Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 23:07:24 EDT From: RainDude099@aol.com Subject: Cali Boys chapter eleven This story is a work of fiction intended for a mature audience. All Similarities between characters in the story and people in real life are completely coincidental. This story depicts homosexual acts so if you do not approve of this subject, please do not read any further. This story is copyrighted by the author and may not be copied without the written permission of the author, Scott MG. Finally! The long-awaited eleventh chapter of "Cali Boys" is completed! I am soooo sorry for taking this long break from the story. Do not worry though-- I am not ending it at all. I'm just very busy with family, school, friends... ya know, life in general. However I will try to set time aside to continue this series... Believe me when I say so much more is going to happen!!! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Previously: Chris & Ryan finally regained their friendship (well sorta) however Ryan is still trying to get over his feelings for Chris. Chris found out that his parents (who he thought had a perfect life) are actually having many problems and may be looking at divorce. In the last chapter, Ryan seduced a normally-cautious, completely-closeted guy named Aaron and we were left wondering what Aaron's mother is going to do after she discovers that her son might be gay... Cali Boys Chapter Eleven The world felt light as Aaron sat up in bed the next morning. He sat smiling; basking in the memory of the night before, for a long moment before he turned and stared longingly at the spot on his bed that he had shared with Ryan the night before. Aaron couldn't describe the way he was feeling inside. The way that he felt every time he took a deep breath. It was the most amazing feeling he had ever felt. It was almost as if he was floating in the air. He couldn't stop thinking of Ryan's bright smile and haunting eyes. He could still feel Ryan's warm body against his own. The feeling of Ryan on top of him, taking over his body, was still with him. Aaron stood up and stretched before crossing his room to his closet and retrieving a clean shirt and pair of shorts. As he headed to the bathroom he turned and gave one last look at his bed, smiling again before he closed the bathroom door and prepared to start his day. Thirty minutes later Aaron entered the living room with a bounce in his step and the same dreamy smile on his face. He straightened his white work-shirt as he crossed the room and in to the kitchen where his mother was sitting, reading the newspaper. As he entered she looked up with fixed eyes and a pale face. She didn't take her eyes off Aaron as he crossed the kitchen to retrieve a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water at the sink. Aaron took a drink and turned to his mother who sat completely still, watching him with an intense stare. Slowly she lowered her newspaper shield and set it on the kitchen table in front of her, never removing her eyes from her son. Aaron's smile started to fade as he noticed his mother's eyes burning in to him. "...'Morning, mom..." Aaron said cautiously as he set his glass on the counter by the sink. She sat silently watching him for a long moment, piercing him with her eyes. "Good morning Aaron." She said darkly and picked up the paper, returning to her articles. Aaron waited for a moment, nervously anticipating his mother' s next comment. After a long silence he crossed the kitchen again, watching her over his shoulder as she sat, nearly motionless, hidden behind the paper. "Um, I'm going to head to work now mom..." He said nervously. "I'll be home later..." "Alright..." She said coldly as he left the room, still looking back worriedly. She peered at him from behind the newspaper, with frightened eyes. There was something different about her son this morning. The way he was glowing only caused her mind to spin a thousand theories of what might have happened in the previous night. She didn't want to believe the note that she had found in his room but it made perfect sense. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she knew exactly what had happened. The only thing she didn't know was her son himself. * * * Aaron glowed as he stocked the shelves at the grocery store with new cans of soups and vegetables. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he was working and all morning his co-workers had given him strange looks for it. He didn't care what any of them thought though. Although he was at work doing meaningless chores, in his mind he was still in his bedroom with Ryan. His mind kept him locked in that moment; staring, memorized, in to Ryan's eyes. The more he thought about Ryan, the more he realized how much he liked this boy. A tall girl with long brown hair, dressed in the same uniform as Aaron, was stocking the shelves behind him, stopping every few seconds to pull her long bangs out of her eyes and turn to glance at him. As she placed one last can on the top shelf she turned to him and sighed irritably, causing him to turn to her. "What's wrong Mel?" Aaron asked as he saw the look of irritation on her face. "Aaron, what's wrong is that obviously you're so happy you're about to explode! You haven't stopped smiling since you got here this morning!" She said excitedly. "And that's a bad thing?" "No one is supposed to be happy about stocking shelves Aaron. So why exactly are you so happy?" Melissa questioned as Aaron turned back to stocking shelves, hiding his wider smile. "Aaron, did you meet someone?! If you did, you better tell me! Or if you're just