Boys of Grizzly Valley

Chapter 2 - Jack

This is fantasy fiction, at least that's what I'm required to say. Real events did inspire this entire series.

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Chapter 2 - Jack

This story takes place during Andrew's Misplaced Trust. Approx 12-15 years ago.

Jack Singleton

I wasn't a very popular kid, but I had a neighbor, Mario, who was in every class I had since kindergarten. Looking back, I had a crush on him, but as a kid, I didn't know what that was since boys dated girls, not other boys. I don't know what it was, but I always got butterflies when I saw him. Unfortunately, I never really had a close friendship with him because he was popular and a jock. I did go to the park on the weekends when the little league games were playing to watch his team.

One weekend, I learned a bit more about those feelings. I had to go to the bathroom, so I walked over to the park restroom and got up to the urinal. I pulled the waistband of my silky shorts down to let my dick out and started to pee. Mario's coach came in and stood next to me as I was relieving myself. He pulled out his adult cock. Now, I was about ten at the time, so compared to me, he had a monster, and it was close to me.

He caught me looking and laughed. "It's okay, son, all boys are curious. You're Mario's friend, right? I see you here every week."

"Yes, coach, but he's just a neighbor; we don't play together or anything."

"Ever thought about playing baseball?"

"No, sir, I'm not good at sports. I just like to watch Mario play." My cock had gotten hard, and I was just standing there holding it, talking to the coach while staring at his dick.

"Son, look up here."

I was so embarrassed. He smiled and winked at me. "Do you have to be home right after the game?"

"No, sir."

"Come see me after the game, I want to see how well you can play. Maybe you could be on the team. I think you and Mario could be better friends if you were on the team."

"Okay." I wasn't sure how he would figure out if I could play or not, but if it meant I could be with Mario more, I was all in.

After the game, the boys all rallied and left for home. It was just a regular game, so they weren't off to pizza or anything today. The coach waved me over.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Jack."

"Jack, let's see what you got, I mean, I've already seen that." He looked and nodded at my crotch. It made me look down to check it, and then I turned red when I realized what he meant.

The coach gave me a baseball and asked me to run over to the pitcher's mound. He stood at home plate. "Throw the ball to me like you see the boys do during the game."

I tried, I really did, but the ball just left my hand, went a couple of feet, and dropped to the ground. I was so embarrassed and wanted to cry, but no, Jack, you've got this. I ran to the ball, picked it up, and when I stood up, the coach was right there.

"Here, son, let me help you out." He stood behind me and leaned down with his head next to mine. He grabbed my hand, put the ball in it, and moved my arm through the motion. He smelled so nice, I wasn't paying attention to anything he said. He wound my arm up and told me to let go. Thud. The ball just dropped. I turned around, and I guess I wasn't thinking. I just hugged the man and cried. He picked me up, carried me over to the dugout, and sat me on the bench. He sat down next to me, putting his arm over my shoulders, and pulled me close.

"Son, it's okay, it will take practice, but you can learn." He stood me up in front of him. The dugout had that green fabric on the chain link all the way around except for the side facing the field. There was nobody around, and the coach held me at the waist. His hands slid down a bit, and he was holding my butt, and his thumbs started to circle next to my dick. The thin fabric of my shorts didn't hide what was happening to me. My insides were getting tingly, and my dick got hard. The coach smiled and licked his lips.

"You like that, don't you? Nothing to be embarrassed about. Would you like me to show you something that feels really good?"

"Like what?"

"Do you ever play with your wiener?"

"You mean my dick? Yes, sometimes."

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes, usually."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, coach."

He turned so he was straddling the bench and grabbed my hand to get me to stand on the bench in front of him. Was he, no, I'd heard about this, but never, oh my. He's going to suck my dick! I know it!

The coach reaches up to my shorts and pulls them down. He grabbed my underwear with it, so my dick just bounces up. Almost immediately, he put his mouth on it and sucked and sucked. I squealed out that I was about to pee, and he kept going. The feeling was incredible. My head started to spin, and he held me as he stopped sucking after the most incredible feeling ever.

"What was that coach?"

"You just had your first dry orgasm."

"Do it again, please."

"Maybe next week, but I need to go."

Just then, we heard a sound from behind the dugout. A head popped out from behind us, but we couldn't see who it was. They ran off.

Coach quickly got up and left. I was just standing on the bench with my dick out. I pulled up my shorts and jumped down to follow the coach, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The next week, there was a new coach. I never saw the old coach again. I hoped I could find another man to do that to me. Maybe if I had the courage, I could get Mario to do it.

Not much excitement happened to me until high school. I was just an ordinary, closeted gay kid. I did what I could to disappear into the woodwork, as they say. In high school, I had good grades. I was always inventing things, building things, and doing odd jobs just to keep busy and to keep the questions from asking why I wasn't "normal" like the other kids. My grades were all A+ except for physical education, which I passed because I discovered that the high school coach and the little league coach shared a similar secret. Weekly visits to the coach's office kept me getting A's and BJ's and I enjoyed getting sucked off once a week. He didn't want to fuck me; he just wanted to suck out the boy juice, as he called it.

I was in my junior year, and it was time for prom. I didn't know too many kids, but there was this one girl, Cindy, who cornered me and asked me to the prom. My parents were very happy that I finally had a date.

Friday, May 13th, 2011

I can't believe it. Cindy just told me she's pregnant. And fuck, it truly is Friday the 13th. Why did I go all the way with her after prom? I didn't even enjoy it. I guess there was just so much peer pressure to go all the way, and my family was happy I was finally out with a girl.

Let me back up, but I'm sure you can guess how we got here.

The evening of prom was going well, but Cindy was hot and horny and wanted it, but I wasn't sure. She kept pressuring me and even asked me why I didn't want to go all the way. Our prom was in a hotel ballroom, and there were rooms that some of the kids got for couples to "use" as they wished. Cindy grabbed me by the arm, and we went up the elevator to the 5th floor, where the room was. There we stood; the door had been taped so it wouldn't latch. Couples hung the "do not disturb" sign and flipped the manual latch when the room was in use. Room 525 was just down the hall. No sign was out, and we put the sign on the handle, closed the door, swung the manual lock over the door, and fell on the bed. We were lying next to each other. We were getting all hot and heavy, well, I was trying. Somehow we ended up naked. I don't really recall removing our clothes. At least I knew how to kiss, thanks to the high school coach, but not much else. She was playing with my cock, but it wasn't getting hard. She seemed frustrated, pushed my hand down into her pussy, and wanted me to finger her. I reluctantly did it, but apparently I wasn't doing things right.

She sat up and, with anger in her voice, asked, "Are you gay?"

I was in a full-on panic. She could leave the room and tell everyone. Shit, shit, fuck. I didn't know what else to do. "No, I, I just haven't gone this far before. I don't know what to do." I'm sure I was bright red. I had come to the realization that I was gay long ago, but I knew I needed to keep up appearances. The world I live in sucks. Why can't we just love whoever we want?

"Well, follow my lead and touch me, you little faggot." She went back to kissing and touching me. She was rubbing on my cock, but I was still having trouble getting hard. "I know what will fix this." She started to blow me. It felt good. I'm sure this wasn't the first cock she sucked. I tried thinking it was the coach, but nothing happened. Then I imagined it was Mario. That did it; I got hard. She quickly slid up and slid it into her. I kept my eyes shut, imagining being inside Mario, and then suddenly I came. It came on so fast. I wasn't wearing a condom. I didn't know what to do. I opened my eyes and must have looked horrified. I told her I was sorry about a million times.

"Fuck, what have you done?" Cindy screamed as she jumped up and quickly got dressed. "First, I can't get you hard, then you have a fucking hair trigger. What the fuck, Jack?"

