The Age of Legends
[Memory, Summer Break after Freshman Year]
“Lyn, be careful,” his mom yelled at him, her hands clasped tightly on the ladder, as she looked up at him with worry in her eyes.
“Mom, relax, it’s really not that complicated. And I’ve watched plenty of videos on how to do this.”
“That doesn’t make you a roofer,” his mom insisted. “Would you please come down? You’re shaving years off my life just by being up there.”
Lyn laughed and shrugged. For everything his mom did for him, he could at least repair the roof. Even if they argued regularly, he loved her dearly, so instead of getting into fights about her impractical nature, he had decided to become the change he wanted to see… well, not in the world, but at least, at home.
It felt good to be up so high. It also felt good to be doing something with his hands, something that didn’t involve studying. Systematically, he had marked the problematic spots with chalk, and now he needed to get to work. He placed his phone carefully on a sloped shingle, making sure that the thing wouldn’t slide by accident. The voice of the professional roofer offering tutorials online for gutsy young men like him to follow began to calmly explain all the steps needed for sealing small holes. Lyn’s plan was to start with those.
“Aren’t you going to come down?” his mom asked in a hopeful voice.
“Mom, just go inside. I’ll be fine,” Lyn protested as he pulled one of his work gloves off to replay the video made unintelligible by his mom’s question.
“No. I will stand right here,” she said stubbornly. “What will the neighbors think when they see you dropping off the roof like a sack of cement?”
Lyn grinned. “Don’t worry, mom. My blood will match your petunias perfectly.”
His mom gasped in outrage. “Those are not petunias!”
Lyn laughed out loud. He turned slightly to give her a reassuring look. “It’s really going to be fine. I promise that if anything is too much for me, I’ll let you call a professional.”
She threw her hands in the air and then reconsidered, grabbing the ladder tightly again. “Okay, I’ll let you work. But I’ll still be here, just in case.”
Lyn shrugged. He really hoped she’d get bored and go back inside. The sun was getting stronger, and he didn’t intend to work for more than a couple of hours at a time. As long as he treated this as a project he could manage, he’d see the end of it. And his mom wouldn’t have to worry about a leaking roof anymore.
He was working diligently, applying roofing cement slowly and filling the cracks. He had everything up there with him from plywood to replacement shingles. Just as he was about to bring up the next video, Brad’s name flashed on the screen.
Lyn smiled as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Physical work made him feel really good. Sitting in front of a screen for too long made his muscles ache, and at least during summer break he could let studying drop lower on his list of priorities.
“Hi, man,” he said after sliding right.
“What are you up to, Lyn, my boy?” Brad said cheerfully in a nasal voice.
“Is this Brad or his grandpa?” Lyn joked. He placed the phone between his shoulder and his cheek and continued to work.
“What are you doing? Are you demolishing something?” Brad sounded quite enthusiastic, which meant that he was getting a bit bored.
“It’s just a little project. I’m helping a neighbor by fixing her roof. She’s one hundred years old,” he lied through his teeth. He didn’t see himself inviting Brad over, ever, so he was safe to say whatever he wanted.
“Do you know anything about fixing roofs?” Brad asked with a snort.
“No, but I’m learning on the go. I’m applying sealant now.”
“Really? Like that black tape they show in those nutty ads?”
“Not like that,” Lyn replied promptly. “It’s something that gets shit done,” he said as he admired his handiwork. “The only tough part is convincing my mom that I’m not going to fall to my death from here.”
“Ah, so there’s a chance you might croak?” Brad asked nonchalantly. “If that’s the case, you need to get your shit in order first.”
“Like what?”
“You need to give me the password to your laptop. Someone needs to wipe your search history. Let me be that man for you.”
It was Lyn’s turn to reply with a snort. “I have the cleanest search history in the universe. I am ready to die,” he joked.
“Stop talking like that,” his mom warned him from below. She was still there, holding the ladder. “Young men shouldn’t say such things.”
“Is that your mom? I think I hear her,” Brad said.
“Yeah. She’s worried sick and doesn’t trust me.”
“I wouldn’t, either. Hey, are you free next month? I know you and Alexander travel to places with unpronounceable fancy names all the time, but how about we do something fun for a weekend? Just the three of us.”
Lyn felt the now familiar tug of want in his chest he experienced whenever Brad proposed such things. It came with regret, too, because Alexander had to be there. But it was better than nothing.
“Okay, what do you have in mind?”
“So you’re going to come? Don’t worry. I’ll blow your mind. Say ‘hi’ to your mom from me. And tell her I’d like to meet her.”
