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The ocean always managed to calm him down, so Lance was lazily floating with his surfboard, looking up at the sky to try to sort things out in his head.
He had been afraid to do his coming out during highschool, so he flirted with all the girls he could, while secretly dating Keith. In front of the world, they were just good friends, best friends even. But in Keith’s home, where his mom was rarely there, they would kiss for hours and be so close and tender together no one could be fooled.
And then, someone managed to get a picture of them holding hands. And was shitty enough to get that photo published in the school’s journal. Lance was so mortified he broke up with Keith at the end of the day. Of course, Keith was shocked and heartbroken. He punched Lance, giving him a black eye. And many more when people mocked Lance. Even after they stopped talking.
Lance thanked him on the very last day of school. No animosity between them. And they didn’t talk since.
Of course, he realized his stupidity later, but he decided to move on, to concentrate on college and reach his dreams.
Varadero Beach was his favorite place to spend the day and swim or surf. Once he was done with his memories of the little shit he was, he swam until he could catch a wave. He had missed surfing too much.
Hours later, when he was done, he cleaned himself up with the public showers on the borders of the beach, taking the saltiness on his skin and in his hair away. He changed back into casual clothes and went to the pizza shack he loved, ordering garlic knots, his favorites. He looked at the ocean while his order was cooked.
The sun was slowly setting, giving the sky and ocean more pinkish and orange colors. Since he couldn’t stop thinking about Keith today, he remembered how he had said they would one day come here together, during the summer. They never did. And he regretted it so much.
He heard a motorcycle parking close to the shack and turned his gaze to the sound. His eyes went wide when he saw the mess of black hair falling in a pale nape he had kissed thousands of times in his young. It couldn’t be!
Then, Keith turned around and Lance’s heart stopped. It was him, it really was. He stayed put where he was sitting, not sure if he wanted to run away or stay and hope Keith would notice him. His garlic knots came at the moment Keith entered. Lance thanked the waiter and looked at his plate, biting his lip a little. He looked up, and instantly, his eyes met Keith’s.
His ex-boyfriend looked frozen in place, and he could tell he was hurting, debating what to do. Lance feared he would run and leave, so he stood up slowly and smiled at him. With a slow pace, he walked to Keith. The other young man stayed still, his gaze not leaving Lance.
They were finally face to face, Lance playing with his fingers because he was honestly nervous.
“Hey. It’s been a while.”
Keith nodded, his eyes finally dropping for a second, then coming back to stare at Lance’s blue orbes.
“Yeah. Almost six years.”
And Lance wanted to hug him, to apologize for the stupid teen he had been, for breaking up instead of accepting people knew now. He almost hugged him there, stopping himself. He had no right to do that.
Keith thought otherwise and pulled him into that hug, both young men sighing.
“I missed your dumb mullet.”
“And I missed your stupid obsession with my hair.”
They laughed. Lance guided them to his table, where his knots were slowly getting cold. He offered one to Keith, before they ordered pizza and a drink for Keith. They started to talk about what happened to each other in the last few years; college, jobs, friends and such. Then, Lance looked down at their joined hands.
“I’m so sorry for being such a moron back there.”
“I know, Lance, don’t worry. I always knew you would take your time before doing your coming out… and someone actually stole it from you.”
He squeezed Lance’s hand, looking him in the eyes.
“I’m not mad at you. I was angry when you broke up but I assure you, I understood later. I always knew I was gay and accepted it. But you…”
Lance squeezed their hands, nodding.
“I accepted my bisexuality since then. I’m not scared of it anymore. My family accepted, at least the ones that truly mattered.”
“I’m glad.” said Keith with a tender smile. “I was afraid you’d never accept yourself…”
Lance looked at him, smiling thankfully to his ex-boyfriend. Keith and him may have parted on some sour note, but it was still thanks to Keith if he accepted this part of him. Then, Keith kissed his knuckles, making Lance blush a little. It was so tender, just a proof of affection.
“Are you… do you still have feelings for me?”
Keith blushed as well, making eye contact.
“How could I not? We secretly dated for almost a year.”
Then, he looked away, and Lance swore he saw hurt in these beautiful purple eyes.
“Have you thought about me in the last 6 years?” he asked to the cuban man.
