Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 00:10:09 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Freeman Subject: Michael-and-Chance-4 Revised! Author's Note: Hey guys, welcome to MC4, the latest installment of the "Michael and Chance" Series! Sorry for the long delay. Life has kept me EXTREMELY busy lately. So I appreciate your patience. I got this out as soon as I could. There are 3 chapters to MC4, and I intended originally to release it when I have all 3 chapters written. But because of my extremely hectic schedule, I decided to release each chapter as I finished it instead of making you guys wait for all three chapters to be done. Thus, this is the first of 3 chapters for MC4. The second chapter is 3/4 done, and I will release it in about 2 weeks. The third one is yet to be written. It may be for a while since school will start up again for me soon. But I'll do my best to get it out as soon as I can. Again, I thank all of you who have waited patiently for these chapters! Anyway, I'm sure that most of you by now have undoubtedly noticed some of the minor spelling and grammatical mistakes sprinkled here and there in previous chapters. So I want to apologize in advance for any grammatical, spelling, and syntactical errors that I may have overlooked in this installment. God knows, I really try to catch all these minor, nevertheless embarrassing, errors before sending the installments to the Archive, but it seems like no matter how many times I check and recheck, I will inevitably overlook something a case of Writer's Blinder Syndrome (lol). I guess that's what happens when one stares at a work for too long! One of these days when I have the time, I will re-edit these chapters and resubmit them to the Archive. But until then, please bear with me (smile)! Okay as I promised in the last installment, things will heat up in this installment. And to set up the mood, I recommend that you put together a compilation of some of the following songs (which are mentioned in this installment) and play them while reading this chapter: "The Way" by Fastball; "Could I Have This Kiss Forever," a duet by Whitney Houston & Enriqu‚ Iglesias; "My Heart Will Go On" by C‚line Dion; and "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden. I hope that you'll continue to do the same for future installments. If you haven't figured it out by now from my numerous references to music in the story, I love to listen to a wide, eclectic range of music, and all the songs that I mentioned in the series are meant to set up the mood of the story which will become increasingly important in future installments. Ok, enough said. I, now, invite you to sit back and enjoy MC4! Michael and Chance 4: "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Michael T. Freeman Chapter 13: Truly, Madly, Deeply It has been about 2 months now since Chance and I began dating. And even though we have been spending a lot of our free time together, I can't seem to get enough of Chance, and he seems to feel the same way about me. He's constantly on my mind, night and day. It's crazy and so distracting at times, especially when I have to focus on my studies. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I guess it's safe to say that I am completely falling head over heels in love with Chance. It's an amazing and intoxicating feeling to be in love with someone so much that it hurts when he is not around. God, it's incredible the effects that Chance has on me. He brightens my day with his simple, sexy smile. Lights my soul with his intense orbs of flaming blue fire. Warms my heart with his genuine kindness and laughter. And sends chills running down my spine with his every touch and kiss. I sometimes find myself lost, staring into his warm, azure eyes, mesmerized by the way he moves and speaks, and intoxicated by his manly musk and taste. It's one of the most intoxicating, indescribable, divine feelings in the universe, falling in love and being in love. I'm constantly on Cloud Nine, and that's no exaggeration. That's exactly how Chance makes me feel all the time. Just the simple thought of him warms my heart and soul. His genuine love and support fill me up to the core of my being, and the depth of my heart. It's a heavenly feeling to know that there's someone out there who loves me unconditionally, accepts me fully, and never judges me. He makes me feel richer than a zillionaire, fills my soul with more love than I have ever known, and makes me happier than I have ever been. Chance is truly my life, my love, my soulmate! I love being with Chance. I love kissing him, caressing him, and making out with him. And I bet you are wondering if we have done the "deed" (smiling sheepishly). Sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is no; we haven't, not even orally! Why? Well for one, we just never really went that far. Secondly, we both decided to take the relationship nice and slow without rushing into sex, a decision that a part of me (and I think you know which part) sometimes regrets that I