“You chose the wrong companion. I’m way too attractive prey for a gay guy who shows his face like you.”
“…….”
Joel acting exactly like an innocent country maiden was truly pathetic to watch.
When I pretended not to notice, Joel must have found it boring because he quickly stopped his nonsense. He neatly folded his clothes and set them aside, then—splash!—jumped straight into the lake. Last time with Dave too, and now this—Americans really do jump into water without swimsuits.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“I’m not going in.”
I have too modern a sense of hygiene to get into a lake with floating leaves and moss. I swallowed those words and grinned, and Joel’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Why are you smiling like an idiot?”
“Does everything I do look idiotic to you?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
His answer was so resolute I had nothing to say. Instead, I changed the topic.
“This makes us even for what I owed you, right?”
“Just with this? I even brought you to this fun place on this boring morning, so you should give me more!”
“Ugh!”
Joel, who had been swimming leisurely, splashed water at me. The water was cold enough to snap me out of my daze. It was fall, a time when we wore coats, so it was normal for the water to be cold.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“What’s cold about this?”
“Right. Must be nice having so much body heat.”
I squatted at the edge of the lake and splashed the water with my hand. It was really incredibly cold—wasn’t he cold? At this rate, he’d freeze to death before drowning. But Joel swam through the lake fearlessly, as if he couldn’t feel the cold at all. The lake monster wasn’t somewhere else—it was right here. That Joel Gomez.
Sitting still with the splish-splash sounds of water and the whoosh of wind passing by, my head started nodding off again. Yawn, I’m sleepy. Who in their right mind comes to a lake at dawn? Splash, splash—when the water sounds gradually grew stronger, I drowsily raised my head.
“…….”
Water dripped from Joel’s body as he stood with the rising sun behind him. His slightly dark skin looked smooth and soft. Wet with water, it almost created the illusion that scales might have sprouted. At the same time, as he swept his wet hair back and turned his head slightly to the side, his brow bone descending from his forehead, his prominently raised nose, delicate lips, and jawline were revealed.
……He really was flawless when it came to looks. For some reason feeling my face heat up, I lowered my gaze. And then,
“…….”
I saw Joel’s lower body clad only in underwear soaked wet from the water. Something long and bulging protruded toward his thigh area. How could I not know what that was? I’m a man too. ……And gay at that. I just squeezed my eyes shut.
“Hey, pervert.”
I heard a snicker, then cold water droplets wet my face. I slowly opened my eyes. I saw Joel standing in front of me, looking down at me. Drip, drip, drip. Lake water fell from his hair, wetting my forehead before rolling down.
“Did you enjoy the view?”
“What view…….”
I slyly turned my head to the side. Ah, now I just see trees. Now it’s more comfor—ugh! But Joel’s hand grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him again.
“I saw you looking like a pervert, you know? Huh?”
“……I wasn’t looking like a pervert, the sun was rising behind you so it was bright, that’s why!”
“What, do you have a sun fetish? Who looks at the sun like that? In all my life, I’ve never seen such a pervert……!”
“Why do you keep calling me a pervert! You’re the one who stripped! Jumped in the lake! And suddenly came out looking like that! You’re more of a pervert!”
I felt wronged. I was just sitting here obediently and demurely in my coat, dozing off! A pervert? Is it a crime to see what’s visible? I even closed my eyes trying not to look properly!
“Who said not to look? Look.”
“Urk!”
Joel flicked his hand in front of my face. Water droplets got in my eyes and I squeezed them shut, then felt a presence beside me. I quickly rubbed my eyes and turned my head that way. Joel was sitting there completely naked.
“It’s been a really long time since I’ve been here.”
“How old were you when you last came?”
“Right before Mom died, so…… fifteen?”
Though it had only been three years ago, Joel answered only after using both palms to count on his fingers. It felt strangely odd that even this rotten bastard had family. Family he was close enough with to come to the lake together, at that.
“Your mother…… how did she pass away?”
I briefly felt Joel’s gaze glance at me. It wasn’t a reproachful look. He was just looking quietly. Was he unable to recall the reason, or did he not want to? I couldn’t tell which, but he blinked his eyes for a moment. A water droplet that had run down his forehead caught on his eyelashes before rolling down his cheek. I thought for a moment that it looked just like a tear.
“Car accident. Instant death.”
