Mike laid on his bed with Rocco’s Yankees hat covering his face. He was thinking about the previous night in Rocco’s room. He was almost in a light meditative state when Joe knocked on his door.

  “Can I enter?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah, come in,” Mike said and sat up in his bed. It was late Sunday morning. Mike didn’t shower before he went to bed, so the smell of Rocco was all over him. The thought of never showering entered his mind. Joe opened the door and saw Mike sitting in bed still in his briefs.

  “Well, you must have had a late night. You’re usually up and around by 8,” Joe said and sat down at Mike’s desk.

  “I did,” Mike sighed and laid back on his bed. It was close to 10:30 now. He was past the point of being ready for church. Both boys frequently skipped family church time. Joe kept looking at Mike. There was something different about Mike this morning.

  “So, how was your date?” Joe started to pry.

  “Fantastic,” Mike sighed again and covered his face with Rocco’s hat.

  “Oh? Do I get details?” Joe asked.

  “Do you want details?” Mike replied from under the hat.

  “Of course!” Joe pressed.

  “We went to dinner, then snuck into Rocco’s room and you know…” Mike said still under the hat.

  “What?” Joe asked playing dumb even though he now knew what was different about Mike at this point.

  “We did it,” Mike said as he took the hat off his face and sat up.

  “Wait, what??” Joe asked surprised. He really wasn’t surprised—he knew this would happen. He was shocked that these words were coming out of his little brother’s mouth.

  “Well, not all of it, but we did enough for it to count,” Mike said.

  Joe sat there not really knowing what else to ask. He did not want all the details, but he wanted to know enough. His curiosity got to him.

  “I see,” Joe said and nodded his head. That was all he needed to hear. “How do you feel?”

  “I feel wonderful,” Mike sighed and got out of bed. Joe watched as his brother put on a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He couldn’t believe this freckled, doughy little brother of his had become a man last night.

  “How are you doing mentally?” Joe asked. There are emotions that start to surface the day after. He was very familiar with the guilt that sometimes comes later.

  Mike turned to look at Joe and thought a moment. “I’m actually in a good place mentally.”

  “Seriously?” Joe prodded.

  “Seriously. It’s like I was so nervous about it, but now that I’ve done it, I realize I was worried about nothing,” Mike answered.

  “Yeah?” Joe kept prodding.

  “Yeah, it’s like the big mystery is solved. Like I know what it’s like with another guy. And I want to do it again,” Mike replied.

  “And you don’t feel bad?” Joe asked.

  “Not at all. I think I understand what you mean about invading another guy’s privacy. I know I was worried about not measuring up for no reason at all. But there’s something else I realized that I can’t really describe,” Mike said.

  “What’s that?” Joe asked.

  “It’s like, maybe this is weird,” Mike started. “It’s like I know this private stuff about Rocco, but now he also knows the same private stuff about me.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. It is a weird feeling. I think the best word for that is vulnerability,” Joe replied.

  “Huh?” Mike didn’t understand what Joe was talking about.

  “You and Rocco were vulnerable with each other. You let your biggest guard down,” Joe explained.

  “Oh, yeah, I guess. Do you feel like that every time you have sex with a girl?” Mike inquired.

  “To an extent. But it’s a lot stronger with another guy for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with breaking down masculinity,” Joe replied.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Mike said looking off in thought. “You know, you’re a good big brother. I don’t know who else I could have talked to about any of this.”

  Joe got up and smiled, “That’s my job.” He extended his arms and gestured for Mike to give him a hug. Mike happily complied with his request and squeezed his brother hard.

  “Have you showered yet???” Joe said pulling away quickly.

  “No, not yet,” Mike replied.

  “Take a shower! You smell like Rocco!” Joe said and smirked.

  “Fuck off,” Mike laughed and made his way to the shower.

  “Rocco! Just the man I wanted to talk to!” O’Malley grunted when Rocco approached the gate of the skate park.

  “That’s something I never thought I’d hear from you, O’Malley,” Rocco laughed. O’Malley was the definition of a salty old bastard—never a smile on his face, gruff, gray, but barely 40 years old.