have made (smiling). Plus, we both have been there before, so we are in no rush. We want to give the relationship a chance to grow before elevating it to the next level of intimacy. I really love Chance, and he's worth the wait. But a part of me wishes that it didn't have to wait too much longer because pressure is building, and it's about ready to explode. Down boy, down! (lol). Today is Saturday, and it's a beautiful hot day. Temperature is expected to reach the high nineties for this weekend, which is unusual for this time in the fall. So Chance and I decided to go hiking and camping along the coast for the weekend, hoping to escape the heat. We headed out early this morning, but by 10:00 am, I started to feel signs of what promised to be a scorching hot day as the sun rays bathed my face. As we cruised down the windy highway towards the Park, Fastball's "The Way," came on the radio. Yes, perfect timing! I love this song! I love the retro feel of this awesome tune. Chance seemed to like it too as he started to groove to the music, bobbing his head back and forth as he tapped on the side of the car door with his right hand. As he turned and smiled at me, I noticed that he looked amazingly handsome this morning, wearing a pair of knee-length, navy blue cargo shorts, a white tee-shirt with a rolled-up, yellow bandana tied loosely around his neck and a deep blue cap. I'm sporting a pair of Gap's beige 3/4 pants (also known as skateboarder's or flood-watcher pants) and a white cotton shirt. After about a 3-hour drive, we arrived at our destination. I pulled into the Park's parking lot and parked under the shade of towering Redwoods. "Here we are!" I announced excitedly as I turned and smiled at Chance. "Wow, it's beautiful here Michael!" Chance exclaimed as he got out of the car and tilted his head to admire the groves of giant Redwoods. "Yes, it's one of my favorite places to hike! I can't wait to show you my secret hideaway spot along the beach that Eric and I discovered several years ago," I said as I opened the trunk. "I'm looking forward to it!" Chance smiled as he grabbed his hiking and camping gears. I quickly put on my canvas hat and strapped on my hiking backpack. "All set, Chance?" "Yeah, let's go, love!" It's going to be a pretty long hike. It should take us about 4 hours to make the trek to my hideaway spot if I remembered correctly from the last time my brother Eric and I hiked to there. I'm glad that we've decided to do this. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to spend more time with Chance, and I relished every minute of it, especially when I slowed down my pace a bit so that I walk slightly behind Chance to watch his nicely toned butt sways rhythmically from side to side as he traversed the sloped terrain. "What are you doing walking behind me?" Chance turned and gave me a puzzled look. I smiled sheepishly and gave him my innocent look. "You weren't checking my butt out, were you, Michael?" Chance sported a grin as he quickly grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me to his side. "Guilty as charged!" I declared proudly as I leaned in and kissed him passionately for a minute. Something about embracing and kissing Chance in a secluded, forested area really turned me on. "Ok, just wanted to make sure!" Chance exclaimed as we both started to laugh. "Come on, let's get going. I don't want to miss watching the sun sets behind the horizon." Chance urged as he held my hand and pulled me onward. We held each other hands as we continued to follow Viridian Fall Trail up to Angel's Summit. Since we have seen only a few people hiked our trail, we figured that it would be safe to continue holding hands. It's great being held by Chance. I love holding his strong, masculine hand. It feels so warm and reassuring. As we turned around the bend, I saw a young couple approaching us, and before I realized it, I let go of Chance's hand which startled him a bit as he turned and gave me a perplexed look. At that moment, I horrifically realized what I just did and it was too late. He saw the couple and his facial expression changed to one of understanding. The young couple smiled at us and said their hellos which we quickly reciprocated as we passed them. Chance didn't say anything about the incident. But my reaction irritated and bothered me. I was a bit surprised by my automatic response. I almost can't believed that I would let go of the hand of someone I loved so much because.......Why?.... For what?.... Because I didn't want them to know that I'm gay! That I love this beautiful man next to me with all heart and soul! Is that so bad? So fuckin' shameful that I need to hide it from the world. