Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:19:07 -0500 From: Javier Medina Subject: Learning to love This story was fabricated and created by me, the author. Any similarity to any real life situation,event, or person(s) is purely of coincidence. Please do not distribute this story in any way, shape, part, or form without my expressed consent. Comment are welcomed and can be sent to me at jmedinacorona@gmail.com Learning to love Part One Displaced and Reflection A farm? You mean with like, cows and chickens, tractors and...and Old MacDonald? North Dakota? NORTH DAKOTA!?! OK my life has officially ended at 14 years old. It was a good life up to this point. I spent lots of days on the beach, tons of friends, soccer, basketball, SURFING! That was 3 weeks ago of course. Now here I am laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling and I can hear Old MacDonald driving that damn tractor somewhere out there. How did my life get to this point... "Now Brent. It's going to be nice and peaceful. None of that heavy smog and endless traffic jams. You'll meet lots of new people and before you know it, you will forget all about what you think you'll be missing." says my father when I exploded after they broke the news to me. I looked at him and my mom, threw up my arms, and stomped up the stairs to my soon to be old bedroom. Smog? What smog? Who gives a crap about traffic, I get anywhere I want to on my bike. And the end all, I'll forget about what I THINK I'll be missing?! Not likely. Um...first clue, how much farther can you get away from the ocean, I mean, any ocean. My fathers family had owned the farm for 4 generations. It was about 12,000 acres with a dairy, horses, corn fields, wheat fields and what the hell is barley? My Gram passed away a little over a year ago. He and my father were never close, so I never knew him. We didn't even attend the funeral, they were so estranged. A little over a month ago, my Gram's will had made it through probate and behold, my father got the farm. Now just so everyone understands, my father was senior partner in a very successful law firm in Los Angeles. He's a Harvard graduate and I think he knows farming about as much as he knows how to be a father. My mother, bless her socialite little heart, knows even less than that, she was some beauty queen or some such when my father tripped over his $1000 shoes and landed in her sweet bosom. Ten years later, on a bright sunny August day (well there probably was a little smog, to be honest), she gave birth to me. From the moment I was removed from the womb and taken home, placed in the loving arms of my nan, I had lived in California. Isn't it child abuse in all 50 states to rip an impressionable teen away from everything he's ever known, and move him out in the boondocks? I think I need to consult a lawyer. Dad sold his stake in the partnership, mom cancelled her country club membership, hell she was moving TO the country, what'd she need them for now. The movers came and packed up the house. We got on an airplane at LAX, and we landed in North Dakota in a crop duster. Ok, ok, maybe it was a regular twin engine commuter plane, cause it did have two engines...I think. We were picked up at the airport by some farm hand in a black SUV. I tried to get a look at the scenery as we drove to the farm, but there's only so much diversity between one corn field and the next. Oops, I think that might have been Dorothy and Toto, what the hell were they doing here from Kansas? Before we got to the farm, we drove through the local town and where I assumed I'd be spending the next 4 years of high school. WELCOME TO BEULAH! HOME OF THE MINERS! Population 3,152. I looked over at my mom, and she returned my attention with a big smile. She was obviously suffering from an overdose of hairspray fumes. "Welcome to Beulah folks. I'm sure your all going to fit right in here before you know it," said Hank, our driver. "We're awfully proud folk around here and everyone is right neighborly. Before I forget, I got you all the paperwork to get your boy there enrolled for school. It starts next week, I'm thinking." I let out a huge sigh and obviously my father heard it and turned in his seat up front, next to Hank, and raised an eyebrow at me. I gave him a squinty eyed pissed look and he just chuckled. Hank was busy pointing out the local markets and attraction in Podunk Ville and I went back to sulking and sighing and generally making it well known that I was not happy with this whole farce. My next surprise and I must admit the first happy one, was when we drove up the road leading to the farm and I got my first look at our new home. My imagination had taken vast liberty of what a farm house would look like, Smallville and the Kent farm was very prominent in my mind. The reality was a Los Angeles suburbia transplant. Of course, there was a barn like structure not far from the main house, but it kind of lent a chic charm to the place. Hank pulled the SUV up to the front door and someone must have heard us arrive, because as we came to a stop, the door opened and out walked Connie. When I saw her, I jerked the door of the SUV open and flew out towards her. "Sweetheart! Come give your nan a hug!," she cried out when she saw me. I rushed to her and she enveloped me in her loving arms. I started to cry for some odd reason and she just continued to comfort me and say it was going to be ok now, she was here. Connie has been with me for my whole life. She was my nanny, my friend, my sub-mom, my confidant and everything else. "Oh how I have missed you these past two weeks heartling." I continued to sob over her shoulder and after about 10 minutes she calmed me down and led me into the house. She took me to the kitchen and told me to have a seat at the kitchen counter. There was a plate of brownies topped with walnuts and a tall glass of milk waiting for me. "Nan, you always know how to make me feel better. You just have to tell me what this place is like. Have you been to Beulah much? What are the people like? Are there any malls? Have you seen any kids my age?" I began barraging her with questions as I picked up a brownie and took a hearty bite. "Whoa, settle down now. Let me see. Hmm...I've been to town almost every day for the last two weeks, getting stuff for the house and especially for you. No there are no malls, there's a few mom and pop stores that sell general merchandise and of course there's supermarkets and banks and all the other normal things a town needs to function. But my word, there must be 15-20 churches, which seems a lot for such a small town. What else...oh yeah, kids your age. Yes, I've seen a few kids your age or close." She gave me a knowing look and then said, "I think some of them are going to give you a bit of a surprise," and winked at me. I grinned and took a big gulp of my milk and immediately blew it out of my mouth like a whale surfacing. "UGH!!!! What is this STUFF?!? I thought it was milk!" "BRENT! Look what a mess you made. It is milk," she grabbed a dish towel and began wiping off the counter, the wall