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It was a warm, balmy summer in Beverly Hills, and Erik had been waiting all afternoon for his aunt and uncle to arrive, as eager and happy as a boy should be on his birthday. He had been on the porch for at least forty minutes, sitting on the steps, texting his cousin.
‘Where are you?’
Five minutes and we’re there. I can’t wait to hug you.
He had read and reread that message dozens of times with a goofy grin plastered across his face. Lyle made his stomach tingle. God, I love that.
He insistently bit his lower lip, grabbing it with his incisors and torturing it forcefully.
I have something new in mind to do today. It’s your birthday, you’re thirteen, it’s a special day
Whenever their aunt and uncle came to visit, the Menendez cousins always had something new to try. Lyle, in particular, was inventive. He always managed to surprise Erik. Erik, on the other hand, simply followed his cousin and went along with whatever he wanted to do. Once, a few years ago, he convinced him to throw rocks at their neighbor Linda’s windows. It ended with three broken windows and a week of detention for both of them.
‘I hope it’s nothing to do with throwing stones. My dad threw so many at me last time… I still remember the slippers on my head :,(‘
Trust me, you’ll like it.
*
Finally, after several minutes, Erik saw his uncle’s SUV pull into the gravel driveway. The car squealed as it parked. Erik’s heart began to pound. He was elated. He jumped up and tried to straighten himself out. Will I be nice? He thought. The first to come out were his uncle and aunt, who, as soon as they saw him, smiled and wished him a happy birthday.
‘Happy birthday, little man.’ His aunt said, kissing his forehead lovingly. His uncle did the same, but ruffled his hair.
But where are you?
The last one out was Lyle. His hair fell slightly over his forehead and he was wearing jeans and a pastel pink shirt. It was his style and Erik loved it.
As soon as he closed the car door, a sincere and melancholic smile appeared on both boys’ faces. They hadn’t seen each other for at least two weeks. Erik ran to meet Lyle and vice versa. They hugged each other tightly.
‘I’ve missed you so much, E.’ Lyle breathed in his cousin’s ear. Erik’s skin crawled. Calm down, you beast! He scolded himself. Even though that seemed like pure incitement. Damn him.
‘You too, Ly.’ He smiled back, embarrassed. Erik asked him what he had in mind. Lyle said it was a surprise, a sort of ‘birthday present’ if you could call it that.
‘I want to go to the lake, the one at the bottom of the valley.’
Erik wrinkled his nose in uncertainty. There were some species of animals there that he really didn’t like.
‘To the lake?’ he tried not to look disappointed, even though his expression spoke volumes. Lyle, on the other hand, was super excited about the idea. What he finds so exciting about it, I don’t know. I’m the only one who finds it exciting. His eyes widened as the peculiar thought crossed his mind. Jesus, Erik. What the fuck is wrong with you? Hold on.
He snorted, shaking his head. Lyle asked if everything was okay. Erik nodded.
‘Okay, let it be.’
A wonderful smile appeared on Lyle’s face.
‘You know, you’ll riding my brother’s bike. It’s too high for me. Last time, my… balls got squashed.’ He said the word with a bit of shyness and discomfort. Lyle frowned at him.
‘And why should I go there, forgive me?’
‘Because you’re taller and have better feet on the ground.’ Erik shot back.
‘Look, a couple of inches don’t do anything, eh?’ Lyle frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his back against his parents’ car.
‘Oh, don’t make a fuss. They really do.’
Without further ado, the two cousins headed toward the garage where Erik had his bikes. He had a bit of trouble opening the shutter, it was heavy and a bit rusty. It made a metallic and annoying noise. As soon as he opened it, he began to feel the wall for the switch. A dim yellow light would soon illuminate the small shed where, in addition to the bikes, Erik’s father kept all his work tools, Christmas decorations, and some other rather old things.
‘Oh no!’
As soon as the light came on, Erik noticed that his brother’s bike was missing.
‘I think Nicholas took the bike with him when he went to live in New York.’ Nicholas was Erik’s older brother. He was twenty years old and hadn’t lived with them for a while.
‘How long has it been since you’ve been in here to now notice your brother’s bike is gone?’ Lyle said, puzzled, chuckling. His cousin looked at him with a victimized expression.
‘I’m not a garage guy, Lyle.’
Lyle rolled his eyes and snorted. Erik was really annoying sometimes. He said it was just a joke.
‘Well, what do we do now?’ Lyle scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. Erik rolled his eyes. How handsome and dumb!
‘Um… hello? My bike has footrests on the back. Solution found. You pedal and I’ll follow.’ He said smiling with satisfaction, assuming a rather haughty and decidedly annoying look.
Lyle clicked his tongue, his eyes narrowing.
‘And why should I do that?’
