3. Tyler
Tyler
MONTEREY
And while none of us lived at home anymore, it was central to all the Hale boys, which was one of the reasons they wouldn’t sell and move.
It was a great place to come home to.
“My baby!”
“Hi, Mom.”
She came down the steps of the wrap-around porch with her arms out.
I left my bag in the car, knowing she’d want the hug first. Like my dad, she was tall and athletic.
They both played tennis and golf now, but in high school, my mom was a track star and my dad played soccer.
That’s when they met. Travis, Pierce and I inherited her blond hair, while Owen and Kyle had my father’s darker hair.
They were both tall, and we all ended up the same.
“Lucas!”
I turned to see Luke carrying both of our bags, so I jogged over to grab mine so Mom could get a hug from him too.
“I forget once I‘m not here.”
“What’s that, dear?” my mom asked.
“What it’s like to be in the Land of Giants.”
“You know, Lucas, you’d think that joke would get old, but I think it just means you love spending time with us.”
Pierce must’ve heard Luke because he jumped off the porch to wrestle me into a chokehold before he said, “At least you have the runt here. You don’t feel so short around him, do you?”
“Pierce, how many times have I told you not to call him a runt?”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, shoving him off of me.
“You know he prefers the term special boy,” Mom teased.
“Oh, he’s special alright.”
I ignored Pierce and asked Mom where Dad was.
“He’s with Travis discussing the winery expansion.”
I nodded. “When will the rest of the gang get here?”
“Owen and Christa are heading up from Anaheim after a few days at Disneyland. They should be here by dinner. Kyle and Rene are on their- well, here they are.”
I turned to see a minivan pulling in behind my car. Kyle waved from behind the steering wheel. I gave them space to get the kids out of the carseats. I wasn’t able to greet my brother and his wife properly because I was swarmed.
“Uncle Ty!” My nieces screamed at the same time as they tried to take me out from below.
“You girls are so tall! You been drinking your milk, huh? Do you remember meeting Luke before?”
Kora and Riley looked over at Luke. Riley, the younger of the two, ran over to him, offering a hug, but Kora just looked at him and waved. I leaned towards Luke, and whispered, “Even she can see you’re hideous.”
After greeting our mom and Pierce, Kyle and his wife, Rene, made their way over to me and Luke for hugs and small talk. Once the kids had run around in the driveway for a few minutes, Mom herded them into the house, and I helped Kyle with his family’s luggage.
I told Luke to throw our bags on my bed.
My room was one of the things in the house that hadn’t changed.
Practically the only perk of being the baby.
They left it alone for me. It was on the third story in the tower.
It wasn’t the biggest room, but it had the best view.
I could see the ocean from the north windows.
“Luke got a boyfriend yet?” Kyle asked.
“Nope.”
“Huh.”
Well, that’s friggin’ weird. I changed the subject. “How are you and Rene? Real estate market treating you well?”
“Oh yeah. We’re selling a house or two every day. The market’s coming back.”
I wasn’t super interested, but it was better than talking about Luke’s love life. Seriously odd.
We made our way inside, and after dumping their luggage in the first floor bedroom, I made my way into the backyard to see my Dad and Travis.
“There he is!” Travis halted his conversation to open his arms for me.
“Hey, Trav,” I replied, letting him scoop me up and spin me around. It was what he did.
To avoid getting kicked, Dad backed off, but he was next, though he didn’t spin me around. “How’s training going, son?”
Pretty soon the whole family, minus Owen and Christa, was in the backyard, catching each other up on our lives and watching the girls run around and play on the swing set. It didn’t take me long to notice Luke wasn’t there.
I ventured back into the house. The smell of Mom’s pies baking made me salivate, and I stopped for a moment to admire the tree.
We used to get a real one when we were kids, and though it was artificial now, I could see the familiar ornaments.
Mom had a thing about tradition. It was strong with all of us because of her.
I don’t think we had ever missed a Christmas together.
I made my way up the two flights to the tower where I could hear Luke’s voice. It sounded animated. I halted outside the door, conflicted. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but I wasn’t sure if he needed me or not.
I didn’t have to wait long. The voices stopped and before I could back off, my door opened and I fell inward, almost knocking Luke over.
“Shit, bro. Sorry!” I cried, as he caught me in his arms.
He helped me right myself, then said, “It’s fine. Sorry for not coming down. My parents called and I had to deal with that.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just more bullshit. They think they found me a coach. Cassandra something-or-other. I’ll meet her when I get back. Yay.”
“Something to look forward to?”
“You’re always such an optimist.”
I shrugged, then walked past him to check on my room.
“Is it just like you remember?” Luke asked.
“I should be asking you that.”
“True, but it seems the same to me.”
“Me too.”
It was good to be home.
Luke and I had fallen into a pattern of cuddling in bed together.
After the first night in the apartment, it had just…
kind of happened every night since without him asking.
And I let it. It seemed the pattern would continue at my parents’ house.
For about half a second the first night, in the darkness of the tower, I almost said something, but once I turned off the light, the way Luke sighed, I just couldn’t.
