Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:39:28 -0800 (PST) From: William Cordova Subject: William Cordova - Chapter Thirty-One Disclaimer This story contains acts of the sexual nature between underage boys. If you do not like this type of story, or it is illegal in the area in which you live, do not read any further. ***************************************************************************** Chapter Thirty-One: Eternity Rows of trees and fields of grass passed endlessly. I stared mindlessly out the window as the hum of the air conditioning embraced me into a dim state. The sun was barely peeking over the tree line, making the sky a wonderful shade of orange and the road a cold dark grey. We had only taken off from Matt's house half an hour ago and I was feeling sleepy. Matt sat next to me, his hand inches from my leg. He swayed lightly back and forth with the swerving of the car -- occasionally looking over at me. I would look at him -- my eye lids heavy -- then back out the window. I felt warm soft skin on my hand -- rubbing between my fingers. I squeezed ever so casually. My head bobbed and my eyes opened when Mr. Ducker's car came to a stop at a small cabin. Mr. Ducker and my dad got out of the car and entered the building. Matt was looking out the window. He had a firm grip on my hand. I squeezed it to get his attention. He looked over at me. "I think this is the place where we rent the campsite for the weekend. That's what my dad said I think," Matt said. "Oh so we're almost there? How long have I been out?" "An hour maybe." "How long have you been holdin' my hand?" I smirked. Matt blushed. "An hour maybe." I laughed. "And has either of our dad's noticed?" "Don't think so." A few minutes later, our dads came back out with a small piece of paper. It was a map to show them the location toward our campsite. Mr. Ducker drove further down the road and turned off onto a dirt path. The road came to a dead end where a sign stood, indicating campsite number fifteen. "This is it boys," Mr. Ducker said. "-- our home for the next three days." I got out and examined the campsite. It was a large clearing surrounded by really tall trees. The ground was covered with dead leaves and pine needles -- dirt patches spotted the landscape. There was a distinct circle surrounding a rock pit which was there for the fire. In a semi-circle around that, there were four medium sized tents with wood flooring -- in front of the tents sat two oblong log benches. Twenty yards behind the tents was a creek -- very unlike the mud creek at our last expedition. This creek had crystal clear running water. It had a span of no further than ten feet, but still a very nice addition. Dad said he rented a site with an adjacent creek. Just on the other side of the creek was an embankment jutting up about the height of a man. The trees rose twice as high as the trees back home, giving it a canopy atmosphere. This gave the camp a very cozy feel -- like it was our place for the next few days. "What do we do first?" I asked. "Because I'm gettin' hungry." "Gotta make a fire first then. Will -- Matt, why don't ya'll get everythin' out of the car. We'll collect wood and get the fire started," my dad said. Matt first grabbed his bag and put it in the furthest tent from the car, the one closest to the creek. When I started to put my bag in the tent next to his, Matt spoke up. "What are you doing?" I looked at him. "What do ya mean? I'm puttin' my bag in my tent." "You're tent is here," he said motioning to the tent he put his bag in. I glanced around real quick -- neither parent was in earshot. "You sure that's a good idea. I don't wanna freak out our parents." "Aren't we here to bond?" he quickly added. "Our parents have to get use to us right?" "I suppose --" "I didn't come here to not get to spend time with you, and to not sleep in the same tent as you," he whispered. "I'm not arguin' with ya Matt. It's just I don't wanna freak my dad out. He's not takin' this whole gay thing as easy as your dad is." "That's what we're here for -- to help him bond with you. That's what my dad said." "I know he's tryin' to do better -- but I'd rather not do anythin' to antagonize him," I muttered. I heard the crinkling of footsteps from behind me. I turned and saw Mr. Ducker making his way back. Before I knew it, Matt had yanked the bag from my hands and was going inside his tent. I followed as Mr. Ducker dropped a few large logs next to the fire pit and left. "OK -- you win," I whispered. "We'll share this tent. It's not like I don't wanna sleep naked with you." Matt immediately broke into a smile. "They have to get use to us -- not the other way around." "Why are ya actin' all so brave now?" I questioned. "My parents are finally being cool again. It's just -- I'm so happy lately," he muttered quietly. I heard more crinkling of footsteps from outside. Matt's ears atoned to the sound also, and he quickly grabbed my hand. "Common," he whispered. We left the tent to find my dad with an armful of underbrush. I quickly let go of Matt's hand but my dad noticed. He gave a weak smile and asked, "Where's my bag?" "It's still in the car," Matt replied