Try It
Salty Lips & Late Night Dips02: Try It
Tao wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a rundown restaurant next to the local marina. The second they set foot inside, he scrunched up his nose. It reeked of spices, raw fish, and old wood. Definitely not the most pleasant smell in the world.
"Don't dis it until you try it." Kris guided them to a booth at the back of the restaurant.
They were right next to a window overlooking the bustling marina. Tao watched the pelicans dive for fish until Kris slapped a menu down on the table in front of him.
"Order whatever you want. My treat."
Just earlier Tao had thrown sand at the the guy, yet here Kris was, buying Tao’s dinner like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I'd recommend either the baked flounder or the all-you-can-eat crab legs. Which is what I'm having," Kris said while salivating over the menu pictures.
"All you can eat?" asked Tao curiously.
"Yup. But if you order that, be prepared to waddle out of this joint."
Tao scoffed and tossed his menu aside. “Order whatever. The quicker we eat, the faster I can get the hell out of here.”
Kris shook his head and placed their duplicate orders for crab legs, along with a soda for Tao and a beer for himself. Tao scrunched up his nose in distaste at the sight of the amber beverage. He never understood what people found so satisfying about beer. It tasted terrible.
Dinner lasted as long as the Cretaceous period. Or at least, that's what it felt like. Tao barely managed to get through two plates of crab legs by the time Kris started annihilating his fifth plate. It was possibly the most brutal thing Tao had ever witnessed. Their table looked like a crustacean graveyard, bits of exoskeleton, tiny tendons, and stringy meat piled upon plates and napkins.
“That... is ing disgusting,” Tao blanched as he watched Kris tear through a gigantic crab leg like a present on Christmas morning.
“Say whateeeever you want.” Kris several fingers clean, downed the rest of his beer, and sighed with satisfaction. “But I didn’t see you grossing out when you were eating your two plates.”
He had a point. Tao had actually enjoyed the crab legs but he wasn’t going to admit it. “You paid so I felt obligated.”
“Pffft. Yeah okay, Taozi.”
“Dammit, don’t call me Taozi!”
“Why? I think Taozi suits you since you’re such a cute little peach.”
“Call me that one more time and I’ll... wait. What?”
“Oh look! There’s our waitress!” exclaimed Kris over-dramatically as he got up from the table, “I’m just gonna go pay for our food!”
Tao was left with his mouth hanging open. He took in the mess on their table, the pelicans flying in the marina, and the hands sitting nervously in his lap--then laughed. This was stupid. Ludicrous even! But he was far too intrigued to stop. His summer had gotten off to a bad start and he still wasn’t in the most ideal of situations, but perhaps he’d met someone who could help him forget all of that. Kris was pushy, annoying, and had questionable taste in music. But hell, at least he was interesting. So when the dumb finally made it back to the table with more shenanigans in mind, Tao didn’t say a word and went along with the flow.
They spent the night driving around the island and listening to reggae music while watching the moon dance across the ocean in the distance.
-
Tao woke up on the sofa the next morning, wondering why he was there instead of in his bed upstairs. Then he remembered cruising around the island with Kris in that stupid Jeep and crashing out on the sofa sometime around 4 a.m.
Tao woke up on the sofa the next morning, wondering why he was there instead of in his bed upstairs. Then he remembered cruising around the island with Kris in that stupid Jeep and crashing out on the sofa sometime around 4 a.m.
He grumpily pushed himself up from the cushions and shuffled into the kitchen in search of food. He grabbed a box of sugary cereal, some milk out of the refrigerator, and scowled once he reached the counter. His dad had left a note. Tao knew without reading it that it didn't contain anything pleasant. The angry handwriting was indication enough.
I stayed up past 3 a.m. waiting for you to come home.
You didn’t call and wouldn’t answer your phone.
When I get home this afternoon, I’m going to lay down some rules.
Tao didn’t bother reading the rest before crumpling up the paper and tossing it into the trash can under the sink. He found it laughable that his dad thought he could start acting like a father after so many years. Just because they were blood-related didn’t mean a damn thing.
With food in hand, he ventured back into the living room, flipped on the television, and surfed through channel after channel while eating his cereal. Just as he'd finished taking his last bite the doorbell rang.
He walked over to the front door, opened it just a crack, and nearly choked on his own saliva. Kris was standing on the front porch, clad in a white Billabong t-shirt and navy blue swim trunks, looking every bit the package of summer sin with his beach-tousled hair and damp skin.
You ing , thought Tao. “What are you doing here and how did you know where I live?” he questioned with narrowed eyes.
Kris gave him an incredulous look. “I came to kidnap you and take you to my friend’s cookout. And I brought you home last night, dumb . Remember?”
