Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 08:33:35 -0500
From: timothylane414@gmail.com
Subject: Adult Friends: Extracurricular, Chapter 5

5

I woke up first the next morning. I put my arm around Trent. It was my turn
to toy with a morning woodie. My grip was light, but my fingers were
wrapped around it. He slept through the touch. I pressed up against him
closer. His breathing didn't change. Gently my hand started stroking his
cock ever so slightly. I wasn't for sure if he was waking up or just
shifting his weight.

"Apparently someone just can't get enough," a voice softly uttered from the
lifeless figure.

"Good morning," I said just above his shoulder.

He turned to kiss. While doing so, he reached to my crotch to see if I was
equally as hard and discovered his answer.

"How will I ever sleep in my apartment again?" he whispered to me. "I like
feeling this next to me each morning."

We held each other in a quiet embrace. We didn't move for a few minutes. We
just felt the warmth of each other's bodies. My hand caressed his arm
gently up and down. I became aware of his breathing. For some unknown
reason, hearing oxygen quietly move in and out of his lungs was soothing. I
loved holding him.

"Gotta pee," he said.

Just like yesterday, he took a long leak, came out and grabbed underwear
— this time mine — and started coffee. Clearly, morning sex would not
be our thing. Not that it was a problem. I mean both of us had just come
eight hours prior.

I grabbed a robe from the closet, tied it at the waste after slipping into
it and strolled out to the kitchen.

"Oooo. Someone looks sophisticated," he said.

"Sorry, I'm short on dorm attire."

I noticed he had grabbed a skillet and was reaching for the carton of eggs.

"Anything I can make along with this?" he asked.

"Umm. I'm out of bacon, but there are some fresh veggies and cheese if you
want to attempt an omelet," I replied walking up behind him. My arms
wrapped around his body. "I think I like having you here in the mornings."

He didn't say anything, but even from behind I could tell he was smiling. I
leaned on the counter and watched him make us breakfast. I went to the
freezer and pulled out some English muffins and popped a couple in the
toaster.

"I was planning on meeting some friends for lunch today, so my schedule
isn't quite as open as I intended yesterday's to be," he said as he poked
at the eggs with a spatula. Looking up at me, he asked, "Would you like to
come with me? I'd like you to meet them."

"Uh, sure. I can do that. Have you all chosen a place?" I asked.

"Downward Dog at 12:30," he said.

"I know it. Great onion rings. I'll be happy to go with you," I said.

I found it uplifting — and encouraging that he wanted to include me. He
wasn't out to his friends yet, so it would be interesting to see how I
would be brought into the picture. I tried to remember the first time I
took a "boyfriend" to visit with my friends. Apparently, it wasn't
significant enough to commit to memory. I just remember not being out and
then being out. The transition couldn't have been that seamless, but maybe
it was. Odd, that I don't remember.

Trent flipped our omelets.

He told me a little about the group. He was close to a few in the drama
department. His two closest friends were a couple. They had just become
engaged. Trent said they tried to set him up on dates once or twice. He
went out with the first girl just to be nice. He told them he wanted to
"focus on his studies" in the second situation. I asked if anything
happened with the first girl.

"Two dates. One kiss. Zero electricity for me," he responded. "I knew. I
was trying to convince myself she just wasn't the right one. I still
thought I would one day find the RIGHT girl, but I was honestly just
avoiding dating girls, period."

The omelets were delicious. I thanked my chef, and to return the favor, I
joined him on another jog. This time I noticed he didn't try to run ahead
when a car got near to us. He stayed with me. I don't even know if it was a
conscious decision on his part, but it pleased me. He asked me if I
remembered some of his classmates from high school. I told him a few were
familiar when he spoke of them. I felt sad that one or two didn't job my
memory at all. It is expected for some kids to blend in with the crowed,
but I felt more like they had slipped through the cracks. Not everyone is
into English and Writing, but I had hoped each student would make an
imprint upon me in some way. An hour later, we returned to my house having
worked up a sweat. The cold front had moved out and it was a mild morning,
but we didn't have the brisk wind to cool us off. We both started to
disrobe. He was naked — always hot looking when sweaty — and I was
down to my boxers when my phone buzzed.

"Ohhh, damn. I need to take this. Jump in the shower without me," I said.

"Aww. By myself?"

I walked the few steps over to him and kissed him.

"Try to power through it," I said as I kissed him again.

Then I leaned down and licked his balls for a few seconds.

