Seeing Kyle crying in the hall of the school after graduation was a little unnerving. He said, "I never even liked school," but that wasn't quite accurate. Kyle loved school; he just didn't like school work. He loved seeing his friends and acquaintances every day; he loved going out to lunch with all of us; and, most of all, he loved the fact that he was SGA president and that people paid attention to him. "Why aren't you running for president," he asked me a few weeks before the election of his successor. "That's not my style, Babe. You know that," I said. "I know, but I wish you'd do it, Tim. It's been wonderful," he said. "I know it has been for you, Babe, but I'm just not made that way. I'm content to be president of the Science Club," I said. "Well, that's an important job, and at least you'll be on ICC. That's what really runs the school. The Inter-Club Council. Not the SGA," he said. We went to the new house in Destin after graduation, and there was a large crowd there. It was mostly adults, except for our immediate family of brothers. I saw people handing Kyle envelopes all night long, and there was no telling what they were giving him. I had long since figured out that Kyle came from a background that was very different from the rest of us, but, since it didn't matter one bit to him, it didn't matter to me, either. I figured it was mostly money he was getting, and I also figured every dime of it would be spent on his brothers, in one way or another. The party lasted about three hours, and we were both very tired when it was finally over. His parents wanted to talk to us, though. Ed and Beth Foley were staying there, but they went to bed right after the party. "Son, your mother and I are both so proud of you and Tim that we're about to burst," Gene said. "Thanks, Daddy. I'm proud of y'all, too," he said. "I watched you tonight getting those envelopes. I figured it was anywhere from five dollars to five hundred dollars in each one, and you looked equally happy to get every one of them. That's the way it needed to be, son. I think your mama and I raised you right in that regard," he said. Kyle didn't know what to say. I had seen that, too. The only criteria you had to meet to be invited that night was that you knew Kyle or the Goodsons in some way, so there was a real cross section of people. "This has been a long day," Kyle said. "Yeah, I know. Y'all go on to bed. Are y'all going to Kevin and Rick's house first thing tomorrow morning?" Gene asked. "Yes, sir. We'll get over there sometime," Kyle said. "I don't exactly know when, though. It depends on how late we sleep." "Okay. Well, good night, boys," Gene said. Kyle and I got up to go to bed, and they stood up, too. They kissed us goodnight on our cheeks, and Kyle and I went off to our room. It had been a hectic week, and I was glad I was exempt from finals and didn't have to get up the next morning. * * * We woke up around ten o'clock, and we made love. We had been way too tired to do that the night before, and we both liked to start the day that way, anyhow. We went over to Kevin and Rick's house, and they were all still in the den. People had on clothes that morning, though, because Craig and Cherie were there. Craig wouldn't have cared if we all showed up naked, but the newer guys didn't know Cherie very well. They were self-conscious. "So, what's going on today?" Kyle asked. That was really the start of a very long weekend. Memorial Day was Monday, and the New Orleans folks would be leaving on Monday to get home. It was only Thursday morning, though, and we had time to kick back and play. Kyle's graduation party for our friends was going to be that night, and the ladies had plans to shop, go out to eat, and then go to a play that night. That meant it would only be guys at the party, so we could do all the nude swimming we wanted to do. Rick and Kevin had insisted on taking care of all of the arrangements for the party. Kyle didn't even know what they were serving, and it was killing him. "Are we having meat?" he asked that morning. "Well, of course we are," Rick said. "What kind?" "Wait and see. In fact, I want you out of here today, Kyle. Go play with Philip. You can come back at four, when everybody else gets here," Rick said. "You're kicking me out of the house?" Kyle asked. They were teasing, of course, but Rick meant it. "Kyle, I've been seeing stuff about Gulf World on TV. Would you take me there?" Craig asked. "Sure," Kyle said. "We can go to the water park, too, if you want to." "Is it full of ankle-biters?" Craig asked. "You can probably find somebody to bite anything you want bit, Bubba," Kyle said. We all laughed. "I think he got you last, Bubba," Kevin said. "No shit," Craig said. That made us laugh, too. Justin, Brian, and I were going to be helping Kevin and Rick get ready for the party. Denny and Ron were both supposed to be helping friends study for a big exam on Friday. They were both exempt, but their friends weren't. Jeff, Tyler, and Chuck were working. The