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got at myself as it dawned on me the insidious, societal conditioning that triggered my response. We didn't talk much as we continued to march up Viridian Fall Trail without holding hands. About an hour later, we arrived at a rest point that was strategically designated along the trail that provided a magnificent view of Viridian Fall. The fall seemed to glisten in a warm tone of viridian splendor due to the intense golden, rocky backdrop. We decided to stop and take a lunch break at this wonderful vantage point. I quickly unstrapped my backpack, and dropped it to the ground. God, it felt so good to be relieved of the extra load. I immediately stretched my neck, shoulders, and upper body as I grabbed my bottled water and took a sip of it while leaning over the protective railing, admiring the view when Chance came and stood next to me. "Hey, are you okay?" he turned and looked at me with concern. "You didn't say much on the way up? You almost...uhm...seem distant and pensive? Is everything ok?" Chance asked earnestly. I couldn't bear to look at Chance as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I was too ashamed to face him, too angry at myself for unintentionally letting go of his hand. And hearing his genuine words of concern and caring only made me feel worse. But I finally mustered enough courage to face him. "I'm so sorry, Chance!" I blurted out as I felt the first few tears rolled down my face. "Huh...for what Michael?" Chance retorted with a startled and concerned expression on his face as he quickly embraced me tightly. "What's going on, angel? Please tell me!" "For being such a coward, for letting go of your hand when I saw that couple approaching us." I quickly composed myself as I wiped away my tears, determined to halt them. "Listen to me, Michael!" Chance loosened his embrace as he stared intensely into my eyes. "Letting go of my hand does not make you a coward, Michael. We live in a very prejudicial world, and you were just reflexively trying to shield us from those unpleasant, discriminatory reactions. I completely understand your conditioned response. And that's what it is, Michael, a conditioned response. We have been so operantly conditioned by society to hide overtly gay expressions that it's become an automatic response." "But it's not fair to you or me!" I replied. "No, it's not, Michael. But I'm not bothered by it. So I don't want you to beat yourself up for what happened, especially if you think that your reaction somehow has hurt me. Because it hasn't!" "All the same, I deeply apologize for the way I reacted," I said as I looked into his beautiful eyes and touched his face. "I promise to do better!" "Michael, love means not having to say I'm sorry. So no apology is necessary. I love you all the same, unconditionally, now and always, you know that. And please don't overcompensate for what happened by outing yourself to the world when you are not completely ready for it, especially because of the negative repercussions of doing so. We still live in a very ignorant and brutally discriminating society, and I don't want you to do anything that would put you in any physical danger." Chance looked at me gravely as he continued. "I'm not saying to never take a stance. But do so wisely, and on your own terms and timetable, and not on anyone else's. I love you very much, Michael. So please don't make me have to worry about you. Please promise me that you'll think it over carefully before doing anything drastically." His sweet, sincere plea just makes me want to cry and love him all the more, if that's possible. I immediately leaned in and kissed him hungrily and passionately, wanting to inhale his beautiful essence, and letting him know that I understood what he is saying. I finally surfaced for air and smiled at him. "Thanks Chance, I promise. I loved you more than life itself!" To be honest, I've never really believed the expression, "love means not having to say I'm sorry" until now. I used to think that it was some romantic crock that I once heard in "Love Story," that you cannot possibly love someone so much for him not to apologize when he has unintentionally hurt you. But it's true! I now believe and understand what that expression truly meant. When you love someone so COMPLETELY and UNCONDITIONALLY (as we do for each other), there's really no need to apologize (for unintentional hurts and wrongs) because you know that the other person did not mean to hurt you intentionally, that it hurts him as much as it hurts you for the unintended wrongs. But I must admit, hearing those three words ("I am sorry") does have a soothing and reassuring effect psychologically and emotionally even if they are unnecessary. Chance flashed me his sexy smiled. "I love you too, love! With all my heart and soul!" We stood there silently for over 15 minutes, holding each other as we took in the beautiful view. And I thought about what Chance said as I stared down at the forested valley below. I promised myself that I would make a better, more conscious effort at becoming and expressing more of who I truly am each day, including my sexuality...that I would do so wisely at a pace that I'm comfortable with, without feeling the need or pressure to out myself prematurely or to burden myself with any unnecessary guilt or shame. I owe myself and Chance at least that much. After