When Jacob's parents got divorced, it didn't affect him as much as people thought it would. Truth be told, his dad was gone so much on business trips (which was essentially the reason his mom had wanted the divorce), that Jacob didn't feel like he saw him that much less anyway.
What did affect him were all the changes that accompanied the divorce: his mom moved them to a different, smaller house across town, and since she didn't want to have to take him to and from his school every day, he had to transfer to a different one in their new neighborhood.
Jacob was a nice, smart kid, but he was also very outspoken, and at 12 years old, being plucked from the small circle of close friends who understood him, then thrust into an unfamiliar environment, proved a difficult adjustment for him.
However, things got a lot better when his mom started dating Kevin a few months after the divorce. Jacob thought Kevin was the coolest; he was a computer programmer who designed video games (and made a lot of money doing it) that his mom met at the grocery store. Kevin knew a hack or trick for every one of Jacob's favorite games, and unlike Jacob's dad, who was always trying to get him into sports, Kevin tried to show an interest in all of Jacob's hobbies, from fantasy novels to building models.
Even though Jacob felt like Kevin only tried so hard to bond with him because he felt bad for him for having a hard time at his new school, he was grateful to have someone to pal around with the way he always wished he could have with his dad.
One night, a session of playing video games with Kevin (who had taken to babysitting Jacob whenever his mom worked late) had devolved into them rough-housing. At one point, when Kevin had him in a headlock and he was trying to wiggle his way out, Jacob felt a hand lift up his shirt and grab onto the back of his underwear. Then, to his surprise, he felt his gray boxer-briefs rise up his back and into his butt, followed by Kevin hollering "WEDGIE!!!"
Kevin hadn't pulled so hard on his underwear that it really hurt him; rather, he felt a sense of mild discomfort that, oddly, was accompanied by a sensation that was pleasing at the same time. Surprised, Jacob started to laugh as Kevin bounced him a little bit before releasing his hold on the underwear.
"What was that?" Jacob asked as he reached into the back of his pants to adjust.
"You've never heard of a wedgie?" Kevin asked. "That used to happen all the time when I was a kid. It's when someone pulls on the back of your underwear so that it hurts your butt."
"Really? That didn't hurt at all!" Jacob replied. "It felt weird, but I actually kinda liked it!"
"Really?" Kevin asked, chuckling. "Well I wasn't trying to hurt you, bud. Trust me, if I was, you probably wouldn't have liked it."
"Oh yeah?" Jacob replied in a challenging tone.
"Well come on then, show me what you've got!" he said, turning his back to Kevin.
"Wait, really?" Kevin asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah!" Jacob responded enthusiastically.
"Ok then," Kevin said skeptically. "But if it starts to hurt at any point then just say so, alright?"
"Ok, I will," Jacob said quickly over his shoulder before turning away again.
Kevin walked over to him and grabbed hold of the back of his waistband. Then, trying to be as gentle as possible, he gradually lifted the underwear until they were stretched to their full capacity, about halfway up his back.
When Jacob didn't say anything, Kevin asked, "You doing ok?"
"Yeah I'm good!" Jacob replied with a smile. "It's actually kind of fun!"
