Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 22:06:59 PDT From: D C Wooten Subject: Tutoring Billy 5 Tutoring Billy by decal (decal02@hotmail.com) Part V Thank God I had the weekend before my next visit to the craziness of Matson mansion. After that encounter with Arnie I really needed to make sense of what was going on...try to figure out what to do about Billy...and about Arnie's threat. But my feelings were a tangled mess. On the one hand, I finally was accepting that I loved Billy and wanted to protect him. But on the other, knowing that Gwyn wanted me...well, that excited me beyond reason. And if that wasn't enough...the clincher that now threatened what little bit of sanity I still felt: my encounter with Arnie left me hot for him. Overarching the whole mess was the threat of exposure and my whole life in ruins. What made it worse was that I had no one to blame but myself. If I just had just kept my dick in my pants around Billy, I wouldn't be in this predicament. But at the same time, I knew I'd do it over again in a moment. I tried to banish all this from my mind so I could relax, clear my brain...but it didn't work. Every time the frat house phone rang, I thought it was Arnie calling to tell me to come over for my 'date' with Gwyn. Each time my stomach turned so badly I thought I was going to puke. Ray sensed something bad was going on and checked in on me a few of times. Each time I reacted with "Leave me the fuck alone" or some other suitable expression of appreciation. Finally late Saturday evening he and a couple of other frat buds dragged me out. I drank much more than I could reasonably handle. One minute I was staggering around the brewpub...next I was flat on my back in bed with someone pulling off my shoes. "Where...who?" "Just me, Squirrel," Ray said softly. "You're gonna be one hurtin' dude tomorrow." "Can't be any worse..." I mumbled. He sat on the bed beside me and undid my belt and opened my jeans. "Want me to pull 'em off?" he asked. I answered by lifting my ass up off the bed. He eased my pants down off my hips. "So...how bad is it?" he asked. "Very bad," I answered. "You screwin' her?" He was down at my feet pulling my jeans past my feet. "Once." "You love her?" He pulled off my socks and started to massage my right foot. I shook my head. "No...it's not that." "OK...well, we've eliminated at least one big problem." What he was doin' with my foot felt damn good. Trouble was my foot seemed to be connected to my dick 'cause I was feeling myself harden in my Jockeys. And while I was just drunk enough not to care, I still wished the desk lamp wasn't on. Ray and I had never seen each other hard. It felt weird throwing a boner in front of him. Ray's voice interrupted my rambling thoughts. "Hey, bud, I want to help, but you gotta tell me what's happening." He started rubbing my other foot. I closed my eyes. "Boyfriend," I answered softly. The image of Arnie's hairy, dark brown body standing over me flashed before my eyes, dominant and in charge, his black cock shooting its load into my face. My dick jumped to full erectness. It stretched then throbbed within the tight confines of my briefs. Without looking I knew that precum was oozing through the soft cotton. "Jealous?" Ray asked. He stopped massaging my foot. I opened my eyes and looked at him standing at the foot of my bed. He was pulling off his shirt. "Yeah, jealous...and mean...real mean." Ray undid his belt and opened his khaki shorts. "How so?" His shorts dropped to the floor, leaving him in blue plaid boxers. "Hurt..." A sob came out of nowhere. I choked it back. "...Billy." "What do ya mean, Squirrel?" Ray sat down on the bed beside me. His voice had a hint of alarm and worry. Suddenly I realized I was on the brink of spilling it all and I panicked inside. If I could tell anyone, it was Ray. But I couldn't, just couldn't. "Tired...gotta sleep," I muttered and closed my eyes again...but I was very wide awake now. "Come on...this sounds important...you gotta let me help..." I feigned sleep. Ray sat there for another few minutes. Then I felt his hand come to rest on the bulge in my underpants. I slowly opened my eyes. Ray was grinning down at me. "Dude, you got the Jimi Thing real bad." I laughed in spite of myself. We both loved Dave Matthews big time, and 'Jimi Thing', his ode to masturbating, was a particular fave. "Lately I've been feeling low," Ray started softly singing. "A remedy is what I'm seeking." His fingers explored the length of my hidden cock, concentrating around the large, sensitive crown. About as straight as any guy I'd ever known, I couldn't believe Ray was touching me like this. "If you could keep me floating just for a while," I continued. "Til I get to the end of this tunnel..." Ray slipped his fingers under the waistband and started to tug. I lifted up and felt him slip my briefs down to my mid thighs. I moaned long and low as he wrapped his hand around my sex. "Used to do this for my big brother," Ray said as he slowly stroked me. "Must have been 9 or 