She left me there on the bed. I felt horrible. What now? She knew I wasn't thinking of her. I may have even moaned out, "Oh Mario," but I don't remember.

The next couple of weeks were very awkward. Cindy never spoke to me, and her friends all gave me stares, and I knew they were mad. Today, though, they were all coming at me with Cindy front and center.

"You little faggot. How the fuck do I explain this?" she said, throwing a stick at me. I picked it up and realized it was a pregnancy test.

"Um, maybe it's wrong?" I mumbled, staring at my shoes.

"Here, here, here," she said, throwing more sticks at me. "They're all positive. You little fag, you knocked me up thinking of your boyfriend. FUCK YOU!" she stormed off.

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. My life is over. My parents are going to kill me. Wait, no, her parents are going to kill me first.

The next day, I was able to talk to her. I don't think she calmed down much, but she would at least talk to me.

"I don't want your little faggot baby," Cindy tells me. "My parents won't let me kill the little shit. Just, just stay away from me. I don't want anything to do with you. And don't worry, I don't need to out you." I don't know how she hadn't already outed me since all of her friends were there when she confronted me. They had to have heard her comments.

"My parents are going to want me to put it up for adoption. This really sucks. You've ruined my life." Maybe it was best that the baby be adopted. We could all move on with our lives.

"Oh, by the way, I'm going to tell my parents tonight. Expect a visit from my dad, you little faggot."

It was a Friday night, so I was prepared for the worst.

When I got home from school, I went right to my room. My mom was home and wanted to chat, but I just grumbled that I needed to do something and went to my room. Mom is pretty smart, she knew something was up. She grabbed some cookies and milk, came up to my room, and knocked at my door. "Jack honey, may I come in? I brought you some cookies." I knew I wasn't able to hide that there was something wrong.

"Yes mom, come on in." I tried to sound happy, but that wasn't working. Her mom sense said we needed to talk.

"Honey, I can tell something is bothering you. You know you can talk to me. I don't like seeing you all gloomy and down."

"Mom, I can't. You're going to hate me."

"Oh Jack, I could never hate you. Why would I hate you, you're my son, and I love you no matter what. Tell me what's bothering you."

"Mom, I can't. It's horrible."

"Jack, I told you I wouldn't ever hate you. Whatever it is, we can work through it."

I had to decide how I was going to deal with this because I knew the phone was going to ring any second with Cindy's parents calling and screaming. In fact, I expect her dad to come over with a gun to finish me off. Fuck, what do I say? Maybe I can justify this. "Mom, you know how I haven't really dated many girls?"

"Oh, honey, that's okay. You know your father, and I are fine with you dating or not. In fact, if you brought home a boy, we wouldn't be surprised."

What? Did my mom just figure me out? "Mom, its, well... Mom, yeah, maybe I should have brought home a guy. I think I do like guys more than girls, but that's not the problem."

"It's okay, Jack, what is it?"

"Well, Cindy pressured me after prom to, well, um, have sex."

"I see."

"And mom, I wasn't into her, really, but she pressured me to and well, we did."

"Son, we all do things like that when we are growing up. It's not the end of the world. If you don't want to do it with her again, you don't have to."

"Mom, I don't, but that's not the worst of it. She's pregnant."

The silence seemed to last forever. My mom was not a religious fanatic, but she really was pro-life and knew enough about Cindy to know that her family was definitely not going to let her keep the child. "Honey, we can work it out. You have the easy part. Poor Cindy now has to carry this child and deliver it. You need to be there for her."

"I know mom, but she doesn't want anything to do with me or the baby. She told me that she knows I'm gay and she didn't want me around. She figured it out. I feel horrible, I've ruined her life and probably mine as well."

"Jack, you listen to me. Whatever happens, we can get through it. We will support Cindy in whatever decision she makes. If she keeps the baby, you will need to figure out how to help care for the baby and be a good father, even if you two are not together. If she decides to give it up for adoption, then you will have to let it go, and your worries are over. Based on what I know about her family, I don't think she'll abort it."

"Mom, she said she's going to give it up for adoption. I think that's best, but I've ruined her life. Word is going to get out that I knocked her up, and she's probably going to tell everyone I'm gay since we aren't together, even though she promised not to. Mom, all her friends know I'm gay, I can't keep that a secret."

"Son, it will all work out. I'm sorry that you are going to have to deal with this, but you will be fine in the end. Your father and I are here to support you."

The weekend dragged. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I was surprised that my parents were fine with my revelation that I was gay. My dad hugged me and told me he loved me and supported me. Mom was acting like there had been no change from before my bizarre coming-out declaration.

I wasn't looking forward to going back to school on Monday. It was going to be scary. I didn't know what or who Cindy told, but I was about to find out.

As I got to school, I saw Cindy doing the runway walk in the hall while I was at my locker. She was surrounded by the same group of friends. She had dyed her hair purple and was wearing a tight black mini-dress. I'm sure it didn't meet the school dress code. It was cut so you could see through it. There was a ladder of cuts up each side--the front and the back. I have to say it was quite sexy, maybe even slutty, but it still didn't do much for me.

The boys were all watching her, and she made it clear when she passed me that we were done and she was available. Maybe she was just feeling slutty or wanted to feel sexy; I don't know. I was worried that she was going to out me, and yep, sure enough, she did.

She had everyone's attention, so she yelled out, "Hey everyone, just so you know, Jack here is gay, and I'm open for business, if you know what I mean."

I was in total panic mode and quickly slammed my locker and ran the other way. I laid low throughout the day, avoiding any social interaction, but everything changed at lunch.

I wandered to the back of the tables under the lunch shelter to get away from everyone, and I heard "Hey Jack, can I sit here?" from Mario.

My heart fluttered, Mario. My dream was asking to sit with me. Didn't he hear? I was outed to the entire school. After all, he was on the baseball team. He wouldn't want to be seen with me.

"Sure, Mario, you're welcome to sit here. How are you?"

"I'm good, Jack. I hear you had a rough morning. Cindy's been blabbing shit all day about you. I just wanted to come to show my support. I'm sure some of the kids have been mean to you today."

"Thanks," I mumbled. "Things haven't been so good, but not as bad as I expected."

"That's good. You know I'll always be your friend, and if anyone gives you shit, I'll take care of them for you." Mario and I had not really been friends, but I guess he thought of me as a friend. Have I been missing out all this time?

I was shocked. Was he really going to stand up for me? "Aren't you scared that people will think you're gay too if you're my friend?"

"Nah, it don't matter. Everyone has a gay friend or two, even if they don't know it. Besides, I know who I am, and nobody is going to give me shit. In fact, it may help you out since my friends will probably be fine with you if they see that I am."

"Thank you, Mario. I don't want you to take any shit because of me."

"Dude, I got your back."

We ate lunch and had some small talk, and a few of Mario's friends even joined us. Not a word was spoken about me being gay or about Cindy.

I was feeling pretty good.

I was amazed that Mario was so nice to me, and even his friends were supportive. I was able to hold my head up the rest of the day. Sure, there were some shitty comments, but overall, I was able to hold my own.

After school, I entered the house, and mom wasn't home. I went to my room to finish up my homework before dinner. I had a ton of work since I wasn't able to focus at school and get it done as usual.

Mom came home and asked me to help with dinner. I know she just wanted an excuse for me to talk to her, and that was okay.

"So honey, how was your day."

"Mom, it was strange. Cindy came to school with purple hair and wore a slutty dress."

"Jack! Language!"

"Mom, there's no other way to describe it. Sorry. Anyway, she decided she would out me to the entire school. The morning was pretty bad, and I got called some pretty horrible names. Someone even scratched FAG into my locker with a key or something."

"I'm sorry, honey. Did anyone hurt you physically?"

"No mom, that's the strange part. You know my friend Mario from school?"

