Legal Notice:
The following contains mild descriptions of sexual acts between
young people. It is an original work of fiction, and has no basis in
reality.
Do not read this story if:
- You're not 18 or over.
- If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live.
- If you don't want to read about gay/bisexual people in love or
having sex.
The author retains Copyright © 2005 to this story.
Reproducing this story for distribution without the author’s permission
is a violation of that copyright.
Perry and Jesse
The Incredibly Romantic (and slightly kinky) Adventures of Two Boys
In Love
Part V Truths and Lies
Chapter 35b: Noah's Arc, Pt. 2
George Rauch and Noah Bainbridge had been lovers? That was enough to
stop me in my tracks.
"Yes, in retrospect, it all happened rather quickly," he noted. "You
see, that summer, we both entered a junior lifeguard program at the
YMCA. Most of the classes took place at the local pool, but for the
last two classes, we went on field trips to various local beaches, the
first one being La Jolla
Shores. We went through our drills with our class and then were
given several hours free time to spend at the beach. It was the
strangest thing, and hard to really describe. But somehow it just
dawned on me that day, seeing Georgie like that, tall and tanned, those
broad shoulders, that hard and hairy chest, that washboard
stomach...and always with
that amazing, effortless smile. And his package...so incredibly
tantalizing in his red
swim
trunks. My first thought was to find some secluded nook or
outbuilding, and take turns jacking each other off. Somehow, I
sensed he was thinking the same thing as I. The amazing
thing was, neither one of us ever actually made the suggestion out
loud. We just roamed the beach, casually moving further and further
away from
the rest of the group, and eventually wound our way to Black
Beach--have you ever been?"
I shook my head.
"It's truly spectacular, Perry. Towering cliffs, rugged trails,
no screaming children or fat ladies under umbrellas, just real
beach people--surfers, wind surfers, a hang glider or two. Rumor
has it
that it was once a favorite haven of nudists, but we didn't spot any
that day. What we did find, eventually, was a
secluded place behind some rocks, just above the high tide line. And
when we looked at each other, we were both tenting to such an extreme,
I'm surprised we didn't burst the seams of our
trunks."
"Gees...."
"Yes, in a way, it was quite romantic, with the background
of the crashing waves and the smell of the salt water in the air, but
believe me,
getting sand in your shorts is no picnic, regardless."
I realized that as curious as I was about this unusual pairing and the
ensuing relationship, I didn't really want to hear graphic descriptions
of their sexual activities. I had everything I needed with Jesse,
and listening to someone else talking like that was just...gross.
"You don't need to go into all that detail," I informed him.
Noah looked at me with puzzlement in his eyes, and then laughed his
harsh, phlegmy laugh. "Of course! What was I
thinking?
I forget your youth, and the fact that you're a straight shooter. I
suppose, somewhere in my convoluted thought patterns, I had hoped that
if you weren't at least bi-curious, you'd be aroused enough
to...Haha!" I
think
he laughed to cover his embarrassment. "Suffice it to say, we went way
beyond
slapping each other's monkeys that day. And after that, it seemed
like we became insatiably horny, and it was within a couple of weeks of
our
first experiment, that we were making passionate, sweaty love."
Noah stopped and sighed. "I think I need another ciggie," he said
uneasily. "Perhaps the rest of the story should wait for another
time."
"Please, I want to hear what happened when you guys came
out, and why you're not together any more."
If my question sounded pointed or suspicious, I couldn't tell
from Noah's expression. Instead, he looked at me like someone who was
painfully uncomfortable in his own
skin. I felt a twinge of sympathy, and toed off my sneakers, offering
him a full view of my silly, bright red socks. His eyes widened and a
broad,
tight lipped
smile spread across his droopy countenance.
"Thank you," he said with quiet gratitude. "I don't suppose...?"
I pulled my knees up and rested my heels on the edge of the sofa. "So
you guys really fell in love?" I asked, idly curling my toes.
"Hmm? Oh...." Noah released a little snort. "Well, there's a
discussion for the
ages. Was it love? Infatuation? Lust? All of the
above? We were already best friends, and at the time, it seemed
to
be a physical manifestation of a relationship we had already had for a
long time running."
"Were you guys freaked out about being gay?"
This seemed to finally leave Noah speechless, at least for a bit.
For once he didn't look at me in that distastefully lustful way as he
tried to form
his thoughts. "Hmm, again, at the time, I don't think it's something
that was high
on our agenda. I suppose on some level, we both acknowledged it,
but you know, Perry, having grown up together, having the relationship
start in a natural, platonic sort of way, it almost seemed like
it...evolved. Granted, the day at the beach was certainly a
quantum
leap forward." He stopped and stared at my red sock feet, poking
out from the droopy cuffs of my dark gray dress pants. It was almost as
if he was drawing strength.
"Well, needless to say, the rest of that summer was pure
bliss. We both got work at the local Y as junior
life guards, and I suppose during those long hours of
watching people of every age, but mostly the young--and mostly boys for
that
matter, I came to the inevitable conclusion that I really was
gay. I suppose I had my moments of quiet consternation over that
conclusion, but really, there was no hair pulling or deep soul
searching involved. In all likelihood I already knew, subconsciously,
and now it had simply come to the attention of my conscious mind as
well. I
knew I was supposed to get excited seeing the wet bosoms and sensuous
curves of the young ladies, but I found my attention focusing much more
on the broad, muscular chests and wet, clinging swim suits of the young
men.
