Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 21:31:51 +0200
From: zanatio@hotmail.com
Subject: Nicholas Part 1

Author's note: I originally wrote this two-part story way back in 2005 and
then promptly forgot all about it! Needless to say, I was quite happy when,
upon going through some old computer backups, I came across it again and I
now submit it to Nifty for your enjoyment.

Disclaimer: This story contains graphic depictions of sexual acts between
an 18 year old boy and a 12 year old boy. Should you find such material
offensive, or if it is illegal for you to read such material, then what the
hell are you doing here at Nifty??? LEAVE NOW!!!

Copyright: This story is Copyright by me, Zanatio, in August 2005. If you
copy any piece of my work and attempt to pass it off as your own, I will
hunt you down and kill you... Ok, maybe not, but at least be nice enough to
give me credit for writing this!

Comments welcome! If you liked what you read, please let me know on
zanatio@hotmail.com. The second part of this story will be submitted to
Nifty in due course.

And now, on to the story...

**********************************************************************************************************************

NICHOLAS - Part 1

Nicholas was the cutest boy I'd ever laid eyes on. He was 12 years old with
sparkling grey-green eyes, dark sandy-blonde hair that tickled the back of
his neck and curled down over his eyebrows and a heart-melting smile that
was forever creasing his boyish features. He was one of the eight boys in
my care for two weeks at a summer camp, and he was also the quietest and
most shy. While the other boys would play rough-and-tumble games Nic would
sit to one side, shouting encouragement and laughing noisily while the
others fell over each other, but always declining invitations to join
in. He was pretty clever and creative, though, and thoroughly enjoyed the
pop quizzes and less active games I'd come up with. He was also courteous
and very polite, dispelling my idea that all boys are little more than
spoiled brats. And the fact that he seemed to take a liking to me didn't
hurt things at all.

The problem was that although I relished the idea of being like a big
brother to Nic, I also began to think thoughts that probably were not
appropriate for a camp councilor. I'm 18 and a closet gay, and I've never
been interested in boys - which is why I felt I could handle working with
them at a summer camp - but there was something about Nic that began to
drive me wild before too long. And the more I watched him and thought about
him and desired him, the more afraid I became: I mean, if anyone were to
find out I was attracted to a boy I'd probably go to jail for the rest of
my life. So out of fear of someone realizing how I truly felt about him and
dropping the hammer on me, I found myself acting differently with him: not
putting an arm around his shoulders as I'd used to do when we walked to
breakfast in the morning, or not playfully punching him on the arm whenever
he said something silly. And all the while I kept thinking about the
horrible dilemma I was now facing: give in to my desires and run the risk
of destroying the rest of my life, or try to put some distance between
myself and this boy who was looking up to me more and more and gradually
working his way into my heart.

Things came to a rather sudden climax on the first Friday afternoon. The
kids' hour of free time was coming to a close and I was sitting at the foot
of the large oak tree next to the canoeing lake putting the finishing
touches on my preliminary report of the boys in my group. I had some stuff
to do back in my cabin before the hour was up, so I got to my feet and
stretched, then headed back to my cabin. Once there, I tossed my notepad on
my bed then decided to quickly take a pee.

I left the cabin and strode towards the ablutions block outside, unzipping
my fly as I went as there was no-one else around. I pushed the door open,
hearing it thunk as it rebounded off the wall, glanced around the room, and
did a rapid double-take as I spotted a shape in the corner.

It was a boy.

A naked boy.

Nicholas.

I must've given him such a fright when I barged into the room because for
several seconds he just stood staring at me with his mouth open and an
expression of sheer horror on his face. For my part, I was as startled to
see him in the nude as he was to see me at all. He had obviously come in
after having a swim in the pool and had planned to change out of his Speedo
swimming costume and into his clothes before the other boys came back,
saving himself the embarrassment of having to undress in front of them. I'd
clearly caught him just as he'd taken his Speedo off and was pulling his
bright blue underpants on.

As my shock began to fade and the implications of what I was seeing began
to settle in, I felt my heart practically take off in my chest and my penis
instantly become rock-hard, and my eyes darted down to his mid-section and
the center of his boyhood. It was the first time in my life that I'd seen
another penis, and my eyes were glued to it. It was short and stubby,
circumcised and hanging lazily over his tight scrotum and twin walnut-like
testicles. A few short, curly dark-blonde pubic hairs were nestled around
the base of his penis, but the shaft itself looked completely smooth, as
did his scrotum. I also realized how much lighter the skin that was always
hidden behind his Speedo was, compared to the rest of his darkly tanned
body. It was a mesmerizing sight, one I knew instantly I'd remember as long
as I lived.