10 when he told me he had 'blue balls' cause his girl wouldn't put out. Said he really needed someone to relax him. When he put my hand on his dick, I got upset. Told him I was no fag. He said I was totally 'ig-nor-ant'. That's how he said it. Ig-nor-ant. He told me helping him out was a brother thing, not a fag thing. So he showed me what made him feel good. I guess I did OK cause he kept wanting me to do it. Even the night before his wedding...but not since." He spit into his palm and used it to lube up my erection. "You sure got a big 'un, dude. Betty must love havin' you throw it into her. She's a screamer, isn't she?" "Yeah," I answered, feeling a little easier about Ray's playing with my dick now that he'd brought up Betty. "Thought so. Looks the type. Joannie's real quiet like, that is until she orgs. God, can she ride a cock when she cummin'. Betty blow ya?" Ray's thumb was rubbing that spot just under my cockhead. At that moment he about emptied my balls. But he knew just the moment to grab and squeeze my balls to thwart what my gonads were screaming to do. I decided then and there that his bro was one helluva teacher. "Naw..." I replied once Ray let go of my testicles. My cock stood there throbbing and waiting for Ray to take it in hand again. "She's a Bible-thumper...says pricks are only for pussies... How about Joannie?" "Very first date. Couldn't keep her face outta my lap. And, God, such great head. When I told her that, she said to thank her stepfather." "Quit shittin' me!" My groin's fire was raging. The pace of his hand sliding up and down my shaft was picking up speed. I lifted my hips up to meet his downstrokes. "Not me, dude. She's too good. Has to be true." He expertly slowed his fisting and I eased back down on the mattress, feeling drained, like I'd just cum, but knowing my nuts were still loaded with sperm. "Did I tell ya I met him last month? Guy's a huge mother with equipment to match. All I could think of was Joannie servicing him...had a boner the whole time. Sure glad I was wearing my homeboy gear." Suddenly we were both very quiet, just the sound of his hand doin' the Jimi Thing to me...at times very slowly, then fast. His other hand was now firmly wrapped around my balls, alternately pulling, squeezing, and easing back...everything orchestrated to keep me under his control until he decided I could erupt. I reached out and slipped my hand between his legs. Up under the leg of his boxers. He let go of my dick and gently pushed my hand away. "You don't have to, pal," he said. "Anyway, big bro told me that's when the brother thing turns into the fag thing." "But what about you?" I asked. I suddenly realized how much I wanted to touch him. "Hey, now don't go worryin' bout me," he answered. "Now start pullin' on your nipples." "Huh?" "Those things on your pecs." "Oh, yeah." I started rubbing them...they were hard now and very sensitive. God, it felt good. "Gotta be rougher, dude," Ray barked. "Really pinch 'em." He reached over and pushed my hand away. I just about screamed when he clamped his fingernails around a nipple and squeezed. But the pain was momentary, followed by an excruciatingly wonderful chill through my balls. His hand went back to my cock, and I started doing some serious abuse to my chest. "Ya know..." Ray suddenly said a few moments later. "There is a way." "Huh?" "Somethin' my bro let me do sometimes." He then climbed on the bed, his knees planted on either side of my hips. He reached into his boxers and pulled his erection out through the fly. With both hands he joined our cocks, underside to underside. That did it...I totally lost it. After only a few strokes, I just couldn't help myself. With a loud groan, I erupted, thrusting my hips upward with each blast. Ray rode my bucking, keeping our dicks firmly together in his hands. "Oh, yeah...oh, yeah...oh, yeah, Andy...that's so good..." The first shot of cum hit my face, stinging my right eye. The rest landed in pools on my chest and belly. I'd never shot so much or so far. Even before my orgasm started to ease, Ray was scooping my jiz off my stomach and spreading it all over both our cocks. "Easy...easy..." I cried out as he touched my super-sensitive cockhead. But now the show was his. With our dicks well-lubricated by my load, his erection slid easily against mine. I looked into his face. His glassy stare told me he was totally absorbed in the workings of his hands. His hairy chest glistened with sweat. A breathless "oh" was the only sound he made...just as he unloaded. He rose up on his knees as he shot, so that most of his cum landed on my face and in my hair. Without thinking about it, I licked around my lips and tasted him. Saltier, rangier than Billy's I thought. He dropped down on his hands, planted either side of my shoulders, his face inches from mine. I thought he was going to kiss me...I wanted him to. But instead he simply collapsed on top of me, his face next to my head buried in the pillow. I don't know how long we lay there, soaked in each other's