older guys were playing golf with my Dad, and the ladies were getting ready to go out for the day and evening. That just left Craig and Kyle with no assignments but to stay away from the house. Cherie came into the room, all ready to go out. Sonya was picking her up, and they were going to Rita's house in Destin. From there, who knew. "So, how's the graduate this morning?" Cherie asked, giving Kyle a peck on the cheek. "I'm fine, thanks. How are you?" he said. All of a sudden she grimaced. "What's the matter?" Kyle said, all worried. "He just kicked the shit out of my bladder," Cherie said. "For real?" Kyle demanded. "Yeah. Put your hand right here, and you can feel it," she said, indicating a place on her stomach. "Oh, my God! It's alive!" Kyle said. We all chuckled. "This is unbelievable. This is the first time I ever did this. Feel it, Tim," Kyle said, all excited. I felt her stomach, and I felt the baby move. Everybody else in the room had to do the same thing. It was pretty amazing. "What did you say his name was?" Kyle asked. "I told you it's a secret," she said. "No. I mean, just now you said, 'so-and-so's kicking the shit out of my bladder.' I just didn't catch the name," Kyle said. "Okay. You win. It's . . . [long pause] none of your business," she said. "Damn, Aunt Cherie," Kyle said. "If you call me that again, I'm going to be kicking your bladder," Cherie said. "He likes to be called Uncle Craig," Kyle said. "Don't you, unky?" "I'll hold him, you kick him," Craig said. "Only aim a little lower than the bladder." We all laughed. Sonya showed up just then. She came right in. We hadn't been able to break my dad of always ringing the doorbell, but Sonya caught on right away that she didn't have to ring or knock at that house. She kissed Kyle and me on the cheek to tell us hello. She was all dressed up, and she was really pretty. I didn't have a real good mental picture of what my mom looked like, but I didn't remember her being as pretty as Sonya was. "Coffee, Sonya?" Kevin asked. "Thanks, but we need to get going. Rita and I have planned a very busy day," she said. Craig kissed Cherie, and the two ladies left. "All right, Kyle. It's time for you and your playmate to get going, too," Rick said. "Okay. I need to get my suit, though. Have you got yours?" he asked Craig. "I didn't bring one. I didn't think I'd need one here," Craig said. "That's okay. I've got plenty," Kyle said. Kyle never wore anything but Speedo briefs. He loved his tattoo of the monkey, and he showed it off every chance he got. He had a very nice bulge, too, and he liked to show that off, as well. He had a couple of pairs of trunks, but I was sure they weren't here. He had clothes here, at his parents' house, at the condo, and at my house, and I was positive the trunks were at his parents' house. He went upstairs and came down in a few minutes with a beach bag. "Do you want to see if Philip and Ryan want to go with us?" Kyle asked. "Sure," Craig said. Kyle called Philip, and, yes, they wanted to go. He and Ryan were planning to spend the weekend with some friends at a condo, and then they were going to Pensacola with us on Monday. They were going to go to the condo after the party that night. "Have fun, guys," Kevin said. "Thanks. We will," Kyle said, and he and Craig went off for a day together. "Do you think Craig can handle those three?" Rick asked. "If mischief is on the agenda, Babe, the question is whether those three can handle Craig," Kevin said. We all laughed, and then we got busy working on the party.
If there had been any way we could have, Cherie and I would have moved to Emerald Beach. I had always loved my brother, of course, and Cherie loved him, too. Now, she and I loved Rick as much as we loved Kevin, and we were both crazy about those kids. The problem was, both sets of our parents were in New Orleans, and there was no way in hell they'd ever move. Not only that, but we had a slew of friends in New Orleans, too, friends that went back for decades. We were only in our late twenties, but it was all the people we had known for a lifetime. And I'm not just talking about our contemporaries, either. Just as the Goodsons had very deep roots in Emerald Beach, the Foleys and Cherie's family had very deep roots in New Orleans. The drive to Emerald Beach was only about five-and-a-half or six hours, though, and we got over there as often as we possibly could. The baby might slow us down a little at first, but maybe not. I'd heard people say it's easier to travel with a baby than it is with a toddler. At least a baby couldn't ask, 'are we there yet?' and they didn't have to stop for potty breaks. I was so incredibly excited about becoming a father that I could hardly stand it. Cherie had taken extremely good care of herself during her pregnancy--our pregnancy--that I knew we had nothing to worry about. The fact of the matter was, though, the baby could come out deformed and crippled, and we'd still love it like it was the only baby on earth. Kevin