  “We’re going to have a show in a couple of weeks. We want you to play,” O’Malley said and coughed a couple of times.

  “Oh yeah? You’ve never asked us to play before,” Rocco was a little surprised at the invitation.

  “We’ve been hearing some good shit about your band. We’ll pay you, of course,” O’Malley lit a cigarette.

  “You guys pay?” Rocco asked.

  “Yeah, if you’re good,” O’Malley replied taking a drag from his Camel.

  “What do you pay?” Rocco was interested. Getting paid to do something he enjoyed was nice.

  “$50?” O’Malley replied.

  “Hmm,” Rocco thought. “We’ve been getting $100 to play at private parties.” Rocco felt a little dirty trying to negotiate with O’Malley, but he was certain that the other members would have wanted him to ask for at least that.

  “Fine,” O’Malley said not upset at all. Rocco thought it was a dick move for O’Malley to low ball him especially after all the time he spent at the park. Rocco would have to confirm with the guys that they were willing and available, but he didn’t want to tell O’Malley since that could lower the price. After all, playing at the skate park allowed them to really play what they wanted instead of having to work in host requests. That was the tradeoff with playing private parties. They would play Troy’s party next weekend, and he had already given them a list of requests in advance for them to practice. At least half of their show was music that they would not have otherwise played. There was far too much hair metal in the show. That’s showbiz, kid.

  “Deal,” Rocco said and shook on it with O’Malley. “What’s the date and time?”

  “Saturday, October 12 at 9?” O’Malley asked.

  “Sure,” Rocco confirmed “You want us to make it Halloween themed?” Rocco couldn’t believe he was planning for things in October already.

  “Do what you want,” O’Malley answered. Beautiful, Rocco thought. He would talk to the guys tonight. If nothing else, he could come up with an excuse if the band didn’t want to play.

  Rocco walked over to the big bowl. He wanted to feel the concrete on his wheels and the now crisp air in his face. He had been so involved with practice and with Mike that he couldn’t remember the last time he skated. It was a Sunday which is usually a quieter night at the park. There were only a few younger kids in the big bowl, but they were mostly at the bottom.

  Rocco spent about an hour on his board until he was beginning to feel lonesome. Sure, it’s great to be alone every now and then. However, he was getting used to seeing Mike almost every day of the week. After last night, he wouldn’t be able to get enough of Mike.

  Being the brother of a popular football player allowed Mike to know when all the best events would be. There was, of course, the Fall/Halloween Festival at the end of October. There were the various popular kids’ parties between now and Christmas break. There was the Valentine’s Day Dance and more parties between the Dance and Senior Prom. Then, there were all the Graduation Festivities.

  Graduation. He started to dread that day because Rocco wanted to move to Los Angeles to go to UCLA. There was no way Mike could do a long-distance relationship especially one that long-distance. Maybe, if Rocco went to school a couple of hours away, he would be able to drive now that he had a license. But not California. They would ultimately have to break it off. If not for the distance, Mike was certain that Rocco would meet more interesting and hotter guys in California. In a city with so many actors and models, Mike would pale in comparison. Rocco would certainly lose interest in a country hick like himself.

  Mike didn’t want to think about that. Just enjoy the time you have together now. That’s all he had. To take his mind off summer, Mike began sketching out some designs for Fred. He had worked on one that was a chihuahua wearing a birthday hat. He had one that was just the head of a chihuahua with its tongue hanging out. Now, he was working on one that was wearing a huge ruffle collar like an Elizabethan person would wear.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He wanted at least four drawings, so he was thinking of a chihuahua sitting down with a backpack on. There was not any significance to the backpack other than Mike liked to go camping. There was something about a campfire and looking up at the stars that Mike loved. At one point, he was a cub scout and would count the days until the next jamboree. However, after he finished 6th grade and moved on the junior high, Cub Scouts just seemed so infantile. He thought about progressing to the Boy Scouts, but he got involved with baseball which took up a lot of his time. Besides, he could always go camping whenever he wanted. His parents were confident in his outdoors skills that they would let him go on solo excursions. He always had to camp at the same spot every time so that they would know exactly where he was.

