Daydreamers - 6. Chapter 6

I have a dirty little secret. I'm gay. I know I can't tell anyone, not anyone in this shithole town at least. This is all that I could think of during dinner since the guy that Ryan brought home to stay with us during the summer is super hot. Of course he's too old for me. I tend to fall for guys who, even if they were gay, would never have anything to do with me. No one wants to get with jail bait.

I sat across from Julian at the table. Every now and then, in between bites of my salmon, I would look up at him. He had really gorgeous green eyes and lips that made me want to make out with him for hours. But as I looked, he would look back and I would immediately look down and my cheeks would turn red.

After dinner, I ran up to my room and grabbed my shoes and shuffled down the stairs. I told my mom that I was going to visit a friend. She asked me to be home by ten, and I told her okay knowing that I would be home sooner than that.

I walked two blocks down the road to the Albert Orchard to talk to my friend Brian. He's the one and only person that knows that I'm gay. The reason for that is because he's gay himself. He came out to me about six months ago and in return, I came out to him the same night. We've sort of been inseparable ever since.

"Okay, remember I told you that my brother was bringing his roommate to stay with us for the summer?" I asked him as soon as we were in his bedroom.

"Um...yeah, I think," Brian answered.

"Well, I don't know what to do, because he's really hot and I'm totally into him."

"Well, is he gay?"

"I doubt it. He's too perfect." I said, pouting and putting my face in my palms.

"Well, I don't exactly know what to say to you. These things happen. That's part of being queer."

"Ugh, I hate when you say that. You make us sound like circus freaks or something," I said.

"Sorry, that's just the word I use. Look, I've gotta eat some dinner. I'm starving. Are you staying?"

"Nah, I ate earlier. Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Wanna go swimming tomorrow?" asked Brian.

"At the pool or the lake?"

"Um, I haven't been to the lake in a while. Why don't we go there?"

"Cool. Can I bring my brothers?"

He smiled. "Definitely"

"What's that smile for?" I asked.

"Your brothers are hot," he said with a smile. His dimples lit up his face.

"Ew!" I picked up a pillow from his bed and threw it at his face. He caught it, giggling.

"What? They are. If you weren't their brother, you'd think so too."

I got up from the bed, not wanting to even get in the same train of thought as Brian. We said "See ya later" and I was gone. I walked back to my house and it was finally dark. Crickets were chirping and streetlights were buzzing. It was a beautiful summer night.

I walked into my house and I heard whispering in the kitchen. I didn't know who is was, so I crept slowly to the doorway, careful not to let them hear or see me. It was Ryan's friend Julian and...and Tyler? It sounded like they were washing dishes.

"What are we gonna do? It's so hard to stay away from you," said Tyler.

"You're the one who wanted to wait until you're ready to come out. We have to be strong about this. We have to keep our feelings for each other under wraps."

Holy Shit, am I hearing what I think I'm hearing? Do Tyler and Julian really have feelings for each other? This is weird. They're...They're gay.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I just got out of there as fast as I could. I went upstairs and there was Kyle, playing Xbox. I hate video games. I can't understand how he can sit there for hours playing videogames. But this wasn't what I was occupied with when I walked into my room. I was still replaying the conversation I overheard in my head.

"What's up with you?" asked Kyle, still paying a great amount of attention to his video game.

"Nothing," I said. "Hey, you wanna go swimming at the lake tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said. He paused his game. "Are Ty and Sam coming?"

"Yeah, we'll probably have to invite Ryan and Julian too."

"So what's wrong with that? It'll be cool to hang out with Ryan," said Kyle.

"Yeah, I guess."

*                      *                      *

The next day, I brought up the lake to Sam and he got excited. He's always loved the lake. He immediately got on the phone with the new kid, Travis. They seemed to have gotten really close in just a few days. It was good too, because Sam doesn't really have a lot of friends. Sometimes I worry about him.

Tyler came along with us as well. Ryan brought Julian of course. It was a beautiful day, so I tried not to let my suspicions about Julian and Tyler get to me. The sun was shining through the trees that surrounded the enormous lake that gave our quaint town its name.

No one else was at the lake, so we just picked a spot by the shore and lay out our towels in the sun. When I set my towel down, I looked around at our group and I immediately spotted Julian taking his shirt off. He had this lean body, but it was still very toned at the same time. I was taken by his beauty and I could tell that Brian was as well.

"You weren't lying," whispered Brian. "He really is hot. So is that new kid."

"I know," I whispered back. "We just have to try and keep it together."

"How are we supposed to do that with him running around shirtless?" asked Brian, referring to Julian. He started to run into the lake. Ryan soon followed and so did Tyler and Kyle.