Lance got closer, putting his other hand on their joined ones.
“I can’t say every single day, but I swear, I thought about you a lot. A lot more than I should about an ex I broke up with…”
That made the black haired smile. Then, their pizza arrived and they started to talk again about this and that, little talk but it didn’t feel forced. It was like they were teenagers again, enjoying some fast food while trying to not look suspiciously close. Except they were young adults and didn’t care what people saw or thought.
Once they were done eating and paid, they started to walk down the beach, shoes and socks in hand. Lance loved to feel the warm sand under his feet while the crashing waves gave a nice calm background noise.
“By the way, Keith. You don’t have any family here, so why are you in Cuba?”
“You want the truth?” he said playfully.
“Of course, you dick!” he said while punching lightly on his shoulder.
“Oh well… I was kinda hoping to meet you, to be honest. I saw online that you were taking some vacations and… I know it’s stupid, but I told myself we still had a few things to talk about.”
Lance took his hand.
“Yeah, we do.”
Then he turned around and pointed at the end of the beach.
“I want a ride on that bike of yours.”
Keith laughed but agreed. They walked, hand in hand, to the bike, put their shoes back on then the helmets, and finally they went on the road. Lance hugged Keith from behind, making sure he held him tight while they dashed nicely down the road. Lance was never on a bike before, and at first, it was a little scary. But Keith started slow, making sure Lance felt safe before really going. By the end of their little trip, Lance was so ecstatic that he hopped down the bike and jumped some more with a big smile.
“I can’t believe I never tried this before!”
Keith smiled at him, proud of his little effect.
“Glad you liked it. I’ll take you on more rides if you want.”
“Of course I’d love to!”
Keith sat on his bike, Lance giving his helmet back. They smiled, very close to each other and the evening wind blowing nicely into their hair. Lance didn’t remember a time he felt this at ease with someone else. Things had always been more natural with Keith. Like how he got so close he was in Keith’s personal bubble, one hand resting on the bike, and Keith doing absolutely nothing to push him away.
He got so close their noses touched. Then, just like it was the most natural thing to do, he closed the distance between their lips, cupping Keith’s cheek with his other hand. He felt Keith’s hands gripping at his waist as they angled their heads for a better kiss.
Suddenly, someone shouted at them in spanish. Lance looked behind them then smiled and responded with ease from practising cuban spanish since he was born. The group of young adults waved at them and continued their walk.
“What was that?”
“That guy is my neighbor here. He was surprised I was with someone since I never date when I’m on the island.”
Keith nodded with a small smile. He pecked Lance on the lips quickly.
“Where do you want to go now?”
They crashed at Keith’s hotel room, lying in bed while reminiscing on their years of friendship and these months of secretly dating. Keith eventually put his head on Lance’s shoulder, the brown haired playing with black locks, like they used to do. Keith stroked the other’s chest.
“You remember our first time?”
“You mean first time we got intimate? Yeah, I never forgot how much we both trembled because of nerves.”
“It was nice, wasn’t it?” Keith smiled.
“Yeah. It sure was.” he said as he kissed the top of black hair.
Keith bit his lip, getting closer.
“I never felt like this with anyone else. Not just about sex… about everything else.”
Lance heard the emotion in his voice.
“To be honest, what we had was always different from the others I’ve been with after you. I can’t explain it but…”
Keith hummed, hugging Lance close. He didn’t finish his sentence. Somehow, he didn’t need to. He kissed Keith’s temple. And they fell asleep some time later, too cozy to care.
They woke up later in the night, undressed to be more comfy, then talked some more. And kissed. They got a little hot, hands roaming on skin and kisses getting a little heated. But they didn’t go further. They both knew it was going too fast.
“Keith. When morning comes, get your bags and we’ll go to my house. I’m sure my parents would love to see you again.”
Keith rubbed their noses together with a few tears in his eyes.
“I’d love to.”
They hugged and kisses a little more. Lance talked about how he wanted to go swim and surf with Keith, how they could go to the shack again for some pizza and then have another ride on Keith’s bike afterward. Keith hummed, accepting the plan.
They fell back asleep only a few minutes later. Both smiling at the unspoken truth, this was a date.