After Hours (boyxboy) | ✓

Chapter Ten

My stay with my dad was finally over. It wasn't as terrible as I once thought it’d be, but it wasn’t great either. We played cards, read, and ate pizza together. I was just glad to go home at the end of all of it. And today was a good day. It was a morning shift. And Brendon was teaching.

I sat in my dad’s old Hummer, waiting for him to fill up the tank with gas. I was getting impatient. My shift started in ten minutes and we were still six minutes away. Luckily, the pool would already be open. But I was missing Brendon’s swimming lessons. 

“Alrighty,” My dad huffed as he plopped into his seat, adjusting the mirror before starting the car. It was an old, ugly car. It smelled like ham and mayonaise (if mayonnaise had a smell). I found myself missing the strangely comforting atmosphere of Brendon’s car. The music, the magazines, the lavender smell.

“Go, go, go,” I whispered as he pulled out of the gas station. He chuckled at my urgency and turned the radio on. Classic rock played on the channel. He drummed his fingers on the wheel, like Brendon did. Everything was making me think of Brendon. I tried to listen to the music, letting my thoughts wander elsewhere. 

We finally got to the parking lot and I practically jumped out of the car, wishing my dad a good day and then bolting to the pool. I got there just in time to meet Brendon, who had just finished lessons for the day. Water was still dripping down his skin, and a towel hung loosely around his bare shoulders. 

“Hi Emmett,” he said, smiling seductively. 

“Hi Brandon.” I stretched my arms behind my head. His smile twisted into a frown. I laughed teasingly. “Or was it Brendon…?”

He broke out into a smile and walked to the shack, opening the door for me. I thanked him and took my seat, glancing briefly between Donny and Laura, who were both giving each other the cold shoulder.

“What’s up with you two?” Brendon asked as he rubbed his towel down his arm. 

Laura smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. “What’s up with you?” she asked, exaggerating her already-high voice.

“Not interested,” he muttered, taking his seat next to me. I watched him dry off. His shorts rode up slightly as he reached his thighs. On his left leg, I saw a small, black line.

“Do you have a thigh tattoo?” I asked, trying to hide my shock.

Donny started laughing hysterically. He sighed and pulled up his shorts, exposing an image of a long vine. White flowers and darkened leaves were scattered along the vine, and a few tiny words were written on the leaves themselves. I couldn’t read what it said. The vine must’ve had some other meaning. The tattoo itself seemed to continue past where I could see.

“Wow,” I said, resting my arms on my legs. Laura and Donny also gazed at the tattoo.

“You can’t see the rest,” he told me, “Not yet.” With a wink, he fixed his pants and stood up to grab his shirt.

“When did you get it?”

“When I was fifteen.”

It seemed that a lot of things happened when he was fifteen. Maybe he got it when his parents split up. I didn’t want to pry. He pulled his shirt on and sat back down, chatting with Donny. Mesmerized, I watched him talk.

“So are you two not talking now?” Brendon asked our colleagues. They both shrugged awkwardly and neither answered. I laughed knowingly. The two of them ran to their posts as people started to come into the pool. 

“How big is it?” I asked. 

“That’s what she said.”

“I mean the tattoo.”