‘Because you said you had a surprise for me at the lake, so you’re dragging me along. End of story.’ He finished in annoyance, stomping to his dusty bike. He cleaned it as best he could with a damp cloth he found nearby and took it out of the shed.
‘Wait, I have to get my backpack from inside the car.’
Lyle was clumsy in his movements and terribly funny. Erik let out a chuckle when he saw his cousin with his body completely inside the car, leaving his legs dangling.
‘Here you go. This is for you.’
Erik frowned.
‘I’m not carrying your backpack!’
‘No? And how do you expect me to carry you with my backpack on my shoulders? I pedal, you carry the backpack… end of story!’ he underlined that sentence precisely. Erik absolutely couldn’t argue. Lyle had him with his back to the wall. Oh… how I wish… Christ Erik, enough!
*
Lyle was out of breath. He didn’t think the pond was that far from Erik’s house. The valley was really far away. He had been pedaling for a good ten minutes. Erik, on the other hand, was in his own world. He was clinging to Lyle like he was a leech. Partly out of fear of falling, partly because he was loving it so much. Every time Lyle hit a ditch, Erik would squeeze him tighter. Lyle seemed to be very comfortable with the potholes, since he hit three or four every ten meters.
‘We’re almost there, E. Just a little more patience.’ Lyle choked. Erik, for his part, would have continued like this for hours and hours. At that moment, getting to the lake was the last thing on his mind.
*
Lyle left his bike a short distance from the pond. The sun had long since set, but the sky was still a dark blue. Erik set his backpack down and Lyle went to open it. He rummaged around until he found two glass jars with perforated lids. Erik raised an eyebrow.
‘Here’s the surprise!’ Lyle said, smiling happily and enthusiastically.
‘Mason jars?’ he tried not to sound rude but, objectively, what the hell was he supposed to do with two glass jars?
‘Oh come on Erik, the fireflies. I want to catch fireflies with you.’
Erik’s eyes widened. It was a damn romantic thing, in his head. There was just one problem. He had never caught fireflies.
‘What’s the matter? Don’t you want to?’ Lyle continued, seeing no reaction from his cousin.
‘No, I think it’s beautiful. But I’ve never caught fireflies.’ He said with a little shame. Lyle smiled and said he had never done it either. It would be a first for both of them.
Erik bit his lip unconsciously. First time for both of them… oh god, Erik. Stop it! Enough! Gross!
*
Erik was crouched on his knees with the open jar in one hand, and the cap in the other. He was next to a firefly.
‘Slowly…slowly…very slowly….BAM! GOT IT!’ he closed the jar but, looking at it, for the umpteenth time, it was empty.
‘Come on, no! This is like the third time I’ve caught air. Look at your jar. You caught them all.’
Erik snorted, pointing to Lyle’s jar. Lyle, on the other hand, smiled proudly at his work, mocking his cousin. Erik frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. He sat down on the ground, his back resting on a large tree trunk. Lyle, seeing that scene, smiled. He opened the jar and released the fireflies. He kept Erik company. He sat down next to him with his knees up and his long arms resting on them.
A sudden and awkward silence fell between the two, only the sound of the wind and the singing of the cicadas could be heard. Every now and then, a deeper breath.
‘Erik..’ Lyle began suddenly. His heart was pounding. He could feel it in his throat. He swallowed hard.
‘Mh?’
Lyle took a deep breath.
‘I didn’t bring you here for the fireflies.’ He started out a little fearfully. Erik started to get nervous when he saw Lyle getting closer and closer. Unexpectedly he put a hand on his cousin’s thigh. Erik jumped.
‘L-Lyle..’
‘Shh..’
The hand came dangerously close to that spot and Erik felt himself flush. He shifted awkwardly.
‘What is it? I thought…I thought you wanted.’ Lyle remained in the same position as before. Damn close to his cousin’s face, with his hand on his crotch.
You are such a dickhead. You have been having erotic thoughts about your cousin for at least three years and now you reject him. You dickhead!
‘No, absolutely not. It’s not that… it’s that… I… I’ve never kissed anyone.’ He justified himself. Lyle snorted through his nose, grinning. He played with his tongue. Erik went crazy every time he did that.
‘It’s not a problem, just follow me.’ And before he could say anything else, he was violently on his lips, towering over him. He began to kiss him insistently, parting his lips so as to give free rein to his tongue. He went crazy when he tasted Erik’s.
Erik gasped, trying to catch his breath. Lyle was giving him no respite. He was making room in his mouth as if it had always belonged to him, and his hand, his damned hand, began to rummage around in his jeans. He gasped.
But is it really going to happen? Is it going to happen?
He held back the groan. He pulled away reluctantly. He needed to breathe. He needed air.
They looked at each other intently, smiling happily. Their foreheads were beaded with sweat. They were both out of breath.
‘Do you want to do this?’ Lyle said, biting his lip, eager. Erik lunged at him again.
And damn if I want it!