Daniel and Jonah Part 8

Chapter 8
Copyright 12/01/19



One July evening around six thirty he brought me to a lake I'd never heard of before in a neighboring town. It was definitely a place for people to go swimming, there was even a dock and a small pier for fishing, but there was no one else there. I looked at the sign and then my clock on my phone.

"Dan," I began, "it looks like the place is closed. I don't think we're supposed to be here..."

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a smile, "Coach knows me and lets me come here after hours. He knows I don't go out too far."

I had no idea who Coach was but I was surprised at the man for allowing anyone to swim without a lifeguard present.

Dan must have seen the indecision in my green eyes because he explained, "I don't like large crowds, especially on the beach. People... kind of scare me, and... whenever I've tried to come here when it's busy I end up with a few of them harassing me. Coach has seen that, so he lets me come out when there isn't anyone else around," he pointed to a small house that was nearby, "that's where Coach lives. He can see and hear everything from his window and he keeps an eye out for me, but it's not necessary," he continued.

Removing his sneakers and socks he waded into the water. He walked out about ten feet before he began to disappear into the water little by little. He stopped when he was about neck deep, then turned and called me to join him. I could see why the Coach wasn't worried. From where Dan was, it was only a short swim to the floating dock. I knew that Daniel was 5'7", so I knew that the water couldn't be more than about ten or twelve feet deep in the dock area.

We spent a good portion of the early evening swimming, splashing, diving or jumping off of the dock, and there was a large slide that Dan loved to go down, trying to see how big of a splash he could make when he hit the water. We had, I admit, a wonderful time, and as the sun began to go down, lights came on, startling me. Dan just smiled and waved toward the house. The light flickered and then remained stable. I smiled as well. It was nice to know that Dan had friends who looked out for him. We horsed around in the water until the sunset at which point we went back to the beach to dry off.

My eyes widened when I saw Dan take off his wet shirt. He had several tattoos. I was surprised because he'd just never struck me as the tattoo type. He saw me looking and quickly began to put on a clean, dry shirt. I knew that if there had been more light I'd have seen him blush.

"No, Dan, don't cover them up yet, please? I'd love to see them," I said with a smile. "I love tattoos, I've just never gotten up the nerve to get one myself. I hear they're pretty painful," I admitted sheepishly.

He seemed indecisive at first but then put aside the tee shirt to let me look at the artwork on his arms and chest. He lifted the hem of his shorts so that I could see the one on his thigh. They were all larger than my hand and in full color.

"Didn't that hurt?" I asked, a little in awe.

"Nah, it's no worse than a little sunburn at first. And my guy takes really good care of me."

"Those are really great," I said admiringly as I examined them more closely. That's when I saw the scar on the bicep of his left arm. I squinted in the dim light to get a better view of it. It was obviously pretty old but it looked as though it had been painful when it had first happened. It looked to me as though it had been a burn. Concerned, I asked him about it.

As talkative and animated as he'd been a moment earlier, once again that iron wall was up between us, and he hurriedly put his shirt back on, not looking at me.

"Dan," I began.

He silently sat down on the beach and started to put on his socks and sneakers.

"Daniel," I said a little more sharply, "you have got to stop doing this."

Confused, he stopped tying his sneaker, looking between me and his sneakers as though he couldn't understand why tying his laces would upset me.

"That's not what I mean," I said sternly as I sat down on the sand beside him, "what I mean is that you have got to stop shutting me out. There's nothing you can tell me that will make me dislike you. We've been going out together for what now, four months? Have you ever seen me turn away from you? For any reason? What makes you think I'd do it now? I want you to trust me, Dan. I need you to trust me. It... hurts that there's still that reserve between us after all this time," I finally admitted.

Without looking at me Dan finally admitted, "I was about fourteen. I did something stupid. I'm embarrassed that I did it. It was a long time ago, but... it's a mark I'll never get rid of, and it'll always remind me..." he trailed off. He fell silent and finished tying his laces.

"Dan," I replied more gently, "whatever you did when you were a kid... it's over and done with. Whatever you did, you learned from it, and that's what counts. You keep hinting to me that you weren't the greatest person when you were younger. Neither was I. I honestly don't know anyone who was. Its part of what being a kid means, understand? We did stupid stuff. We learned. We grew, older and wiser. I'm not going to judge you for what you did as a child or hold anything from your past against you any more than I'd expect you to do it to me. Understand?"

Daniel shrugged, still not looking at me.

"Hey, next time you do that I'm going to swat you one, hear me?"  I said. I could hear the edge to my voice so I took a calming breath. Still frustrated, I stood up and paced as I waited for him to speak.

He was quiet for a minute or so as he finished tying his laces and stood up. He then looked at me from beneath his lashes.  "You've said that twice now. Would you really do it?" he asked quietly.

"Do wha..." I began just before understanding hit. "Swat you? For shrugging off my words? Yes. Shutting me out because you're afraid I'll leave you? Yes. Walking around during the winter with your jacket unzipped," I said significantly, "yes."

A small half smile graced his features as he ducked his head slightly so that he was no longer looking straight at me. Instead of a verbal response, he put his arms around my waist and pulled me into a hug, resting his head against my chest once more. This time I didn't ask since he'd initiated the touch. I put my arms around him and held him tight, swaying a bit as I did so.

It took some time but I finally convinced him to go to a public beach with me. I could understand his reticence, and I didn't push it, but I did let him know that I would be right beside him at all times so that if anyone tried to bother him, I'd be there to stop it.

He bit his lip as he thought about it and finally nodded, shrugging at the same time. "I burn," he finally said, "like a lobster. I don't even have to be out in the sun for very long. My sister and mother always tease me that I'm a vampire."

"We'll get you some high SPF sunscreen," I replied with a smile, "and you can wear a tee shirt, and even a wide-brimmed hat if you're worried."

"People will make fun of me for wearing the hat," he said dully.

"Not with me there, they won't. And if they do, I'll certainly speak up. So, is it a date?"