"I'll give you full service after lunch," I told him as he reached into the
shower to turn on the water.

As Trent showered, I moved to the living room and sat down with my
laptop. He emerged about 15 minutes later — naked, thankfully — and
walked to me, still brushing his wet hair.

"Still at it? What's up?" he asked, standing next to me gazing at the
screen.

"School," I said. "Had SOMEBODY been listening at the meeting, we wouldn't
have this fouled up schedule. It's a total mess. We have to work this out
by tomorrow morning. Actually, it needs to be done ASAP so the schedule can
be ready by the morning."

The entire time I was telling the tale of this inefficient coworker, I was
looking Trent in the eyes, but my hand was fondling his crotch, letting him
know I was fully aware he was naked next to me and that I appreciated it. I
had no idea if he was listening to my words or thinking about his genitals
being fondled. It didn't really make a difference to me. I figured both
appreciated me in some way.

"I do want to show you some places before lunch, so let me finish fixing
this, and then I will take a quick shower so we can move out," I said,
returning to the keyboard.

"Hey, come back a second," I said as he turned to go back and get dressed.

"What?" he asked, returning to my side.

"You're gorgeous. You know that?" I said, kissing his belly.

"And you are a romantic," he said kissing my forehead.

Trent was fully dressed before I was out of my boxers and headed for the
shower.

"Looks like what you originally packed should be a good choice for today,"
I said, stepping in and shutting the door.

"Yeah. It's looking very nice outside."

Ten minutes later, I turned off the water. As I opened the door, there was
Trent, standing there with my towel.

"Oooo, my own personal towel boy."

"Oh, let me tell you. This place has the best service," he smiled as he
leaned down and took my dick in his mouth.

My dick isn't huge when not hard, just over three inches. This let him
whirl his tongue around it like a blender. I momentarily jerked, like I was
tickled, but it was more like being startled. He sucked on it for a few
more seconds and then let me get dressed.

I asked if I could drive. We had about an hour before we met his friends. I
took us into the "gayborhood." As Trent was new to the whole scene, I
wasn't sure what he did or didn't know was around. We walked into a
bookstore. I could tell it was his first visit. There was a touch of gay
overload in his expression. He was fascinated by all the trinkets and
devices, the assortment of flavors of lube under the counter and the wide
range of publicized materials. I had to explain (in a whisper) what a
couple items were and confessed there were a few I hadn't a clue. His
innocent questions were adorable.

We grabbed a quick coffee at a quaint coffee bar, Joe, and enjoyed sitting
outside in the sun. He noticed several gay men of all ages around us. I
could tell he found that intriguing and comforting. He thought everyone was
so friendly.

Our time was running short, so I pointed out a couple of clubs, one was
techno, the other country.

Then we needed to head to Downward Dog. He thanked me for showing him those
places. He told me he had heard about the "gay part of town" but was always
too scared to check it out.

We parked the car, and Trent saw his friends on the outdoor patio. It was a
nice day to sit outside. Spring was trying to make its presence known, plus
eating outdoors had that sunny appeal. Cool, but nice. When they saw him,
Trent's friends waved to us.

"Hi everyone! I'd like you to meet Michael Terry. He's ... a high school
professor that I've recently ... connected with again."

THERE he was, that shy student who walked into my room last week. Trent had
jumped feet first into the gay world these past days, but I could feel his
knee-jerk reaction snap into place.

"You must have been a favorite. Not everyone reconnects with old teachers,"
one of his friends said to me.

Old teachers. OLD teachers. Swell.

"I'll say," Trent interjected. "I was going through a tough time back
then. It was pretty bad. Professor Terry's ... Mike's ... classes really
helped me get through it."

I kind of glanced at him. Really? What tough times? What did I do?
Hopefully, I didn't look too puzzled. Trent introduced me to the
group. They seemed like a drama group if that didn't sound too
condescending. Ash was definitely gay; I didn't even need a gaydar for
that. I was wondering if he was sizing me up. Their hair, their style
... it was so young. Maybe I WAS an OLD teacher. Matthew and Alison, the
engaged couple, seemed to be closest to Trent.

"I didn't know you were taking drama, Trent," I noted, trying to be
involved in the conversation.

"Oh, I'm not. Matt and Ali are two of my longest friends, and I told them I
would help them with their set this week. We are building a `cabin in the
woods' for the production. It's probably going to be heavier than we want
it to, so hopefully we can figure out a solution to that," said Trent.