as he started removing it from the trunk. My dad took it from Matt and entered the tent closest to the car. Matt and I unloaded all of remaining items from the car. We put Mr. Ducker's bags in the tent next to my dads and placed the cooler, food bag and lawn chairs near the center of camp. My dad came back out of his tent yielding a machete. He started cutting up the firewood into smaller pieces and began to build a fire. "What do ya'll want for lunch?" he asked. "You mean brunch?" Matt laughed. "It's only ten." "Brunch then -- whatever," he replied. "By the time this fire is ready it'll be lunch though." "Can we have hotdogs?" I suggested. "Sure," Mr. Ducker confirmed. I watched my dad for a few minutes as he fiddled with the wood in preparation to get a fire going. I nudged Matt with my elbow and indicated for him to follow me. I got up and walked behind the tents to the creek. Matt followed closely. I stood by the edge, looking up at the embankment. "What?" he said softly. I turned to see both parents still fooling with their task. "Did you see the way my dad looked at us when we left the tent earlier?" "What you mean?" "He looked disgusted -- when he saw us holdin' hands." "Oh," he muttered. "He doesn't care though --" "-- yes he does!" I interrupted. "He looked disgusted. I saw it. I've seen it too many times. He can't hide it from me any longer. I can see it in his eyes. He thinks he can mask it, but nooo -- I see right through him. He claims he is a'right with us -- he might be a'right with us in theory, but he's not a'right with us doin' it in front of him." Matt didn't respond immediately. We stood in silence for a minute -- just listening to the birds chirping and the creek flowing. I didn't feel upset really as I have seen him hiding it for weeks. "We're here to fix this then," Matt said. "Of course it's going to take time for him --" "-- your dad has already taken to it," I interrupted again. "He has no problems with us." "I'm sure he does Will. I just -- well, we just haven't been around them long enough -- you know to test it out -- that's all." Matt sighed as he entwined his fingers with mine. "Look Will, how about we test it then? If they are going to get use to us, they gotta see us for who we really are -- boyfriends." "What do ya mean?" "We hold hands -- and be ourselves around them. That sorta thing," Matt said. I glanced back to check on the parents then looked straight ahead. I pondered what Matt said, but wasn't sure. "I really don't know Matt. Are you sure?" My dad hollered in glee when he got the fire going. It startled us and we turned to see him being proud of himself. The fire started smoking and soon it was engulfing the entire log pile he had built. "Common boys!" Mr. Ducker hollered at us. "You can cook your dogs now." Matt gently took a hold of my hand again. "Just follow my lead." He pulled me back into the camp but I got loose from his grip before we got to the camp center. We sat on the log right in front of our tent. Matt scooted really close to me -- closer than I was comfortable in a normal situation. I didn't move away as neither of the parents noticed as far as I could tell. We roasted our hotdogs in relative silence. I scarfed down two hotdogs before my dad even had one down. Matt wasn't far behind me and was soon roasting his third. "So what ya'll wanna do today?" my dad finally asked. "I figured we could go hiking around the place," Mr. Ducker suggested. "Have a look around. See what's out there in the woods." I thought about what he was saying -- not sure what he was expecting from a hike in the woods. No one else really had any better suggestion so it was decided we'd head out and look around the area in a few minutes. As my dad cleaned up after our lunch, Matt leaned against me and put his arm around my back -- his head resting on my shoulder. I was startled and felt nervous as I didn't want to show this kind of closeness around my dad -- but Matt had told me this is what he was going to do. I nervously watched my dad as he continued fixing things up around the camp. I am not sure if he noticed so I started gazing at the smoldering fire. Within fifteen minutes, we were heading out on our little excursion into the woods. We left due west and followed the creek until we could cross it without getting wet. Mr. Ducker led with a compass so we could find our way back easily. I noticed Mr. Ducker was easily amused by the wild nature of the woods although we didn't really see much wildlife. We ran across many birds and squirrels and the corpse of a recently deceased deer. It was surrounded by a flock at least thirty vultures. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet for them. We stayed clear of the pack but stayed for nice show as they fought over the corpse. We continued walking until we came to a really large clearing. We could see for several miles as the clearing was at lower level than where the end of the woods was at. I immediately noticed dark clouds overhead. It was early afternoon, but late enough for the day's heat to cause the typical Texas afternoon thundershower. The dark clouds weren't noticeable under the high canopy of tree tops. Only that it was overcast and cloudy. "Think we should head back before it starts shittin'," I suggested. Mr. Ducker gave me a weird look as Matt broke out into a laughter. "What?" I questioned him. "I've never heard anyone refer to rain as shit before." "Well," Dad jumped in, "if we don't start headin' back, we'll get drenched -- so lead the way." Mr. Ducker started back tracking our steps. We were probably forty to fifty minutes out from our campsite judging from Matt's watch. We picked up the pace as we were now aware of just how dark a few of the clouds were. And now since we had seen them, they were easily noticeable through the tree tops. Just a few minutes into a track back to camp, it started sprinkling and then it steadily got heavier. While the high trees helped keep the rain at bay, we were starting to get wet. I could feel the wetness building up on my shoulders. We picked the pace up even further and my dad continued to tell Mr. Ducker not to get lost. A few minutes later, it started coming down extremely hard and no amount of tree coverage could keep us from getting wet. We starting in on a full sprint and soon came up to the creek we recognized. As soon as we hit the creek, we knew we were only a few minutes from our camp. We ran and made it to our campsite quickly and everyone barged into their respective tents. "Oh man!" I roared as we finally got out of the rain. "Take your shoes off -- don't get mud everywhere." "Oh man -- my underwear's even wet," Matt said as he slipped his shorts off. His shirt was close behind and then he was sitting next to me in only his boxers and socks. I was astonished when I saw his damp body -- water dripping from his hair -- only wearing boxers and his necklace. It looked marvelous against his skin with no shirt on. I watched as he dug into his suitcase for a towel. My eyes fixated onto his crotch. He didn't notice I had not even taken my clothes off yet. I smiled and watch as he took the towel and started drying his hair. When his head came out from under the towel, he saw me. Our eyes met and he immediately smiled. "You like watching me dry off?" he inquired. Even though the rain was muffling our voice projections, I was concerned our parents could still hear us, so I started whispering. "No -- not drying off. I enjoy watchin' you get naked," I joked. "Oh really," he smirked. He covered his crotch with the towel and seductively started to lower his boxers. They slide down to his feet and he kicked them off. "Did I ever tell you how good you look with that necklace on?" Matt looked down and touched the necklace. Then he looked up at me and smiled. "Aren't you gonna get out of your wet clothes?" he asked. At once, I took my shirt and jeans off and because I had jeans on, my boxers were not as wet, only slightly damp. Matt noticed this and instantly frowned. "Your underwear's not wet. Does that mean you don't have to take them off?" "I don't have to, but nu'in's stoppin' you from takin'em off." Our smiles grew with our growing lust. I got up on my knees. I leaned forward and pressed my lips onto his. Matt responded by closing his eyes and letting loose a small moan. His hands found their way to my waistband and slowly lowered the back of them. He explored my butt as we made out. I guided him to lie down and I straddled him. He started to violently pull my ass cheeks apart. I was brought back into my senses when I heard Mr. Ducker yelling from his tent. "Boys?" "What?" I hollered back. "Just stay in your tent until the rain passes. Ain't much we can do until then." I turned back to Matt who was laying still, his towel still covering his private area. I smiled and whispered, "That means we have some time alone." "Oh great. Like that was going to stop us," he replied back. We didn't get far as the rain died down within twenty minutes. Although we were ready to get things on, we decided we'd rather wait until tonight when our parents went to sleep. We got dressed and made small talk until we heard our parents come out of their tents. Fully clothed, Matt and I sat idly looking at the soaked campsite and fizzled fire pit from our unzipped tent opening. It had rained for less than an hour, but managed to get everything wet. My dad finally emerged from his tent and surveyed the campsite. He rummaged around in the car looking for something but apparently didn't find it. After that, he went out looking for wood dry enough to be used to restart the fire. Matt leaned into me again, resting his head on my shoulder. I was feeling reluctant to show affection back to Matt as his dad was right in front of us. But I gave in once Matt started nudging me. He got real close to my ear and whispered, "don't hold back. My dad's fine with it." Mr. Ducker started cleaning out the rock pit -- removing the damp half-burnt logs. Matt and I got a good laugh out of it. He muttered a few swear words under his breath about the horrible Texas weather. Soon enough, I heard my father returning in the form of footsteps. I tried pulling away from Matt but he held me tight. "Don't you dare," he whispered as he glared me in the eyes. I couldn't say no to him so I reluctantly gave