Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 00:29:12 EDT
From: RainDude099@aol.com
Subject: Cali Boys chapter seven

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.

Ok, here it is: chapter seven. I didn't intend for this chapter to be so
long but well, I got sucked in to writing this chapter. I'm really sorry
to everyone who doesn't like to read long chapters. Hopefully the next
chapter will be finished soon! All I can say is that this story is so
fun to write and thanks to everyone who is reading it! Hopefully after
reading this chapter you'll all still be interested in what happens next.


Cali Boys
Chapter Seven


Chris hung up the phone and sat on the side of his bed, staring in to
space and contemplating the short conversation he had just had with Mr.
Alder. The quick and vague words combined with the distraught sound of
his voice left a bad feeling in Chris's stomach. Things felt wrong after
he hung up the phone. He started wondering exactly what was going on
with Ryan and his father and where Ryan really was. He replayed the
words again in his mind, trying to make sense of it.

"No I'm sorry Chris," Mr. Alder had said in an extremely tired voice as
if he had missed many nights of sleep. "Ryan isn't here right now...
He's at an appointment."

"Oh, he didn't mention he had appointment to me when I saw him earlier."

"Well it just came up a little while ago."

"Oh, I see. He's not sick or anything right?"

"No... Well not exactly... Don't worry about it Chris. Ryan'll be
fine."

"Well that's good... Can you let him know that I called?"

"Of course Chris. And I'm sure he'll be back from the doctors' in a
while so I'll see if he'll call you back."

"Thanks Mr. Alder... Good bye..." Chris had said as he heard Ryan's
tired father hang up the phone. He had wanted to say more but it didn't
seem polite.

Chris wasn't sure what to think about what Mr. Alder had said. It
didn't seem to make sense that Ryan would be at a doctor's appointment if
he wasn't sick. He started pondering various explanations for the
situation, trying to think what might have happened to Ryan. Everything
he conjured though came back to the ultimate idea that perhaps Ryan had
come out to his father and something had happened. Chris had known Mr.
Alder for as long as he had known Ryan and he knew that he was a loving
father and would never become violent. Still Chris couldn't shake the
thoughts of the possibilities.

Chris remembered the look on Ryan's face earlier that day when he had
told him that their would-be relationship was impossibility and out of
the question. He remembered how crushed Ryan had looked at that moment
as he stood in the driveway watching him leave to meet with Jake. The
look on Ryan's face made it obvious to Chris that Ryan did have feelings
for him. There were true feelings in his eyes and of course he hadn't
meant anything he had said that night on the beach-- Chris was sure of
all of this. But Chris knew that it really was impossible for him to be
with Ryan. Ryan wasn't ready to even fully admit that he was gay and
Chris couldn't stand to be with someone who would be kissing him one
moment and denying they existed the next. Even though Chris was
terrified of the thought of coming out him, he knew he could at least
admit to his boyfriend that they were indeed, a couple, and that was
something Ryan wasn't capable of.

After a few moments of sitting on his bed Chris decided that everything
was probably fine with Ryan. He probably had a physical or something
that he had forgotten to mention. That theory made sense to Chris
because he knew that football season was starting up in a little over a
month and practices could begin within weeks. Chris breathed out all his
worries and started to lift himself off the bed when his door opened and
his mother entered, and gave a weak smile.

"Hi honey." she said sweetly, half shocking Chris that she would be
addressing him so kindly-- something his mother didn't normally do.
"What are you doing?"

"Not much..." Chris said as he sat stilly on the bed, innocently. "I
was going to talk to Ryan, but his dad says he's at an appointment or
something."

"That's not surprising," She said. "It seems like we haven't seen Ryan
around here in weeks. He must be keeping himself awfully busy these
days."

"I guess so..." Chris said lowly, as he remembered all of the events
that had taken place over the past weeks.

"Does he have a girlfriend that he's keeping himself with?" Angie
asked, breaking Chris's concentration.

"Who?" He asked confusedly.

"Ryan. Does he have a girlfriend?" She asked again with interest.
Chris was a little surprised that his mother would show any interest at
all in his friend's life when she barely acknowledged his own life.

