Letting go of Dave's hand, John pointed to an oak tree only a few feet from the sidewalk. "I think right here is a good place," he said, removing his backpack and unzipping it to reveal a blue striped picnic blanket. "Dave, wait, don't sit do-"
"Dang, now my butt's all wet!" said Dave, trying to supress a smile. John couldn't help but smile along as he unfolded the blanket and stretched it across the ground.
The two of them sat down on opposite ends of the blanket. Two apples, a chilled pasta salad, and a napkin dispenser made their way out of the backback. Dave spilled his pasta salad within seconds of sticking his plastic fork in it and John reached over with a napkin to rub the feta crumbles off his mouth.
"So, uh, John," said Dave, trying to suppress the blush he knew covered his face.
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking since we were holding hands and all that shit earlier, maybe we could arm wrestle? One of us has to be the strong dude here and I betcha twenty to one it's me." He had meant it as a friendly jab to get John to agree, but the moment he stopped talking, he realized he seemed a braggart. The red on his face grew brighter.
"That sounds great! I think you'll find I'm really strong, Dave!"
"Good. Bro was always trying to get me to arm wrestle and I never actually won against that tough fucker. I think he was hiding a complex system of levers and ropes in his arm just so he could win. Bro Strider, the bionic man. The government needs you, Bro. They're at war with Russia and the only way to disarm the incoming nuclear bomb is to win against it in arm wrestling. If you choose-"
"Dave, you're rambling again." John gave him one of his winning smiles and Dave relaxed, his blood no longer dancing in his cheeks.
"Fuck. Let's do this thing."
After John moved the napkins out of the way, the boys' arms met in the center of the picnic blanket. Their faces contorted into wrinkled grimaces as they struggled.
Wow, he's really, really weak, thought John as he tried to match the obvious exertion on Dave's face. It took almost no effort to keep his arm standing in the middle. Grinning, he tilted their hands slightly to his side. Dave let out a tiny yelp of alarm.
John though about Dave's Bro, and how Dave had to lose fights every day, to compare himself to a natural warrior while he was still in diapers. Scrunching up his face even more, he allowed Dave to lead his arm to the other side.
"I won! Holy shit, I won!" said Dave. He bounced into the air, his fist shooting up in excitement, before he regained his composure and once again sat awkwardly down.
"Good job, Dave! I didn't know you were that strong!"
Grinning far too widely for an ironic, cool dude, Dave flexed his muscles before digging once more into the pasta salad.