Beer, Burgers & Boyfriends

It was a summery afternoon and the musky, pungent stench of teenage sweat was brewing in the hot air of the boys’ dressing room of st. Clair’s high school. The boys had just finished an intense endurance training, which had been torturous for most because of the bright, scorching sun outside. Their laughs echoed against the yellowed, tiled walls as they took a well-deserved shower. The hot steam drifting into the dressing room smoothed out the disgusting smell that was the by-product of their hard labour.

“It’s Friday boysss, you know what that meansss!” Emmett slapped his hands flat on Noah’s sunburned shoulders.

Noah flinched and groaned in pain. “Oh fuck off, Emmett!” He growled angrily while wrapping a towel around his waist. “Don’t act all high and mighty just because not getting sunburned is the only advantage your skin colour gives you.”

Noah was not the only one who was looking red as a lobster after the training, but there were also plenty of teammates who were currently reaping the benefits of having built up a tan in the previous weeks. Then there were also Caleb, Emmett and Hakim whose skin, rather than getting sunburned, would only really get darker. None of these idiots, however, had considered the possibility of using suncream.

Caleb laughed: “Looks like Noah isn’t the only one getting burned, Emmett.”

Emmett hissed playfully: “Didn’t know you had so much salt left after losing that much sweat during training, but I guess you’re still mad that I totally beat you during the race that we did!”

“Chill out,” Jacob laughed before the situation could escalate. “Have you already decided what fast-food place we’ll be going to? I’m dying to get some saturated fat and sugar into my body.”

Nick, who was putting on his trousers, playfully chipped in: “Why don’t we go to KFC? I could go for some chicken legs and the chicks’ legs aren’t too bad either!”

“Too bad we haven’t gotten to see them legs since they changed the place to cash register pick up only!" Hakim complained. "I say we go to Nando’s instead; they have chicken there if you want it so badly and the waitresses are steaming hot.”

“You just wanna go to Nando's 'cus your girlfriend Nadia works there,” Caleb huffed in response while tying the laces of his sneakers. “How’re all your single friends supposed to feel when you run off with ‘er to make out in the kitchen or something? Show some wingmanship, man!”

“She’s not his girlfriend,” Nick dryly stated, which earned him an offended look from Hakim, who threw a smelly sports short in his direction.

“She’s not my girlfriend yet, dickhead! We’ve only made out a couple of times, but I know we’re meant to be together. I just need to... work up the courage to ask her out," he smiled shyly.

Jacob nodded encouragingly. “We’re here for you, mate and I want to see you succeed, but we already went to Nando’s last week. I don’t feel like getting something from Maccie D either.” He looked around the dressing room. “Anyone else have a suggestion?” The room stayed awfully quiet.

Joey, who had kept himself out of the conversation up to this point, stood up and showed his phone to his friends. On-screen it showed the website of a nearby burger place. He hesitantly proposed: “Well... There’s a new fast-food restaurant in town called ‘Beer & Burgers’ where 'Guido's Pizzeria' used to be. It’s not part of a fast-food restaurant chain, but the reviews have been pretty good so far and it isn’t too expensive, so maybe we could try it out?”

“It’s not worth the risk!” Nick moaned irritably, leaning his head against the wall. “All I want to do right now is look at some cute girls and drink an ice-cold milkshake, is that too much to ask?! We don’t know if ‘Beer & Burgers’ has cute staff members and amazing milkshakes!?”

“But they might have amazing milkshakes and cute staff members that we would be missing out on if we didn’t check it out. Besides, didn’t you want chicken legs instead of a milkshake a moment ago?” Jacob sharply remarked with a frown.

He then sighed: “Truthfully? Going to fast-food restaurants with y'all to relax and recharge after practice is not as exciting as it used to be. It’s a tradition at this point and it's still fun to hang out with you guys, but it feels like we’ve been getting into a slump recently. A change of pace might be good for us!”

“So, ‘Beer & Burgers’ it is then?” Joey asked hopefully as he swung his duffle bag over his shoulder.

Nick rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Fine, ‘Beer & Burgers’ it is.”