"I don't think so..." Chris answered. "I mean, he had something going
on with Hannah George..." the words cut in to him, "But I think that
ended."

"Hannah... Hannah... Oh was she the pretty little red head that won that
modeling contest last year?"

"Yeah... That's the one..."

"Oh, she was adorable! Must be the prettiest girl in your class! How
come you weren't out there after her when Ryan was?" Angie asked with a
sly smile. Chris groaned slightly and turned away from her. He hated
these comments. Every time someone, friend or family, commented on
Chris's interest in girls it made him want to just scream out the burning
words in to their face.

"I don't know..." Chris shrugged, keeping the words inside. "I guess
you could say she's not really my type." Angie laughed and reached over
to brush her hand through her son's hair.

"Oh really? And what is your type Christian? You aren't a fan of red
heads or something?"

"I guess I prefer blondes?" Chris laughed as he pictured both Ryan and
Jake with their different shades of blonde hair. At least he wasn't
lying to his mother entirely at the moment; he did seem to have more of
an attraction to blonde hair-- just not on girls.

"Your father was the same way." Angie said in a more serious voice and
she ran her hand through her own dark hair. "At least until he met me.
That's when he found out that brunettes can have just as much fun as the
rest."

Chris laughed shortly and smiled at how nice it was to actually sit and
talk with one of his parents. The two of them were usually so busy with
work and then with their great social life, they didn't seem to have
enough time to raise their son. It seemed that as soon as they arrived
home from work they would rush off to their separate activities or else
together to a social gathering. To them Chris only existed when he was
necessary. But at this moment it was as if Angela Banks was
acknowledging her son and on top of that, actually enjoying sitting with
him. That thought made Chris smile.

"Are you and dad going out tonight?" Chris asked cautiously.

"Oh no, not tonight." She said as she stood up from the bed. "But that
reminds me why I came in here in the first place. Tomorrow night we're
both going to be out. I have a meeting with Dr. Ellis, and your
father... Well I'm not really sure what he's doing, but he'll be gone
most of the night too. I thought maybe you'd rather go to Ryan's house
or something instead of sitting around this empty place."

Chris sighed and dropped his smile. Happy family moments didn't last
long before some mention of work broke them entirely. But on the bright
side, Chris wasn't entirely upset about his parents being out for the
night. He remembered the plans he had previously made that afternoon
with Jake. He shrugged and turned back to his mom.

"Well actually I was thinking about going over to Jake's house tomorrow
night..." He said nervously, hoping that his mother wouldn't start to
question.

"Jake?" She asked herself. "You mean Jake Palmer? I thought you
weren't friends with him."

"I'm not. That's Ryan's friend Jake. I'm talking about Jake Shepard.
Two different people mom."

"Oh I don't think I've met him then." She said, thinking to herself.
"But I guess as long as his parents don't mind, it'll be ok."

"Ok, sounds cool." Chris smiled slightly, not wanting to seem
overly-happy about spending the night at a casual friend's house. Angie
headed towards the door before turning back to him again.

"Oh, Chris..." She said cautiously and took a long pause, causing his
heart to skip a beat. Suddenly the room seemed too silent and Chris was
afraid of what his mother might say. The worried look in her eyes burned
in to his.

"Yeah?" He asked quietly.

"It's just... Well, your father and I were a little worried this past
week... How you've been acting. Are things really alright? I mean
everything is ok right?" She asked sincerely, leaning against the
doorway with a concerned face. Chris swallowed and sat up confidently.

"Yeah, of course... Everything is fine mom." He gave a half smile
although inside he felt his stomach twisting in to knots. He wanted so
bad to just let it all out and tell her exactly what was happening to
him. He wanted to end the lies and the live cleanly but he knew it was
something that he couldn't do or say at the moment. She wasn't ready to
hear it and he wasn't ready to say it.

"You're sure there's nothing you want to talk about?" She asked again.
"Because I'm here right now if there's something you want to talk about.
I've been so busy lately with work and everything... I guess your dad and
I aren't being very good parents..." She turned her face away from him
and rubbed her forehead.

"No mom, I understand you're busy. It's alright... I just had a bad
week last week, but things are getting a lot better... I'm
fine...Really..." Chris's stomach ached again as he forced another smile
to convince his mother of his happiness.