Oh. Tao had forgotten that Kris had brought him home just a couple hours before daybreak. “Why are we going to a cookout at 9 o’clock in the morning? And what makes you think I even want to go?”
“I volunteered us to help set everything up.” Kris paused at Tao’s severe expression before continuing. “And you’re going, because if you don’t, I’ll tell your dad we were ing in my Jeep all night and that’s why you were so late getting home.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Tao stomped his foot angrily.
Kris leaned forward with a smirk and whispered into Tao’s ear. “Try me, Taozi. I can be very convincing.”
A chill fluttered down Tao’s spine as his stomach did an uncomfortable flip. “Give me ten minutes,” he snapped before pushing Kris away and slamming the door in his face.
Tao was beginning to think getting involved with the surfer had been a bad idea. Kris was manipulative, and apparently, trying his best to push his buttons.
Tao went upstairs, grabbed some fresh clothes, and hopped into the shower. He made sure to take his precious time too and left Kris waiting on the porch for more than forty-five minutes. When he finally made it downstairs, dressed in faded denim jeans and a simple black tank top, Kris was all smiles.
“Ready, Taozi?”
“I told you, stop calling me that.”
Kris abandoned the porch for his Jeep and honked the horn impatiently. Tao really hated it when he did that. Tao was used to arguing with people and shoving his opinion down their throat. But Kris threw in the towel before Tao could even get the chance to be angry. It was infuriating.
So for the third time, Tao found himself getting into Kris’ Jeep and giving into the concept of summer fun--blaring reggae music, sticky ocean air and all.
-
They pulled up to a small beach house at the other end of the island. Walking around back, they stumbled upon a guy trying to set up a large canopy, looking confused as he tried to match the various poles together to their corresponding pieces. He threw one of the poles onto the sand and ruffled his hair with a growl.
“Don’t you remember your ABC’s?” teased Kris once they reached the individual. The guy was shorter than Tao, fair-skinned, and had two shining dimples that appeared with a relieved smile.
“Kris! It’s about damn time! This stupid thing is driving me insane!” exclaimed the guy as he approached. He stopped in his tracks once he realized that Kris had brought company. “And who is this?”
“Lay, this is Tao. Tao, meet Lay,” Kris introduced.
“Tao?” asked Lay curiously.
“I met him on the beach yesterday. He threw sand in my face.”
“Really now? Well, anyone who abuses Kris is a friend of mine! Nice to meet you, Tao. Glad somebody around here knows how to put Kris in his place.”
“Uh... thanks?” Tao shook some sand off of his foot. Today was the second he’d opted to walk around barefoot. He hoped it wasn't turning into a habit.
“Do you guys think you can get this canopy set up for me? I need to run to the store to buy a few more things before I start grilling.” Lay patted the sand off of his clothes.
“No prob. I’m sure Tao and I can figure it out,” replied Kris.
As it turned out, Kris and Tao had a very hard time constructing the canopy. Tao understood why Lay had had such a hard time putting it together. It was an old canopy. All of the letters on the white poles were faded, making it nearly impossible to follow the wrinkled instruction manuel.
“Rrrraaaa! This isn’t ing working!” blasted Tao.
“If you’d quit mixing up we could figure it out!” retorted Kris as he picked up two poles and tried to fit them together, only to discover that they didn’t fit.
Tao felt his blood boil. “Just wait until I pick up this murder weapon,” Tao threatened as he picked up one long metal piece, weighed it in his hand, and decided that it was perfect for the job.
Just when Tao was about to knock Kris’ lights out, the surfer took a look at his own pole and froze. “Wait! I think these two fit together!”
“What? Really?” Tao's anger simmered down into hopefulness.
Sure enough, the two pieces fit together perfectly, and both Tao and Kris received a boost of confidence. At least they’d made progress. All they had to do was figure out how the other billion pieces sprawled out across the sand fit together. Since they’d already passed the first milestone, the rest of the canopy’s construction passed smoothly.
Lay approached the victorious duo as they looked on proudly at their accomplishment. “Geez. You'd think you guys had just built a monument.” Lay assessed the completed canopy, making sure that it was structurally sound.
“I’ll have you know that sweat, tears, and my almost-blood went into putting this damn thing together,” said Kris.
Lay chuckled and shook his head. “Since you’re done with that, can you guys help me with something else?”
“What is it this time?” asked Tao warily.
Lay lead them back to the deck where a large brown box sat proudly in the sand. “I just bought this table with matching chairs. It was cheap... because some assembly is required.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Kris asked incredulously.
“Nope. Have fun you two!” beamed Lay. He patted them both on the shoulder before walking up the deck and into his house.