eating our bagged lunch, we continued on with our trek up to Angel's Summit. We finally reached it over an hour later, and it was worth every step of the way. The panoramic view was spectacular. To the west was the breath-taking Pacific Coast while a quick 180 degree turn revealed the thick forested valley below. We found a nice grassy spot to sit and take in the splendid view. We could see the ocean waves lapping below and hear the cries of seagulls beyond, as they seem to suspend in the air. The cool, afternoon, coastal breeze felt good as it brushed against my skin. We sat there in silence for about 20 minutes, enjoying each other's company, and the magnificent view before deciding to switch over to Seaside Trail to head down towards the beach to my secret location. "Come on Chance, let's get going! We have another hour and half of hiking to do before we get to my secret spot!" I suggested as I grabbed Chance's hand and pulled him up. "Alright!" I didn't let go of Chance's hand after he got up on his feet. It felt so good holding his hand again, and I didn't want to let go which prompted Chance to smile and look at me. "Do you mind if I continued holding your hand," I asked sincerely as I smiled at him. Chance grinned. "You never have to ask, angel! But are you sure you want to do this?" I smiled and nodded as I planted a soft kiss on his luscious lips. We continued on with our trek down Seaside Trail. On the way down, we came across an old couple hiking up. We greeted them with friendly smiles and hellos, but they reciprocated with only looks of disgust and silence when they saw that we were holding hands. Guys, it's hard to let go of ignorant shit like this, but I did it anyway. I didn't allow it to bother me this time. Nor did it seem to bother Chance who simply shook his head at the incident and smiled radiantly at me. I felt a sense of pride and redemption as I continued to hold Chance's hand steadfastly. After another hour of hiking, we reached the last stretch of the trail where we needed to veer off the marked path to get to my secret beach location. "Ok, Chance, we need to get off the designated trail and hike this way." I announced as I pointed towards the mass of shrubs and trees. "Umh...Michael, I don't see a trail, only shrubs and trees that way!" Chance exclaimed with doubts at my suggestion. I simply smiled and pulled him along. "Trust me love! I have made this trek many times before with Eric. I would never lead you astray." Chance followed me a bit reluctantly as we parted the thick bushes and tree branches and made our way through them. After some careful maneuvering through the shrub and tree masses, we came upon a slight clearing as the terrain sloped sharply downward. Chance stopped at the top edge of the sloped terrain and looked doubtfully at me. "Michael, I love you, and you know that I would follow you to the end of the world. But this is one damn, steep slope, love! I probably would break my neck trying to hike down. I don't see how we're going to be able to trek down this." I leaned in and kissed his adorable, frowning face. "We're not going to hike down. We going to scale down with a little help from these." I replied as I pulled out 2 pairs of mountain climbing ropes, harnesses, clips, and gloves and grinned wickedly at Chance. "Do you know how to use these, Chance? Have you mountain climbed before?" "Been a while, but I think I remember!" Chance exclaimed excitedly as he put on a pair of gloves and helped me secure the rope around a big Monterey Pine tree. After I made sure that the rope was properly secured around the tree, I suggested that Chance take off his camping backpack and prepare to scale down first. Chance quickly complied and put on the climbing gears and started his descent. "Ok, nice and easy, buddy! You're doing good!" In a few minutes, Chance safely made his way down to the bottom. "Ok, Michael, I made it!" Chance shouted up. "Ok, I'm going lower our camping gears, one by one now!" I shouted back. "Alright, I'm ready for them!" I quickly tied Chance's backpack to the other rope and lowered it slowly down to Chance, and then I did the same with my camping and hiking gears. "Ok, I'm heading down, Chance!" I shouted. "Ok, go for it, angel!" I coiled up the rope that I used to lower our gears and looped it diagonally across my chest and put on my climbing gear. "That's it buddy, nice and slow!" Chance cheered me on. I saw a fat smirk on his face when I turned and looked down at him. I knew right away why he was grinning. "You're not checking my butt out, are you, Chance?" I shouted. "Guilty as charged!" he quickly replied as he laughed. A few minutes later, I successfully descended down. Chance greeted me with a smile and hug. "Can you do that again, love? I liked the way your butt swayed," Chance said as he grabbed my butt cheeks firmly and kissed me hungrily. We finally broke our kiss, and I got out of my climbing gears. I put the coiled rope into my backpack and left the one tied to the tree there for us to use to climb up