on some kind of drug, you better give me some." "I don't do drugs." Aaron laughed, not looking at her. "Yeah I forgot that's like a sin or something right?" She laughed. "So what's wrong with you?" "Nothing! Nothings wrong with me. I'm just... happy today." Aaron said, flashing a bright smile. "I... had a good night last night." "Oh my god!" Melissa's eyes widened. "You did meet someone! Tell me now Aaron." She said as she grasped his arm and tugged several times like a small child. "There's not much to tell," Aaron said teasingly. "He's just... a normal guy." "I want details Aaron." Melissa said as she glanced over her shoulder as one of their managers passed them. "This is kind of a big deal!" "Well what do you want to know?" "What's his name? Where'd you meet him? What's he look like? Is he hot? What did you do with him?! Tell everything!" She said excitedly, her eyes widening in anticipation. "His name is Ryan. Ryan Alder." Aaron said dreamily, recalling Ryan's smile from the night before at The Scene. "I met him last night at this club..." "You're not old enough to get in to a club! You snuck in?!" Melissa exclaimed, feeding off of Aaron's story as if it was a live-action soap opera. "Yes I snuck in." Aaron said excitedly, enjoying the captivation. "It was great Mel! I've never seen anything like it. There were half naked guys everywhere, dancing, drinking, making out! It was amazing!" "Wow, sounds perfect for you. Too bad you're not old enough to get in legally!" She laughed shortly as she noticed another co-worker walking bye and the two of them immediately stopped and turned back to the shelves, pretending to work until the man passed them. "So... about Ryan?" "Oh Mel, it was like straight out of the movies. I was on this balcony and I looked down and saw him and our eyes met and I couldn't take my eyes off of him and... Then he came over to talk to me." Aaron said dreamily again with a dopey smile. "Just like Cinderella eh?" She laughed. "God why don't these things ever happen to me?!" "He was so cute Mel! He has this incredible smile and these really dark, mysterious, almost hypnotic eyes that demand your attention... Oh, and he has really nice hair-- kind of dark blonde. And his body..." Aaron sighed. "He's like a Greek god... he's perfect." "Hot huh? Lucky bitch." She said as she turned to place another few cans on a shelf. "Well I hope you got his number at least. It'd suck if you never saw him again and never got a chance to do anything with him." "Mel..." Aaron said hesitantly. "...I brought him home with me last night..." Melissa turned to him with a blank expression and her jaw dropped in disbelief. "Oh wow..." She gasped. "I guess you really did have a good night last night..." "Yeah..." Aaron said nervously and then smiled wider again. "Mel I think I'm in love with him." "After one night...?" "I've never met anyone like him. He's gorgeous, he's caring, he looks in to my eyes when he's talking to me... like he can tell everything I'm thinking and feeling... No one looks at me the way that he looks at me... And when he talks to me, it's like he's listening to everything I'm saying and everything I'm not saying... I've never felt this way about anyone Mel... Ryan is... He's just... He's perfect..." Aaron sighed as he leaned back against the shelves. Melissa smiled and turned back to her work. "So how was the sex?" She asked with a smirk. "It was fantastic!" Aaron exclaimed and they both laughed for a moment before returning to their work in silence. "Do you think you'll see him again?" Melissa asked after a moment while she organized the shelf. "Of course I will." Aaron said as he turned around to finish his work while his mind was still spinning with thoughts of Ryan. * * * Ryan groaned as he climbed out of the shower and reached for his towel, hanging on the rack on the wall. The knocking on the front door continued consistently while he hurried to wipe the dripping water from his hair and his face before hurrying out of the bathroom and down the hall toward the front door, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the carpet behind him. "I'm coming!" He shouted irritably in response to the continuing knocking on the front door. "Just wait one second! God!" As Ryan reached the front door he stopped and quickly wrapped his towel around his waist, not bothering to wipe away the water that was running down his chest and over his toned abs, each drop disappearing behind the towel. He wiped one last drop away from his forehead before he pulled open the front door, startling Chris, who was leaning to knock once again. Ryan stood frozen, half naked in front of Chris who looked just as startled. His eyes scanned over Ryan's sculpted body before returning to meet his surprised expression. "Oh!" Chris said and started to smile. "I guess I was interrupting you." "No... It's ok. Just taking a shower." Ryan said as he stepped back and held the door open. "Come on in." "I can come back later Ryan. I don't want to interrupt you." Chris said as he entered cautiously, trying not to stare at Ryan's perfect body. Ryan shut the door behind him and crossed the room, loosening his towel. "No it's cool Chris." He said calmly, standing in the middle of the living room, and pulled his towel off from around his waist, revealing his entire naked form. "It's not like you haven't seen me naked before." "...True..." Chris said as he sat down on the couch, staring in shock at Ryan as he stood naked in front of him. His eyes moved over every inch of his body, taking in every perfect detail. He watched as a drop of water slid down his sculpted chest and down