While we were still at Mike's on Sunday morning, my dad asked, "Have any of you been to sleep yet?" Grinning madly, all four of us shook our heads. Facing Prez and me, he then asked, "Are you planning on sleeping here or at home?"

Prez quickly answered, "I can drive us home."

"You're sure?" my dad asked. Prez and I both nodded and reassured him we could make it the short trip back home. Hell, we had only had two and a half beers each! He then said, "I'm going to follow you home then. Wake Drew and Corey and we'll be on our way as soon as they're ready."

Prez went inside to wake them up.

________________________________________

No sooner did the words, "I'll wake them," leave my lips than I closed my eyes and wondered why I didn't let Keith wake them. Never had Keith or I roosted them out of the sofa-sleeper in the den. Drew always said that Corey was an early riser, even when they've been awake late. It wouldn't matter if Drew was holding Corey or vise-versa, Drew would likely wake embarrassed. I had to be careful.

With one finger, I tapped lightly on Mike's bedroom door. I waited then checked the doorknob. It turned. It took me another few seconds to decide if I should open the door or not! But I figured my best bet would be to wake Corey first. Pushing the door open just an inch or so, I softly called Corey's name then listened. Hearing nothing, I pushed the door slightly ajar.

Immediately visible, practically filling the twin-size bed, they were snuggled on their sides, facing the door. Drew had his arm over Corey. The sheet was down around their waists. It seemed they were still asleep. They looked so cute together!

But I wondered how Mike and Derrick managed on such a small mattress. Keith and I fall out of our queen-size bed often enough. And having the bed in a position where it's the first thing seen when the door opens just blew me away. Mike's room was smaller than ours was but things could be rearranged for a bit more privacy.

Stepping closer to the bed, I softly called, "Corey?"

Surprising the hell out of me, Corey's eyes popped open and he softly smiled, "Hi."

I grinned, "It's time to head home, dude."

Corey smiled but whined, "Do we have to?" I giggled and Corey softly said, "He's never held me for so long before. Every time he started to roll away from me, he realized that there was no where to roll to but the floor and rolled back again." Then he giggled, "I might even trade in my full size bed for a twin size, just for more nights like this!"

I chuckled, "Next time you sleep over at our place, insist on sleeping in his bed."

Corey hummed thoughtfully then asked, "What about John?"

I shrugged, "If it bugs him, he can sleep in the den when you're over."

Drew shifted behind Corey but didn't wake. Corey grinned, "He's dead to the world! I could do just about anything!"

Nodding enthusiastically, I chuckled, "Just like Keith!"

Again Drew stirred and tightened his grip around Corey.

Smiling widely, Corey sighed, "We'll be out in five minutes."

I nodded, "Dad's out back waiting," then turned and went to the bathroom.

________________________________________

My dad sat down at the table and congratulated us for not destroying a single thing all night. He expected something to be broken - a towel bar torn out of the bathroom wall, at the very least. Glancing suspiciously around the table, he then asked, "You stayed out of the liquor cabinet?"

I was surprised he asked but really shouldn't have been. Back when Mike was mourning the loss of his dad, the three of us would take late night trips into the kitchen. We had tried every bottle that was down there at one time or another. When Mike's mom noticed liquor bottles mysteriously emptying themselves, all three of us got in big trouble. Imagine being only fourteen and getting caught with a hangover and the smell of liquor on your breath. Just dealing with the lectures my parents gave me when all I wanted to do was vomit was enough to teach me a lesson.

Of course, by that point we probably all realized that we were doing more than mourning with a friend. Individually, we were probably all beginning to understand our sexual preference. Trying to push those feelings aside gave us another reason to drink. It took very little to get us very wasted since we were so young. We basically got drunk and passed out.

Mike chuckled and reassured, "Not a drop was touched, honest. We learned our lessons a long time ago." Derrick and I nodded then Mike continued, "There's really only bourbon and wine in the house any more."

My dad hummed thoughtfully then cleared his throat and cautiously asked, "So this was a sex party, not a drug and alcohol party?"

I couldn't believe my dad, covered my eyes and snickered uncontrollably. Mike and Derrick laughed pretty hard too.

Mike nodded and chuckled; "You might say that, yeah!"

More to bug Mike than answer my dad, I giggled "I didn't see anyone skinny dippin'."

Mike quickly said, "I think Gil was down to his underwear, before you got here."

Derrick grinned, "Couples went into the pool house. That's where me and Mike usually wind up," shocking the hell out of us and causing us to start chuckling again. My dad stopped asking questions at that point. Grinning and shaking his head, he said, "All six of you are turning me gray," then went to get the towels off the fence.

Well he wanted to speak bluntly! In their exhausted and semi-inebriated state, Mike and Derrick were obviously happy to oblige! Derrick got up and went to help my dad while Mike and I remained seated at the table and played with Rush.

I recalled Mike's last birthday. Mike had wondered if his birthday parties would always be small groups of gay friends. This year, Derrick had succeeded in making Mike's seventeenth birthday memorable in every way. I asked, "Did ya have a good time?"

Enthusiastically, Mike nodded, "Awesome!" Then he giggled, "Got hit on too!"

"Really? By who? Does Derrick know?"

Mike snickered, "D knows. But I ain't tellin' you!"

I whined, "Why not?"

Shaking his head and zipping his lips, Mike grinned.

I knew exactly why he wouldn't tell me. The first really good reason was because no one hit on me and he could hold it over my head. Another really good reason was so I could play guessing games. I started to wonder who might've made a pass at Mike and began naming names.

Only partly through the list, Prez emerged from the house. Obviously, he had been in the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his hair. Appearing totally refreshed, he tossed me a bottle of Visine and said, "That's from Mike's bathroom."

While I leaned back to dowse my eyes, Mike whispered, "Wish I remembered that was in there before your dad got here. Our eyes must look like shit."

Prez softly said, "Chlorine pool water does the same. Don't worry about it."

After we had each dowsed our eyes, Corey came out of the house wearing only boxer shorts. Sleepily, he nodded at us and walked directly into the pool. For a moment, it looked like he was trying to walk on water!

Mike turned to me and softly said, "He's getting really cute! Kinda reminds me of D a few years ago."

I disagreed, "They don't look that much alike. Blond hair is all they have in common."

"He seems pretty intense though," Mike said.

Nodding, Prez grinned, "Sometimes he is. Other times he's really playful."

Mike repeated, "Just like D."

Prez chuckled, "Got a thing for blonds, Mike?"

Rapidly nodding his head, Mike said, "If you only knew." Then he seemed to phase out for a moment and softly muttered, "No one has eyes like D's though."

Stepping out the back door and up to the patio table, Drew dropped the gym bag with all our stuff as if it weighed a ton. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he was ready to crawl back into bed.

Smiling widely, Prez said, "Corey shows his playful side when he's alone with Drew."

Suspiciously glancing around the table, Drew said, "Huh? What are you talking about?" We all smiled innocently. Blushing fiercely, Drew grumbled.

My dad returned with Derrick and the towels. Facing Drew, my dad asked, "Ready for home?"

"I am. Dunno about Corey," Drew said. He waited for Corey to rise above the surface then hollered, "Come on, Cor. Let's go home."

"Okey doke," Corey shouted, and began swimming for the ladder.

Mike asked, "We're jammin' at three?"

Prez nodded and replied, "That's what I told Jessy."

Turning to Derrick and Mike, my dad pleaded, "Try to get some sleep before then, okay?"

Mike nodded, "Once everyone else wakes and goes home, we'll crash out."

Prez grinned at me, bouncing his eyebrows playfully. I stood and reached for his hand. Taking my hand in his, Prez then slithered to me and rested his head on my shoulder.

Rummaging around the gym bag, Corey soon pulled out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt then started inside to put dry clothes on.

"Corey?" Derrick said. Corey turned around and Derrick tossed a towel to him saying, "I don't really wanna mop the floor again." Catching the towel, Corey hummed and nodded then began toweling off.

Holding Prez close, I whispered, "You sure you're okay to drive?"

Prez nodded, "I'll be fine," and his whole body shook. Then he whispered, "Watch how fast I wake up when we're alone in our room."

Wide-eyed and smiling, I pulled back to look at him. He was grinning widely and bouncing his red eyebrows playfully. Instantly, my brain spun as the blood drained into my shorts. I grinned, "Ya still wanna play?"

Nodding quickly, Prez melodically whispered, "It's still your turn."

Prez and I returned to our embrace. Against my hip, I could feel he was getting hard already! Of course that woke my dick and it took all my will power to keep from grinding myself against him while my dad and brother were watching. Not that either might've said anything about it but I'm sure my dad would feel at least a little uncomfortable.

Honestly, I was beyond horny. Over the past few days, Prez felt like way more than a boyfriend or lover. It felt like he was a part of me again. I thought, this recurring feeling is awesome! And the conversation we had with Doug and Brian fueled everything I'd considered while at work. There were no words to describe our relationship anymore. I felt more attached to him than ever - as if a breakup would be as painful as an amputated limb. It was amazing really. The few disagreements we'd had, while important enough at the time, seemed to escape my memory, as if they had never happened.

Moments later, Corey re-emerged from the house. Once again, my dad praised Mike and Derrick for keeping the house clean but then warned them to keep it clean for Mrs. Gibbons. We all said our goodbyes then headed for the cars. I was surprised that my dad chose to drive my car over my mom's Lexus and told him so.

He explained, "It's been a long while since I drove it and thought I'd check the steering and brakes. Everything seems fine, she's holding up pretty well." Corey and Drew followed us to the 4-Runner, leaving my dad to follow us alone in my car.

When we got home, John was watching a ball game on TV while my mom finished making breakfast in the kitchen. We all stayed in the living room for a few more minutes until my mom called us to eat. Thank goodness she made pancakes! After having a few beers the night before, any sort of eggs would've turned my stomach. As soon as she sat down to eat, my mom cautiously asked, "Is the house still standing?"

Nodding, my dad chuckled, "They did good. The carpets were vacuumed, floors were mopped and even the bathroom was cleaned."

My mom frowned, "Then who's going to paint the house? I really don't want to see you doing it."

