Dear readers,
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We have read a lot of love stories. I wanted this story to be a little different. I thought lets make a trip to India. We will get to read about the culture, people, cuisines, dressing styles, the history and the daily life of the people there. This is still a love story. Not world history and the romance will not be overshadowed. I could possibly take inputs from you guys and gals to see how much is tolerable :) Seriously I thought it would be a good idea. What do you guys think?

If I may suggest: Increase the font size before reading. It is easier on the eyes.

Disclaimer:
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This is a fictional story with fictional characters. Any resemblance to people living or dead is purely a coincidence.

This story involves love and physical intimacy between two consenting adult men. If you do not want to read this or are prohibited by law, house rules etc, please leave.

The is a story about relations and not about sex. So there will be very limited sexual acts and even when it occurs, there will be no graphic details.

The story does not intend to preach any religion or culture. It is only an effort to take the readers on a vacation without the hassle of passports, visas, flights, lost baggages etc =)

The reader is at the liberty to stop reading if he or she does not wishe to continue.

My Blonde Brad - Chapter 01
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"I hate him." I told Jason, referring to the homophobic asshole in my Microbiology class who considered himself god's gift to all girls. Now it is not his fine morphological features I am complaining about. It is his attitude. He is gorgeous. There is no doubt about it. Naturally tall, short blonde hair, blue eyes, thin pink lips, the pearly white teeth shining against his beautiful tanned skin, the skin as smooth as butter, high raised cheek bones, muscles sculpted to perfection by the rigorous workouts that he had to do for football, the Abercrombie and Fitch tank tops, the pooka shell necklaces, the inseparable baseball cap that he always wore backwards. In short, he is a quintessential all-american jock. He as a guy was something that one could have orgasms just dreaming about, but as a person he is arrogant, dumb, insensitive and most of all homophobic. I have never hated anybody more than I hated him. A total asshole. All his buddies thought of him as some god, especially his girl friends. They even call him `BB', short for Big Brad. I despise him.

My face had turned totally red with anger. This is nothing new. If there is any one who knows how to push all my buttons it is Brad. The biggest jerk I have ever seen in all my 20 years of life on this planet. Brad is the one who would go after trouble. If it was not there, he would invent it.

I don't know how he knew about my sexuality. I am comfortable with it and have no problem being honest and open with my friends. At the same time I am not the one that flaunts it for no reason. Brad always made sure he harassed me whenever we ran into each other. Considering the fact that we have only one class in common and not like we hang around the same places or people, it is rare that we run into each other. Sometimes I thought he purposefully stalked me. He and his troupe had just left us after a session of name calling and nasty pranks on me. It has been going on for two months now and it is starting to get on my nerves.

"Why does he do that Jason? I don't get into his way. Why does he bother me all the time?" I asked my roommate and best friend.

"Oh, forget about him Andy." Jason tried to calm me down. "It is the nature of the dog to bark. He is not worth wasting time on." He reasoned dragging me towards our off-campus apartment.

Jason always called me Andy, because he could never get himself to pronounce my real name `Anand' accurately. Oh there are so many variations I have heard so far that I don't care or bother to correct them anymore. The most common is `Anaad'. Ok, that means `Destitute' in Hindi. `Anand' means bliss. I tried to split it phonetically to teach them. Say `Aah', then `nun' and then `dh' as in `Dharma and Greg'. Some were close but most couldn't be any farther. I let it go. Jason, knowing that I hated my name being mispronounced more than being called Andy, stuck with Andy.

Alright, I got to tell you a little about myself before I move on with the story. As you know my name is Anand and I am from India. I will be 21 in a month. I can't wait for it. My father is American and mum Indian. Not to be confused with Native American. Like most mutts, I obtained the best traits of both my parents. I got the Caucasian looks, height and strong body from my dad. I got the jet black hair, soft skin, no-fat-all-muscles kind of a body from my Asian mum. Let's say, handsome boy-next-door type. And please...I don't blush. My cheeks are naturally rosy.

My dad who had always been fascinated by Eastern philosophies couldn't wait to take a trip to the other side of the globe. He packed his bags when he was 25 and traveled to China, Japan, Nepal and then finally India. He fell in love with all this and married an Indian woman and returned to America with her. My twin brother Vijay (VJ to his friends) and I were born within 3 years of their marriage. No, we don't look alike. When we were four years old, the entire family moved to India. That's where we both grew up. When we turned 18, my parents pushed us out of their nest and sent us to America to pursue our undergraduate studies.