tomorrow. We proceeded on with our hike. About 20 minutes later, we came to a clearing that opened up to a secluded beachfront. "Wow, this is great Michael!" "Yeah, our own private beach!" I looked at Chance as he smiled with delight. "We can camp over there," I said, pointing to the old leaning Monterey Pine that was protruding through the off- white sands a few hundred yards in front of us. Chance nodded in agreement. We quickly unstrapped our backpacks and dropped them to the ground as we leaned back against the tree, catching our breath from the exhausting hike. We sat and rested for about 15 minutes before I suggested that we build ourselves a fire pit. Chance volunteered to gather the firewood while I prepared a fire pit. A half an hour later, we had a good fire going, and we decided to have dinner since both of us were starving. I had brought along a few garden burgers for dinner, which we both devoured in no time. We had roasted marshmallows for dessert as we sat back and enjoyed the spectacular evening light show as the flaming orange sun majestically sets behind the horizon. The sky lit up in a mosaic of ravishing orange, yellow, pink, and blue tones as the full, silvery moon sneaked in behind the cirrus clouds. I love watching the sun sets. There's something miraculous and magical about it. Watching it always reminds me what life is all about...there's SO much beauty all around us...it's just a matter of opening our eyes and hearts to it and embracing it! And what makes it even more special is having the love of my life here next to me as I admired Mother Nature at work. I turned away from the beautiful light show for a few seconds to glance at my Chance who was staring into the distance. He looked so beautiful as the soft, evening light outlined his strong, masculine jaw and the cool ocean breeze gently tossed his dark, careless, wind-blown hair. He turned and smiled at me as I grabbed for his hand. He leaned in and kissed me passionately and deeply. An electric chill ran down my spine as our lips and tongues met in a furious embrace. God, he tasted so manly sweet and smelled so heavenly with a slight scent of Nautica and his own natural musk. We finally broke our kiss. I leaned back against the old pine and continued to enjoy the evening light show as Chance rested the back of his head on my lap while sprawling lazily on our beach blanket, staring up at the heavens. I gently stroked his dark brown hair. About half an hour later, the light show was over as the evening stars slowly emerged from the darkness and illuminated the night sky. Chance got up and dug into his backpack. He took out a portable radio and turned it on. He took a few minutes to scan the radio stations for the perfect song, and indeed he found it. The wonderful, colorful vocal of Whitney Houston and Enriqu‚ Iglesias came on, singing their magnificent duet, "Could I Have This Kiss Forever." The song immediately prompted Chance to start dancing as he gestured a couple dance movement and looked at me. He looked so funny and cute, pretending to dance with an imaginary partner. It didn't take too long for him to walk up and bowed to me with his left hand on his back and right hand extended forth, gesturing for me to dance with him. "May I have this dance?" Chance asked in an exaggerated British accent. "Why, certainly sir!" I replied in my best imitation British accent as I grabbed for his hand. Chance smiled and gave me a quick twirl before we embraced each other tightly with one hand on the back of each other's waist and the other hand cupped together as we started to dance to this awesome tune. We mixed a little Latino steps with a bit of salsa flare into our dance. We stared intensely into each other's soul, allowing the music to take over our bodies as we moved harmoniously to the music. Chance gave me a quick dip and slowly pulled me up and kissed me passionately. The duet was followed by another of my favorites, C‚line Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." The air permeated with the incredible vocal perfection of C‚line as the overture of crashing waves and seagull's cries blended seamlessly with this lovely ballad. We held each other closely as we danced slowly to this beautiful song. I leaned in and have another taste of his luscious lips. The song finally finished and we retired back on the blanket, holding each other tightly as we stared up at the heavens. It just doesn't get any better than this, my friends! Chance propped up his head with his elbow bended and right hand supporting his head as he stared intensely at me. "What?" I turned and smiled at him. "Nothing! Just admiring the view. I love how the fire flame shadows dance across your body and face," Chance replied with a big grin. "Come here you," I said as I pulled his face to mine and kissed him passionately. We finally surfaced for air. I can't seem to get enough of kissing and holding him. Chance looked at me and sported a sexy smirk. "So what do you want for your birthday?" "How did you know that my birthday was