"The baseball player?"

"Yeah, well, at lunchtime he came and sat with me and got all of his friends to join us. We had a normal conversation; just small talk. Mario told me he had my back before his friends joined, but once they came over, nothing was said. It was like I was now one of the jocks. I hope this wasn't a joke or something. He seemed to be sincere about it, and his friends were just, well, normal."

"Honey, your generation is more open to different people than my generation. I hope that they all stay friends and that Mario really does have your back. That's wonderful news."

By this point, we had made a salad, set the table, and were just chatting while mom had popped a casserole in the oven. Dad will be home soon, and so far he's been good to me about all of this.

When Dad got home, he said his usual hello and asked about my day. I gave him a short recap of what happened and he told me he was proud of me and knew that I'd be able to handle it all.

We still had no idea what Cindy's family was going to say or do, but I wasn't going to worry about that since she treated me like shit today. After dinner, I went to my room and checked my computer to catch up. I had a message from Mario.

"Hey dude, I enjoyed hanging out at lunch. Let's do it again tomorrow."

I replied, "Yeah, I enjoyed it too, and thank you for being a friend. Lunch tomorrow is great."

I was beginning to hope that my friendship with Mario would last. He's easy on the eyes and very nice. I need someone popular like him to help me survive. Just another year, and I would be free of that prison called High School.

The next day at school, Mario passed me in the morning. He waved and smiled at me. I waved back, trying not to act too excited. Deep down, my crush on him was just killing me. Why couldn't he be gay too, and why couldn't we be a couple? I was starting to chub up. I don't want to be caught with a boner.

Time seemed to stand still until lunchtime. I really don't know what any of my teachers were saying, as I was in a total daydream about Mario. Snap out of it, Jack. You have to be "normal."

I quickly made it to lunch, and Mario was already there with his jock friends. He waved me over and made room next to him for me to sit. His friends were all nice to me and started to ask me questions.

"Jack, what sports do you play?" asked Roger.

"I don't play any at school, but I do like to play ice hockey, and I tried to play little league when I was younger, but that didn't work out."

"Cool, do you still play ice hockey?" piped in Ricky. "I love ice hockey but can't seem to find anyone to play."

"No, there aren't enough people to play even a pick-up match. I'm not good enough to play in any of the leagues, and they have all the best ice time at the rinks."

"Well, if you want to play, I'm sure a few of us would be able to find some free rink time to practice with you." Ricky continued.

"Yeah, I'd love that."

Mario had one hand under the table, where nobody could see it. He slid it over to my leg, turned a bit to face me, and whispered, "I'd love to play too! Just like you did with the little league coach," and he squeezed my leg.

I must be dreaming. Did he just, no, that didn't just happen? What the, no Jack, don't question it. "Great, let me find some times that we can play, and I'll let you know."

I don't think my feet hit the ground the rest of the day. I was going to be able to hang out with these guys and play hockey. I would be able to make body contact with Mario. I was having a difficult time not having to hide a full-on erection for the rest of the day.

When school was over, I was walking out and about to head home when Mario came running up behind me. He asked me if I wanted a ride home. "Sure! That would be great." I was really liking my new friend.

"Hey, when I said I wanted to play, I really meant it. And I don't mean hockey, Jack." Mario said, looking me directly in the eye. I could have melted. This couldn't be happening.

"Uh, Mario, um, I, well, do you really mean it? This isn't some sort of sick joke, is it? You're not trying to hurt me or," and I was cut off with a hand over my mouth.

"Shut up, Jack. I would never hurt you. I've wanted you for a long time, but I just didn't know if you would like me too. Then, when you and Cindy were dating, I figured you were straight. I was afraid to approach you, and now, you've been outed, I wanted to take a chance that you felt the same way."

He removed his hand from my mouth and looked at me. There was a bit of terror in his eyes. He just admitted to me, the school fag, that he, the jock baseball player, was gay and wanted to date me! "Mario, I've wanted you for a long time. In fact, I had to fantasize about you when I fucked Cindy."

"Eww, you fucked her?"

"Yeah, she pressured me into it. I couldn't do it until I imagined it was you."

Mario hit me in the shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You thought she was me? Dude, we look nothing alike, and I don't have big tits like her."

"No, Mario, I had my eyes closed and she was blowing me, I imagined it was you and." I stopped. What the fuck was I doing. I'm confessing more than I should now.

Mario grabbed me, put his arm over my shoulder, and pulled me toward his car. We got in, and he started the car and drove out of the school parking lot and behind the convenience store, about a block away. He stopped the car, turned it off and leaned over pulling my face down and gave me the sloppiest kiss I've ever had.

"Dude, we need to work on your kissing game. It's done like this." I pulled him back and gently kissed him, then started probing with my tongue, and he finally opened up. We were really going at it when there was a sudden bang on the car window.

Fuck, what, and who was that? I looked up to Mario's side of the car only to see Cindy staring us down.

She was yelling, "So, you little fags, having fun? You go and knock me up and then run off with your boyfriend? You just wait." She stomped off.

Mario looked like he had seen a ghost. "Mario, I'm so sorry, dude. I told you I didn't want you to get any shit from what I did, and now look. She's going to tell the whole school. Man, I'm so sorry. I know you hate me." I reached for the door to get out and walk home when he pulled me back in.

"Jack, I don't give a fuck. I like you and want you to be my boyfriend. Together, we can be strong. My friends aren't going anywhere, and who else could help protect you better than a bunch of jocks?" This time, he leaned over to kiss me. He was a fast learner.

We made out for quite a while, and then he took me home. I thought I was going to bust in my pants. I've never been as hard as I was when we were making out. We lived about a block apart, so it wasn't so bad. At least he had a car and was a bit more independent than me. When I got home, my mom was there and asked, "was that Mario? Invite him in honey. Ask him if he can stay for dinner."

I ran back out and caught him just as he was pulling out of the drive and knocked on his window. The look on his face was priceless. He rolled down the window and said, "You little fuck, I thought Cindy was stalking me!"

"No silly, my mom wanted me to invite you in and see if you can stay for dinner?"

"I'd love to, is it really okay?"

"Yeah, mom always makes a lot of food. Come in and call your mom to let her know."

Mario parked and came in. Mom was very nice and said to him, "Thank you for sticking up for Jack. That was a very kind thing to do. I'm glad you're able to be his friend.

"Mrs. Singleton, I've known you guys since we were little. Why would anything keep me from being Jack's friend? Besides, he's fun to be around."

Dad got home a bit later, and Mario and I had been in the family room watching TV. He saw us and said, "Hi boys. Nice car, Mario. I'm glad you could stay for dinner. Jack told us how you stood up for him." Apparently, mom gave him the rundown.

Dinner was amazing. I know, it was the same food mom always makes, but having Mario there with me made it special. "Mr. Singleton, Mrs. Singleton, thank you for having me over for dinner." Mario continued, "I not only stood up for Jack because he doesn't deserve to be treated badly, but I like Jack. In fact, today I asked him to be my boyfriend and hope that you will accept us as a couple."

I felt my face getting hot. I could see myself in the mirror on the wall of the dining room, and I was bright red.

"Boys, that's fantastic news!" my dad said. I wanted to know who this man was. Is my dad accepting that I have a boyfriend?

"Dad, we talked at lunch with the other ball players and wanted to find some time to play hockey. Could you help us find some rink time and be our coach?" My dad had been a college hockey player. He went through school on a hockey scholarship. He even spent some time in the minor league but never got picked up, so he moved on.

"Of course, that's fantastic. How do the other boys feel about you guys being boyfriends?"

"Um, well, Mario and I decided that we were boyfriends after school, so they don't know yet."

