Author's Note: This story was, for the most part, inspired by a recent trip I took to the beach with my brother, cousin, and a friend. This isn't a real life account or anything, it was just a basis for inspiration that really got me going. Though, the first half of this chapter seems... blah and boring. Hopefully you don't find it so, or at least, not the last part anyway. Enjoy!

After The Dawn

Written By
Shadow Kitsune

Chapter One

Men were pigs, filthy, dirty pigs. Always gawking at hooting at women as if they were nothing more than a pair of breasts with a hotspot between their legs for them to stick their manhood and validate it at the same time. Matthew Thornton sat with his forehead pressed against the back left driver’s side window, watching as the scenery passed him by while his brother, Andrew, his attractive cousin Kyle, and his brother’s best friend Joseph shouted and whistled at hot girls while driving by them. This was Daytona Beach, Florida, their final destination for their week-long vacation. Matt wondered if he had made a mistake in deciding to come.

The sun shone down brightly, casting its light upon anyone and everything. Surf shops, seafood restaurants, bars, and innumerable hotels lined the main strip of Daytona, the nervous center where everyone went to party and just have fun. Matt had never been to a place like this before having lived his whole life in Littleton, Colorado. The atmosphere here was so different, so laid back and cooler compared to what he was used to. Littleton was a nice place, quiet, but Daytona, while it was laid back and relaxing, there was a vibrant energy about it that stimulated something inside of Matt, and he liked it.

“Whoo! Look at that bitch over there!” Joseph, who every just referred to as Joe, screamed out the window. “She’s got her a pair of knockers!”

Matt felt like cringing every time Joey or anyone else made such an obscene comment like that about women or anyone for that matter, it was just so degrading and demeaning to them. Of course, he couldn’t nor didn’t say anything for fear of being booed or called a fun wrecker, or worse yet, a fag. Surely such feminist ideals such as those Matt would have expressed would warrant such an abrasive response from his fellows.

“Where’s the hotel at? I want to hit the beach before it gets too late,” Kyle asked Andrew in the driver’s seat beside him.

“Just a few more miles down this way. Shouldn’t be much longer,” Andrew replied.

“Pssh, Kyle isn’t interested in the beach. He just wants to scope the bitches in their bikinis,” Joe remarked from behind Kyle.

“Probably wants to do more than that,” Andrew responded. All three of them burst out laughing, except for Matt who merely dug his fingernails into his knees to refrain from opening his mouth.

“Damn! Look at that chick over there!” Kyle pointed across the way.

“Oh damn, she’s fine!” Joe agreed. He unfastened his seat belt and got up, sticking his head out of the sunroof of the Explorer to shout and whistle at the passing girls. Matt didn’t know Joe as well as his brother did, but what little he had dealt with him he knew that he was a fiery individual that he didn’t dare to cross. His bluntness and personality didn’t stroke Matt quite right, but he seemed nice enough to him, just a little rough around the edges.

“Alright, we’re here,” Andrew said as he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they were staying at. “Once we check in and get to our room, we’ll run across the street to Publix and buy some food and booze. Then we’ll hit the beach.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Kyle said.

That booze sounded good to Matt right about now.

--

After checking into their room and loading up on food and alcohol, everyone got in their swim trunks, put on sunscreen, and headed down to the beach with their boogie boards to hit the water. While Matt was a little hesitant about taking his shirt off around other people, he couldn’t help but admire the body of his cousin Kyle. Tall, thin, lightly tanned, perfectly toned; if he weren’t related to him, he figured he’d have a massive crush on him. Joe wasn’t too bad either, albeit a bit heavier, paler, and hairier, which was fine. He just wasn’t as nice to look at as Kyle. His brother was the least kind to look at, which was good since he already had one familial crush, the last thing he needed was to have a crush on his own brother.

Matt was thin and pale, and rarely ever wore his shirt off when he went swimming or anything such. He also had a fear of the water, which made it impossible for him to swim. It wasn’t so much that he was terrified of it, but more so the fact that he’d had ear problems as a child, and was thus unable to get water in his ears for a good chunk of his life. Now that he had outgrown is condition, he could swim and enjoy the water like anyone else, but the natural phobia of getting his ears wet still hung over him like a dark storm cloud. It always made going swimming with others a bit awkward.

