Page 19 of Hurricane Love

“Your family probably just wants to get to know you again. Maybe they’re on edge too, not wanting to upset you. You’re kind of an intense guy.”

Diego almost smiled at Wylie’s choice of words. Maybe that was part of it, but not all. He’d always been the outsider of the family. An absent father who was in and out of prison. Didn’t toe the line, didn’t like church. Probably—almost certainly—gay. Diego was the rebellious one whom everyone prayed for; his grandmother and great aunts were always consoling his mother.Consider his father,they’d say with pained looks. Like this shit was inevitable.

In the silence that followed, Wylie said, “It took me a long time to reinvent myself after high school, especially when my mother passed. And assholes like Brian still like to throw that shit in my face. But fuck him, you know? Not that I’m saying fuck your family or anything, just…maybe don’t let their opinions affect you so much. You know who you are. Just accept what you did and move on.”

That was the struggle, though, wasn’t it? He hadn’t had much of an identity in prison, just another warden of the state. He’d had to assimilate in order to survive in there, and before that, he’d only ever known himself as a disobedient, druggie fuck-up. His father’s son. A disappointment.

“I feel so much pressure to get everything right,” Diego said. “To show them I’ve changed. I really don’t want to let them down them again.”

“You made a mistake, and you paid dearly for it. One fuckup doesn’t make you a bad person,” Wylie said.

Diego stood and went to the railing of the deck to stare out over the weedy trees that surrounded the trailer park. In the distance, he could see the lights from the mansions that lined the beachfront. He inhaled deeply of the salty Gulf air and the fecund muck of the Intercoastal. He’d missed that smell while he was in prison, a hundred miles from the coast. This was his home. And this was his one life, to try and sort out and remake into something worth living.

“But what if Iama bad person?” Diego asked quietly, voicing the fear that plagued him at night while alone in his bed, one that followed him no matter where he was or who he was with.

Wylie made some noise of derision. “Just the fact that you’re even asking it means you’re probably not. Everyone has weaknesses. Yours was drugs. Now you know better.”

The simplification was strangely comforting. Like maybe he wasn’t a bad seed, maybe his life’s path hadn’t already beendetermined by his past actions or his genetics, and he could really turn things around. Even go to college one day, like Wylie, and have a career. He was behind, but not so far that he could never catch up. Regardless, it felt really fucking good to have someone in his corner.

“Hey, Diego, man, come here.” Wylie reached out and pulled him into a good, solid hug. Diego’s arms wrapped around Wylie’s strong back and he exhaled more than just the humid sea air. How long had it been since he’d been on the receiving end of such comfort? He couldn’t remember, and he was in no rush for it to end. Wylie must have known it too, because he stayed and rubbed Diego’s back without letting up on the pressure. Diego’s shoulders relaxed incrementally, and he felt the tightness in his chest loosen, just a bit. When at last he pulled away, Diego was glad for the dark. He didn’t need Wylie seeing the parade of emotions on his face.

“Thanks,” Diego said.

“Anytime. The thing I really love about it up here, is on clear nights, I have an excellent view of the stars.” Wylie pointed toward the sky. “It’s a little hazy right now, but you can make out a few.”

“I think those are satellites,” Diego said, ever the realist.

“Satelites, stars, airplanes, whatever. You can wish on a rock, if you’d like, but it’s good to speak your intentions into the universe. Manifest that shit.”

Diego almost teased him for that woo-woo nonsense, but he’d said it so earnestly, and it seemed to have worked for him. “What do you wish for?” Diego asked.

Wylie exhaled a long breath. “Well, there was a time when I was wishing pretty hard for my mom to get better, but we both know how that ended. I was bitter for a while, but it doesn’t help to dwell there, you know? It’s like a disease that eats you from the inside.”

Diego nodded, impressed again by the young man’s depth and wisdom.

“But now, I wish for the usual stuff, for Hannah to leave that asshole, for Nancy to live forever, for UF to accept me into their law program.” He glanced over briefly. “For a tall, handsome man with a checkered past to enter into my life.”

“Same,” Diego teased, and Wylie punched him lightly in the arm. Wylie was willing to keep it casual, and Diego appreciated that, but there might be the potential for something more than friendship. And not just sex either. “The fact that I’m a former felon doesn’t scare you off?” he asked.

“Nah, I like a little danger.” Diego shook his head at that, and Wylie continued more seriously, “I think you’re cool and you’re fine as hell. You’re easy to be around and fun to talk to. I’d like to date you, but I’m okay with just being friends. Whatever you want to do.”

Wylie was putting the ball in his court. So much of his agency had been stripped away these past seven years, and he was just starting to exercise his own free will. What did he want? Beyond just getting laid, he wanted to explore his sexuality with someone he could trust. Someone who was safe. He wanted a friend too, a person he could confide in. But he didn’t want to rush into anything or be pressured to give too much, too soon.

“You gotta go slow with me,” Diego warned. “Even then, I gotta do some work on myself. I’m not self-actualized yet.” Diego felt safe in saying it. Wylie was, among other things, a really good listener.

Wylie nodded. “Yeah, I’m probably not quite there yet, either. But I do love me a man who looks inward.”

Diego smiled at his cheek. “Unbelievable. The shit you say.”

“I’m a riot, I know. My mom always said so.”

“She was right.” Diego suddenly felt shy, horny, and confused, a strange cocktail he was starting to attribute to being in the presence of one Wylie Sommers. “Also, like I said, I’ve never done this before.”

“Wished on a star?” Wylie said, clearly playing dumb.

“Been in a relationship or even dated someone.”

Wylie grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m no expert either. All of my relationships have ended like train wrecks, and it’s not because I’m a Gemini either.” He paused there, as if self-reflecting. “But, we’ll figure it out together, yeah? And if you change your mind, no hard feelings. I’ve been told before that I’m a lot.”