  He had an affinity for the big lake between the two counties. The lake was a hotspot for local teenagers during the summer for drinking and partying on a boat, but, once school started, it became almost deserted except for the occasional family from out of town. He picked one spot that spoke to him. It was a spot a few yards from one of the least visited shorelines of the lake. He cleared a little area behind a couple of large oak trees. From the lake, all but the very top of his tent was hidden. He would spend many nights by a fire looking out at the vast sky away from the town lights and ponder his future.

  He was due for a camping trip soon. He hadn’t been out on the lake since he met Rocco. That’s when it clicked. He should invite Rocco to go camping with him. Rocco didn’t seem to be the type that would particularly enjoy camping. But Mike was not the type to enjoy skateboarding and, yet he loved going to the skate park with Rocco. He loved going because he loved experiencing something that Rocco loved. Perhaps, Rocco would feel the same way about camping. It would be a bonus that they would be able to spend the night together alone with no danger of parental interloping. It would be just him and Rocco under the stars snuggling cozy in the same sleeping bag.

  Next weekend was Troy Brighton’s party which Rocco was playing. That weekend would be out. Mike didn’t know Troy, so he wasn’t invited. However, since Rocco was playing, he was sure to be there. He would be “with the band”. It was settled, he would ask Rocco to go camping with him.

  Mike had a phone in his room. However, the family only had one phone number for the entire household. If Joe was using the phone, Mike would just have to wait a few minutes. Joe was not a telephone talker. His dad never used the phone. It was his mother that would spend hours on the phone. He picked up the receiver, relieved that there was a dial tone. No one was using the line. He dialed Rocco’s number.

  “Hello,” a woman’s voice answered. It was Rocco’s mom.

  “Can I speak with Rocco?” Mike said in a pleasant tone.

  “Hang on.” Mike heard the receiver on the other end of the line hit a hard surface. He then heard his mother yelling for Rocco. A few seconds later, Rocco came on the line.

  “Hello?” Rocco said.

  “Hey, it’s Mike.”

  “Hey there! I’m happy to hear from you!” Mike could hear Rocco’s excitement through the line. It had only been about 24 hours since they had their first date.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Mike started. Rocco laughed and said “Uh-oh”. Mike laughed and continued, “Do you like to go camping?”

  There was a pause on Rocco’s end. Then Rocco spoke, “Like camping in a cabin or a tent?”

  “In a tent,” Mike replied.

  There was another pause on Rocco’s end. “Come to think of it, I’ve never been camping in a tent.”

  “Really?” Mike was stunned. How has he not been camping before?

  “Yeah, I never had the opportunity,” Rocco said.

  “Would you like to go camping with me?” Mike asked. He anxiously awaited a positive response.

  “Of course I would. Who’s going with us?” Rocco asked.

  “Just you and me,” Mike replied.

  “Then definitely, yes,” Rocco said. Mike could sense Rocco was smiling.

  “Perfect!” Mike replied.

  “There’s only one thing. I don’t have any equipment,” Rocco said.

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got everything we need. You just have to drive,” Mike said.

  “I can do that,” Rocco said. “Don’t I need a sleeping bag?”

  “No, I have a one big enough for the two of us. We can stay warm and cozy cuddling up with each other.” Mike knew Rocco’s mom must have been close since Rocco was keeping his comments G-rated.

  “Then that is a definite yes!” Rocco exclaimed. “Where are we going?”

  “I have a nice, secluded spot by the lake. It’s just about 45 minutes from town,” Mike replied.

  “Very cool. So, if things go south, we can always go back to town,” Rocco laughed.

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” Mike said sarcastically. “What weekends do you have shows?”

  “Let’s see, this coming weekend is Troy Brighton’s party. And then probably the skate part on Oct 12th.”

  “Wait, you guys are playing at the skate park?” Mike asked enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, I got asked tonight. I haven’t even brought it up with the guys yet,” Rocco said.

