Chapter Fourteen

THEN

 

Lyric took them to his café, which was a twenty-minute ride out of the old town. They passed through a quaint village called San Joan on a very winding road before arriving at Cala San Vicente, a somewhat touristy but tucked-away little spot where the café, On the Beach, was perched behind a row of incredibly tall bamboo trees.

Inside, it was decorated like a kitschy old-fashioned Tiki bar, with surfboards and other beach paraphernalia adorning the walls and ceiling. Enormous Buddhas sat in corners surrounded by uplifting quotes carved into driftwood that hung from all areas. It was colourful and fun and made Lenox pause as he entered, his eyes dancing over the decor and taking it all in. It seemed as if every inch of the place had something hanging from it, with no beam left unadorned.

It was early and the café was not open for business yet. Lyric locked the door behind him and walked over to the bar area and began making coffee as Lenox continued his exploration.

“What do you think?” Lyric asked, busying himself with opening a new bag of Ibiza blend ground coffee he found on a shelf.

“It’s amazing,” he said, skirting the outer walls. “Is this all you? I mean, did you decorate it like this?”

Lyric nodded as he turned around for a moment, basking in Lenox’s appreciation. “I didn’t want it to look like it was taking itself too seriously. Hence the combination of beach junk and Asian-inspired art.”

Lenox returned his gaze to where Lyric stood behind the bar. “I love it.”

And the truth was, he did. He loved how much Lyric was not like the guys he hooked up with in London. Lyric wasn’t afraid to be himself and, like his café, knew not to take himself or life too seriously. He had a joie de vivre that was reflected in his appearance, as well as the way he lived his life. There was nothing about him that seemed fake or forced, and it made Lenox feel like he could really be himself around him. He didn’t have to put on an act, or pretend to like something he didn’t or even put up with any annoying habits or traits.

It had only been a couple of days since they had first laid eyes on each other, but Lenox could already feel himself begin to sway a bit with Lyric—a word he and Bambi used to describe when they really clicked with someone.

He perched on a barstool and watched Lyric move gracefully behind the counter, emanating ease and self-assuredness. His stomach fluttered and flipped as his true feelings started coming to the surface.

Lenox and Lyric finally sat down at a table for two that overlooked the beautiful sandy beach with the most incredible turquoise waters that Lenox had ever seen. The food was well worth the wait. Lyric’s French toast was sumptuous and filled the gap in Lenox’s stomach that had begun to groan and moan since they’d had sex earlier.

“So, tell me about your life back in the UK.”

“What do you want to know?”

Lyric finished his bite of French toast and took a long haul on his tall glass of orange juice before answering. “Well, you said you’re in school taking…photography?”

“Yup, just finished my final semester in my Honours BA programme. Can’t believe it’s coming to an end. I feel like I’ve been working at it forever.”

“Wow, that’s exciting. What’s the school like?”

“Good. You know. I’m happy I chose it. Bambi goes there, too, which is cool.”

“You guys are really close, aren’t you?”

Lenox nodded, wiping his lips with his napkin. “You could say that. She’s amazing. My rock. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“How did you guys meet?”

“Actually, our parents knew each other when they were our age. My dad was a musician and Bambi’s dad was his road manager.”

“No way!”

“Yup. We literally grew up together. Our parents were always on the road together.”

“What? You mean like touring and shit?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Is your dad like a big deal? Would I have heard of him?”

Lenox peered at him and nodded from over his orange juice as he lifted the glass back. He shot Lyric a look that indicated he wasn’t about to give that piece of information up.

“And have you thought about what happens after you graduate?” Lyric went on, despite Lenox’s hesitation at giving too much away about his family.

“Oh, God, no. I’ve never been one to plan that far in advance!”

Lyric chewed the rest of his food, a twinkle glimmering in his eye.

“Why do you ask?” Lenox asked inquisitively, sensing there was more weight behind his question.

“Do you ever see yourself leaving the UK?”

Lenox stopped chewing for a moment as his throat tightened. He looked down at the crumbs on his plate in that nervous way he sometimes did when he wasn’t sure how to answer. With no appropriate words coming to mind, despite the yearning in his gut to speak his true feelings, he decided on a simple shrug instead. Truth was that since Lenox first noticed Lyric that morning on the beach, strumming his ukulele and singing a song, he had been picturing a future with him.

Lenox was a true romantic at heart. Always had been. Growing up and watching his parents fall more in love with each other every day they were together only fuelled his desire for a happily ever after. Living in London, a city where romance and chivalry were practically non-existent, he’d begun to give up on his dreams of ever achieving what his parents had always had.

But there was something about this mysterious man whose eyes he couldn’t stop staring into. Something about the way he made him feel when they were close. And certainly, something about the way Lenox’s stomach flipped whenever they touched. It was certainly nothing he had ever experienced in his short dating life.

The thought of it all ending when he flew back home to reality was depressing him already. He decided to deflect this conversation that wasn’t going to go anywhere good.

“What about you? Ibiza…is this where you see yourself?” His gaze flitted around the room.

Lyric paused before answering, as if truly contemplating his response. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, the twinkle in his eye darkening a little.

“Well, nothing’s written in stone, I suppose. If I’m perfectly honest—and this is something I don’t think I’ve ever said to someone else—I think the real reason I stay is this is where my memories of my parents and Cedar are. If I were to leave, it’s almost as if I’d lose a piece of them…You know?”

His response was incredibly heartfelt and made Lenox ache with sympathy.

Lenox furrowed his brow as he studied Lyric’s face, which he self-consciously turned towards the ground.

