Dylan & Wes

Hayden says, "I guess you know that he told me that story."

I nod again.

"Are they official?" he asks.

"No. But come on. It couldn't be more obvious if one of them had hired a skywriter."

"If it's true, I assume you're happy for them?"

"Of course."

"You know you'll always be his best friend no matter what, right?"

"I'm not placating you. I really am happy."

"He chose you, Dylan." He grips my shoulder, "Four years ago, you're the one he 'came out' to. You and only you for a long time. And without you to lean on, to confide in, to trust... Who knows how much tougher Wes' journey could have been?"

"I'll never not be there for Wes, but the reality is that he would have been fine without me. I'm just one of many in the cast of supporting characters in Wes' story. He has his parents, Destiny, Mateo... He even has you. You've been like a third parent to him."

"Let's call it big brother. I'm ridiculously too young to be a teenager's father. And I'm way too fire--"

I don't want to smile, but I do. "Did my friends put you up that shit? Don't ruin it."

"My point is, no matter what happens with boyfriends and girlfriends, what colleges you each go to, where life takes you, you'll always be best friends."

I nod with a lump in my throat.

"What about you?"

Destiny just asked me that same question. I reply to him the same as I did with her, "What about me?"

"Do you still need Wes to pick out hot girls for you?"

"That's probably something we've outgrown at this point."

He cocks an eyebrow, "My question wasn't literal but it wasn't rhetorical either."

"I'm not missing Tessa if that's what you're getting at."

"It's not."

"So be literal then. What are you asking me?"

"I was once eighteen too."

"Okay boomer."

He laughs, "This boomer can shove you back in the pool."

I'm not so sure he can but I raise my hands in surrender.

"There's no doubt that sparks are flying between Wes and Mateo, but between the four of you, we're in for a full out fireworks show."

I thought I was doing a decent job of hiding my incredibly inappropriate feelings for Destiny. I should have figured that Hayden would see right through me. I lead us a little further away from the others and sit us down.

"Hayden, I don't know what to do. She's my friend and I can't lose her. The way I've been feeling is so wrong. I've tried to ignore it. It won't go away."

"Boys are so dumb."

"Thanks man."

"Dylan, it's a pretty low-risk situation."

"But I--"

He cuts me off, "She's crazy about you, fool!"

"Wait... What?"

"She's only dropped like a million hints. You're just cluelessly tripping over all of them."

"But we've been friends forever. I figured we were too deeply rooted in the 'friend zone'."

"Dylan, the 'friend zone' only exists if you want it to. And believe me, neither of you do. You said you have feelings. Tell me about them."

"She makes me smile, laugh, blush, tingle..."

"That's more than friendship. Look, these 'tingles' she gives you... That's been happening for a long time, hasn't it?"

I nod.

"So being confused by these feelings and afraid of scaring off your friend, you turned to someone else. You started dating Tessa. But you never really wanted to date her in the first place. You dreamed of a different destiny. A destiny with Destiny."

I ask him, "Are you like a wizard or something?"

He shakes his head, "No, but I was you once upon a time." He points a finger at me, "Don't call me boomer again."

"Tessa was never my person."

"Everybody but you knew that. And then she pushed you to get intimate. Who knows even with the right person when you'll be ready, but with the wrong person - Tessa - you might never have been."

"How old were you for your first time."

"Twenty-eight."

I snort, "I'm being serious."

"I was eighteen. A freshman in college, away from home for the first time. But everyone has their own timetable and both people need to be ready."

"Thanks for telling me."

He nods again. "Umm, Dylan? There's actually something about me that I haven't told you yet."

I grin, "I may be a dumb teenage boy when it comes to my own love life, but I'm not so dumb when it comes to others. Someone gives you tingles."

He blushes hard. "You could tell?"

"Uh huh. You could be the grand finale in our collective fireworks show. And if I was why you were keeping things quiet, please don't on my account. I'm super happy for you."

Just then Ren walks over and Hayden takes his hand and kisses him. I grin like an idiot.

"Back to you and Destiny," he says. "You are both afraid to make the first move."

I chuckle, "Destiny isn't afraid of anything."

"Exactly," he says. "What does that tell you about how scary this is for her too?"

~~

I walk back out onto the patio and Wes is coming right at me. He's still grinning like a fool. He says, "The kids are done with the pool. We thought we'd all do something else with them."

I look at my best friend. They don't come any better than Wes. He could have said that he and Mateo are gonna take off - that would be his obvious preference, but he's not abandoning those kids. Or Destiny and me.

"Sure. The six of us can play a game or walk to the park, or whatever Isaac and Judi want to do."

"Are you and Hayden okay?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"I have no idea. But you've talked more to him today than to anyone else and you two live together."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just checking."

"I needed some adult advice."

"Well, we both know you picked the right guy. His advice is always spot on."

"So... Mateo?"

He grins again, "We're going on a real date tomorrow!"