John smiled and through half-chewed pancakes mumbled, "Gettin' too old?"

Fluttering her eyelashes, my mom turned to John and asked, "Are you volunteering?"

John's smile quickly vanished and he shook his head. Prez and I started snickering.

My dad said, "I don't find much pleasure in climbing up and down ladders every weekend in the heat of the summer. Maybe we need to start shopping for siding?"

Across the table from Prez and I, while my parents discussed home maintenance, John asked Drew and Corey about the party. Prez turned to me and reminded, "The hound dog needs a bath today."

I thought for a few moments while I finished chewing then said, "We probably need to do that before we grab a nap."

Prez agreed, "Otherwise it'll get too late and we'll wind up spacing it," then started eating faster. I glanced his way, grinned and began stuffing large chunks of pancakes into my mouth. My mom asked us what the hurry was. Gulping down a partially chewed mound of pancake, Prez answered, "Rush needs a bath before we can take a nap."

He still finished eating before I did! Moments later, we excused ourselves, took our plates and glasses to the kitchen then Prez called Rush. As we headed for the bathroom, Prez asked, "Are you very tired?"

I answered, "Over tired, I think. Now I'm wide awake again."

He said, "Me too," then asked, "Do you want to rest while I bathe the hound?"

Shaking my head, I reminded him, "Remember the first time we bathed him? Every time we'd pour water on him, he'd shake it off again. By the time we finished, we were more soaked than he was!"

Humming thoughtfully, Prez then said, "Gotchya. Clothing optional?"

"Completely unnecessary," I grinned. "We're gonna need a shower afterwards anyway."

I stopped at the bathroom door. Prez stepped inside, kneeled down and called the dog. Rush's ears went back and he sat down. In a high, playful voice, Prez said, "Come on Rush, its play time! We're gonna have so much fun!"

Suspiciously, Rush looked up at me. I could almost hear the dog say, "Is he still stoned or what?" Before I knew it, Rush was on his feet and scampering back to the living room! Prez chuckled, "He's too damn smart!" and stood up.

I snickered, "We're gonna have to surround him."

Walking toward me, Prez nodded, "But we don't want to scare him. I don't want every bath for the rest of his life to be a battle of wills."

Corey, Drew and John were walking into the living room. "Hold the dog," I quickly said to them. John got down on the floor, patted his lap and called the dog. But Rush wasn't going to make this easy. He bounced around and away from John. Corey leaned over to grab Rush's collar but the dog ducked and trotted into the dining room. Then Prez went to go get his dog while I closed all the doors in the hallway except the bathroom door. I figured, if we could get him back in the hallway again, we could block his path back to the living room and he'd have no place else to run but into the bathroom. As I walked to the dining room, I could hear Prez, Corey, Drew and John all trying to call the dog. When I got there, I laughed out loud. Rush was hiding under the table by my mom's feet, peering out at the crazed humans calling his name.

"Its too late now," my dad snickered, "you'll have to wait for him to relax a little bit."

Corey, Drew and John all gave up and headed back to the living room. Still kneeling down, Prez told his dog, "Don't be a wimp! You jumped into eight feet of water last night. Then you rolled around in the dirt and grass. Now you need a bath, you rascally hound!" Then Prez sighed, stood up and came over to me. For a long few moments, we watched the dog and the dog watched us. Taking my hand, Prez led me to the living room. Before we had made it to the sofa, Rush scampered out from under the table, past us and down the hallway. Quickly, Prez and I blocked the hallway. Rush stood in front of our closed bedroom door, pushing at it with his nose so he could retreat to the safety of his crate.

"Don't let him get past you," Prez grinned, and then got down on his hands and knees. Slowly Prez crawled towards his dog, softly reassuring him the whole time. Rush backed up a few steps then suddenly burst forward and jumped right over Prez! Laughing hysterically, I dropped to my knees and caught the dog before he got past me. Behind me, my brothers and Corey were laughing their asses off!

Carrying Rush, I followed Prez into the bathroom. He quickly closed the door behind me so the dog wouldn't escape. I put Rush down and he lay down in front of the door. Then Prez began running water for the dog's bath. Once he was satisfied the water wasn't too hot or too cold, he stood up and started getting undressed.

I had just pulled my T-shirt over my head and tossed it aside when Prez unbuttoned and dropped his shorts. He was already getting another stiffie! I giggled, "What's with you today?"

Prez grinned, "I was gonna ask you the same sort of question last night." I tilted my head curiously and Prez continued, "We were supposed to have a little fun before we went to Mike's."

I reminded, "We did have some play time yesterday afternoon and again last night."

Shaking his head, Prez smirked, "Quickies. Aren't you the one that bribed the DJ at the prom?"

Omigod! He was still excited over the prom. I grinned and nodded.

"After that," Prez said, "when Tim tried to pester us, didn't you imply that you wanted to be seen with me?" I nodded again. Slithering to me and wrapping his arms around me, Prez ground his cock against my hip and whispered, "We have to make love as soon as we're done bathing the hound and ourselves. Another quickie isn't gonna cut it."

I sighed and squeezed him tight then passionately kissed him. Moments earlier, my dick was hanging limp but after a short kiss it was hardening fast. Prez felt it and grinned, "First things first," then released me and bent over to get Rush. He picked the dog up then carried him into the tub and put him down in the water.

Rush's eyes pleaded with me to save him. I grinned, "He's gonna try to make a break for it, Prez. You'd better stay in the tub and hold him still." Then I reached under the sink for the dog's shampoo and the big bowl we use to wet him down and rinse him off.

I began dumping bowls of water on Rush while Prez softly reassured his dog. Just before we started shampooing and rinsing, I noticed Prez's erection had deflated pretty much back to it's normal state.

Pouring out a handful of shampoo, Prez commented, "Mike seemed to really enjoy his party."

Taking the shampoo from him, I nodded, "He said someone there hit on him too. He wouldn't tell me who though."

Shaking his head, Prez giggled, "Derrick told me it was Rick."

Momentarily confused, I said, "I thought Rick was after Howard."

"They were together a lot. Maybe he was just shopping around?"

"Did anyone hit on you?"

Prez shook his head. "We were together the whole night with very few exceptions. I don't think anyone would be bold enough to hit on me while you were standing near by. That would be very un-cool, not to mention risky."

After a few moments, I wondered aloud, "Did you notice Jerry and Mack?"

Glancing at me, Prez grinned, "Beside the fact that they were together, yeah, I noticed their shorts seemed to be awfully packed!"

Grinning widely, I nonchalantly told him, "I had gym class with them last year." Stopping what he was doing, Prez looked at me for the verdict. "In every way, Jerry's huge," I told him, "gotta be at least ten inches just hangin' there. Probably the biggest dick I've ever seen. Uncut too."

"And Mack?"

"About six or seven inches limp, I guess. But it's really fat. At least as fat as I get fully erect. It looks way too big for the rest of his body, in my opinion. He's circumcised too." I reached for the bowl to rinse the dog and stole a kiss.

We continued bathing the dog and Prez snickered, "Imagine if they double in size, like you or me?"

I smiled back at him and shrugged, "It'd be fun to watch but then what?"

Prez roared, "A two foot long schlong? Make lots of excuses!" and I busted up laughing too.

Could you imagine having a boyfriend with a dick that big? And dealing with it erect must be a fulltime job, requiring both hands and a mouth to try and keep him satisfied. Any kind of anal sex must be painful though. I don't know exactly how long that orifice is but I do know that Prez fills me up plenty.

While we were laughing at ourselves, Rush took advantage of the moment, shaking shampoo suds and water all over the bathroom and us. "Silly hound!" Prez loudly laughed. Rush only wagged his wet tail and panted.

Another few moments of silence passed while we rinsed the dog, I asked, "Did you get to talk with Matt or Eddie much?"

Prez shook his head, "They were obviously preoccupied with each other." Looking at me, Prez said, "Shaun seems like a really nice guy though."

Shaun was the most enthusiastic about the gay-straight alliance. It was Shaun's enthusiasm and guitar playing that impressed Prez the most, I was certain of it. I nodded, "He sure made certain that Gil knew what was on his mind."

Prez smiled and nodded, "Francis and Graham were pretty cool too. Francis was very quiet though, don't you think?"

Again I nodded and told him, "Mike said they were sophomores. Maybe they felt a little uncertain or out of place?"

"Graham seemed to be a little more comfortable," Prez noticed.

I said the first thing that popped into my head when I met Graham. "Does he have really big ears or what?"

Prez nodded and giggled, holding his gaze for a long few seconds.

I couldn't read his thoughts at that moment and smiled, "What?"

He grinned, "You're not going to comment on Francis's red hair?"

"Its more auburn, don't ya think?"

"If you say so," Prez snickered.

Grinning, I looked up at him and he smiled back at me, holding the glance for a good minute. The dog was almost completely cleaned; we only had to rinse him off a little bit more. Prez opened the tub drain. I reached for the water knobs then checked with Prez before turning on the shower. He covered the dog's eyes, nodded and I twisted the knob.

Prez yelled, "ARGH! It's COLD! Shrinkage!"

Stepping into the tub with him and the dog, I grinned, "You signaled it was okay! I'll get ya warmed up in just a few minutes."

"Let's get the mutt out of here quick!" Prez giggled. We rinsed off the dog and ourselves, then shut off the water and helped Rush out of the tub. Naturally, he waited until he was out of the shower to shake off again!

Tossing a towel over Rush, Prez sighed, "I don't mind cleaning but I've cleaned three bathrooms in the last day. This will be number four." I tilted my head and Prez explained, "One of the urinals overflowed at Black Angus last night." He then grimaced, "I got to mop up the mess."

As I began drying the dog, I said, "I'll take care of this one then baby."

Grabbing another towel, Prez knelt down next to Rush and started to dry the dog's hindquarters. He nodded and smiled, "We'll finish drying him off then I'll get him outside in the sun. Then I'll come back and help you in here."

I mumbled, "I'll need your help more in the bedroom," and grinned mischievously.

Seductively, Prez softly promised, "You'll get as much help as you need, believe me."

