When The Rich Son Falls

Thirty

Topher used to like going to the beach. He thought that the sound of the waves crashing was peaceful, he liked collecting rocks that he found pretty, he even used to make sandcastles and play pretend that he was an actual prince; but that was almost twenty years ago. That was before a rip current almost took his life when he was at the young age of 10, despite knowing how to swim.

It was the only time Topher had ever felt so helpless, and despite being a one-time occurrence, it burned into his brain, tainting all of the wonderful memories he had of enjoying the sea; and the longer he avoided the water, the more his fear developed into a general irrational dislike for everything else that accompanied it—the heat, the humidity, the sand.

So as he felt the bottom of his shoes sink a little into the sand of Mariner’s Bay, his heart began to beat a little faster, and the air behind his mask seemed to become a little thicker. He was alright, compared to the time he fell into the pool. He wasn’t drowning. He knew it was just sand. But he hated it.

He followed James step by step, focusing on his breathing and trying to ground himself. As they walked amongst the growing crowd, James took a few of the sparklers that some stranger was giving away for free and was about to give one to Topher, when he noticed his discomfort. Seeing this, he then led Topher to the side where there weren’t much people.

“Did the sand get into your shoes?” James asked. “Should we go back?”

Topher could sense his concern, but he was in no mood to dig up a two decade-old story. That one time he shared an ounce of his family troubles in the hotel gym’s shower room was already enough. “A little, but it’s fine,” he said with a smile that James didn’t really buy.

The show was starting. A host stepped in the middle of the crowd, said a few words, then shot off the first firework up into the air—the whistling and exploding sounds made Topher’s heart jump for a second. He looked up at the sky as it was colored by the sparkling lights for a few seconds with the backdrop of the setting sun. When his eyes went down, he saw James looking at him, holding two lit up sparklers.

“Sorry I forced you to come here,” he said. “And sorry about putting you on the spot with all my questions earlier, about purpose and all that.”

Topher subtly smiled at the man's earnestness. Despite their back and forth, and Topher's constant nagging, James was actually someone that seemed to care. If anything, he was probably too concerned. So much so that if he kept digging, he might unintentionally break down a few of Topher's walls and let a wave of unresolved issues out.

Without realizing it, Topher's defense mechanism kicked in on instinct. “Ah, are you still hung up on that? It’s fine!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “And I’m a grown-ass man. If I didn’t want to come, no one could’ve forced me to. Is that one for me?” he nodded at one of the sparklers James was holding.

“Yeah, here,” James replied as he handed it over. He knew what Topher was doing—the man had done it a few times already whenever a topic he didn’t like came up—so James knew better than to push forward.

He simply watched as Topher admired the lights coming off the sparkler with that of a child's awe, and more so when other people around them lit up their own. Suddenly, the man did not seem as uncomfortable as he was before—much like a crying kid that was easily distracted by sparkling toys. A small smile formed on James's face, just as Topher turned to look at him.

“Thanks for dragging me out here,” Topher said with a sincerity that James rarely saw him wear, and he had to admit that it caught him off-guard.

The festival ended later than Topher thought it would. Apparently, the fireworks display was done not as a culminating event, but as a starter. A couple other shows followed—teenage dance troupes performing, kids doing a small play about mermaids, professional poi dancing, and the like. Everyone in the crowd were engaged, having fun, taking pictures. Some were even pulled into the middle at one point to join the dancing, and despite being a simple watcher by the side, Topher found it all to be glorious; making the fashion shows and galas back home suddenly seem boring.

Every now and then, James would lean closer to explain to him a thing or two about what was happening—the significance of the dancing, the symbolisms in the play—and Topher listened intently. Despite standing on sand, being near the water, wearing a mask in a humid, windy night in a place far away from the luxury of home, Topher, for once, had no complaints. In fact, he was engrossed in all that was happening that he didn’t get to notice that James had been sneaking glances at him, fascinated by his positive response.