and I looked a great deal alike, and people used to think we were twins, sometimes, when we were little. Naturally, we weren't identical, and we didn't look quite so much alike as adults, but the odds were very good that the baby would resemble me, if he resembled him. But who he looked like really didn't matter. I was getting me a little boy, and that was all I cared about. "I didn't eat any breakfast. I'm starving," Kyle said. "That sounds good. I didn't have anything, either," I said. He whipped out his cell phone and pressed a button. "Meet us at the Starfish," Kyle said. I figured he had called Philip. That was all he said. No "hello," no "goodbye." "You and Philip are pretty close, aren't you?" I asked. He was driving. "Oh, yeah. We've basically been like brothers for years. I feel about him like I do about Justin," he said. "It's good to have close friends, isn't it?" "What would you do without 'em?" he replied. The Starfish was a smallish motel, probably vintage 1970, and not much had been done to modernize it in the meantime. There was a door into the motel lobby and a separate door close to that into the restaurant. "Kyle, what are you doing here? I thought you would be off celebrating," a sixty-ish lady said when we went in. "I'm celebrating here. This is where I celebrate," he said. "Go on, boy. Don't try to fool me. I know you too well. But we're always glad to have you," she said. "They're giving a party for me tonight, and Kevin and Rick made me leave the house so I wouldn't try to boss it," he said. "Mom Sullivan, this is my uncle, Craig Foley. Kevin's brother." "How do you do, Craig. I'm Susan Sullivan, and Kyle and his crowd do us the honor of having lunch here every day. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your lunch," she said. "Who else is coming?" "Just Philip and Ryan," Kyle said. "In fact, here they are, right now." "It's fried chicken day," Susan said, with a little smile. "You think I don't know that?" Kyle asked. "I just hope I can choke it down." "Get in there and eat, before I have to wear you out, you rascal," she said. "Hi, Mom," Philip and Ryan said in unison. I shook hands with Philip and Ryan. "Hi, boys. Did you have fun last night?" "Yes, ma'am," they said in unison again. "Good. Y'all know how we do things here. Make sure Craig gets enough to eat," she said. "Mom, he's going to put you and Pop out of business. You hide and watch," Kyle said. "If you boys haven't done that in all this time, I know he's not going to," she said. The boys all laughed. I could tell that lady genuinely loved those kids, and they genuinely loved her. I knew there were places like that in New Orleans, neighborhood places where they knew you by name. The closest thing to it that I was associated with was Chubby's Pool Hall in my parents' neighborhood. Kevin and I had both misspent much of our youth in there, and Chubby knew us and cared about us. This was the same sort of thing, without the pool tables. "How's it hanging, Philip?" I asked by way of greeting. "Very limp, as a matter of fact," Philip said. I laughed. "Do tell," Kyle said. "Shut up, Kyle," Ryan said. "That good, huh?" Kyle replied. "Let's just say we celebrated graduation," Philip said. Those three guys were as funny as any three guys I had ever been around. All three were smart as hell, but they all had this "I'm dumber than you, and I can prove it" mentality. Kevin had told me about that. Those boys were three Emerald Beach natives, and I knew their families had been there a long time. They exhibited Emerald Beach local culture in its purest form, and they were hilarious. "You crabbing this summer?" Philip asked Kyle, once we were seated. "Hell, yeah. They running? I'm crabbing," Kyle said. "I'm buying some off you this summer," Ryan said. "No, you're not. You'll be getting some off me this summer, but you ain't buying 'em," Kyle said. "We'll see, but I want me some crabs this summer, you hear me?" "Philip told me you already had the crabs," Kyle said. "I know. I do. That's cause I've been sleeping at a Goodson hotel," Ryan said. "We wash those sheets every month, Ryan. You know that," Kyle said. "Maybe it was from your house, then," Ryan said. "That's more like it. We're sanitary at the hotels. Gotta be." "Y'all still renting by the hour?" Ryan said. "Just to you. They know you can't get a date for the whole night," Kyle said. "Oh, he burned you bad, Baby," Philip said. "Thank you, Philip. I hadn't noticed that my right side was in flames," Ryan said. We all laughed. "Do you guys play 'got you last?' I asked. "Just with them. Ryan and I say 'burned you bad,'" Philip said. "It's the same thing, though, right?" I asked. "Yeah. I think Kevin taught them 'got you last,' but we've been doing it all our lives," Philip said. "I know," Kyle said. "I'm serious about those crabs, though, Kyle," Ryan said. "You'll get 'em, but you ain't buying 'em," Kyle said. "I ain't selling food to one of my best friends, Ryan." "Thank you, Kyle. How many have