For the next few minutes, we seduced each other while drying off the dog. What's really weird is how verbal descriptions and promises don't have much effect. It's the unspoken seduction that can really kick things into high gear. I caught Prez glaring at me for a long while. His chest heaved and he exhaled then briefly licked his lips and returned to concentrating on the dog. My dick became fully erect in a matter of seconds! Then Prez stood, put his shorts back on and took the dog out. I giggled hysterically as he closed the door behind him because his damp shorts didn't really hide the fact that he was sportin' another chubby!

Standing up, I grabbed another towel and started drying the bathroom walls. All we did was give the dog a bath but the whole room was soaked! There were water spots on the mirror, the window, the vanity and the closet and bathroom doors. I had barely finished drying things off when Prez returned.

He sighed, "Kim's here."

Barely controlling myself, I grumbled, "Damn! We've been good! Why can't we get just one tiny break?"

"We'll turn up the stereo but we'll still have to be quieter."

I nodded and sighed, "John will appreciate it."

"Well," Prez drawled, "you are quieter than me, most of the time."

"You know I like it when we both get some."

Reaching and turning me to face him, Prez softly said, "This time, I want to eat you alive. Last summer you used to let me do that more often."

"I know. But since your first time and seeing how much you enjoy it, I can't help but want to switch things around."

Prez grinned widely and shuffled closer to me whispering, "I could tie you down? Not too tight, just so you can't reach me."

I giggled, "You'll eventually have to untie me and you know what will happen."

"By that point, I'll be looking forward to it!" Prez smiled. Then he pushed off his shorts again and helped me clean the bathroom.

The idea of being restrained while my baby made love to me had me bursting with excitement. While cleaning the toilet I casually asked, "What would you tie me down with?"

In the mirror, I could see Prez bounce his eyebrows playfully. He smiled, "The scarves we got for Christmas might do the job."

I commented, "Haven't seen them since Big Bear."

Prez hummed his agreement then said, "This time though, the intention is to make you shiver!"

"You are pure evil!" I giggled, "I love it too!"

We both stepped into the tub to clean the mess in there. Purposefully bumping into each other, we continued to taunt and tease each other. Once the tub and walls were cleaned of dog hair, we showered. As tired and anxious as we were, we kept dropping the bar of soap!

I really love all the different ways we play with each other! The first time the soap fell to the floor, it was honestly accidental. But from then on the soap would purposefully fly out of our hands, landing on the floor of the tub with a loud clunk and our combined laughter. Why we just don't say, "Grab my ass, please," I don't know.

Finally, we were showered and the bathroom was cleared of dog hair. Prez went back to our room but I made a quick trip to the living room. I told my folks that we would be taking a nap but that Jessy, Mike and Derrick would be showing up around three. Purposefully, I glanced at John as I said good night. His smile showed gratitude but his eyes warned me to not make a lot of noise while "sleeping"!

It was almost eleven in the morning when I stepped into our bedroom. Prez had turned on the stereo and was dancing in place, his lengthening dick jiggling around between his legs.

Pushing my shorts off and then kicking them into the corner, I told Prez, "Mom just mentioned that we might want to get a plastic or aluminum tub for Rush, so we can bathe him outside while its warm."

Walking to the dresser, Prez grinned and nodded, "Sounds like a plan. It would save a lot of bathroom cleanup time." Then he fished around the bottom left side dresser drawer and pulled out our scarves. Smiling widely, his blue eyes barely visible, Prez asked, "Am I really gonna have to tie you down?"

Giggling, I backed up a step, "Do you want to tie me down?"

"I'd rather not but I will if I have to."

"And if I told you I kinda want you to?"

Prez's eye's got really wide. Giggling, he stepped closer to me, gave me a kiss and then turned me around. He took my left hand and then my right. Behind me, I could feel him wrapping the scarf around my wrists. "Is that too tight?" Prez asked.

My heart was racing and pounding so much, I could barely reply! I could've easily slipped out of the scarf and wondered if I should even tell him. After all, he'd made it pretty clear that he was looking forward to me breaking free and attacking him. Shaking my head, I turned and knelt before his twitching cock. It took my mouth only a few seconds to capture it.

After barely a minute, Prez gasped, "That's enough. Now its your turn." He backed away from me then helped me up and sat me down on the edge of the bed. Then, unbelievably, Prez picked up the second scarf and folded it in half. Climbing on the bed behind me, Prez wrapped the scarf over my eyes and tied it, blindfolding me! "No distractions," Prez whispered, "all you can do is feel."

I playfully warned, "What's good for the goose."

"Is good for the gander," Prez said. He kissed me deeply, the whole while fondling my cock. Then he guided me further back onto the bed and got between my legs. He licked my sack and up my cock then started sucking the life out of me. He'd stop and jack it a little then just squeeze, pausing for a long few moments. Over and over for at least ten minutes my baby made my cock throb and my skin crawl because I couldn't see anything, not even a shadow to give me a clue of what he was about to do. It was fantastic! "Roll over babe," he softly instructed, and eagerly I rolled onto my front, with my head turned slightly so I could breath.

The bed shook then became still. For a few seconds I heard nothing. Then I heard the night table drawer open. I wondered what he was getting. Was it the lube? Was it the dildos? He lifted my right foot and began gently sucking on my toes. I couldn't help but laugh loudly as he drenched and tickled my feet with his tongue. He did the same to my other foot and toes. When he was finished, he spread my legs. I could feel him crawling up on the bed between them. No sooner did I begin to wonder what his next game might be, I felt him stroke both my legs, from the ankles to my butt, back and forth. He sighed. I relaxed and sighed too.

Soon he was rubbing only the cheeks of my ass, occasionally pushing them together and then spreading them apart.

Prez dreamily whispered, "I could spend every hour of every day for the rest of my life touching you."

"I'd probably let you too."

"Is it really that good?"

Enthusiastically, I answered, "You know I love massages," then promised, "Sometime soon, you're getting the same treatment."

Prez didn't say a word. For a few more minutes he continued rubbing my butt, getting closer and closer to the crack before finally using his thumbs to really spread my cheeks apart. The mattress bounced again. Prez then licked my hole, causing me to shudder. For the next few minutes, my lover rimmed my twitching hole. To prevent myself from making a lot of noise, I turned my face into the mattress. Pausing again, Prez snickered, "It's like an artist drew the hair on your ass! It grows up your legs and a little way up your ass. But there's an almost perfect hairline from your crotch to your hip. Above that, nothing but flesh."

"I planned it that way just for you! Can't promise it'll stay that way though!" I giggled. A moment later, the mattress bounced and shifted. I could feel him crawling over me, his erection nestled comfortably between my cheeks.

Into my ear, Prez whispered, "It feels so downy soft! I'm gonna have to think about whether to shave it off or not." Then he started nibbling my ear and grinding his woody against my ass. I was so ready for it, spreading my legs to their widest position and pushing my ass up into him to let him know. But after only a minute or so, just as I was beginning to verbalize my desires, Prez got off me and returned to his spot between my legs. He was making me whacko! The next thing I felt was a wet finger slowly sliding down the crack of my ass. After a short pause, I felt two wet fingers digging deeper into the crack and eventually finding my hole. There was another short pause. It sounded like he was lubing his cock. Then I felt something bigger than fingers digging into my ass but Prez wasn't hovering over me.

"Is that a dildo?" I asked, and Prez hummed yes. I then asked, "The big one or the little one?"

"I thought I'd start small and work my way up," Prez giggled. He then said, "I'm surprised you can't tell the difference in size," and continued searching for my hole.

I grinned, "I could tell it wasn't you and it wasn't a candle."

The dildo poked at my hole and slid off target again. Sounding exasperated, Prez growled, "I can at least find the hole with my dick or a candle!"

I chuckled, "Even the near misses feel good and you know it."

Humming his agreement, Prez shifted a little bit. With one hand he spread my cheeks and, with the other, he aimed the dildo at my hole. This time it slid in. I sighed and Prez waited a while before sliding more inside me. Once it was all in, Prez let it go and started massaging my buns with both hands again. Now and then, his hand would pass near the dildo and he'd push it in. After a few minutes, Prez asked, "What do you think? Does it feel anything like me?"

I caught my breath and answered, "It's close but nothing feels as good as the real thing; not a finger or a candle or a life-like dildo. They're all too hard and inflexible; not like the velvety soft flesh on your dick."

Prez hummed his agreement then added, "And when I clamp down on your shaft, it gives a little. A dildo doesn't give even the smallest fraction of an inch."

I hummed my agreement then Prez pulled the dildo out and crawled over me, grinding his rod between my cheeks. He leaned down and kissed my shoulder then whispered, "I love you Keith."

That was all I needed to hear. Lust boiled over to passion and I freed my hands from the scarf. Prez pushed the other scarf off my head then leaned down and kissed my lips softly. Shifting position slightly, Prez then started poking his cock at my hole.

"Yeah baby," I groaned, "that's the best feeling." Reaching back, I took hold of his hips while he teased my hole.

It had been a long time since I lay flat on my stomach with Prez hovering over me. During our Valentine's Day trip to San Diego was the last time, if I recalled correctly. I really enjoy it and so does he but, because we're not facing each other, it's not one of our favorite positions.

Prez shifted position again and thrust against my ass, stuffing most of his shaft into me all at once. Inhaling sharply, I then lost myself in the fantastic feelings he was creating. His thrusts caused my cock to rub against the sheets and it started feeling way too good. I did half of a push up, rested on my elbows and turned my head so Prez could kiss me. Because of our position, his kiss was off center but his soft blue eyes told me all he was feeling. Soon he started rambling, "Oh God Keith, I love you so much," and really pounding against my butt. Up to this point, I was trying to control my hole to increase his pleasure but my cock was still rubbing against the sheets and forcing all my muscles to tighten up. Finally Prez grunted and slammed into me. His cock was throbbing inside me, flooding my insides. It's such a tremendous rush! I was so close but waited for him. As soon as his orgasmic high passed, he began a slow, forceful grind. I encouraged him and soon was unloading onto the sheets. My arms collapsed and Prez lay down on top of me.