After the shows were done and the last of the fireworks had gone, the crowd began to disperse and the volunteers started to pack up. Topher followed James back to the stall to grab some of the things, reeling with excitement.

“I can’t believe you do this every year!” Topher exclaimed, still full of energy despite the long day they’d had. “And you even hosted once! You’re going to have to show me proof—pictures, videos, anything.”

James smiled as he began to tidy up the booth—swiftly putting all of the decors and papers inside a box. “I’m glad you had fun, but I will take those photos to my grave.”

“So, there are photos?”

James shut his mouth as he realized his mistake, then he decided to change the topic. “You should come see the Festival of Light two months from now.”

“If I’m still here by then, of course I would,” Topher said, picking up the small box of crafts that he bought for the fundraiser, just as James picked up his own. “Truck?”

“Truck,” James nodded, and they walked to carpark side by side, saying goodbye and goodnight to familiar faces on the way. Once they reached the vehicle, they set the boxes down at the back.

“You know,” Topher casually said while they still stood behind the truck. “I really thought you were avoiding me. So, it came to me as a surprise that you spent the entire afternoon with me in this friendly non-date event.”

James locked the back and curiously looked at him. “Avoiding you? Why?”

Topher quickly looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but the carpark was almost empty except for that one car that was beginning to drive away. “Because of last night,” he said. “You went out with Mandy, then returned home very late.”

“Oh, that,” James thoughtfully muttered, getting into the driver’s seat without saying anything else. Topher hurriedly followed him inside the car.

“Oh, that?” he wildly repeated as he closed the door. “So, you were actually avoiding me?”

“A bit, I guess?” James reluctantly replied. “I meant it when I said there was a lot more I had to do for the festival, but I also found it necessary for me to take a step back and think, because it all happened so fast.”

“Was it fast or was the timing just right?” Topher asked with feigned innocence. James shot him an unimpressed look and he rolled his eyes. “Okay, maybe it was a little bit. But anyways, what did you come up with in your alone time?”

Before James could answer, Topher let out a gasp as he jumped to conclusions. “Oh, no. Did you find that I’m not sexy enough to be a f**k-buddy? Is it because I got a bit thinner and lost some muscle? Or is it because I’m not hairy enough like that dude from Mystique that you were about to bang?”

“What? No!”

“Then what is it?” Topher turned in his seat to face James as much as he possibly could.

“I—” James hesitated for a second, pressured by the man's eagerness. He could almost feel his face beginning to heat up, just thinking about what he was going to say. “I don’t want to talk about it here,” he ended up saying as he turned on the engine.

“Oh,” Topher leaned away, placing a hand over his mouth. Even before he said what he was thinking, James already knew it would be absurd just by judging his reaction. And he was right. “Oh, don’t tell me you've already fallen prey to my charms. That’s why I specified that it was a quid pro quo deal about,” he looked around before whispering, “S-E-X, and why I put up a disclaimer that this wasn’t a date-date.”

“Oh, don’t be absurd.” James frowned at him. “I did not “fall" for you.”

“So, what was it, then? Did you like it? Did you not like it? And more importantly, are you down to do it again? Because I'm telling you, that wasn’t my best performance. It was just the amuse bouche, and you will find that I’m actually quite the considerate and very versatile lov—” Topher wasn’t able to continue what he was saying when James suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and shushed him with a look of panic on his face.

Topher, not knowing what it was about, deviously smiled and licked at the man's palm. James quickly withdrew his hand and looked at him in horror. “What are you, a child?” he hissed, frantically looking at his hand then the side mirror on Topher's side.

Topher innocently shrugged and said, “I thought you were trying to start up some kinky—"

He stopped as he was startled by a sudden, “Hi guys!” and a knock on his window.

“f**k!” Topher exclaimed, jumping up his seat before he recognized that it was Glory standing outside—behind her was Bruce, laughing at his overreaction.

James gave him a look that basically told him to shut it as he rolled the window down.