But with some consideration, Matt decided that since he was off without any parents or anyone to dictate what he should do or how he should act, it would be best to just let it all go. He threw his shirt off and tried not to think anything more of it; there were people who looked a lot worse than he did anyway. As he joined the others down at the beach, he realized he was the only one without a boogie board. Andrew, Kyle, and Joe were all paddling out into the water to ride the waves, and there Matt was without one. There weren’t any more to be had, so he was stuck going out as he was.

Matt walked out into the water, which felt like ice cubes against his bare flesh. The further he went out, the bigger the waves got, and the higher he got splashed. Once he managed to completely submerge his entire body, he finally began to adapt to the temperature, and it suddenly wasn’t nearly as cold. He started heading out to join his fellows to join in on whatever conversation they might be having, but the further he went out, the deeper the water got, and it became increasingly more difficult to touch the sandy bottom. The waves were getting bigger, or at least they seemed to considering he couldn’t touch the bottom anymore. Since he couldn’t swim, and was afraid of going under, he began to panic, kicking and gasping desperately to stay afloat. He flailed his arms about trying to pull himself back up, only for a wave to crest and come crashing down on top of him, plunging him underneath the water. Matt began to panic, feeling as if he were about to die. He continued kicking and pumping his legs and arms, and when he emerged once again, he felt the refreshing air come rushing back into his lungs. He could feel the ocean floor beneath him again, and started making his way back closer to shore where it would be shallower and safer. Looking back at his fellows, his brother was waving to him, signaling him to come join them. Matt shook his head, and remained exactly where he was.

‘Assholes,’ Matt thought to himself.

--

That night after dinner, Andrew, Kyle, and Joe went driving around town while Matt just sat in the backseat taking in the scenery. Joe was on the lookout for girls as usual, pointing them out for Andrew and Kyle as he found them. The windows were rolled down and the sunroof was open, the night life in Daytona had come alive, and there was electric in the air.

“My dad came here a couple years ago,” Joey said as they sat at a red light. “He told me about this fucking awesome titty bar around here. I think it’s down the strip a few miles on the right.”

The moment Matt heard the word ‘titty,’ his stomach sank. He felt sick all of a sudden.

“Sweet. If we find it maybe we’ll check it out,” Andrew said.

Matt suddenly wished he hadn’t come, or at least just stayed back at the hotel. At least then he wouldn’t be subjected to a bunch of horny, oversexed heterosexual guys objectify women constantly, but then again, if they went to a strip club, then the women there would do a damn good job of doing that by themselves. There was nothing more awkward than to be surrounded by heterosexual guys who were all into girls, at least, not for Matt.

“I think that’s it right there!” Joey said, pointing across the street to a place called Sharkie’s.

“That’s it,” Kyle said. “Says they have live dancers. Sounds like the place.”

“Fucking sweet,” Joe said. “We gotta go there!”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Andrew said as he pulled in to the strip club. Matt felt like jumping out of the moving car that very moment. He couldn’t believe they were about to go into a strip club. Then again, it was a day of firsts for Matt. First time drinking, first time smoking, and now it would be a first time going to a strip club. Only problem was it didn’t exactly cater to his personal interests.

As they all unloaded out of the Explorer and started inside, Matt suddenly froze in the middle of the parking lot, staring up at the giant neon sign of a silhouette of a nude woman, her right leg moving up and down as though she were sitting down on something… or someone. It felt like a scene out of some movie or something, standing outside in the parking lot of a strip club. Matt felt a sickening feeling come over him; he wanted to go, to leave, right then and there, just turn tail and make a mad dash for it. But he couldn’t, not with his brother and cousin and some guy he hardly knew there. He’d never be able to live it down. The least he could do is go in. Chances were they would be too preoccupied with the strippers to notice him slipping out, so long as he didn’t end up making a scene as he often tended to do when in a frenzied panic.