The conversation was pleasant, and the group encouraged me to come see the
production. We ordered food, and it was as delicious as I remembered. After
an hour or so of visiting, the group gave each other hugs and made plans
for tomorrow. They all said it was nice meeting me. The new relationship
between Trent and me never came up. I'm not sure if he wanted it that way
or it just turned out that way, but it was his call to make. I simply went
along with it.

As we drove back to my place, I told him that I thought his friends were
nice. He talked about each of them a little, particularly telling me some
special stories between him and Matthew and Alison. I asked if he thought
Ash was gay. He chuckled.

"I've only known him a couple of months. He is new to the drama group this
semester. I've never asked, of course. But I was kind of picking up on it,"
he said.

"Gaydar," I replied.

"Ah." Trent went quiet a moment. "Soooo... do you think he picked up on
us?"

"Possibly. With me being a former teacher and with the age difference, that
wouldn't necessarily be the FIRST assumption. But who knows, he may be
having fun picturing it. If he did, how would you feel about it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I have no desire to have some outlandish coming out
extravaganza, but does one ease into it? It's all new to me. I'm not sure
how to approach it. It's kind of scary. By the way, I probably would have
had the courage with this group to introduce you as a boyfriend, but I
wasn't sure if you would have wanted me to do that. I tried to think of
your personal privacy. Was that okay? Are you okay with how it turned out?"
he asked.

"What, with me being an OLD teacher??"

"I wasn't the one who said that! And you know he didn't mean it that way,"
Trent said, whapping me on the back of my head with his hand.

We laughed.

"Mike, we are boyfriends, aren't we?"

"I like to think so. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Absolutely. I'm just ... so new. I've never had a boyfriend. I like
thinking of you as one. Still, it sounds so ... `high school.'
Boyfriend. Do you use that word as an adult?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Particularly at the beginning. I don't think either of us
expected anything like this when you walked in my room last week," I
said. "But I rather like having a man in my life. As long as you are okay
with things. Like you've said, this is ALL new to you."

"Well, you've been wonderful," he said. "I am grateful that you have
accepted me, even with my lack of experience."

"Experience means nothing. If I didn't like you as a person, I wouldn't
have ventured further after that first ... unprofessional ... encounter."

I grimaced thinking back on that original mistake.

"You know, telling them wouldn't have been that scary," he said
blankly. "You helped me get over that initial fear. Thank you for handling
it so well."

"So well??!! We had sex in a school shower. I SHOULD be fired. How could I
have handled it worse?"

"Not that. The fact that you didn't freak out or make me feel weird or
judge me ... it just ... worked out for me. Even if you had still been in a
relationship with someone else and — well, we wouldn't have had sex —
your calmness made me feel better."

"I'm glad," I said, somewhat bewildered. I handled that whole afternoon so
poorly. I was enjoying my time with Trent — a lot! — but at some
point, he's going to wake up. I hoped I hadn't given him any impressions or
signals that will later hurt him. I had tried to be up front and honest.

And old.

We made further small talk as we drove back to my place. Once inside, he
put his arms around me.

"Thanks for meeting my friends. And showing me around," he said and gave me
a quick kiss.

I squeezed back. I felt just a bit more a part of his world.

"How many hours do you have left before you head back?"

"Maybe two?" he said. "I have three chapters to read tonight. I've sort of
blown it off, and I should proofread a paper before turning it in
tomorrow. Ugh."

"I do remember your papers being impeccable. You were a great student," I
acknowledged. "So... no dinner together, huh?"

"No. I'm sorry. We'll make the most of the time left," he said. He glanced
at the bedroom. "We can `make the most of it' ... with our clothes off
... if you want to ..."

Five minutes later we were stripped naked with our bodies slipping between
the sheets. My dick was hard, making a noticeable protrusion in the
sheets. I noticed Trent wasn't erect yet as his briefs came off. Clearly, I
was the hornier of the two of us.

We held each other. We didn't say a lot. We just liked holding each
other. His arm reached over to grab my erection. I could slowly see the
sheets above his crotch create a bulge that was gradually inching higher
and higher. Our faces met and we started kissing, our tongues starting to
explore each other's mouths. I reached for his dick. We kissed and groped
and fondled. I released his organ and firmly wrapped my arms around him. I
kissed him deeply.

"I want to try something," I whispered into his ear.

He pulled back with an inquisitive look on his face.

"I haven't been fucked in the ass in over a year," I said. "It's not my
favorite thing. But I want you to do it. I want you inside me."