in once again. I figured if my dad was going to see us holding each other, I wouldn't hold back. My dad came walking up right next to our tent and squatted in front of the fire pit -- his back still to us. He fiddled with the work at hand and never noticed until he got up to get more underbrush. He gave us a quick glance and saw us holding each other. His eyes widened but he looked away quickly. "You know, maybe you two shouldn't be -- you know -- cuddling like that?" Mr. Ducker said. "What? Why?" Matt replied. "Let me tell you two something," Mr. Ducker continued. "I am not completely comfortable with seeing two boys cuddling, much less my own son. I can clearly tell your dad isn't either," he said pointing a finger at me. "From what I've heard, he took the whole gay thing much harder than I did. I am trying my best to accept who you are son, but it takes time. It will take time for me to get use to seeing you two --," he paused, "like that. If you expect us to just accept it like its everyday behavior -- think again. I love you and I'm sure your dad does too, but it's like -- it's like -- still very awkward. I want you to be happy and if that means `this'," he said sarcastically, "then that's what your mom and I have to live with." He paused a minute, then continued. "Look, it may feel completely comfortable and natural to you two -- and it may be completely alright but that doesn't mean it's always the smartest thing to do. See what I'm saying?" Matt spoke up first, "I understand you don't like seeing us cuddle. You think it's awkward -- but oh well. I like it and that's what matters. You said you want me to be happy. I'm happy with Will and I'm even happier when we cuddle." "But son --" "But what?" Matt interrupted. "If anyone can get past the awkwardness, I'd figure it'd be you." Matt's dad didn't respond as my dad came tromping back with another handful of underbrush. The conversation came to a complete halt as Mr. Ducker helped get the fire started. Matt didn't let go of me either. He held his position firm. He moved his right hand down to my bare knee and rubbed it lightly. I twitched inside. I started to feel uncomfortable again. It took a little longer to start the fire the second time than it did the first time with partially damp underbrush. Eventually my father started dinner, heating up some chili this time to go along with the rest of the hotdogs, the whole time keeping his eyes off us. I could tell he was purposely avoiding eye contact with both Matt and I. I started not to care as I became more comfortable with Matt in my arms. Matt and I moved out to the log benches around the fire pit and we ate in silence. My dad continued his avoidance of looking at us which helped my confidence to play along with Matt's sudden openness. Matt finished before I did and again, leaned into me, flopping his arm around my back and resting his head against my shoulder. "Do you have to do that here?" my dad spoke up -- finally making eye contact with us. Again before I could respond, Matt spoke up, "Why not?" I think he startled my dad. He must not have expected Matt to come back with such a confident question. "Maybe 'cause not everyone wants to see ya'll touchin' each other like that." "Oh well," Matt shot back as secure as ever. "What?" "Tom," Mr. Ducker interrupted evenly, "the boys and I had a little discussion earlier about this. I explained how I don't even feel that comfortable with them cuddling like that and I'm sure you don't exactly like it either." Calmly, my dad interjected, "Got that right." "I told them that it's not always what's right, but what's acceptable." Mr. Ducker turned to Matt and me -- still closely together -- and said, "It's not that you two are wrong to cuddle or -- express yourself like that, it's more about what's acceptable in society. And the sooner you realize this, the better off you'll be." I finally jumped in, "That's not what it's about! We realize we can't do this in public. We aren't actin' like this in school or at the mall or anythin'. We're not in public now. This is a private family thing." "Son," my dad said, "I can barely look at ya'll when you two are doin -- that," he finished with a disgusted tone. "I thought you were workin' on accepting us for who we are?" Matt asked. "We are," Mr. Ducker remarked in his defense. "If you are, then why are you so opposed to us touching each other?" "We aren't," his dad replied. "It just --" "The hell you aren't," Matt roared as he stood up. I was taken aback by Matt's sudden increase in volume. I stood up and put my arm around his shoulder, enticing him to calm down. "Just wait a second," I said in a calm voice interrupting Mr. Ducker who was about to reply to Matt's outburst. "If you -- and you," I looked at my dad, "are acceptin' us for boyfriends, then you hafta accept that we're gonna act like boyfriends." My dad stood up in response. It felt like he was trying to keep himself calm. "Why? Why do we have to accept and like that behavior? Ain't it enough we accept you're boyfriends? Do we have to see it in person? It's filthy disgustin' to tell you the truth." "Tom!" Mr. Ducker spoke up. "What?" my dad shot