Going inside, a bouncer asked for all of their IDs to make sure they were old enough to get in, and let them past. Once inside it was as though they had entered into a whole new world. The lights were low, dark almost with bright flashing blue strobe lights with dark silhouettes of topless women dancing exotically atop bar counters. Matt had only ever seen bare breasts in movies or magazines before, but seeing them in real life was much more shocking. He knew what to expect, he knew what he would see, but no amount of mental preparation could have been sufficient. While he was repulsed by what he saw, Joe, Andrew, and Kyle went over and sat down at some empty stools and watched as a naked women began dancing for them. While their manhood was likely growing larger, Matt’s was growing exponentially smaller.

Matt suddenly felt a delicate hand brush across his shoulder as a dark haired woman came up behind him, wrapping her arm around him.

“Take a load off, cutie,” the stripper said. “I’ll take good care of you.”

Matt’s heart was about to burst out of his chest. He couldn’t take anymore of this. He shoved the stripper away from him and made a mad dash for the door. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of his fellows were watching him. Luckily they were too absorbed into the naked women in front of them to notice. He was gone in a flash.

--

Matt had walked around the shops around the strip, sightseeing and what not while he waited for the guys to finish up at the strip club. When he had had enough of wandering about, he stopped by a coffee shop to buy an iced coffee, and a pack of Black and Mild’s which they had smoked back at the hotel, and perched himself on a bench in a little park not too far from the strip club. He sat down, lit up his cigar, and sipped his coffee while he waited. He craned his head back, squeezing his eyes closed as he breathed a heavy sigh. So far his trip had been pretty disappointing, and didn’t seem to be getting any better any time soon.

“Assholes…” Matt muttered under his breath with his eyes closed. He didn’t detect anyone near or around him, but suddenly someone responded.

“Let me guess, your friends ditched you didn’t they?” a guy asked.

Matt bolted his head up and opened his eyes, only to find the single most gorgeous guy he had ever seen before in his entire life. Long, dark fair hair, twinkling brown eyes, perfectly straight white teeth, perfect golden tan, built muscled body, boyish good looks… he had an exotic Brazilian look about him that Matt found intriguing and ever so stimulating. He couldn’t help but gawk. His mouth hung open, trying to find the words to speak to respond, but there before him was the most amazing looking guy ever. He was dressed in a white button down shirt with blue vertical pinstripes, sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a simple pair of faded jeans, brown work boots, and a cockeyed brown cap… everything just fit him so well, so perfectly. He was like looking at a work of art, just much, much sexier.

The guy smiled, a backpack slung over one shoulder. Matt never took his eyes off his face.

“Sorry if I interrupted anything. Just thought you looked a little lonely sitting there all alone. Then I heard you cursing and figured you must have been ditched by someone or something,” the guy said.

Matt swallowed, and shook his head, smiling sheepishly.

“Oh, no… no… just, well, my friends went into a strip club and I just… it wasn’t my thing,” Matt replied, stammering nervously.

The guy laughed, and suddenly sat his backpack down on the bench, and sat down beside Matt. He could feel the warmth radiating from the guy, and the faint scent of cologne, as though he had put it on a long while ago.

“I hear ya. Who wants to go watch a bunch of naked women swing around on poles and degrade themselves for a bunch of perverted guys who stick dollar bills in their thongs? The time they spend doing that they could be finding a woman who’ll do a whole lot more than that for them for free if they weren’t such pervs and could find a woman that could make them happy,” the guy replied.

Matt smiled stupidly, and nodded in agreement. He wasn’t just nodding because he thought the guy was smoking hot, but because he actually agreed with him. Finally a guy that made sense!

“My name’s Devin, by the way,” the guy said, holding his hand out for Matt to shake.

Matt looked down at Devin’s large, strong hand and swallowed. He sat his coffee down and took hold of it, shaking it. He imagined Devin’s hands being rougher than they were, instead they were almost as smooth as his were. Matt held on to Devin’s hand a little longer than he meant to. He quickly retracted his hand, and turned beet red, trying to conceal it but looking down at his coffee.

“Sorry. Uh, mine’s Matt,” he replied.

Devin chuckled, and put his arms up on the back of the bench.

“No worries,” he said. “So are you from around here, or just visiting?”