My brother and I are both pretty close to each other, though we have totally different interests in just about everything. I love India, Indian food, music, culture and what not. My brother on the other hand, went after rock bands and wanted pizzas for dinner. He likes girls and I like boys. He is smarter than I am, is something I will never agree to. I am sweeter than him, is something he will never agree. Now don't get me wrong. I would hurt someone if they tried to hurt my brother. Just that I don't show it out to him. I believe he is the same. We live on the opposite sides of the country and visit each other like once an year. Can't afford flying every weekend on a student's income, you know! In the last two years I have met him three times.

I felt at home here. I looked white, so there was no `Oh he looks exotic' kinda stares. I spoke with almost no accent. People narrowed their eyebrows only when I told them my name. They did not expect to hear an Indian name. I had made some really good friends. Two of them, who are my roommates also, are really close to me. Jason and Lei, a Chinese American. Her name means Flower Bud. I have known them since my freshman year and I am lucky that we have been together in almost all classes most semesters. So we were together most of the time. Lei was born and raised in the US. She is a pretty girl. Confident, outgoing and at the same time sweet. Jason is from Wyoming. He is a little reserved, very smart and a great friend.

I had come out to them as soon I decided that they were `friends forever' material. Lei is from San Francisco and was real cool about it. She was like, "So what?". Jason was a little flustered for a few days. He had never met a gay person; much less had one for a friend. Two days later, he came to me and said, "Anaand, you are a great friend, that's what matters. I know it is not a choice but intrinsic to your gene structure." He then went onto describe how gay men and straight women give out the same pheromones when they see and like a guy, while straight men don't when they, say, meet their best buddies etc. I knew he had read the recent article on the Science magazine. It was funny but touching that he had gone that far. I was glad he accepted me. I would have hated to loose such a good friend. He even hugged me at the end. These two are my family. They and my boy friend Ed, short for Edwin.

Ed and I have been going out for over a year now. He is a great guy. I met Ed when he first took a class with me at the end of the freshman year. Ed and I were just passing acquaintances at best until we met in a local gay bar. He came up to me and offered to buy me a drink. He was a perfect gentleman. I liked him instantly and we started going out. He has become very good friends with Jason and Lei too.

I attended classes, held an on-campus job, spent time with Ed and my friends, I called VJ, my brother, every now and then spoke with my parents back home every weekend, worked on homework and assignments, handled Brad by ignoring him and life was good.

Until it all turned upside down at the end of my sophomore year. The university was closed for summer. Jason and Lei had gone home. My brother was vacationing in Toronto. I was too broke to join him. I had taken a job off-campus in a grocery store. Fortunately Ed was in town and his roommate was gone. So I kinda moved into his dorm room temporarily until school began and Jason and Lei came back.

One Friday evening, my co-worker asked if I would switch shifts with her, `cos she had to go to a party Saturday night. I was more than glad to help her out, as I thought it would be a nice chance to spend time with my boy friend. I reached his apartment and opened the door to some mad passionate sex. Ed was fucking some skinny twat. They both saw me walk in on them.

"I am sorry." I murmured to myself, turned around, threw the keys on the floor and walked out of the room, banging the door shut behind me. He did not even try to stop me. If he did, I did not hear it. I was a zombie. I walked without knowing where I was going. I found myself sitting on the corridor leaning against the lockers. I heard footsteps. I thought it was the bastard coming after me to explain things. He came close to me and kneeled in front of me.

"Dude."

It was not Ed. I looked up. It was Brad. The last person I wanted here was Ed. And Brad was right behind him on the list. I did not answer. I lowered my head so that he cannot see my face. I was hoping he would leave me alone. He did not.

"Are you alright man?" He inquired.

"Yes. I am fine." Even I couldn't convince myself.

"He is not good enough for you Anaand." He sat next to me.

What is he talking about? I looked up at him. He pursed his lips and arched them to give me a smile.

He stood up. "C'mon I am going to take you home." He grabbed my right arm jerking it slowly to pull me up on my feet.

I rose with no resistance. He walked me home. Neither of us spoke. He did not even have to ask for directions. How he knew where I lived, I don't know. We both stood at the door. I did not ask him to come in, nor did I thank him or wish him a good night.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" He asked. Now this is so unlike the asshole that he is, I thought.

I went and sat on the couch without answering. He stepped in, turned the light on and closed the door behind him.

He sat next to me and put his arm around me. I did not resist. I sighed deeply as if to breathe Ed out of my life. He pulled me towards him hugging me. I always thought I was not the crying type. One year is a long time. And he cheats on me. I loved that bastard. I started crying.

I faintly heard Brad, between my sobs, tell me that everything was going to be alright.

"Everything will be fine. We will be alright." He kept repeating.

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Andy

If you guys would like to read more, or have comments, suggestions, questions, please email me at gay_love_fiction (at) yahoo (dot) com

If you liked this story, you might want to checkout "First Love" under relationships. That was my first story ever. Some of you had been too kind and had sent me emails appreciating it and that's what inspired me to write this one.