Nicholas eventually came to his senses and quickly tried to turn away from
me so that his private parts were no longer visible. But he was in the
middle of pulling his underpants on, with one leg bent and his foot in the
air, and as he tried to turn on one foot he lost his balance. He uttered a
short shriek as he toppled backwards to the floor, his hands letting go of
the underpants and flying out in a desperate attempt to cushion his
fall. His underpants ended up uselessly around one ankle, and he hit the
cold bathroom floor with a thud, a soft moan of pain escaping his lips at
the same time.

Instantly forgetting the needs of my bladder, as well as the rush of sheer
ecstasy that had washed over me, I hurried over to Nicholas and dropped to
my haunches beside him.

"Are you ok kiddo?" I asked him anxiously, looking him up and down for any
sign of injury. His eyes were pinched shut, no doubt as he waited for the
pain of the fall to subside.

I half expected him to burst into tears, being as shy and sensitive as he
was, but he didn't. Instead, he forced his eyes open and said softly,
"Yeah, I'm ok." He looked up at me, then down his body, and immediately his
cheeks turned red as he remembered he was stark naked in front of me. He
reached down to cover his genitals, though that was by now, of course,
pretty pointless.

I looked at his groin again, both excitement and trepidation once again
beginning to swell inside. Almost without thinking I reached out to grab
his wrist and pulled it gently away from his groin.

"Hey, Nic," I said soothingly, "You don't need to be embarrassed you
know. All guys have one." He glanced up at me again, the embarrassed look
on his face gradually giving way to one of appreciation mixed with
inquisitiveness.

"Yeah, I know," he said hesitantly.  "Hey, would it make things better if I
showed you mine?" I blurted out, not quite realizing the implications of
what I'd said until I'd said it, and realizing only then that I'd just hit
the point of no return. My seeing Nicholas naked was pure accident, but now
I was intentionally and deliberately offering to reveal myself to him. I
suddenly began to sweat as fear swept through me. If he decided I was going
too far...

But no, he said nothing, and merely looked curiously into my eyes before
lowering them to my open fly.

It took me a few seconds before I realized that he hadn't run away
screaming, and had actually accepted my offer. So with trembling hands, I
reached down and, with some difficulty as I was still on my haunches,
pulled my fully erect penis through my fly. I watched with some amusement
as his eyes grew wide at the sight of my 6 inch erection.

"Wow," he breathed, his eyes flickering briefly up to mine as if to remind
himself that he wasn't seeing things. "Can I touch it?" he asked. I nodded
yes, and he stretched his hand out and gingerly closed his fingers around
my throbbing shaft. It was the first time anyone else had touched my penis,
and it felt both strange and exhilarating at the same time.

"Wow," he said again, sliding his hand up and down my shaft
experimentally. "It's so hard!"

His comment made me glance over at his own penis, and I was surprised to
see he was fully erect too. His penis had grown to about 31/2 inches and
was pointing stiffly towards his chin. Seeing as I'd only 'bloomed' when I
was 14 I hadn't realised that it could happen any earlier than that, so it
was a pleasant surprise to see him erect and, I imagined, ready for action.

"You're pretty hard yourself," I told him.

He looked down at his genitals, then gave an embarrassed little smile and
said, "Yeah, I guess so," before returning his attention to my penis. He
stopped sliding his hand up and down and squeezed it gently a couple of
times, making me groan with pleasure and causing my penis to grow even
harder. He was totally fascinated with it, and was gazing at it as if it
was a completely foreign object, which, I suppose, in some ways it
was. Then he began to gently rub his thumb over the sensitive head and
slit, and I felt my knees start to go weak. This kid, this beautiful young
boy with the sparkling grey-green eyes and sandy-blond hair and smooth,
lithe body, the one with the shy but trusting personality, the one that I'd
fantasised about for days but had never seriously imagined would be doing
something like this to me, was actually jerking me off! In fact, he was
doing nothing short of working miracles on my dick! I was in heaven, and I
never wanted it to end.