you been catching?" "A couple of hampers a week. Probably twenty dozen," Kyle said. "Big ones?" Ryan asked. "All sizes. I throw the little ones back, though, and only keep the big ones. Trixie goes crazy over those crabs. I suspect Krewe will, too," Kyle said. "We ain't had her out there yet with them 'cause she's still too young." "Those are some damn good dogs. My daddy has been talking about getting Brian to train our dogs," Ryan said. "He and Mr. Mack charge big for that," Kyle said. "I know, but I think he's fixing to call Mr. Mack. He's going to want Brian to train them for obedience. I know Mr. Mack trains them to hunt. We've got us three Springers. Three from the same litter, and they're about a year old," Ryan said. "Inside or outside dogs?" Kyle asked. "Oh, outside. Definitely. We've got that little Yorkie for an inside dog, and my mama would never let the Springers get with her. I think my mom loves that Yorkie better than she loves me. She's real protective of her," Ryan said. "I could see how anybody would love a dog more than they love you," Kyle said. "Burn, Baby," Philip said. "Yeah, I know," Ryan said. Those boys had an ease about them that was remarkable. There was absolutely nothing "gay" about them, except that they were gay. Three men came into the restaurant in tank tops, and all three were muscled and very good looking. I checked them out well, and the three gay guys at the table didn't do more than glance at them. "Did you guys see those boys who just came in?" I asked. "Yeah," they said, more or less in unison. "You didn't check them out," I said. "I looked to see if I knew them, and I didn't," Kyle said. "What else was I supposed to do?" "Craig, just because we're gay doesn't mean we want to jump the bones of every guy who walks into a place. I looked at them. They're cute, but I don't know 'em, either. What are you thinking, man?" Philip asked. "I'm thinking I'm learning that what being gay is all about is very different from what I thought it was," I said. "I'm ready for some of that banana pudding," Kyle said. "Craig, that stuff is awesome." * * * I was stuffed from lunch. The fried chicken was cooked perfectly, but they also had some beef stew that could hold its own in a beef stew cook-off. I ate way more of it than I should have, but I couldn't resist. The mashed potatoes were freshly made, and the vegetables all looked fresh, too. The banana pudding was some of the best of its kind that I had ever tasted. I noticed Kyle asked for half-and-half tea, and I wasn't really sure what that meant. Philip and Ryan got water with lemon, and I got the sweet tea. In New Orleans they always serve plain tea in restaurants, and I always put sugar in mine. I figured I'd just save myself a little work. After one taste, though, I almost gagged, it was so sweet. "What's the matter?" Kyle asked. "This is the sweetest tea I've ever tasted. It's like syrup," I said. "I know. They make it too sweet for me, too. That's why I get half-and-half," he said. "What's half-and-half?" I asked. "Half sweet and half unsweet. That's how I like it. Bev, bring him some half-and-half, please," he said to the waitress. She just smiled, but she had a new glass of tea at the table in a few seconds. It was much better. We had taken seats in a section of the restaurant that had ashtrays on the tables, and I lit up after I had finished eating. Philip and Ryan did, too. "If everybody's smoking, I am, too," Kyle said. "Gimme one, Philip." Kyle lit a cigarette. "I owe you a pack." "No, you don't," Philip said. "I bum 'em all the time, though," Kyle said. "Kyle, that's exactly the second cigarette you've bummed off me in the last month," Philip said. "Are you smoking at home?" Kyle asked. "Yeah. I have been, ever since Homecoming," he said. "My brothers both do, and my parents don't mind. Well, my mom ain't crazy about it, but she doesn't say anything." "How old are your brothers?" I asked. I had no idea he had siblings. "Twenty-two and twenty," he said. "I think I was supposed to be the girl, but it didn't work out." I chuckled. I had known many families with three children of the same sex, and I had often thought that was the case with them, too. "Well, almost," Kyle said. We all laughed. "Being gay ain't the same thing as being a girl, dumbass," Philip said. "Oh, really, Philip? I am so glad you told me that. Why, all this time I thought . . . " "Shut up, Kyle," Philip said, laughing. The rest of us laughed, too. After lunch we went to Gulf World. All four of us rode there in Kyle's car. He stopped at a convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes for Philip and one for himself. "I haven't been to this place since we went in the sixth grade," Philip said. "Do y'all remember that?" "Yeah, I remember that. I haven't been there since then, either," Kyle said. "I think every six years is about right." "You see stuff about them on TV all the time," Philip said. "They're always catching whales and dolphins and shit." "Yeah. It's a national