  “That’s awesome! How about not this weekend but next?” Mike asked.

  “How about yes!” Rocco answered happily. “Hey, when do I get to see you again?” Rocco said giving the word ‘see’ a tone of innuendo.

  Mike giggled. “ASAP!”

  “I can’t wait,” Rocco said. Mike knew he was giving his crooked half smile. Then Rocco said quietly, almost barely audible, “Do you want me to come over?”

  “If you can, a thousand times, yes. Do you think you can sneak out?” Mike said in his normal tone of voice. Mike did not have to worry about being caught on the phone.

  “I can do that,” Rocco said in his normal tone. He then whispered, “the plan?”

  Mike thought for a moment. “My parents will be going to bed at ten--in about an hour. Be at my house at 10:30. Park off the road right before you turn into the driveway. Walk up the driveway. Come to the back of the house. I’ll be looking for your car lights and meet you in the back.”

  “That sounds great,” Rocco said in his normal tone. “I’ll get to work on it now.”

  “Perfect. See you soon,” Mike said.

  “Okay, bye,” Rocco said and hung up the phone. He stood at the phone for a moment with a smile on his face.

  “Who was that?” Rocco’s mom said.

  “Oh, Austin. He wanted to see if I would be interested in camping in a couple of weeks.”

  “Camping? I didn’t know Austin liked to camp” his mom asked inattentively.

  “Yeah, he’s just started getting into it and doesn’t want to go alone,” Rocco lied.

  “Ah, okay,” his mom said and settled on the couch to watch TV.

  For a few moments, Rocco thought about the plot to see Mike. He began trying to think about how to make it like he would be in his room the rest of the night. It was 9 so he had almost an hour and half to kill. He was too nervous to sit and watch tv with his mom.

  “I’ve got some homework to do so I’ll be in my room. I may go to bed early too. I’m beat,” Rocco said.

  “Okay honey. I’m probably going to watch tv and doze off like I usually do so I’ll see you in the morning,” his mom said, “Good night sweetie.”

  “Good night, mom,” Rocco said and went to his room. This was perfect. She was likely not going to bother him the rest of the night. She never bothered him when he was doing homework. Just in case though, he started to look around his room for items he could roll up and put under his comforter to appear like he was in bed. The best thing he could find was his pile of dirty clothes. He bundled them up in a Rocco-sized lump under the comforter. It would pass but the lights would need to be out. That would not be a problem of course since he was supposed to be asleep. He would need to be sure to take a flashlight so he could find his way back into his room. His side of the building was almost pitch black at night. With all the success he had last night, why hadn’t he snuck out of his room more often?

  All of that plotting and bundling only took about 20 minutes. If he were to be at Mike’s at 11, he wouldn’t have to leave until 10:30. That gave him an hour to occupy his time. How could he burn an hour? He certainly wasn’t going to do homework. He was too excited for that. He decided to strum on his guitar for a little while. That would help him pass the time and settle his nerves. Before he knew it, it was 10:20. Rocco put his guitar back on its stand and tiptoed to his door. He quietly opened the door. The TV and lights were out indicating his mom had gone to bed. Excellent!

  He was ready. The bed was arranged so that it looked like he was in bed sleeping. All he had to do was sneak out. He slid a jacket on. He turned off the light and looked around the room. There was streetlight in the parking lot that let in just a sliver of light. If he didn’t know any better, he could swear he was standing outside of his body looking at himself asleep. He turned the flashlight on and opened the window. He put the butt of the flashlight in his mouth and wiggled out the window without any incident. Once he was outside, he quietly walked the few dark yards to the parking lot. He didn’t need the flashlight anymore. His car was a few spots down. He started the car and drove off to Mike’s house.

  He parked his car on the road just right before turning into Mike’s driveway and turned the car off. He thought there would be enough moonlight to navigate the tree lined driveway, but he took his flashlight just in case. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to use it. As Mike told him, he walked down the dark driveway. To his relief, it was not as dark as he anticipated, but it was creepy, nonetheless. The moonlight eerily peered through the trees giving the path a haunted feeling. Rocco shivered at how quiet it was. Had it not been for Mike waiting, Rocco would have hauled ass out of there in a flash.