"You're sure?" She asked again, unconvinced, as she started to leave
the room.

"... Yeah." He answered with a blank face.

"Ok... But Chris... If there's ever anything bothering you and you want
to talk about it, your father and I are here for you... even if we're
busy at the moment... Alright?" She gave a weak smile from the hallway.

"Alright..." Chris said and watched as she nodded and disappeared down
the darkened hallway.

Chris sat silently, staring down at the floor and thinking. It seemed
as if his mother had honestly reached out to him at that moment and he
felt, for the first time in a long while, how much she really cared. The
feeling of knowing that even though his parents were busy with their work
and their lives they still loved and worried about him, should've made
Chris happy but instead it made him ache again even deeper. It hurt him
to lie and tell his parents that everything was fine, when in reality his
life had completely shattered earlier that week and he was still
recovering from it. He knew it was normal for teenagers to lie to their
parents about their love lives but in his case it seemed much deeper. He
felt as if his entire life was a lie-- a play that he was forced to act
in-- and it hurt to have to keep it up. Especially when his mother had
confronted him to talk and he had smiled and told her that everything was
fine. He knew he wouldn't be able to fake his smile around his parents
forever.

***

Ryan knew that his lie didn't satisfy the doctor's curiosity.
Everything he had said and confessed had been scribbled down on the
notepad but scarcely recognized. The look in Dr. Robert's eyes as he
scribbled his notes assured Ryan that he didn't believe what he was
telling him. Ryan waited as the doctor finished his notes and then left
the notepad to the desk and stared directly in to his eyes, as if he was
trying to let him know that he wasn't convinced. Ryan kept his hands
together and stared back at Roberts, communicating silently for a
moment. He wasn't ready to tell the truth, even if the doctor knew he
was previously lying.

"Ryan," Dr. Roberts said finally. "I'm sorry if I come across as a
jackass but I'm just not sure I believe what you're telling me."

"Why not?" Ryan asked confidently, intending to uphold his words.

"Well... I don't see how you could possibly be so deep in love with this
girl, to the point that you'd try and take your own life just because you
found her with your best friend..." Ryan looked down to the floor,
realizing how ridiculous his story had been.

"You don't think losing the love of your life justifies depression?" He
asked, returning his eyes to the doctor.

"Well depression yes, but suicide, no..." Dr. Roberts cleared his
throat and rubbed his eyes. "And besides that point, I find it hard to
believe that you could find the love of your life while you're only
sixteen Ryan. I'm sure it felt like this girl was the love of your life
but believe me, it takes a long time to find your soul mate."

"Maybe not for everyone." Ryan said lowly and looked back to the floor,
remembering Chris's words. "Maybe some people just know who they're
meant to be with."

"I'm sure there are no rules to love Ryan, but I do think that you
should keep you're eyes open because there are other fish out there in
the sea." He said while tapping his fingers on his desk.

"Maybe... but no other fish like him..." He sighed, still staring down
at his feet, not even realizing what he had said out loud. Dr. Roberts
stopped tapping his fingers and looked closer at Ryan. The room seemed
to become even quieter than he had originally been and the silence
stabbed in to Ryan's mind, causing him to completely freeze.

"Excuse me?" Dr. Roberts asked cautiously and reached for his pen.
"Did you say 'no other fish like him'?" Ryan's heart started to rush as
he caught his mistake. His eyes widened and his throat became dry. The
deafening silence in the room instantly became replaced by the rampant
beat of his heart. Ryan's mind couldn't even begin to create a way out
of it and he knew that the doctor was staring him down, waiting.

"W-what?" He spoke slowly and carefully, completely afraid to let
something slip and further endanger him.

"I think you just said 'maybe there are other fish, but no other fish
like him'." Dr. Roberts repeated with great interest. "Isn't that what
you said?"

"Well maybe, but I meant to say 'her'." Ryan choked out, trying to keep
his voice sounding calm although he knew it was a lost cause. He could
feel his face turning red and he knew he was sweating under the pressure.

"Oh... Of course you did." Dr. Roberts said as he scribbled another set
of notes down on to his notepad.

