The whole drive home different thoughts kept popping into William’s head. Pale buttocks, night swimming, skinny dipping... why had he said so much? Why did he say anything about trying out for the swim team? Or much less about his banana hammock and what exactly did that mean? Shane’s house was nice, much nicer than he had expected, much nicer than his own. He didn’t live in a shack but it felt more like ‘the Burrow’ from the Harry Potter books than Shane’s house. A humble three bedroom house where he shared a room with his younger brother by six years and his baby sister had her own room.
Banana hammock? Really he asked himself. All his thoughts came to an end when he flipped on the turn signal to enter the drive back to his house. A slow roll along a familiar gravel, dirt road around pot holes and cautious of crossing deer and wildlife though he still went ten miles faster than his father told him to ever drive. He slowed as his home came into view and he pulled into the parking spot where he killed the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. Just minutes ago he had driven Shane home and now the car seat was empty.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked through the messages as he retrieved his bag from his backseat. The messages were all from Brad and they all bragged about him being alone with two girls in his house.
William pulled his bag against his back before dialing Brad as he walked to his front door. Both his parents were at work and his brother and sister were still at daycare but he knew he had to get dinner started before everyone got home.
“Hey man what’s going on?” Brad asked.
“Just unlocking my door,” William said.
“Just getting home? Where you been? Dude I got two fine chicks at my place and- ouch, hey quit it--”
“--Who’s there?” William asked pushing open his own front door.
“Just Rachel and Nadine but we’re playing strip poker-, ow, hey that’s not funny. We’re not actually playing strip poker but we’re watching a movie. My parents aren’t due home for another four hours or so.”
“Sounds like fun,” William said. He made his way into the kitchen where he turned on the oven, checked it for pots and pans then closed the oven door before heading back to his own room. “So what are you watching?”
“Some movie with Ashton Kutcher. It’s a total chick flick and he’s been shirtless like twice now and I don’t know man I’ve got a chubby going on so I think I might be turning gay. Either that or it’s the two hot babes I have in my house. Ow, that hurts.”
“Rachel and Nadine picked the movie?”
“Whatever works,” Brad said.
“Well I hope that works out for you,” William said. He wanted to hang up but he knew Brad had more to say and this was just step one in the process of getting him off the phone so he pressed the speaker button before setting the phone on his dresser and beginning to change out of his school clothes and into a pair of shorts and and old t-shirt.
“Dude, so where were you. It turns out that they wanted you to come by after school. They were almost disappointed it was just me until I told them they could watch anything they wanted on the Pay-Per-View account.”
He had to say something. But he had already said he just got home. “I was at school. I uh, ended up at the library doing some extra studying.”
“Dude there’s not even any tests and you're not a geek or a nerd,” Brad said. “And you totally ignored my text messages.”
“Well it was more interesting.”
“What was more interesting? Did you lose internet again and stayed after to look at porn?”
“No way, besides the computers at school have the Net-Nanny and my computer at home, I disabled all of that long ago so I don’t even let my little brother on there. He has to use the one in the living room where my parents can keep an eye on him”
“Dude that’s harsh. Your brother is like thirteen now and must be getting a hard-on all the time. He must really be keeping you up at night.”
“That’s sick dude. And he’s twelve and he doesn’t do that.”
“Maybe he does and you can’t hear it,” Brad said. “Maybe he jerks off into your socks at night. Ow, he really that hurts.”
“Who hit you this time?”
“Rachel, she keeps punching me in the arm. I think the girl is a lesbian because she can really swing. Don’t do it Rachel.”
There was a thud and Brad yelled out in pain then clatter as William was sure the phone fell to the floor. A scramble, more noise then a new voice. It was Nadine.
“Brad can’t come to the phone right now because him and Rachel are wrestling in the middle of the living room. She’s got him in a headlock and it doesn’t look like she is going to let go.”
William picked up his phone and changed it back from speaker before walking from his room. “How’s it going Nadine?”
“Fine and your self?”
“Okay,” he said pulling open the freezer door. He pulled out the lasagna and began to open the box.
“You weren’t really at the library were you?” she asked.
“What? No, I mean yeah, I mean why?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Hey I got to go before these two mount each other and it gets too disgusting. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Later,” William responded.
“Yeah,” Nadine said before ending the call.
Not at the library? Did she know something? It could have been Rodney. He sent a message to someone who sent a message to someone and what did he have to lose he showed up with his girlfriend. Only queers show up alone... No, that wasn’t right he had to come up with a reason why he was there. He was a straight ally, he thought, that wasn’t really a lie because he wasn’t necessarily gay. People might assume that but they also knew he was a nice guy and liked to help out. Was it such a leap between the two?
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