-
The area behind the house had morphed into a very popular outdoor party. Lay was at the grill next to the large canopy, cooking up burgers, hot dogs, and shish-kabobs while everyone else kicked back their drinks and socialized. Kris knew the majority of the people there, seeing as how he seemed to be on good terms with all of the guests. Tao didn’t know what to do or how to act around so many strangers. He was out of his element and baking in the sun with his irritation swiftly escalating.
“Do you always have a permanent scowl on your face?” asked Kris as he sat in the sand next to Tao and offered him a canned soda.
“Pretty much,” Tao replied without missing a beat. He popped open the can and gulped down half of it in one go.
“Listen uh...” Kris began awkwardly, digging his toes into the sand. “Thanks for helping out today. Lay is a good friend of mine. We pretty much grew up together, and he’s always been there for me, so I wanted to return the favor.”
Tao was learning that Kris had a habit of doing unexpected things, like making him feel important enough to tell personal stuff to, despite the fact that they’d only met just the day before. It was the first time Tao had ever had such a thing. And it was starting to grow on him.
Kris tilted his head back and chugged his beer, Adams apple bobbing as a bead of sweat trickled down his throat. Perhaps it was the heat of the sun, or maybe the beach itself, but Tao’s body flushed from head to toe as he observed Kris’ actions.
Kris finished his drink and sighed happily. “Come on,” he said while hopping to his feet, “I want to introduce you to some people.”
There were a ton of people at Lay’s party. Tao hoped that Kris didn’t mean to introduce him to everyone. Fortunately, the surfer led them away from the cook-out area and towards the shore where a group of three guys sat in the sand, doing some last minute waxing of their surf boards.
“Well, if it isn’t the sasquatch!” exclaimed the one with disheveled, bleach blonde hair. He squinted up at Kris with an open-mouthed smile, hands still diligently prepping his surfboard.
Kris waved off the mild insult with a grin. “Just wanted to introduce you guys to my friend, Tao. He’s a pissy little fire pistol that needs friends, so be nice to him, okay?”
Tao socked Kris in the arm, earning a wince from the male. “Take that back!”
“Woah-ho-ho! Kris brought a live one with him!” said the guy in the middle while chortling with blondie.
“Minseok, you’ve gotta do something about Jongdae and Luhan,” stated Kris.
“If you’ve discovered something that I haven’t already tried," replied Minseok, "Please... let me know.”
Luhan took a long look at Tao, almost as if sizing him up, and seemed to reach a solid conclusion. “You know what I think, Kris?”
“Does this have something to do with a longboard?” Kris squinted suspiciously at his friend.
All four of the surfers exchanged knowing glances. Tao knew he’d missed something and that he probably didn’t want to know what they were up to. Confirmation of that came just seconds later.
“I’m on it,” stated Kris as he ditched everyone to truck back up the beach towards Lay’s house.
“Where is he going?” Tao questioned.
Luhan, Jongdae, and Minseok stood with their surfboards and took a calculative look at the surf.
“They’re not the best waves we’ve seen this week but I’m not being picky,” said Minseok with a shrug of his shoulders.
“They'll do just fine for the new guy,” added Jongdae.
“Fifty bucks says he won’t catch a wave by sundown.” Luhan gave Jongdae a challenging look.
Jongdae took a look back at Tao before turning to Luhan. “Deal.”
“Would somebody tell me what the hell is going on?” huffed Tao. They were talking like he wasn’t even there!
A couple of minutes later, Kris reappeared with two surfboards in tow--his own and another that was considerably larger.
“What are you doing?” asked Tao while pointing at the mile-long board, “And what is that?”
“This, my dear Taozi, is a longboard. It’s your new best friend.”
“Oh no,no,no,no,no. Not happening.”
“Kris teaches lessons at my surf shop several days a week,” explained Luhan, "Believe it or not, people actually enjoy taking his classes."
“Consider yourself lucky that you even get such a skilled teacher,” Jongdae added.
“You should give it a try. Who knows... you might like it,” said Minseok, "I didn't think I'd like it at first but... here I am."
Tao took a good hard look at the longboard and then Kris’ hopeful smile. This was not how he'd planned to spend his summer. If only he’d stayed home yesterday instead of venturing out onto the beach...
Tao brought a hand to his face and sighed heavily. “I hate you,” he mumbled under his breath.
He bent over and rolled up his jeans--yet another piece of designer clothing destined to be befouled by the ocean. As he followed the four surfers into the shimmering water, Tao watched a shirtless Kris out of the corner of his eye and swallowed down the lump in his throat. This was going to end badly. He was sure of it.
8/26/15 - SL&LND is now complete. Extra side stories will be added soon. [RuinedReverie]
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