As I reveled in the pleasure his simple and inexperienced touch was
causing, I decided it was only fair to return the favour. So without asking
for his permission, in fact, without saying anything at all, I reached over
to his groin, the area he'd been so desperate to hide from me only minutes
before, and closed my hand around his small, stiff penis. His whole body
jerked at the intimate intrusion, but he remained silent and made no move
to stop me. As he had done to me, I slowly stroked his shaft, and a low
moan escaped from his lips. Then I gently squeezed it a few times, causing
him to tremble. I enjoyed the softness and smoothness of his penis against
the palm of my hand. Finally, I rubbed my thumb over the head, and his
sharp intake of breath was an indication of the sheer pleasure this brought
him.

"You like this?" I murmured, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Mmm," he replied with a grin. "It feels awesome. I never knew anything
could feel this good."

All of a sudden he looked back down at my penis. I did the same and noticed
that precum was oozing out my slit.

"What's that?" he asked, looking up at me again.

"It's called precum," I told him, then stopped, unsure of what more to say
seeing as I'd never discussed this kind of thing with anyone, let alone a
12 year old kid! I thought for a few seconds, then said ,"It comes out a
guy's dick when he's really aroused."

"Aroused?" he asked.

"Sexually excited," I explained, dimly wondering why I was turning this
awesome exploration of our sexuality into an emotionally cold 9th-grade
biology lesson. "When a guy gets ready to have sex, this precum comes out
to make it easier for the cum, I mean, the semen, to come out." I was
starting to flounder now, and the sexual heat was rapidly turning into ice.

"Semen?" Nic asked. The little fool now seemed more interested in learning
about how sex worked than the act itself!

I thought rapidly of a way to salvage this situation and turn it back from
the lesson to the act. I was becoming desperate to rekindle that flame that
had sprung up, but I knew I was losing it with each passing second.

"Look, never mind," I said eventually, and a little more harshly than I had
intended.

"But what is it?" Nic asked innocently.

"Just forget about it!" I barked suddenly, and I immediately wished I
hadn't. Nic's eyes widened momentarily at my sudden outburst, then he
looked away, and I suddenly felt very foolish and embarrassed. He must've
felt the same, because his hand self-consciously returned to cover his
groin from my sight once again, and I knew I'd blown it. I coughed
stupidly, then pulled my now-flaccid penis back into my pants.

"Um, you'd better get dressed," I murmured as I got to my feet.

"Ok," he muttered, also getting up and hastily pulling his underpants on,
managing to get it right this time.

And that, I thought, was the end of that. I'd had my chance, and I'd
stuffed it up.

And Nic probably hated me now.

Looking back, it was probably a very good thing that we stopped our little
sexual jaunt when we did, because no sooner had Nic pulled his pants on
than the other 7 boys in my group came streaming into the bathroom to
change out of their swimming trunks. They ignored me completely as they
stripped down to their birthday suits, and I think under other
circumstances - thanks to my growing feelings for Nic - I might have found
that slightly arousing. But I gave them each nothing more than a cursory
glance, and with one final, mournful look at Nicholas, I left the room.

I avoided Nic the rest of the day; I couldn't even bring myself to look at
him as he sat across from me at the dinner table that night. After dinner
there was some guy who came in to talk about the dangers of drugs, but I
wasn't really paying attention. All I kept thinking about was that Nic
would probably want nothing more to do with me if he could help it, and
that thought drove me even deeper into despair. I was so close to having my
fantasy realized, and I'd let it slip away. The other camp leaders must've
wondered if anyone in my family had just died!

After the 'no-to-drugs' presentation we all headed back to our cabins. I
let my boys mess around a bit before instructing them to get ready for
bed. Nic still hadn't spoken a word to me or even looked at me since the
incident in the bathroom, and I began to try and think of ways to get our
relationship back on track. After all, this was too good an opportunity to
let die! But in the mood I was in I didn't really feel like doing anything
positive, and all I wanted was to take a shower and go to bed and maybe
wake up to find everything was just a bad dream.

About 20 minutes after lights-out, making sure all the boys were sound
asleep, I headed out to the ablutions block to grab a shower. I tried my
best to keep my mind clear, but my stupid and unnecessary retort from the
afternoon in the bathroom with Nic kept ringing accusingly in my ears. I
didn't think I'd be able to handle the next 7 days without Nic's innocent
and wonderful smile greeting me every morning, or his grey-green eyes
sparkling as he listening to me instruct the boys on how to fish. In
frustration I punched the shower wall hard, once, twice, three times, until
my knuckles hurt. 'Get a grip, you idiot,' I reprimanded myself when the
wave of anger had faded. 'You were lucky to get what you did, luckier still
that he actually wanted to try it and didn't report me for child abuse. Now
get a grip and move on!'

With this fresh determination in my mind, I turned the shower off and
stepped out the cubicle.

