Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 13:59:26 -0700 (PDT) From: no basis Subject: Two Lives: One Choice The following story(s) contain explicit descriptions of sexual situations between consenting adult men. If such content offends you or is illegal for you to view due to age or laws in your state or country, please do not continue reading. Some events are true and others are purely fictional. The locations and names have been changed to protect those involved. Comments are appreciated. Enjoy! Two Lives: One Choice The sun glared in my eyes as I carried the last box down the stairs of my country home and out the door and down the steps to my black Chevy Suburban. My grandma and dad came outside to see me off to college. I kissed and hugged each of them and thanked them for all that they had done along the way. There were tears on their part and some sorrow on mine, but for the most part, I was ready to leave for an amazing four years. I was to attend a medium sized liberal arts college in the country suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. I had chosen Oak Grove University because of its location and the great business school. With my past behind me I started the car and drove down the paved across the fields and through the forests that I had played in as a child. My family waved from the rose garden as I drove out of site. I jammed to sounds of Nine Days, Vertical Horizon, and Dave Matthews Band for the five hours to Raleigh. I thought back to growing up and being one of only two children in a family of business people. My brother and I were often shoved aside for the benefit of business. Our parents were good to us, but we rarely had the family time that we wanted. Only a short year before, my brother had been killed in a bad car accident. The stress forced my parents into a divorce and I was once again lost in the shuffle of money and power. While I still saw my mother, I did not know her as well as I wanted. With my family as split as ever, I was left to make the transition to college life on my own. Just as my CD ended the last track I took the exit that indicated my university location. I made a sharp right at the top of the ramp and drove through a small town and over a hill and through some undeveloped forests. Hanging over the road at the end of the forest was a sign that said "Welcome Students." Many emotions began going through my mind as I passed the first university signs. I was nervous and excited all at once. New students were directed to check in according to area and I had been assigned to the Howard C. Lock Pavilion in the West area of campus. I proceeded to the parking lot to find the lawn alive with students and parents checking in at brightly striped tents. I opened my car door to be greeted by the sounds of chatter and excitement. Reaching my arms above my head, I stretched my 6'1 frame and put on my sunglasses and began to walk towards the tent that said, "Begin Here." When I got closer to the tent I noticed a hot guy with short curly blond hair sitting behind the table. As I approached he said, "welcome to Oak Grove." I simply smiled and said, "thanks." He asked for my name and I quickly gave it, "Scott McPherson." He looked up from his work and stood and shook my hand. "I'm Devin and I will be your RA for the year." I couldn't believe that this stud was going to be my hall director. I gripped his hand and shook his powerful hands. With introductions over he gave me a schedule of orientation events and told me where to pick up my keys. Now might be an appropriate time to tell you what I look like. I am eighteen years old and stand at 6'1 and weigh 185lbs. I keep my black hair short and messy and have green eyes. I have a pretty good tan from all the time I spend outdoors playing sports. I work out regularly and have a pretty good build. I played wide receiver on my high school football team, but decided to quit before college. I have tried dating girls through school, but it's just not my scene. So here I am at college, a decent looking guy with no interest in girls and a lot of interest in guys. I made my way through the courtyard of the Pavilion towards my assigned dorm. At the office I picked up my keys and went to check out the room. It was on the second floor so that meant not too many stairs, but it still had a cool view of the courtyard. The room itself was kind of spacious with bunked beds, two desks, two built in closets and two small dressers. I opened the third door to find a small bathroom to be shared with the next room. That door was closed so I assumed that they were not yet there. I went back to my car and began carrying all my shit up the stairs. I just stacked the boxes in the center of the room until I figured out what I would do with everything. The university had sent me my roommate information a couple of weeks ago, but later called to tell me that that guy had decided to go to another school. I was to be assigned another roommate upon arrival. After I finished carrying all of the boxes and crates, I just looked in astonishment at all of my things that I had to unpack. I began with hanging all of my clothes in the closet and unpacking the clothes that could fit into the dresser. Next I unpacked all the things I brought for my desk and walls. My half of the room was beginning to have some character to it, but I was still nervous about the other untouched part of the room. It was around 2:00 and I was beginning to wonder where my roommate was. I finished unpacking and decided I would clear out the boxes so that my roommate would have some space to unpack when he arrived. After throwing out the boxes I decided it would be cool to take a look around the campus and maybe find something to eat. I dropped by the campus student center and grabbed a sandwich and some fries and a soft drink. There were lots of students around with their parents and all of them looked as excited as me. I quickly ate lunch and walked back toward Lock. When I got to the second floor I noticed that my door was open and I could hear voices from inside. My heart began to beat faster as I wondered whether my roommate was going to be a dork or someone that would be cool. I turned the corner to the room to be greeted by someone bumping into me. We both apologized and looked up at the same time and I realized that the person that I bumped into must be the dad. I gathered my wits and introduced myself and he said, "Austin Bates, nice to meet you." The name sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure where I had heard it. After passing Mr. Bates I saw three other people in the room. One was a middle aged lady with attractive looks, another a younger boy about fourteen I guessed and the last a gorgeous guy that I only hoped would be my roommate. He was the first to introduce himself as Bradley, or Brad as his friends called him. I found the boy was his younger brother Mike and the woman was his mother Elizabeth. I said, "Pleased to meet you both," using all the southern manners I had been taught. We talked for a few minutes and then I volunteered to help Brad move the rest of his things in. After we had everything in the room, I noticed he had almost as much stuff as I had. Thankfully he had brought a television and I had brought my stereo. Between the two of us, we had all that we needed to make the room look like home. A few hours later Mrs. Bates said, "well boys, it looks like you both have made yourselves at home." We both just slumped on Brad's bed and soaked in the atmosphere. About that time, Mr. Bates came back and announced that it was time for dinner. He asked if my family would like to join and I explained that I had moved on my own and Mrs. Bates chimed in with, "well I guess we will have a third son for the visit." The whole family agreed and insisted that I go to dinner with them. I agreed and couldn't help but wonder why my family couldn't be as perfect. We all walked out and Mr. Bates led the way to his car. He and his wife had driven the Cadillac and Brad had brought his Tahoe. Brad and I were to ride together in the Tahoe and the other three would lead in the car. Mr. Bates, who insisted that I call him Austin, chose a local restaurant to eat at and before long we were all seated at a table chatting about life and wait for our food. We talked about what we had done in high school and what had brought us to Oak Grove. Brad had been the quarterback for his football team so we had a lot in common with sports. He too had been an A student and in the top ten percent of his class. We seemed to have a great deal in common. The only thing we didn't talk about was families and things like that. After dinner, Brad's parents and brother were going to return to the hotel and leave early the next morning. Brad said his goodbyes and his parents surprised me by inviting me to their home in New York over the fall break. I thanked them for dinner and their offer and said my goodbyes as well. Together with Brad, I went back to campus to settle in.