his stomach in to this small, well-kempt patch of hair around his flaccid dick. Ryan nodded and turned, disappearing in to the kitchen for a moment, giving Chris a view of his tanned ass, and returned a second later with a glass of water. He crossed the room to where Chris was sitting on the couch and handed him the glass of water. "Here." He said and he sat back in to a chair. "You look thirsty. Have you been jogging?" He asked as he eyed Chris, sitting on the couch wearing a tank top and jogging shorts. "Y-yeah, for a while." Chris said as he took a drink, trying to avoid looking at Ryan's naked body, only a few feet away from him. "It's nice out and I didn't want to sit around the house all day." "I know what you mean. I was thinking of going to the beach for a while this afternoon before we head to The Scene tonight. You know, try to get a better tan, scope out some hot guys, hang out?" Ryan said as he leaned back in the chair, putting his arms behind his neck and stretching. "Yeah..." Chris said as he turned to glance at Ryan, stretched out naked beside him. "I guess your dad isn't home huh? Or do you always walk around naked now?" He laughed nervously. "He's out with his girlfriend again... I think they're on a picnic or something." Ryan said and ran his hand through his hair. "And you didn't go with them?" Chris asked as he eyed Ryan once more. "No, I wouldn't want to bother them on their little date." Ryan said and rolled his eyes. "Things are getting serious between them?" Chris asked, keeping his eyes on Ryan's face and trying not to let them wander again. "Looks like it." Ryan sighed. "Not that I'm not happy for my dad. I mean I'm glad he's having a good time with Debbie, but I don't know... It's kind of weird. I guess part of me thought that maybe my parents would get back together some day. Guess that was stupid though." "It's not stupid Ryan. And who knows, maybe it'll still happen." Chris said and set his glass on the coffee table in front of him. "It seems like everyone's parents are getting divorced these days. No one stays together anymore. I guess that's why I have a hard time believing in relationships." Ryan leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees. "Chris you don't know how lucky you are that your parents are still together. You've got a pretty perfect family." Ryan's words cut in to Chris and his eyes dropped to the floor. He sighed, thinking back to the night he had overheard his parent's private discussion. He was still appalled at the thought of what was occurring in his own house and he was unable to do anything about it. His parents just continued life normally, pretending everything was ok. Chris remembered how they had stood close together, his fathers arm around his mother's waist, while they waved goodbye to Kat as she had left. The way they faked everything in front of him was sickening and he couldn't stand it. But at the same time he wondered if he could stand it if they came clean about their problems and accepted the consequences. Chris sighed and turned back to Ryan, trying to fake a smile. "Yeah I guess." "So anyway Chris, I'm sorry about disappearing last night." Ryan said, undetecting the underlying sadness that Chris hurried to hide. "I didn't mean to ditch you guys." "No Ryan, I'm the one who should be sorry. That's why I came over here in the first place-- to apologize for the way I acted last night." Chris said. "I was a jerk. I was lashing out and I'm sorry." "Don't worry about it Chris. I know you weren't being an asshole on purpose." Ryan said and smiled, staring in to Chris's eyes. "I'll keep out of your sex life Ryan. It's none of my business who you're sleeping with." Chris said. "I would say the same Chris, but frankly I'm too entertained by you and Jake." Ryan laughed. "But I'll cut down on my comments." "Thank you." Chris laughed. "So... Where did you go after you left last night?" "Oh, I met a guy. That's all." Ryan said as he stood up and stretched again, picking up his towel from the ground and wiping his chest and stomach down to his groin. "Do you think I need to trim my pubes? I did last week and I'm not sure if I'm looking too shaggy yet." He motioned to his crotch, forcing Chris to look at the one area he had tried to refrain from staring at. "Um, it looks fine to me." Chris said uncomfortably as Ryan ran his fingers through his patch of hair. "Anyway what about this guy? Anything special? He must've been good if you left with him." "Nothing too special." Ryan said casually. "Pretty cute-- black hair, blue eyes, nice smile. Seemed like a nice guy. He was our age too." "What was his name?" Chris asked as Ryan continued to mess with his pubic hair. "I think it was something like Adam. Or maybe Aaron. I'm not sure!" He laughed and Chris shook his head. "You're a real piece of work Ryan." Chris laughed shortly. "Someday these one-night stands are going to catch up with you though. One day one of them will come back to bite you in the ass." "Don't worry about that Chris. I think all these guys realize exactly what our sex is. Only sex. No commitment or anything." Ryan said as he continued drying off. "Besides everyone has their one - night stand. If you think about it Chris, me and you were like a one-night stand." "Yeah but that wasn't intentional..." Chris said lowly and quickly trailed off. "So... Are you going to see him again?" "Who?" Ryan asked, as if he had just joined the conversation. "That guy from last night. Are you going to see him again?" "I wouldn't count on it Chris." Ryan said seriously. "I don't think he'll even come back to The Scene again. And he's probably