After a few minutes of cooing, I caught my breath and said, "That was absolutely awesome baby."

"If you liked it, I probably will too," Prez breathlessly replied. Then he rolled off me and snuggled close. I rolled onto my side, wrapped an arm around him and fell asleep.

I dreamt of the party, re-experiencing the feelings I had meeting those other gay dudes from our high school. Meeting each of them, I felt anxious. Never had I let myself consider any of them gay. As close as Mike and I have always been, it took about two years after his dad's death before we admitted it to each other. Most surprising was the immediate attachment I felt now that I knew they were gay. With each of the dudes at Mike's party, I greeted them warmly, sometimes with a handshake, sometimes not but always with the same notion of sameness in my heart and brain. There were some feelings transmitted from the eyes though. If I had to put words to the feelings, like I had in the dream, it might be like they were saying: Wow! You're gay too? That's so great! I never guessed. I'm with so-and-so now and hopefully will be for a very long time. We can still be friends though, can't we?

Someone knocked on the door, waking us from our nap. I noticed that I had released Prez at some point. We were lying on our sides, back-to-back, with our feet and rear ends still touching. That made me grin. Even exhausted and sound asleep, we could still find a way to touch each other! A few moments later, there was additional soft tapping at the door. But this was different; it had rhythm. It had to be Derrick.

It startled me when Prez shouted at the door, "Alright already, we're awake!"

From beyond the door, Mike melodically yelled, "Now get out of the bed."

"And put on your undies," Derrick added, causing Mike to snicker uncontrollably.

Prez and I rolled out of bed. I sarcastically commented, "They think they're so cute!" I glanced at Prez and pointed at the door. He nodded, grinned and started searching the floor for our clothes while I went and opened the door. Flinging it open, I glared unappreciatively at the two of them. They smiled and walked past me into our room.

Mike snickered, "You should've just stayed awake."

Derrick added, "After a certain point, sleeping and waking again only feels worse."

Prez tossed me my shorts and yawned, "Is Jessy here yet?"

Derrick nodded, "Chattin' with Keith's mom in the living room."

Holding my shorts in my hand, I incoherently roamed around the room in my birthday suit and happened to glance at the clock radio. Spinning around and glaring at our two goofy friends, I yelled, "It's not even three o'clock yet!"

While I pulled on my shorts, Mike turned to Derrick and sighed, "They're so grumpy when they first wake up."

Derrick chuckled, pulled his one hitter out of his pocket and flashed it around saying, "They just need their morning happy medicine."

"That's the last thing I need," Prez said. "It would just make me silly and I'd want to fall right back to sleep."

"Save that for another time dude," I agreed.

"You're sure?" Derrick asked. Prez and I nodded.

Prez suggested, "Save it for tomorrow, Mike's actual birthday."

Derrick shrugged, "If you change your mind, let me know."

Scanning the room, Mike loudly asked, "Where's my presents?"

I asked, "What makes you think that we got you anything?"

Mike whined, "Aww come on! Pretty please!"

Prez shook his head and yawned, "I need to wipe the sleep out of my eyes before I fall over."

Sniffing the air, Derrick grinned, "It doesn't smell too obvious in here today."

Prez commented, "Nothing will ever smell like the pool house did last night."

Mike snickered, "Don't tell me you actually missed an opportunity to have sex!"

"Don't bet on it," I told Mike. Then I turned to Prez and said, "I'll need a cold shower to wake up." Turning to Mike again, I pointed to the door and said, "Out! You'll get your presents tomorrow."

Grinning insanely, Mike ranted, "But I was born at three thirty three in the morning! I should really get them tonight!"

Prez guided Derrick and I pushed Mike out of our room. Seeing my mom in the living room, I pushed Mike along and whined, "Mike's trying to find his birthday presents, ma!" Then I grinned widely and waved at Jessy.

Smiling at my childish antics, my mom said, "Those will be the last presents he ever gets if I slip and mention the party to his mother."

Prez mimicked Mike's wide-eyed, frightened expression then giggled, "Go ahead out to the garage and get started. We'll be there in ten minutes." Derrick nodded and pulled Mike along with him to the garage. Jessy, Drew and Corey got up and followed them.

As Prez and I walked towards the bathroom, he yawned, "I had a bad dream. That's why I shouted before."

"It's okay baby, I knew you weren't yelling at me. We only got about two and a half hours rest," I said. Walking into the bathroom, I then asked, "What did you dream about? Your mom?"

Prez shook his head and closed the door. "I dreamt we had a really big argument. Can't remember why it started or what it was about though."

I suggested, "Maybe it's just a leftover from Tim's nasty attitude Friday night?" and squeezed some toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

Prez sighed, grabbed his toothbrush and said, "I sure hope so."

Watching each other in the mirror, we brushed our teeth. He seemed worried and a little sad, as if the dream argument was real. When we finished, I took his hand and led him into the shower with me. I turned on the water then the shower.

Behind me, Prez yelled, "AH! IT'S COLD!" Glaring evilly, he loudly reminded, "Ooo! That's twice today!"

I grinned, "It'll warm up in a few seconds. Until then, it'll help wake us up."

He frowned, "Shrinkage."

"It's only temporary," I giggled. Then I naturally reached for his package, just to warm him up, ya know? But he turned around! "Hey!" I laughed.

"It's hiding up by my intestines," Prez complained.

I roared laughing, reached for the soap and started washing his back.

Once the water had warmed up, Prez turned and threatened, "No more nookie for you today."

"Betchya we will," I grinned, and started washing his front, sliding my hand down to his pubes then gently under his sack before soaping his half-hard dick.

"We won't," he countered.

"Sure we will."

"Won't."

"Will."

"Nope."

"Yep."

He slid behind me to rinse off and hummed no.

I lightly pinched his ass and enthusiastically hummed yes. Menacingly, Prez glared at me. I grinned, "There, we've had an argument. No more worries?"

Wide-eyed, Prez smiled then hugged me tight and whispered, "I love you." Then he opened the shower door and stepped out of the tub!

I laughed, "Hey! Come back here!"

"Did you want something?" he casually asked.

Over dramatizing my disappointment, I sighed, "Guess I can wash my own ass." Then more loudly, I said, "This time!" But Prez said nothing. I opened the shower door and peeked out. With one foot on the toilet seat, he was drying his leg, trying to avoid looking at me. But I peered down and saw he was grinning. Quickly, I finished up and rinsed off then got out of the tub. Just to make sure he wasn't stressed, I asked, "Better now?"

Putting his leg down and standing up straight, Prez grinned, "Much better."

I glanced down to find he had gotten another erection.

Reaching for a towel, I said, "There's nothing bothering me. All weekend, at the prom around straights and at Mike's party last night around gays, you've acted just the way I would expect you to act. I can't think of a single thing worth arguing about."

Prez finished wiping deodorant under his arms. He then looked at me in the mirror and reminded, "Don't wait to tell me if anything starts bugging you, okay Keith?"

"Do I ever?"

Shaking his head, Prez said, "Not very often."

"Is there anything I've done that's bugging you?" I asked. Again, Prez shook his head. "Let it rest then, Prez. It was only a dream. It's not like any of our disagreements have ever kept us from sleeping in the same bed. Whatever happens, we'll find some way to work it out."

Prez nodded and leaned against the door, waiting for me to finish drying off. From the garage, I could hear our friends practicing Sign Of The Gypsy Queen. I watched Prez from the mirror as I rubbed on some deodorant. Wrapping my towel around my waist, I opened the bathroom door. Then we crossed the hall to our bedroom and got dressed.

When we got to the garage, Drew and Corey were just leaving. After running through Gypsy Queen, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and We Will Rock You, I started shaking my maracas and slapping the tambourine against my leg, only to keep myself moving and awake. The next thing I knew, Derrick added a drum part and began singing, "Hoot-hoo," over and over. Prez chuckled and joined him, hoot-hooing while playing his bass. I added my hoot-hoos then Mike started singing Sympathy For The Devil, by the Stones. Then Jessy began playing her keys. It was amazing how they all recognized a song and began playing it. Honestly, it was damn close to the record but different enough to know they were just jammin'.

Once Mike finished playing his guitar solo and ended the song, we started talking about the prom. Jessy told us about the little chat (that's what she called it) she had with her friend.

"Anna and I go to the same church," Jessy began, "but somewhere along the line she got the idea that homosexuality is like a mental disease, not even a choice or a genetic attribute. Now that I think of it, she was a bit more understanding about you dudes. But she started raggin' on Sharon, Julie, Maria and Cathy." Shaking her head sadly, she said, "I just lost my patience. Don't know if it did any good at all."

Prez asked, "Why did she give us a break but not the girls?"

Jessy grinned, "'Cause you're just like every other teenage boy - mentally deranged and too horny for your own good!"

Prez laughed loudly, "But girls aren't allowed to be that way?" We all cracked up, passing various comments about those few days every month when female hormones are raging. Jessy laughed loudly through it all, neither admitting nor denying anything.

I then turned to Jessy saying, "Jerry said that he danced with you at one point during the night."

She nodded and smirked, "He's not a very good dancer. While we were out there though, I noticed all you dudes standing near your table and talking to some other couple."

"That must've been Tim and his date," Prez said. I could tell by the look in Prez's eyes that he was still angry about that whole situation.

Derrick yawned then said, "I could not believe that dude. What was his deal, Prez?"

Prez shrugged, "At the start of the school year, Tim and I got along all right; we even sat next to each other. After my mom died, he said some really peaceful and soothing things. Things were pretty friendly for a while there." He sighed and then continued, "Then we had the fight with Jake. When we got back to school, Tim tried to convince me that I was living in sin because I was gay. We talked a little about being gay and a lot about being in love, just so he could understand my side. But one day he placed a judgment, basically telling me that my soul would be eternally damned if I didn't change my evil ways. Well, I went off, reciting more Bible passages by chapter and verse than he could. I made sure he knew that I didn't care what he said or felt about it, that it was my life and that it wasn't interfering with anyone else. By that point I was more than a little annoyed and just moved to another desk far away from him. He hasn't said another word to me since that day… until the prom."

