after 3:00 a.m. on the longest night of my life. My feet are tucked under me and I’ve got my head on Alec’s strong shoulder, his arm around me. We’ve been silent for a very long time. The curtains are open and Alec and I have been watching the palm trees sway in the warm night’s breeze for hours, illuminated by tall security lights. We watched the news for a time, but it got too painful. We knew that Jack and Sean would call if they were alive, and hearing the news regurgitate all of the crash’s details only struck greater fear in us that that call would never come. I’m sure Alec can see it all happening just like I’m able to. We were in the plane, too. We can imagine it falling apart like no one else can. Getting the image of Jack and Sean terrified, out of our heads is just impossible.

Their landline phone rings and Alec leans over to look at it. A number lights up without a name to signify who’s calling. He blinks at the area code and frowns, unsure of where it’s from. “Maybe it’s family,” he mutters. As it hits the third ring, he slowly reaches out and picks it up. “Hello?” He listens. After a moment, his arm tightens around my body, fingers pressing into me. “Wait, say that again!” His spine shoots up and he twists to look at me with happy disbelief.

“What? Are they okay? Did someone find them?” I cry out.

An incredulous smile builds to a grin on his tired face, and Alec nods. “It’s President Obama.” My eyes go wide. “Sir, can I please put you on speaker and get Mrs. Stone? This is Alec Gabriel, sir.” He laughs and hits the speaker button. “You’re on speaker, Mr. President. Hold on, please. I have to wake her. Rue Calliwell is with me, sir, she’s part of the family now. She’ll be very happy to hear what you have to say.”

“Hello, Ms. Calliwell, this is President Obama.”

Alec jumps off the couch, leaping into the air as he runs up the stairs, shouting for joy all the way up, “They’re alive! THEY’RE ALIVE!!”

I grin at the phone, humbled and overwhelmed. “Hello, Mr. President. This is Rue, erm…Ms. Calliwell. You found them?”

“One of our Navy submarines found them, yes. They’re dehydrated and one of them has a broken arm, and one has a broken nose, but other than that, they’re alive and very excited to be coming home.”

I clap my hands together. “Whose arm is broken?”

“Steve Lathem, the co-pilot. And the nose belongs to Jack Stone. I’m afraid he’s pretty bruised up.”

Concerned, I ask, “But they’re going to be okay?”

“Yes, all four men are in the hospital now. They’re going to be fine.”

“Oh my God! That’s amazing!!” Overcome, I lean back with my hands over my mouth. Alec’s running down the stairs followed by a very groggy but excited mother. “Here they come, Mr. President! Just one more minute. I know you’re busy.”

He laughs, and I have to love him for that, even if I am mad at him for a lot of other things. “It’s okay. I want to give her the good news about her boys.”

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Stone asks with her hands in the air like a blind person looking for something substantial to hold onto. “They’re alive?!! You found them?!”

“Mrs. Stone, I’m happy to report that your boys are very much alive,” comes the President’s sure, clear tone through the speaker.

She claps her hands over her mouth and screams pure joy. Falling into Alec for support, she stares at the phone, and looks to me, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it.”

Alec’s got the clearest head of all of us. “Where are they, Mr. President?” I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask.

All business, our President informs us, “They’re in Miami, Florida. They were found floating near Cuba and due to unfriendly waters and the boys’ public and financial personas, their rescue was kept a secret until they were on American soil. I just found out myself. They’re in the hospital and doing fine. We’ll be flying them back to Los Angeles in the morning. I have to get back to my affairs, but I hope you all have a wonderful day.”

“Thank you!” “Thank you, Mr. President!”

“Thank you, Barack! You made me a very happy woman tonight!” Mrs. Stone calls to him, clearly having met him in person before. I stare at her in awe a moment, taking that in.

I lock eyes with Alec. “It’s a miracle. I thought for sure they were…” I stop myself, and they know why.

Alec grins. “Anybody as starving as I am?”

