2. Brad
2
brAD
S ure enough, when Dylan and I got to our usual diner, our friends were staring at us with flashes of annoyance in their eyes. It was just Theo and Shane today crowded on one side of the teal booth. I slid in first, and Dylan’s graceful, lithe body followed suit.
The diner wasn’t really anything special. It looked kind of outdated — or retro, some might be kind enough to call it — with cracked leather booths, dim lighting, and carpet that should have been replaced before any of us were born. Despite the lackluster curb appeal, they made great diner food, and we couldn’t get enough.
“What did we miss?” I asked.
“Took you long enough.” Shane huffed as he brushed his dark hair away from his forehead. He was pretty, tall, Korean, and had the kind of stare you didn’t dare mess with.
He could be a hard-ass and a drama queen, but he was harmless. At least to those he considered his friends. I laughed. “Sorry, your highness.”
We’d been friends for years. Theo and Shane were closest from the time they were assigned roommates during their freshman year. They grabbed up Dylan when they met him at a party, and I came along when Shane decided they wanted an invitation to frat parties. Which was cool with me. They were good guys, and I liked having my friend groups together instead of separate. It meant I could hang out with everyone at the same time.
If I was being honest with myself — which I didn’t allow often — Dylan had caught my attention from the second I saw him. Lithe and willowy, he had soft looking lips and sharp cheekbones, almost looking a little too thin. Even more, it was how talking to him was so easy, how he didn’t take things too seriously and just made off-kilter comments and liked to smile in that lazy way of his. I’d fallen hard for Dylan right away, but I knew better. He was my friend, and that was more important than the many ways I could ruin it.
“You didn’t miss anything,” Theo sipped his shake. He was a skater like Dylan, the sharp image of California sunshine in contrast to Dylan’s lackadaisical darkness. He was tan, blond, white, and rarely spotted without some kind of grin.
“Well, not completely true. We were considering summer,” Shane offered. He was something of a leader of our group, if not mostly by his own design. He took charge of telling us where he thought we should go and we fell in line. Most of the time.
I didn’t know about the other guys, but I was happy to go along with whatever. People had been telling me my whole life where to go and what to do. It sort of came with the territory, football and all. “Cool, cool. I’m thinking beach.”
Our favorite waitress, Jen, with the tidy blonde hairdo, came over and handed Dylan and me our orders without us even having to say anything. She’d seen us the past three years, at least weekly, so she sort of expected it. Dylan always ordered onion rings and a burger with extra pickles, no tomato. I got a triple burger with bacon and chili fries.
“Thanks, Jen.” Dylan's lips curved in a hint of a smile.
She shot him a wink and turned on her kitten heel to walk off. There was something about Dylan that servers always seemed to like. Maybe it was the gentleness in his demeanor, maybe it was that he always said thank you, even to an excessive amount.
Shane shifted in his seat. “You guys know how Alex has that internship this summer, right? In Rome? Well, I was thinking maybe it would be interesting if we did a Europe trip. It’s the last summer for us all before senior year, so…it should be special, shouldn’t it? Something memorable?”
“Whoa, that’s a pay grade above San Diego spring break.” Dylan frowned at his onion rings.
It wasn’t something we talked about explicitly, but we all were at least tangentially aware that Dylan wasn’t as well off as the rest of us. We’d never mapped it out — well, I hadn’t, but I wouldn’t put it past Shane — but it was sort of implied.
Shane waved his hand. “It’s fine, not a big deal. I’ll foot the bill for hotels and travel.”
“Whoa, generous.” Theo cocked his head. “What’s brought on the sudden giving spirit? Did three ghosts visit you in the night, Scrooge?”
Shane rolled his eyes. “Don’t be annoying and make me rescind the offer. No, I just don’t want to end up in some dingy hostel getting mugged because some of you couldn’t afford somewhere less disgusting.”
“Shane-”
“What? It’s not a big deal, I’m not judging . Plus, I thought it might be nice if we invited a few more people than just the four of us. Since Alex is already in Rome and I’ll be visiting, he should come, obviously. I guess it doesn’t seem fair if I ignore Charlie.” He hummed, considering Theo’s boyfriend.
