Page 13 of Dickathlon

Luke hopped off. “Still, it’s something.” He had a huge grin on his face.

“Is it really that thrilling for you?”

“So, would you say he’d be your top choice from the last few months?”

I considered it for a minute, before answering, “Yes.”

“He proved my theory right. I was waiting for someone to recognize you, and when one finally did, you liked him.”

“How- Were you listening?”

“Uh…yeah.”

I couldn’t believe it. “You fuckin’ told him what to say to me, didn’t you?”

“Oh, alright. Yes, I did. But only to prove my theory. The reason you're hung up on Declan is that he was into you before he even met you. That means something for you. You can’t just meet some stranger in public and hit it off. There’s a part of you that likes being recognized.”

Ugh. “Does that make me a douche? That sounds like it means I’m a douche.”

“You’re not a douche. You’re just…”

“Picky?”

“Something like that. There’s a lot of aspects to sexuality and you’re still exploring them. It’s not that you’re picky. I think you have certain requirements and Declan checked off a lot of your boxes, and it’s going to take some time to find someone else that does that. Declan was also the first guy that gave you those feelings, so…”

“So, it could take a while. Got it. Can we go?” This experiment was over for now. “Let’s go find Quinn, and we can head home.”

3

Tyler

MONTERREY

We made it to my parents in good time. For once, the traffic was navigable. I took the 1 south so Luke had a little scenery on the way down. My parents had moved to Monterrey some time after my oldest brother, Owen, was born but before Kyle, and had been there since. Though my Dad made good money as a principal, we weren’t rich, despite the house’s size and appearance. It was an old Victorian and a lot cheaper when they found it years ago, mainly because it had needed a lot of work. As the family grew, so did the need for renovations. All of us brothers helped with a fairly large update two years ago.

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?”