This story is fiction, for entertainment purposes only.
My Name is Liz, and I recently graduated from high school in a small town in Vermont. I have lived my entire life in this town. I had decided that I was going to stay close to home and attend college here, which made my parents, aunt, and cousins happy. I am an only child, but I have two older cousins, Dave is 32, and Mike is 29. Although there is a significant age difference between them and me, we had what I thought was a close relationship. Growing up, they would always look out for me. I have always been tomboyish with short hair, 34b breast size, and unless I wore leggings, which I never did, you could never tell if I had hips or an ass. I always wore loose clothes growing up, which caused people to whisper about me being a lesbian or that I was a pretty boy. Dave and Mike would defend me and be protective. They were known to be tough boys who people did not mess with.
I did not have a large friend group in high school. Most girls were concerned with who was going to ask them out. They would try to out-dress and pound makeup on themselves to compete with each other. I was never that type of girl. I was happy with who I was and got through high school with minimal issues except for the occasional lesbian comment. I had not told anyone that I was not a lesbian. I liked boys and had no interest in girls whatsoever. I felt like no matter what I said, people either wouldn't believe me or ask me to do something outrageous to prove I wasn't. Although I would have crushes on certain boys, I watched all the drama from afar and was glad I didn't have to go through that grief. I had make-out sessions with my neighbor Timmy off and on during my sophomore year. His family moved out of state at the end of the school year. We would text each other, but we eventually lost touch. I was glad to be moving on from high school and the people in it.
I celebrated my graduation with my family and family friends. I have always enjoyed my family celebrations, especially cookouts. That's what we decided to do on graduation day. I enjoyed being the center of attention even though it didn't happen that often. During the day, people congratulated me on graduating and heading to college. I tried to stay humble when I heard someone crack a joke, "Do you think she'll finally meet a nice girl?" This comment got a few people around her to start giggling.
Then, I noticed Dave heading towards them with an angry look. I cut him off and whispered in his ear, "She's not worth the scene."
Dave was pissed. "Fuck her! No wonder why her husband sleeps around." People around us could tell something was wrong, so I asked Dave to help me with something in the garage. Our garage wasn't used for cars. My dad had turned it into a man cave that he never used. I spent a lot of time in the man cave because no one else ever used it. It has a TV, pool table, darts, a fridge, and most importantly, a bathroom. I spent most of my high school years in the garage. It was a comfortable private space. I would often sleep on the couch instead of going to my bedroom in the house.
Once we got into the garage, I told Dave, "You can't let this stuff get to you. I don't care what people think or say. Anger and violence don't stop people from being assholes, and you will get in trouble."
Dave expressed his frustration with people always making comments about me being gay. He yelled, "Who gives a fuck if you like girls? No one should give a FUCK!"
I never realized that Dave actually thought I liked women. My feelings were hurt that as close as I am with Dave and Mike, they would know I thought being with a woman is gross. "Dave, you realize that I'm not into women, right? I can't help that I don't look like a typical girl, but I am not gay!"
Dave looked at me with a look of confusion. "You're not into women? I'm so sorry. Fuck, how did I not know this? By the way, there's nothing wrong with the way you look." Suddenly, my emotions got the best of me, and for some reason, I started crying. I don't know if it was because the two people, I was closest to didn't really know me at all or if it was the years of people talking about me finally catching up to me. Dave came to me, wrapping his arms around me, telling me, "Jesus, you are a girly girl after all. Look at all those tears. It's ok, I always got you." I wrapped my arms around Dave and rested my face on his chest. Dave hugged me firmly, rocking from side to side in an attempt to soothe me.
This went on for a few minutes. I enjoyed being in Dave's arms. It felt intimate, which was a brand-new experience for me. Suddenly, Dave moved away from me, lightly patting me on my ass. "Let's get a drink. We need a drink." Dave got a tissue and told me, "Wipe your eyes. We don't want to ruin your tough girl reputation." I could tell; the hugging made him feel something. I couldn't pinpoint if it was good or bad.
I wiped the tears from my face as I replied, "You can have a drink, but if I go out there attempting to get a drink, my mother and father will kill me. I graduated high school; I didn't turn twenty-one. Ya goof."
Dave told me, "Look in the fridge, idiot." To my surprise, the fridge was full of beer and other alcoholic beverages. Then he told me to check out the freezer. When I opened it, I saw two bottles of tequila.
I started laughing, "You fucking idiot, you know I like tequila, but didn't know that I like boys? You're the only idiot here." I asked, "So, I can drink, and you'll keep me from trouble, right?"
Dave responded, "That's the plan. Isn't that always the plan? Mike and I taking care of you and protecting you?"
I smiled as I grabbed a hard lemonade and some shot glasses. Dave knew that I would drink during high school because he was my go-to for buying alcohol. However, I had never drunk with him. I poured two shots before he told me to wait for Mike. Dave texted Mike and told him to come into the garage. Mike came in asking, "What the fuck are you two doing? Everyone is looking for Liz." When Mike looked at me, he saw that my eyes were puffy from crying. He asked, "Are you OK? What the fuck happened?"
Dave explained what happened outside and that I got upset over it. I then blurted out, "And...Dave thought I was into chicks. That upset me too."
Mike looked confused. After a minute of confusion, he asked, "You like guys?" Then he started laughing hysterically. "I told Dave that you weren't into women. We've had this debate for over a year. See, dickhead, I told you she likes guys!"
We all started laughing, and all I could think was how much I loved Dave and Mike. We each had a shot of tequila while I attempted to guzzle my lemonade. We made a pact that when we wanted another shot, we would text each other and meet in the garage. Dave stated, "If you are starting to get noticeably drunk, we will have to cut you off." I agreed to the plan.
The day flew by. Everyone was having a good time until it started raining around nine o'clock. People started to leave before it got too bad. I asked Mike and Dave if they were going to stay. Dave said he was staying. Mike followed up with, "Ditto, for me."