forgotten all about me by now anyway." "Maybe." Chris said lowly, trying not to sound too disappointed in his friend. "Well, if you want to get dressed maybe we can go to the beach for a while." "Or I could stay naked and we could go find a nude beach." Ryan smirked. "Unless you have a problem with public nudity." He said as he placed his hands on his hips and leaned back, pushing his dick closer in to Chris's view. "Shut up and put some clothes on." Chris laughed and tossed a pillow from the couch across the room at him. * * * With the house empty, Mary cautiously opened the door to her son's bedroom, as if afraid all of his hidden secrets would pour out of the room at once. The door opened easily and she found herself standing frozen in the doorway, gawking at the same bedroom she had stood before a thousand times. There was nothing different in Aaron's bedroom. His bed was neatly made and his clothes were picked up and put away. It looked the same as it had looked the day before. Everything was exactly the same. Except everything felt completely different. Mary entered slowly, scanning the empty bedroom for anything out of the ordinary. She was so nervous that her hands began to sweat as she searched for anything that could prove or disprove the note she had found the night before. She knew what she was doing was probably wrong but she couldn't stand the feeling of uncertainty that had kept her awake the previous night; laying in bed thinking endlessly of her son sleeping across the hall and imagining another boy accompanying him in bed. The idea gave her an empty ache in her stomach. She needed to know what was happening to her son-- even if the truth was what she was fearing. After pacing the room for several minutes she sat down on the side of Aaron's bed and took a deep breath before burying her face in her hands and sighing. She couldn't force herself to open any drawers or look under the bed. She couldn't force herself to break in to her son's privacy. She couldn't force herself to find out what was really happening behind her back. She couldn't stand the potential heartbreak. As she collected herself and wiped her sweating palms on her jeans she decided to turn and leave the room as she had found it. She could erase the note from her mind entirely and pretend everything was the way it had been the day before. Before she had left Aaron alone for the night. She stood up and walked around the side of Aaron's bed, prepared to erase the moment from ever having existed. As she passed bye his nightstand and she stopped for the slightest moment to take a better look. The drawer of his nightstand was left open just enough to see the corner of a book, shoved carelessly in to the drawer, sticking out in to view. Mary bit her lower lip and diverted her path to the nightstand drawer, and reached out, nervously, to the book. She lifted it out of the drawer, preparing herself for anything it could be holding. As she held it up she sighed and smiled weakly, brushing her hand over the cover of the photo album. Her heartbeat steadied as she opened the photo album and admired the pictures of a past family vacation that she had forgotten. She stopped at one picture in particular and studied the look on Aaron's face in the picture. He was smiling so brightly in the picture, standing in front of a large mural. He looked so happy, almost as happy as he had looked earlier that morning when he left for work. Mary couldn't remember when the picture had been taken but she felt a sense of guilt for not remembering the moment; how could she have forgotten such a bright smile? Reassured, Mary closed the photo album and pulled open the drawer to put it away nicely. As she slid open the drawer, her heart skipped a beat. Her jaw dropped in disbelief as she discovered what the photo album had been resting on top of. Her hands began shaking again as she dropped the photo album on to Aaron's bed and reached in to the drawer to pick up one of the magazines occupying it. Her mind was racing as she studied the front cover with panicked eyes, trying to ignore the half-naked male model posing on the cover. She tore open the thin magazine to find page after page of full-frontal nude male photographs and layouts. Page after page it became clearer and clearer and unable to ignore. The evidence was in her hands. * * * Under the flashing lights of the Scene, Chris pushed Jake up against the wall, grinding against his body, moving with the beat of the music and leaning in, kissing him passionately at every chance. Everyone around them turned and smiled at the two young lover's physical outburst. Chris was too involved in the music and the feeling of Jake's hard-on pressed against his own to care about the smiles or glances being flashed at them but Jake could feel them burning in to him from every angle. He opened his eye while Chris was probing his tongue in to his mouth, to see several older men eyeing them and smiling, trying not to laugh. Slightly, embarrassed, Jake pushed Chris back, causing him to open his eyes in surprise-- waking up to reality. "What? What's wrong?" Chris asked, looking in to Jake's eyes. "Nothing, I'm just... Felt like I couldn't breathe there for a second." He said and took a step away from the wall. "Oh I'm sorry! I'm just really in to you tonight babe." Chris apologized loudly, over the sound of the music. "I can't keep my hands off of you." He smiled seductively and wrapped his arms around him again, returning to their kiss when Jake broke it again and backed away. "I'm sorry Chris but I'm not really comfortable right now." He said. "Let's go sit down for a minute." Jake