sweat and cum. I think I dozed a bit. All I know is, I came back to his whispered singing. "What I want is what I've not got. And what I need is all around me." Then Ray eased himself up off of me. I felt suddenly cold. He pulled off his boxers and efficiently wiped me off. Then he tugged on my Jockeys, still stretched around my thighs. I lifted up and he pulled them back up over my now satiated sex. He finished by laying the covers over me. "Service with a smile," he announced with a broad grin as he used his boxers to wipe himself off. He tossed the boxers in the general direction of my stack of dirty clothes. "Want 'em clean when you give 'em back, dude. Then he pulled on his khaki shorts and shirt. Finally he sat down on the bed beside me. "About this Matson shit," he said. "Please don't do it alone. When you're ready to talk, I'll support you...no matter what." Without giving me a chance to reply, Ray got up, turned off the lamp on my desk, and left. I lay there starring at the dark ceiling, wondering at the strange turns life was throwing at me. But exhaustion quickly claimed me. * * * * * I awoke the next morning at dawn. I got up, stood at the window overlooking the frat house's backyard, and stretched. My head throbbed like there was no tomorrow. 'I feel like shit,' I thought, then remembered my drinking binge from the night before. Led by the mother of a morning hardons, I staggered down the hall to the bathroom. Typical Sunday morning. Not a single frat boy stirring. Except me. It wasn't until I was standing in front of the john, my genitals hanging out over the waistband of my Jockeys, a steaming flood of piss loudly splashing, that the events of the last few days rose back to consciousness. Surprisingly the Jimi Thing with Ray wasn't upsetting me. 'That's progress,' I thought. But as I made it back to my room, I realized that my stomach still churned over Billy and Gwyn and Arnie. I thought seriously about laying it all out to Ray...but still couldn't get past the 'I'm fuckin' with a 16-year-old kid' part. Hoping there'd be no fog on the coast, I decided to head out to the beach at San Gregorio for the day. Mostly it was to avoid the softball game/beer bust with the frat down the street...no way I could be around anyone. I changed into a Speedo, pulled on shorts and a tank-top, grabbed the sunscreen and a towel...and escaped. It turned into an OK day: not enough sun but way too much mental masturbation over my predicament. By the time I got back to the frat house, I'd pretty well decided to just go with whatever happened. What else could I do? No sense in fighting something I couldn't fight. Maybe Arnie would get distracted but something else and leave me alone. In other words, I was taking the coward's path. It was after 6 when I pulled up to the frat house, parking across the street. The veranda that stretched across the front was deserted except for Ray, who was sitting at the top of the stairs. With a sudden pang of uncertainty, I got worried about how our sex the night before might change things. As usual, worst case came to mind first. But before I could dwell on it, Ray stood up and waved a skateboard at me. 'Since when does he have a skateboard?' was my first thought. Then at the same moment, I recognized the board AND Billy emerged from inside the house carrying a canned drink in each hand. "Hey, Andy, 'bout time you got back!" he yelled out to me. He had stripped off his t-shirt. It was shoved into the back pocket of tan cargo shorts. The shorts hung low on his hips revealing a good 3 inches of his black CKs. No cap. Instead sunglasses were carelessly stuck to the top of his head. A charge ran through my groin. No question...he was one sexy kid. But...seeing Billy in my world was a shock. "What...how...?" I stammered as I climbed the front steps. "Gwyn left me stranded. So I raided her files and found the address," Billy answered as he handed Ray a Bud. "Then got Benson and Jasper...they're the gardeners...to give me a lift. You gotta take me back though." He flipped the tab on his Coke. "Ray's been tellin' me stuff about this place. I'm tryin' to figure out how I can move in. Want a beer or somethin'?" It was all happening too fast. I didn't answer...just stared at Billy. "Get him a Bud, too," Ray said. "Looks like he got too much sun. Affects his brain, you know." Billy actually laughed at that lame excuse for a joke and disappeared into the house. "Nice kid," Ray said. "He really looks up to you...you know that, don't you?" "Ah, jeez," I moaned, not listening and still somewhat in shock. "Why'd he have to do this?" "Let's try he was alone in the house with Arnie," Ray answered. At the mention of Arnie, I came alert right quick. "What did he tell you?" "Enough to let me know he was scared. But he's pretty resourceful, don't you think?" "Yeah, but..." At that moment Billy reappeared. As the screen door slammed behind him, he underhanded the Bud in my general direction. With a stretch that almost landed me over the railing, I somehow managed