“I couldn’t possibly eat,” Mrs. Stone mutters, holding her stomach with a smile. “I think I want to go back and lay down for awhile. I might have taken a pill to calm my anxiety. Will you let me know when they call?”

I pause, surprised the question was directed at me. “Sure. Of course. I hope you feel better.”

“Thank you.” She exhales, turning to walk away and resting a hand on Alec’s shoulder as she passes. “I love you, kid.”

He beams at her. “I love you, too, Connie.” After watching her exit, he turns to me and holds out his arms. I rush into them and we laugh, holding each other tightly and rocking from side to side, so grateful. After a few moments, the laughter subsides as we both become aware of each other as we haven’t been since the tragedy happened. Goosebumps spread across my skin as he rocks me and kisses the top of my head. He pulls back so he can look into my eyes, the bags under his evidence of what we’ve been through.

“Rue,” he whispers hoarsely.

Rising up on my tiptoes I rest my forehead against his and close my eyes. “We were being stupid.” He knows I’m talking about us.

He kisses my cheek and I can feel a difference in him, a chastity and restraint that can’t be ignored. Tucking my head into the nook of his neck, I wait for him to say what’s on his mind. “I didn’t protect you from Jack, and you…” he struggles to say it, “…almost drowned because I wasn’t there. I haven’t forgotten. This all made it more clear, actually, how much things have to change. This can never work otherwise.”

I close my eyes. “I know. I want to be in their lives, Alec. I don’t know if they’ll have me after abandoning them in Spain. I should have been on that plane!”

He strokes my head and whispers, “I should have been, too. I know exactly how you feel.”

My voice cracks as I admit what I’ve been feeling for hours, “I want to be their sister.”

He nods against the top of my head and gives me a squeeze, holding me so tightly. “When we were waiting for word, I decided if they made it, I wouldn’t do anything to harm our friendship. I care about you.” He pulls away and looks into my eyes, taking my chin between his forefinger and thumb. “I don’t know if it’s the heightened energy of everything that’s happened, or what, but I’m falling in love with you.”

My heart expands to hear it. “I feel the same way.”

“But it’s no good if it tears us all apart. This family, your family now, it’s been mine my whole life. My mom and I barely talk and my dad is gone on some bender in Cambodia most of the time.” Alec chuckles sadly. “These guys, they’re it for me.”

“I know. I don’t want to come between you. I was acting like a jerk. Tragedy sure has a way of putting your perspective in order, doesn’t it?” I smile up at him and he nods.

“Yeah.”

“Friends?” I ask, my eyebrows rising a little, even as my heart sinks.

He makes a small sound like he doesn’t want to say it, but has to. “Friends.”

I shrug and wink at him, “Sometimes that lasts longer,” trying to make us feel better. We’ve been through so much tonight and I want us to be happy for at least a little while, knowing that four people’s lives weren’t taken before their time. “Let’s get something to eat.”

He smiles and releases me, but not before planting one bittersweet kiss on my forehead. “I’ll make us some sandwiches.” He stares at me a second, the look changing in his eyes. Feeling like he’s about to kiss me, I try to make myself want to pull away, but I can’t. Instead my head tilts up of its own volition and I close my eyes. Alec leans down and his lips brush mine just as the phone rings again.

We both laugh nervously, the spell broken. Alec rests his forehead on mine again and grins, “With that timing, it’s got to be Sean.”

M
y mother couldn’t resist
it. She had to throw a party. And when she sets her sights on a celebration, she doesn’t fuck around. There are over four hundred of our ‘closest friends’ around the pool in our backyard, another thirty in it, and more filtering in through the kitchen where my mom is holding court and pretending like the brownies she cooked were the most taxing thing she’s ever done. She’s even got a splash of well-applied flour on her cheek; a nice touch. But at least she’s not high.