coming up?" I asked in astonishment. "Who told you?" "Oh, I have my sources!" "Stacy must have told you!" I quickly figured it out. Chance nodded and smiled. "I want you, Chance, for my birthday!" I smiled wickedly. Chance's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Well, you can have me now!" Chance quickly replied as he lean in and kissed me hungrily. He gently nibbled my left earlobe and slowly moved down my neck and showered me with kisses. I was in Heaven as I moaned in ecstasy. Encouraged by my moaning, Chance kissed his way down to my chest and gently rubbed my right nipple as he teased my left nipple with his tongue, giving it a lingual bath before suddenly sucking it passionately. "Agghhhh..." I moaned as I arched my back in pleasure. Both of my nipples are now hard as a rock, not to mention my other engorged member, waiting to be released from its confinement. Chance wasted no time slithering down towards my abs, following my trail of paradise to my now very hard penis as I rested my right hand on his head. God, I can't take any more of his kisses. "Agghhhhhmm....Chance!" I'm going to explode soon if he keeps up his lingual assault and kisses. Encouraged by my exultation, Chance forged on and started to pull down my pants. I squirmed with pleasure as he continued his relentless tongue bath towards my throbbing manhood. "Ohhh...uhmmmm...." But I knew that I couldn't let him go any further. That he had to stop. There something I need to ask of him before he goes any further. I mustered up all the will power that I had to ask him to stop despite of my natural urges. "Agghh....Chance...uhhmmm....Chance, please stop.....ahhm...please!" I pleaded in between breaths. "What?!!" Chance looked up at me, completely dazed. "What!" "Please stop!" I repeated my request a bit more audibly. Chance had a look of disappointment and hurt on his face which immediately made my heart aches with guilt. "What...what is it, angel? Am I doing wrong?" Chance asked with concern and confusion. "No, it's...it's not you, Chance! It's me!" I started to try to explain. Chance sat up and looked at me with puzzlement. "The reason why I asked you to stop is because...I love you so much Chance. And before we take this to the next level of intimacy. I need to ask you to do something for me." "Anything Michael! Anything my love! What is it?" "Since we both have sexual partners in the past, I think we should both get tested before going any further with this. I want to make sure that both of us are protected. And I love you too much to be reckless with your health and mine." I looked at him intensely to gauge his reaction. Chance's confused look of concern quickly turned into a smile as he leaned in and kissed me. "Of course, I'll get tested!" "Great!" I smiled. "That's why I love you so much, Michael. You have great common sense!" "Oh!" I pretended to be disappointed. "And I thought you love me for my body!" I said jokingly. "Come here you!" Chance instructed as he smiled and kissed me again. After a few minutes of kissing, we held each other tightly as we lay on the blanket, staring up at the stars. There seemed to be a zillion stars out tonight, sparkling like brilliant diamonds. "Thanks, Chance!" I turned and faced him. "No, thank you for loving me enough to stop me from going any further until we both get tested. And I respect and love you all the more for that!" "God, you sure know how to stroke a guy's ego!" I replied with much appreciation. "Well, I rather stroke something else of yours right now, but I guess it will have to wait for another time!" he replied with a fat smirk on his beautiful face. We both laughed as we rolled over on our backs and continued with our star gazing when Savage Garden's lovely ballad, "Truly, Madly, Deeply," came on the radio. I completely love this song. It perfectly describes how I feel about Chance at this moment. We looked at each other and smiled as we held each other tightly. What a wonderful starry night. And before I knew it, I dozed off in the warm embrace of my love! I woke up the following morning to the sounds of crashing waves against the rocks and cries of distant sea gulls. I lazily rubbed my eyes and squinted to see the morning sun peeking over the horizon. My angel was still asleep. He looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there like an angel. I took this opportunity to admire and study his elegant, handsome face as I gently stroke his dark, care-free hair. Ten minutes later, I gently wiggled out of our sleeping bag so as not to wake up my sleeping prince. I quickly emptied my bladder and brushed my teeth. It was still pretty early. So I decided to go for a morning jog. While jogging along the beach I came upon an intriguing rock formation that jutted out of the water a couple of hundred yards from the beach. "That looks like a great place to sit and meditate," I thought to myself as I took off my pants and headed for the water. After a brief, exhilarating swim, I climbed onto the rock and settled into a meditative sitting