"But Mr. S. I don't think they will mind. They all supported me when I told them we needed to back up Jack and not let him be bullied. They're like brothers to me, and they will be fine. Besides, if they don't like it, they will be the target of my next pitch during practice."

Dad just chuckled. He seemed content. I can't wait to get on the ice again, and my dad is a great coach.

The next day at school, the news was out. Cindy had decided it was her job to make sure everyone knew about Mario and me kissing. The funny thing is that it seemed to backfire on her.

I found out later that she made a banner and hung it over the entrance to the school. It read, "Jack and Mario sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" and underneath it said, "Mario likes to play with balls, Jack's balls."

Apparently, the principal found out who hung the banner rather easily. You see, there happen to be cameras at the school that little Miss Cindy didn't seem to notice.

Not only did she get hauled in for bullying, but she was also going to be suspended. She was nothing but rage in the principal's office. She went off and started spouting off about me. "That little faggot knocked me up at prom and now he's fucking Mario. Why am I the one getting punished? I know I shouldn't have forced him to fuck me! I knew he was a freak."

The principal had enough. "Cindy, did you force Jack to have sex with you?"

"Um, yeah, the creep couldn't get it up for me, and I made him prove to me he wasn't a fag."

"Cindy, you do realize what you did could be considered date rape?"

"No, it can't. Only boys get charged with rape!"

"Cindy, it goes both ways. You're lucky he doesn't press charges."

He called in Cindy's parents to have a chat with them and explained the entire situation. Now I know why her parents hadn't called my mom, she hadn't told them yet. Her parents were embarrassed, apologized to the principal, and took Cindy out of school. She wasn't seen at school again. Her friends said that she had been sent off to the continuation high school to learn how to care for her baby.

Mario and I were told we could go home for the day to avoid any issues and that there would be an all-school assembly later in the day to talk about bullying and date rape. We both looked at each other and nodded. We told the principal that we wanted to be a part of the assembly. We were proud to be out and wanted to stop bullying. I think the only reason we weren't bullied worse was because of Mario.

The principal agreed, and we stayed in the office until the assembly. He explained that they had been planning this assembly, and the current events meant we had to push it up to today. The announcement went out over the public address system that there would be a mandatory assembly and attendance would be taken.

When the assembly started, everyone was wondering what it was about. Assemblies just suck, sorry, teachers, they suck. Teachers were frantically looking for their students to mark them on their attendance sheets.

At least assemblies get to have some fun, cheerleaders, sports teams, or something fun. This time, though, there were no cheerleaders, no sports team, just a bunch of administrators. Wow, this was going to be boring!

There was a screen up in the front of the auditorium. Maybe this would be okay, but who knows? We do have some pretty creative staff at the school.

The lights dimmed, and the screen came to life. The music video for Bye Bye Bye came on. When the song faded down there was Lance Bass on screen talking about bullying and how it has to stop. Having a celebrity talk about it is pretty cool. He had just recently come out.

Then the principal got up to talk. "Students, this morning many of you witnessed bullying in a big way as you came to school. I thank those of you who did not act on it but instead reached out in support of the bullied boys.

A few people clapped, but hey, this is high school; it's amazing they were even listening.

"You all know one of the people being bullied, and I'm sure you would have never thought that a star athlete would be bullied. Many of you know the other student as well, and I don't think you would have expected that either. This goes to show you that any student can be bullied."

"Not every type of bullying involves physical contact. Words, pictures, posts, and even avoiding someone can be a form of bullying."

"How many of you have made a comment about someone, shared a post about someone, or sent a picture of someone to a friend that was meant to shame them or make fun of them? That's bullying. How many of you have had photos, posts, or stories passed around about you? Think about that!"

"The boys involved this morning were offered a chance to go home to avoid all of you. They refused and asked to be here instead. They would like a chance to speak to all of you." He looked at us and smiled. We had discussed what we would say with him while waiting. "Boys, the mic is all yours."

Mario grabbed me by the hand, and we walked out on stage together. We stood at the lectern, and Mario began. "Hi everyone, yeah, I might be your star baseball player, but I'm also gay. How's that for not fitting the stereotype?"

Laughter erupted. "And this here is Jack, my boyfriend. Yes, you heard me, he's my boyfriend." There was a bit of silence and then some mumbling.

"Guys, it's okay. I know it's strange in our small community to have a gay student in your school and even stranger to have a gay couple. But think of this, do you have to worry about having anyone know about your boyfriend or girlfriend if you're straight? What does it matter if I like Jack or if I like Jill?" Mario looked at a girl named Jill who was in the audience. "No offense, Jill." There was laughter. "What's important is respect." There was some giggling going on.

Mario continued. "I respect you and your relationship, please respect ours. Being gay does not define me, and it does not define Jack. It's just one part of who we are. We are the same dudes you have always known. Neither of us chose to be gay. We just are. It shouldn't matter to any of you, and frankly, it's none of your business, but if you want to be able to hold your boyfriend's or girlfriend's hand and give them hugs and kisses in public, so do we."

Mario was getting sexier by the moment. It was my turn. I pulled Mario tight to me. I leaned over and kissed him right on the lips. "Sorry, Mr. Hawthorne, I couldn't resist. I know PDA's aren't allowed at school." Everyone laughed, including Hawthorne.

Hawthorne just said, "I'll let it pass this time, boys."

"Many of you don't know me, but you sure know Mario. When I was bullied, he was the first to come to my defense. His baseball and jock brothers also came to my defense. I was really surprised. I've gotten to know them pretty quickly, and they don't care what you all think of them for hanging out with me. As you can see, Mario had the same secret, and, well, we had both been eying each other for a while. I want to challenge all of you to be allies and to stand up for anyone being bullied, for whatever reason, just like the baseball team did for me and now for us."

One by one, the baseball players stood up, dragging their girlfriends or coming up alone, and lined the front of the stage. Slowly, more and more students stood in unity. A slow clap started.

"Thank you all for your support." The clapping subsided.

Hawthorne pushed in front of me "I'm challenging each and every one of you to stand in support of anyone being bullied. We will not tolerate it here at this school. Regardless of the reason, they are being bullied. If they are short, tall, fat, skinny, have different skin colors, different clothes, none of it matters, and no bullying will be tolerated."

Slowly, the rest of the audience stood.

"Thank you all and have a great rest of the day. Please head to lunch and complete your afternoon classes."

As the assembly ended, they played "This I Promise You" with the lyrics on the screen as everyone left.

I hugged Mario and felt such a weight off of my shoulders. Hope. I had hope. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy road, but at least it was clear to the students that this would be a bully-free zone. Let's see how that plays out.

My parents had heard about the assembly. All of the parents received an update to the school's policy that included an anti-bullying pledge. Parents were told what would happen to their children if they were caught bullying.

At dinner, mom and dad asked me about the assembly. I just said it was a good assembly and that it was quite informative. I wasn't about to say I was the center of attention.

"Was there anything interesting at the assembly?" mom asked.

"They played a N'Sync song, had a clip from Lance Bass about bullying, the staff explained bullying and the consequences of what would happen to us if we did. Near the end, some students spoke." I offered, hoping that it would end there.

"Who were the students, son?" asked dad.

"Um, well, Mario was the first one."

"What? Your Mario?" they said in unison.

"Yes, and then me."

"What? Why didn't you tell us about this before school?" asked mom.

"Well, it wasn't planned. You see, there was something terrible that happened this morning. Apparently Cindy hung a banner in front of the school." I looked down at my plate.

My dad chuckled. "I saw it on my way to work this morning. It was kind of funny, but very childish. Sorry, son, but it really was childish. It said more about her than about you." Dad couldn't stop giggling. I was getting upset and starting to worry now.

"Dad, we didn't get to see the sign, but plenty of students did. It could have been bad. But to make it worse, Cindy told everyone that I knocked her up and that I was having sex with Mario, only she didn't use that nice of language."