To see Nicholas standing naked before me.

I stopped literally in mid-stride, my right foot hanging frozen in the
air. I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on
me. But no, Nic was really there, his 12-year old body glowing awesomely in
the bathroom lights, his grey-green eyes sparkling, his sandy-blonde hair
tickling his eyebrows. My eyes drifted down his body, drinking in his small
pink nipples, his tight navel, his long, slender legs. I noticed that his
hands were covering his groin, but even as I stared in puzzlement he slowly
moved them away to reveal his penis, fully erect, pointing straight up. I
tore my gaze from his boyhood back to his eyes and saw a smile creep onto
his face.

And then I took two quick strides towards him and wrapped my arms around
him, pulling him close, feeling his chest heaving in and out as he breathed
heavily, feeling his heart pounding, feeling his hard penis press against
my body as my own shaft grew erect in record time to join his. Then I drew
back, and I looked into his eyes and beyond, into his soul, and, throwing
all caution and logic to the wind, I leaned down and pulled his face
towards mine and pressed my lips to his, kissing him with a passion I
didn't even know I possessed. And to my everlasting amazement he kissed me
back with the same passion and intensity, his tongue probing deeply into my
mouth, his arms caressing my back. I never knew that such a young boy could
have so much emotion and maturity, yet here was the proof, in my arms,
giving me his love.

"I take it," I whispered once we'd broken our kiss, "that you forgive me."

He looked strangely at me. "Why should I have to forgive you?" he asked. "I
was the one who screwed this afternoon up."

I smiled, relief washing over me. "Never mind who's to blame," I told
him. I gazed down at his stiff penis, smaller and thinner than mine yet
pointing up with the same conviction as mine, and murmured, "Should we pick
up where we left off?"

"Sounds good to me," he replied. I took his hand and led him into one of
the toilet stalls. I closed the door behind us, then we sank to the floor
side by side, stretching our legs out in front of us, and immediately
grasped the other's penis and began stroking. I was already oozing precum,
but Nic took no notice this time; in fact, he used it as lubrication that
helped his hand slide more smoothly up and down my shaft. I figured that
Nic wasn't yet physically able to produce precum of his own, so I spit on
my hand and used that as lubrication on his shaft instead. Soon we were
both moaning with pleasure.

Then an idea popped into my head. "Hang on a second," I said, taking his
hand away from my penis. He looked at me questioningly. "You wanna try
something different?" He nodded. "Ok, close your eyes," I told him. "And
trust me." He did as I said, closing his eyes and leaning back, using his
arms for support. I'd never done this before, but I'd heard about it and
how it made a guy feel... I leaned over, bringing my face close to Nic's
stiff pecker. Then I opened my mouth and engulfed his penis. And Nic
gasped, and his entire body shivered as I worked my tongue up and down his
stubby shaft, licking every inch of it, savouring the strange, sweet
taste. The hot, musky aroma of his groin filled my nostrils, driving me
wild, intensifying my passion and causing me to suck him even harder. He
moaned louder, his body spasming again. I took his penis out my mouth and
started licking his tight scrotum, rolling his balls around with my tongue,
while I used my hand to squeeze his shaft again and again. Then I dipped my
mouth even lower, and after gently moving his legs apart and making him
lift his butt off the floor a little, I aimed my tongue at his asshole. I
attacked that hole with abandon, delighting in the way his body twitched as
I tried to penetrate his body with my tongue. As I licked his hole I
started stroking his penis with my right hand while I gently fondled his
balls with my left. He was in ecstasy, I could feel it, and I was too,
knowing how much pleasure I was giving him.

"That feels so amazing!" he panted as I went back to sucking his penis,
using my index finger now to tease his asshole. "But something...," he
swallowed, moistening his dry throat, and licked his lips, "...something
feels weird. Uh, something feels really weird. I don't...UHHHHH!!!"

And to my complete shock his penis exploded, hot semen jetting from it and
cascading down my throat. It took me a few seconds to realise what was
going on: he was ejaculating! So much for him being physically unable yet!
I sucked him even harder now, swallowing his semen eagerly as it burst out,
squeezing his balls gently to increase the flow. His cum tasted salty and
slightly bitter, but I didn't care; I just gobbled it all down. Finally,
his penis stopped spasming, the semen flow trickled to a stop, and his
boyhood grew soft. I let it slide out my mouth, giving the tip once final,
loving kiss, before looking up at Nic's face. His body was heaving, his
chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes were still closed, but his face
was glowing and he was grinning from ear to ear. I drew myself alongside
him and kissed him again, allowing him to taste his own semen, and again
our tongues danced together.