The band Broken Bells is setting up to play on a tall fantastically lit stage built for the event in the east corner of our backyard. Food trucks with Salvadorian, New Orleans BBQ, and Thai delicacies are off to the west, having driven in through the gate our landscapers normally use to get back here. Making my way to my favorite group of people, I thank guests for their kind words, with more than a polite smile on my face this time. I’m happy to be back in L.A. and I’m happy for the party, but mostly I’m just happy to be breathing smog-filled air and not fucking salt water.

“There he is!” Jenna smiles from her lounge chair. “They can’t get enough of you guys today and I don’t blame ‘em.”

Jack grins and hands her the drink she was trying to reach for on the table centered among us. “I can’t get enough of them either. It’s a different feeling isn’t it, buddy?” he says.

I nod and sit next to Alec on a sturdy, red ottoman that’s large enough for five. Rue’s in the lounge chair beside her best friend and Jack sits on the ground creating a circle of sorts, his shorts wet and sticking to him from the dip he just had in the pool. “I can’t believe you went in the water,” I say under my breath.

He laughs, “If I can see the bottom, it’s all good. But I am seriously considering having the dark bottom taken out and replaced with floodlights.”

Rue’s smiling at him and she glances over to catch me watching her. Her eyebrows rise. “Yes?” Since we got home, she’s been sweet and quiet. I think she’s been waiting for us to throw her out, and Jack’s enjoying that, but this time from a playful place. I have a feeling their sibling rivalry ain’t leaving anytime soon. I’m starting to like the show now that the weapons have been thrown away.

Leaning on my elbows, I cock my head toward the house. “My mom seems to like you.”

Rue blushes, looking over the house. Pursing her lips, she glances back to me on a smile. “We had something greater than the past to help us into the present.”

Jack pipes up, “Oh yeah? The plane crash?”

She shakes her head, looking from me to Jack with a sweet, heartfelt smile. “Love.”

Jack straightens up with mock-surprise. “You guys love each other? Isn’t there enough same-sex lovin’ going around?” We all laugh and Jenna just shakes her head at him like she’d punch him if he were closer.

When we were picked up at the airport, after the reporters got a statement and cameras grabbed photographs of Mom, Alec and our new sister joyously greeting us with hugs and tears, we climbed into a stretch limo and I announced I was gay. The door hadn’t even closed yet. And I never wanted it to close again, metaphorically speaking. Rue was the only one who didn’t seem surprised. “I saw you looking at that guy in Ibiza,” she confessed to my surprise. And since coming out to my closest people, I’m now telling everyone. This party is abuzz with two bits of news: we survived, and I like cock. This is how it’s been all morning:
“
Great to see, Sean. We thought you were dead.” “Yeah, thanks. Not dead, but I am gay. Good to see you, too.” Clap on the back and I’m out.

“I’m bi. I can go either way,” Jenna smirks.

Jack smirks back at her, his bruised and swollen nose looking painful and kind of funny as he tries to be sexy. “What about my way? You think you can handle me?” Jenna laughs and kicks at his shoulder, the possibility there. “I’m huge, by the way. Like a monster is in my pants huge. Or my shorts. It’s right here.” He grabs himself and Jenna squeals with laughter.

Rue says, dryly, “Shut up, Jack.”

Alec’s been doing his best not to pay much attention to Rue, keeping his eyes on me and my brother more often than not, but his words back in Ibiza weren’t lost on us. I know how he feels about her, and the respect he’s giving us makes me feel good, but it’s unnecessary. Any brush with death will teach you that you have to grab opportunities for love when they come. I’m waiting for the chance to tell him.

A
guitar note
explodes from the speakers and we all look to the stage to see Broken Bells almost ready to play, testing sound. “I love these guys,” I say to the group.

Sean nods next to me. “They’re incredible, but why aren’t you playing?”

I squint toward the stage, my shoulders hunched as I lean on my elbows like he’s doing. “Your mom asked me to. I told her I just wanted to spend time with you guys. She said she understood.” What I don’t confess is that my vocal chords are shot from when I heard about the crash. Some things I keep to myself.

Jack laughs. “She did?”