"She what? Son, is she pregnant?" dad yelled. Apparently, mom hadn't told him yet. She was playing with her hair, like she does when she's nervous.

"Well, she told me she is on Friday. I thought mom told you. Surprise?" I tried to laugh but could only cry.

Mom jumped up and put her arm around me. Dad looked at me and said, "Son, we had the talk. Why did you, how, what. Shit." He got up and walked out, kicking his chair on his way out of the dining room.

Here he was my strongest supporter and now he was mad.

"Dad" I sobbed, "come back here, pleeeease!"

Mom hugged me and wiped my eyes. "Honey, he will come around. It's just a shock. I'm sorry I didn't tell him earlier."

After what seemed like an hour but was probably just minutes, Dad came back, sat down across the table from me, reached his hands out, and took mine. He looked me directly in the eyes and said, "Son, I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. I didn't get to hear your side. Tell me, Jack, what happened?"

"Mom, Dad, I've known I was different for at least six years. A couple of years ago I knew I really had feelings for boys, but thought that it was wrong. Between what people say and the fact that we have never talked about it, I didn't know why I had these feelings and thought I was just bad and that I could change. You know I never dated much, and it's because I was avoiding it. I figured I had to try dating a girl at least once before I could be sure that I couldn't change. Cindy was interested in me, and we did have fun going out and doing things with friends. She was more of a friend than a girlfriend."

"Jack, we noticed that you didn't seem romantic, but that was fine with us. We didn't want you to be too intimate and, well, get her pregnant or anything. When you said she was, it was such a shock; I never thought you were that close. So how did you end up getting her pregnant?" dad said, looking at me.

"Well, I know you told me to be careful if I ever had sex and that I really shouldn't do it, but you know how things are with peer pressure. Well, I wasn't prepared because I didn't really have any interest in having sex. Cindy pressured me, and we went into a room and got on the bed. We were kissing and stuff, and well, I think you know how the mechanics work."

"Jack, it's okay, you can leave out the details. We don't really need them. So basically, she pressured you. But why didn't you say no?"

"She started calling me a little faggot, telling me I was queer and that she would tell everyone unless I proved to her that I wasn't."

"She really did that?"

"Yes, dad, and I couldn't, well, you know, perform, and she tried everything. I had to fantasize about a boy to be able to prove her wrong. I realized then that yes, I was gay, and maybe she was right. I was just a no-good little faggot."

Whack. Mom slapped the back of my head.

"Mom!"

"I'm sorry, honey, but please don't use that word. You're my boy, and I love you. I don't want you to use that word to describe yourself or anyone."

"Well, I was ready to run, but she forced me to have sex. I'm sorry guys, even though I'm into guys, my body reacted, and well, I guess she's now carrying my baby."

"Jack, we will get through this."

A lot more was said, but at least I knew my family accepted me. We talked, cried, and hugged well into the early morning hours.

Over the next few weeks my parents and Cindy's parents talked. It was tough at first, but her parents wanted to give the baby up for adoption. My family and I were okay with that.

Mario and I were quite the item at school. Who knew how popular we would be? I felt relieved that we didn't have to hide. I was on cloud nine. Everything was great.

It wasn't long before school was out for the summer. My dad decided the best way to stay cool was to have the guys play hockey and we all played during the summer. It was a blast. I got to know the guys better and they really accepted us as a couple. They all thought my dad was the greatest.

Mario and I also found time to be alone and explore our feelings. At first, things were awkward since we really didn't know how it all worked. Sure, we already knew about blow jobs, 69 and knew that guys butt fucked, but learning how to fuck without it hurting was a bit more work.

Mario's parents were out of town, so we went to his house. We were in his bedroom, and he wanted to fuck. He told me he had put his fingers up his ass and it felt good. He wanted me to do that to him, and then he wanted me to fuck him.

He had found some lube, and it was sitting on the nightstand.

I didn't want to go right to fucking. His wanting to fuck turned me on. I hugged him and started kissing him. We were locked into a passionate tongue-kissing session for a very long time. My hands went up his shirt, his up mine. Within minutes, my shirt was being pulled over my head and I was pulling Mario's over his head. We continued to passionately kiss. Hands slipped down each other's shorts, and soon they fell to the floor. I was kneading his ass. Pulling the cheeks apart. His hot rod was poking me and bouncing against my rock-hard cock. I got down on my knees and took his cock into my mouth. Just like the previous times, it felt so good. Hard, yet soft. Warm. His precum was so sweet. I licked and slurped up and down his shaft. He pushed down on my head, meaning stop. We had figured out a few signals to prolong our encounters. He pushed me back, and we changed places.

As I was getting close, he could feel it, so he stopped, reached for the lube, put some on his fingers, and reached around behind him. While he was lubing up his own ass, he took my cock back in his mouth.

I was getting close, knowing that soon, I'd be fucking my boyfriend. He pulled off of me, turned around, and climbed on the bed on all fours. He pulled my hand and helped me line up my cock.

I was about to blow just thinking about what was next.

As the head of my cock touched his lubed up hole, I pushed forward. What an amazing feeling! He winced, so I stopped for a second. He moaned for me to push it deeper, so I did. He yelped this time, and I started to pull out, and he just grabbed my hands and pulled me in, saying, "No, don't pull out, just stay there."

I stayed there, but my cock was throbbing, ready to shoot its load. Since I wasn't moving, it calmed down until he said, "Jack, fuck me hard and deep."

I'm not sure he knew what that meant, I didn't, but I pumped in and out, got into a rhythm, and kept slapping up against his ass. My balls slapped against his. I felt myself getting closer, so I sped up. Just then I felt his ass tighten down, and he sounded like he was cumming. It was grabbing my cock, and I realized he was shooting his load all over the bed without touching himself. That led me to shoot my load, and then I collapsed on his back.

After a few minutes, we separated and cleaned up. This was the first of many raw sessions we would have over the summer. We learned a few things each time, and by the end of the summer we had tried a lot of very fun and interesting things. My favorite position was a missionary position with him sitting with his back up the headboard, legs over my shoulders. He always shot his load hands-free in that position.

The end of summer meant that our senior year was upon us. We had a great school year. Mario and I dated and were inseparable. We both went on college tours. He was offered a full-ride baseball scholarship, and I wasn't so lucky. I couldn't afford to go where he went, but being young and dumb we thought we could have a long-distance relationship if we ended up going to different schools.

Around Christmas, I was really torn over the baby. I hadn't really given it much thought, but being gay I didn't have much of a chance of having kids of my own. I asked my parents for something big, really big. "Mom, dad, I want the baby."

"But how will you support it?" asked my mom.

"Mom, I know you want to have grandchildren, and I won't be able to have a child. This is my only chance for my own blood. Would you help me until I get through college? I'll go to the local university to save on money and on housing. I'll take care of the baby with your help. Please, mom!"

"We do want grandchildren, but are you sure? You're too young to be stuck with a kid."

"I realize that, but mom, dad, how old were you when I was born?"

"Well, we were just a few years older than you."

"And up until all this crap happened, was it okay?"

"Jack, we wouldn't have traded it for the world. This `crap' as you call it is just part of life. Honey, we love you and just want what's best for you."

"Then please help me so I can raise my child."

Mom and dad said they would think about it. I did have rights and an obligation for the kid. They took their sweet time about it. I think it was about a week, and still nothing was said.

Christmas morning, I went out to the living room to turn on the Christmas tree lights. We had a tradition of opening our gifts before breakfast. I nearly fell over when I saw what was in the room. There in the living room was a crib and a bunch of baby stuff. I got my baby for Christmas.

I called Mario and told him the news. He knew how much I wanted this child. He told me that he and I would figure this all out. I had hope, and time would tell.