turned and headed through the crowd to the section of tables with Chris following confusedly. When they reached a table Chris sat down and immediately turned to Jake, hardly giving him a moment to relax. "What's going on Jake? What do you mean you're uncomfortable?" He asked half-worriedly and half-irritably. "Did I do something wrong earlier?" "No. It's just that..." Jake paused, glancing around the crowded room. "Have you ever noticed that most of the guys in this place are like nineteen or twenty-one?" "Well that's probably because this is an eighteen and older club. There aren't going to be many guys our age Jake." "I know that. But, well, don't you feel a little awkward sometimes out there in front of them?" Jake asked. "You know that everyone is always looking at us, laughing." "That's because they're jealous Jake." Chris said strongly. "Jealous that we're so comfortable with our sexuality at this age. They're jealous of us because when they were seventeen they were still pretending to chase pussy and force a macho-attitude. They're jealous that they wasted their time in the closet and that we aren't doing the same." "Or maybe they're laughing because we're a couple of overly-horny teenagers?" Jake asked, smiling lightly. "Well if you're really uncomfortable then I'll lay off tonight." Chris said, leaning back in his chair and turning to face the dance floor, scanning the faces of the people passing. "Geez, usually I'm the one uncomfortable with PDA." "I know..." Jake said, following his gaze. "You're not upset are you?" "No, of course not. I don't know why I'm so turned on tonight." Chris said, still watching the dance floor, the multi-colored lights basking over him. "Maybe I'm just extra sexy tonight?" Jake chucked while he tugged at his tight-fitting white shirt. "No, that's not it." Chris said, as if he wasn't listening to himself speak and Jake rolled his eyes. "I've felt like this all day." He said as he thought back to earlier that afternoon, standing before Ryan in all his naked beauty. "Did something happen today?" Jake asked, his voice suddenly taking on a very serious tone, causing Chris to turn to face him with a surprised and nervous look. "What do you mean?" He asked with slight worry. "Well you said you've been horny all day. So did anything happen today?" He asked again, completely innocently. "You see some really hot guy or something?" He smiled widely and reached across the table to touch Chris's arm. "No... Nothing like that." Chris said, trying not to appear nervous and then wondering why he felt so nervous in the first place. It wasn't as if he had cheated on Jake with Ryan-- he had just seen him naked-- no crime committed. "I just went jogging and then I went to apologize to Ryan and then we went to the beach... Nothing too exciting or overly-sexual." "At least you made up with Ryan." Jake said. "Things are good between you two now? He didn't slam the door in your face, did he?" "No..." Chris chucked. "Actually he answered the door naked. He had just gotten out of the shower." "Really?" Jake asked, sparked with interest. "That would've been funny if he had answered the door to some little old lady or a girl scout selling cookies. Would've served him right." "Well he had a towel..." Chris said. "Anyway things are good now. I told him I wouldn't meddle in his love-life as long as he gave me the same respect." "Good, good..." Jake said, turning to face the crowd again. "I suppose he'll be showing up here soon. Maybe tonight he won't ditch us after fifteen mi nutes." "Maybe..." Chris said as he stood up from the table. "I'm going to go to the bathroom babe. I'll be right back." He walked around the table and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't dance with anyone else." "Wouldn't think of it." Jake winked as Chris turned in to the crowd toward the bathrooms. As Chris disappeared in to the movement of the crowds, Jake turned his attention back to the dance floor. His eyes scanned over the passing people, connecting glances casually. The lights swirling over the bodies cast a haunting mood over Jake as he continued to feel himself losing consciousness. It was all too easy to become lost in the beat and the mood of The Scene. He could feel the music begin pulsing through his veins as his eyes followed every precise movement of the men in front of him. Eyes flashing from every direction seemed to call to him. He could feel himself losing control and rising from his seat. As the tempo sped up Jake's eyes met a pair facing him. The boy stared at him intensely, studying him from across the room. The guy's face seemed incredibly familiar as it became unmasked under the movement of the lights. He bit at his bottom lip as he tried to place the face with a name. The guy stared back at him still, as if finding himself with the same confusion. After a long moment of speaking through their eyes, the dark-haired boy made his way across the floor toward Jake with confidence. As he came closer, he slowed his pace and Jake could see a look of nervousness sweeping across the teenager's face. The dark-haired boy stepped up to the table and stood awkwardly, trying to find words. "Uh excuse me," he said nervously. "You're Jake Shepard, aren't you?" "Yeah... I am..." Jake replied slowly, still trying to discover the identity of the boy in front of him. He was sure he had seen this guy before. "Who are you...? You look so familiar." "My name's Aaron Grey." He said with a newfound strength in his voice. "My mom used to work with your mom at the coffee place, right?" "Oh my god!" Jake laughed and smiled. "You're fucking kidding