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“Feels good,huh?” Rome says.
I nod, because yeah, it does. I’ve never gone skinny dipping before, but I can see why people do it now. Feeling the water against my cock and balls is sensual, but also incredibly comfortable and liberating.
We splash each other, race a little bit, float on our backs, take turns jumping off the bank and into the water. At one point Rome ducks under the water and when he comes up it’s right underneath me, my legs draped over his shoulders. I yelp and laugh, and he doesn’t even care that my man parts are pressed against the back of his head before he dunks us both under again, me cackling like crazy. I’m having so much fun that I forget to be worried about how my body will react to his close proximity.
Right here, right now, he’s just my brother, my best friend. And honestly that’s something I thought I would never have. So even if this is all we are to each other, I’ll take it, because it’s everything.
After spending hours in the water, feeling the temperature rise and then the sun move back behind the trees, after we’ve had our picnic lunch consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, and apples, we’re lying on the bank on the towels we brought, our swim trunks back on so we don’t get a sunburn on the areas we didn’t apply lotion to, when Rome speaks. His hands are tucked under his head the same as mine as we gaze up into the trees and the beautiful blue sky.
“What happened to your dad?” he asks. We’ve been brothers now for three months and neither one of us has ever broached the topic of where our other parent is.
“In prison,” I say. He turns to face me. “He was a low life loser who knocked my mom up when she was seventeen and then ditched us. A while back he got arrested for driving under the influence and assaulting a police officer. I’ve never actually met him.”
“Do you want to?”
I shake my head. “I thought I did at first. It really bothered me for a while that he had a son he didn’t give a shit about, but after my mom told me what an ass he is, I realized he wasn’t worth my time. I’m better off without him. We both are. She never forbid me from seeing him or anything. In fact she told me she would try to help me find him if I wanted to, but,” I shrug. “I had Mom and my grandparents. I didn’t need validation from a piece of trash like him. If he didn’t want to get to know me and be a part of my life, that was his loss.”
He smiles at me. “You’re kind of incredible, you know that?” I shake my head.
“I just have a really great family. My mom is amazing and my grandparents were incredibly supportive during her entire pregnancy and helped raise me from the very first day. I wouldn’t have turned out so utterly fabulous without them.” I grin as I look at him.
“Is that why you let people treat you like shit at school?” I blink. “I know what people say about you, Sebastian, the names they call you, how they push you around. I’ve seen the bruises and scrapes you try to hide. Does it really not bother you?”
I shrug. “I know who I am isn’t for everyone, and some people are going to find a reason to hate me no matter what. But, yeah, I guess so. I’ve learned to love who I am and I’m not going to let other people make me feel bad for being me. Life’s too short to be someone you're not.”
He nods. “Well, you don’t have to handle the bullying alone, okay? I’m here for you. I have no problem telling those assholes to leave you the fuck alone. No one messes with my little brother.”
I grin. Rome has come to my rescue a few times already and while I appreciate it, I really want to handle my battles on my own. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay.”
“Does your mom know?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to worry her. Please don’t say anything. Most of it is non physical anyway. I’ll be fine.”
He bites his lip but eventually he nods. “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t say anything to your mom if you let me teach you some self-defense moves so you can protect yourself.”
“Really? You can do that?” I ask, sitting up. He laughs at my enthusiasm, and it’s warm and filled with amusement, his dark eyes crinkling and a smile spreading across his handsome face.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m no Chuck Norris but I could teach you a few basic things.” He stands and brushes off his shorts. “Come on.”
I get up immediately and face him. We spend the next hour with him teaching me different self-defense moves, how to block different types of punches or kicks, how to get out of a headlock, how to duck or evade someone, and most importantly, the importance of running away if at all possible to avoid having to use said moves to begin with.
I’m sweaty and exhausted when we’re done, but smiling profusely and feeling better than I have in a long time.
“You’re a natural, little brother,” Rome says, putting me in his own head lock and rubbing the top of my head.
“What about your mom?” We took showers when we got home, then gorged ourselves on Chinese food for dinner. Now we’re sitting in his bed eating popcorn and watching The Witcher.
He pauses the show and says, “She died when I was twelve. Breast cancer.”
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” He gives me a sad smile.
“What do you remember most about her?”
There’s a pause before he says, “Her smile. She was always so stinking happy, you know? Just one of those people who was endlessly optimistic. Always saw the good in people or a situation.” He chuckles then says, “She was allergic to flowers, they just made her sneeze like crazy if she got too close, but that never stopped her, and she loved lilies. They were her favorite flower. She thought they were so pretty and smelled so good. My dad would bring fresh ones home for her every week so she had them on the table all the time even though she would sneeze her head off every time she smelled them. When I asked her why she did it, she said that if you love something enough, and it makes you that happy, it’s worth having, regardless of the risk. To her, they were worth it.”
I smile. “I like that. Is that why you have the tattoo?” I gesture to the giant lily decorating his ribs. He nods.