Brian was born on January 6th. Cindy was a royal bitch about it, but agreed to let me have sole custody and that she didn't want anything to do with him. What I didn't know was all the work that my parents had done behind the scenes to make this happen. To this day they haven't told me all of it, but I am so happy that they did. I wouldn't have given up my son Brian for anything.

Mario and I rushed to the hospital that day and when we were allowed to take Brian home Mario helped me like I was the one that gave birth. He even strapped on the man boob to feed Brian and waited on me hand and foot. Maybe this would work out after all.

Mario and I had a pretty active school life through the end of high school. His university wasn't too far away, so I figured we would be able to see each other quite a bit. He was a big help with Brian and didn't seem bothered or tied down. Mario was good for me. Several nights a week, we hung out with Brian and played with him. Mom and dad even let us have our date nights together.

Summer came and Mario had to go off to training camp for baseball. We chatted every day. Brian was hitting some really cute milestones. He was sitting up, trying to crawl, and just being a boy.

I often wondered if I had made a mistake or not. My mom assured me that she could see the love I had for Brian and that they both knew this was the right thing to do. I thought about what would happen if he were ever taken from me and realized that I did love this boy more than life.

For the first few years of college, Mario and I were good. He would come when he could and hang out and play with us. Brian was forming words and even called him ba-ba at times. He was truly happy when he got to play with Brian. Unfortunately, with Brian taking all of my time and baseball taking his, our intimate time took a hit.

Mario met someone at school. Someone on the baseball team, in fact. We talked about it and agreed that he should pursue it since I wasn't there to satisfy his hunger for sex, and boy was he good at it. I figured it would just be a sexual thing and that he still loved me. He assured me of that too, until it changed. We both saw it coming, so it wasn't a bad breakup. He and I still remain friends to this day.

For the final year of college, it was Brian and me against the world. Sure, mom and dad probably did a bigger share than I will ever know, but we conquered everything. Terrible two's at the school library. Lots of girls came to hit on me only to find out I was gay. A few guys did too, but when they realized he was my son and that I wasn't babysitting they ran off.

Finally, one afternoon in the quad, I met someone. He was gorgeous. My gadar went off, and my lust level went up. Jack, don't fuck this up.

"Hi, my name is Jack. I've seen you around here a lot." I said to the beautiful man before me.

"Pleasure to meet you, Jack. I'm Antonio, but my friends call me Tony." He winked at me.

"Well, may I call you Tony?" I returned the wink.

"I would really like that. Would you like to grab a coffee? They serve a great one over here." As he pointed to the little campus coffee house at the edge of the quad.

"Sure, my treat." I said that knowing how little cash I had but wanting this hunk so freaking bad.

"I won't have it; I asked; it's my treat." He grabbed my hand, and off we went to the cafe.

"So, Jack, tell me, where have you been hiding?"

I didn't want to blow things, so I just had to come up with something. "Well, I rarely hang out in the quad since I live nearby and usually just head home. I had a few things to do today and decided to take a break and hang out, and well, I'm glad I did, I met some sexy beast named Antonio, but since I'm his friend, I get to call him Tony."

"Flattery isn't getting you into my pants, Jack. But a simple please might do the trick."

Whoa, this was quite forward. Did he just offer what I think he did?

"I just met you but wow" I blushed and could feel my face get warm. We had a lovely coffee and chat. I had to get home to Brian, but I wanted this to continue. "Tony, can we meet again, please? I do have to go, but I would love to get to know you better."

"Sure, how about dinner tomorrow?"

"I need to make sure I can, but that sounds wonderful. We exchanged numbers and parted ways."

"Mom, I met an amazing man today, and he invited me to dinner tomorrow. Could you watch Brian for me?"

"Of course honey, Its good to see you happy again. After Mario and you broke up, I was wondering if you would get back out there. I'm happy to help. Does this man know about Brian?"

"No, mom, I'm not sure how to approach it."

"Well, be sure to tell him before either of you invests too much time. He needs to know, and you owe it to him and to Brian to make sure he's good with it."

"I will, mom, I just need to figure out how."

"You will, honey, you love your boy, and that shows. Anyone worth your time and love will see that."

Tony met me after class, and we went to a little Italian pizza joint. It was really cool. It was located in a row of older shops, and they had a patio that was between buildings. The patio had shades hanging over it and little lights on strings zigzagging between buildings.

There was a stage at one end with a piano, mic, and a few other instruments. There wasn't any live music while we were waiting, just music playing over the speakers.

As we waited for our seats they served us chianti from a box. I thought how cheap can this place be, serving some of the cheapest wine from a box instead of the traditional straw-covered bottle. Hey, it was free, and apparently the long wait, free wine and ambiance made them their money.

Being near the college, you had the rich kids and poor students that all gathered. Tony was a sharp dresser. He wasn't wearing anything too fancy, but I could see they were name brands and of pretty high quality. He smelled nice and had just the right amount of pheromones wafting from his body in my direction.

I was hard just thinking about what was under those clothes.

We got our seats and Tony took charge, ordering for us. "I know the owner," he said, and I trusted him. When the food came out it was amazing. What was more amazing was this man.

"Tony, I'm so happy we could do this. I don't want to mess things up, but I have a few things you should know."

"What, you kill someone?"

"No" I started laughing hysterically. "I didn't kill anyone, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you." I kept laughing.

"Don't be joking about that with me, son."

Whoa, what?

"I'm joking. Being Italian, everyone thinks we're in the mob. I'm just trying to liven things up a bit. I can neither confirm nor deny that I am in the mob." He laughed at his own joke.

Just then a woman got up on stage and started singing. It sounded like some opera or something. It was beautiful, and her soprano voice pierced the room. It wasn't too loud, though.

"So, let me guess," he continued, "you just broke up with someone."

"Well, it's been a few months, but yes."

"Okay, so, that don't scare me. What? You got a girl pregnant or something?"

I felt my face turning red. It was getting really hot in here. "Um, well, not recently, but I did. Back in high school."

"Okay, so you gots a kid, no biggie. Do you see the little one?"

"Well, yes, I have sole custody. My mom and dad help me take care of him."

"Wow, man, that's great. My momma isn't too happy that I'm gay; she wants to have a big family. You know how Italian momma's are."

I nodded even though I didn't know.

"My brothers and sisters have all settled down and have their little bambino's. I'm the runt of the litter, the oops. Momma expected me to get through school, get married, and have even more nipoti for her. Well, that ain't gonna happen, but I do love kids. When can I meet this kid? Boy or girl? Name?"

Shit, he was rattling off things as fast as he could.

"Boy, Brian, almost 4. You can meet him anytime you want. Are you sure you are ready to meet my kid?"

"Why not? I'm not running away. I'd love to meet him and hang out. Let's see where things go."

The rest of the evening was wonderful. We went back to his place, and I was getting ready to leave when he pushed me back against the wall. He came in for a kiss. The wall was cold, he was warm, and our lips were cold, but inside I felt so warm. His first little peck sent shivers down my spine, triggering every animal instinct inside me.

He held my head, cradling it behind my ears, kissing me deeply. My cock was pushing out against my pants. His hands started wandering down my torso. He put his hands under my shirt. They were warm from holding me, and when he hit my nipples, it was like electricity, and they went rock hard. I started returning the favor and slid my hands down his back, but instead of going up his shirt, I went down his pants, wanting to feel his beautiful ass. The guy goes commando. I almost lost my load right there. I must have been pushing too hard, because his pants snapped open and just fell to the floor. His cock bounced up, and I could feel it as it grazed mine through my pants.

He stepped out of his pants, pulled me from the wall, and slid my shirt up over my head. He grabbed his collar and pulled himself up. He popped the button on my pants and pushed them down. My underwear hung up on my cock. He dropped to his knees and, using his teeth, removed my underwear.