me! You're Mary Grey's son? That's insane!" "No kidding!" Aaron said, smiling back and began to pull out a chair from the table. "Do you mind if I sit down? I'm kinda alone right now." "Sure," Jake said motioning to the seat. "I'm just here with my boyfriend. He's in the bathroom." "You've got a boyfriend... wow." Aaron said as he sat down. "I remember my mom saying something about Shari having a gay son but I didn't even think twice about it!" "Well my mom doesn't exactly keep me a secret." Jake laughed. "But you... I think I only met you once Aaron. A year or so ago at Christmas right? I had no idea you were.... gay? Bi?" "Well honestly, I was kind of clueless too." Aaron said lowly, his smile momentarily fading. "It's complicated." "It always is." Jake sighed. "I understand... The first step is coming out to yourself. Some time's that's the hardest part." "Especially if you live in my family..." Aaron said, giving a weak chuckle. "My parents are kind of religious, ya know? I think they'd be happier having a hit man in the family than a gay son." "Somehow I doubt that." Jake scoffed. "How is your mom anyway? My mom told me she was quitting to have a baby." "Yeah... I guess she's doing fine. My dad swears its going to be a boy." "That's pretty cool... I'm an only child so I don't really know about the whole sibling thing, but I guess it must be pretty cool to have brothers and sisters. My boyfriend, Chris, has an older sister. She seems really cool." "Well I'm the oldest of my family and honestly, siblings aren't exactly a blessing." He laughed. "I don't mind it too much though. It'd be kind of cool to have a little brother..." Aaron turned and looked around at the sea of dancing men on the large dance floor, temporarily hypnotized by their movement. "God... this place is pretty incredible, isn't it?" He said with a large smile. "Yeah... I guess so. Is it your first time in a gay club Aaron?" "No." Aaron said, turning back to him. "I was here last night... I was totally blown away so I had to come back again tonight." He turned back to the dance floor again and scanned the area, as if searching for someone. "It can be pretty overwhelming the first time." Jake said, watching the dance floor with him. "Did you dance at all?" "Well no..." Aaron said, turning to him again. "I wasn't here for very long... I kinda met someone..." "Really? That's awesome Aaron. You're not wasting any time!" Jake smiled, as Aaron beamed. "He's our age right? I hope you got his number." "Well, I didn't really get his phone number... but I know he'll be here tonight..." Aaron said, glancing out across the dance floor. "Well I hope you can find him. It would suck to only see him once." Jake said and rubbed the back of his neck. "Is he hot?" He laughed. "He's... beyond hot. He's like gorgeous." Aaron said excitingly, glowing. "He's kind of tall, blonde-ish hair; he's got an amazing body... and the most beautiful eyes." "Sounds like a keeper. All the more reason to find him again." Jake stretched and turned around in his seat, searching the crowd near the bathroom entrances for a sign of Chris. "Yeah... I had sex with him last night..." Aaron said hesitantly and Jake spun around to face him with a dropped jaw. "...Wow..." Jake said in slight amazement. "God, I hope you were careful... That can be pretty dangerous Aaron... " "I know, we were careful." Aaron said. "It was so amazing though! He was so incredible..." "First time huh?" Jake asked and Aaron nodded. "Hopefully he didn't.... ya know, go too fast or too hard..." "No... He was perfect." Aaron smiled dreamily, remembering the night before snapping back to reality and smiling embarrassedly at Jake. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm pretty dumb-- getting all lame about something like sex." "No way. Losing your virginity is a big deal." Jake said, turning around to see Chris exiting the bathrooms. "I just hope you didn't lose it to the wrong guy." "I'm pretty sure he's the right guy..." Aaron said as Chris approached the table. Chris smiled at Jake and turned to Aaron and smiled with a look of confusion. He leaned over Jake and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before taking his seat again. "Sorry I took so long babe. The bathrooms are overcrowded with guys giving blowjobs. As if the private rooms are all full." Chris laughed and turned to Aaron again. "Who's this?" "This is Aaron. His mom used to work at the coffee shop with my mom. We just bumped in to each other." Jake said to Chris while motioning to Aaron. "Aaron this is my boyfriend, Chris." "Nice to meet you." Aaron said, leaning across the table with an extended hand. "You too." Chris smiled and shook his hand awkwardly. "Are you new to The Scene Aaron?" "Not really. This is my... second time here." "Aaron here is quickly becoming accustomed to things around here." Jake interrupted and flashed Aaron a bright, knowing, smile. "Cool, cool." Chris said while looking at Aaron's bright blue eyes and dark hair. For a moment he felt as if he already knew him from somewhere before. "You seem familiar... I haven't seen you here before, have I?" "I don't think so... I was only here last night for a little while..." Aaron said in a soft voice. "He went home with some hottie he met last night." Jake interrupted again. "That sounds familiar!" Chris laughed. "Yeah, but unlike our good friend Mr. Alder, Aaron is actually interested in his boy... romantically." Jake said respectively. "Good. At least there's one guy who cares about more than just sex." Chris said and turned to Aaron again. "So about your boyfriend--." "He's not really my boyfriend... yet." Aaron