Kody West takes a beach day

“Hey Kody,” Elle said, voice singsong as she stuck her head in the doorway to his bedroom.

“Yeah?”

“Are you excited for your big beach date with Diana?”

“It's not a date, I’m going on a day trip to the beach with several of my friends.”

“But Diana's going to be there, right? And she’s going to see you in that special new swimsuit you didn't show moms. You think she's going to like what she sees? You think she’ll want to kiss you?” Elle edged closer, clearly trying to peek into Kody's bag, and he snatched it away.

“Fuck off, you're such a little twerp sometimes, Elle.”

She stepped back, mouth open in mock horror. “Kody West, what would your mothers say if they heard that kind of language from a young man like you?”

“That you need to stop antagonizing me, but I need to respond more maturely to provocation. I have to get going, have a good field hockey practice.”

“Always do. You’re coming to my next game, right?”

“If I don't have to work, yeah.”

“Awesome, love ya, say hi to Diana for meee,” Elle called after Kody as he headed down the stairs.

“Love you too, Elle,” Kody said, rolling his eyes.

Kody wandered into the den to announce his departure. “Hey, I'm heading out. The train back is for 6:30 but we're probably going to grab dinner somewhere after.”

“Okay. You’ve got your phone, sunscreen, water?” asked Yuni, who had firmly established that she would rather be called by her first name than “biomom” if necessary.

“Yep yep yep,” Kody replied.

“There's another boy going with you, right?”

“Yeah, Gare’s coming. But like I’m not a kid and the girls are my friends, it’s-”

“I know, Kody, I’m not worried about your friends. And it's normal for a mother to worry, right Carmen?”

Carmen, who was similarly not “Mom 2”, looked up from her library book and smiled. “Worry? About a sensible, capable young man like our son who knows he can call if anything goes awry? Of course it's normal. Be safe, Kody, have fun.”

“I will. Love you moms, see you later.”

As he pulled up to the train station, Kody opened up one more button on his shirt. It was summery, breezy, definitely not a little slutty. With his bike securely locked up at the station, Kody scanned the crowd until he saw Gareth waving at him. “Hey Gare,” he said, pulling the other guy in for a quick hug. Gareth was a little shorter and a little softer around the edges than Kody, but he wore it well. Pretty smile, too.

“Hey, how's it going?”

“Pretty good, Elle was driving me up the wall with ‘Kody and Diana, sittin in a tree' stuff, but what else is new?”

“She’ll grow out of it, she’s barely past middle school.”

“I know. Can't happen soon enough.”

The Blue Line train hissed to a stop and the pair stepped on. “What is the deal with you and Diana, though, is it a thing?”

“It's something, I don't know, I’m trying to feel it out.” Kody said, then “you know what I mean” in response to Gareth's raised eyebrow.