I became intrigued by
imagining what their packages looked like under their wet trunks or
Speedos, and I
made certain to visit the locker room for inspections as often as I
could justify them without attracting undue suspicion."
"And George, did he accept it too?"
"Georgie was different--of course. He was born and bred a
jock--something he took pride in and deservedly so, I might add. I
think it took him longer to come to terms. It was during our
sophomore year that we had finally satiated our sexual lust enough that
we could actually sit and discuss our situation with some
perspective. Georgie desperately
wanted to believe that it was a passing thing, simply a different way
for two friends to express their feelings for one another, but I think
even then he realized it was
more than that. Still, we were very careful about keeping our physical
relationship a secret. It was already well known that we were
close friends, despite the apparent differences in our nature, and so
people took no notice when we paired off together for school, or social
activities. We even did some heterosexual dating!" Noah smiled
and his cheeks seemed to flush slightly. "That was simply
surreal,
Perry. I mean, imagine forcing yourself to go on a date with
someone you knew--a good friend perhaps--but not someone you're
physically attracted to--say someone in your class like Eugene Rauch,
or the Kipner boy
perhaps. Imagine forcing yourself to flirt with those boys simply for
appearance's sake. If
you can picture that, you would have some idea of how
uncomfortable it was for us. Fortunately, we did most of our
dating together, and were able to support and cover for each other as
we
bungled our way through those ridiculous charades."
I pictured in my mind Jesse, Merissa, Jessica and myself, going to a
movie, or to the mall, or to the beach together...yeah, definitely the
beach. I knew whose swim suit I'd be looking at all day!
"Those red socks look incredibly delicious," he noted
hesitantly, as if he was actually afraid I would respond angrily to his
remarks.
But I guessed he meant it as a compliment, and I tried to keep the
anger from my voice. "Huh?...Oh, those. My mom packed them.
Guess she wanted me to be in the Christmas Spirit."
"And I suppose you're wearing those delightful silk boxers with the
little Christmas Trees embroidered on them, hmm?"
"You looked in my overnight bag?"
He gave me an exaggerated wink. "Wonderful."
"So no one found out you guys were gay?" I asked, trying to steer the
conversation back to what was interesting while trying to shrug off
the uncomfortable stares.
"At that point, no. Like I said, we were careful and believe me,
we were very discreet. I know Georgie is no longer afraid to
declare himself part of the homosexual community, and while I don't
generally go around advertising my sexual orientation to complete
strangers--present company excepted, of course--I also don't go to any
great pains to hide it. Fortunately, a university campus is a much less
stifling environment than a high school campus."
I took heart in that, knowing that someday, Jesse and I would be able
to come out without a horrible Scarlet Letter being plastered to our
foreheads. Sure, there would still be those that refused to
accept
us for who we were, but what would it matter then? How many
people had the great fortune to find their one and only soul mate so
early in life, if ever?
"That summer, having graduated to fully-rated life
guards, we tried
to find a beach where they would hire us both. And thus we
ended up at Mission Bay Park, although assigned to separate beaches: me
at Bonita Cove, and Georgie at Crown Point. Still, by then I had
my license and was able to drive us back and
forth every
day. It was almost an hour during the afternoon
traffic. But it was nice. We were still doing all those
wonderful things that one associates with a passionate and loving
relationship, but we were also spending time talking. I think
that summer, Georgie finally made peace with himself about who and what
he was, and it got to the point where we were seriously considering our
future together. And along with that came the inevitable
discussion about coming
out--if we should do it at all, and if so, to whom. As I said, we
didn't make
a school wide announcement and...oh my, I so want to see your toes,
Perry."
"Huh?" I had gotten so caught up in his story and the hopeful feeling
it gave me about my relationship with Jesse, that I had forgotten that
we were sitting in the Bainbridge pool house and that Jessica was
waiting for those damn tables.
Noah got up and was suddenly kneeling right in front of me, his eyes
focused on my feet. I had my knees pulled up, and only my toes
stuck out from the wide cuffs of my dress slacks. "Allow me," he said,
and began peeling one of
my socks down. I started to squirm away, feeling a sense of
repugnance that this arrogant, lustful young man was touching me, even
if it
was only my ankle. Only the fact that he had been George's best
friend kept me from screaming.
"I wonder...." he mumbled as I struggled, and began scratching my sole
through the
thin fabric of my sock.
"Stop!" I gasped, as uncontrollable laughter erupted from my
throat. He held my leg in place and despite my floundering,
finally got the sock off and began tickling my bare
sole.
"No! Noah! Stop!" But he was
already clawing at my other
sock when the door opened.
"Good Heavens!"
It was Jessica, and she was standing their wide eyed, one hand on her
breast. "Perry..."
she uttered, trying to take in the bizarre scene before her. "You
were taking so long and I couldn't wait any more because I have to go
upstairs and get ready and... Good Heavens, what's going on in here?"
she
asked in a high pitched, nearly hysterical voice.
I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment, even though I was
really no more than a victim of her brother's uncontrollable lust.
"Why, Jessy darling, I'm merely executing my duty as your older
brother."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking at me with some
concern, probably because my face was so flushed both from laughing and
from being caught in such a ridiculous situation.
"You see," he explained calmly, while still holding onto my ankle, "I
felt that I should give young Perry a proper interrogation."
"Interrogation? What ever are you talking about?"
I was about to interrupt, but I realized I didn't know what to
say. I didn't feel it was my place to tell Jessica that
her brother was gay. Even though I was definitely angry at him, and in
all honesty didn't really like him, I still couldn't turn
his life
upside down simply because he wanted to have a look at my stupid feet.