"You could've told me about it," Derrick softly said.

It seemed Derrick was a little sad that Prez didn't share the Tim Sheffield stories with him. While I did feel sort of bad for him, I got a sudden dizzy rush because Prez did share the stories with me.

Prez is real quick to share good news but he always minimizes any bad stuff. Even I have to wonder what exactly happened between Prez and Tim sometimes. Generally, Prez refuses to say anything about negative stuff. He'll sit there quietly then maybe ask some off the wall question. Eventually the conversation meanders its way to the root of the problem. I think it's because of his mom. That was one really bad thing he couldn't minimize or stay quiet about. In comparison, everything else is small potatoes to Prez.

Mike snickered, "That dude's just a fundamentalist butt-head!"

Prez chuckled, "Wish I knew why he was so worried about saving my soul."

Jessy sighed, "Guaranteed he's more concerned with his own soul than saving yours." We all paused and turned to look at her. Shrugging, Jessy continued, "Anything the Bible says must be the truth, right? So they convince themselves that they're better than gays or say, people of color. For them, the Bible justifies everything, including murder, slavery and other injustices."

"All that might be true but I don't really know," I said. "One thing I do know is that he's sticking his opinions where they don't belong and they sure aren't appreciated."

Shaking his head, Prez sighed, "The Old Testament is like five thousand years old. The book of Leviticus is packed with crimes punishable by stoning. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to be bludgeoned to death. And participating in a bludgeoning must be almost as bad! But the holy rollers only pay attention to what they want to. If being homosexual is bad then so is eating shrimp or pork or any of a hundred other every day occurrences."

Prez paused and I could tell he was confused and a little annoyed. Then he turned and began fiddling with knobs on his amp. Just as I was going to go to him for a reassuring hug, he started pounding out a rhythm on his bass and turned up the volume. Quickly, Derrick added a drumbeat. Shakin' his ass around, Mike adjusted his guitar processor. I turned and looked at Jessy. Smiling, she held both hands up and shook her head. Obviously she didn't know the tune either. She walked around her keyboards, grabbed the maracas and started shaking them to the beat. Then Mike and Derrick began singing.

One life I'm gonna live it up

I'm takin' flight I said I'll never get enough

Stand tall I'm young and kinda proud

I'm on top as long as the music's loud

If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by

You're thinkin' like a fool cause it's a case of do or die

Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had

You think I'll let it go you're mad

You've got another thing comin'

You've got another thing comin'

That's right here's where the talkin' ends

Well listen this night there'll be some action spent

Drive hard I'm callin' all the shots

I got an ace card comin' down on the rocks

If you think I'll sit around while you chip away my brain

Listen I ain't foolin' and you'd better think again

Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had

You think I'll let it go you're mad

You've got another thing comin'

You've got another thing comin'

In this world we're livin' in we have our share of sorrow

Answer now is don't give in. Aim for a new tomorrow

Oh so hot no time to take a rest yeah

Act tough ain't room for second best

Real strong got me some security

Hey I'm a big smash I'm goin' for infinity yeah

If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by

You're thinkin' like a fool cause it's a case of do or die

Out there is a fortune waitin' to be had

You think I'll let it go you're mad

You've got another thing comin'

You've got another thing comin'

You've got another thing comin'

Prez and Mike stood in front of the drums and faced Derrick. Together, they ended the song sharply with a loud crunch.

Mike looked at Derrick and grinned, "King Shit of Turd Mountain." Then they both turned to Prez, chuckling at my sexy boyfriend. Wide-eyed, Prez grinned insanely.

I loudly asked, "What song was that?"

Mike turned and answered, "It's by Judas Priest. You wouldn't know or care about them."

"It was a good song! Just not my kind of song."

Derrick said, "Prez just happened to be pounding out the bass line, whether he knows it or not."

Prez giggled, "At first, I didn't know!"

At five-thirty Derrick's watch alarm started beeping. "We need to jet dude," he said to Mike.

I asked, "Is there a lot to clean up still?"

Turning off his amp and beginning to stow away all his stuff, Mike answered, "There's really nothing to clean up at all. The lamp and crystals I hid are put back now. There are lots of leftovers in the fridge still though. We need to eat some of it or my mom will start wondering."

Walking around his drums to help Mike pack up, Derrick joked, "And we didn't take a nap like some people! So we better go before we fall to pieces here and wind up taking your bed."

Mike reminded, "Next weekend though, with any luck at all, we'll be living with Doug and Brian. Hopefully we can start having at least one jam a week there."

Jessy then mentioned, "We're having our usual Fourth of July party. You're all invited, of course. We could jam with my brothers and parents."

Derrick said, "I've been looking forward to meeting your older brother since we met."

Jessy nodded, "Almost everyone in my family plays an instrument. We could get an entire horn section if enough of the family is there. July fourth falls on a Saturday this year."

Glaring at Prez, Mike loudly said, "Not to mention the night time beach parties… once Prez gets off his butt and gets an acoustic bass!"

As we starting walking our friends out to their cars, Prez laughed, "I'll start shopping this week, I promise."

Derrick said, "Ya know Carvin makes an acoustic bass, Prez?"

"No I didn't but I'll check it out," Prez said.

Mike turned to Jessy and said, "I don't suppose there's any way you could play like, unplugged at the beach."

"Sure there is!" Jessy excitedly said. "I've got a small Yamaha keyboard that takes batteries, six D cells, I think. It's got stereo speakers built in. Not the greatest sound but it gets the job done."

"Excellent!" Mike shouted. "We could be doing night time concerts at the beach this summer!"

Thinking of singing in front of more strangers, I mumbled, "Thank goodness it'll be dark out. No one will see me shaking or sweating." Prez turned and smiled then wrapped his arm around my waist.

Mike glanced my way, shaking his head sadly. He said, "You don't have to sing, ya know. We need to extend our improvisation abilities." Then he said, "Or you can shake your maracas. Whatever floats yer boat."

Jessy giggled then unlocked her car and waved goodbye. She then drove off to meet Nelson at home for dinner.

Derrick yawned again. "We'd better be going dude. I'm probably gonna crash out after we eat."

"Me too," Prez, Mike and I simultaneously said.

Derrick and Mike got into the car. I said, "I'll drive in the morning." Then Prez and I waved as they drove off.

Opening the door and stepping inside, I said, "I'd really like to understand what they're all so scared of. Is it their beliefs or is it just that we're different."

Rush came running and skidded to a halt then bounced around in the entryway. Prez knelt down to greet his dog and hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I believe that sex is sex; homo or hetero doesn't matter. That's just the way I learned about sex and my mom reinforced it. If that were just a loosely held idea, maybe I wouldn't have been able to come out to my mom quite as fast as I did. That one belief would've changed everything."

"In both our lives," I added.

"We all need to have some things to believe in," Prez said.

Walking together towards the kitchen, I noticed that the dining room table was set for six. I asked my mom, "Did Corey and Kim go home?"

"John's at Kim's for dinner," she answered.

"Do you need any help?" Prez offered.

My mom smiled and said, "Put the salad and bread on the table please." Prez took the bowl of salad and basket of sliced French bread off the kitchen counter and headed for the table.

Hearing the front door open, I turned around and saw my dad walking towards us with a bottle of wine. Drew and Corey had come from the bedroom hallway, stopping in the doorway between the living room and dining room. My dad grinned at Drew and Corey. Drew grinned back but Corey began laughing hysterically. He was almost doubled over! Briefly, I wondered what had happened that had put the three of them in such a good mood. Prez and my mom began putting bowls of food on the table. Then my dad showed the bottle of wine to my mom and sang, "Hoot-hoo?"

My mom nodded and sang, "Hoot-hoo!"

Taking their seats at the table, Drew and Corey cracked up.

Smiling at me, Prez shook his head slowly and sat at the table.

Turning my way, my dad pointed a finger at the cork in the bottle of wine and again sang, "Hoot-hoo?"

I chuckled, "You'd like the corkscrew?"

My dad nodded, "Hoot-hoo!"

Believing that my entire family had entered the kingdom of dementia, I went to the kitchen and got the corkscrew. As I returned, Prez giggled, "I guess everyone liked that song?"

Everyone nodded and sang, "Hoot-hoo!" then busted up laughing.

Prez exploded with laughter.

Once we had all taken our seats and began helping ourselves, my mom turned to me and asked, "You'll meet with your guidance counselors this week?"

I nodded, "Hopefully I'll get some good college suggestions."

My dad asked, "Have you thought about what you might want to major in?"

Again I nodded, "I'm thinking about studying film, maybe writing screenplays," then gleamed at Prez for suggesting it. Under the table, I started playing footsie with him.

"That would be good," my dad said. "Even if it takes a while to get something produced, you could still find other work as a writer."

Corey asked, "What are you gonna study, Prez?"

"Music," Prez answered. "I'd like to teach music at the high school or college level. Maybe I'll write some original tunes for Keith's first big movie."

Drew grumbled, "I can't believe you'd want to be a teacher."

My mom said, "At the start, there may not be great pay. But there would be a great deal of personal satisfaction."

Drew shrugged, "I don't know if I'd want to spend my whole life at school."

"Sounds pretty beat to me," Corey added.

Prez said, "I can't think of anything else I'd enjoy doing as much." Then he turned to my dad and said, "I've been thinking about what you said last week too."

"About a computer science minor?" my dad asked.

Prez nodded, "I'll start out with that in mind. As long as it doesn't interfere with the major, there's no problem."

My mom asked, "Have you thought about schools at all?"

Prez and I have barely had time to do anything besides prepare for the prom. I shook my head and Prez said, "Not very much. There's time for that during summer vacation."

My dad asked, "You're still wanting to be out on your own though? Even if you choose a school near home?"

Nodding, I answered, "It would probably be good for all of us, especially John."

Drew quickly said, "John's not stressin' bro." Then he grinned, "The only time he freaks is when you dudes wake us up in the middle of the night." Beside him, Corey concentrated on his plate and snickered.

"We want to have a place of our own anyway," Prez said.