to catch the spinning can. "Great catch!" Billy called out. "No thanks to that throw, brat." Billy just grinned back at me. I had never seen him this happy or at ease. "How's the game," I asked Ray, changing the subject away from Billy so I could try to gather my thoughts a bit. "Actually got to the seventh inning this time," Ray answered. "The rest of the guys are still down there trying to set a keg-drinking record or some such thing. Saw this one sittin' on the steps so came up to check it out." "I told Ray you're the best tutor," Billy interjected, sitting down next to Ray and dropping onto his back on the porch. "And that you tell the best stories." He laughed mischievously. "You didn't," I said. "Interesting way to motivate a reluctant student," Ray interjected. He was clearly enjoying my discomfort. I tensed up wondering what else Billy had told him. "Billy," I said in as firm a voice as I could muster. "You and I need to talk...like right now." "Don't loose it, teach. Ray's kewl. Anyway, he's your best friend, right?" "Well, yes...but..." I stammered. I hated not having the upper hand. "No buts, Squirrel," Ray said. "Billy's got it right." "Squirrel?" Billy sat up and looked back and forth at each of us. "You called him Squirrel?" "I'll never forgive you, Ray. Never." "He wants to see your room," Ray said, trying a diversionary tactic to get himself off the hook. "Go show him your room." Billy was already up and at the door. "Come on, Squirrel. Show me where you live." "You, I'll deal with later," I said to Ray, trying to feign something akin to outrage. As I started to walk past him, he handed me Billy's skateboard. "Remember...I support you...no matter what." With a grin I cuffed him the side of his head. "Thanks. I probably need it." When I got inside, Billy was already at the top of the staircase that dominated the entry hall. "Gotta go," he called down to me, grabbing himself between the legs with great exaggeration. "To the right, end of the hall," I answered as I climbed the stairs. "And no 'you know what' in there." With a mischievous grin he responded with a few quick jerk-off motions. I gave him the 'one false move and I'll whip your ass' look that I'd perfected as his tutor. "OK...OK...I'll be good," he said with a suitable expression of terror, turned tail, and raced down the hall. As I walked the other way to my room, I felt my dick stirring. I cursed under my breath. 'Not here, damn it,' I lectured myself. 'Just show him the fuckin' room, then get him back home...quick.' I unlocked my door and remembering my mom's rule about girls in my bedroom, left it wide open. I was standing at the window when Billy appeared in the doorway. He hesitated, suddenly looking a bit shy and uncertain. "It's OK, come on in. It's not much, but it's home." He stepped in and immediately turned and shut the door. 'I tried, Mom' I thought. "You're mad cause I'm here," Billy said, his back still to me. "No," I replied. I moved up behind him. "Just surprised me...that's all." "It's OK then?" "Yeah, it's fine." I lightly stroked his neck, letting my hand trail down the middle of his bare back. When I reached the waistband of his CKs, he leaned back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, my hands joined over his stomach, my chin resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his hands around the back of my thighs. We stood like that for several minutes. Just enjoying the closeness, listening to each other breathe. For the first time in days I felt some measure of peace. "You OK?" I asked. I moved my fingers down and started to idly rub along and underneath the waistband of his briefs. "Sure, this is great," he answered. "No...I mean...you told Ray...somethin' about Arnie." "Oh, that...no big deal...he was getting' drunk," Billy said. "Not good to be around him when he's drunk." His hands began exploring under the leg openings of my shorts. "Anyways...yesterday he tried to fuck the pool boy. Don't think you ever met Denny. He works in the morning. Denny was flirtin' like he always does. Guess he didn't expect Arnie to take him up on it. Got kinda physical...I saw it from upstairs. Denny was puttin' up quite a fight...and Arnie wasn't takin' no for an answer. But for Benson...you know, the gardener...Denny'd be walkin' funny today. Benson decked Arnie, fuckin' decked him! Anyway, Arnie's still pissed...and started drinking...and started sayin' stuff..." I waited for Billy to continue. Instead, he stopped fooling with my thighs and opened his shorts. They dropped into a pool around his feet. Billy guided my hands to the mound in his briefs. He was semi-hard. I started rubbing and stroking the outline of his dick. "What kinda stuff?" "You know...like how horny he was...and like how Gwyn wouldn't have to know...stuff like that..." "That bastard," I said under my breath. I stopped playing with his boner. It didn't feel right with him telling me this. "Please don't stop," Billy said. "I like it." He moved my hand over his bulge until I began touching