"When I met Perry, and saw how much more handsome he is than in the
pictures
you sent me, I immediately had to wonder about his background."
"Background?" Jessica asked suspiciously, still flustered, but
her voice
slowly returning to its normal pitch.
"You see, my dear Jessy, I happen to know, having been one myself,
that good looking boys are
notoriously unfaithful--especially at this age. I simply felt it
was my duty to find out
as much as I could about your boyfriend's other dalliances."
"Dalliances? For Heaven's Sake, Nobby. What are you talking
about?" Now Jessica was going from frightened and confused to
stern and demanding--much more like her usual herself!
"I wanted to make sure that he wasn't seeing anyone else. I wouldn't
want to see your heart crushed by a libidinous young Lothario. You
see,
we
were just sitting here sharing our experiences in the field of love
and romance--isn't that so, Perry?" he asked.
"Well...."
"And I felt that perhaps he was holding something back. As you
can see, I was already barefoot when we entered, and I suppose Perry
wished to make himself comfortable as well, and had thus removed his
sneakers. When I became suspicious that he might be holding out
on some pertinent information, I decided to take the initiative and,
well,...tickle it out of him!" He smiled sheepishly and danced his
fingers across my sole once more.
A loud and embarrassing guffaw erupted from my throat and I jerked my
leg from his grasp.
"Oh...Nobby!" Jessica exclaimed, confused both by the
situation she had stumbled on and her brother's convoluted
explanation. "Perry, are you okay?" she asked, finally
approaching us.
I nodded, feeling certain that my face was now as red as my silk
boxers. I
found
my discarded sock and pulled it back on and quickly stuffed my feet
back into my Etnies.
"I just don't know what to think," she said, but now there was a
hesitant, slightly bemused smile on her face. "I mean, it's so
sweet
of you,
Nobby, to be looking out for me like that, but I already know about
Perry's history. He had a girlfriend back in La Jolla, and they tried
to make it work when he moved here, but it just didn't. Isn't
that so, Perry?"
"Um...yeah," I said, getting unsteadily to my feet and slowly backing
toward the
door.
"Ah, so that's what you were holding back!" Noah announced like
Inspector Poirot at the successful conclusion of a long and convoluted
murder case. He picked himself up, pushing the cuffs of his cargo pants
back down.
"So your interrogation wasn't necessary, you silly," Jessica
concluded. "Besides, I trust Perry. He's not like that, not a Lothario."
"Perhaps not. I must admit, I found him to be remarkably
enlightened
for an 8th grade jock."
"I told you he's not a jock, and besides, what about your bestest
bestest friend?" she asked accusingly, still with a slight smile
on her face indicating that she was no longer taking any of this too
seriously.
"You mean Georgie? Was he a
jock?" Noah asked in a very amusingly
puzzled manner.
"Nobby and Georgie Rauch--Gene's brother--were like this in high
school," Jessica informed me, crossing her fingers to demonstrate the
closeness of their relationship. "They were like the Odd Couple," she
snickered.
"Kewl," I said, still backing toward the door. "Maybe we
should
get back inside."
"But the tables, you silly!" she pointed out. "Remember why I
sent you out here in the first place?" She shook her head and
sighed in an exaggerated manner. "Boys!" she said, rolling her
eyes heavenward.
"Yes, those tables are coming right up," Noah declared. "C'mon,
Perry. Lend us a hand."
"You shouldn't be doing that in your bare feet," Jessica said, scolding
her
brother.
"Oh, well, you see, I was just enjoying dipping my toes in the pool
when Perry came out, and I guess, in my enthusiasm to be of assistance,
I left my footwear behind."
"Yes, I saw," Jessica said pointedly. "Flip flops and ashtray!"
"Yes...well, a reprehensible habit I know," he admitted
sheepishly. "Let
me get my sandals, and I'll be right back to help," he said, quickly
slipping by me and out the door.
"Did he hurt you?"
I shook my head.
"I'm so sorry, Perry," she said, rubbing her hands against my
chest.
"It's not your fault your brother's crazy," I said, trying to sound
facetious even though I was having trouble keeping my voice from
quivering.
"He's not crazy," Jessica said with a sweet smile. "When you have
money, you're eccentric, not crazy,
dahlink!" she said in an
exaggerated
high society accent as she wrapped her arms around me. "It looks like
two of us know your secret now," she whispered in my ear.
I stiffened, my heart pounding in my chest thinking in my confused
state that she had somehow discovered that Jesse and I were lovers.
"S-secret?" I stuttered.
"Yes," she smiled mischievously. Suddenly her fingers began dancing
around my armpits and ribs. I pulled away and blocked her with my arms
as I began to snicker. "Perry's hopelessly ticklish!"
"So, is the floor show about to begin?" Noah asked, returning to the
pool house, flip flops once again on his feet.
Jessica started to pull away and seemed about to scold her brother for
catching her in an act of such silliness, but instead, suddenly turned
and gave me a
big kiss square on the lips. We parted with an audible
smack. "That's all you get!" she teased, sticking her tongue out
at her brother as she slipped past. "No more dawdling now!" she
scolded over her shoulder in her high society accent, before
leaving the two
of us together again--alone.
"I can't believe I'm standing here, jealous of my kid sister!" Noah
uttered in
amazement. He and I
just stood there awkwardly for a few long moments.