“There you are!” Glory said with a grin as she looked at Topher. “I didn’t believe Bruce when he said you were here. The sand didn’t eat you up now, did it?” she said with a lighthearted chuckle.

“It didn’t, and you were right. The festival was actually pretty fun,” Topher replied, reaching over to place his arm around James's shoulder, who initially froze as he did so. “It also helped that I had a personal tour guide with me, even though he tried to poison me with food.“

Glory and Bruce turned to look at James, who rolled his eyes. “I did not. He took a bite of my spicy taco,” he explained.

Topher didn’t argue as his attention turned to his shoes. “Oof, now that Glory mentioned it, I think I can feel some sand in my shoes. Even inside my socks.” He took his arm off James, who visibly relaxed, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

To James, Bruce said, “Hey, boss, great turnout this year, huh? I saw almost every guest from the hotel here tonight.”

“A group of friends staying in the second floor is actually hosting an after-party,” Glory added, making Topher look up at her then at James at the sound of the word “party”. “It’s open to anyone who wants to go and Mandy and her boyfriend are coming. So, how about it, Topher? James?”

Topher glanced at James, who simultaneously looked back at him. Topher waited for him to say something, but he could feel that James was waiting for him to reply as well. Is he going to base his answer off mine? Topher wondered; and if he will, why would he do that? Could it be that…

He made a swing to see if James would follow suit. Topher said, “Nah, I think I’ll pass on this one. I can’t wait to wash the sea smell and sand off my body.”

“How about you, boss?” Bruce asked.

“Uh, I think…” James glanced at Topher once more, looking unsure for a second before he answered, “Yeah, I think I’ll pass. I have something to do and I’m kind of tired. You guys have fun without us.”

Topher looked curiously at him at the sound of his obvious excuse, but he didn’t say anything and simply tried to suppress a smile that was threatening to form.

Bruce nodded. “Suit yourselves. See you tomorrow, James. And you,” he looked at Topher who innocently flashed a smile at him, “yeah, we’ll also probably see you tomorrow at the hotel.”

“You can count on it,” Topher assured him with a chuckle. “You two have a good night.”

The trip home was quiet and, quite frankly, filled with tension that could’ve been sliced with a knife. Topher wasn’t one to notice small nuances on a person’s mannerisms—since he is mostly preoccupied with himself—but when there’s not much to see outside of the car window, and when there’s only one other person with him inside the vehicle, he didn’t need a leveled-up vigilance to notice James’s index finger tapping restlessly on the steering wheel as he stiffly stared at the road ahead.

“You can go ahead and wash up first while I park,” was the first thing James said to him as he stopped the truck in front of the house.

“Okay,” was all Topher replied before he rushed out of the vehicle, unable to keep his smile off any longer. In his head, he wondered if he understood the previous situation correctly; did James ditch his staff to go with him for “that”? Or what if James just said he couldn’t make it because he was actually tired, like he previously mentioned, and was only too shy to say no to the invite?

In his hurry, he only realized that he failed to bring a change of clothes after he had taken a bath. Never been one to be considered as a conservative type, he simply wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped outside.

“I’m done,” he called out. He saw James standing in the kitchen in front of the open fridge door, looking at him, frozen mid-bite on a half-eaten apple.

“I’m done,” Topher repeated when he heard no reply. He saw James’s eyes travel down to his legs, which were dripping wet, and to the small puddle of water forming by his feet. Remembering an argument they already had about Topher leaving the bathroom without fully wiping himself down first, he sheepishly smiled at Topher and said, “Sorry, I’ll mop that up later.”

To his surprise, James simply bit down on the apple and looked away. “Yeah, okay,” was all he said before he set the fruit aside and closed the fridge.

Topher fought another smile as he watched James turn his back towards him to grab the towel and clothes from the countertop, while discreetly hiding a small pouch underneath them. When James turned around, Topher looked away and pretended he hadn’t been staring.