Corey whispered something to my brother, making Drew smile widely. Then Drew looked at me and said, "Next year, I'll move into your room then. Once you move out, you can't come back." Across the table, we glared at each other.

Sounding very surprised, my mom shouted, "Drew!"

Drew faced mom, batting his eyelashes innocently. Drew whispered, "Hoot-hoo?" My dad started laughing and soon everyone at the table was hysterical.

After dinner, we all went to the living room. HBO was showing the movie Dante's Peak, with Pierce Brosnan. Near the end of the movie, Brosnan's character gets trapped in a truck as a mineshaft collapses down on to it.

Seeing him confined, Drew quickly covered his eyes and gasped, "I'd have a heart attack." He then got up, went to the kitchen and Corey followed. By that point, Prez and I were yawning up a storm. Just as the closing credits started to roll, Prez got up to let Rush out. A few minutes later, we both said goodnight and went back to our room.

Removing his T-shirt, Prez asked, "Do you want study tonight or wake up early and do it then?"

"Neither," I said, "I really don't have any to worry about. The chemistry exam is gonna be rough though."

Smiling widely, Prez kicked off his sandals then slid in front of me. He playfully asked, "Wanna roll around in the bed for a while till we pass out?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" I excitedly said. As we undressed, I said, "I hope we can finish. Are you as tired as I am?"

Prez nodded and yawned then took me in his arms. The last time I looked at the clock it was a little before eight and the sun was going down. I turned on the TV but set the timer so it would turn itself off after two hours. Then Prez and I started to play. But we were yawning into our kisses! Getting all excited and revved up when our bodies only wanted rest actually kind of hurt. So we promised to finish the job the next day and kissed each other good night. I don't think I was conscious more than two minutes after that. The next thing I knew, the clock radio was on and it was seven in the morning.

I stretched and reached for Prez but he wasn't in the bed. Forcing my eyes open, I saw him sitting at the desk naked. "How long have you been awake?" I asked.

"Only about an hour," Prez answered. Then he held up a piece of paper and said, "I hope this is the last of the geometry homework." After turning off the PC, he came back to bed and kissed me softly. He pulled back and asked, "Do you think I'm a good bass player?"

I answered, "Course baby. Why do you ask?"

"I'm getting bored with the bass. Everything seems so easy lately. I'm improvising around the parts I've learned just to keep it interesting."

"Are you thinking of learning another instrument?"

He nodded, "Yeah, during the summer with extra time on my hands would be the best time to start. But I don't know whether to try and learn guitar or maybe go for keyboards."

"No other instruments interest you?"

Prez shook his head saying, "I'd like to learn every instrument really. But saxophones and trumpets can't play chords at all. I can at least play occasional chords on my bass."

Not really knowing what he was talking about, I giggled, "If you say so!"

Prez grinned, "A chord is two or more notes sounded simultaneously. Lots of instruments can't do that."

"So chords are more challenging?"

He shrugged, "That's only part of it. Guitar and keys allow the player to provide rhythm and harmony to the melody. They can play all three at once."

"And that's more challenging?"

"Yeah. Bass is pretty much rhythm only. But I can and do play a few chords. Like when it's only me, Mike and Derrick and we're playing heavy rock or blues."

"So what's the problem?"

Prez sighed, "Guitar would be easier, at least to start off with. Its smaller and way more portable than say, an electric piano."

After a few moments silence, I asked, "If everything else was equal, what would your gut tell you to get."

Prez smiled and softly said, "Both," and I cracked up.

"One or the other Prez, right now, which is it?"

"Keys."

"Then that's the way to go," I said, and pulled him on top of me.

Prez wrapped his arms under me and kissed me again. It felt so good to have him need me and want my opinion. I rolled us onto our sides and we started our morning grind.

Later, when we were finished in the shower, I turned off the water and Prez hugged me from behind.

"Only a few more days babe," he whispered, "then we won't be rushing and postponing."

I turned in his arms and hugged him tightly, "On the last day of school, I don't think we'll be leaving the bedroom for quite a few hours."

"Maybe not until the next morning," Prez grinned, and opened the shower door. He grabbed towels and handed one to me. Stepping out of the tub, he asked, "How much hair do you want shaved?"

I chuckled insanely for a long few moments while I toweled off. Then I answered, "Only the hidden parts Prez."

Prez smiled and nodded, "Cool." We finished drying ourselves then put on deodorant and brushed our hair. Prez then reached for the small bottle of Drakkar Noir and dabbed a little on his neck.

After we got back to our room, I told him, "I don't really want to shave your pubes though."

Opening the underwear drawer, Prez complained, "That's not fair at all." He then tossed me a pair of boxers.

We pulled up our undies and I said, "Can't help it this time. I love your pubes."

Prez tossed me a pair of white socks giggling, "They'll grow back."

"If they grow back different, I'm gonna be really bummed out."

We sat on the edge of the bed to put on our socks. Beside me, Prez began giggling. While I put on shorts and Prez pulled on a pair of jeans, I asked him what was so funny. He said, "I thought things had to be pretty much equal."

"I'd like it if they were," I said, and then pulled on the new shirt Prez bought me.

"I can shave you bald but you won't shave anything on me? I don't like the sound of that."

Seeing the disappointment in his eyes, I sighed, "All right. I'll give you a trim."

Prez grinned, "Right down to the skin," then hurried to let Rush back in before I could say another word! As I wandered around the room grabbing my keys and wallet, I noticed Prez had forgotten the geometry homework he woke early to finish. I grabbed it and gave it to him when he returned with Rush. Prez gave me a granola bar and a kiss then we hurried out of the house.

On our way to Mike's, I teased, "Maybe I'll get a cheap Polaroid."

Prez asked, "What for?"

I giggled, "So I can take pictures of your pubes before I shave them off."

Prez cracked up.

When I got to Mike's, they were waiting by the curb as usual but this time, Mike had his acoustic guitar with him. Reaching down by my left foot, I pulled the lever and popped the trunk. Mike stowed his guitar then he and Derrick got in the car.

As I pulled away, Mike giggled, "Are we gonna do some kissing in the hallways today?" Derrick snickered and Prez roared laughing.

I giggled, "Never can tell when the mood might strike, ya know?"

Turning slightly in his seat, Prez grinned, "Today you dudes can have a turn."

In homeroom that morning, I learned that my appointment with my guidance counselor would be the next morning. I needed to know my SAT scores and tried to remember them during first period. Five hundred something math and six hundred something verbal was all I could recall!

________________________________________

Outside my homeroom, I saw Rebecca by her locker and went over to her. I cheerfully said, "Good morning!"

She looked up at me briefly, then back into her locker and softly said, "Hi."

While she rummaged around, I waited and made small talk. "Did you have a good weekend?"

She slammed her locker closed and glared up at me saying, "Not very, thanks to you."

Surprised but not wanting to make a scene, I softly asked, "What did I do?"

Looking around, Rebecca softly but angrily replied, "You went to the junior prom with Keith. Another dude, Prez?"

I was afraid something like this might happen, sighed and nodded.

"Did you ever even once consider asking me or any other girl for that matter?"

I shook my head and softly said, "I've been in love with Keith since the day we met last summer. Since my mom died…"

She excitedly asked, "Your mother died?"

I nodded and continued, "Since October, I've been living with the Hundsers."

She began shaking her head sadly and angrily said, "That's twice!"

I didn't understand and asked, "Twice?"

She sighed and pulled me closer whispering, "My last boyfriend up north dumped me for his best friend."

"I'm not dumping you, Rebecca."

"No, we never even got that far!"

After a short uncomfortable pause, I softly apologized, "I wasn't trying to lead you on." Then I started to explain, "You can probably tell from my accent that I'm new around here…"

Smirking, she shook her head sadly again and whispered, "All this time I thought you were being so smooth, getting to know me better, maybe even working up the courage to ask me out. How could I be so stupid."

The bell started to ring and I said, "I'm really sorry."

Rebecca moved around me and said, "Not as sorry as I am," then went into her homeroom.

I walked across the hall to my homeroom. It was the first time a girl ever had a crush on me! I sure as hell didn't expect it! And even if I was straight; I didn't know how to deal with it! Being gay just added another layer of uncertainty. I spent practically every waking moment with Keith. Considering how we held hands the second time we walked past her house the day we met her, I sure wasn't hiding my relationship with him. For the rest of the morning, I debated on whether I should even say hello to her the next day.

________________________________________

When I met Prez outside our English class, I asked if he could recall his SAT scores and he quickly rattled them off and mine too. I huffed and breathed in deeply through my nose. The pleasant scent of Drakkar Noir wafted in with each breath, intoxicating me. The bell rang, I forgot all about the SAT scores and we went inside the classroom. Following Prez, I watched him walk that cool, lanky stride and breathed in the scent of his after-shave.

Sitting next to Prez, while our teacher completed our final exam review, I got another woodie. I tried to concentrate on the teacher, honest I did! But my stupid cock was raging!

Rub me it pestered.

I ignored it.

A few minutes later it reminded, against anything, just rub me.

Sweat began to bead up on my forehead. I turned towards Prez. Seconds later he noticed and peeked my way. Grinning insanely, I rolled my eyes and slowly shook my head. He softly snickered.

More urgently, my cock suggested, go ahead, against the plastic desk top, rub me, it'll feel so good!

I screamed at my pecker, no! Wait till later with Prez!

It teased: how about the steel desk frame? Or the concrete wall? Just rub me once!

Yeah, right. I knew very well that it didn't only want only one rub. Once has never been enough any time in my whole fucking life! I don't even know how old I was the first time I listened to it.

The bell rang and I began to stand up. My pecker hollered, against the desk, NOW! And the rest of me listened! Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Prez was watching me stand and rub my crotch against the desk. My head turned. I blushed and grinned. His eyes nearly shot out of their sockets and he tried to keep from smiling but gave up the battle and snickered again!

Walking out of the class, I whispered, "No after shave for the rest of the week. Please, I'm dyin' here!"

Prez nodded understandingly and admitted, "It's not doing me much good either." Then he switched his books to his other hand, right across the front of his jeans!