"Well, that was truly embarrassing," he finally admitted, scratching
his head. "Once
again I find myself apologizing to you, Perry. Obviously, I need to get
out more," he chuckled, then looked at me uncomfortably. "You
could have told her," he said quietly.
"Let's just move these tables," I said. I felt a little bad for Noah
getting caught in such a ridiculous situation, but had to admit that
his cover story had been pretty clever. He nodded quietly, and I
felt
a small twinge of
sympathy. We picked up the ends of one of the long tables and
began hobbling back towards the pool house entrance.
"I guess I shouldn't of gotten so upset," I offered.
"About what?" Noah asked, taking the backward position as we worked our
way outside.
"You know, about letting you see my feet."
"My fault entirely! Of course, it was totally inappropriate of
me--inexcusable...." He paused. "Your foot
was so soft," he whispered.
"It's just a stupid foot!" I pointed out, my level of irritation
quickly rising again.
"Perhaps to you. They do, after all, follow you around
everywhere." When he saw that his little joke wasn't going over well,
the smile slowly vanished from his face. "I am truly sorry, and as part
of
my penance,
I intend to send Georgie a detailed email confession. He's very fond of
you and he'll probably hate me for the things I
said and did today."
"Don't do that," I said, as we passed the pool and carefully worked our
way up the short
flight of steps to the patio area. "It's embarrassing
and...stuff."
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You've been nothing but a
gentleman, my dear Perry, and
extremely tolerant of my imprudent behavior.
I am the one who has acted crassly all
afternoon. I honestly don't know what got into me. I mean, breaking
into my own sister's room to catch a salacious glimpse of her fourteen
year old
boyfriend...Do you think I'm sick?" he asked with what sounded like
genuine concern.
"I...I don't know," I offered, taking his question unrhetorically. "I
don't think I'm
anything special to look at, but then, everyone has different tastes."
"Apparently, my sister and I share something in common there."
"Well, I guess I can't say anything about you being like gay and stuff,
cuz that's none of my business,"
I explained quietly, "but I don't think it's right to sorta push
yourself on someone
who's like...not interested, ya know?"
"Out of the mouths of babes," Noah said thoughtfully.
"I'm not a babe!"
"Haha! I didn't mean it that way," he said with a sudden
smile. "I was referring to Psalm 8:
Out of the mouth of babes and
sucklings hast thou ordained strength
because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the
avenger."
"Oh...."
"What I meant was, you speak wisely, young Perry. And incidentally, I'm
very sorry to
inform
you that you are, indeed, a babe.
I imagine you'll be forced to stand
under the mistletoe all night long as the young ladies queue up around
the
block for their turn."
"It's not like that," I protested. "There are alot better looking guys
in
our class than me." One in
particular.
"Really? I'll have to see that with my own eyes," he noted
skeptically.
Yeah, you do that, I thought
to myself. Try messing with Jesse's
feet
and see what happens.
"Did you and George have a...a
bad break up?" I asked, wanting to get off the subject of 'me.'
We set the table down as Noah opened one of the french doors. "Yes and
no," he said. "There were a number of things that happened in
our junior and senior years that tested our relationship, not the least
of which was Arnold Mathias Hollister."
We got the table inside and we again put the table down so Noah could
close the door. "Strangely, it was George who was most adamant
about telling his parents about us. You see, while we were both
insatiably horny
young lovers, I would have to say that Georgie had a passion for love
making that rivaled his passion for football."
It was a wonderful feeling to know that
George had been so happy in high school. And if it had been with Noah
Bainbridge, so what? While he wasn't my idea of a great friend, let
alone boyfriend, he and
George had found a way, early on, to make it work for them. It had
blossomed from a mutually beneficial friendship of a nerd and a jock,
to a full out passionate high school relationship. "Cool," I said.
"You approve?" Noah asked with some puzzlement. "I must admit, the fact
that a young, straight Catholic boy would be so open minded about a
homosexual
relationship, is rather perplexing."
I realized I was smiling. "I really like George. He helped me out of a
bad spot and
I thought it was really cool that he was so open about who he was and
how he
felt."
"Yes, as I said, he became instantly enamored of you as well, and now
I know
why."
"Well, I don't know about that, but I think we really did become
friends that day, in that short amount of time. He really is something
special, and I'm just glad that you guys had such a happy relationship."
Noah just nodded, still in some state of bewilderment. "Thank
you,
Perry. There really was something
special between us," he declared wistfully, "and it's a shame, in a
way,
that it had to end."
"But why did it have to end?"
"People move on," he explained enigmatically. "High school is only a
beginning, Perry, though at the time I know it seems different."
We picked up the table and began carrying it cautiously through the
corridors of the Bainbridge mansion.
"It was toward the end of our junior year that Georgie simply couldn't
hold it in anymore," Noah continued in a subdued tone. "And I must
admit, it was frustrating to have to constantly hide our relationship
from everyone around us--especially our families, since we did most of
our activities in one or another of our homes. Actually, the first to
really catch on was
Georgie's younger brother-"
"Gene?!"
"Yes. Is he a friend of yours?"
"Gene is great. He and George are so much alike, such nice people,
always happy and calm about stuff."
"Well, I'm afraid neither one of them was very happy or calm that
day. You
see,
Eugene
walked in on us after school. We had carelessly forgotten to lock the
door
to Georgie's bedroom, and when he innocently popped in to ask if the
sandwich
downstairs was available for consumption, the two of us were in a
rather...compromising
situation."
"Oh, gross--I mean, gees. I
guess that was embarrassing, huh?"
