Spring break comes as it always does, with a sense of relief and overblown expectation. Usually Cal would sit around in his underwear, prepping for the next semester and drinking far too much. This year though, he’d been informed that he wouldn’t be left to his own devices as a family vacation was in order. Which is how he ended up on the the coast for a week. His parents found a house to rent that was big enough for everyone, and he was given a date and time to meet them without anyone asking if he already had plans. Not that he would pass up any chance to be with them, not after the year they’d had.

He had spent his alternately lazing on the beach and drinking far too much at night with Reese, Vanessa, and Lizbeth, playing board games with his overly competitive nieces and nephews when their parents wanted a date night, and spending slow afternoons antiquing with his parents. It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when he thought about his ideal vacation but it wasn’t far off. And it was definitely what he needed. 

The only really sucky part about the whole experience was missing out on seeing Ben for the week. Which sounded ridiculous when he’d first thought it, even more so when he’d expressed his displeasure—even though he’d played it down considerably—to Ben. But then Ben had gone had made a pouty face that wasn’t completely exaggerated and somehow they’d ended up staying overnight together at the motel the night before Cal had to leave. It had been fun and they had laughed—and jerked each other off—a lot, mocking budget porn while they ate pizza from the box on the bed, talked about sexual fantasies and stupid stuff until they’d fallen asleep. Ben had blown him in the morning and Cal returned the favor in the shower. They didn’t say goodbye like lovers but it was a close thing. Cal had pecked Ben on the cheek, turning away from his wide vulnerable eyes before either one of them could apologize and try to take it back like a coward.

Ben didn’t seem that upset about the way they’d parted though. He didn’t try to stop their steady stream of text messages and sending the odd photo. Cal sent him shots of the beach, the ugliest lamp he’d ever seen in a thrift store they went to, and him sunbathing naked on his balcony. Ben sent back a picture of sewage lines in a muddy trench, his lone house plant which looked like it had died from lack of water, and the outline of his erection in his suit pants. That made Cal cough out a laugh and nearly spilled his iced tea on the lecture notes he was scribbling down. 

“What are you chuckling at?” Lizbeth didn’t even look up from the chunky wedge of paper in her hand. Neither of them could get away from work entirely but were at least able to do it in the sun, sipping cold drinks in their swimwear. The document Lizbeth was working on was as thick as a book but somehow she managed too keep one half of the pages folded behind it in one hand while she marked up what he could only assume were errors with a thick highlighter pen. He remembered some vague joke about lawyers needing strong hands to squeeze money out of people but dismissed it. She was his his sister after all and not like that. Plus she’d throttle him so…

“Nothing. A meme someone sent me.” They were laying out on the deck, just the two of them for once while everyone else was at the beach. It was nice. Companionable. It reminded him of when they were kids, and they would set up next to each other on the dining room table to do their homework, the only noise being Reese in the kitchen, clanking pans, occasionally cussing when he cut himself, or interrogating the pastry like a madman when it didn’t do what he wanted it to do.

“No one makes a noise like that over meme,” Lizbeth said, like it was a fact. “And what friend exactly? Because your phone hasn’t stopped beeping for the last four days. You’re worse than the kids.”

“You’re worse than the kids,” Cal mumbled under his breath, ignoring her.

She arched an eyebrow at him and lay her document down on her thighs. “Don’t make me come over there.”

Cal laughed, it was such a very Lisbeth thing for her to say. Her and Reese were that much older than him, and their parents worked such long hours when they were younger, so they were rather parental themselves for siblings. Plus Lizbeth liked to boss them both around being the oldest.

“You know Reece and mom are taking bets on who you’re dating?”

It was Cal’s turn to use the arched eyebrow. “Well the jokes on them. I’m not dating anyone.” The way Lisbeth scoffed and picked up her papers again, kind of got his back up and he added indignantly, “I’m not!”

“Sure, Jan.”

“Hey.”

“You’re so obvious. And besides, the bet isn’t about if you’re dating. It’s about when you’re going to bring the guy home. It seems pretty serious.”

Cal might have squawked at the thought. He’d been trying not to think about that very thing. But obviously he wasn’t doing a very good job keeping his fantasies to himself. But then he figured as long as he wasn’t leaking any of his feelings when he was actually in Ben’s presence, he didn’t care what people thought.

“It’s not,” he said, trying to sound casual about it. “Serious, I mean.”

“You’ve always been such a terrible liar.”

“I mean it. I guess, well, I do like the guy.”

Lizbeth put down the papers again and looked over, this time with a concerned expression. “So what’s the problem?”

Cal huffed out laugh. He wasn’t quite sure where to start. The fact that his new beau  started out paying him for sex, or that he didn’t actually know that much about him because of how casual they were keeping things, or the fact that Ben was completely in the closet as far as he knew and probably wouldn’t be seen out with him in public, let alone hold his hand and meet his parents.

“We’re keeping it casual. Plus, he’s not that into me.” It wasn’t a lie but he sure as hell knew better than to tell her the truth. He still hadn’t forgiven her for tattling on him when he’d accidentally over fed the goldfish when he was five.

“Dump him.” It was the only relationship advice she ever gave. Probably why she was still single eight years after her divorce. “He’s an idiot if he can’t see how great you are. You deserve better.”

Cal smiled. “You wouldn’t say that if saw the picture he just sent me.”

Lizbeth laughed and he had to wonder how often she got to sound like that. “You know you need a license to distribute pornography, right?”

Cal smirked. “I’ll get my lawyer right on that.”

She shook her head and went back to work, although she was still smiling when she added, “You should find yourself a nice girl. Settle down.”

That always got a barking laugh out of Cal which seemed to please his sister immensely that she could still make him do that, even when he threw a cushion at her.