Feeling exceptionally horny, I pulled him aside and asked, "Have we got any plans for later this afternoon?"

Prez smiled, "Gotta start shopping for an acoustic bass." Then he leaned close and whispered, "But that can wait until after we destroy the bedroom."

Silently, we started walking towards our next classes again. I began fantasizing about what we could do together or, more accurately, what I could do for him. Tying him up was no good. He'd just done that to me and would be expecting it. It had to be just a little different, something we hadn't done before. But we had tried so many positions already it was difficult to think of something untried.

Before going our separate ways we stopped again. Smiling at each other for a brief few moments, we both new what we wanted to do but wondered if we should press our luck. Prez didn't say a word but in his eyes I heard him clearly say, "Fuck it," and I began giggling. He snaked a finger into a belt loop on my shorts and pulled me toward him. Then he kissed me. It wasn't near as long as I might've liked but it was long enough and most definitely passionate enough. Buzzing my ass off, we both said, "Later," and then continued on our separate ways.

I don't remember taking my forth-period history final at all! For all I knew, I played connect the dots on the answer sheet. I could still smell his after-shave and he was nowhere in sight. Thinking of how I felt about him and all the great ways he shows how much he cares for me, my brain spun continually through both third and fourth periods. It was the best feeling - way better than beer or whiskey or pot! And the best thing was, there wouldn't be any after affects!

My level of anticipation only rose higher as I walked down the hall toward the cafeteria. Passing me in the hall, some asshole I didn't recognize called me fag but I didn't even shoot him a pitiful glance. It wasn't my problem the dude wanted to be difficult. That wasn't going to dampen my spirits. Nothing was going to slow my progress. Rounding the final turn, I could see the back of Prez's head. He was standing near the corner outside the cafeteria. Derrick and Mike were with him. As if he felt me within his reach, Prez turned around smiling and reached for my hand.

Prez asked, "How do you feel?"

"Awesome!" I enthusiastically replied, and then asked, "How about you?"

He giggled, "Purdy damn good!"

Mike said, "Toss me your car keys bro. I wanna get my guitar."

I asked, "Aren't ya hungry?"

Mike shook his head saying, "Mom is making my favorite, meat lasagna for dinner." Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my keys and gave them to Mike. Before heading to the parking lot, Mike asked, "You dudes are comin' over tonight, right?"

Prez quickly said, "After we go shopping for an acoustic bass."

Walking backwards, Mike nodded and said, "Very cool! Be at my place before six."

Derrick added, "Five thirty would be even better," then they stepped outside.

Prez and I turned and went into the cafeteria. I grinned, "I almost forgot that today is Mike's birthday."

Prez nodded, "We've been really busy. The whole weekend is a blur. This morning has been pretty hectic too."

We picked up trays and got into the cafeteria food line. I asked, "Busy with finals?"

Prez sighed, "I had a talk with Rebecca this morning." I turned to look at him and we held eye contact for a few seconds. Then Prez said, "She was hoping that I would ask her to the prom. Now she's pretty upset with me and with herself."

I reminded, "It's not your fault, Prez. We made our relationship pretty clear the first time we met her."

Prez said, "I know and reminded her that we were holding hands as we passed her house the second time. She said that she didn't see that though." Prez then turned to the food server, asking for a bowl of soup and a tuna fish sandwich.

I ordered a hoagie, slid my tray down and got a bottle of spring water.

We sat at our usual table. Prez unwrapped his sandwich and softly said, "When Rebecca lived in San Francisco, she had a boyfriend that dumped her for another guy."

I giggled, "No shit?"

Prez grinned and nodded, "Now she's really angry, mostly with herself for becoming interested in another gay dude. But she's not too happy with me either." Prez took a bite out of his sandwich, swallowed then continued. "I tried to be understanding and offered her a friendly ear. That only made her more upset and she stormed off to her homeroom." He sighed, shrugged and took another big bite out of his sandwich.

He seemed really bummed out. I slid my foot over to his. He smiled at me and I repeated, "Its not your fault, Prez."

Prez nodded while he finished chewing then said, "I could've said something sooner but I didn't know how to. I was hoping for a friend, not a girlfriend. She was looking for a bit more than friendship though."

"Don't blame yourself, okay Prez? It's just one of those things; her perspective was different than yours. You couldn't have changed her point of view."

"I know. I just hate to make enemies out of good people."

Jessy and Nelson sat down and said hello. Nelson thanked me again for Friday afternoon while Jessy and Prez talked about Rebecca. Sharon and Julie joined us then we all began talking about the prom. A few tables away, I noticed Francis and Graham sitting together and waved. Graham waved back and that seemed to upset Francis. I was going to invite them over but chose to let them decide whether to join us or not.

As we finished eating, Prez turned to me and asked, "Ya wanna go outside and see what Mike is doing?"

I nodded and grinned, "No free concerts today though."

Prez smiled, "That's fine with me babe." We both lost our smiles for a moment and anxiously looked around. We were getting really bad with the pet names! Thankfully nobody at our table cared and no one nearby seemed to notice either. Grinning insanely, before one of us slipped again, we gathered our trash, dumped it and went outside, towards the student parking lot.

Once we were outside, Prez asked, "Have you noticed how Mike's playing is getting so much better lately?"

I nodded and said, "You've all gotten so much better."

Prez sighed, "I just hope I can accomplish something on a guitar."

I turned to him and snarled, "I thought we agreed to keyboards this morning!"

He giggled, "Changed my mind," and I cracked up.

Gathered around my car in the student parking lot there must've been at least twenty kids, with Mike and Derrick in the center entertaining them. Prez and I joined the crowd and listened. About ten minutes before the end of lunch period, Mike looked through the crowd at me and said, "More Than Words?" Prez only shrugged, allowing me to choose for myself whether to get up and sing. Swallowing a gallon of spit, I shook my head but Mike started playing and singing anyway. I was very surprised to hear Derrick singing the parts that I usually sang. And he wasn't that bad either! Surprised, Prez and I turned and looked at each other. It was obvious that Mike and Derrick did quite a bit of rehearsing when they were alone together. At the end of the song, they stood to a nice round of applause. Mike said, "We'll be back again tomorrow," then stowed away his guitar, locked the trunk and tossed me my keys.

While we were walking back inside, Derrick said, "I really wish you would've sang that tune dude."

I grinned, "You did alright without me."

Prez added, "It was really good, D."

Mike reassured, "You hit the high notes just fine, dude."

Derrick sighed, "Not as good as Keith."

Prez shook his head saying, "Two totally different voices. Y'all can't compare apples and oranges."

Mike softly snickered, "Or cucumbers and bananas?"

We all snapped our necks turning to look at Mike and he thought that was hysterical.

Later in the afternoon, I sweated through my Chemistry class final review. During the first three-quarters of the school year, I was retaining enough to get B's. But this whole last quarter was way over my head. What do I care about the Periodic Table or the atomic weight of elements? By the time I caught up with Derrick at the end of the day and we walked outside, the sun seemed way too bright. I had given myself a headache trying to retain it all and told Derrick about it. Then Prez stepped outside with Mike. All the blood that had been pooling in my cranium flushed quickly into my pants and I got dizzy.

________________________________________

Keith seemed to wobble for a moment as I stepped up to him. I reached for him and asked, "Are you okay?"

He shook his head, grinned and answered; "I hate chemistry." Then we all started across the parking lot.

Mike said, "I met with the guidance counselor today. He tried to talk me into college. Needless to say, it didn't work."

Derrick said, "We'll be fine dude. While your at the Musician's Institute, I'll learn air conditioning and refrigeration repair."

Enthusiastically, I said, "That's a good trade with pretty big bucks."

Derrick nodded, "Sixty bucks an hour, forty hours a week, that's like a hundred and twenty thousand a year."

Mike said, "That'll easily keep food on the table."

Keith unlocked his car and asked, "Aren't you gonna work too, Mike?"

"Of course," Mike answered. We all got in the car and Mike continued, "Probably just nights at like Black Angus, bussing or waiting tables until we can start getting gigs."

Keith started the car, turned on the radio and started looking around to carefully back out. Once we were out on the main road, he glanced over at me and asked, "Where do you want to go bass shopping?"

"Definitely Guitar Center first," I answered, "If I don't find anything, then we'll hit the Carvin store."

From the back seat, Derrick said, "Wait till you see what you can get for the same bucks at Carvin, bro."

Mike enthusiastically rambled, "Dude, a Fender Strat has a bolt on neck. For sustain, you really want a solid, through the body neck."

I said, "My Fender bass has a bolt on neck and it does all right."

Derrick said, "It might not matter as much for bass frequencies." Then Derrick leaned forward whispered in my ear, "Nine hundred bones for a Fat Strat. The Carvin was a hundred less and he likes it more!"

"Just try out a few at GC and then go to Carvin," Mike suggested. "Whichever feels best and plays easiest, that's the one! I'll lend you my Carvin catalog so you can see what they have."

Keith giggled, "And there will be no trips to Nordstrum's for the next few days!"

"Ya think so?" I teased.

Briefly Keith turned my way. He turned forward again quickly but I could've sworn that I saw something unpleasant in his eyes. Then we pulled in front of Mike's house.

Mike said, "Lemme get that catalog for ya," and quickly got out of the car then ran to the house.

Derrick opened his door and said, "Try to be back well before six, dudes. Mike's mom gets antsy when dinner is held up. She's up at the crack of dawn and in bed right around ten, ya know?"

I giggled, "Wouldn't want to jeopardize moving in with Doug and Brian."

Derrick chuckled, "No, we definitely wouldn't. We're gonna make use of all that recording equipment this summer. All of us!"

Mike ran back to the car, handed me the catalog and huffed, "Here ya go."

Derrick looked up at Mike and said, "I'm surprised you'd give it away for an afternoon." Then he got out of the car, closed the door and stood smiling beside Mike.

Mike grinned back then turned to me and said, "Don't mind the stuck together pages."

Beside me, Keith yelled, "Omigod!" and we both cracked up while they ran to the house. As soon as Keith regained some composure, he put the car in gear and we started home.