Theo sighed. “I mean…Charlie didn’t handle a trip with us so well last time.”
Flashes of our fateful spring break trip a couple of years ago sprang to mind. Holed up in a Las Vegas club, a very cool clown motel, and too many blackout nights on the San Diego beach. Charlie had looked like he was going to be sick every moment he was with us. Charlie and Theo had pretended to be dating, only to end up actually dating after the fact.
“Could he not handle it?” Shane asked. There was an edge to his voice, a careful balance between annoyance and trying to be sensitive. It wasn’t an easy balance for him on the best of days, but he’d been making a concerted effort after some tense conversations between all of us. Between being more considerate and trying not to interfere so much in our lives, it was still new territory.
Theo shoved some fries in his mouth, thinking it over. “I mean…maybe, it’s been a while. He’s done better with parties and things like that. Maybe we should invite Micah and Jason, though? It might make things a little easier if he has his best friend.”
Charlie was great, though I couldn’t blame him for being overwhelmed with us sometimes. We were a lot to deal with, and he wasn’t used to our party methods. “Those two are cool,” I agreed. Jason was in Lambda with me, and I was used to seeing Micah hanging around with him since they started dating freshman year.
Dylan glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, an unwritten expression on his face.
Shane hummed. “Alright, fine. Eight people for Europe. In that case, though, some of you losers are chipping in.” There was a hint of a smile on his face as he said it, though, only partly serious.
I laughed. “Sure thing, man. That’s a cool idea.” My family didn’t do a lot of overseas trips. We were more into things like the Grand Canyon or visiting Philadelphia, history of America type of things and just typical family outings. I’d only been to Mexico twice, once with the team and once with the frat house for a charity thing. It was probably for a good cause, but my memories of it were just getting drunk
The conversation devolved from there to talking about finals and the little details of finishing up the year. As easy as it was to say that a trip before our senior year was exciting, it was also a reminder that things were changing, too. We were almost done with college, meaning we were going to be moving onto different things.
I was hoping to get drafted into the big leagues, but I wouldn’t know for sure until next year when recruiters came along and made offers. Shane was applying to law schools. Theo was done and would start looking for a job, and I didn’t know for sure what Dylan’s plans were. Whenever I brought it up, he shrugged and changed the topic.
My stomach knotted. I hated not knowing what was going to happen and I could only imagine the look on my dad’s face if it turned out I didn’t make it to the big leagues. He’d once had dreams of going pro himself until a knee injury made sure that would never be a possibility.
If I made it to the pros, though, I didn’t know what that would mean for the guys either. Would I ever see them? Or would it become this weird memory later on, and I’d look back fondly on those guys I spent so much time with?
Shaking away the thought, I focused on the story Theo was telling about his dad and the surf. My thoughts kept swimming in and out, however. I was becoming as bad as Shane, focusing on the future when I wasn’t even in it.
Where would Dylan and I be years from now? It was hard to even consider the possibility of not having him by my side. He was always there with a lazy smile and a funny story that would start off random but inevitably circle back to make a point. The thought of finding myself one day without him close by felt impossible.
I took another bite of my burger, buying time as I tried my best to keep my attention on what my friends were saying and the way they laughed like nothing would change. Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe I was just letting it fill my head, or maybe so many years with Shane worrying about the future were getting to me.
“Europe will be cool,” Dylan said, so softly that I was pretty sure only I could hear it.
As I glanced up, sure enough, Shane and Theo were already arguing about something else. So it was intentional.
I swallowed the bite of burger. “Yeah, it will be. It’ll be nice to hang out this summer too. Usually we don’t.”
My parents wouldn’t care if I had plans. Back in high school, I always had to go off for summer for football camp and even now I still had to leave early for training. However, I didn’t know if it would be easier or harder for Dylan, given his relationship with his dad was…different.
“Totally. It might be a good summer this time.”
I parted my lips to say something else, something comforting. Only then Theo laughed, loud as usual, pointing out the window as someone drove by with their car painted in SVU yellow and red, declaring “Finally Free.”