back. "I said all we have to do is accept their gay, not see it in action." "Then you're not really acceptin' us, are ya?" I sternly barked. I pitched my voice a few notches up and mocked, "It's OK to be gay, just don't act like it!" I returned to my normal voice and glared at my father. "Then how the fuck do you expect us to act? We already know we can't act like this in school. We see couples holdin' hands, kissin' and cuddlin' -- pokin' each other, all that young love shit in school, and we can't do that 'cause it would disgust everyone. Almost no one know's we're gay and we'd prefer to keep it that'away. We don't want to be teased and tortured, so we act normal. We pretend to like girls just to fit in; we go along with our friends when they make fun of gays -- just to fit in. Before Matt and I knew about each other, Matt got girlfriends just so I wouldn't suspect he was gay. We even got dates with girls for the school dances just 'cause we couldn't go with each other. We can't be open with ourselves in school. We can't hug and kiss in school -- or hold hands. We practically can't be ourselves at all. And NOW you're tellin' me and Matt that we have to pretend all that shit when we're at home too? I don't fuckin' think so!" My dad's eyes bore holes into mine. If he had tried to stay calm before, I was ruining his attempt with my rant. I continued, "we already have it hard a freakin' enough bein' different, having to hide ourselves from everyone." I turned and looked at Matt, but continued speaking to the parents -- my eyes softening and voice mellowing, "It's hard for me to show any affection toward him in front of anyone. I don't even think I could do it in front of you if I was with a girl, much less Matt." I turned back to the parents and saw Mr. Ducker in shock, but calm. My father was red, but looking stable. "At this point," I continued in a much smoother tone, "I don't care. The last month has been great. I have been able to concentrate on sum'in other than figurin' out how to be with Matt. I had two parents tell me they accept that I'm gay and my boyfriend told me he had two parents tell him they accepted him too. Things were all dandy and fine. Or so I thought! Were ya'll just lying when you said you'd let us be two normal kids or did you expect us to pretend to be straight for ya?" I noticed Matt eyes widened and mouth ajar. It was eerily silent as all I could hear were crickets. "Wait!" I said when I saw my father about to answer, "I'm not finished. I am freakin' tired of pretending!" I looked at my dad, "You released me. You said you accepted who I am, but yet I am the exact same person. I haven't changed any. Did I grow a second head? Sum'in always hangin' out of my nose? What? It makes no sense to me. You're just ashamed. That's all it is. I don't care what society thinks of gays and since when have you cared what society thinks? You've always told me that most of what society says or does is bullshit anyways! I'm not goin' back to pretending! No! It just ain't happenin'. Matt and I are boyfriends and in our own home and in our place we'll act as we so fuckin' wish. This is my life. Not yours!" I turned to Mr. Ducker. "This is Matt's life, not yours. We'll live it as we so wish." I inhaled deeply realizing I was speaking so hard and long I almost lost my breath a few times. "Where is all this comin' from?" my dad finally spoke. "Did you not hear me?" I shot back. "I won't pretend at home no more! If I wanna cuddle with Matt, then I'm gonna cuddle with Matt." His face had lightened up since my declaration ended. "OK -- let's think this through," Mr. Ducker called out. "Let's not fight. We're here to have a good time. We're stuck here for the time being, so let's just make the best of it and have a good time. We're all a little heated right now, how about we all take a break from each other. It'll be getting dark soon, lets all take some time apart. I'll be in my tent if anyone needs me." He grabbed a lantern from the back seat of the car and went into his tent. I broke visual contact with my dad. I looked up at the sky, which was still bright, but the tree coverage was making it quite dark down at the floor of the woods. I got up and told everyone I would be out relieving myself. I walked straight downstream until I was a good ways from the campsite. I heard footsteps following me and looked to see Matt close behind. I found a tee and lowered the front of my shorts. Matt walked up next to me and did the same. "I can't believe what just happened," he whispered -- as if he needed to that quiet. I didn't respond and when I was done I walked back, grabbed a lantern and went inside the tent. Matt followed shortly after. He fiddled with the radio, finding the station we liked and put the volume on low. I closed my eyes to enjoy the music, but Matt interrupted me. "I'm proud of you," he squeaked softly. He was lying next to me up on his elbow looking down at me. I looked up at him and smiled. "Why?" I asked. "I don't know. Just am. Standing up to our parents like that." "What about yourself?" "What about me?" I smiled again, this time moving my hand slowly toward his crotch. Matt's eyes