"I'm so happy for you." I hug him. "Let me guess. The mall. Chili's and a movie."

"Lame."

I give him a little shove, "What then?"

"I'm actually going to his house for dinner. I'm meeting his sister and his mom will be there too."

"Fire."

He laughs, "I thought I banned you from saying that."

"It didn't take."

"Right," his eyes drop to his feet. "I'm a little nervous."

"Why?"

"It's like I said before, I know I'm a lot to take. What if I go in there acting all Wes-like and I make a bad first impression? I could screw this whole thing up before it even gets started."

"No Wes, you won't. The only way you could is if you went in there trying to be someone you're not. Go in there and be you. That's the guy we all love. That's who Mateo wants you to be. You are not a lot to take. Sure, you have a gigantic personality but it matches your gigantic heart. Destiny was right. We wouldn't have you any other way. Mateo's family is gonna love you."

His grin turns to a beaming smile. "Thanks, D."

"Hey, do you really want to go to Alaska for college?"

He snorts, "Hayden told you I said that?"

"I was walking by and overheard that part."

"It was an exaggeration for comic effect. But I have always imagined getting the hell out of this town. Why?"

"I don't know. We're overdue to make a decision about colleges."

"I didn't say you couldn't come too."

"You'd allow me tag along?"

"As my shadow. My sidekick."

I shove him again.

He says, "How about as my roommate and my best friend?"

Hayden was right. Boyfriends, girlfriends, college... Wes and I will never break up. I say, "I'm not going to Alaska."

He shoves me back, "I said I was joking. What about you? Hayden told me you were considering New York."

"Maybe. I don't know. What do you think about Western Carolina University?"

He cocks an eyebrow, "That's like thirty minutes away from where we're standing right now."

"I know. But it would still be going away. They have dorms. They have a great football team. What do you think?"

"What I think is that we are going to figure shit out. We'll figure out something that makes sense for all of us."

He knows I'm still raw from the loss of my parents and that I've recently grown close to my cousin. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I can't imagine being too far from Hayden. But Wes is right. We will figure it out.

I ask him, "Hey, do you and Mateo mind getting started with the kids? Pick out and set up a game or whatever."

"While you...?"

We both look at Destiny lounging and soaking up some sun.

"I just need a minute."

"Or fifteen?" he grins. "Do you have something you need to tell me?"

"Not yet I don't."

"Uh huh. But you will. Do I have more insane nighttime texts from you to look forward to?"

I grin back, "With any luck."

His expression turns serious, "Dylan, you don't need luck. You're the only one who doesn't realize it. Go say what you need to say... What you should have said six months ago. Go get each other."

He claps me on the back as he calls Mateo over and they slip inside.

Destiny and I suddenly have a lot of privacy. I walk over and take the lounge chair next to hers. She glances at me and says, "Hey stranger."

"Sorry. Hayden is going through some stuff right now and he desperately needed my advice."

She laughs, "Is that what was going on? I'm sure you've righted his ship and got him all squared away."

"We're gonna go play a game or something with Isaac and Judi."

"That sounds like fun." She sits up.

"We have a little time."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Wes and Mateo are gonna get things all set up."

"And what are we supposed to be doing?"

"How about one more dip in the pool?"

She had let her hair loose at some point after getting out of the pool. Now, she ties it back into a quick ponytail with some elastic thing that had been around her wrist. She has no mirror but her practiced moves have me mesmerized as I watch her work. She finishes and it's perfect.

"Do you want me to teach you the backstroke too?" she asks.

I scoff, "I taught you."

She scoffs back, "And then I learned it properly."

We ease into the water and glide over to where it's shoulder deep. I have to just about kneel to match her height.

"Destiny, I..." I hesitate. We're facing each other and we're really close together. My hands find hers and our fingers lace together. "I'm just a dumb kid, but I freaking love you!"

She turns crimson red and smiles the biggest smile I've ever seen. Our fingers untangle and her hands find my hips. I follow her lead. We pull each other in until our bodies are touching and suddenly we're kissing. A lot. For a long time.

When we finally come up for air she says, "I kind of think you're okay too."

We both laugh. Then we kiss again. This time when we stop, we notice four smiling faces watching us through the window, two of them short and two of them tall. When they realize that we see them, the faces laugh and vanish.

Destiny says, "I guess there's no need for a big announcement to our friends."

"I think they saw this coming a from a mile away." I kiss her again because it's my new favorite thing in the world. "Even Judi called it."

"How stupid are we?"

"Ridiculously stupid." Another kiss. "But I feel smarter already."

Wes-

The four of us are watching Dylan and Destiny through the window. When they kiss, Isaac and Judi giggle. When they turn and see that we're watching them, we all laugh and disappear into the depths of the house.