and even dabbing a few spot from her blouse. "It tastes like...like, I don't know WHAT it tastes like! Ugh!." I said. Connie started shaking her head. "Well it's fresh milk, they sent it over from the dairy just this morning and I'm sure it came straight from the cows." A feeling of horror came over me and I could feel my stomach roiling, "Straight...from...cows? You mean like *GULP* from their udders?" I'm going to be sick I thought to myself. "Of course from their udders, you silly boy. It definitely didn't come from the bulls!," she smirked at me, but that was enough for me and I jumped up and asked her where the bathroom was, and quick. When I finally returned to the kitchen, Connie had finished cleaning up my mess and asked if I wanted any more brownies and milk. "Skip the milk, but I'll have another brownie, and Connie, from now on I don't want to drink any milk unless it comes from the supermarket in a carton. No fresh from the cow, please." "Ok, but you are one strange child." "You should know," I chuckled, "you raised me!" I finished off my second brownie, the first went in the toilet of course. "Get over here and give me another hug, demon child and then I'll show you where your rooms are. Your on the top floor as far away from your parents as you requested." I got up and wrapped my arms around my friend and said lets go. My rooms were up two flights of stairs and far to the back of the house. Evidently my father had a contractor come out and do a bit of construction and turned three of the existing bedrooms into a living space for me. Connie opened a door at the end of the hall and we walked into a game room/sitting area/home theater. She then went to a door to the left and opened it to show me my bedroom, which had a queen size bed, large chest of drawers, an armoire, night stands on both sides of the bed with hanging lamps over each. Another door from my bedroom led to my own bathing room with a sink and a large walk-in shower and toilet. The bedroom had a large bay style window that extended a little from the house, with a window seat in it. She took me out of the bedroom and through the game room to another door on the right and in this room was a desk with a computer, monitor and printer. There were bookshelves behind the desk and a large window to the right of the desk with a view of outside and rows and rows of corn fields. "Wow Connie, everything looks great. Do they have cable or DSL for my internet?" "Yes, they should be out tomorrow to install it. They had to run a few miles of cable to get it out here, so it has taken them a while to get it ready. All your clothes and personal things were delivered last week and you'll find it all in your bedroom closet and chest of drawers. Why don't you get settled in here and I'll go check on your parents and see they get settled in." She gave me a hug and then walked out of my "office" and left me to get comfortable in my new space. I decided I could use a nice hot shower. It was a bit cooler here than in L.A. and as this thought crossed my mind, I started thinking about what the winters were going to be like and maybe I could get into skiing or snowboarding. Of course, that was going to take some doing to turn from surfer boy to ski bunny, hehehe. I walked into my bedroom and opened the closet door. The closet was huge and very deep with my pants hanging on the left and shirts on the right. All organized by brand and type. Connie had arranged everything like I had back home, even my shoes were arranged along the wall. I closed the door and went to the chest of drawers and opened the bottom drawer. Again just like home. I took out a clean pair of boxers and undershirt and placed them on my bed. I took off my tennis shoes and socks, pulled my shirt over my head and then unbuttoned my jeans and zipper and stepped out of them. I looked around and saw the dirty clothes hamper and picked up my used clothes and dropped them in as I headed for the bathroom. When I got in the bathroom I took a good look at myself in the full length mirror. I had a dark tan from my endless days spent on the beach playing volleyball and surfing with my friends. My dirty blond hair was sun bleached from extended exposure to the hot California sun. It was almost shoulder length, but decently styled to give it an appealing appearance, not haphazard or wild. Emerald green eyes. My body was swimmer toned, with decent muscle, about 165 lbs. I'm 5'8", a gift from my fathers genes and the hair and eyes I got from my mother. The contrast of the emerald green eyes, blonde hair, deep tan and dark, almost black eyebrows, all framed by a blemish free, heart shaped face and deep red pouty lips, well I looked hot! Hehehe. I took off my boxers. My tan line was like the difference between night and day, but at least it was a Speedo tan line and not swimming shorts length. My body was completely hairless with just the small patch of pubic hair above my penis and under my arms. The pubs were a soft golden color. I had already started shaving my balls, but refused to go for the full shave. My cut penis hung nesting on top of my balls, about 4 in. soft, with walnut size testicles, that had finally dropped when I was 13. Rounding out the total package was a tight bubble butt that one girl on the beach said she wanted to marry me just so she could stare at it all day. Hehehe. I got in the shower and noticed it was the same setup from my last house. I pushed a button on the back wall and jets of water shot out from left and right and above my head. I turned a dial on top of the button slightly to increase the hot water and just relaxed as the water began washing away some of my stress. The water was timed to turn off after 10 minutes of soaking and on the wall was a shower gel and shampoo dispenser. I washed my body and then shampooed my hair. I pressed the button again and the water rinsed all the soap off my body, as well as my hair. The second cycle cut off about 15 minutes later and I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and dried off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and picked up my used boxers for the clothes hamper and entered my bedroom. I pitched the boxer in the hamper and then put on my new ones and the undershirt. I grabbed a pair of cargo shorts and slipped on a pair of sandals, and headed back downstairs to the kitchen to see what everyone was up too. When I got to the kitchen, Connie was there and told me that dinner would be in about hour, that I should take some time and explore the rest of the house and also that my Dad wanted to talk to me when I came down. I said that was fine and asked where my dad was. She said he was in his office and told me where to find it. I walked around the downstairs area a bit. We had a formal dining room, living room, family room and I finally made it to my dad's office. I knocked on the open door where I saw my dad looking over some papers as he sat behind a desk. "Hey dad, Connie said you needed to talk to me?" He looked up at me, smiled and beckoned me over to him. "I just finished filling out your