marine mammals rehabilitation facility. I mean, all that most local people know about is the shows and stuff, but there's a hell of a lot more to this place than just the shows," Ryan said. "My dad knows the people who run it. He writes their insurance, in fact." "I think they have a day camp during the summer for little kids," Kyle said. "Craig, y'all need to send the baby here when he's old enough for this. I knew some kids who went, and they had a great time. They started it the year I was too old to go to it, too. Wouldn't you know?" "They have all kinds of stuff for kids. A kid can spend the night here. They have an awesome laser show, and they go to that first. Then they spend the night with the animals," Ryan said. "They help feed 'em, make their food, watch 'em at night. They have a great time with that, too." "What kinds of animals do they have?" I asked. "Okay. The main shows are dolphins in the big pool and sea lions. They put it on big, too. Let me tell you," Ryan said. "Then they have the bird show, which is pretty incredible. Then they have the stingrays and turtles and sharks and shit like that. They let you pet those things, and they are amazing." "We see those all the time when we're surfing," Kyle said. "You'll be on your board, looking down, and right under you are gigantic stingrays and sharks. That makes you want to stay on your board, that's for sure." "You can see those things from your surfboard?" I asked. I was in awe. "Hell, yeah," Philip said. "You wouldn't believe the sea life you see when you're on a board waiting for a wave." "Aren't you scared?" I asked. "Not really. They don't come up all that often," Kyle said. "Every now and then a shark will bump into your board, but they're not out to eat you up. That's just their world. They just do what comes natural to them." "Do you ever see snakes in the water?" I asked. "Eels sometimes, but I haven't seen too many snakes," Kyle said. "We did one time, remember, Ryan? There was, like, a colony of water snakes. That was sort of scary," Philip said. "That gives me the creeps," Kyle said. "I know," Philip said. We paid our admission to the park, which wasn't very expensive, and we went to see the attractions. Cherie and I had been coming to Emerald Beach on a regular basis for several years, and I was sorry we hadn't discovered that place long before. The shows were funny, spectacular, and amazing. The grounds of the place were beautiful, and the whole thing was perfectly landscaped. It wasn't on the scale of Sea World in San Diego, which Cherie and I had visited once, but it was very much like that in concept. "That place was fabulous," I said. We were in a diner-coffee shop kind of place, getting a mid-afternoon snack. "Why haven't you taken us there before?" "To tell you the truth, I never think about coming here. I pass it all the time, but we never come. I don't think Tim and Justin and Brian have ever even been here, and I know Denny and Ron haven't been. We need to do some local attractions with those boys," Kyle said. "Have you ever been to ZooWorld?" Philip asked. "I've heard of it, but I've never been there," Kyle said. "Is that related to Gulf World?" I asked. "No, sir, it's a whole different thing," Philip said. I noted the "sir," but I didn't say anything about that. I knew they said "sir" to Kevin and Rick all the time because that was the way they had been raised, and, frankly, it was kind of nice. "It's a zoo and a botanical garden, all in one. Gulf World is sort of like a botanical garden, too, but ZooWorld is different. Gulf World saves mammals from the sea, but ZooWorld tends to specialize in breeding endangered species. They have something like fifteen endangered species they've been breeding. They have this special nursery where you can see the endangered babies they've bred," Philip said. "What kind of animals do they have?" I asked. "Lions, tigers, monkeys, alligators, camels, giraffes, snakes, exotic birds, orangutans, jaguars. You name it," Philip said. "Do y'all want to go see it?" I asked. "Not today. I had enough animals for one day. Plus, I want to go with Tim and the others. Next time, okay?" Kyle said. "Brian's going to shit his pants when he sees it. That boy's going to be a veterinarian, mark my words," Philip said. "He says not, Philip. He says he wants to be a human doctor," Kyle said. "He can't become a veterinarian at Tulane," I said. "He'd have to go to some place like LSU in Baton Rouge, to do that." "And see, he ain't doing that. That would mean Justin would have to move to Baton Rouge, too, and that's never going to happen," Kyle said. "Not with us in New Orleans. Besides, being a doctor for humans ain't all that bad, you know? At least they can talk to you and tell you what hurts." "Don't tell my mother that," I said. They laughed. "Yeah, I guess a lot of hers can't talk yet," Kyle said. "Is she going to be the baby's doctor?" "No. She won't do it," I said. "We've already talked about it." "Well, that sucks," Kyle