Hawaiian Tease

I lean back in my seat and close my eyes  hoping I'll be able to fall asleep with the noise of the plane engines blasting in my ears. I shouldn't have been on this flight in the first place. My neighbor, a 24 year old guy with a large beer belly from excessive partying all through college and a scraggly beard that grows out in all directions due to stress had bought the ticket for himself. He had spent the past three weeks bragging to anyone who would listen about the fact that he was going to visit Hawaii with his brother who had been the stunt double to some random kid in Stranger Things. Then, without warning, he had broken his back and was not able to go to Hawaii after all. With nothing better to do with it, he gave his ticket to me. So here I was on a plane to Hawaii where I would stay for a whole week at a hotel with someone I had never met in my life. The flight feels longer than it is, and sadly, I do not end up falling asleep so I'm awake for all five hours of crazy turbulence. 

When we finally land, I grab my bags and squeeze in-between two sweaty old guys in the backseat of a taxi heading towards the hotel.

***

Before I continue, I need to clarify a few things. I am 100% straight. Like, I am completely sure I am not gay. I've had a girlfriend and I'm not attracted to guys. Never have been, never will be. But here's the thing, all of that was completely thrown out the window the second I walk through the door of the hotel room. I don't know how in hell the guy standing in front of me could possibly be related at all to my neighbor. This guy was the literal definition of "tall, dark and handsome." He had perfect dark brown hair, almond shaped eyes, sun kissed skin and chiseled arms and legs. It looks like he had just gotten out of the shower because all he's wearing is a small white towel around his waist. I feel my ears go red. He turns towards me, surprised I was there, and slips a t-shirt over his head, walking over to me. 

"I didn't think you would be here so soon," he says. "My name is Oliver." He holds out a hand, and I take it, feeling my face grow even redder than it already is. I clear my throat.

"Uh… I'm Noah," I choke out. 

He smiles knowingly. "Nice to meet you, Noah."

***

I spend the next week attempting to have fun on the beach and at tourist sites during the day. I spend the evenings and nights trying to look cool in front of Oliver so that maybe he'll like me, but the thing about trying to look cool is that it always just makes you look stupid. It’s infuriating that Oliver doesn’t even have to try to annoy me. I think he knows just as well as I do about my “crush” on him, but instead of confronting me about it, he spends all his time being a tease. For example, I spend the first morning of the trip at the beach. I’m in a sun-chair, lying there with earbuds jammed into my ears with music blasting when Oliver approaches me. He is shirtless, leaving girls all over the beach staring at him. I can almost see the drool coming out of their mouths. He taps me on the shoulder and asks me to apply sunscreen on his back. 

Then, two days after that, Oliver is in the same tour group as me to visit some museum. I have no idea what we did all day or even where we were because Oliver spent the entire time standing next to me and using every chance he got to make his shirt ride up as high as possible or to brush his fingers against mine. As the week passes, Oliver’s teasing only gets worse. Finally, on Friday, the day before my flight home, I decide to confront him about it. 

***

Dinner was over and there were no more hotel activities that night. Oliver was sitting on his bed reading a book when I walk into the room and take the book from his hands, putting it on my bed and sitting down across from him. 

“Hey, what the hell?” Oliver exclaims. “I was reading that!” 

“I need to talk to you!” I say. He groans and lays back on his bed, but I can tell he’s listening to me even though he clearly doesn’t want to. 

“Fine, what do you need to talk to me about?” Oliver asks. “I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.”

I furrow my eyebrows. “You know what I want to talk about. Why have you been teasing me all week?” Oliver scoffs. “Oh don’t pretend you haven’t been! Just tell me why! Please!”

Oliver doesn’t answer. I lean over to look at him and see that his breathing has evened out and his eyes are closed. He’s asleep. I sigh and pull the blanket over him. Then, I climb into my own bed and close my eyes. 

***

When I wake up the next morning, the sun is shining through the window, and I hear the shower running. My flight is in a few hours, so I know I need to begin packing soon. I roll over to check my phone and see a letter on my bedside table. It’s from Oliver. With shaking hands, I pick it up and begin to read. 

Look, I’m sorry about last night. I should have given you an answer then, but I guess I’m just too much of a fucking coward. To tell the truth, my brother didn’t tell me you were hot when he told me about you, so I didn’t know what to do when I saw that you were. Sorry. The reaction I had was probably stupid. I was just scared you wouldn’t like me if I told you the truth outright. 

-Oliver

I finish reading the letter and look up to see Oliver himself standing in front of me looking nervous. I stand up so we’re face to face and study his expression. He looks worried. I take a deep breath and lean forward, kissing him. Oliver kisses back. We stand like that for what feels like hours until I finally pull away. “Too bad we have to leave now,” I mutter. “You think we’ll see each other again?” 

Oliver smiles “Next time my brother breaks his back I will make sure he sends you to visit me in his place.”