school paperwork. I have your records also from L.A. to give the new school. Have a seat son," he said and pointed to a chair in front of his desk. I moved around the seat and sat down. "Anyway, Hank has set up an appointment for tomorrow morning at the school to get you registered and enrolled. School starts on Monday, so there's not much time for you to make decisions about courses. Here's some school information he picked up, as well as a freshman orientation packet," he handed me the papers. "There's a list there of freshman courses, you'll need to choose two electives, the rest are required classes." I took the paper that listed the courses and started scanning it. English, History, Social Studies, Algebra, and P.E. were the required courses and then a list of electives. As I scanned the list, I saw Spanish was offered as an elective, so that sounded cool. There was also Vocational Agriculture. I chuckled to myself and thought, not this surfer boy, no way, no how. I continued to scan the list and decided I.T. Essentials sounded good too. My father continued talking, "The appointment is at 9 am, and Hank will drive you and I to the school, so be down at least by 8:30 in the morning. Do you have any questions?" "No Sir. It seems all set." I replied. "Good then, Connie should have dinner ready so we better get washed up." My father stacked the papers together and placed them in his brief case and he and I walked out of his office. I headed back towards the kitchen and he in the opposite direct, I guess to his room to wash up. "Hey there demon, you and your father get everything set for school?" Connie asked as she saw me enter the kitchen. "Oh yeah, he's all set and I'm just along for the ride. I can't believe I'm starting high school with everyone going to be a stranger to me. The horror stories I've heard about high school are bad enough, but to be new...," I sighed and shook my head. "Brent, sit down there for a minute and you listen to me." I took a seat and stared down at the counter top. "Now look at me," she said. "You don't give yourself as much credit as you deserve. You are a charming, outgoing and funny young man. You had many friends in your last school and I am confident your going to have many here too. Just be open and receptive to the kids in school and you'll be just fine. You're a charmer, demon child. One heart felt smile from you and ...," she stopped and kind of looked around the corner that lead towards where my fathers office is, then leaned in towards me, "these country boys will be tripping over their boots to get to you." "CONNIE!" I also took a quick look in the direction of my fathers office. "Shhh...If my father heard you say that, it would be the end of me!" She leaned over and ruffled my hair and gave me a big smile. In a conspiratorial whisper, she said, "High school is a whole different social field my boy. Just be selective and be safe...you know I love you more than anyone in this world Brent. I may not have given birth to you, but you are mine." The last part of her statement was delivered with such force and love that a lump started forming in my throat. "You know how I feel Connie. You're my mom and you always will be." I told her. "I know Brent, now off with you. Get your hands washed, dinners ready." I got up, gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek, then dashed upstairs to my rooms to wash my hands. When I got back downstairs and entered the dining room, my parents were already seated. I took a seat across from my mother with my father at the head of the table. Connie came out of the kitchen and began serving our dinner. That night as I lay in my bed, my thoughts drifted back to when I was in 7th grade... I had a lot of friends and we spent all of our time together in school and out. I didn't have what you would call a "best friend", we were all equally devoted as a group. They were Tommy, Julian, Cheryl, Stephie and I. We rode bikes, surfed, played volleyball, video gamed, sleepovers, movies and everything else friends do. One week during the last part of our 7th grade school year, a new kid transferred to our school. Ms. Levus escorted him into my homeroom class and spoke with Ms. Stevens, our homeroom teacher. Everyone got really quiet as we all took notice of this new kid. He was about my height, well proportioned. He had his back turned to us so none of us could see his face yet. He had short brown hair, and he was wearing light grey cargo shorts, a red t-shirt and Nikes. The two teachers finished talking and exchanged some papers, then Ms. Levus told the kid goodbye and welcome, and left the room. Ms. Stevens reached out her hand and he took it as she welcomed him to the school. "Brent, would you please come forward." Hearing her call my name startled me and I kind of let out a yelp. The whole class erupted into giggles as I got up from my desk and approached her and the new kid. As I was almost at her desk, the kid turned around to face me and when I got a look at his face, Tommy stuck out his foot and made me stumble right into him. The kid caught me before I fell on my face and the whole class starting laughing. I was beet red with embarrassment and I extracted myself from the new kids grasp and turned to Tommy with death in my eyes. He saw from my expression that he had made a horrible mistake and stopped his laughing immediately and cringed back from my visual assault. "Alright, alright everyone settle down. Tommy, you'll see me after class," she directed towards him and again his face fell and knew he'd screwed up. "I would like to introduce you all to Russell Espinola, he's transferring to our school from Honolulu, Hawaii." There were a few mumbles of hello and welcome from the class and then she directed her attention to Russell and I. "Russell, this young man is Brent Stewart. Brent, you will be in-charge of showing Russell around our school for a few days until he gets settled with the routine. You and he have the same classes, as well as lunch break." She then turned to Russell, "Brent is one of our honor students and anything that he can't answer for you, you can bring to my attention as needed. Brent, please take Russell and show him to the empty seat in front of yours." Having given us our instructions, she turned her attention back to the rest of the class. I asked Russell to follow me and as I passed Tommy, I whispered harshly, "Lunch." He nodded his head then stared down at his desk. I showed Russell to his seat, then sat down in my own. He removed his backpack and placed it under his chair, then turned around and smiled at me. "It's cool meeting you Brent. I'm really sorry you got stuck with me as your shadow for a few days." "Nice meeting you too and it's no problem at all, I guess it must be hard on you having to start a new school so late in the school year," I offered. "Yeah, I'm going to miss old friends, but there's not much I can do about it," he replied. We chatted a little more then he turned around and started paying attention to what the teacher was talking about. As I sat there, I seemed fixated