I grin and reach for my beer. “Yeah, she calmly patted my chest, turned away, and didn’t bring it up again. I think you’re going to notice a lot of changes around here.”

“I hope it doesn’t fade,” Jack admits with uncharacteristic feeling before he takes a sip from the pint in his hand, the condensation dripping down the side as the sweet amber ale slides into his mouth. He licks his lips and makes a loud, “AHHHH!!!!”

I can’t wipe this smile off my mouth. The only sour thing about this day is I have to keep my mind off Rue. She’s stunning me in her white sundress and it’s a challenge, but one I’m determined to meet. Keeping my mind off the subject of her wiggling toes, I ask, “So how did the submarine rescue you exactly?”

Rue pipes up, leaning forward excitedly, “Yeah! Did they position themselves under you guys and say,
Swim down
!
Down here! Come on! We’ll catch you!
”

Jenna is now sitting up, too, leaning on her knee. “Tell us everything!”

Jack and Sean share a look, remembering the harried night. Sean shakes his head and launches in, “I couldn’t believe we managed to get on the plane to get here, after what happened. I won’t lie when I say it felt safer because it was bigger, which makes no sense, because you’d think a huge hunk of metal flying through the air would need to be smaller to stay up. But still, it felt safer.”

Affirmative noises all around.

Jack continues, “And for the first time we enjoyed the public knowing who we were. There was so much enthusiasm for our surviving the crash, it was really moving. It got to both of us, huh Sean?” Sean nods, sucking on his lips. Jack acts out with his hands, “People hugged us and we were like, COME HERE! Hugging them back. Remember that lady?”

Sean smiles. “Yeah. A sweet woman who looked like a librarian grabbed our faces one at a time and kissed us on the lips. Not weird, but in a motherly way.
SMACK! I’m so glad you boys made it! We were praying for you!”

I exhale, remembering the woman who held me at LAX.

Jack takes another sip from his beer, his finger held out on his free hand to tell us to wait so he can continue. “AHHHHH! DAMN THAT’S GOOD BEER! So when the sub pulled up, they sent out naked ladies to service us.”

Jenna and Rue both scream, “Shut UP!”

He laughs, shoulders shaking. “No. They shot out a line that had a harness on the end. One at a time, they hauled us in. Steve was first because he was wounded. Poor guy.”

Sean takes over, climbing onto the ground to sit next to Jack. “The pilot, you remember Terence?” Jenna and Rue nod. I don’t have to; they know I know Terence well. Great guy. Really glad he made it. Sean continues, “Well, he’d been in the military so he explained that a couple officers would be there with the rescue team, the strongest men in the crew. As we watched Steve get hauled into the cockpit, Terence told us there was a watertight retractable wall between the cockpit and the shaft to protect the hull of the sub.”

Jack adds, “That way water can splash into the cockpit, but not into the main part of the sub. And when it gets into the cockpit, they can get it out, mostly.”

Rapt, the girls both say, “Oh!”

I glance over to Rue, but her focus is on her brothers. A pang twists in my chest and I shove it away, focusing on the story by asking, “So what happened then?”

Sean picks it up. “Right, Terence said he wanted to go last, but Jack wouldn’t have it.” Jack looks down at the ground with a modesty uncommon for him as Sean plows forward, “Terence was really adamant about it, but Jack said, I don’t have a wife waiting for me. You go.” The girls stare at Jack with new eyes, and they’re not the only ones. Surprise tilts my head a little and my interest is back, full swing. “And of course, it was the same for me. He made me go before him. Fucking guy. When I was being pulled through that ice-cold water, I was crazy terrified a shark was going to grab me by the legs and tear me out of that thing. So close to being saved, you know your mind does funny things. So when I was safely pulled up over the sides of the cockpit by a couple of men larger than I’ve ever seen…”

“You got a hard-on?” Jack jokes.

