Salt

They met at the foot of the ocean. he morning was just starting but they had finished their breakfasts. Neither had wanted to sleep. hey did not need it when they had each other. With the sun came so did the noise of tourists claiming the beach for themselves. Cameron pulled Michael behind a palm a tree and kissed him quickly. Michael looked around, hoping nobody saw. He looked back at Cameron’s face. he sun was coming from behind him this time and he saw dull, blue eyes instead of the grey ones he had seen the day before. He saw too the mischievous look he was being given. In a euphoria created by the kiss Michael told Cameron that his brother should be up and out of the room. Cameron responded by lightly touching Michael’s right arm, just above the elbow. Michael felt the shivers he had given Cameron the day before.

The door was locked and the curtains closed. Swimming trunks and t-shirts mixed red, white, black and green on the floor. On the bed, Cameron’s pale skin was mixed with Michael’s. Michael had not been there long enough to get a tan, but his skin would have still made a firm castle. Cameron’s would have fallen and mixed back with the sand already on the ground.

This was a real kiss; Michael’s lips were caressing something soft while the rest of his body was feeling something hard. heir hands were caressing each other’s backs; their legs were touching; their tongues tasting and their eyes lusting; their nipples hardening from the touch.

Cameron’s hand moved up the inside of Michael’s thigh, rubbing against the soft hairs, tickling Michael in his stomach and penis.

Michael tasted the salt of the ocean on the hairs of Cameron’s legs. They were few and thin but black and hard, curled up from the dried salt water from their early morning swim. And then the salt turned warm as Cameron came into Michael’s mouth with a moan that excited Michael even more. And then another, different sound: a click. Michael looked up into Cameron’s horrified expression.

“What the fuck?” Michael turned to look and saw his brother. Cameron saw a second Michael. For twenty seconds nobody moved. hen Cameron spoke.

“You have a twin?” he asked happily. Michael looked at him with horror. “Please tell me he’s gay too.” Michael collapsed beside Cameron on the bed. He shut his eyes, hoping to escape into a dream. And then, moments later, he heard the click of the door.

“He’s not gay you son of a bitch,” Michael said.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go.” They dressed quickly and ran out of the room.

*

Michael found him at breakfast. Matthew had a plate full of food – sausages, bacon, eggs and toast – all smothered with ketchup. He was eating slowly and disinterestedly, meaning he had eaten already that day. Michael quietly pulled out the chair across from his brother and sat down.

“Matt …”

“Fuck off.” He began cutting a piece of sausage. Matthew usually ate very quickly and efficiently, but the knife did not move smoothly.

“What’s the matter Matt?”

“What the fuck do you think? I just found out that my brother thinks he’s gay.”

“I’m not Matt.” Matthew finished chewing and looked up, questioningly. “I’m-well, I guess that I’m, ‘both’.”

“Both.” Michael nodded. “Thanks for clearing that up. You can fuck off now.”

“You’re actually angry about this?” It was harder for Matthew him to cut the bacon. He pressed the knife harder; creating a cut more jagged than the incision of the sausage. “You’re a fag. That’s good. I’m glad to hear it actually, because it means that all those times I called you a fag, I was right.”

“Half right.”

“You think this is funny?”

“No.”

“Then don’t joke about it, Michael. Just get the fuck away from me, okay?” Matthew looked at his plate as he tried to fork the cut piece of bacon.

“Fine Matt I’ll leave. But listen, just don’t tell mom and dad. hey’ll freak out. Actually I don’t know what they’ll do, but I don’t really want to find out. I wasn’t really planning on telling them, or you…”

Matthew was looking at his brother as he chewed. Michael trailed off when he swallowed. Michael hated the blank expression on his brother’s face; the one that gave no hint of what his brother was thinking or feeling.

“I won’t tell them yet.”

“What do you mean by that?”