him again. "Anyways, I told him no. That made him real mad...he said some bad stuff about you...I called him a liar. Thought he'd...with him drunk and all...so I got outta there." For a long minute or so all was quiet. I stood there holding Billy, fondling him. I wondered what Arnie had said about me...and what Billy had told Ray. I was trying to form the questions. "What's that?" Billy asked, breaking the silence. He nodded toward a framed photograph on my dresser. "My water polo team in high school." He broke our embrace, went over the dresser, and kicked off his shoes. Naked now except for his black briefs and white socks, he stared at the photo for a few moments. "There you are," he said triumphantly. "A year older than you, I guess," I responded. "Lookin' good, teach." Billy rubbed his finger on the glass right over my Speedo-clad crotch. "Behave yourself, brat." I tried to swat him on the butt, but he slipped out of reach. For the next few minutes Billy wandered around the room, checking out stuff on my desk, looking at my books and videos. Except for a couple of 'what's this' questions, he was quiet. I sat down on the foot of my bed, watching him, fighting the urge to grab him and throw him on the bed. Then he spotted something on the floor. "I didn't know you wore boxers," he exclaimed as he scooped up Ray's shorts. They were visibly stiff with dried cum. "Give those to me!" My voice betrayed my distress. Big mistake. Billy gleefully laughed and hid them behind his back. "Whose are they?" he cried out as I lunged at him. He was quick. I grabbed air. "Mine!" I said, cornering him near the dresser. "Don't believe ya." "Give 'em to me...Now!" He kept moving, dancing back and forth on the balls of his feet, waiting for a route of escape. Holding the blue plaid shorts out to his side and fingering a large cum-caked spot, he grinned broadly. "Even you don't jiz this much," he taunted. I moved at him. He faked a move to the right, then spun by me on the left. I grabbed at him but all I got was part of his briefs. There was a loud ripping sound as he broke away. Laughing, he threw himself facedown on the bed, the boxers and his hands buried under his mid-section. I pounced on top of him. "Give 'em over," I demanded. "No...no...no...!" "You'll be sorry," I threatened. "No...no...no...!" I looked down and saw that I'd torn his briefs on the left side from leg opening to waistband. "One last chance." "Never." I went for his unprotected sides. He howled in outrage. "Not fair...not fair," he screamed. As he squirmed under my tickling, he shifted just enough for me to grab his arm. A quick twist and Billy shifted onto his back below me. I glanced down. His briefs were torn part way in front, too, revealing his cock. With me momentarily distracted...using his free hand, he somehow managed to throw the boxers across the room. "Ha...so there..." he cried up at me, clearly taking credit for a win. "But I'm the one on top," I challenged. "Exactly where I wanted you," Billy said in triumph. "You little...." Billy grabbed me by the neck and pulled me down, his mouth seeking mine. We kissed long and hard, his erection pushing urgently against my abdomen. We broke our kiss just long enough for me to take off my shirt and shove down and kick off my shorts, leaving me just in my Speedo. I dropped back down on the bed in a 69. With a further rip to his battered CKs, I freed the rest of Billy's cock and swallowed it. I felt him attack the front of my Speedo with his mouth, chewing at my shaft and crown through the thin nylon. I then got totally lost in sucking him. I explored the shape and texture of his cock's shaft and crown with my tongue. I played with his foreskin. I grabbed his ass cheeks in my hands, letting my fingers explore and probe his crack. I buried my nose in his light brown pubics, smelling the randy dampness of his crotch. As I sucked, small doses of pre-cum escaped, electrifying my taste buds. I momentarily became aware that he'd pulled my cock out of my swimsuit and was licking around my cockhead, probing my slit with the tip of his tongue. But suddenly his whole body stiffened, his cock swelled even more between my lips. Seconds later his orgasm rocked his body and his juices filled my mouth. He gasped my name over and over. Once his orgasm eased, I started humping Billy's face. Somehow his lips found and kept a tight grip on my shaft an inch or so below the crown. His tongue still worked my piss-slit. I suddenly felt his finger push against my anus. As he probed and rubbed this spot no one had ever touched before, strange, exciting sensations coursed throughout my loins. Part of his finger entered me. I felt a shot of searing pain. I jammed my dick deep into his mouth. My orgasm hit. Somehow Billy managed to keep his lips wrapped around me as I my pelvis took control, thrusting and bucking against his helpless face. Even though he gagged a bit, Billy took all I unloaded. I was suddenly jarred back to the world outside our two interconnected bodies by a