Ryan watched the words spill out on to the notepad growing in to
whatever the doctor was thinking of him. He could be writing anything to
later repeat to his father. Ryan's heart started pacing faster as he
imagined the look in his fathers' eyes when Dr. Roberts would tell
him that his son was gay. His body started to throb with anxiety as his
mind spun out a thousand thoughts per second. He suddenly felt as if he
couldn't breathe and he wondered if he was actually going to have an
anxiety attack. Ryan forced himself to take a deep breath and he pulled
himself out of his chair and leaned over the desk trying to view the
doctors' note-page.

"You don't believe me at all, do you?" He asked with mixed anger and
worry. Dr. Roberts stopped writing and looked up in to Ryan's
dangerously serious eyes.

"What are you talking about Ryan?" He asked as if he had no clue at
all.

"You don't believe me what I just said, do you." Ryan stated as a fact
instead of a question. "You don't believe anything I'm telling you and
you don't believe that I meant to say 'her' instead of 'him'."

"Ryan," The doctor sighed impatiently, "You're here to tell me what's
troubling you and I'm here to evaluate what you tell me so that I can
help you with your problems. Now you're telling me things and I'm
evaluating-- we're both doing our jobs here Ryan."

"But you don't really believe what I'm telling you. You think I'm lying
to you to keep you from finding out the real problems. You think I'm
making up these little stories to cover up what's really happening in my
life. You think I'm just a big fuckin' liar, don't you?!" Ryan raised
his voice to near-screaming level before he caught himself and swallowed
hard hoping to silence himself completely and lock away his growing rage.

Roberts sat stilly and calmly in his leather chair and watched the
emotions sweeping over Ryan's face. He let the pen slip from his fingers
once again.

"Are you lying to me to hide your problems Ryan?" He asked simply and
waited for a response while Ryan tried to control his breathing.

"That's not the point!" Ryan shouted back and turned away from the
doctor, holding his head.

"What is the point, Ryan? Why are you here if you're not going to let
me help you? If you're not going to even try to let me help then maybe
you don't really have a reason to be here at all."

"Maybe I don't!" Ryan shouted again and headed towards the door.

"Ryan!" Roberts shouted to halt him as he began to open the door and
Ryan froze, keeping his back to the doctor. "... I just want you to
remember that nothing said here leaves the room... This is completely
confidential... And I want you to remember that you call me whenever you
need to... Whenever you need to talk to someone about what's going on...
Call me..."

Ryan swallowed hard and nodded his head, not facing the doctor, before
he hurried out of the office and let the door swing shut again leaving
Dr. Roberts alone with his page of notes.

***

The clock seemed to be ticking slower than usual the next night at the
Shepards' home. Jake paced impatiently throughout the kitchen, putting
away groceries and continually stopping to wash his hands. He had never
felt more nervous bringing home a guy than he was feeling while waiting
for Chris to arrive. All the other times it hadn't really mattered to
him what they thought about his home or his mom but with Chris it was all
different. Everything had to be perfect-- or at least appear perfect.
Jake finished washing his hands for the third time and then hurried
through across the hall to his room. He ripped off his t-shirt and
tossed it across the room in to a pile of other shirts. He lifted a
clean white button-down shirt off of his bed and prepared to slip it on
when he caught side of himself in the mirror on his wall. Jake rotated
in front of the mirror for a moment, making sure his chest and abs
appeared defined, just in case Chris was to see him without his shirt
later on in the night.

As he continued to gaze at himself in the mirror, inspecting every
angle, his mother suddenly appeared in the doorway and smiled and shook
her head. She folded her arms across her clean shirt which featured the
logo of the deli & coffee house which she worked for. She gave a short
laugh at the sight of her son watching himself in the mirror, causing him
to spin around in surprise.

"Making sure you're beautiful for him Jake?" She asked, still slightly
laughing. Jake smiled with embarrassment.

"Sort of." He said as he slipped on his shirt and proceeded to button
it in front of the mirror. "I'd hate for him to come over and have me
look like crap."

"When do you ever look like crap Jake? God, I could take beauty lessons
from you!" Shari laughed and came over next to him, helping to adjust
his collar. She admired his reflection in the mirror for a second and
smiled. "See! You look fine!"

