Anthony fought down a smile. “Not in the way that you’re thinking.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking. I thought we could—”
“Drag the mattress to your floor, put lamps at the corners, and tie a rope around them to make a ring?”
Omar’s eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t think to use lamps, but basically, yeah! So are you game?”
“No, I’m gay. And I need you to get off me.”
“How come?”
“Because you’re giving me a boner.”
Omar flashed him a toothy smile. “You’ve still got a thing for me, huh?”
“Yup,” Anthony said shamelessly. “Do you really need to be reminded?”
“Yeah. I don’t have a girlfriend anymore. I need you to prop up my self-esteem.”
“Just take a look in the mirror, pretty boy,” Anthony said, shoving him off and sitting up.
“What do you want to do today?” Omar asked, settling down next to him.
“How about nothing?”
“That doesn’t sound epic enough. This is the official start of the summer. It’s a Monday and we’re not in school. Don’t you love that?”
“Absolutely,” Anthony said. “It’s so relaxing.” He made his eyelids droop like he was about to fall asleep as he slowly tilted to the side.
Omar laughed and pushed him upright again. “For real. Do you want to play video games? Or watch a movie?”
“We did that all night.”
“Hell yeah, we did,” Omar said. “First sleepover of the summer.”
They bumped elbows in celebration.
“So what’s next?” Omar asked, his knee bouncing with excess energy. “Oh, I know! I meant to do this last night.”
He rolled out of bed and went to his entertainment center to mess with the VCR. Then he patted the director-style canvas chairs he was so fond of and said, “Showtime!”
“All right.” Anthony got up and joined him.
He figured they might watch the video yearbook again, which he really did love. He was surprised then when the screen flickered and he was looking at his own reflection. Except instead of sitting on the chairs, he and Omar were squished together on the edge of the bed. And they looked different.
“Remember this?” Omar asked with a cackle. “We made this to watch at the end of the year.”
“I’d almost forgotten! Am I crazy, or do we look smaller?”
“Definitely,” Omar agreed. “We’re like… Ricky sized.”
Anthony laughed. “I kind of miss having black hair. Should I go back to it?”
“You looked cool,” Omar said, checking him out in real life, “but the pink hair is way more punk. I dig it.”
“Thanks.”
They both paused to tune in to what their former selves were saying. They had apparently felt the need to set goals for themselves.
“We hope you’re still best friends,” younger Omar said.
“Nailed it!” said his older counterpart.
They bumped elbows again.
“I want to finally shoot a short film,” younger Omar went on to say.
“Two out of two,” Anthony told him. “If a video yearbook and endless birthday videos don’t count, then Record Store Girl does.” He was referring to a moody monologue that Omar had shot with Silvia earlier in the year.
“I did a final edit on it at work recently,” Omar confided. “Which was bittersweet, believe me.”
“How is the new dynamic going?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you guys as friends yet.”
“It’s good, although the sexual tension between us is sky high now. It’s torture. I caught her checking out my package the other day. I mean, I was pointing at my little dude and asking her if she missed him, but you know, she totally looked.”
Anthony snorted. “The romance is real.”
“It’s embarrassing that the only live music you’ve seen is at weddings,” his younger self whined on screen.
“You’ll be fine,” Anthony assured him. “We’ve got concert tickets.”
“To freaking Nirvana!” Omar said. “I’m so jealous. If you and Cameron break up before then, you’re taking me with you.”
“Don’t count on it,” Anthony replied. The mere thought of Cameron made his insides flutter.
“Sex!” younger Anthony declared. “We expect to be rolling in it.”
“Oh, you’re rolling in it all right,” Omar told him. “With a hot dude who’s got calloused carpenter hands. Which is a good thing apparently.”
“I never should have told you that,” Anthony said with a laugh. “And hey, you got to hook up with two different people! If we’re counting Ricky.”
“I definitely am. I need to bump up my score. Especially now that I’m back to rolling around by myself.”
“Or at least go on a date, you know?” younger Omar grumbled on screen.
“Damn, dude,” said his older counterpart. “I forgot how desperate we were.”
“I didn’t.” Anthony watched himself look at his best friend with transparent longing.
“Whoa, I can’t believe I missed that!” Omar glanced over, his dark eyes shining with affection. “I’m really lucky. It’s flattering.” He stopped the tape, since their message from the past had devolved into silly banter. “Man, I’m so glad I know who you really are now. Huh… I guess that’s been the theme of the year for me.”
“Maybe we’re all still figuring it out,” Anthony suggested.
“And that’s okay, but when it comes to us—” Omar thumped on his chest. Right over his heart. “—we should be figuring it out together. You and me. Step by step. I’m up for it.”
“Me too,” Anthony agreed. “It didn’t feel right to hide part of myself from you. Of course it was a little more complicated than simply being gay.” Falling in love with your straight best friend… What a beautiful burden.
“For sure,” Omar said, “but now that we’re past that bump in the road, let’s never make the same mistake again. I feel like best friends should be able to tell each other everything. Even stuff you wouldn’t say to your girlfriend. Or boyfriend.”
“Like the time you peed your pants on the way home from Worlds of Fun?”
“Why does everyone keep bringing that up?” Omar said, shaking his fist at the sky. Or in this case, his bedroom ceiling. “For real though. I’ve got your back. No matter what happens.”
“Same here,” Anthony said. “I’ll always be there for you.”
“So if I get sent to juvie like Diego?”
“I’ll commit crime after crime until they throw me in there with you.”
“Perfect,” Omar said. “That was some serious bullshit, huh? The dude lit a piece of toilet paper on fire. And yeah, a house got a little singed, but so what?”
Anthony nodded his agreement. “The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”
“We’ve gotta do something for him,” Omar said. “Maybe when he gets out. I don’t know what yet, but we have the entire summer to think of it.” He snapped his fingers. “Hey! Let’s make another tape for next year. We’ll be juniors! We’ve gotta set some serious goals. Like actual dong in hole sex. Anything below the waist counts.”