“Okay, will do. Now let me finish my work, you lazy fuck.”
“Hey, are you spying on me? How do you know I’m not doing anything right now?”
“You’re calling me.”
And maybe you miss me a little, Lyn continued his own words in his head.
“Do you think you’re the last guy on my list or something?” Brad chuckled, making Lyn feel slightly giddy. “No way. That’s His Majesty.”
Lyn snickered. “Okay, okay, then I’m satisfied. As long as I’m not the last, I can live with it.”
***
His mom handed him a glass of juice. While she didn’t usually get her hands dirty, she knew how to make a few things, and she did them outstandingly well. Her lime mocktail was legendary.
“So, are you going on a little trip next month?” she probed him gently.
“Yeah, Brad has this weird idea that we should go on a lake raft adventure.” He bit his tongue, but it was too late. He should have said something that sounded a little safer instead of the truth.
“How much money do you need?”
Lyn shook his head and looked away. “I’m fine. I mean, it’s okay. I don’t need any money.”
Alexander had taken it upon himself to discreetly finance Lyn whenever outings with Brad were involved. It made Lyn slightly sick to his stomach that he was accepting charity like that, but fighting with Alexander over it only seemed to make it worse. While the asshole had never threatened him outright, Lyn dreaded the veiled ultimatum – if he dared to say anything, Alexander would just spill the beans in front of Brad, and Lyn had no idea what he would do then.
His mom pulled him close and gave him a hug.
“I’m sweaty and dirty,” he protested.
She sighed and held him close despite his objections. “You’re so much like me, Lyn. You always feel the need to pretend that you’re fine.”
Maybe it was true. But there was nothing wrong with that.
***
Lyn studied the inflatable raft that was Brad’s pride and joy with plenty of doubt in both his heart and mind. “Is this thing going to hold us? All three of us?” He kicked the thing to test its sturdiness.
Brad shrugged. “Don’t be a chicken shit,” he said and snickered. “Let’s get this baby on the water.”
It wasn’t like Lyn to argue with Brad’s plans, but this time around he felt the need to point out a few important details. “It’s getting dark. Do we really have to do this right now? Why not tomorrow?” He wouldn’t mind camping with his friends, sharing snacks and the thermos of hot chocolate his mom had forced on him when he had left this morning.
“You have no taste for adventure.” Brad tsked and proceeded to push the raft into the water by himself.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Lyn turned toward Alexander, in hope of an ally with a more reasonable view on nightly adventures of this kind.
“Because if I start to point out all that is wrong with Bradley’s plan,” Alexander said with pedantry, “we will most likely return home tired and disappointed. For anyone who cares, the inflatable device our mutual friend here calls a raft is in definite violation of at least five safety codes. But I won’t go into detail. It would ruin our adventurous mood.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Brad said and took a deep bow. “I knew you were more fun than my boy Lyn.”
“Hey,” Lyn protested. Brad knew his weakness and enjoyed exploiting it. Most likely, to Brad, the constant competition between Lyn and Alexander was too much fun not to benefit from it, at least from time to time. “I just need to check. If this thing sinks, what’s the plan?”
Brad laughed out loud. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to become legends.”
Lyn shook his head but followed Brad onto the raft, grabbing his designated oar with a lot more confidence than he felt inside. Alexander took his place in the middle, holding a lantern to light the way.
The water seemed ominously black, but Lyn shook the worry away. They paddled into the dark, leaving the shore behind.
***
“So what now?” They were in the middle of the lake, and Lyn had to admit that it all felt pretty awesome now that he had gotten the gist of it.
“Do you guys know how to swim?” Brad stood up abruptly, making the raft lean on one side dangerously.
“Swim?” Lyn asked, aghast at the very notion. It was August, but here, the weather was chilly enough to warrant wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt.
Brad shrugged and began shedding his clothes until he was completely naked. Lyn was too stunned to say anything. Alexander’s lantern threw intermittent light on Brad’s skin, as the raft swung gently under them.
“You’re nuts,” Lyn murmured. “I am so not going to follow you in this madness.” Although he had left his glasses in the tent on the shore, he could see way too much. Brad’s cock was perfectly limp, but that didn’t mean Lyn could stop staring. Any moment now, the situation would become too awkward and he’d give himself away in the most spectacular way. Desire, no matter how deep it was buried, tended to claw its way out of its grave like a relentless zombie.
Alexander stood, as well, setting the lantern down. Lyn turned his attention to him and gaped as he realized what his other friend was doing.
“You too? I thought you had a good head on your shoulders, unlike our resident bozo.”