"To say the least. And Eugene was quite--how do you say
it?--freaked
out. Georgie's first response was to become quite
indignant, and he wanted to frighten the poor boy into keeping quiet,
but fortunately, cooler heads prevailed," he noted as he tapped his
temple. "We ended up sitting down and having a nice long chat. It
was really quite fascinating trying to explain to a stunned and
bewildered 6th
grade boy how his older brother, whom he
greatly admired, and his brother's best friend--whom I don't think he
really cared for--were actually lovers."
Noah suddenly stopped and set his end of the table down. My end
started to get really heavy, so I set it down as well. We were in
the middle of a quiet corridor which I knew would connect with the
wider hallway that went past the rec room and thus to the great room.
While there were no speakers here, I could dimly hear
the
strains of "Do You Hear What I Hear" wafting through the air.
"I suppose Eugene was really the catalyst that pushed Georgie into
announcing our relationship to his parents."
"How did that go?"
"Are you familiar with the Rauchs?" he asked.
"Not really. I don't see them at church, maybe some
football games and school stuff, but I never actually talked to
them or
anything except to say hi."
"Well, the two brothers definitely get their bright and cheerful
natures
from their mother. Mrs. Rauch always had a smile on her face and a kind
word
on her lips. I think she was quite taken aback by his announcement, but
to her credit, she remained very calm, and within a week, there was no
doubt that she had come to accept the facts of the situation.
Now Mr. Rauch, he was quite a different story. He's obviously
where the boys get their
athletic prowess and drive. Don't get me
wrong, he's a very good man with strong and simple values--salt of the
earth, I suppose you might say. For some reason that was never clear to
me, he has a rather open disdain for the Catholic Church even though he
was raised as a Catholic himself. Anyway, to distill a rather long and
unpleasant story, he didn't take well to Georgie's announcement."
"Were you there when he talked to them?"
"No. Not that I wouldn't have been, given the opportunity,"
he added
quickly. "I would've stood with Georgie
against the whole town, Dr. Dobson, Jerry Falwell, George Dubaya,and
the Pope himself if I had been
given a chance, but he insisted that it was something he
wanted to deal with on his own."
When the day would finally come for me to tell my mom the Truth, I knew
I wanted
Jesse by my side. I knew that I would stand before her, reach over and
grab Jesse's hand and squeeze it tight as I forced the Truth to come
out of my mouth. Even though it caused my chest to tighten with fear, I
also had a sense of what a relief it would be to finally speak those
words: Mom, Jesse and I are gay and
we love each
other very much.
"He was brave, huh?"
"Yes, indeed. But Mr. Rauch would have none of it. He forbade Georgie
to ever see me again, and not only that, he personally came to my house
to have a talk with my parents. Well, it was quite a mess, and it
made all our lives extremely difficult. While my parents chose to live
in a
certain amount of denial for some time, I did have the whole-hearted
support of my brother. Unfortunately, he was mostly away at UCSB, and
busy performing in the summer, so it wasn't quite
the face-to-face support I really needed."
"And no one told Jessica?"
Noah shook his head. "Honestly, at the time it seemed highly unlikely
that she would be any more receptive than my parents."
"Gene was able to deal with it," I pointed out. "Maybe you don't give
Jessica enough credit."
"Again, perhaps you're right. It wasn't even something that was
high on my
agenda until...until I saw you. But in time, my parents came to accept
my nature and our relationship. I really don't give them the
credit they deserve," he noted guiltily.
"How does Arnie Hollister fit in to all of this?"
"He's a twisted person, Perry," Noah said with deadly earnest. "You
might
think that I was audacious and crude in the way I approached you today,
but Hollister-"
My heart nearly leapt into my throat as Morgan came strolling casually
down the hall. It was a shock to see him wearing a gray suit coat,
white, button down
shirt, fairly tasteful red and green striped tie, baggy dress slacks,
and
shiny black loafers.
"Oh...hey, Nobby! I didn't know you were in town," Morgan said with
cautious surprise. "Wazzup?"
"Good afternoon, young Mr. Kipner--or should I say evening? It gets
dark so
early these days. May I say, it's a little shocking to see you out of
your characteristic sports regalia."
Morgan shrugged. "Not my choice," he snorted.
"Hey," I said, suddenly feeling awkward in Morgan's presence. I glanced
at my watch and was surprised that it was already after five. While I
had been dreading spending a long and interminable afternoon with
Jessica, the time had actually gone by much more quickly than I would
have
thought possible. "We were just bringing this table in for the
party."
"Yeah, Jessica was getting a bit antsy," Morgan confirmed."But she and
Katy just went up to get ready, and I said I'd come out and see what
the hold up was."
"I suppose it's my fault," Noah announced. "I'm afraid I've been
talking Perry's ear off, talking about the good old days at jolly St.
Bonnie's, and all the
excitement with the basketball team and so on. In fact, I understand
congratulations are in
order. Perry
insists that the majority of the credit for the team's success goes to
your athletic prowess and strong leadership."
Funny, we had never
actually had that conversation, although it is what I would've said.
Morgan shrugged, but couldn't help but let a little pride show through.
"Perry had alot to do with it too. He's a great player. He doesn't give
himself enough credit."
"That much is certain," Noah agreed readily. "I'll tell you what," he
said. "To expedite this matter, why don't
the two of you set this table up in the great room? Meanwhile, I'll
return to the poolhouse and bring the other table along shortly."
"You can't carry it by yourself," I pointed out.