"I hope so." Jake said nervously and picked up his pile of clothes from
the floor, tossing them in to a basket near the door. "I just really
want to make a good impression Mom. This guy, Chris... Well, he's pretty
cool..."

"I remember that's what you said about Zach." Shari said.

"Zach," Jake said with a groan. "Was and still is a worthless piece of
crap Mom."

"A worthless piece of crap that you were crazy about, Jake!" She
laughed at the look of frustration he gave her.

"What can I say? I was temporarily blinded by his beauty!" Jake said,
tossing another pile of clothes. "Can you blame me? He was incredibly
hot Mom."

"Well let's just hope you don't make another mistake with this new
guy." Shari said and helped him straighten his bed sheets.

"Chris is different Mom... I don't really know what it is about him, but
he's... different." Jake said and smiled at the thought.

"You are a real piece of work Jacob." Shari laughed again and took a
seat on his bed. "It's positively adorable the way you go on about your
boys. Almost like the daughter I never had!"

"Mom." He said, shaking his head. "Just because I'm gay doesn't make me
your daughter."

"Oh I know," she said. "I was just teasing Jake. Don't be all
sensitive all of a sudden. You know sensitivity is a feminine trait!"
She laughed again and Jake rolled his eyes.

"Just don't tease Chris when he gets here. He's not used to the gay
jokes or any of this like I am."

"Oh that's right. He hasn't come out yet, has he?" Jake shook his
head. "Is it his parents?"

"I think that's part of it. He thinks they won't accept him I guess.
But I think it's more of just the fact that his whole life is going to
change completely when he comes out. He's not really ready for a change
that drastic... Even if it's for the better."

"Well what if you two start dating? Then he's going to have to tell his
parents," Shari said as she fixed her curly brown hair in to a bun
again. "Unless he wants to try and keep it a secret."

"I don't know Mom. We haven't talked about that." Jake said as he
squirted hair gel in to his hands and ran them through his short blonde
hair. "I guess if we started dating, it'd be up to Chris whether or not
to tell his parents. I'm not gonna force him to do anything that he's
not ready for. I'd expect that same courtesy."

"Well it's obvious that you really like this boy Jake." Shari said as
she stood up. "I just hope things work out for you... and well, I know I
tell you too often, but please, be careful." She pulled Jake to her and
embraced him tightly before letting him go to fix his hair.

"Mom, it's not like we're going to have sex or anything. We're not even
going out!" Jake said as he finished fixing his hair. "Well, at least
not yet." He smirked as the doorbell rang.

"Oh that'll be your lover boy now!" Shari smiled and hurried out of the
room to answer the door as Jake hurried after her. He slipped past her
and got to the front door first, turning to her and hushed her.

"Remember: No teasing." He said seriously and Shari silently crossed
her heart with her finger. Jake took a deep breath and opened the door,
revealing Chris standing nervously with an awkward smile.

"H-hey." He smiled brighter when he saw Jake's face in the doorway.
Jake beamed and hurried to open the door.

"Hey Chris." He held the door open as Chris entered cautiously, and
came face to face with Shari, who smiled brightly as if she had just
heard a hilarious joke. "Chris, this is my mom, Shari Shepard. She's
completely harmless, although she may be a little annoying. Feel free to
ignore her stupid jokes." Shari glared jokingly at her son before
reaching out to shake Chris's hand.

"I'm pleased to meet you Chris. I've heard absolutely wonderful things
about you, and let me just say that Jake was completely right when he
told me you were 'dreamy' and 'hott'." She said while faking a childish
voice. "Hott with two t's." She laughed while shaking his hand. Chris
smiled and turned to Jake who rolled his eyes again.

"She think she's funny Chris, that's all." He said and rubbed his
forehead, trying to hide his reddening face.

"He knows I'm telling the truth. Just look how red he's getting!"
Shari laughed, pointing to Jake as he blushed.

"Yeah Jake, you think I'm hott with two t's, right?" Chris laughed.
Shari put her arm around Chris and smiled brightly.