interrupted. "I'm going to ask him out tonight if I can find him though." "Oh... I hope that works out then." Chris said. "Me too..." Aaron said and his tone grew softer again. "I really like this guy... a lot..." "Well did you get his name?" Chris asked casually and turned to Jake who shrugged and they both turned to Aaron who appeared to be turning slightly red. "Yeah..." He said happily. "His name is Ryan." Simultaneously, both Chris and Jake's expressions changed to disbelief as they stared at Aaron in momentary shock. Jake coughed slightly and turned to Chris who blinked twice and forced a weak smile. "Excuse me...?" He asked. "What did you say his name was?" "Ryan... I don't know his last name." Aaron said, slightly confused by the expressions on their faces. "Why?" "Um... Aaron, did this guy have kind of dirty-blonde hair and dark brown eyes?" Chris asked curiously. Aaron nodded while squinting to study Chris's worried expression through the beams of flashing lights. "Do you know him?" He asked. "Yeah... I do..." Chris said and rubbed his forehead for a moment before shaking his head and returning his focus to Aaron's confused expression. "Aaron, I'm sorry about whatever happened last night between you and Ryan but... well, I think you're reading in to it more than you should..." "What do you mean?" Aaron asked, turning to Jake who was still silent with an open mouth. Chris turned to Jake as well as if looking for support but Jake just stared back speechless. As Chris turned back to Aaron, who still sat questioning the two of them with his bright eyes, a feeling in the air seemed to change. As the tension grew between Chris and Aaron, Aaron caught a glimpse of a familiar figure through the crowd and his eyes widened, completely losing focus of his conversation with Chris. The swirling lights of the dance floor seemed to gain their own consciousness as they suddenly swiveled and flashed over the crowds of men near the entrance of the bar. Aaron watched, hypnotized by the scene, as a single light fell over Ryan's face as he stepped through the crowd, drawing first and second glances. Everything disappeared in the moment of his entrance. Suddenly Chris and Jake vanished from Aaron's sight, along with all of their words. Nothing else existed in the room except for Ryan as he stood, perfectly positioned under the lights, thoroughly searching the crowd for someone, until his eyes met on Aarons and stayed fixed there for a long moment. Aaron's chest heaved and his whole body suddenly felt light. All the feelings of the night before rushed in to him at once, fueling his quickening heartbeat. From across the room Ryan stopped under the spotlights, ignoring the burning eyes, and caught a glimpse of the back of Chris's head as he was sitting at a table next to Jake and another dark-haired guy whose face was momentarily shrouded in the dark blue hue of the club. He fixed his eyes intently on Chris and Jake and began to move through the crowd toward them, letting his shirt flap open as he walked. Aaron rose from his seat, completely disconnecting himself from Chris who quickly noticed the familiar look in his eyes and turned in his seat to see Ryan, dressed in an open shirt revealing his smooth chest, a few feet behind them in the crowd. Chris turned back to Aaron, his mind still spinning in shock from what he had just discovered, and saw that Aaron was already preparing to confront Ryan. Chris felt a strange urge to reach out and pull Aaron back but it was as if he was frozen in his seat-- stuck watching a train wreck in the making. He knew exactly what was going to happen to Aaron if he tried to confront Ryan but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. "I'll... I'll be right back guys." Aaron said without taking his eyes off of Ryan's haunting form. "Aaron, wait a minute." Chris sighed as Aaron stepped around the side of the table, ignoring him. Aaron dismissed him and stepped around him, blocking Ryan's path between him and Chris's table. Ryan froze in his step as his one-night stand blocked his way to his table. He scanned Aaron up and down recalling their previous night only shortly before trying to move to the left to walk around him to where he could see Chris and Jake sitting and watching with great interest and worry. It was instantly obvious that he had just stepped casually in to something much more dramatic than he was expecting. The look of extreme happiness in Aaron's eyes contradicted the slight, almost undetectable, hint of fear that Ryan could sense in Chris's eyes as he stared back in to Ryan's confused expression. "Hey!" Aaron said excitedly, still unaware of the various worried expressions of those around him. He tried to control his sudden energy as he stared deeply in to Ryan's dark eyes. "Um, hi..." Ryan replied nervously while eyeing Chris and Jake, as if waiting for them to help him. "I've been looking for you! It's a great night huh? Too hot to stay home, ya know?" "Um, yeah... I guess so." Ryan said as he tried to sidestep Aaron once again to reach the table. "You look great tonight Ryan." Aaron said admiringly. "Well thanks..." Ryan said and smiled, not knowing how else to react. "You look good too." "Thanks." Aaron said, smiling widely. