Elroy crossed to Kyle’s bed and sat down. “So what? Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean we can’t do something fun. We’re young, dumb, and full of come. We should be exploring life, not sitting around eating dry turkey and too many carbs.” This idea had popped into his head earlier that morning.
Kyle put the phone down and sent him a blank expression. “You said you had plans. You said you were going home to spend the weekend with family.”
Elroy looked up at the ceiling and shook his hands over his head. “If I have to spend the entire weekend with that bunch, I’ll lose my mind. Seriously. You don’t know what they are like, dude. My aunt and uncle are always kissing up to me because they know my father left everything to me. And my cousins, Delbert and Oliver, bite their fingernails and stare at my dick. It’s creepy, man. Don’t make me do this.” He got down on his hands and knees and started begging in an exaggerated way. “Please, please don’t put me through this.”
Kyle remained staid. “I told my mom and the stepdad I would be home this weekend.”
Elroy noticed he wasn’t totally opposed to going away for the weekend. “Just tell them you have a huge exam on Monday and you have to study. Tell them anything. Let’s just get the fuck out of here and have some fun.” Another reason he wanted to get away had to do with his ongoing relationship with Ricky, his married lover. He’d already informed Elroy they wouldn’t see each other again until after Thanksgiving.
“But it’s only Monday,” Kyle said. “We have classes this week.”
“Fuck them,” Elroy said. “We’re doing great. We can miss a few classes.”
“Where are we going?” Kyle asked.
Elroy hadn’t thought it through completely. Then it dawned on him and he jumped up from the bed. “Palm Beach. I have a house down there, a huge house I never use. If we leave right now we can be on the beach by this time tomorrow.”
Kyle thought for a moment, then looked up at him and smiled. “I do like road trips. And I’ve never been to Florida.”
It didn’t take more convincing than that. In less than an hour, they were packed, in the car, and heading south on the interstate. In Rhode Island, Elroy phoned his uncle and said he wouldn’t be at the house for Thanksgiving because he had an exam on Monday that was too important to ignore. He spoke with a deep serious tone, and he almost cried. Elroy didn’t have to ask permission; he just didn’t want to answer any questions. In Connecticut, Kyle phoned his mom and said he’d taken a part-time job that weekend working in campus security to make a few extra dollars. Elroy could see he hated to lie; it made him break out in a cold sweat and his hands literally trembled. He told Elroy his mom would never have believed a study excuse. She would have told him to bring his books and study at home. So Kyle had to come up with the one thing his family would never dispute or question: making money.
When they reached New York, Elroy wanted to stop and spend the night in Manhattan. He also had an apartment in Trump Tower he never used. This road trip had seemed like such a good idea when he’d thought of it, but now that Elroy was actually in the car he was bored. As a rule, Elroy despised road trips almost as much as he despised men with little dicks. He usually took the company jet to Palm Beach—or anywhere, for that matter. But if he had taken the company jet that week, everyone would have known he wasn’t at school studying. Driving down south had been his only alternative.
“We can spend the night in New York in my penthouse,” Elroy said. “We can go to dinner, go to a few clubs, check out the action, and we’ll be on the road again first thing in the morning.”
Kyle seemed content in the car. He’d been eating junk food since they’d left Harvard and he wanted to continue without stopping for anything. Elroy noticed he had this ability to forge through anything without showing the slightest sign of discomfort. “I’ve never been to Florida. I’ve never been south of Boston. And I’m not sure I like the sound of what you have planned in New York. I have a feeling it will wind up being a night of sex, booze, and drugs.”
Elroy rolled his eyes. “And your point is?”
Kyle sat up straighter and set his hands on his lap. “I say we keep driving through the night. If you’re tired, pull over and I’ll drive.”
When they reached Philadelphia, Elroy suggested they stop there and spend the night at a hotel. “I haven’t been to Philadelphia in ages. I know a great bathhouse in Center City where you can get anything you want. I once had a blow job there that made my knees buckle.”
Kyle didn’t even reply this time. He turned, sent him a glance, and pointed to the windshield.
By the time they reached Washington D.C., Elroy’s legs were cramping. His ass ached from sitting and he was so bored he felt like screaming. He’d been driving since they’d left Harvard—more than eight hours—and they’d only stopped for gas, more junk food for Kyle, and to use the restrooms. “I have a buddy who lives near DuPont Circle. You should see the clubs they have there. The strippers get up on the bar and strip down to nothing and wag their dicks in your face. Seriously, man. We should spend the night in D.C. It’s starting to get dark and I’m tired of driving.”
“Then pull over and I’ll drive,” Kyle said. “I don’t mind driving. I love to drive. But I have no interest in going to bars where men wag their dicks in people’s faces. That’s just not sanitary. You can catch things that way.”
“What things?”
Kyle thought for a moment. “Conjunctivitis.”
Elroy moaned and said, “Not unless they try to fuck you in the eye.”
“I once heard a story where a guy went to a stripper bar with women and when one of the strippers stuck her breast in the guy’s eye, he got conjunctivitis.” Then he shook his head and said, “I want to keep going without stopping.”
When they reached Richmond, Virginia, Elroy pulled over to use a restroom on the interstate. It was dark by then and there were only a few cars stippled between large tractor-trailers. They went into the restroom together and walked to a line of urinals against the back wall opposite the sinks. There was a nice-looking guy in a gray business suit standing in front of the middle urinal peeing and whistling a tuneless song. Elroy went to the man’s left and Kyle went to his right. Though Kyle seemed completely oblivious, Elroy saw the man in the business suit look down and stare at Kyle’s dick the moment he pulled down his zipper. Then the man turned and glanced down at Elroy’s dick and Elroy took a step back so he could see more. Elroy winked at the guy and shook his dick a few times.