"He's funny too. Not as funny as me, but then again no one is!" She
said cheerfully as she checked her watch and suddenly stopped smiling.
"Oh damn! It's almost eight-- I'm gonna be late for work!" She picked
up her purse from the coat wrack at the door and opened the front door.

"We'll see you later then Mom. If you get home and my door is locked,
don't go get the ice pick please!" Jake laughed and Shari turned to him
and shook her finger.

"Don't get too wild you two." She warned and turned to Chris. "And
Chris, later you and I can talk and I can tell you about every single
embarrassing and humiliating thing Jake has ever done or participated
in! I'm sure I have a whole photo album for just that purpose!" Chris
smiled and nodded.

"Goodbye Mrs. Shepard." He said waving as she hurried to her car in the
driveway. She waved back to the two of them as she pulled out of the
driveway and Chris turned to Jake who was still slightly red. "Your mom
seems really cool Jake. I guess that's where you get your personality
from."

"Well for all we know, I could take after my father." He said as he
took Chris's bag and tossed it against the wall. "But I haven't seen him
since I was four." Chris saw the slight look of hurt in Jake's face as
he commented on his father.

"Well, your mom is really nice." Chris stated again and Jake turned to
him and smiled.

"Thanks," he said and held the front door open. "Come on Chris. You
didn't think we were gonna get all dressed up to spend the evening around
here! We've got places to go!"

"Where?" Chris asked with a puzzled expression as Jake pulled him out
the door excitedly.

***

Chris had never heard of The Scene, and with good reason. The sheltered
world his parents had raised him in did not include gay bars or night
clubs. These were things that only existed to Chris, in movies and
television. He had never imagined that something like The Scene could
really exist in town. It was unthinkable. Yet here it was; a real gay
club standing right in front of him on the street with nearly a hundred
people crowding the doors. Men and women of every age, form and dress
imaginable were roaming excitedly around the club entrance. It was
unlike anything Chris had ever seen before and it was nearly too much to
believe. The sight of fifty or more men holding hands with and kissing
the other men in the crowd both scared and excited Chris at the same
time. He was completely overwhelmed by the environment and felt the only
thing he could do was turn and stand closer to Jake who seemed completely
unaffected.

Chris turned sharply, avoiding bumping in to two men, appearing in their
late-twenties, who were making out on the side of the street and
accidentally walked right in to another man who was dressed in a tight
red shirt which was partially unbuttoned, revealing his sculpted body.
The man looked down in to Chris's apologetic face and raised an eyebrow.

"Well you don't look eighteen." He said and smiled. "You know this is
an eighteen and older club right?"

Chris suddenly felt as if he had left his voice at Jake's house and
stared blankly at the good-looking older man, afraid to nod in response.
Jake pulled Chris closer to him and gave a serious face.

"We know Sir, and believe me, we wouldn't even think about breaking that
age rule." Jake smirked slightly and the man smiled wider and chuckled.

"Too bad you're not eighteen kid." He laughed again and turned away.
Chris turned to Jake with a nervous expression and pulled him out of the
center of the crowd to the street.

"Jake, what are we doing here if this is an eighteen and older club?"
He asked worriedly.

"Relax Chris; I come here all the time. I know the security guard at
the backdoor." Jake smiled widely and motioned for Chris to follow him
around the side of the club, past several couples. Chris nearly stumbled
over one man who was on his knees burying his face in to his boyfriend's
crotch. The two didn't seem to even notice Chris and Jake hurry past
them to the back door.

At the backdoor of The Scene, a tall man with dark hair, dressed all in
black greeted Jake with a wide smile and eyed Chris with a suspicious
look.

"Hey there Jake! It's been a while since we've seen you around here!"
He said pleasantly. "And I see you've got a new friend." He laughed and
gave Chris another strange look.

"Nice to see you too Dan. This is my friend Chris." Jake smiled and
motioned to Chris. Dan nodded acknowledgement to Chris and opened the
door to the club.

"Any friend of Jake's is welcome here at The Scene!" He smiled and
motioned for them to enter. "Have fun you two. And if you need some
privacy, head back to the relaxation rooms-- free condoms back there."
Jake smiled and nodded, leading Chris in to the club and Dan closed the
door behind them.