followed my movement as my fingertips breeched his waistband. I reached as far as I could and found his balls, fondled them and pretended to be thinking hard. "Yup, you do have a pair," I said. "When did you grow these?" "What?!" he exclaimed quietly. "When did you grow a pair of balls? You've never been this brave before? Never!" "I told you before. I'm just so happy," he remarked. "No, it's more than that. There's sum'in else." "Yeah -- it is all that you said. The freedom and shit." "I mean I'm not even sure I believe everythin' I said." "Why not?" Matt asked. "We aren't really free. All that stuff I said sounds good, but we aren't really free. We won't be free until we can be ourselves no matter where we go. We're still pretendin' in school and when we go out." "But still, we've got more freedom than before." "I know. I'll just settle for things to be back to normal, as if nu'in ever happened." I paused a moment. "Speakin' of which, Ian came over to my house last night. He was real weird -- actin' like he was nervous or -- or confused." "What?" Matt gawked. "He wanted to tell me sum'in, I know. But I scared him off." "You scared him off? What?" "I was in a bad mood. I didn't mean to. I think he was cryin'." "You said you could trust him. He's not gonna go tell the whole school we're gay is he?" "Oh God I hope not! But I don't think that's what was botherin' him. Just didn't feel that way. I told him we'd talk when I got back." Matt and I laid together for a little longer just listening to the music. I took the time to reflect back on my words and subsequent conversation with Matt. The more I thought about it, the more I came to understand my dad's position. It was dark by the time I stuck my head out of the tent again. Moonlight, if there was any, was not getting through the tree coverage. Each of the three tents illuminated from within by lanterns and the outside by the dying fire. My dad was putting another log or two on the fire. "You want sum'in to drink?" I asked Matt as I got out of the tent. "Sure." The cooler was next to where my dad was sitting. I walked over and I knew my dad noticed me, but seemed to acknowledge my existence at the moment. I grabbed two cokes, but instead of walking back to my tent, I stood -- staring at him, waiting for him to acknowledge me. But he didn't so I got tired of waiting. "Look," I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to explode like that. Can we talk about this -- civilized?" He didn't respond at first. He just glanced at me a few times then finally said, "I'd much rather talk about this with your mother present." "But I wouldn't mind talking about it now," Mr. Ducker said, startling me. Matt, who had his head stuck out the tent, looked over at him, but didn't speak. Mr. Ducker walked over and sat on the log bench that was directly in front of our tent and faced Matt. I walked back and handed Matt a coke, popping my can open and taking a gulp. I crawled back into the tent and sat next to Matt. "I did some thinking about what Will said, Matt and I have to agree with some of it. I never thought about what you two must go through in school, having to pretend, as Will puts it. I feel ashamed by the way I treated you originally. I told you that along time ago. But now I feel ashamed by the way I expected you to act afterwards. Will's right. I can't expect you to pretend in the only place you can be yourself. So even though I may feel a tad bit uncomfortable with seeing you two -- you know -- being boyfriends, I'll get over it. You can be yourself around me. I can live with it." Matt grew a smile the size of which I've never seen before. Without delay, he reached over and took a hold of me. He leaned in and was about to kiss me, but I pulled back a little. He then realized he was about to kiss me with his dad looking upon. Mr. Ducker smiled, but didn't comment. He got up and then I saw my dad, who was previously blocked, with his face in his hands. I wasn't sure what was up with him. The rest of the night went by in a dull mood. There wasn't much talking at all. Matt and I had a snack of chips and cookies. Mr. Ducker and my dad talked a little about us, I believe; I really wasn't paying attention as we went back into our tents to listen to more music. "I'm really sorry your dad's not taking it well like mine," Matt uttered. I looked up at him as I was lying down and he was sitting idly by my side. "Why are you sorry?" "I dunno. I just feel sorry for you. My dad's all working with me on this and your dad just seems to want to argue some more. Wasn't he doing well after your last argument with him?" "Yeah, he was. Since that day when we came back from our runaway-campin' trip, he's been pretty good about things. But I was pretending most of that time. And I think my mother has a lot to do with it too. She seems desperate to get us -- likin' each other again -- like back to a normal family." Matt reached out and put his hand square on my chest. I placed my hand on top of his and held it firm; his other hand starting exploring the side of my face. I looked away and closed my eyes, enjoying his touch and the music which fit the mood. "How about