Sam and Travis took their shirts of and followed the four of them. Brian and I looked at each other, took our shirts off and then raced into the cool lake water. It felt so good against our skin which was being roasted by the sun. We were having a good time splashing and swimming, when Ryan had to ruin it.

"What's up with all the dudes? Didn't you guys invite any girls?" asked Ryan.

Girls? What for? They just get in the way of all the fun. I looked around at our group. My four brothers, a new kid in town, my best friend, and Ryan's best friend made a really comfortable group. I felt like I could trust them; even Julian and Travis, strangely. This was the moment.

"Guys, there's...there's something I need to tell you." I said.

Brian touched my arm. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"

I couldn't believe he knew. "Yeah," I said.

"What is it, AJ?" asked Sam. He's the only one that can call me that.

"I'm gay," I said.

Tyler slapped the water in excitement. "I knew it!"

"You did?" I asked, really surprised that there weren't angry brother running out of the lake. Ryan kind of looked scared and so did Kyle, but other than that it was calm.

"Yep, it was an intuition," said Tyler.

"Oh..." I didn't know what to say. "Is this a surprise to anyone?"

"Um...Me!" yelled Ryan. "Where the hell is this coming from?"

"Ryan, don't yell at him," said Julian.

"Hold on, he's my brother okay. I have a right to be a little concerned," said Ryan.

"Concerned about what?" I asked.

"What...I don't get it. Since when?" asked Ryan.

"I don't know," I said, a little irritated. I started to step out of the lake. I walked to get my towel.

The group seemed to follow. Maybe it wasn't such a good time to come out after all. I could feel the tension, even in the wide open space that we were in. It wasn't good.

"Look, Alex, I'm sorry, but this is coming out of nowhere," said Ryan.

"It's not a big deal," I said.

"Exactly," said Tyler. "I mean, I'm bi."

"What! Now that's just silly. Am I being pranked or something? Because it's not funny you guys."

I felt that I should be shocked that Tyler had said that, but I wasn't. I guess I was hearing right last night. Wow, now I had to watch and see if they told Ryan. Or maybe they weren't ready yet.

"No, it's not funny, because it's true," said Tyler.

"Ryan, maybe you shouldn't make a big deal out of this," said Julian.

"That's easy for you to say. You're gay."

"What?" asked Kyle.

"Julian's gay," said Ryan. "It's okay for him, but I don't know if I want this for you guys."

"Look, Ryan, it's not that big of a deal," said Sam.

By this time, we were all in a circle with our towels in our hands. Everyone was going back and forth and suddenly, the majority of the group was somehow into the same sex. I didn't know what the hell was going on. It was like Freaky Friday or something.

"Sam, how can you say that? You should be the one backing me up here. How can you want this for our little brothers?"

Tyler was looking at Sam in a weird way like he wanted Sam to say something, but Sam didn't seem to want to say anything.

"Look, being gay...or bi isn't such a bad thing. It's just love, Ryan. Why is it our business to dictate who our brothers love?"

"I can't believe this. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit odd?"

"Actually, no." This was the first thing I'd heard from Brian in a long time; since we were still in the lake.

"Thank you!" said Ryan.

"I think it's kind of weird that most of us here are gay. That's kind of statistically weird isn't it?"

"That's it?" asked Ryan.

"Oh, no..." said Brian. Everyone looked at him. "I'm gay too."

Suddenly the group was quiet. Then, Tyler started to break out in a gigantic laugh. His entire face was turning red. He was laughing pretty hard.

"Are you shitting me? This can't be happening. Is it like coming out day or something?" asked Ryan.

"Actually, Ry, that's in October," said Julian with a smile.

Ryan didn't seem to like the joke. He just huffed and ran off. Kyle chased after him. By then, Tyler had stopped laughing, but was still wiping tears from his eyes.

"Anybody else have anything to share?" asked Julian.

"Um..." Travis started. "I know this is kind of late, and I hope I don't kill Tyler with laughter, but...I'm gay too."

Tyler laughed again, but this time it was a little more under his breath.

"That's funny," said Julian.

"It's not a joke."

"This is getting kind of freaky," I said, which was what I was really feeling. I was feeling freaked out. How could this many people be gay? When did Stone Lake become a gay Mecca?

"Hey, no one is more freaked out than I am," said Travis. "I'm from LA. I'm used to gay people. But I came here expecting there would be no gay people and now there's a whole bunch."

It's safe to say that our lake trip ended then. Soon Kyle came back with Ryan who seemed cooled off, but wasn't talking to anyone. We all drove home in the same two cars that we got there in; Sam, Tyler, Travis, and Kyle in Sam's car and Me, Brian, Julian, and Ryan in Ryan's Jeep.