“…….”
Joel’s voice was gentle and soft, and his tone was calm. Contrary to his usual rough attitude.
“Born into a poor family, couldn’t even finish high school properly, started as a waitress and did all sorts of jobs, barely making ends meet, and when she finally thought she could date someone, turns out the guy was married. She broke up with him when she found out, but there was already a baby in her belly. Well. It’s such a cliché story that if you made it into a movie, people would turn away calling it B-grade melodrama, so…….”
Joel said this while tilting his head to the side, draining water from his ear. It was too heavy a story to tell while doing such a trivial action. Yet his voice sounded as if it were someone else’s business, like watching a fire across the river.
“It’s so, so looong ago, a really looong time ago…… why am I still angry…….”
Joel, who had tilted his head the other way to drain water from the opposite ear, suddenly muttered. Anger—who was he angry at?
I couldn’t even comfort him and just kept my mouth shut. I grew up in an environment too good for complaining. My parents and older brother were just indifferent, but they were healthy and didn’t neglect me financially. July in this place was abundant both economically and psychologically. Someone like me had no words to offer Joel. If he wanted to share, I’d listen; if not, keeping my mouth shut was best.
“Mom came to me in a dream and told me to go to the lake. Said it’s been too long since I’ve been. That places people don’t look after quickly become shabby.”
“……She didn’t tell you to eat jellies in moderation?”
I threw out a joke of sorts, but no laughter came back. Joel blinked his face devoid of any hint of a smile and said,
“You came out and said that yourself.”
“…….”
I appeared in his dream? Me? Doesn’t that sound really strange? Flustered, I asked back.
“……Me?”
“Yeah. You, idiot.”
Joel poked my forehead with his index finger, then stood up. Dirt and leaves were stuck to his butt and thighs.
“Can’t help it, gotta do more.”
Joel shrugged and went back into the lake in that state. I quietly rubbed my forehead where his finger had poked, then suddenly remembered that he had also appeared in my dream.
……Appearing in dreams isn’t a big deal. Really. It’s because I see him too often. That’s why I appeared in Joel’s dream too. In the role of nagging him to eat jellies in moderation.
* * *
“Don’t look.”
“I won’t even if you told me to!”
I kept my back turned and eyes tightly shut. Having come intending to swim in the lake, he had brought towels, clean underwear, and various things, and was wiping himself down and changing clothes. Even though this was a place with no one around, Joel stripping off his clothes outdoors seemed like a crazy person. Right, he is a crazy kid.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
At that loud soliloquy meant to be heard, I turned my head, only to make eye contact with Joel who was still half-naked.
“Pervert bastard. Peeking like a little rat.”
“I thought you were fully dressed!”
“If you want to see, then look, look! Look! You already saw earlier. You pervert bastard!”
“Then why did you bring me here in the first place!”
“Why did I bring you in the first place? So you came along thinking you’d get to see my body!”
“I didn’t even know we were going to a lake!”
I argued back and forth with Joel with my face buried in both hands, spouting nonsense. Finally having put on all his clothes, Joel shouted, “Come on! I’m starving to death!” I hurriedly climbed into the passenger seat.
“I’m hungry.”
Joel stretched his body toward me and what he pulled out of the glove box was a Twizzler.
“……You like that so much? It doesn’t even taste that good.”
“My mom liked it.”
“…….”
At Joel’s words as he was just putting the jelly in his mouth, I just shut my mouth. When he brings up his deceased mother like that, I have nothing! To say!
Joel giggled while staring at my discomfort, then as if to show off, put three jellies in his mouth at once and bit down. The long jelly hanging out of his lips swayed back and forth whenever his body moved.
“Fuck, I’m starving to death!”
Bam! Joel slammed the steering wheel hard and immediately started the car. I didn’t know where he was heading, but at the excessive speed, I grabbed my seatbelt tight and shouted.
“Take me home! I have to go to school!”
“I’m fucking hungry so don’t tell me what to do!”
“No, I really have to go home! I need to get my homework!”
“Fuck, you talk so damn much!”
Joel, who yelled angrily, went ahead and operated the radio to turn on music. Seems he intended to block out my voice. But his song selection was really bad.
“……Ugh, slow down!”
The song flowing from the radio was “Highway to Hell.” Screech! The powerful guitar sound rang deafeningly in my ears.