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about last night! It was incredible." "Yeah... it was...." Ryan said cautiously, acting as if he didn't know what Aaron was talking about. "What do you mean?" "Last night." Aaron repeated and smiled, holding back a laugh. "It was so hot. I'm sure you remember though-- you were there too." "Oh, right. Well thanks." Ryan said as he tried to push past Aaron, but Aaron quickly responded by grasping his wrist, causing Ryan to turn sharply and look directly in to the intense stare in his eyes. His look was both confused and passionate. "Was there something else?" "... Well... I just thought maybe you'd like to...." Aaron started but slowly trailed off as his heart started to speed up, thumping in his chest, and he felt the burning stares of everyone around him. "Thought I'd like to what?" Ryan asked with a sound of impatience in his voice. "Maybe... You'd want to dance or... something..." Aaron said as he felt the environment around him suddenly change drastically. Suddenly he could see the clear expression displayed on Ryan's face and he could understand why Chris was watching them with strong emotion in his eyes. Things were starting to sink in. "I don't think so Aaron." Ryan said in what sounded like forced kindness. "I'm here to meet my friends, you know?" He said as he motioned to Jake and Chris who were still trying to stop judging their scene. "But maybe another time..." "Yeah... sure..." Aaron said nervously, fighting the urge to reach out and touch him. His hands were shaking and his palms were sweating fiercely as he shoved them in to his pockets to avoid fidgeting. Ryan gave a half-smile as he turned around to Chris and Jake at their table. Aaron swallowed hard over the growing lump in his throat and forced back what he was afraid would be tears. He tried to take his eyes off of Ryan and turn and walk away but something held him there in that spot-- longing for Ryan to turn back to him and he could feel words building up inside of him. "Well hey! Maybe I can call you sometime?" His stressed words escaped him and Ryan turned back with a look of annoyance and unfriendliness. "Look, Aaron..." Ryan said quietly as he turned and stepped closer to Aaron, getting himself within inches of Aaron's intimidated form. "I really didn't mean to lead you on or anything..." "W-what do you mean?" Aaron choked out as he tried with all his power to keep his voice from shrieking. "Last night... well, that was something pretty normal for me." Ryan said quietly, speaking down to him. "I know it wasn't casual for you. I'm sure it meant something to you... First time always does... I really don't know what you think it was Aaron... but for me... It was just sex." His words cut deep in to him and Aaron could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he forced himself to take a deep breath. He forced himself not to look in Chris's direction, although already knowing that he and Jake could understand the entire situation from where they were sitting. Aaron took a short, shallow breath and tried to appear as calm as possible, although he was completely terrified at how he might actually look in front of everyone in the club-- especially Ryan. "... Of course..." He said in the calmest voice he could create on the spot and forced a painted grin. "That's all it was to me too..." "Good." Ryan said and reached out, placing his hand on Aaron's arm. "So I'll just... see you around..." "Yeah..." Aaron said and took a step back, letting Ryan's hand fall back to his side. "I'll just... see ya'..." As Aaron took another step backwards he suddenly felt as if he was going to fall over. Everything was coming into perspective now. He watched as Ryan turned his back on him again, but still Chris kept his sad eyes locked on him, as if trying to apologize. Aaron took a deep breath as he turned around and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to block out all the curious glances people were giving him. It suddenly felt as if the entire room was looking at him and laughing, maliciously. He could feel his face turning bright red from the humiliation. How could he have thought someone like Ryan could've liked him? Suddenly his stupidity was surfacing and all he could do was force himself to continue walking toward the entrance, not daring to look back at Ryan for fear of breaking down completely. * * * An hour later Aaron closed the front door of his house behind him as he entered, feeling as if he had just been hit by a massive speeding truck. His head was aching and his eyes were burning from the tears he had been crying for the past hour. He was completely exhausted-- emotionally and physically-- as he headed to his bedroom through the darkened house. He couldn't care less about coming home late or not having called-- none of it mattered at the moment. All Aaron could concentrate on was the thought of crying himself to sleep in his bed-- the same bed that he had made love to Ryan in the night before. The very thought of his previous night made his stomach ache more intensely. He carefully wiped one last tear from his eye, wearily as he pushed open the door to his bedroom, prepared to fall in to bed fully dressed. But as his door opened and he saw his parents waiting for him, his stomach suddenly ached even more and his heart skipped a beat. He stood frozen in his doorway looking back and forth between his mother, who immediately stood and covered his face with her hands (as if to take away the sight of him in disgust) and turned to face his window, and his father who just looked straight ahead at him with cold eyes. The look in his father's eyes made Aaron's heart stop again. Everything inside of him told him to turn and run but his legs were already aching. All he could do was stand still and face them. "Aaron..." His father said with an extremely exhausted tone of voice while his mother continued to face the window, hiding her face. "Your mother and I need to talk to you..." To Be Continued...