Page 11 of Be My First

“Me,” Keene holds up his pizza.

“How is it?” I ask.

He takes another big bite and says with his mouth full. “Amazing. Who knew?”

I turn to Maggie. “How much pizza have you eaten since being here?”

She laughs. “Less than you would think. The other food is amazing. Wait until you try it.”

Declan takes a sip of wine. “I may stay here forever.”

I chuckle. “It’s too far. That’s not allowed.”

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“Hang on,” Eli says. He walks to the side of the room and back again.

“Come here,” he grabs my hand and motions for the others to follow him. “Am I an idiot or what but I never realized that the David statue was David from the Bible?”

Maggie starts laughing. “Did you think he was just a random guy named David?”

“Yes,” Eli says as he points to the statue. “But he’s holding a slingshot. I never noticed it in the pictures but once you move to the side, you can see it hanging over his shoulder.”

We all stare up at it.

“Honestly, I didn’t think about it either,” I say.

“Me too,” Keene agrees.

Bode shrugs. “It makes sense.”

After a moment, Declan says, “He looks afraid from this angle.”

“Yeah. It’s wild. He looks nervous,” Eli agrees.

“I’ve never seen a picture from this angle. He doesn’t look scared when you’re standing in front,” I say.

“Yeah. It’s from the story of David and Goliath. He’s about to face the giant and he’s afraid,” Maggie says.

“It’s bigger than I would have thought,” I say.

“Well, parts of it,” Keene mutters.

Declan tilts his head. “Yeah. That’s small, right? For the size of his body?”

We’re all staring at the penis.

“Maybe he’s cold?” Keene says.

“He’s a grower not a shower – perfectly normal,” Eli says.

Keene giggles, and Bode just shakes his head. I feel heat start to rise to my face.

Before one of the guys can say something else, Maggie steps in front of us. “I can actually explain that.”

Declan looks amused. “Can you, Maggie? Tell us about his small penis.”

She smiles. “You know I majored in Art and Art History in college, and I took a class called Phallic Symbols in the Ancient World.”

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