said. "Although I don't think I'd want my grandma looking at my wee-wee, either." "Give her a magnifying glass, Kyle," Philip said. "Fuck you, Andrews. I'll measure up against you any day, boy," Kyle said. "I know. We've already done it, remember? More than once. I'm teasing you, asshole." "I know," Kyle said. "And I burned you bad on that one, too, son." We all laughed. The next stop was the water park, Ship Wreck Island. It looked huge from the entrance, and it was huge, once we were inside. It was a Thursday before school was out for the summer in most places, but there were quite a few people there. We went into the shower house/changing facility to get into our swim suits. I had seen those boys naked a bunch of times, so it was no big deal for them or me. We only rented one locker because that was really all we needed. I took off my clothes and put them in the locker. I was naked as a jaybird, and the boys were pulling up their suits. "Kyle, where's my suit?" I asked. "Oh, shit, Craig. I forgot to get you one, man. I'm so sorry," he said. "Cut the shit, Kyle. Give me the fucking suit," I said. "Craig, I don't have it." "Fine. Give me the key, and I'll go for a ride or something," I said. "Shit! Fuck! I locked the damn locker key in the locker. I put it in my pocket after I opened the locker, out of force of habit, and it's in my shorts," Philip said. "Yeah, and my car keys are locked in there with it," Kyle said. I knew this was some kind of joke, but they were so serious. How could it be a joke? "You guys are very good actors. Give me the fucking suit," I said. I was pissed, and I knew it showed in my voice. And, of course, I was standing there stark naked. "Get it out of the locker," Ryan said. "It ain't locked." I tried the handle, and it opened. Shit, I thought. They have gotten me last. Goddamn it! "Is there anything you'd like to say?" Kyle asked. He said that so innocently that I just had to laugh. "Yeah, you got me last," I said. "We thought so," Ryan said. We all laughed at that. But the last laugh was on me, too. The swim suit Kyle had brought for me was a white Speedo brief. He was wearing a bright red one, and I thought I had seen postage stamps that were larger than his. Mine, at least, was bigger, but the color left nothing to the imagination. "That right there looks good," Kyle said. He reached out his hand toward my crotch. "Don't you touch me, Kyle," I said. "What's the matter? Are you're afraid you'll bone up?" Kyle asked. I was speechless. That was exactly what I was afraid of, and I knew he knew it. "You're not that much different than us, are you?" "No, I'm not. I've never not admitted that, Kyle. You know that," I said. "I know. I just wish more straight boys could admit that, Craig. I think the world would be a better place, if they did," he said. "You got that right, Bubba." That park was incredible. They had several levels of rides. The first ones we went to were the Thrill Rides: Tree Top Drop, Raging Rapids, and Pirate's Plunge. They were extremely high, and the rush going down took my breath away. "These are the ones I like," Kyle said. We did the trio a second time. The lines were very small, which I attributed to the day of the week and the time of year. The second go wasn't quite as exciting, although Kyle, Philip, and Ryan did them head first instead of feet first. That probably added to the excitement. I did the third one that way, and it was much scarier and much more of a rush than feet-first had been. We did White Knuckle River, the Zoom Flume, and the Great Shipwreck, and those were almost as good as the Thrill Rides. They were supposed to be "family rides," but they were pretty intense. We didn't do any of the other family rides or the kid things, though. "What time is it?" Kyle asked. "It's 3:30. What the hell do you care?" Philip said. "What do I care? My party starts at four, that's what I care. I've got to be home in thirty minutes. Let's go." "Shit," Philip said. We hustled our asses back to the changing room, and we got back into our clothes. "What's this all about?" Philip asked. He was rubbing Kyle's cheek. "Get off of me, Philip," Kyle said adamantly. "You didn't shave this morning, did you?" "No. Shit! I forgot. That's just too damn bad, though. I gotta be there when they start coming," he said. "I know. You ain't going to have time to shave. It don't look that bad. Really, Kyle," Philip said. "Look bad or not, that's the way it's going to be," Kyle said. "I think it looks good, Kyle. Very manly," Ryan said. I agreed with Ryan. Kyle's beard was pitch black, and it was thick and heavy. It didn't matter how closely he shaved, you could always see it. He had quite a bit of hair on his chest, too. We took very quick showers at the water park, and we were on our way. "Drop us off so we can get my car," Philip said. Kyle swung by the Starfish to drop them off. "Kyle, this has been a great day," I said. "I know. Those guys are fun, aren't they?" "All of you are fun," I said. "Thanks, man." |