My cock hit him under the chin. He backed off then came forward and, in one swoop, took me down his throat. His nose was firmly in my pubic hair, and my balls hit his chin. He bobbed up and down a bit, and I stopped him.

He backed off, looked up, and grinned. "You want this, don't you."

"Oh, Tony, I do." And with that, I was pushed back onto the bed. Exposed for the world to see, I could only see and feel Tony. He climbed on top of me, straddling my chest.

I took his rock hard cock in my mouth. Tasting the sweet pre-cum dripping from his slit. He pulled back, looked me in the eyes, and then reached back to my cock. I was still hard and wet from his deep throat. He slid back, pointed me at his hole, and then backed onto it. No wincing, no friction, in I went. My god, this felt amazing. I rocked my hips thrusting deep inside Tony. I stopped when I got close. Tony looked down and said "I want it" and started riding my pole. I exploded in seconds. Wow, that was probably the best orgasm of my life, and Mario and I had plenty so that's saying a lot.

"Oh, Tony, Oh" I got out as I finished pumping it in him. He bounced once more, and then he erupted, shooting cum all over me and up to my face. He used his fingers to scoop it up. I opened my mouth expecting him to deposit it, and he took it into his own mouth. He backed off and licked my stomach. Then, he came up to kiss me and shared his seed with me. I nearly came again.

We lay there for a long time. Cuddling, kissing, and just touching each other.

Was I dreaming?

As we lay there covered in the aftermath of our passionate sex, I realized I hadn't told my mom when I would be home. Seeing that we both just got off, I figured I would head out after a while.

Tony pulled me up off the bed after we had been lying there for some time. "Come, let's get cleaned up." He pulled me toward the shower.

When the water was ready, we stepped in. Tony pushed me up against the wall again and began sucking on my lips, probing my mouth with his tongue. It was just as hot as earlier. He stepped back and grabbed a cloth and some soap. He lathered my front, circling my nipples, my belly button, and down to my cock. He gently held my cock and let the soapy bubbles flow down to cover my cock and balls. He carefully massaged and cleaned them. He went down my legs and then played with each toe on my feet, one at a time. Holy crap, this guy could make a shower sexy. The sensations that ran through me were like nothing I had felt before. He stood up and began to kiss me again. I was beginning to melt into him. He stepped back a second, quickly soaping himself up and rinsing. He grabbed the shower head and used it to rinse me off head to toe. He came back up and kissed me again. While he was doing that he turned the water off.

He grabbed a towel and wrapped me up before we even left the shower. He held me from behind and cuddled up against me. Surprise, but I was hard again. "Not now," he whispered. "Time to take my baby home and meet his baby."

That should have been a boner killer, but man, it turned me on even more. "Mhmm," I moaned. We got dressed. I don't know how, but we were dressed and walking out the door.

When we got to my place, mom was reading in the front room, and dad was already in bed. Brian had been asleep for a bit. It was a bit late and past his bedtime. I introduced Tony to my mom.

"Mom, this is Tony, the guy I was telling you about."

Tony grabbed my mom's outstretched hand, pulled it up to his mouth, and kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you," he said. "Can we see the little one?" he asked.

"Be quiet, he just went down." Mom said as she stepped back so we could go see Brian.

We left the door ajar so we could see. We walked over to his bed, and the little angel was there, holding his blanket and a small bear. He loved his teddy bear and was always holding it. It brought calm to this little boy.

"What an angel," Tony said. He's beautiful, just like his daddy. With that, he leaned over and kissed me. I returned the kiss.

We went back out to see mom. She was very friendly to Tony. He said his good nights and headed out. I thanked him again for the evening and stepped outside the door to give him yet another kiss.

"Oh my son, he's very handsome. You definitely know how to pick them!" mom said with a slight grin or was that a smirk.

"I know mom, you probably would take him if dad wasn't around." I joked. Mom just laughed. "Goodnight, mom, I've got an early class tomorrow. Thank you for watching Brian tonight," and I retired to my room.

The next few weeks were pretty fun and busy. Tony and I had a lot of "dates" and were hitting it off pretty well. He wanted to push things to the next level and asked if I would move in with him. I had spent a few nights with him and mom was fine with babysitting, but I didn't know how this would work.

"Tony, what about Brian? I can't leave him with my parents, and we can't be there all the time. How do we handle when we both have classes?"

"Couldn't we drop him off at your mom's for the day?"

"I don't think that would be fair. She's willing to help both Brian and me but there are benefits other than the babysitting time. I help around the house and she gets to see Brian and I interact. She helps me with him in so many ways."

"Jack, I have fallen in love with you and with Brian. I want you to be part of my life, more than just a few nights a week. Let's figure something out. I really want you to be a part of my life and make a family. You'll see, we can make it work."

I was skeptical. He didn't know everything it took to raise a kid. "Tony, I just have one more year left, and after this past internship, I have pretty much landed a great job. Once I have that income, we can afford to have a babysitter so my mom doesn't feel so used. In the mean time, I need to be there to help."

Changing the subject, Tony informed me, "I want to take you to my family dinner this Sunday night. Bring Brian. It's a big deal with my family. We do it every Sunday night."

"Okay, I'd love to meet them, but are you sure you want to bring Brian?"

"Of course, I told you how much I want you and want you to be my family, so please, please come and let me show off my hot boyfriend and new son."

I agreed, but time seemed to just slow down until Sunday morning. I started to feel excited, then sick, then excited, then sick. I had to calm myself down and convince myself that it would all be okay."

We went to Tony's parents' house. Wow, this was an amazing place. It wasn't quite a mansion, but it was very nice. Tony told me it had 8 bedrooms and several large gathering rooms, but the dining room was special. We walked in and it felt like we were in some Italian castle. The table was huge. It was so long you could have bowled down it except for all of the plates, flowers, and candles on it. It was set to the nines. I noticed that there was a booster chair at the corner of the table for Brian.

We walked through the dining room into the kitchen to meet his mother. "Hi mom, meet Jack."

"It's a pleasure, Jack," she said, wiping her hands on the towel that was tucked into her apron. She reached out to me and kissed me on the cheek.

"The pleasure is mine, Mrs. DiNardo."

"Please call me Giulia."

"Yes, Giulia, thank you for inviting me. I know family dinner is important. This little one is Brian. Brian, say hi."

Giulia grabbed Brian out of my arms, and I thought he would scream. He just smiled and said, "Hi Nana." I'd never heard him use that name before. He called my mom Gamma. Giulia smiled and smothered him with smooches. He giggled, and she handed him back to me.

We walked out of the kitchen into the great room to meet Tony's father. "Boys, have a seat," he said. "So, you must be Jack. Antonio has told me so much about you."

"Yes, sir, I hope it was all good stuff." I joked.

"Of course my son, Antonio, really likes you, and we hope you like our family. These dinners can be quite intense. This little one must be Brian." He responded.

Brian heard his name, looked, then tucked his head under my chin, trying to hide. "Yes, he's shy around new people but warms up quickly. I'm happy you agreed to have me and my boy over tonight. I'm sure he'll be talking your ear off by the end of the night. I never thought I'd find anyone like Tony, let alone someone who accepts me and my boy."

"Nonsense, son, you're good looking, Antonio says you're smart, and your kid, well, he's a cutie pie. What's not to like." He snickered, "You must be good in bed too to please my Antonio."

"Um, well, thank you." I felt my face blushing. Just then, I heard lots of commotion and people coming from the other room. Soon, there was what seemed like a heard heading toward us in the great room.

The introductions were a head spinning event. I was amazed that Brian didn't fuss too much or cry. We were soon ushered into the dining room and seated. There is no way I'm going to remember all these people and their names. I just hope I can remember the relationships to know which are brothers, sisters, and their spouses.