"Well, I can get a good start. Perhaps Perry could come back and lend
me a hand once you have the first one set up properly."
"Sounds like a plan," Morgan acknowledged, "but it'd make more
sense for me to lend a hand since it looks like Perry still has some
getting ready to do before the party."
"I don't mind," I jumped in quickly. I really did want to hear the rest
of the story, especially the part about Arnie Hollister.
So we quickly set up the table, much to the joy of Mrs. Bainbridge and
Mrs. Mulroney. Morgan was then put to work hanging some final
decorations around the rec room and I hurried off to the poolhouse.
Noah was standing by the pool, frantically puffing away. He quickly
extinguished his cigarette when he saw me coming.
"We'd better hurry," I said, walking right past him and straight to the
poolhouse.
"I want to ask you one last thing," Noah said, standing in the doorway.
My heart started pounding forcefully in my chest. I thought we'd gotten
past all this.
"It occurred to me, when I mentioned the possible scenario under the
mistletoe later this evening, that due to the unfortunate constraints
of our oh-so-modern society, I won't be able to participate--at least
not in the
way I'd like to. So I was hoping that we could do it here, in this
private setting, thus
avoiding any potential scandal."
"What are you saying?" I asked, fully aware that I could
dash out and save myself with relative ease if necessary. I knew Morgan
was around
and he wouldn't stand by and let someone mess with me.
"I'd like my chance under the mistletoe, Perry," he said, slowly
approaching me.
"You wanna kiss me?" I asked,
trying unsuccessfully to hide my disgust.
He nodded and smiled. Unlike some of his other facial expressions, it
was a strangely sweet smile and I realized it
was something of an effort for someone like Noah Bainbridge to allow
his true emotions to show through. And then I realized that his
mask of smugness was one way to conceal the secret of his sexuality.
"I...dunno...."
"I wouldn't even ask, except for the fact that you seemed so accepting
of my relationship with Georgie Rauch. There is more to you than just a
pretty face, Perry. There is a thoughtful, open mind in there as well,
and you are a credit to young men everywhere."
I could easily say no and my
feeling was that he would let it go, but
that felt so...mean. Despite the things he had said and done, he was
Jessica's older brother and he had shared a very personal story with me
at my insistence. Besides, could it be any worse than being kissed on
the lips by Mrs. Mulroney?
"Um...well...like on the cheek?" I asked nervously.
He shook his head. "I don't think that's how it's traditionally done,"
he said quietly.
"But that would be weird," I couldn't help but point out.
"I'm not asking that you reciprocate."
"You'll tell me what happened with Arnie Hollister?" I bargained.
"As best I can."
I nodded, and waited for him to close the distance between us. He had
to stoop slightly to bring us in line. Then he tilted his head so
that his large nose and his lips touched me at the same time. I
immediately smelled the acrid odor of cigarettes on his
breath, and
crinkled my face in disgust. But he either didn't notice or didn't
care. I could
feel the stubble on his upper lip as he pressed his lips against mine.
After the
initial contact, he started to apply some pressure, and then began
chewing lightly at my mouth as he wrapped his bigger lips more and more
around my own. I felt his hand come up along my back and
push me firmly against his own slender body and I could feel his heart
beating rapidly. He moaned and I felt it in his chest. I
was actually getting to the point where
I was getting light-headed from lack of air when he finally pulled away.
We stood staring at each other for several long moments, both of us
breathing deeply. Noah's eyes were watery.
"Um...Merry Christmas and...Happy New Year," I offered self-consciously.
"Well, it's certainly been a wonderful December the nineteenth!" he
exclaimed. "Georgie will be so jealous," he pointed out with a thin
smile. Then he
licked his lips.
"Don't tell him," I pleaded.
"But why not? I have no doubt that he'd make the same request if he
were
here. At least I can share the experience with him, hmm?"
"It's super embarrassing," I said quietly.
"No Perry, it's not. Again, you were very brave. After
everything I've done and
said today, I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd simply run from the
room after hearing my request. Instead, you stood there and..." he
smiled that sly grin again, "took it like a man. Well done."
I didn't say anything as I felt my cheeks burn. Again, more staring.
"We should bring that
table in," I repeated, interrupting the uncomfortable silence.
"Yes, of course. But slowly. I have a story to finish."
It turned out, unsurprisingly, that Arnie Hollister was something of a
loser at school.
His extremely pushy parents insisted that he sign up for football every
year, but he
spent most of his time as a bench warmer. Even then, he managed to get
in trouble with the coach over various infractions, and George, having
such
a big and caring heart, had tried to help the sophomore out, by
training
with him after hours.
"Everyone deserves a chance, Georgie would say." Noah shrugged.
We managed to drag the table to the door of the poolhouse when Noah set
his end down, indicating that he wanted to finish his tale before we
got
out in the open. I could understand that and set my end down as well.
We could always pick it up quickly if anyone decided to come back and
check on our progress.
"It turned out Hollister could be quite diligent when he wanted to
be. The private practice sessions continued well after the season was
over, and even into the spring of our junior year. While Georgie
focused
on track, I was on the spring soccer team. Fortune was with us, and our
team was number one in our division. It was after we won our first
playoff that Georgie met me behind the fieldhouse at H.T. We were both
exhilarated of course, and even though in hindsight it was a reckless
blunder on our part, we embraced and had ourselves a good long kiss.