I could feel him relax next to me. He had a habit of mumbling in his sleep and as soon as he said, ‘This is nice,’ it was over for me.
Whatever he needed to do, I wanted to make him feel better.
In the mornings, neither of us drew attention to our boners.
They were just an unspoken side effect of our manliness.
Having an erection when you woke up was just a solid indicator of a healthy blood supply to the penis, right?
Some mornings we both had them, others it was just one of us.
I didn’t read into it. It was just cuddling.
I knew Luke was still hung up on Cam, and he knew I was figuring things out and likely a little obsessed with Declan. We were friends, and some friends cuddled. Naked. End of story.
I wasn’t worried about getting caught. I was planning on telling my parents I was bi soon anyway. So, if they found us in bed together…well, that might make it easier. Faster, at the very least.
The air mattress sat on the floor, uninflated. I was surprised no one had noticed.
Our third night there was Christmas Eve.
Owen and Christa had arrived the night before with their sons Casey and James.
The boys were thrilled to have more human playgrounds to climb all over.
More than once I had to wince as my balls were kicked, crushed, punched or headbutted.
I begrudgingly smiled at Owen, knowing he must be familiar with the feeling.
Most of that afternoon, Luke and I played games with the four kids in the backyard. Once they settled in for naps, my brothers, Luke and I played some touch football, which of course, became rough enough that Mom had to call it.
Rushing out of the kitchen, she practically screamed, “Don’t hurt the Olympians!” and then came down to the lawn to pelt my brothers with her formidable fists. They relented and Luke and I headed inside to help my mom finish preparing Christmas Eve dinner.
Dinner was nice, but with fourteen people, it was a bit chaotic. Years ago, we had stopped doing presents for the adults, but once my brothers had kids, the presents started up again, but only for the little ones.
After they were put to bed, we helped my parents, Owen and Christa, and Kyle and Rene collect the presents from the cars, the attic, and the garage.
They didn’t have to get as creative as they did when we were kids.
I still didn’t know where my parents hid our gifts, but I can tell you it wasn’t their cars, the attic, or the garage.
Once the tree was surrounded, most of us changed into our PJs and gathered in the living room for our annual Christmas movie marathon.
The exact two movies we watched changed every year, but my favorites were Jim Carrey’s Grinch and Christmas with the Kranks.
I was shocked that Luke had never seen either.
I didn’t notice his head was on my shoulder until I heard Pierce and Travis snickering. I rolled my eyes, ready to defend our affection, but before I could say anything, my mom asked, “What’s so funny, boys? We’re not even at the best bit yet.”
She was talking about Cindy Lou’s first visit to the Grinch’s lair, a visit that could change his whole outlook on life!
“Uh, Luke’s, uh…showing us the jewels,” Pierce replied.
Enamored with the movie, Luke hadn’t heard what Pierce said, so at the same moment that my mom turned to look at Luke, I glanced down at his lap.
Sure enough, I could see his sac, and what looked like at least one testicle popped out of his sleep shorts.
I leaned down to whisper, “Your balls are hanging out,” and his legs snapped shut, but not before he realized my mom had seen.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hale!”
She laughed. “It’s okay, dear. I have five sons and two grandsons. I’ve seen a lot of balls in this house.”
And then we had to pause the movie because all of us were laughing too hard.
It stayed paused for a good while because as it turned out, the subject of balls brought up a lot of stories.
Dad had to tell the one where Owen thought he ruptured a testicle at baseball practice in high school.
He had never been hit in the balls before, and had no idea it hurt that bad.
Not something the rest of us could say since Owen delighted in sharing his discovery with his younger brothers.
Owen’s wife, Christa, explained that Casey’s balls didn’t drop right away, so it was all she and Owen could talk about for weeks. They actually celebrated when the first one dropped. Coincidentally, it was on New Year’s Eve.
There were a few others and by the time we started the movie, no one was paying attention to Luke’s reproductive organs anymore, though that didn’t stop his insecurity.
“I am mortified,” he whispered.
I squeezed his thigh. “Don’t sweat it. It’s no biggie. Aren’t you into public nudity?”
“Shut up!” He pushed off of me and punched me in the shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but I pretended it did to soothe his embarrassment.
We watched the rest of the movies in relative peace, pausing only in between for a bathroom break for everyone and a replenishment of our beverages and snacks.
Mom made a batch of her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies earlier and I had hid a few so that I’d have some for later.
It was the one time each year I didn’t think about what I was eating. It was always an enjoyable week.
It was after midnight when Luke and I finally settled into bed.
“Merry Christmas, Ty.”
“Merry Christmas, Luke. Good night.”
“Night,” Luke said, and took his place, nestled into my chest, arm over my stomach.
And there’s the sigh.
I needed Declan to answer my damn text already. And if he didn’t, I’d have to face reality and move on. If I could find a guy that didn’t skeeve me out.
“Merry Christmas, bro! You guys are the last ones still in be-”
I flickered my eyes open to find Pierce staring at me. In bed. With Luke wrapped around me like a fanny pack.
“Uh. I’m gonna…I’ll be downstairs.”
He backed out with his head down, eyes covered, and shut the door behind him.
Well, shit.