He gently kissed me. "Fuck yeah," he whispered.

I leaned over the side of the bed and pulled out lube and a towel.

"How many towels do you have down there??" he asked with a chuckle. "It's
like a clown car."

"Usually one," I said matter of fact. "I replaced it this morning. But
there's something else."

I pulled out a condom.

"I've been a terrible mentor. We have yet to talk about being safe. I
should have told you this from the beginning."

"I see. Okay," he said back, emotionless.

"I was tested right after my last lover, and..."

"You never say his name," Trent observed.

"Okay. Ethan. When Ethan and I broke up, I took another test. And I think
I'm the only person who has fucked you, right?"

Trent nodded.

"So, we are more or less safe. BUT I want you to get in the habit of
protecting yourself. What is hot and heavy for 15 minutes should never cost
you your life."

Trent silently nodded again. I spread out the towel on the bed. I motioned
Trent to position himself laying on his back on top of the towel. I jerked
on his penis to make it as stiff as possible. Although no words were
spoken, he was audible once again. I pumped on his cock a minute and gave
it a quick kiss. I put one knee on each side of Trent's torso. I tore open
the condom wrapper and placed the ring at the top of his erection behind me
as we locked eyes. I could see his hazel eyes moving about trying to
process the sensation of the condom rolling down his hard cock. He looked
directly back at me again.

"Okay?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I squirted some lube on my fingers and slicked up my ass. I put some on his
fingers and asked him to gently slide them into me. He did. One finger
first, then two. I moaned as his slippery digits started fucking my
hole. He smiled when he saw that he was giving me pleasure. And it was. I
hadn't felt anything in my ass in so long. I reached back for the lube. I
coated Trent's condom-wrapped pole making it slippery. He stopped finger
fucking me. I positioned the tip of his cock at my entrance and lowered on
the head. It went inside and my chest jumped; I pulled off him. I lowered
back on it, and about three inches of Trent's manhood traveled down my
channel. My face grimaced. Trent saw my teeth clench and asked if I was
okay. I nodded. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I gripped my knees
letting the sensation of the intruder in my ass feel welcome. My muscles
untensed, and I lowered myself on more of his cock. Slowly, it all went
inside me.

"Ohhhh, yeah," he moaned. "Wow."

I lifted up and lowered, lifted and lowered. Almost mechanically, I moved
up and down. You could have set a watch by it. The ring of my pucker slid
down the lubricated pillar creating gratifying sensations to both his cock
and my ass. It felt good. It felt REALLY good. I didn't really say words,
it was just sounds — grunting, almost barking. I rode his pole like a
carousel. I leaned back on my stiff arms and just bounced on his throbbing
cock. My penis bounced up and down above his body. And I was loud. As loud
as I was during the sex episode in my garage.

"This feels so good," Trent said. "Thank you for letting me inside you,
Mike. I love fucking you."

"Ohhhh, me too," I returned.

Trent started thrusting his cock in me, making it feel like he was drilling
further. As he reamed my ass with his pounding erection, I slammed my body
into his, down to his hairy bush. We crashed in rhythm. Both of us were
feeling sexual pleasure in intense waves. I loved this so much, I wondered
why I was hesitant to do it more frequently. The lube slightly dissipated
and the friction became warmer. Our motion was hot. It was on fire. We
simply fucked in the flames.

I lifted off his cock and got off my knees. I moved him off the towel; I
leaned back and spread my legs.

"Fuck me this way," I directed.

He sprang up and grabbed my legs, slightly lifting my ass. We worked my
legs into the air, both of us holding them. We spread them wide. He dripped
a bit more lube on his dick and explored my ass crack looking for my hole
like a lost child. It entered again. I screamed. I was loving it. He
grabbed my ankles and began thrusting.

"Fuck, yes!!! Oh, Trent. Fuck me hard."

He held his body over mine with his hips thrusting every masculine inch of
his cock inside my body. In and out, he worked his erection inside me —
its length and strength pulsing to the max. This position was even more
satisfying as he worked inside me again and again. We weren't moaning, we
were yelling. He was pounding my ass mercilessly. I loved the force of his
body shoving into mine. I grabbed my cock and starting yanking on it. I
growled at his continuous bludgeoning of my ass.

"Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me."

"Oh, Mike. Here I come. I'm gonna come in you."

Then he screamed as loud as a human can.

"That's it, Trent. Come for me. Come inside me."

