I Know You're Not My Brother

"Get this fucking mask off right now before I tear it off! The game's up -- I know that you're not my fucking brother! Yeah that's right, I know it's you inside of there, Frankie! That's fuckin' sick, you know dude, pretending to be Aaron with this bodysuit! Take it off! Now!"  

"Adam, man, stop it!" I said, "For real, dude! It's me -- I don't even know what you're talking about! Bodysuits? What the fuck , dude? Come on, that's just fuckin' crazy! Seriously, you gotta believe me, bro!" 

"Oh yeah? said Adam, loosening his grip, "Well if you're really Aaron, then prove it!"  

"Well I dunno, dude..." I said, "What about that time mom and dad sent us to summer camp and we... you know..."  

"What did we do? Tell me."

"I dunno, man! You know I don't like talking about it!"  

"Fuckin' tell me!" said Adam, tightening his grip again, "Or I swear to God..."  

"Okay, okay!" I said, pushing him away, "We ended up sharing a cabin, only we slept together in the same bed and... I sucked you off that one time. OK? Are you happy?"

"Holy shit..." said Adam in disbelief, "Whoa, dude. I'm way sorry. I know you wouldn't have told anybody about that... I'm way fuckin' sorry, dude. I don't know what I was thinking. It's just, something didn't seem right to me."

"Yeah, well you're my big bro, dude," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You know you can trust me, all right? I know Frankie says some weird shit sometimes, but making a bodysuit out of me and wearing me around, pretending to be me? Now that's just freakin' crazy."

"Yeah, you're right, man. I'm mad sorry, dude," Adam apologized again, "I think I could use a beer. You want me to grab you one?"

"Yeah, man," I said, "Go on, I'll be out there in a sec."

He left the bedroom and I waited until I could hear him out in the kitchen going through the refrigerator. Quickly, I tightened up the facemask, patting around my face and neck as I felt the adhesive underneath take hold. I was surprised -- he had really managed to pull it loose in some places. If he'd kept going, he really would have torn it off!

I left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen, stopping in the bathroom really quick to make sure everything was in place. God, it felt great to see Aaron's face reflected there instead of my own! Then I continued down the hall and into the kitchen, where my "bro" was waiting with an ice cold beer.

"You wanna see what games are on?" I said, taking the beer from him and chugging down about half of it at once, just like Aaron would usually do.

"Fuck yeah," he said.

He was already getting another two beers ready for us. I pulled out some chips from the pantry and some salsa from the fridge, just as though I was in my very own kitchen, and then I settled down with Adam in the living room as he flipped on the TV. It was nice to finally get to spend time with him like this and not to be looked at as Frankie, the "annoying kid from next door." Instead, we were just two brothers, two best friends hanging out, getting drunk and wasting the afternoon away.