I wondered about that weird sparkle in Keith's eyes when I teased him about Nordstrum's and decided not to wait to ask him about it. "You really don't want to go back to Nordstrum's for a few days?"

Keith sighed and turned quickly to me then to front again. "I love the presents Prez. I really do, but on top of the tuxes? I still owe you…"

"You owe me nothing Keith," I interrupted. Then I collected myself and explained, "I owe you my life, my home, my family. It's all mine because it's yours."

"It's all ours," Keith emphatically stated.

"Right, so then why the problem with a few small gifts?"

Keith glanced my way then looked front saying, "You really believe that jacket is a small gift? It was a hundred and fifty bucks, Prez!"

I laughed, "So! You liked it, I liked the way it looked on you, so I bought it!"

"I can't repay that kind of gift…"

"What do you mean, repay. I'm repaying you!"

Realizing that we were getting nowhere, we started mumbling.

I grinned, "You're being silly!"

He chuckled, "So are you!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Your money is yours!"

"I want to spend some of my money on you!"

Keith pulled in front of the house. We got out of the car. I waited for him and we walked together to the door, still mumbling.

He offered, "My car gets better gas mileage. I'll do most of the driving this summer."

"But my car is newer. After two and a half months, there's just over a thousand miles on it. We can still use it sometimes, you'll drive it though."

Bowing his head and snickering, Keith unlocked the front door. Rush barked as usual but we weren't prepared to see him come running from our bedroom to the doorway. Wide-eyed, Keith looked at me then at Rush and loudly asked, "How did you get loose?"

Still shocked, I moved into the house and started looking around for doggie damage. Seeing nothing but a few of the dog's toys, I looked down at my dog menacingly and asked, "Were you a good boy?"

Rush's ears went back and he slithered past me then ran for his crate.

Walking past me, Keith softly said, "Oh no." I turned and followed him to the dining room. His parents' bedroom door was open! I followed Keith into his parents' bedroom.

The first thought that crossed my mind was why here?

There was a laundry basket on the floor and what must've been clean clothes, at one point. Beyond that, it appeared that the bed had been slept in. Well, more accurately, Rush had pawed the bedspread into a nice soft mound and slept there. Groaning, Keith wandered into the master bathroom. A trail of shredded toilet paper led to a bigger pile of it in the master bath and the small garbage can had been overturned.

I've seen Rush play with the toilet paper in our bathroom but he's never unraveled an entire roll and shredded it!

Keith turned and sighed, "The only thing we have to worry about is the bedspread."

We went over and inspected the bedspread. It was shredded in spots. Shit! I looked at Keith and sighed, "Can I at least spend my money on doggie damage?"

Keith huffed, "I guess so. I'll get the broom and vacuum." As he turned and left the room, he said, "I know I closed the bedroom door. I have been every day since December!"

Following close behind I recalled the morning and said, "I went back to the room for my homework."

"I already had it. And we almost collided at the doorway."

Uncertainly, I said, "Then we left?"

Keith nodded and sighed, "Obviously without either of us closing the door." Sounding relieved, Keith said, "For a second there I thought that I fucked up and you'd wind up paying for it."

Exasperated, I whined, "Keith! He's my dog. It don't matter who left the door open." Then I turned and yelled down the hall, "Rush is a ba-a-a-d boy!"

Keith nodded then picked up the vacuum and said, "You'd better let him out. He's been holding it for a few hours and now that he knows that he's in trouble… we don't want another mess to clean up."

I went to let the dog out then grabbed two large garbage bags from the garage. When I returned to the Hundsers' bedroom, Keith held up a torn T-shirt and a stretched out, obviously tugged on brazier saying, "It looks like some of the clothes are beyond dirty too."

Shaking my head, I said, "It will all be easily replaced. Tomorrow, Rush stays confined in his pet apartment."

Keith grinned, "He's certainly abused some privileges, don't ya think?"

Glancing at the destroyed bedspread, I softly asked, "Am I abusing any privileges?" Keith looked at me curiously and I explained, "There's over ten grand sitting in a money market account with my name on it. If I want to withdraw more than one thousand in cash or check, your mom or dad has to approve it. It's been that way since the account was opened."

Keith started sweeping up shredded T paper and said, "Don't go overboard Prez, please. I'd hate for you to someday wish for that money and not have it."

As I started sorting through the laundry, I told him, "I've been thinking of her a lot the last few weeks. John's party… the frolics… the prom… even Mike's party, like every big event triggers the wish that she could see it all. It's like a hole in my heart sometimes, like a piece of me is missing. Then I go to sleep and dream about her. I guess when all that's left is wishes and hopes, the dreams try to fill the gap. My gut tells me it's time to show some appreciation. I left my dad. My mom is gone now too. They've been replaced with a bigger family. And everybody treats me so well! She's not telling me to not spend the money, just to save the majority of it for college. As a matter of fact, my gut tells me its long overdue."

Having stuffed the bedspread into a large garbage bag, I looked over at Keith. He glanced my way and asked, "What kinds of things are you thinking of buying us, Mister Moneybags?"

I snickered, "Starting with you?"

He said, "Anywhere you want."

I grinned and thought aloud, "I know how much you like new clothes. How'd you like to be Best Dressed when we graduate?" Keith stopped and smiled up at me. I teased, "With your eye for clothes and my wallet, you could become a walking GQ advertisement!"

Keith prompted, "And that's it?"

Smiling and looking up at the ceiling I chuckled, "Well, ya know, there's still some trips to take sometime this summer. I want to go to the Grand Canyon, at least for an overnighter. Maybe two nights?"

Keith giggled, "Anything else?"

"Just trips to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios, day trips like that… and something special for your birthday. Remember, I'll be making about two hundred bucks a week in tips alone the summer."

"What about Drew and John?"

"I've been thinking about them too. What if I put a grand in each of their college savings accounts this year and, if all goes well, another grand next year? Or maybe just wait until Drew starts talking about driving…"

Keith loudly asked, "You won't buy him a car, will you?"

I laughed, "Of course not! But I can help make sure he gets a good one."

"What about my mom and dad?"

I chuckled loudly, "A new bedspread is first on the list! If I knew what to get and where, I'd already be there!"

Keith laughed then asked, "Mike and Derrick?"

"They're easy," I said, "Derrick's going to need a set of mics for his drums sometime soon."

"How much for those?"

"About six or seven hundred."

"Damn, Prez! What about Mike?"

"You know how he keeps running for the mic stand then moves around and runs back and forth like that?"

"Uh huh?"

"I'll get him a good headset. Probably another four or five hundred bucks."

Keith picked up the bag of shredded toilet paper and came to me giggling, "Does that leave anything at all for you?"

I smirked, "Lots, even with big dreams and name brands, I'll still have about half the money in the money market account. And I'm not even figuring on the additional deposits that will be made every quarter year from the stocks! By the end of June, there could be another few thousand in there."

We started remaking his parents' bed and Keith softly asked, "You don't feel you need to repay me for anything, do you?"

I avoided answering the question and teased, "We could have so much fun this summer! Next summer, after we graduate, how about a really nice two week vacation in Cancun or Hawaii?"

Keith looked up and I could tell he like that idea! He moaned, "Oooo, you're really breaking my will."

"I did a little math on our computer, trying to figure out college books and tuition based only on UCLA's numbers. It's all assumption really but it looks like I could make our lives in college so much more simple." Keith stopped what he was doing and listened. "Imagine us in a nice apartment near campus. Figuring on us both still working part time jobs, making about two hundred a week each, like at Black Angus?" Keith grinned and nodded. "My mom's entertainment center in our living room? Your bedroom set? There's boxes of plates, silverware, assorted other kitchen utensils and knick-knacks up in the attic over the garage too. If we moved out tomorrow, all we'd have to buy is a sofa and a few lamps then stock up the fridge and cupboards!"

Keith giggled, "You make it sound so good." Before I could add to the fantasy, Keith said, "But I have to feel like we're equals, that I'm doing my share and paying my way."

I nodded and thought for a few seconds then said, "Since I can only read your mind half the time, you need to tell me when you're feeling like you're not doing your share. Tell me if I'm going over board. Remind me to double check and make sure it's cool."

"I don't look at your statements. Hell, you don't even look at your statements very much!"

"They're in the desk drawer, you know where. Feel free to check-up on me anytime you want. I told you already, I'd make sure that we could go to college. If all goes well, when we get out of college, there will still be enough for a decent down payment on a house!"

Keith laughed and came over to give me hug. Then he whispered, "You really want me look at your account statements?"

"Of course! Mom left me that much money to make a life. Well, I'm planning on one with you. When I turn eighteen, I'm planning on putting your name on those accounts too."

As if he didn't believe me, Keith whispered, "No."

I chuckled, "Yeah!"

Keith pulled back and I could see in his eyes that he was serious. He softly repeated, "No."

I sighed, kissed his cheek then went to let the dog in. Keith followed me saying, "That's your money from your mom, Prez."

I answered while walking to the sliding doors. "That's right. I trust you because you understand how important it is." I opened the door and called the dog. Initially, Rush began running to me but obviously remembered he was in trouble and stopped at the edge of the patio. Then he began wagging his entire body, doing his, "I'm so cute, don't be angry with me" routine. Stepping aside, I pointed back towards our room and told Rush, "Go to your crate, now! You've been very bad!" He slithered past me and took off for his crate.

When I turned around again, Keith said, "We kinda need to be here when the 'rents get home."

I looked at my watch and said, "Drew and John will be home soon too. I wonder if it's a good time to call Mike? Thanks to Rush, there's a slight change in plans."

Keith nodded, "Give them a few more minutes, after my brothers get home then we can call Mike."

I frowned, "No nookie?"

Keith giggled, "We won't be alone and you still want to shop for a bass?"

Exaggerating my disappointment, I sniffed then hollered towards the bedroom, "Thanks a lot Rush!" Turning to Keith, I whined, "I need a vacation!"


On to Chapter Thirty-Nine
"The Root of All Evil"

Back to Chapter Thirty-Seven
"Combined Forces"

Chapter Index

TheEggman's Home Page

A New Life is © 2004 by Eggman Enterprises
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