That in itself was wonderful, as it was always so cathartic to be able
to express our affection for each other somewhere outside our own
bedrooms." He smiled fondly. "Even this place saw quite a bit of
action," he remarked, his eyes taking in the large room in which we
were standing. "It was especially fun in here because we could have a
drink or two and really loosen up."
"What happened at the game?" I asked nervously.
"As you might expect, someone caught us in the act. As fate would have
it, it
was Arnold Hollister, and to be quite fair, I don't think he was
intentionally spying on us. He had simply seen Georgie disappear behind
the fieldhouse and had eventually followed. Needless to say, all
three of us were quite stunned. I could feel the belligerence and panic
arise immediately in Georgie, and he began to chase the younger boy
across the field. Hollister took off like a frightened jack rabbit. Of
course, that didn't look quite right, and after
twenty or thirty yards, Georgie fell back and Hollister disappeared
into the dispersing crowd."
He paused and pursed his lips. "I suppose we should get this table
inside," he said reluctantly.
I nodded and we headed out past the pool.
"That was the first time you were ever caught?" I asked.
"As far as we know--besides Eugene, of course."
"So, did Hollister want to talk to you guys about what he saw?"
"Not exactly," Noah said with obvious distaste. He looked around,
and seeing the coast was clear, again set his end of the table down. I
did the same.
"It seems that Hollister was under a lot of pressure from his parents
to get on the varsity football team his junior year. So he pretty much
insisted that Georgie do whatever it took to get him on the team."
"Blackmail?"
"In a way. According to Georgie, Hollister had become a half way decent
player
by the end of his sophomore year and if he could just keep himself out
of
trouble, Georgie didn't think he'd have a problem making the cut. And
of course, it turned out that Georgie was chosen team captain in his
senior year, so that pretty much sealed the deal. Unfortunately,
Hollister couldn't keep his nose clean. He missed practices, showed up
late for games, sometimes came to practices reeking of alcohol, and
was even caught smoking pot in the locker room. Georgie was put in a
very awkward postion, constantly trying to defend him to the coach. But
he managed somehow, and they got through the season. They made it to
the playoffs that year, but lost the championship by one field goal."
"Gees, that's too bad. Just like our football team this year."
"While Georgie was never one to put winning above good
sportsmanship, he was very disappointed at coming so close, only to
lose in the final moments of the game. But that is the nature of
competitive sports. Now this is where things took a very unfortunate
turn," Noah said, lowering his voice so that I could barely hear him
over the distant hum of the pool filter.
"I often volunteered as an assistant librarian after school for Sister
Patrice while Georgie did locker room duty, which mostly consisted of
sitting in the coach's office doing his homework, picking the
occasional towel up off the floor, or making sure all the various balls
and other equipment were returned by those that had signed them out for
the day.
Well, it just so happened one day
in late February, that the library had to be closed after a
particularly heavy downpour because of some leakage in the ceiling, so
I decided to go down to the locker room and keep Georgie company. I was
still in the habit of helping him with his homework as much as my own
heavy schedule allowed. Unfortunately, the scene I stumbled
upon was enough to leave me speechless and in utter shock."
"What happened?"
Noah glanced around nervously again, the light coming from beneath the
surface of the pool creating the unsettling effect that the skin on his
face was shifting both in color and texture. "I burst into the
coach's
office without preamble, having decided on my way down, that I wasn't
so much interested in homework as perhaps making out with my boyfriend.
But it turned out Georgie already had company." Noah abruptly stopped
speaking. It was as if the batteries had suddenly been pulled out of
his
voice box. His expression was hard to read in the shimmering, dancing
light of the reflecting water.
He moved from his end of the table toward mine, sliding his fingers
along the large slab to keep it from tipping over. "Georgie was on his
knees
with Arnold Hollister's dick in his mouth."
"Oh no-not George!"
Noah nodded sullenly. "I left immediately of course, and jumped in my
car and drove for...I don't know, a very long time. It began to rain
again and I kept having this vision of going into a skid and plowing
uncontrollably into the cars on either side of me."
I shook my head. It was hard to believe that George Rauch, the
sweet hearted giant who had so gallantly come to my rescue, would
betray
his friend and lover of so many years, especially for one of the very
same scum buckets that he had saved me from at the mall. It seemed to
me, when I looked back on that memorable day after Thanksgiving, that
there had been no love lost between the older Rauch and the clownishly
creepy Hollister.
"But you didn't...didn't get hurt?"
"No, not physically anyway. But it was quite a blow nevertheless,
excuse the pun. As it
turned out, Hollister had been, according to Georgie's explanation,
continuing to sexually blackmail my friend and lover
over what he had seen at the
soccer championship the previous spring. Apparently, he had
threatened to tell the whole team that he had observed Georgie and me
kissing behind the fieldhouse. The thing is, Georgie'd never given a
satisfactory explanation for why he had chased Hollister half way
across
the field, a spectacle witnessed by a hundred or more witnesses, so
such a revelation would have fed the gossip mills quite
nicely."
"That's sad," I noted as we stood there at the bottom of the stairs.
"And I must confess something, Perry," he said, looking at me quite
guiltily. "I was never quite convinced that Georgie had been coerced
into that act of fellatio-and whatever had come before it."
"But why? You knew he loved you!" I said with a passion that surprised
even
me.
Noah cringed and glanced around and up toward the house.
"Oops, sorry," I apologized sheepishly.
"This is indeed an awkward conversation to be having right here at
this moment," he admitted. "And the very fact that I am having it
with my sister's
8th grade boyfriend seems in itself
somewhat...surreal." He lifted the table and we began to
climb up the wide, but short flight of stairs. This brought us to the
outside patio, which we quickly crossed. He glanced in through
the french doors before
continuing.