on the back of his head. I was having strange feelings for this kid. He had an amazing attitude about his situation and when we were talking, he would look me straight in the eyes and never glace away, like he was hanging on my every word. He also had this habit of pulling on his right earlobe when he talked that I thought was so cute. The bell finally sounded and everyone got up and gathered their things. Russell and I waited until most of the other kids had left the room and then I told him to follow me. I noticed Tommy get up and go over to the teacher with his head hanging down. The next two periods Russell followed me to each class and I introduced him to the teachers. Funny how it seemed there was always an empty desk in front, behind or to the sides of me that he was able to sit close to me. Finally lunch arrived and I asked him if he knew where he locker was. He handed me his schedule and I read his locker number. "No shit? Your locker is right next to mine. What are the chances of that?" I looked at him, smiling. When I looked, I thought I caught him staring at me and he kind of blushed. "That's so cool though." He replied and we headed towards our lockers. I put away my backpack while he did the same. After we closed the lockers, I turned to him and asked if he had planned anything for lunch. He said he hadn't, so I invited him to join me and my friends for lunch or we could meet back at the lockers afterward for the next classes. He decided to join us and I felt good inside because he still wanted to be with me when he had a chance to get out on his own. We entered the cafeteria and he followed me to the a-la-cart line. I grabbed a package of Frito's and a paper bowl, poured the Frito's into the bowl, went to where there was a steaming vat of chili and ladled a generous helping over the top of the Frito's, next I topped it with cheddar cheese and a few jalapenos. Russell was watching me the whole time and finally asked what I had made. I told him it was my quick fixed version of a Frito Pie. He decided it looked good, so he asked if I would mind showing him how to make him one. "No problem, I'd cook for you any time you asked," I chuckled and started making him a Frito Pie. When I handed him the finished bowl, he kind of grabbed the bowl along with my hand and held both for maybe 5 seconds, I looked at him and when our eyes met, we both kind of blushed. "Um, follow me and we'll get something to drink and pay out, then head over to our table." We got our drinks, both a Dr. Pepper, paid the lunch lady and I led him to the table my friends and I always sat at. Everyone was there, except for Tommy. I introduced everyone to Russell, "These are my friends Julian, he plays basketball for the school. This is Cheryl, she cheers for our sucky football team. The blonde here is Stephie, she's a slut," I laughed and Stephie punched me in the arm. "No actually she's not and can probably kick all of our asses, ...and everyone, this is Russell, my shadow for a few days and new here from Hawaii." Everyone said hi to Russell and he and I sat down at the table with our food and drinks. "Hey guys, does anyone know where Tommy is?" Cheryl asked and looked around to see if she could see him walking in late. I looked around and finally spotted him, kind of hiding beside the fountain machine, looking in our direction. He caught me looking towards him and kind of jerked back. I took pity on him and waved him over. When Tommy got to the table and before I could open my mouth to talk to him, he started, "Brent, dude, I'm so sooooo sorry about tripping you in homeroom. I swear it!" I could see that it looked like his eyes were tearing up. "Ok Tommy, but that was some real embarrassing shit you pulled on me. Let me see ... ok, instead of you just giving me a blowjob tonight, I get to fuck you!" I said and everyone started laughing as Tommy stood there blushing. I turned to Russell to make the introduction of Tommy to our group and he was staring at me with his eyes wide open and eyebrows kind of raised. I looked around the table and everyone was still laughing at my joke and I leaned over and whispered to Russell, "What's wrong dude?" He leaned closer to me and whispered back, "Um...are you gay?" His question threw me off, "What? No way dude, it was just a joke to get back at Tommy." Then a slight frown came over his face and he just said, "Oh." like he was kind of disappointed?? We finished lunch and sat around laughing and talking until it was time for the next class. Whenever I would look at Russell next to me, he always seemed to be looking back. He told us all about Hawaii and his friends and things he used to do in his old neighborhood. The bell finally rang, Russell and I said bye to the gang and went to the lockers, grabbed our bags, and headed off for the rest of the day. The final bell rang to end the school day. Russell and I grabbed our stuff and headed out of the room for the lockers. I took the books out of my bag that I didn't need for homework and added the ones I did. I waited until Russell did the same and he closed his locker. "Hey dude, I need to go take a piss, if you want to wait here I'll show you where you catch the buses when I get back," I said to him. "I need to really take a piss too." He said. I laughed and said ok to follow me. I led us to a restroom on the second floor, because the ones on the bottom floor were always crowed at the end of the day and I didn't feel like I could wait to piss for a free spot to come open. Russell followed me into the restroom and I walked over to a urinal and unzipped my pants and started taking a leak. I heard a zipper and turned and saw Russell was standing at the urinal right next to me. I don't know why I did it, but I looked down and saw his penis as he began to take his own leak. I was like mesmerized while I watched him pissing and as his penis jerked with the final release of his urine, I came back to myself and then notice that my own penis was stretched out with a rock hard erection. I looked over at Russell real quick to see if he noticed my hardon and he was staring right at it. "Damn, sorry dude," I said to Russell and starter trying to get my dick back inside my boxers and zip up my pants as fast as I could. "I guess my dick has a mind of it's own and gets hard when it wants to, instead of when I want it too." I tried to explain and laugh it off. He kind of chuckle and said, "Don't sweat it Brent, look, I have the same problem." He pointed, directing me to look down and I saw his own erection sticking out of his zipper now. When I saw his erection, I could feel my own getting even harder in my pants. We then heard the restroom door squeak as it was opened and Russell hurried and put his penis away inside his shorts. A couple of guys walked in following the opened door and Russell and I went and washed our hands and then left the restroom. We walked back down the stairs and he followed me as I headed towards the bus lot. Neither of us said anything until we were outside where the buses were lined up. I turned to him as he came up behind