we play some cards?" Matt suggested. "It'll help pass time." "Rummy?" "Is there any other?" We laughed as I sat up. Then knowing Matt, there wasn't going to be a game without some sort of bet attached. "Strip poker?" he suggested. As much as it intrigued me, seeing Matt naked is always a good thing, but I wasn't comfortable with doing it at that time. I reached over and moved the flap of the tent door. I could see both my dad and Mr. Ducker moving about outside. "Both our parents are still awake. I'm not sure if it's such a good idea right now. What if they look in at us or sum'in?" I thought for a moment to come up with something that would be worthy of a bet. "How about," I continued, lowering my voice as to make sure no one but Matt could hear me, "the loser has to do what the winner wants -- tonight -- in bed -- after our parents have gone to sleep." Matt's eyes widened at the thought. He quickly agreed and started shuffling the deck. We played a good twenty minutes before I broke the point limit originally set. But we were having such a good time we agreed to double it so we could play longer. Still in the end, I won. Matt seemed both intrigued and scared about what I had in store for him. He interrogated me for a little while to tell him what I planned. I played along pretending to have an evil scheme for him, but in fact, I had no idea what I was going to ask him to do. I finally got him to stop bugging me just past ten o'clock. That is the time we guess based on the DJ's comments on the radio. I peeked out the tent flap again to find Mr. Ducker picking up trash and putting some things away. He noticed me and said, "Hey boys. I'm heading to bed in a few minutes -- just as soon as I'm done picking up." "OK," I replied. "We'll be goin' down in a few also." I closed the flap back and smiled at Matt. "They'll be done in a few." We talked quietly waiting for Mr. Ducker to finish cleaning up and head to his tent. The fire was really low now and barely illuminated anything. Both parent's tents were not illuminated from within any longer; they must have gone down for the night. Matt started crawling out when I stopped him. "Where you goin'?" I asked. "I need to pee." Just then I thought of something I could do to him -- as his debt for the bet. "Go naked," I suggested. "What?" "You have to take all your clothes off and go pee naked. "Why?" "You lost the bet. You're supposed to do one thing for me." "No! What if my dad comes out?" "But you're supposed to do what I wanted." "I can't do that though." I thought a minute. "OK -- I'll go with you. But it won't count for the bet." Without giving him chance to reply, I reached forward and lowered his shorts. He giggled but didn't argue. We finished getting completely naked. I looked out to double check that the parent's were down. And I went first; I walked briskly in the same direction as we went last time. It got dark very fast as we moved away from the fire. When I stopped, Matt abruptly bumped into me. He giggled a little then I could see he was trying to go pee. I couldn't see a thing in front of us as there was no light. After a minute, I still hadn't heard the sounds of urine hitting the ground. "What's wrong?" "Just give me a second. It's hard going when you're hard." I laughed. "Relax and just go." "It's not easy. Not use to being completely naked out in the woods." He finally relieved himself and we went back into our tent. When we got back in, we laid down together and covered up with our blanket. "It's kind'a chilly out there huh?" I proposed. "You better warm me up then." We moved close together and held each other. I turned the lantern almost completely off, leaving it just slightly glowing. We started by lightly kissing each other. Soon Matt had rolled on top of me and the kissing became vigorous. I broke the kiss and whispered, "You still owe me for the bet." Matt just smiled. "Just tell me what." "This is what," I said as my hand made its way over his back and to the top of his butt. I slowly used my index finger to slide up and down his crevasse. "Make love to me," I whispered. "Quietly." Although I couldn't see his face well, I could see him smile. He immediately dove back into a kiss and slowly started bucking. Our dicks pressed flat between our warming stomachs. I pressed my index finger firmly against his pucker. His face slid down the side of my head, and he moaned just slightly. He continued to slowly rock as I started kissing his neck. He spread his legs apart as wide as he could get them and pulled his knees forward. I had full access to his ass and I took advantage of it. My other hand pulled his cheeks apart while I continued pushing and rubbing with my other. Matt whispered ever so quietly, "You have something -- for it." "I have toothpaste; if that's what you mean." His moan meant yes. I reached into my bag and found my hygiene bag and pulled out the toothpaste. I had to turn the lantern up a tad to see, but I got a blob onto my finger -- careful not to touch the end. Matt got repositioned and started humping again. I went back to my finger-feast on his ass smearing the blob into his hole, pressing steadily inside him. I