"You have to remember that Georgie and Hollister had been spending a
lot of time together during our junior year."
"But George was just trying to help the guy out," I said defensively.
"Perhaps," he said, uncertainly. "One of the unfortunate consequences
of
being in love is that you're always afraid you're going to lose it--at
least, that's the way I felt."
I nodded in understanding as an unbidden picture of Jason Tarentino
popped into my head.
"Anyway, shortly after catching him in the act, and in a fit of jealous
zeal, I cornered Hollister one day and
gave him a piece of my mind. I told him to leave Georgie alone or else!"
"And did that work?" I asked skeptically.
Noah shook his head dismally. "First, he was quite belligerent. He
gleefully
informed me that he and Georgie had been giving each other head since
the end of our junior year, and that Georgie enjoyed their activities
far more than
he did spending time with me. Granted, I am the first to admit that my
head is sometimes far too large for my body, but still, I found it hard
to believe that Georgie would sincerely fall for such a loser.
Hollister
represented everything Georgie loathed. At that
point, I became quite enraged. I don't remember ever being so
unconditionally angry at anyone before or since. In fact I did
something
that, in retrospect, I'm rather ashamed of, as we are always told never
to use our
skills in such a way; I used my martial arts techniques to get him
in a very
lethal choke hold. He literally couldn't breath, and I could have
crushed his larynx with the simplest of motions. I recall actually
getting pleasure from seeing the way his eyes bulged from their
sockets. His face turned first a pasty white and then a somewhat
alarmingly bluish hue.
Finally
I released him and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. Then he
seemed to get very...contrite and Gollum-like, and promised me he would
stop." Noah
paused to gather his thoughts, and a look of weariness caused his long
face to droop even more than usual. "But
then
rumors started spreading through the school about Georgie and me-that
we were indeed gay lovers."
"Hollister?"
"I have no doubt. It was one of the most difficult times of our
lives."
"But you had each other," I pointed out.
Noah shrugged. "Yes and no. Unfortunately, Hollister had managed
to plant the
seeds of
doubt in my mind, and I was never fully
convinced that Georgie hadn't been a somewhat willing partner in the
tryst that I interrupted in the coach's office."
"So, that was the end of you guys?" I asked
disappointedly.
"No...not quite. We did manage to repair our relationship,
somewhat. But
the gossip in the corridors of H.T. just got worse and worse until
Georgie was actually having a hard time with his fellow athletes, and
even some of the faculty. They were
beginning to believe the rumors, and it forced us to be extremely
cautious. Really, we hardly dared to even look at each other in school
anymore,
and due
to our busy schedules, got together at each other's houses much less
frequently."
I shook my head. Was that the future that lay in store for Jesse and
me? As much as it frightened me, I just couldn't believe it. Our love
was stronger than that. I
would never let somebody like Arnie Hollister or a slick operator like
Jason Tarentino get between us-never!
"And it wasn't just the business with Hollister and the growing schism
between us that weighed on his mind. While Georgie was unquestionably a
top tier athlete and the best
quarterback H.T. had seen in many years, the spring track team started
to lose
confidence in him, and that in turn, caused Georgie to lose confidence
in himself. There had been such high expectations that Georgie was
going to win a division championship for the Warriors his
senior year, and when that didn't happen, it was a major disappointment
to everyone and only served
to increase the atmosphere of homophobia surrounding him at that point."
"That Hollister is such a bastard!" I said angrily, realizing that my
brief encounter with him at the mall had been nothing compared to what
he had done to George and Noah. I realized that George Rauch must have
been showing incredible restraint that day, encountering Hollister and
Hernandez like that, intimidating a stupid and witless 8th grader.
Knowing what I did now, it was a wonder that George hadn't wiped
the mall floor with that red-sneakered clown and his leather-jacketed
cohort.
It was obvious that Noah had been deeply affected by the subject of our
conversation,
and we stood there in the chilly December dusk, exchanging helpless
glances. Finally, he sighed. "We'd better head inside before-" He
stopped as we saw the shadowy
figure of Morgan appear in the hallway beyond the darkened breakfast
room.
Morgan opened the door. "You guys need a little extra man power?" he
asked
with a friendly smirk.
"Actually, what I need is a goddamn cigarette!" Noah said rather
desperately, gesturing for Morgan
to take hold of his end of the table. Apparently this was going
to be the end of our discussion, even though it still wasn't entirely
clear why
Georgie and Noah had split up at the end of high school.
The lanky college lad walked past me quickly, but I was still able to
catch a glimpse of the pain etched into his face. I understood
now
that this was still a very fresh wound for Noah, and that satisfying
the
curiosity of a nosy 8th grader wasn't his top priority at the
moment. But when he got
to the bottom of the stairs, he turned his back to the pool and looked
up at me.
"Forgive my rudeness, Perry. Perhaps we'll run into each other again
before the end of the
evening," he noted quietly. He managed half an uneasy smile, and then
turned and headed toward the
darkened pool house.
****************************
Special Thanks to my editor-in-chief, AJ!
Please join us at the Perry and Jesse Forum! Express
your opinions on the story, ask questions, browse through some of the
other topics and articles, or just introduce yourself to the rest of
the gang of hopeless romantics. Join us at: http://www.livejournal.com/~underthehood/
You are also welcome to email me at: underthehoodster@netscape.net
I love to hear from anyone who is enjoying the story.