knock at the door. "The guys are back!" came Ray's urgent call from the hall. That was immediately followed by heavy stomping on the front steps, loud talking and raucous laughter. Billy and I rose up from the bed in unison. "I love you, brat," I said quickly. "Bout time," Billy answered with a pleased grin. One more quick but deep kiss. Then we scrambled about, getting dressed. I was sitting on the bed, pulling on some Levis. Suddenly a shot of panic raced through me. I realized that the door wasn't locked. I froze knowing what could happen at any moment. Billy was across the room, pulling on his shoes. "Quick!" I whispered loudly. "Get at the desk...look like you're studying!" I grabbed a shirt and was just pulling it down over my head when I heard Ray's distant voice protesting. Then the door burst open, and my room flooded with five drunk frat brothers. Seconds later Ray stood in the doorway. "Sorry, Squirrel," Ray called out. "I told them you were..." His voice trailed off. "Tutoring!" Billy cried out from the desk, his face buried in some book. He was still shirtless, which got me nervous, but my frat bros were too intent on razzing me for not showing for the game. I don't think Billy's presence registered with them, even when I quickly introduced him as 'that high school kid I'm helping out.' After about five minutes of handling drunken banter, I motioned to Billy. "Meet ya outside," I mouthed. Billy quickly got up and grabbed his skateboard, which was leaning against the wall next to the open door. Ray stepped over to him and tousled his hair. Then to my surprise Billy gave Ray a quick hug and dashed out the door. I walked over to Ray. "What was that all about?" I asked. "All I did was listen...mea culpa...mea culpa," he answered with a lift of his shoulders. I pulled him out into the hallway. "How much?" "I just hope you love this kid as much as he loves you," Ray whispered back. "And you sure better know what you're doing. I don't want to see him hurt any more than he has been." Suddenly I felt overwhelmed. I was on the verge of total emotional exhaustion. My eyes started to sting. "What the fuck am I going to do?" I blurted out. "Take him home for starters," answered slowly and evenly. He was clearly trying to counter my sudden emotional swing. Then he grinned. "Shouldn't keep him waiting...no tellin' who he's talking to downstairs." "What a friggin' mess," I muttered as I quickly turned and headed toward the stairway. "Oh, and Squirrel," Ray added. "Aren't those my boxers he's wearing?" * * * * * * I decided to ignore the boxers heist, but once we were in the car and on the way to Hillsborough, Billy thought I hadn't noticed so he made a big production of lifting his shirt so I could see them sticking out above his shorts. When I started giving him grief about taking them, he promptly turned the tables by reminding me that I ripped his briefs to shreds. "You weren't gonna send me home with no underpants, were you?" he teased. "There'd be questions." "You're fuckin' impossible." "So are you, teach." "It was pretty funny," I offered. "Yeah," he laughed. He stretched, then let his hand fall into my lap. He found my genitals and started rubbing and probing with his fingers. "They're Ray's, aren't they?" he asked. "Uh, huh." "Kewl." We drove the rest of the way in silence, one of my hands resting on his in my lap. When I approached the front entrance to the Matson estate, Billy told me to drive around to the back...to where 'my place is' he said. Amazing and sad, I thought, this huge place and what Billy calls 'his place' is an abandoned gardener's tool shed. "Remember the gardener I told you about," Billy said as I pulled over in front of the massive oleander bushes that hid the shed from the street. "The old Japanese guy?" "Yeah, when you were a little kid." "Well, Gwyn said his son now works at the Mercury-News. He's a reporter. I'm thinking about calling him...you think that's weird?" I looked at Billy, struck anew by his resourcefulness in building connections outside the awfulness of his family. "I think it's a wonderful idea. You and his father were friends. I'll bet he'll want to hear from you." "You sure?" he asked. I nodded. "I love you," he said. I pulled him to me. "I love you, too." We kissed, our tongues intertwined. A minute or so passed. We broke the kiss. "I want to come live with you," Billy blurted out. A massive ache filled my chest. "I know," I answered. "But you know you can't." "Yeah, I know," he responded. "But if I could...?" His voice trailed off. "I'd want you to." He threw his arms around my neck and squeezed tightly. Then he scrambled out of the car. "You stay out of Arnie's way, you hear," I said as he reached behind the seat for his skateboard. "You, too, teach." Then he disappeared into the bushes, leaving me wondering how much he knew. When I got back to the fraternity, there was a phone message tacked to the door of my room. Gwyn Matson wanted me to come an hour early the next day so we could talk about Billy's progress.