  The house was dark aside from a dim yard light and the front porch light. He saw a light on in an upstairs room. He saw a person looking out the window. He hid behind a tree. He peered around the tree to look at the window. His eyes adjusted and he could make out that it was Mike. Rocco smiled seeing that Mike was waiting on him. Rocco looked around to make sure no one else was looking out any of the other windows. He stepped out and flashed his light. Mike waved at him from the window.

  Rocco avoided stepping from out of the shadows. He guessed that the back door would be somewhere in the middle of the back of the house. He figured he could go either to the left or right side of the house. He chose the side that looked the darkest. Once he rounded the front corner to the side yard, he had to turn his flashlight on to make sure he didn’t trip on anything. As he rounded the corner to the back yard, he heard a door click quietly open. Rocco peeked around to see Mike standing on the back patio. Rocco quietly walked towards the patio. Mike had caught motion and peered into the darkness. He lit up when he saw Rocco approaching. Mike walked to the edge of the patio and embraced Rocco as he stepped up to the patio. They kissed briefly before Mike took his hand and led him inside. Both tiptoed into the house. Mike slowly closed and locked the back door. The two quietly climbed the stairs and dashed into Mike’s room.

  Mike closed the door and kissed Rocco. They made out against Mike’s bedroom door for a few minutes.

  They lay in Mike’s bed for a while staring up at the ceiling both breathless and exhausted. It was getting close to 12:30. Since it was school night, Rocco was trying to get the motivation to get up so he could sneak back into his room. He knew he was going to be dead all day, but it would be well worth it. He could easily get used to doing this on a frequent basis.

  “I should be headed back home. I got to get some sleep so that I can see you tomorrow!” Rocco laughed.

  “Yeah, I’m going to be dead on my feet,” Mike returned the laugh. “You think we can do this more often?”

  “Absolutely,” Rocco smiled and sat up in bed. He surveyed the room for his clothes which were by the door on the other end of the room. He got up and made his way over to the pile of clothes haphazardly strewn about.

  The room was dim, so he could not make out which clothes were his. At this point if they fit, it didn’t matter. What was it going to hurt to wear his clothes? He put on a pair of underwear, a pair of pants, and a shirt. Lucky for them, they both wore briefs. Everything felt like they fit except the briefs. They were a little snug. However, Rocco didn’t think anything of it. He was needing to get to bed. Mike didn’t bother to get dressed just yet. He was still lying in bed. Rocco looked over and admired Mike. He hated to leave but knew there was no other option.

  “Put your clothes on and walk me out?” Rocco asked.

  Mike reluctantly obliged. He had a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt by his bed that he slipped on.

  “You think I can use the bathroom?” Rocco asked.

  “Do you have to pee?” Mike asked.

  “Yeah,” Rocco replied.

  “The bathroom is across the hall attached to Joe’s room. Do you think you can hold it until you get outside? I don’t want Joe to walk in on you,” Mike answered.

  “Sure, but let’s make this quick,” Rocco said hastily.

  Mike took his hand and quietly led him out the back door. He stood watching Rocco as he relieved himself next to the patio. Halfway through, Rocco sensed Mike staring at him and turned towards him missing Mike by a few inches. Mike jumped out of the way of the stream. They quietly laughed. When Rocco finished, he pulled out his flashlight. He would need it for the side yard. He smiled and waved at Mike. Mike waved back at him and watched as Rocco rounded the corner. He snuck back inside into his room. He watched as Rocco walked down the driveway. He saw Rocco’s silhouette get into the car, the lights turn on, and the car drive off.

  Mike laid back in this bed for a moment before deciding he also needed to go to the bathroom. On his way back to bed, he gathered the pile of clothes and started to put them in the dirty clothes. His eyes noticed something unusual about the underwear. They were not his—they were Rocco’s. He had to stop himself from bursting out laughing at the thought that Rocco went home unaware that he was wearing Mike’s underwear. Poor Rocco was wearing tight underwear.