I pulled on my cock with forceful violence. He screamed through his entire
orgasm. I wanted to come with him. My grip was a jackhammer, my poor dick
its hopeless victim. I knew he had finished coming. I knew his cock had
nothing left to give, but I wanted his throbbing organ to stay inside me.

"Don't stop, babe! Keep fucking me. Keep fucking me!!"

Trent obliged. He kept thrusting his meat inside my ass helping it to keep
firm. Even if it wasn't 100% hard, it filled me. He fucked me for another
minute as I could tell I was about to climax.

"I'm close, Trent. OH YEAH. Fuck me hard. Yes! YES!! I'm going to come!"

I screamed like I was being poured with scalding water. The first blast
from my cock shot like a bullet to my face. It was hot. The second spasm
sent a stream to my chin.

"Holy shit!" Trent yelled seeing my cock shoot missiles such great
distance.

He fucked with more vigor.

I shot another wave. And another. Finally, the spurts stopped and just
dripped from my cock. Both of us collapsed on the sheets.

"Ho. Lee. Fuck." Trent said. "Are you sure this isn't your thing?? When I
used to fantasize about you in high school, I never ever pictured you in
such a wild frenzy. That was zoo animal crazy."

"It was amazing," I said.

"It was fucking amazing," he returned.

"Totally, incredibly, fucking amazing," I said, followed by an immense
exhale.

He moved around to lay by my side. Looking at me, he took a few seconds to
lick the cum from my face. He then stuck his tongue in my mouth so that we
could share it. I don't often taste my cum, but I liked doing it this
way. We kissed for a solid minute. He then pulled the towel from underneath
us and wiped my messy chest. He tossed it to the floor and looked down at
his dick.

"What do I do with this now?"

I looked.

"The condom? You just throw it away."

"Just like that? We don't need to treat it like hazmat or something?" he
asked.

I laughed.

"No. I wouldn't just throw them in places where your roommates could see
them, but trash is fine. You can always wrap it in a tissue to be
discreet."

He pulled it from his softening penis and tossed it on the towel on the
floor.

"Did it feel okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. A little different. But it still felt great. I'm surprised it held
together. I practically ripped my dick off fucking your ass, not to mention
probably pumping half a gallon of jizz inside it."

I chuckled.

"You know the expression `Leave them wanting more'? Well, when you walk out
the door, I am completely, totally satisfied, but I want more. I can't wait
for you to come back. I want more," I said.

"So..." He paused. "Mike, why don't you get fucked more often? You were on
pleasure overdrive. Why do you say this isn't your thing?"

I laid silent, thinking.

"It's not always comfortable for me. We did well. You were awesome. Ethan
was always the bottom almost all the time. I just preferred being the
top. You are the biggest person ever inside me. The thought of something
like Lance's dick ... that dick! ... inside me makes me cringe. I also
think it is the most personal way to have sex. I don't let just anyone do
it. I have to really want it. If the person doesn't really mean anything to
me, then I'd never let anyone inside me. However, I'll probably feel sore
tomorrow. Ha."

I turned on my side and faced him.

"Today you said you were going through a rough time in high school, and I
helped you through it. I didn't understand. What did you mean?" I asked.

"Ugh. Eh, I'd prefer not to talk about it. It was family stuff. I'll tell
you some other time. Just know, going to your class, seeing you, knowing
you believed in me, the way you treated me in class ... it made a
difference. I looked forward to your class. It was my calm moment in times
I needed them."

"Okay. Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

We rolled back on our backs and stared at the ceiling.

"Did you say you fantasized about me in high school?" I asked.

"Oh. Maybe. Not so much about the two of us having sex. Just ... seeing you
without your clothes. Maybe you jacking off while I watched. I don't know."

"Sweet."

"I tried not to think about men when I jacked off, but they seemed to creep
into my thoughts. Not necessarily interacting, just ... I pictured them. To
be honest, my wildest fantasy was just you holding me, comforting me."

"Wow." That sounded nice. In all my years of teaching, I'd never thought
students would lust after me in such a way. Certainly, I never entertained
such thoughts. Particularly as I get older — they're just kids.

"I began to suspect I was gay in high school. My friends seemed girl
crazy. I wasn't. I could say maybe that was why you were my favorite
teacher, but it was more than that. You're a very nice man. And a good
teacher. I probably saw you as the whole package. If I really was gay, I
probably thought you were the type of person I would want."

"I don't know what to say. I'm flattered."

"You said you remembered my papers. Do you remember all your students?" he
asked.