me and asked if he knew what the bus number was that he would need to ride home. He reached in his back pocket and took out his wallet, opened it and read from a small piece of paper, "Yeah, it's bus number 74." I started laughing and he was giving me a quizzical look. "Dude. My bus is number 74. Come on, follow me!" I said and began searching out our bus. I found it and Russell followed me on. I walked down the isle and found a seat in front of the back seats, slid to the inside and looked up to see Russell standing there. "Well, what are you waiting for. Have a seat," and I pat the seat next to me. He smiled and took his backpack off, sat down and placed the pack in his lap. "This is so cool that we are going to be riding the same bus," said Russell. "Must be fate," I laughed and sat my backpack on the floor between my feet. "If it turns out you moved into the house that was for sale right across the street from mine, we better contact the caterers and start planning the wedding," I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow and he grabbed his side and grinned really big at me. Tommy, Cheryl, Julian and Stephie came piling on the bus and the two girls took the seat behind Russell and I, Tommy and Julian the one in front of us. Tommy turned around and asked, "So are you taking Russell home with you? I thought he was only your shadow in school, not a permanent attachment?!" He then started laughing at his wit. "Actually, numbness, it turns out he takes bus 74 home also, besides, one more smart ass remark or stupid move like you made this morning in class, and I'm going to kick your ass. Now, do you have any more questions or witty remarks to say?" I gave him a piercing glare. "Lighten up Brent," Julian said. "Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden, you know Tommy is a dumbass. We all like Russell and I think it's awesome that he takes our bus." "Yeah!" Cheryl and Stephie piped up from behind. "I was only joking Brent," said Tommy. "Well I think it was a shitty joke and Russell doesn't need to feel like he's not welcome, especially in our group. If you don't want him around, Tommy, then he and I can do fine by ourselves." I was really getting pissed and everyone knew that now. "ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH! Tommy turn your ass around and leave Brent and Russell the fuck alone for the rest of the day," Cheryl yelled. "And you Brent, calm the fuck down and listen to what your saying. I don't know what's up with you, but no one here doesn't want Russell around. Stephie and I think he's HOT!" Stephie started giggling, then Julian started, and finally all of us were laughing out loud, while Russell was going up in flames, his face was so red. Our turn to make it out of the bus lot came and the driver put the bus in gear and started the bus on the route to deliver us home. About ten minutes later, while I was thinking about why I got so mad at Tommy's antics and staring out the bus window, I felt a hand on my thigh and I looked down to find Russell's right hand and then he gave it a gentle squeeze. I looked up at his face and he leaned over towards my ear and whispered, "Thanks Brent." Feeling his hand and then the gentle pressure on my thigh, shot right to my crotch and I popped an instant boner and I felt my face get hot and knew I was blushing. I nodded my head to acknowledge his thanks and he took his hand back. What's going on here I began to think. I watched Russell from the corner of my eye. He had a very handsome face. Very expressive. Long black eyelashes, curling up to set off an amazing set of golden brown eyes. Perfectly arched eyebrows. A more than perfect nose, but the most amazing was his lips I determined. They were full and moist looking, and fucking soooooo kissable. During my covert spying, his tongue came out and he licked his top lip then drew in his bottom lip, and moistened it too. I turned full facing him and as I continued to stare at those gorgeous pink orbs, I began to lean towards him and he turned to face me. I kept leaning in. "You ok Brent?" He whispered. I jerked my head back and looked at his face. A smile crept across his lips and shown from his eyes. He turned and looked behind us, Cheryl and Stephie were involved in some deep discussion. In front of us, Tommy hadn't turned around since Cheryl yelled at him and Julian was busy staring out the window. He turned back to look at me and reached out his right hand and took my left hand in his. I was about to jerk it back because I was petrified one of my friends would notice this, but he then pulled our hands towards him and under his backpack and placed my hand, right in his crotch. I could feel his hardness through his shorts and I let out a small gasp. He kept looking me in the eyes and whispered to me, "I have the same problem I think as you do." Suddenly the bus came to a stop and I withdrew my hand and looked out the window. We were at the stop where all my friends get off. I'm usually the last stop to leave the bus. Cheryl and Stephie collected their bags and Tommy and Julian did the same. When Cheryl passed our seat, she leaned over Russell and gave me a peck on the cheek and whispered, "He is very cute." I looked at Stephie and she was nodding her head yes, like she had heard what Cheryl said and was agreeing with it. I blushed apple red, and Cheryl giggled and said goodbye. Stephie copied the peck on the cheek that Cheryl had given me, but also parted with a peck on Russell's and her own whisper to him that I couldn't hear. He, however, blushed fire engine red, and then she said her goodbyes and headed off the bus. Julian moved around Tommy and said he'd see us tomorrow and started off the bus, but Tommy didn't look like he was going to move. I reached over the back of the seat and placed my left hand on Tommy's shoulder and he kind of tensed up. "Look Tommy," I began, "I'm sorry for all the shit I said to you today. I realize this morning was only a joke, it just really embarrassed me in front of everyone and I've been carrying a chip on my shoulder since." I felt him relaxing under my hand and he stood up and turned around to face me. "I am really sorry Brent. I wish I could take it all back. If I lost you as a friend..." His eyes were starting to mist up and I stood up and grabbed him in a hug. "Not a chance Tommy, you're my bud and dude we've been friends since we were both shitting our diapers. Lets just forget it ok." I said. He returned the hug with a little more pressure and then we let go. He looked at Russell and said, "Despite what you might think of me from today Russell, I really do think it's cool that your part of our group. I hope it stays that way." He held out his hand to shake and Russell returned the handshake. "Thanks Tommy, no problem, I'm glad we can be friends." Tommy grabbed his bag and headed off the bus. I looked out the window and saw Julian had waited on him and he put an arm around Tommy's shoulder and they started walking off towards their homes. The bus driver closed the door and started off again. It should have been a