"How come he lets you in if you're underage?" Chris asked with interest
as they walked through the back hall, the sound of dance club music
growing louder.

"Oh Dan and I have known each other for a while. We met on a photo
shoot before he started working here. He started letting me in after I
gave him what he calls 'the best blowjob of his life'." Jake laughed and
then paused when he saw the look of shock on Chris's face. "Oh don't
worry Chris; Dan is only eighteen himself so it's not that bad. Besides,
I didn't swallow."

As Chris and Jake entered the central room of The Scene, Chris's heart
began to beat faster. The dance floor was unlike anything he had ever
seen. It was even more shocking than seeing the gay men and women
outside the club. Everywhere he looked there were men dancing and
shouting, some were actually stripping off their shirts and others were
making out on the dance floor. It was exactly like something out of a
news special but without the negative angle. What Chris was witnessing
didn't seem morally wrong or dirty in the least. He was overwhelmed with
a feeling of belonging, as if the people around him were like him and
would understand him in a way that his family, friends and even Ryan,
never had.

Chris couldn't help but smile at the sight of the flashing neon lights
and the hot, half-naked bodies occupying the dance floor. He was drawn
in to it like a dream and the rest of his life seemed to disappear from
his conscious mind. Jake turned to him and smiled.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" He shouted over the deafening sound of the
fast-paced dance music.

"Yeah!" Chris shouted in response, not taking his eyes off the ocean of
dancing bodies, bathed in flowing lights. "I had no idea something like
this even existed! It's incredible! I mean, I can't believe this!"

Jake smiled wider and leaned in closer to Chris so that they could hear
each other better. He held Chris's arms, forcing him to look directly at
him and the two of them smiled in to each other.

"Do you want to get out there?!" Jake shouted in to Chris's face.

"What?!" Chris shouted back.

"I said, do you want to dance?!"

"Oh no! I don't dance! I sing and I play guitar but I don't dance!"
Chris shouted over the noise and Jake grinned, and pulled him towards the
dance floor by the collar.

"Well with me, you do!" He smiled and flashed a seductive look in to
Chris's eyes.

Before Chris even knew what was happening, the beat of the music took
control over his body and he found himself moving to the rhythm and
pressing his body tightly against Jake's. It was as if Chris's mind left
his body and he was under complete control of the music. He felt his
hands moving along Jake's back, reaching up his shirt-- feeling the heat
of his body-- and he felt himself pulling Jake closer and pressing his
lips to Jake's. Chris couldn't control himself. It was like something
in the air had infected him and now he was making out with Jake on the
dance floor without even thinking of it. All around them people shot
glances and flirtatious smiles but Chris couldn't care in the least. He
gripped the back of Jake's shirt and continued moving his tongue in to
Jake's mouth. Chris continued to let his hands move on their own as he
unbuttoned Jake's shirt and pulled it open, revealing his sweat-glistened
chest and defined abs. Chris quickly scanned his body, noting every
detail, and realized how amazingly hot Jake really was. Jake's body was
every bit as impressive as Ryan's body and the only difference between
them was that at the moment Chris only wanted Jake's body against his
own. He rubbed his own body against Jake's bare front and kissed him
passionately once more before opening his eyes and smiling brightly and
devilishly at his friend's smile. The moment was so hot and so
incredibly amazing that Chris almost didn't comprehend what he saw across
the dance floor.

The look that Ryan was flashing him from across the dance floor caused
Chris's heart to stop momentarily. He was glaring at Chris with such
hurt and betrayal that he thought perhaps he would catch afire right
there on the spot. Chris froze and let his arms fall from Jake's sides
as he watched Ryan stare him down. The two watched each other for
another full moment before Ryan turned to the man next to him and gripped
his wrist, staring deeply in to his eyes.

"Dance with me." Ryan commanded and the older man smiled and happily
accepted by pulling himself closer to Ryan.