It was several minutes later when he propped himself up on his arms and
looked over at me. "That..." he whispered, "...that was absolutely
incredible! Is that what sex is like?"

I reached over and ran my hand slowly through his long sandy-blonde
hair. "I guess so," I replied.

"That was incredible," he repeated after a while. "And I want to do it to
you."  "You really mean that?" I asked him, searching his young face for
any sign of insincerity. He nodded vigorously, and backed up his claim by
crawling over to me, taking hold of my penis, and moving his mouth into
position over it.

"I'm older than you, Nic, so when I shoot it'll probably be a lot more
forcefully," I warned him.

"But I wanna do it," he repeated determinedly, and before I could reply he
lowered his head and slipped my penis into his mouth.

Oh. My. God.

I have never, and I doubt I ever will again, feel anything quite like
that. It was like nothing I've ever felt, the way his young mouth moved up
and down my shaft and his tongue traced lines along the head. He even tried
opening up my slit with his tongue, and that nearly sent me over the
edge. His head bobbed up and down eagerly and his small hand grasped the
base of my penis to keep it pointing towards him. I'm still not sure how he
managed it, but he was able to get my entire shaft down his throat without
gagging.

After some time of intense sucking and licking he changed his position so
he could look up at me while he worked, and I stroked his hair again,
brushing his bangs away from his eyebrows. Then, as I had done to him, he
took his mouth off my penis and began licking my balls, continuing to work
my shaft with his hand, his fingers not quite wrapping all the way around
but working wonders nevertheless.

Then he stopped for a second and said, "I wanna lick your butt like you did
to me." He said it without a hint of repulsion; instead, the only thing I
could hear in his voice was his desire to make me feel as good as I'd made
him feel.  "Go for it kiddo," I said, spreading my legs wide and lifting my
butt off the ground a little to give him easy access. Then I watched his
head disappear between my legs, and I felt the tentative first touch of his
tongue against my asshole. He quickly got into it, though, licking all
around my hole and making numerous attempts to penetrate me. I tried to
relax my butt as much as possible to help him, and then with a start his
tongue probed inside my hole. It was an incredible sensation, and the shock
of the weird intrusion made me clench up again, forcing him out.

"That felt awesome, Nic," I told him, "but my dick is feeling left out. You
want to do some more work there?"

He peeked up at me from between my legs, grinning again, then he clambered
on top of me and devoured my penis. Once again, he took my full length
without flinching, then he let me slide slowly out, only to start licking
my shaft all over.

"Mmm, that's incredible Nic. I'm getting really close now."

In response to my status report, Nic doubled his efforts on my penis,
taking the full length in seconds then popping it back out again. He also
turned himself around, straddling my chest so his ass was facing me.

"Lick my ass again," he instructed between licks. I gazed longingly at his
butt, then reached out to grab his hips and drew him closer. When his ass
was mere inches from my face, I stuck my tongue out and started tickling
his hole with it, licking all around it and pressing in as much as I
could. Then I realized that if Nic's ass was right in front of me, his
penis should also be within easy reach, and I had a sudden desire to play
with it some more. So I slid my hands around his hips until I found his
shaft. It was soft and limp, but I quickly fixed that with some serious
stroking and rubbing. At the same time I went back to tonguing his asshole,
and then I felt my own climax approaching at high speed. I stopped licking
him to announce the impending event. He never even broke his stride; he
just kept on bobbing his head up and down on my shaft, gulping it down then
letting it slide out again to the very tip, all the while swirling his
tongue around it in random patterns. I was really close now, and as my
explosion drew closer I stroked his penis faster. Then Nic surprised me
again when his body jerked and I felt his dick erupt again, his hot semen
shooting forward onto my stomach, his body quivering through his second
orgasm. And that was all it took for me to hit the high as well, and with a
loud moan of pure ecstasy I ejaculated, my penis pumping wave after wave of
semen down Nic's throat. Not once did he break off; he took it all,
swallowing rapidly, milking me for all I was worth. I held his shaft
tightly as his own orgasm gradually subsided, while he kept his mouth
covering my penis as I finished my blowout.