relief to clear things up with Tommy, but the moment I was alone again with Russell, the mixed emotions I was feeling towards him, started hitting me full force in the guts. I kept staring out the window. I could feel him shifting every now and then in the seat next to me, but I was kind of afraid to look over at him. I didn't know what to say and I was so confused inside of my head. I never in my wildest fantasy's imagined I would be so attracted to another guy and for everything to change in just one day and even then, for me to have these feelings for someone I really didn't even know? The bus made 3 more stops and let some other kids off and then started up again. Russell and I were the only two left to drop off and my stop was next. Russell broke the silence between us and said, "I think my stop is the next one. I recognize this area." I looked out the window and then turned to him and smiled, "Well I know for a fact the next stop is mine dude. Is your house white with burgundy window shutters with a big oak tree in the front?" I asked. There was a bit of excitement showing on his face as he said yes. My smile broadened, "Well my friend, you live right across the street from my house then. Do you remember seeing a tree lined drive in front of your house that looks like it runs off into the country. Well if you walked down that drive for about 30 yards, you'd see my house." His eyes went really wide. Then he narrowed them a bit and a serious expression crossed his face. "Brent, about today. Um...I don't know what it is about meeting you and all these strange feelings I'm having, but nothing like this has happened to me before. I mean, never. I've never even touched a guy the way I did you today. It's kind of freaking me out right now." "The same with me Russell. There is something about you that has me all mixed up inside and it is scaring the shit out of me. Even right this moment, I'm thinking about when the bus stops and we get off, you'll be going to your house and me to mine and I can feel my stomach tightening up just knowing that your going to be away from me until tomorrow morning." Having made this confession, I felt my face go hot and knew I was again blushing. He makes me say and do things to blush more in one day than I've ever blushed before. "So...what are we going to do about this, because I'm having the same feelings. I was sitting here almost dying inside just thinking about me or you getting off the bus and having to watch you go away." I began thinking of what we could do after we got off the bus. My parents are never home when I get out of school and almost always have some kind of function or other that they don't get home until late at night or even early in the morning, but Connie is home. "Is there anyone at your house waiting for you when you get home?" I asked. "Yeah, my mom is at home, she doesn't have a job, plus the house is a mess because we still have a bunch of boxes and stuff to put away," he replied. "Ok, I'll come home with you and you ask your mom if you can come to my house so we can do our homework together. We do have homework remember," I giggled. "We'll ask her if you can stay for dinner and..." Should I, I thought. "...and ask her if you can spend the night." I kind of gritted my teeth as I was looking at him, thinking maybe the spending the night was taking this whole thing a little too far. "You...you want me to spend the night?" He asked in surprise. I laughed and said, "The way I'm feeling right now I want you to pack up all your shit and move in!" Then it was my turn for a surprise, he grabbed a hold of me and planted a kiss right on my lips. The moment those soft lips that I had been mooning over touched mine, I parted mine and felt him snake his tongue into my mouth and we were locked in a major kissing session. Nothing else existed for me at that moment except him and the way he was making me feel. My God he tasted so good, like manna from heaven. I could hear soft moans coming from his throat as we kissed and my crotch was on fire with teen lust. "Uh unh, now boys!" We heard the bus driver clear his throat and say. "Sorry fellows but there is no public display of affection allowed on school property and that included school buses." Russell and I broke apart as if an airbag had inflated between us and immediately turned towards the front of the bus. The bus driver was looking in the isle mirror and shaking his head at the two of us with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. "You know I'm supposed to report any infractions of the rules on my drivers log and turn it in at the front office, but...I think it best if we keep this little incident between the three of us, just don't go making a habit of it, or I will have to report it. We understand each other?" We both said yes Sir and then looked at each other. Russell was as white as a sheet and I'm sure I looked the same way. BUSTED! the very first time I had ever kissed anyone other than the chaste kisses I gave and received with family. I reached down and grabbed my backpack off the floor and then tried looking anywhere except in that isle mirror or at Russell because I was afraid of the look I would see on the drivers face or the mirror image of my own in Russell's. Embarrassment didn't even begin to cover the way I was feeling at that moment. "Ok guys, final stop coming up." The driver announced to us. His first words startled me so bad that I let out a yelp, and it must of effected Russell the same way because we yelped in stereo. The driver brought the bus to a stop and we gathered our belongings and started walking towards the exit. I could hear the driver chuckling to himself as Russell preceded me down the isle. When Russell was at the door to get off the bus, with me right behind him, the bus driver said to Russell, "You lucky little shit." And gave him and I another big grin. I almost ran Russell over to get my ass off that bus. We waited as the drive closed the door and saw him give us a wave and then drive off. I dropped to the curb and sat down and Russell followed suit. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. "Brent, oh my God, I don't know what came over me to give you a kiss and then for it to be on the BUS out in PUBLIC!" His hands were shaking as bad as mine and we just sat there for like ten minutes to calm ourselves. Finally I calmed down enough to talk and said, "We could have been so busted if he followed the rules and turned us in at the office!" "No shit. I'm so sorry I did that!" He said. I looked over at him as he turned his head to me and I said, "What do you mean your so sorry you did that? You don`t want to kiss me? Was I that bad?" His mouth dropped open then snapped shut. "Bad? Hell no, if he hadn't interrupted us when he did, I was about to cum all in my shorts!" I looked at him with my eyes as wide as I could make them and we both fell back on the ground laughing our asses off. We must have laughed for 15 minutes, because every time one of us would recover and look at the other, it would start all over again. We finally collected ourselves and I stood up and offered Russell a hand up. After Russell got up an was standing on his own two feet, he asked, "Well what do we do now? Call the whole thing off?" I looked around and picked up my backpack, grabbed his arm, "Lead on, now we go forth to concur your mom." I said and we both chuckled as he led me across the street and up the driveway to his house. It didn't take long for us to make it to the front door. Russell opened it and invite me in and then called out for his mom. "In the kitchen, dear!" we heard her call out in reply to Russell. Like Russell had said, there were a lot of boxes all over the place. "So when did you and your family start moving in?" I asked Russell as he grabbed my arm and started leading me in the direction the voice had come from. "Just two days ago on Tuesday. My dad is CPA and does private practice for the rich and famous," he laughed. "He decided to move closer to where his clients are, so he can provide them better service." We entered a small hallway that eventually led us into the kitchen area. A lady was busy washing and stacking dishes into a dishwasher and Russell let go of my arm and went over and hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Without missing a beat, she continued to wash dishes, "Hi Russ, so how was your first day of school. Was it as awful as you thought it was going to be and did you get stuck with some pimply faced nerd to show you around?" she asked him, and stacked a few more dishes in the washer. Russell turned around, looked at me and blushed. I just grinned real big. "Uh...no mom it wasn't bad at all. Everyone was really nice and...well, I brought the pimply faced guy who escorted me around today home." I saw his mom's shoulders kind of tense up and she cut off the water and dried her hands on a dish cloth before finally turning around to face her son and me. I still had a big grin on my face and when she looked at me, her eyebrows shot up and gave me a big smile. "Mom, this is Brent Stewart. Brent this is my mom." I walked over to her and brought my hand out to shake hands and said, "Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Espinola. My acne cleared up on the bus." A rosy blush came to her cheeks and she took my hand and shook it. "Please forgive me young man, I wasn't aware Russ had brought anyone home and I was simply using HIS words to see how his day was. But I must say, you are a very handsome young man." It was my turn to blush as she spoke and we finished our handshake. She then turned to Russell and said, "You are an evil child, now come over here and give me a proper hug." Russell laughed and gave his mother another hug and another kiss on the cheek. "So what are you boys up too?" Russell began, "Actually today couldn't have been more awesome than it was. Brent is my mentor for the next few days of school, until I learn my schedule and where everything is, but he's also a really awesome guy and he introduced me to his group of awesome friends and we ate lunch with all of them. Brent made this awesome Frito Pie thingie for me for lunch and it tasted awesome. Guess what else, Brent lives just ACROSS the STREET! Isn't that awesome?" His mother looked at me and started chuckling then back at her son and made her eyebrows go up and opened her eyes real wide and clapped her hands together and gushed back at Russell, "Oh REALLY? That is...well that's just...AWESOME!" It was sooo fucking funny that I couldn't help it and I busted out laughing. Then Russell said, "Awe mom it really is awesome!" and sighed real big. Well that was it. I laughed so hard and for so long I thought they were going to have to call 911 and order me some oxygen. Mrs. Espinola caught my laughing bug and she started laughing really hard and wiping tears from her eyes, and Russell just stood there, alternately looking from his mom to me and just shaking his head. I finally got control of myself and then I looked at Russell and said, "You are not allowed to say the word awesome around me for the rest of our lives, because if you ever do, your mom will have to have me transported to the hospital and put on a breathing machine. Dude, I have NEVER laughed so hard in my life. I could not even BREATH!" "Oh shut up Brent, your crazy!" He said smiling at me. "Anyway, mom, Brent and I have homework to do and he also invited me to stay for dinner." He stopped and looked to her for her answer. She looked at me and then said to her soon, "Well that's very sweet of Brent and I don't see any problem since he does just live across the street." She then turned to me an asked, "Are you sure it will be ok with your parents if Russ has dinner with your family?" I looked to Russell then back at his mom and said, "No problem at all Mrs. Espinola. If you would like, I can leave you our home number and your more than welcome to call them later. It's really no trouble at all." "Well then that sounds fine with me. I hadn't made any plans and we were probably just going to call out for a pizza or something. Ok, well you boys better get your things and run along before it gets too much later and Brent I would appreciate it if you did leave your home number just in case I need to get in touch with Russell." I reached into my backpack and took out a piece of paper and a pen. While I was writing my home number down, I looked at Russell and gave him a "Well ask her" look and he bit his lip. I could tell that he was worried about her reply. I finished writing my number and both my parents name on the paper and put my pen back in my backpack. I looked at Russell again, smiled and shook my head. I folded the paper and said, "Here's my home number and I also wrote my parents names down for you. My nan's name is Connie and she is always at home." I handed the piece of paper to his mom and then in the next breath, I looked at Russell and then his mom and asked, "Mrs. Espinola, would you mind very much if Russell spent the night. I understand it is a school night, but Connie is very strict on my bedtime during the week and she will make sure that we both get the rest we need. I wanted Russell to go swimming with me and just hang out a little bit after we finish our homework and have dinner, but with the amount of homework and everything, it would be too late to have any fun before he had to come home." She looked me directly in the eyes and looked over at Russell and then back at me. She seemed to think for a minute or two and then turned to Russell. "You better go and grab a change of clothes for tomorrow and don't forget to take your toothbrush. I think I'll walk over with you boys and speak with Connie and make sure there are no problems with your visit. Go on now, hurry up and grab your things." Russell let out a whoop! and gave his mom a big hug and grabbed my arm and started leading me out of the kitchen. "Come with me to my room while I grab some clothes. I can't believe you asked! You asked and she said yes!" He dragged me along behind him, back through the small hall and then up a flight of stairs. He opened his bedroom door, pulled me in and then