position as I closed my eyes and tuned into my body. The ocean spray felt good as it lightly misted my chest while the warm morning sun bathed my face. In the distance, I could hear the overture of seagull's cries and crashing waves as the morning breeze hissed in my ears. After about a half an hour of meditating, it was time to swim back to the shore. Several minutes later, I arrived at the beach completely drenched. So I walked back to the camp spot with my pants in hand. Chance was up with a sketching pad in hand, apparently busy sketching something. He waved at me when he saw me approaching. "Hey, morning love!" I leaned down and kissed him. "Had a good sleep?" "Yeah, the best!" Chance smiled at me. "Went for a meditation?" "Yeah, I meditated on that magnificent boulder out there!" I said, pointing to the rock formation south of us. "Yeah, I know. I saw you swim out and climb onto the rock!" "So what are you doing there, sketching?" "Yeah!" Chance smiled as he continued to sketch. "Wow, that looks great Chance! You're really good!" I exclaimed as I sat down for a closer look. Chance was sketching the beach scene. "Thanks, love!" "Did you sketch anything else?" I asked eagerly as I reached over to flip the page to see if there was another drawing underneath it. Chance quickly intercepted my reaching hand, kissed me deeply and retorted with a smile, "No!" I sat and watched Chance at work, sketching up a storm. It's amazing watching him sketch, how his hand moved in gracefully arcs and strokes. He's really good at his work. Chance finally finished his drawing of the beachfront, and it looked incredible! "Wow, that looks absolutely great, Chance!" I exclaimed in astonishment. "I have never seen anyone sketch so quickly and beautifully!" "Thanks, angel, you always know how to make me feel good!" Chance flashed me his sexy smile. "Ditto!" I smiled back at him. "Listen, thanks for being so understanding last night when I asked you to stop...you know?" "Listen, Michael, I'm very glad that you stopped me from going any further. It showed how much you respect yourself and cared enough for my well-being to request that we both get tested before taking our intimacy to the next level," Chance exclaimed as he looked intensely into my eyes. "And I love and respect you all the more for that. So don't worry your pretty head about that!" Chance smiled and leaned in to kiss me. "Ok!" I smiled sheepishly after we broke our kiss. "So what are you doing for your birthday? Do your friends have anything planned for you?" "Yeah, Stacy and the gang said that they want to take me out celebrating and clubbing next Saturday for my birthday." I replied. "And of course, you are invited!" "I wouldn't miss it for the world!" "Good, because I really want to celebrate my 21st birthday with you!" I exclaimed excitedly. "You bet!" Chance leaned in and embraced me tightly. After our morning breakfast of granola bars and fruits, it was time for us to start heading back. The trek back was uneventful. It took us about the same amount of time to hike back as it did to get to our campsite. The ride back was pleasant as we chit-chatted and discussed where and when we wanted to get the STD test! We decided go to the Student Health Center on Monday and get tested there. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at Chance's apartment complex. I parked the car and got out to help Chance get all his stuff out of the trunk. "Thanks for going camping with me this weekend Chance!" "It's my pleasure. I love spending time with you, you know that!" "Yeah, same here." I smiled. "Ok, I'll meet you at the Student Health Center at around three after my class tomorrow," I reminded Chance. "Right!" Chance agreed as he quickly glanced around before giving me a quick kiss and a tight embrace. "I'll see you then, love." I was exhausted when I got home. I quickly unloaded my hiking gear, took a quick shower, and hopped into bed for a short nap. "What a great weekend!" I thought to myself as I sprawled lazily on my bed. I had the sun, sand, and Chance! What more do I need! I smiled as I quickly succumbed to sleep. To be continued. Author's Note: Well, there you have it guys; the first of 3 chapters for MC4. The second one should be out in a couple of weeks or so, depending on how busy I get. Again, I appreciate your patience. Anyway, I hope that you guys are well informed about STDs (sexually transmitted disease). If you're not up to speed on the topic, it would be wise of you to read up on it and learn how to protect yourself from these nasty critters. It could possibly save your life! At the risk of sounding like a clich‚, knowledge is truly power! Alright, enough said! Lastly, I want to thank James, for taking the time out of his busy schedule to help me edit MC4. I truly appreciate it. As always, I welcome your comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms. Please let me know what you think of my story. They can be sent to mf900@yahoo.com . All flames can be forwarded to: trashcan.com (he.hee.). Take care!