Ryan was determined to out-dance Chris as he pressed his body up against
the stranger and pushed himself in to a passionate, open-mouth kiss right
in front of Chris as he watched in shock. Nothing seemed to matter to
Ryan anymore as he was dancing his heart out with a total stranger. He
had lost Chris completely and with that, nothing he did seemed to
matter. All he wanted in the world was to hurt Chris the way that he had
hurt him over the past two days and glancing at the look in his eyes from
across the crowded floor, he was sure he was succeeding. Ryan continued
kissing the older man as he danced closely to him and in a final attempt
to shock Chris, he reached his hand down the front of the man's jeans and
grasped his dick, stroking quickly and then proceeded to fondle the man's
balls. His partner gave a low moan and smiled widely in to Ryan's
devilish eyes.

"My God," he sighed. "I think I know who I'm going home with." He said
happily. Ryan didn't even fully comprehend the reality of what the man
was suggesting but he smiled seductively and nodded in approval.

"Only if you're looking for a great fuck." He smiled and let the man
lead him out of the dance floor and towards the nearest exit.

From where Chris was standing he could understand everything that was
happening. His jaw dropped and he pulled away from Jake, who watched
Chris worriedly and followed after him as he hurried through the crowded
dance floor after Ryan. Chris pushed past the sea of sweating bodies,
concentrating on reaching Ryan but not even knowing what to say when he
found him. Words weren't important at the moment. All that mattered was
that he reached Ryan and found out what was happening.

Finally Chris managed to push his way out the exit and was hit full
blast with a wave of cold outside air. He breathed in deeply and turned
in both directions, scanning the street for any sight of Ryan. His heart
was racing as he looked all around in circles and he could hear Jake
calling after him. Suddenly he caught sight of Ryan walking down the
side of the street with the stranger from the dance floor. It was
getting darker outside by the moment but Chris could see that Ryan was
smiling as he walked toward the man's car. Chris took off after him with
Jake still following.

"Ryan!" He screamed down the street causing everyone outside the club
to look around in their direction. Ryan turned sharply and his eyes
widened when he saw Chris, frozen in his tracks, a few feet away from
him, breathing heavily. "Ryan, wait..."

"Chris?" Ryan asked, stepping away from the man's car. "What are you
doing?"

"I should ask you the same thing..." Chris breathed hard, as Jake
caught up and stood behind him, studying the awkward looks of the two
guys Chris had followed. "... First you didn't call me back last night
and now you... Now you just show up here and take off with...?" Chris
motioned to the man waiting at the passenger door of his car.

"Rob." He said and lifted his hand in a friendly expression.

"You're not really going to leave with a stranger are you?" Chris asked
with compassion in his eyes. Ryan shrugged and looked away coldly.
"Seriously Ryan... Don't do this..." Ryan didn't respond. "Listen to me
Ryan! If you're going to fuck with him, at least do it in those fucking
private rooms in the club!"

"Chris," Ryan said coldly and seriously, stepping closer to him. "This
doesn't involve you... You're my best friend, but that doesn't mean you
can decide who I fuck and where I fuck them..." His words were full of
sincerity which made Chris sick to his stomach. "Now if you'll excuse
me... I don't think we have anything else to say to each other
tonight..."

Ryan turned his back to Chris and stepped up to where the stranger Rob
was holding his car door open for him. He didn't bother to look back at
Chris's horrified expression. He didn't want to see Chris's face again
that night. He didn't want to think about Chris or the boy at Chris's
side, at all. He climbed inside the car and Rob shut the door for him
and then strolled happily around the side of his car and climbed in to
the driver's seat. Rob turned to Ryan and gave him a warm smile as he
started the car.

Chris stood watching silently with Jake at his side for a moment before
he turned sharply and walked away slowly, back toward the club. His head
was spinning again and Ryan's cold words were burning inside him. He
wanted to lose himself again in the music. He wanted to lose himself
again in Jake's arms. And he didn't want to think about Ryan Alder ever
again. It didn't matter if Ryan wanted to potentially throw his life
away. He couldn't care any less. He hurried away, leaving Jake to take
one last look at who he assumed to be the infamous 'Ryan', before he
hurried after Chris again. He caught up with Chris on the side of the
street outside of The Scene where he was staring in to space.

"Chris... I... I don't know what that was about..." Jake started
uneasily when Chris interrupted him.

"Jake... Let's just go back to your house..." He said and smiled
pleasantly, erasing Ryan entirely from his mind, and reached out his hand
for Jake's.

To Be Continued...