Page 53 of Ship Happens

“I actually have no fucking clue, dude.” Kevin laughs, the sound more forced than Owen is used to. In his mind, Kevin has always been this happy-go-lucky guy, confident in himself and what he does.

It’s odd, seeing him like this. Serious and contemplative.

“Sometimes I still think about her. I wanted to text her a few weeks ago, when I was drunk. Like, yeah, I was horny, but I also wanted to tell her how much I missed her and see if she’d be willing to come and spoon me like she used to.”

“You didn’t, right?”

“God no!” Kevin sputters. “Give me some credit, at least.”

“Okay, sorry!” Owen adds sarcastically, taking a step away, ready to follow Kevin to whichever machine he’s going to next. Then, Kevin stops him.

“Ah-ah, get on the bench.”

“What? I can’t lift.”

Kevin scoffs. “The bar is forty-five pounds, I’ve seen you lift more before.”

“Have you?” Owen asks, dragging the moment out in the hopes that he’ll get out of this. But the look Kevin gives him tells him there’s no chance of that. With a sigh, Owen situates himself on the bench, Kevin standing above him with his hand gently on the bar as Owen grips it.

“She was probably the best girlfriend I’ve had,” Kevin continues. “Smart, funny, she’d put me in my place when I needed it.”

“At least you’re self-aware.” Owen grunts, lifting the bar more easily than he anticipated. Is this really forty-five pounds?

Kevin smiles, looking down at Owen. “I knew it wouldn’t last. She wanted things that I couldn’t give her, things I wasn’t ready for.”

“You just ended things?”

Kevin nods. “Sometimes you’ve got to know when to let someone go. Sometimes they don’t know it themselves. Like when a mama bird pushes her baby out of the nest, and she hopes it’ll fly. But sometimes it doesn’t, so she just murdered her child for nothing.”

“That’s . . . grim.”

Kevin still manages to smile. “That’s the circle of life, baby! Those are the kinds of things you learn in a doctorate program.”

“I learned about the circle of life in third grade.”

“Okay, well, not all of us have the privilege of early education, Owen,” Kevin adds jokingly.

“You’re right, you’re right.” Owen chuckles, the sound only half forced as he sits back up. “Sorry.”

“I’m guessing that your questions have something to do with Jacob?” Kevin asks, adding more weight before he switches spots with Owen again.

Owen hesitates, his gaze shifting to the view outside, the sun, as it starts to properly rise over the mountains. “Something like that.”

“What is going on between the two of you? Kaitlyn saw you guys at the Putt-Putt course rubbing up against each other, and yesterday she found you guys in the closet?” Kevin arches an eyebrow. “You know it might be a little late to go back in, right? We all sorta know you like kissing boys, Owen.”

He rolls his eyes, ignoring Kevin. “He was just helping me perfect my swing.”

“Is that what they call it these days?” Kevin pretends to think, as if his imagination is running wild. “You gay guys are always inventing all kinds of new ways to have sex.”

“We decided on a truce,” Owen says, helping Kevin re-rack the bar. “Jacob and me.”

“And how’s that working out for you?” Kevin asks curiously.

“Horribly.”

“Why?”

“If I tell you, will you keep the secret?”