I stifle a laugh as Sean grins and rolls his eyes. “Fucker. Well, I looked over and saw Jack all by himself on that little raft, the ocean surrounding him in every direction, and for the first time I could see what we’d been up against from a different vantage point, a different angle and it was intense. As they threw the line to Jack and it missed a couple times, it hit me hard how close we were to dying out there.” Emotions well up his eyes and he shakes them off, his tone shifting. “And Jack… you were really brave. He saved me and Steve.”

“Sean…” Jack says, bringing up his hand again with his gaze on the ground.

“No, let me tell them.” Sean pauses to swallow the lump in his throat. He takes a breath for strength and tells us all about the crash and the water coming into the plane, and how Jack came back for them. How they battled to get to the raft. How Jack found the co-pilot unconscious in the ocean.

Jack finally stops him. “Look, it’s a party. Let’s not talk about it anymore.” Sean nods. We’d all gotten caught up in it, but Jack’s right, it’s time to put it behind us so we can all heal from the pain we felt. Rue climbs off the chair and hugs Sean. His arms encircle her as Laney Turner walks up and interrupts.

“Well, aren’t you two the magic wonders of the elite world!” Descending upon us with two shorter men behind her, Laney beams that famous plastic smile with her greedy, gossip-starved eyes soaking in Rue and Sean’s hug as the two separate. The group looks up at her with gravity.

“Good to see you again, Laney,” Jack says, bobbing his head up as hello.

“And you!” She points a dragon-yellow painted nail at their sister. “After I ran into you at Boa, I wanted to interview you, but now I’m thinking if I could interview the
three
of you, the world would be so grateful.”

“But you wouldn’t be grateful at all,” Jack smirks, losing his normal flirtatious way he talks with her.

She notices, but lets it go over her head - eye on the goal. “So, can I pencil you in?”

Sean leans back and shrugs, also not playing the game anymore. “We’ll think about it. Oh, and…I’m gay.”

For once in her life, Laney is speechless.

“We’ll give you a call Laney. Good to see you,” Rue wiggles her fingers in a wave. Laney blinks a couple times and turns around, but then slaps her hands together. “Sean! You must love me!” Dancing off with the two guys in tow, she pulls out her phone.

“Did you want to make her year?” Jack asks, wryly.

Sean just grins. “Nah. I’ve been telling
everyone
.”

Broken Bells launches into
October,
one of my favorite songs of theirs, and people cheer all around the yard. The five of us sit and listen for a few songs, enjoying the privilege. At the fourth song, The High Road, Rue twists in her chair to look in the direction of the food trucks. “Have you guys tried the BBQ? I want to stay and listen, but I’m starving!”

I object loudly, “How can you be hungry with this song on? Come on!” She winks at me, knowing I’m only playing.

Jenna’s leaned back with her arms casually over her head. “Yep, when you were in talking with Mrs. Stone, I had some nibbles. The Thai is pretty good, but the pupusas were my favorites. I tried them all. ‘Cause that’s how I play it.”

Rue wrinkles her nose. “Poo poo what?”

Her friend leans toward her, long dark hair hanging toward the ground between the two chairs. “Pupusas! They’re Salvadorian. Like Pancakes but not. Beans and cheese inside. So good.”

“Is there avocado?” Rue asks, more interested by the second.

“There is. And salsa,” Jenna says in a tempting voice. “Mmmm… salsa and avocado.”

Rue leaps out of the chair. “Okay. You got me!”

Jenna laughs, leaning back, announcing to her male audience of three, “She’s a sucker for Mexican food. You guys should see her at my family’s parties. Never leaves the damn guacamole bowl until it’s gone. I had to hide it from her once.”

Laughing, Rue walks away, holding a finger up behind her. “I still can’t believe you did that to me. That was just mean!”

As Jenna calls without looking back, “Desperate times call for desperate measures. You were needed on the dance floor!” Jack jumps up to follow Rue. I watch him, wondering what he’s doing, and catch Sean looking at me.

“I’m glad you’re back,” I tell him.

Sean smiles. “Me, too. It’s good to see you.”

I make a happy noise and drink my beer, turning to the stage.