“Just visiting. I’m here with my brother, a friend of his and my cousin from Colorado. We’re here on spring break, all week,” Matt replied.

“Sweet. Been here before?”

“Nope. At least, I haven’t. This is my first time.”

“Really? Are you having a good time?” Devin asked.

“It… hasn’t been so bad. Just feel like a bit of an outsider, if you know what I mean,” Matt replied.

“How so?” Devin asked.

Matt sighed deeply, and bit his bottom lip.

“Well, let’s just say my interests deviate from the rest of the guys in my group. They’re all into scoping out hot chicks and going to strip clubs… I’m just, not into it,” Matt explained reluctantly.

“Ah, I see,” Devin said coolly. “Not into girls, are you?”

Matt’s stomach was churning violently from anxiety. Why had he been so careless? Why did he make it so obvious he was gay? And in front of a gorgeous as fuck guy too! Matt shook his head slowly, swallowing. Devin smiled, and leaned forward.

“Is that so…” Devin said, stroking his chin contemplatively. “I’m not much into them myself. Never have been. It’s always been weird hanging out with other straight guys because they’re all into tits and shit, things I could care less about. I can imagine how weird it must be for you, surrounded by a bunch of straight guys like that. You’re brave.”

Matt blushed. He couldn’t keep himself from grinning.

“You think so?” he asked.

“Yup,” Devin said, smiling. “So where are you staying at?”

Matt thought for a moment, trying to think of the name while Devin’s gaze was transfixed upon him.

“Um… I think it was called… The Bermuda Hut, or something,” he said.

“Ooh,” Devin said, “that place used to be awesome up until they changed management last year. It’s turned to shit now.”

Matt laughed.

“I know! The receptionist was a total bitch!” he exclaimed.

“And there’s chunks of concrete falling off the building!” Devin exclaimed.

“And the Jacuzzi all nasty and grown over!” Matt called.

“Gross!” Devin shouted. The both of them erupted into laughter together as they ragged on the hotel. When Matt looked up, he saw Andrew and the others coming out of the strip club.

“Shit,” Matt cursed. Matt met his gaze and saw where he was looking.

“That your group?” he asked.

“Unfortunately,” Matt replied.

“They’re ugly, except for the skinny dude with the hat. He’s kinda hot.”

Matt cracked up.

“That’s my cousin. And yeah, he kinda is,” he replied.

Devin laughed.

“Ah. Well, I guess you’ll be leaving now, huh?”

Matt bit his bottom lip, glancing around, hesitating.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said.

“That sucks,” Devin said, standing up. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Matt. If you’d like, I could show you around sometime. I work at the Plaza Hotel as a valet, and I always have nights free so if you want to meet up again sometime I could give you a tour of the town.”

Matt dropped his coffee, spilling it all over the ground. He could hardly believe what Devin was offering. Was he really willing to give him a tour of the town, just like that? Or was there something more to his offer than he was saying?

“Hey Matt!” Andrew called from across the street. “We’re heading back to the hotel! Get a move on!”

Matt looked up, and held a hand up, nodding in response. He then looked back up at Devin, and felt a heavy pressure on his chest. He realized he wasn’t breathing. His head was swimming.

“Uh… I don’t think… I don’t think I can,” he replied. “I’m sorry, it’s a generous offer but…” he started.

“Get a move on! Kyle’s gotta take a shit!” Andrew called out again.

Devin furrowed his brow, and cringed.

“Lovely bunch you have there,” he said. “You should go. I’d hate for you to get in trouble with them, or for your friend to take a shit in his pants.”

Matt sighed, and swallowed hard.

“Sorry,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Devin said, smiling at him. “I’ll see you around sometime,” he added, picking up his backpack. “Later, Matt.”

As Devin started walking off again, Matt breathed a deep sigh, and threw down his cigar that had already burnt out. He ran across the street and jumped in the car where Andrew and crew were waiting impatiently for him.

“Goddamn I’ve gotta shit!” Kyle exclaimed.

As Andrew pulled out of the parking lot, Matt saw Devin walking down the street, and breathed a light, dreamy sigh.

So much for an intelligent conversation…