The kids take turns in the downstairs bathroom changing out of their swimsuits while Mateo and I head up to Dylan's bedroom. On the way, we pass by Hayden's room. His door is open and he's inside but he's not alone. Isaac and Judi's dad Ren is in there with him. I know they've been friends for almost as long as Hayden has lived here. What I didn't know is that they've been special friends. Kissing friends. But I do now because that's what we catch them doing. Mateo and I pretend like we saw nothing and hustle past.

Safely behind Dylan's closed door we gasp and our eyes almost pop out of their sockets. I look at Mateo and his grin is as wide as I've ever seen it. We haven't put our shirts on yet and I take a good look at the guy I have an official date with tomorrow. He's been my friend for years but I almost feel like I'm looking at him for the first time. A familiar first time. I'm not making sense to myself.

I close the distance between us and up close I realize that he is the boy of my dreams. I mean that two ways. He is my dream boyfriend and he actually is the nameless, faceless boy I've been dreaming of. All of that glowing olive skin. His concave oval navel, his smooth hairless feet. He was my fantasy, now he's my reality.

I take his hand and angle him toward me.

"Are you okay?" he asks me.

"You have no idea," I kiss him. I've never kissed anyone before in my life and I probably suck at it, I didn't even get to practice in my dreams, but based on the soft moans Mateo makes in my mouth, maybe I do alright. For a first kiss, I go at him pretty good.

When we come up for air he says, "Wow! That was fire!"

I laugh, "Totally dope."

"You surprised me there."

"I just didn't want Dylan and Destiny to be ahead of us. This is nothing but a competition to me and I intend to win at all costs."

He knows I'm kidding. His only response is a smile and another heart stopping kiss. When that one ends he says, "I've had a crush on you since the day we met."

We touch our foreheads together, "Why?"

"Because you're Wes and Wes is sweet and loyal and kind and cute and freaking hot."

I feel a tingle roll all the way down to my toes.

"I know we have to get dressed and join the others but promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Later, when it's just us, your shirt comes back off."

Mateo smiles and blushes.

~~

"You're just so wrong," Dylan is saying. "It's DC all the way."

"Then why exactly will you be dragging me to see the next big Marvel movie on release night?" I ask.

Destiny asks Hayden, "Who's your favorite superhero?"

"Yeah Hayden," Dylan says. "Are you Team DC or Team Marvel?"

He tells us, "I really don't have a horse in this race."

"You're only twenty-eight," Dylan mocks. "You're too young to not care."

Hayden takes Ren's hand in his and laces their fingers together. That simple gesture speaks volumes and I find that I'm grabbing Mateo's hand as well. We are three couples. Three deliriously happy couples.

Mateo fake-scowls at him, "Weak, Hayden."

"I'm not gonna be a Stan about it like you fools."

Mateo laughs and Dylan shakes his head, "Don't encourage him."

Destiny leans into Dylan, "Hayden's right. Who needs pretend superheroes when we're standing in a room full of real life ones?"

~~

I am lying on my bed and my arms don't work. What the hell? I always thought my nude model was playing a game with me. How can I paint him with no working arms? Where is he anyway? I hear footsteps approaching. A figure materializes and it's him. Except now the tables have turned. He asks himself what he's going to do with me. I say nothing. He says he wants to start by doing to me everything that I did to him. I feel my crotch begin to stir.

Fortunately, I'm fully clothed. He tells me to strip for him. I tell him that my arms don't work. He doesn't believe me. He calls me a liar. He picks one up and drops it like a wet noodle. He makes a tsk tsk sound with his tongue, snaps his fingers and suddenly my right shoe is gone. He does it again and so is my left. He continues on until I'm in nothing but my underwear. My crotch is still stirring to life but I'm not fully hard yet. He looks at me and says he can't decide where to start. My feet, my belly or somewhere in between.

As he's talking I'm getting harder and harder. He tells me that my athletic physique is his fantasy come true. My boner is now raging. It yearns to be free of its fabric prison. My captor snaps his fingers and my underwear is gone. I am fully naked and fully erect. He tells me that I am about to experience the orgasm of my life. My dick does a little dance. He tells me that I am about to succumb to unimaginable pleasure. I am about to blow my load. He laughs.

He asks me if I remember how I tickled him with just my eyes. I nod my head. He tells me that his power is his words. When he says this I feel like my dick is being swallowed by the deepest, warmest, wettest mouth that ever existed, but nothing is actually touching me. I don't know when it started, but I realize that I'm screaming. Not in pain, but in rapture. And then I know that there's no going back. The fuse has been lit. Detonation is imminent. He tells me I have the biggest, hardest cock he's ever seen. I throw my head back. My eyes roll back into my head. My heels dig into the mattress. I feel my seed roll up the long length of my shaft and then--

Another text wakes me up. Fuck! Why don't I power my phone off at night? I have an erection and a wet spot on my underwear. I know I'm eighteen, but I feel like I'm going through puberty again.

The text is from Mateo. It says his sister will be out late tonight. It's accompanied by a round yellow guy who is suggestively raising one eyebrow. I smile. Tonight... Dreams come true.