“I see what you mean. But no matter where you go, you’ll never lose them, Lyric, because they will always be alive in your heart…”

His words must have caught Lyric somewhere inside and he gave a tight-lipped smile.

“Cedar would have loved you,” he said, changing the subject and shifting in his seat.

“Oh, really?”

“He was totally protective of me, always vetoing any potential dates before things got too serious. But I think he would have approved of you.”

“Sounds like the right guy to have on your side.”

“He really was.”

“Do you mind if I ask something about him?” Lenox asked, unsure as to the appropriateness of the question that had burned a hole in his head ever since the other night.

“Of course!”

“Was Cedar gay, too?”

Lyric let out a laugh before turning his eyes away in that way he did to avoid showing his embarrassment.

“Uh, yes. He was.”

“Really? Is that common in twins?”

“It’s more common than not, from what I understand. Although, and this is not to toot my own horn or anything, he wasn’t as lucky with guys as I was…”

Now, it was Lenox’s turn to laugh.

“Seriously! We may have shared the same face, but he was not nearly as charismatic as I!” Lyric touched a hand to his chest in a satirical way, feigning aloofness.

“In what way?”

“Well, to be honest, I think he was a bit jealous of me…At times. He may have said he was only being protective by giving my dates the third degree, but deep down I think there was more to it than that. Like he couldn’t accept that it was me getting all the attention and not him.”

“Why do you think he wasn’t as good on dates as you?”

Lyric paused and thought about it for a moment. “I guess he was just a bit more awkward…” He shifted yet again in that now familiar way he did when he was ready to change the subject. “So, you’ve not told me much about your love life.”

Lenox guffawed at his remark before reaching for a serviette to wipe his mouth.

“Oh, God. What do you want to know?”

“Everything!”

Lenox breathed in deeply as it was his turn to look uncomfortable. His lips were tight and his brow furrowed as he contemplated how to respond.

“Uh-oh, did I say something…” He chewed the inside of his lip before raising his eyes and saving Lyric from his embarrassment.

“Sorry. No. Not at all. It’s just…I guess to say that I’ve not had that much luck with relationships would be putting it mildly.”

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”

“Wish I was.”

“It can’t be that bad…Can it?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Only if you want to share…”

“Well, let’s just say that my last boyfriend was a raging manic depressive who…How can I put this? He didn’t take too well to my wanting to break up.”

Lyric looked very serious all of a sudden.

“How so?”

Lenox began to well up a bit as the memories resurfaced. He debated whether or not he wanted to go into too much detail.

“After I ended it. It got pretty bad. He just couldn’t accept that it was over.”

Lyric could only nod, his aqua-hued eyes filled with empathy.

“He rang me obsessively. Kept showing up at my house and waiting for me outside my work. He’d follow me places and leave me threatening messages and voicemails.”

“Oh, my God. Really?”

“Everywhere I went, he’d show up. It started to really scare me.”

“Christ. What did you do?”

“One night, while I was walking to my car with my boss from work, he appeared out of nowhere with a baseball bat in his hand. He must have thought I was on a date or something and he started beating the shit out of him.”

“Fuck, was he all right?”

“Well, luckily, my boss is quite a big guy and although he was caught off-guard he quickly regained control of the situation, if you know what I mean.”

“Wow, did you report him?”

“I did more than that. I got a restraining order against him. Things were okay for a while, but about a month ago…” He paused to gather his thoughts for a moment. “About a month ago, when I got home from work late one night, he’d broken into our home.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Bambi wasn’t home, thankfully. He must have found our spare key and was waiting for me in my room.”

“In your room?”

“I almost had a heart attack. He started shouting these crazy things at me, saying that we were meant to be together and all that sort of shit. I didn’t think too much of it at first, until I saw a glimpse of the knife in his hand.”

Lyric, visibly stunned, could only stare in disbelief, as a silence stretched out in between them.

“He was there to kill me that night…”

With that admission, Lenox began to cry. Tears of relief. Tears that had been suppressed and tears for a time he now wished to close the door on. He wrapped his arms around himself as a way to counter the feelings he was drowning in.

“Unbelievable. Lenox, I’m so sorry.”

“So am I. Unfortunately, the courts were lenient with him. Apparently, he couldn’t be charged with breaking and entering seeing as he got in with a key. He got off with two years’ probation.”

“Fucking courts. So where is he now?”

Lenox sighed. “Well, hopefully he’s still in London. Under close supervision and deeply medicated…”

“You don’t sound so sure…”

A buzzing from inside the pocket of Lenox’s shorts startled them both. He reached to read the display screen of his phone before quickly silencing it.

“Uh-oh, am I keeping you?”

“Sorry! No. Not at all. It’s nothing. Just Bambi…”

“Oh, Jesus, she’s going to think I’ve taken you hostage.”

“Don’t be silly. She’s fine. We’re good.”

“Are you sure?”

Lenox nodded, despite the less than subtle feeling of frustration coming from her text message. She was angry. That much was obvious. And he couldn’t blame her. He had been MIA these past few days. But the more Lenox contemplated things, the more he felt aloof to her concerns. This was, after all, what his friends had suggested he do.

Tucking his phone back in his shorts, he returned his gaze to Lyric. He took a deep breath as if to clear the air around them.

“Right we need a change of scenery after all this doom and gloom. What’s next?” Lenox asked, officially ending his pity party.

“You sure?” Lyric asked with genuine concern.

“Absolutely.”

Lyric regarded him a moment further as if assessing his expression.

“All right then. Let’s shake all this off and get back to why you came to this island in the first place. You, my friend, are in for a treat.”