Brad guffawed and dove into the water, splashing it everywhere. Lyn jerked himself out of the way.
“You can look all you want,” Alexander said in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Yeah, like I’d be crazy enough to do that,” Lyn commented, turning his head. Brad was hooting and egging them on from several feet away. “Dudes don’t stare at other dudes,” he added. With Alexander, the best way to communicate was as directly as possible.
Alexander seemed not to mind that the raft was shaking underneath his feet as he moved. He came so close Lyn had the craziest idea that the guy was going to try to shove his dick in his face.
But Alexander only ruffled his hair in passing. “That pole in your behind must not hurt at all,” he threw at Lyn before diving into the dark water, following Brad’s example.
Lyn pressed one hand on his chest hard. Why was Alexander teasing him so mercilessly? It had to be because he must have noticed the way Lyn stared at Brad. The cocky bastard had another ace up his sleeve with which to torture his favorite victim at length. Although he could be such a great person – when he tipped a tired waitress generously, or when helping other students who came to him with difficult problems – Alexander had a mean streak in him. And Lyn was the insect this bully held under a magnifying glass for his entertainment.
He didn’t have time to sink deeper in his misery, because Brad emerged from the water with a barbarian’s howl.
“Come on, Lyn, get down from there, you little wuss,” Brad provoked him. He began to shake the raft.
“Brad, no,” Lyn said, but it was too late. Because he had leaned on one side without realizing it, he slid into the water with all his clothes on.
He had never told Brad he couldn’t swim. It would have sounded odd, but Lyn had only known city life for as long as he’d been alive, with very few exceptions. He flailed helplessly, but his wet clothes were dragging him down. Panic overcame all his senses. The water was closing over his head and getting in his nose.
Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him upward. When his head broke the surface, Lyn began to heave and cough.
“Fuck, Lyn,” Brad’s voice came from behind, “you scared the shit out of us!”
So the one holding him was Alexander. Go figure. Lyn shivered too badly to tell the guy to just let him drown already. Brad swam near and wrapped his arms around him, taking him from Alexander.
“So fucking sorry, man,” Brad said in a genuinely worried voice. “I had no idea you’d sink like a rock.”
It felt better now. Brad propped himself under Lyn’s arm and began swimming toward the shore. “You bring the raft back, Alexander,” he said over his shoulder.
***
Dry clothes and hot chocolate worked wonders for his mood. Too bad he had been in such a sorry state that he hadn’t had the time or the mind to enjoy being held by Brad until they reached the shore.
The others, however, were too quiet, and Lyn felt bad. “Hey,” he teased them, “don’t be such wusses. I don’t swim because of my eyes.” It was a flimsy lie, but he hoped they would buy it.
“That makes sense,” Brad said right away. “Still, man, I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Well, don’t be. Of us three, I’m the only one who’s going to become a legend. How many people do you know who come so close to drowning? I’ll have stories to tell.”
Brad laughed and squeezed Lyn’s shoulder. “I’ll go get more wood for the fire. We’re really roughing it out here, and I should’ve known you two posh dudes wouldn’t be used to it.”
Lyn minded being left alone with Alexander, who remained shrouded in the same silence as before.
“Thanks, by the way,” Lyn said to break the silence. “For helping me out.”
“Don’t thank me,” Alexander said curtly. “Stop putting yourself in dangerous situations like an idiot. You don’t impress anyone with such antics.”
“What did I do?” Lyn protested, although he knew Alexander was at least half-right. He should have warned his friends that he had no idea how to swim.
Alexander ignored his question. “Are you still cold?”
Lyn pulled the blanket around himself tightly. “Not really.” He still was, but he hated being scolded like a kid by a guy the same age as he.
Brad appeared with more dry twigs, which he dropped by the fire.
“Still cold?” he asked Lyn the same question as Alexander. Without waiting for an answer, he plopped down by Lyn’s side and draped one arm over him.
Over the fire, Lyn locked eyes with Alexander briefly. What he read in them made his stomach clench. If the asshole found him so pitiful and worthy of disdain, why the hell was he still hanging out with him and Brad?
TBC
Author's note: Thanks for reading!
@Derek - You are correct about Alexander, but Brad is and will remain a mystery until the moment is right. Lyn and Alexander actually work as a couple because they can go to battle with each other and hold their own... I have seen couples like that, lol.
@DavidB - Ha-ha, I'm not that surprised by your confession, David. I might - from a literary standpoint - have a type!
@Buchanan - Alexander will do this quite often - confessing little and big things to Lyn. Lyn only needs to listen :)
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