"The good ones. Yeah, I like to think so. Male, female, freshman,
senior. All races. Teachers aren't supposed to play favorites, but they
can't help but appreciate those students who really work hard. I want all
of them to be successful, but you ... yeah, I remember you ... you sort of
have favorites over the years. You were one of my top students that year."

He held my hand and placed his head on my shoulder. We didn't move for a
few minutes.

"Of course, you hadn't grown into the man you are now. Heck, I was only a
couple years older than you are now. It was my ... second year of teaching,
I think. I was pretty new. When you asked about a few of your friends this
morning during our jog, I didn't remember a couple. That made me sad. I'm
going to try harder to make sure each student is someone I will remember."

"To be fair, I don't remember all my classmates either."

I got up and grabbed the yearbook from Trent's sophomore year. I had all
the yearbooks from the years I had taught. We flipped to find each other's
pictures. He had really changed. To my astonishment, I had too. I looked so
young six years ago. Once again, I felt old. We flipped pages and I tried
to pull out some sort of memory of several of his classmates. Even he said
he had completely forgotten about a few people.  Trent looked at the clock
on the nightstand. We got up and cleaned up just a bit more. As I got
dressed, I looked at the bed.

"Well, after this weekend, I should wash the sheets."

"Hm. I don't think I've washed my sheets in the apartment in a month,"
Trent said.

"Gah! Don't tell me that. Treat yourself better, Trent."

He nodded in a way that said okay. "May I ask a favor?"

"Sure. Would you ... would you be willing to read this paper I have to turn
in? That will save me a few minutes tonight."

"I'd be honored."

He handed me the paper and told me it would take me about 15 to 20
minutes. I sat down on the couch with it and began reading. Trent hovered
in my peripheral vision and then started pacing as I pored over his
writing.

"Stop! Trent, go sit down," I said with a smirky smile.

"Okay. Okay." He positively looked nervous.

After the last page, I tapped the papers on the coffee table to make them
all align.  Well? Is it okay? Do I need to fix anything? Any corrections?"

"One comma. It's wonderfully written. I see your talents have even further
developed. I love your way with words."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's good. Here, sit."

He sat next to me, and I pointed out where a comma was necessary. "On page
... here, page three ... you use `confusing' in three different
paragraphs. Might I suggest at least a replacement for one of them if not
two?"

"Right. Right. Thank you, Mike." He put his head on my shoulder.

Soon we were standing at my front door. We held each other. Trent took a
selfie of us. I smiled.

"By the way, you have a day off without me tomorrow," Trent
announced. "After practice I have to help them with the drama set, which
will probably go late. I'm sure you need a break from me."

"I'm not so sure. You've been a welcome inclusion to my week. Are you going
to say anything to your roommates?"

"I don't know," Trent answered. "I don't think I am going to make any
announcements or anything, but if they asked specific questions, I'm not
going to lie anymore. Do you want me to keep your name secret if anyone
asks?"

"No need. You're in my life."

"And yet a week ago you hadn't seen me in six years."

"I know. Crazy, right? You came to me with a lot of questions the other
day. How do you feel now? Things have changed in big ways. We've rushed you
into the gay world really quickly."

He didn't answer. He looked down at the floor. I couldn't tell for sure,
but I thought I saw tears well up in his eyes. He reached out his arms to
hold me. He wiped his eyes on my shoulder.

"I'm happy, Mike. You've done so much for me. All the uncertainty has gone
away. I mean, I'm far from being out to the world, but I feel like I can be
myself. For the first time in my life, I feel ... real. It's just nice to
be honest. Not judged. Not made fun of. Not despised. Just honest. It feels
so good. I owe you so much."

"It has been my pleasure, babe."

"I love it when you call me that," he said looking up at me.

"Call me tomorrow," I said.

"See ya."

Guh. I've always hated that phrase. From him it was a bit more tolerable. I
was already missing him, and he hadn't even left. I would miss seeing him
tomorrow. But we were moving so fast, a day apart would be good for us
probably.

We enjoyed being together. I felt the weekend was a success. But I had to
question how long we could last. Consenting or not, at some point, Trent
would probably want someone his age. It would only make sense. I could
probably handle that breakup easier than the one with Ethan. Ethan and I
had invested a lot. I didn't want to think of Trent as a flirtation on the
rebound. I really liked him. Whatever we had going, even if unexpected, it
was good.

That night I straightened a few things and washed the sheets. I felt oddly
lonely.