Tony's dad instructed us to hold hands for grace. Everyone grabbed the hand of the person on either side resting on the table. Once the circle was complete and grace was offered, he made a toast to me and Brian. Dinner was absolutely amazing.

Giulia had us all retire to the great room and then served us desserts and coffee as we all chatted. I was surprised that I didn't feel out of place, but felt at home. It was nice to feel accepted by Tony's family.

I was having a great time. Brian seemed to be a big hit. He was walking around chatting with all of these new people. He was going from one person to the next and just having nonsense conversations with them. They all seemed to love him.

Brian started to get a bit fussy after a couple of hours; it was, after all, past his bedtime. One of Tony's sisters was trying to get him to sit on her lap, but it was clearly time to get him home and to bed.

Tony walked me out and took me back to my parent's house. We went in. Mom and Dad were not there, they had taken advantage of the night off and were on a date of their own. I got Brian ready for bed and put him down in the new big boy bed with his blanket and bear. The bed was really just his crib mattress on a foundation. I sat next to him, telling him a story, until I could see he was breathing deeply and that he was asleep. The light cascading through the door on my little angel made me proud of this boy. My boyfriend in the other room made me very happy.

I went back out to Tony and cuddled into him on the couch. I may be the top in the relationship, but I'm usually the little spoon. Tony was cuddling me and nuzzling my neck when my parents came through the door. Tony didn't stop, he just smiled at my parents and said, "Hi."

Mom and Dad sat in the armchairs to chat, but Tony never let go of me. It was nice having some small talk with my parents while cuddling with my boyfriend. It was getting late, and my mom completely surprised me when she asked if Tony was staying the night. I felt my face blush. Tony spoke up. "I'd love to stay, but I need to get home. Maybe some other time."

Mom and Dad retired to their room. Tony looked at me and said, "I know you're not ready to have me stay overnight under your parent's roof. We'll be together soon." He got up after a bit, too soon, if you asked me, and headed home.

I was feeling great. Mom and Dad seemed to accept Tony, and Tony respected me and my comfort level. He was too good for me, I thought.

The next morning came too early. I had slept soundly until Brian came in and climbed into bed with me. He backed into me and wanted cuddles. We laid there for about an hour when he needed to go potty. We got up and went into the bathroom to take care of business and get ready to conquer the day. I needed to shower, and Brian and I stripped and got into the shower. He liked baths more, but I didn't have time to do his last night, so today he got to do like daddy and shower. He loved when I foamed up his hair and used the hose to wash him down.

Once we were done, I grabbed a big fluffy towel to wrap around him, grabbed him, and started kissing him and blowing raspberries on his cheeks. He was laughing and squirming the whole time. We got dried off and dressed. Since it was Sunday, we didn't have anything planned. I stopped going to church years ago when the pastor kept telling me I was going to hell. I couldn't deal with someone telling me what was going to happen to me, or rather, judging me when they preached that they shouldn't judge. Tony had to go to mass with his family. That's his family's tradition, even though they all look the other way at Tony being gay and our relationship. They say that there are things you can leave on the shelf. I found that very refreshing.

When I was forced out, my parents took me to see a counselor. I always thought that it was nothing but crap, but I learned differently. My counselor was a gay older man. He was an ex-marine and had previously been Jesuit trained. He was very wise and very helpful in putting my life together. I had been raised in a church that taught us not to question anything, but to follow it blindly.

Dr. Marino and I spent many sessions together. I could write a book about our interactions, but the short story is that he helped me realize that all religion is man-made based on some form of scripture or legend that has been passed down over the years. Much like the game of telephone, stories change from person to person or generation to generation. For me the bible played a big part in my life. However, he reminded me of what I already knew: that it was not God's word, but rather the writings of events that happened that were attributed to God by men.

We got into some pretty deep conversations about all religions, including mine, but the comfort he gave me was that whether I believed in a deity or not didn't matter as long as I was a good and moral person. When I asked him about sex, he explained that some people had made it immoral and that as long as we weren't forcing or hurting anyone, consensual sex is not immoral. He reminded me about love and the difference between making love and having sex. He told me that I could believe in the teachings that I grew up with because most of them didn't make me a bad person, but to remove the hate and other things that made me feel bad about myself, or, in other words, leave them on the shelf. He was an amazing man.

Unfortunately, life dealt him a shitty hand when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was taken from us all too soon. I live my life to honor him and the teachings he has given me. I have a strong faith in people, in being a good person and loving each other.

Reflecting on this, I hugged my boy and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for, dad?" he asked.

"Because, my little man, you're the most amazing thing to come into my life."

"Can we go to the park and feed the ducks?" Brian asked.

"Sure, let's get some food and take them with us to the park." I grabbed some bird seeds that the ducks loved. I checked the fridge to see if we had any leftover peas, but we didn't, so the seed would have to do.

Brian took my hand, and we walked a few blocks over to the park. There are signs saying not to feed the ducks bread, but they also list what we could feed them. Brian loved to put it in his hand and hold it out for them to come and eat it up. He giggled as they tickled his hand trying to eat it. Occasionally one of them would bite his finger, and he would pull his hand back, but then he was right back at it, feeding them.

We walked in the shade around the park for a bit. I knew the vendor at the paddle boat place, and he often comped me a ride with my boy. Today he offered to let us take one out on the water. We put a life jacket on Brian and went out into the pond. Brian couldn't reach the pedals, but I'm not sure how much help he would be. We were being followed by ducks because Brian kept his hand out, full of seed. When we were out, we paddled back to the dock and got out. Next time we will take one of the bikes around the pond and on the trails into the trees.

After lunch, I got a call from Tony. He wanted to come to take Brian and me out for dinner. I accepted, so when he arrived and we drove into the hills, I was confused. There's no place to eat out here. We kept going and then came up to a gate.

I was kind of worried but didn't ask any questions. Tony jumped out, opened the gate, and came back to drive through. He got out and closed and relocked the gate.

We drove another mile or so, and then he stopped. We were in the middle of a nice meadow that had low grass and was surrounded by wildflowers. I looked up, and you could see forever. We were on top of the hill. Tony went around to the back of his car and pulled out a big blanket. It had to be four blankets sewn together. I helped him spread it out and set it down. Next, he pulled out a picnic basket and started setting up a nice picnic for us. The first thing out of the basket was a bubble gun. He showed Brian how to use it and we were suddenly covered in bubbles while trying to lay out our food and drinks. Everything was amazing but simple. All finger foods. Brian soon tired of the bubble gun and wanted to eat. We ate and then just laid there. Brian lay between us, staring up at the sky. Tony and I were holding hands over Brian. This felt so right.

I must have dozed off, but a little while later I woke to see Brian on Tony's shoulders laughing and having a great time. Tony came over and set Brian down, and Brian pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Tony, for the piggy ride." I didn't want to correct the kid; it was so cute watching him do that. He liked Tony.

The rest of the school year was a lot of amazing fun with Tony and Brian. Finals sucked, but I knew these would be the last of them as long as I was happy with an undergraduate degree. I knew I needed to get a job to pay my way and hopefully do something nice for my parents for all that they did.

When graduation came, I was so happy to have my parents and Brian cheering for me and Tony. We were both graduating and looking forward to our lives after college.

Shortly after graduation, Tony and I were married, and I was working for his family business. Tony was moving up in the business, and I had a great life. I loved him so much, and he loved Brian and me. I was able to put aside a lot of money since his parents bought us a home and even cars. I was able to pay off my parents' mortgage so they could retire early, and I even bought them an anniversary trip so they could tour Europe for an entire summer.

End of Boys of Grizzly Valley - 2 - Jack and Brian - Andrew Thomas