Finally, after about only 10 minutes since Nic had surprised me outside my
shower cubicle but what felt like a lifetime, the young, delectable boy
rolled off me, turned around, and crawled to my side, laying his arm across
my chest.  "Thank you Nic," I murmured when I finally found some energy to
speak.  "My pleasure," he replied, his voice still that of a 12-year old
but with a hint of maturity that sounded like he was several years older,
and I suppose in a way he was. "I guess we can't lie hear all night," he
added after a while.  "I guess not," I agreed. It only occurred to me now
how bad it would've been had someone walked into the bathroom and heard the
two of us making out in one of the toilet stalls! Perhaps getting back to
bed soon was a good idea.  I got to my feet and gazed down at the boy lying
on the floor before me, my eyes drinking in every detail of his young,
smooth body: his innocent face with those grey-green eyes and that wide
smile, his tight chest with hints of future muscle starting to show, his
exquisite boyhood now lying semi-erect on his groin with the last traces of
his first orgasms leaking out. He was perfect, I realised then, perfect in
every way.

"What?" he asked, obviously noticing my smile of satisfaction.

"I'm just really glad you came into my life," I told him, offering him a
hand up. He grasped it, and I pulled him to his feet. We both quickly
dressed, then we headed back to our cabin, Nic going in a few minutes
before me in case anyone was watching. As I crept quietly into my bed I
thought about what had just happened, trying to comprehend the emotions
raging inside. But I didn't get far, for I soon fell asleep with images of
Nic in my arms, content and happy.

The next morning after breakfast the kids had a little free time before
starting the days activities. Nic told me he wanted to talk to me, so I led
him to the other side of the canoeing lake where it was relatively private.
"What's up kiddo?" I asked him.

Nic looked deeply into my eyes and said, "Would it be weird if I told you
that I think I love you?"

I laughed. "You're only 12, Nic. You're a great kid and all, and I really
like you, but I don't think you even know what love really is. No offense."

"But I know what I'm feeling," he persisted. "I know I'm only a kid, but I
do know what love is. The way I feel about you now...it's really special."
He looked at me with pleading eyes, as if he was desperate to convince me.

I sighed and put my hands on his shoulders. "Look Nic," I said, choosing my
words carefully so as not to hurt him the way I had done the previous day,
"Even if you do really love me, this would never work. You're a kid and I'm
an adult, and if people found out about us they're probably get really
upset, especially 'cos we're both guys. What we did last night...Nic, I
could get sent to jail!"

"But I liked it!" Nic insisted.

"I know you did," I soothed him, "And so did I. But this is the reality of
things. I'm sorry, I really am."

I stopped and looked deeply into his grey-green eyes, and as I did so I
examined the feelings that I had for him, the ones that had been growing in
me since I met him and that I'd tried so desperately to suppress for fear
of my secret getting out. They were whirling around freely inside now,
potent and undeniable. Could I really be in love with this kid?

"I really like you, Nic," I told him again. "In fact, I think I may love
you too. But this just can't work. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess," he murmured, not quite sounding convinced. So I drew him
to me and hugged him tightly. A few seconds later I let him go and said,
"For now how about we be really good friends? And if we're still friends in
a few years and you decide you still love me then, well, we can see what
happens."

His face brightened again as he thought this through. "Okay," he said at
last.

"Good," I said. "Now come on, let's get back to the cabin before anyone
gets suspicious."

I didn't do anything else with Nic while he was on that camp, though my
relationship with him returned to normal, and I once again put my arm
around his shoulders as we walked to breakfast, or punched him playfully on
the arm if he said something silly. Once he'd gone back home we stayed in
touch via e-mail, and we saw one another now and then, though we were
careful not to do anything that would betray us.

And so time went on, and Nic gradually left his boyhood behind and became
an adolescent, then a teenager, and finally a young man. I must admit that
I honestly didn't believe Nic would hold to his idea that he loved me, and
that he would eventually forget about me and find someone his own age to
fall in love with. But something incredibly special must've happened that
Friday at the summer camp, for he remained true to me, reminding me
privately every time I saw him that I was the one he loved and wanted to
spend his life with. And as he grew older and his conviction strengthened,
so too did my feelings for him, until I finally felt the same way for him
as he did for me.

And so, despite me initially trying to squash my feelings for him, to
ignore them and pretend they didn't exist, and despite my attempts to tell
myself I could not and should not love a boy, it seemed destiny had decided
we were meant to be together.

Thank God for destiny.

Epilogue:

Next week is Nic's 18th birthday. He says he has something special planned.
I have an idea of what to expect, but I think I'll wait to be surprised,
just like he surprised me that night when I stepped out of a shower cubicle
at a summer camp and into my future.