closed it. I was looking around his room when he grabbed me and turned me around to face him, and then I got the second real kiss of my life. I melted in his arms as his tongue played around in my mouth. He tasted so wonderful. His hand were running up my spine as I ran mine along his and lower until I hand his ass checks cupped in both my hands. I pulled him in tighter to me and felt his hardness pressing into mine. "Don't forget your toothbrush!" His mom yelled up the stairs. I jerked away from out contact. "Damn! Russell we have to stop this. We can't afford to get caught. What if instead of shouting from downstairs, she had opened the door to remind you! Besides, you've given me a hardon that I think is going to take a week to go down," I laughed. "I can't help it," he said as he began rummage through a chest of drawers for some clothes. "I can't seem to think of anything else except getting my hands on you somehow." He turned to me and gave me a really cute leering smile, I smiled back. This just can't be really happening. How can so much of who I thought I was be changing so fast and in just a matter of hours. Who is this guy and what has he done to me? I watched him as he went to his closet and rummaged in there for a few minutes. I made my way over and sat down on his bed. I watched the way he moved, the way his expression changed as he was thinking about what else he might need to bring, the excitement evident in his whole demeanor. "I'm gay," I whispered to myself. "What?" Russell said, walking towards me sitting on his bed. He had his arms full of clothes. "I said I'm gay. I must be. I never thought I was, but what else could it be." He put the clothes on the end of the bed and sat down next to me. "I've never really thought about it before, but..." I turned so I could look at him, "You're the first person I have ever felt this way about. I've never had a crush on any one, boy or girl." His eyes were intently watching me as I spoke. "I'm gay Russell." When I finished, he seemed to be thinking over what I had said and finally he said, "Your just thinking about it too much. Come on, let me grab a sports bag to put my stuff in, my mom must be wondering what's taking us so long." He smiled and jumped up to grab a bag out of the corner and started stuffing his clothes in it... So that was the day I came to the realization I was gay. Russell came to my house that day and we did homework, we had dinner, we swam, played video games. Throughout it all, my mind was in turmoil over being gay. That night as we prepared for bed, Russell wanted to sleep in my room, but I couldn't let him. We had kissed a few more times that afternoon, covertly of course, but he could tell that something had changed with me. "Why can't we sleep together?" He asked me, and I could see a hurt look in his eyes. Obviously he wasn't having as many problems adjusting to all this as I now was. My realization of being gay was like having cold water thrown over me. I was 12 years old, a virgin in every sense of the word. I was scared, depressed, but most of all I was confused. "You can't Russell because Connie always checks on me several time during the night and if she caught you in here, there's no way we could explain it away," I lied to him. Connie had stopped the night time checks almost a year ago. The next day at school, I continued to show Russell around and as the day progressed, I think he got the idea that things between he and I had taken a huge plunge, like right off the edge of a bottomless pit. After the last period, we met again at our lockers and I told him I'd meet him on the bus. He shrugged and started down the hall. I stood there for a few minutes to settle my thoughts, then headed in the same direction he had. When I climbed onto the bus, I saw Cheryl and Stephie sitting in their normal seat in the back, but Russell was sitting with Julian and Tommy was in my seat. Tommy stood up and waited for me to slide over into my spot, then he sat back down. Everyone was being really quiet, like no one knew what to say. It was Friday and we'd usually be talking about what we all were planning to do for the weekend. Stephie leaned over her seat and whispered in my ear, "If you need to talk, call me any time. You know I love you dude." I turned to look at her and she smiled at me. I nodded my head at her. When I started to turn back, I saw Tommy looking at me and he whispered, "We all do, call us if you need us." We all remained silent through the entire bus ride. We got to the stop where all my friends got off, they each said bye and they'd talk to me later. Just before Russell's and my stop, he turned around and looked at me. He kind of searched for something in my eyes, then he said, "Well you managed to really fuck things up didn't you?" "What!?" I was kind of shocked at his tone. "Yeah, we could have fucked around a little and everything would have been great, but you had to start analyzing everything. Oh well, your loss I guess. Julian and I are going to the mall tomorrow." I was dumb struck. I'm sure my mouth must had dropped open and he got this shitty grin on his face, got up from his seat and walked to another closer to the front of the bus. I just sat there like a dumb ass. Finally it hit me, like a ton of bricks, he had played me. I fell for it, me, and he didn't give a shit about what I was feeling and was moving on to his next conquest. The bus stopped and he got off. I walked off the bus and waited until it drove away. I saw Russell walk up his driveway and go into his house, he didn't even bother to look back to see what I was doing. I turned and started walking up the path towards my house and then my emotions got the better of me and I started crying. I felt so stupid and hurt and a plethora of other emotions. I walked into the house and was going to run straight to my room and have a good cry, but Connie met me at the door. She took me to her room and we sat down and I told her everything. The one person in the whole world who would never throw me away for any reason, I told her the truth about me. She listen, I cried, she cried, we hugged, she held me. She asked me if I thought I was sure. I told her I was positive and I was. I now knew for a fact. All my thoughts, my feelings, even the way I felt about my friends pointed it out to me. Tommy, I was secretly crushing on and had been for several years. Julian, I thought was out of my league, but I can remember watching him as he surfed, played volleyball and how much I admired his body. Cheryl and Stephie were like tomboys, even though Cheryl cheered, she was one rough and tough girl. But, I decided I was going to wait on everything. I was in junior high. There was ample time to become comfortable with who I was. I decided! No one was going to decide for me like Russell had. ...So here I lay in my bed on the farm, still a virgin, no longer confused about my sexuality, but feeling lonely and my life disrupted with this move. I drifted off to sleep, when the next thing I heard was my alarm clock and that damn tractor somewhere out in the fields.