could barely hear him groaning into my ear but I could feel the vibrations from his throat on my shoulder. "That feels incredible," he moaned. I pressed my finger in all the way to its knuckle. The muscles wrapped tightly around my finger. I pulled it out -- then pushed it back in. His motions started speeding up and soon he was slightly huffing into my ear. I whispered for him to be as quiet as possible. He only momentarily quieted down, but as his bucking became more rigorous, so did his moans. "Push -- hard," I whispered. I felt his pucker muscle loosen as I pulled out and prodded the softness left behind. Matt gave a few violent pushes and I felt the warm goo excreting from his dick. Once that hit, it was only two more tugs and I blasted my own load. We cleaned up, snuggled together and fell asleep soon after. The next morning, we ate a light breakfast because we planned to go to a local freshwater lake a few miles away and do a little swimming. We left a little after breakfast and walked there. We figured a little exercise in the morning couldn't hurt, and any sweat accumulated would be vanquished with the swim, which was doubling as our morning shower. We arrived at what looked like a small freshwater lake, the width and length easily visible from our location. We put our bags down, took our shoes and shirts off and went in. It was surprisingly cold for such a warm day. Maybe it was the warm breeze making the water cooler or just the fact it was cold, I don't know. Matt and I swam out further into the lake than our parents did. "This is great!" Matt exclaimed as he jumped onto my back. I instantly sank. He held me under for a minute. Once he let me up, I spewed water into his face. "HA!" I laughed. "Gross! Willie germs!" he barked back. I laughed. "You didn't seem to mind my germs last night," I winked. "Oh you're gonna get it now," Matt said in his redneck voice. "You're a redneck now I see!" I yelled as I backed away from him. Matt moved toward me as fast as he could, but I turned around and swam. We went into a full swim-sprint out further into the middle of the lake. I heard our dad's yelling for us to come back to the shore, but I ignored them. "What's wrong? Can't catch me?" I mocked as he fell behind. When Matt had virtually come to a stand still, I headed toward the shore. I was about half way back when I heard Matt from behind me, attempting to sneak up on me, but swimming swiftly leaves a lot of noise. I noticed before he got too close and I was back to a full swim. It wore me out pretty good, but I believe it wore Matt out even more. My dad and Mr. Ducker were sitting on the lakes edge chatting away. "Left Matt in the dust I see," Mr. Ducker said. "He couldn't catch a slug crawlin' up his leg," I ridiculed. We splashed and fooled around a little longer before breaking out the soap and shampoo. We cleaned up as best as we could considering the circumstances and marched back to our camp. When we got back, my dad rekindled the fire for lunch. The morning breeze had turned into afternoon gusts. Dad grilled hamburgers he had previously fixed at home and packaged for the trip. We had most of the fixings with them. After lunch, I was feeling exhausted from our morning swim and early rise. Couple that with the hard sleep that night, I was feeling tired. "Think I'm gonna go lay down," I tiresomely said. "Sounds like a good idea," my dad jumped in. "I didn't get much sleep last night with all the noise." He stared directly at me when he said that. I felt surprised, but shrugged it off. When I crawled into my tent, Matt was close behind. We laid side by side, arms touching. "You think my dad heard us last night?" I whispered. "What? Why you think that?" "The way he looked at me -- you know, when he said he didn't get much sleep last night 'cause of all the noise." "God I hope not!" Matt voiced loud enough for everyone to hear. I quickly reached behind me and turned the radio back on leaving it at the same low volume. "I really don't think so," Matt said, "-- just creepy thinking that." We talked briefly, but it didn't last; laying down my eyes got heavy and I dozed off. Shivers ran across my body. I was pulled back into consciousness by a chilling wind. I pulled the blanket over on top of me without opening my eyes. The light hurt them, so I rolled over and put my arm around Matt. I cuddled and tried to fall back into a sleep. But I had trouble. It gave me a very eerie feeling. I came to realization that the wind was blowing too hard for being in a tent. I opened one of my eyes. The light was bright and a second later, I was focusing on the tree tops, the leaves swaying in the wind. I shot up frantically. I sat there in disbelief. I was sitting exactly where I had fallen asleep -- the blanket, sleeping bag, shoes, towels, radio and our bags all there in their place -- but the tent -- was gone. I shook my head but it did no good. The fire was burning, the car still in its original place, the vacant tent next to ours and the two tents after it were there, but our tent was missing. I looked down and Matt was still asleep. I touched his cheek with my hand then gently nudged his shoulder. "Matt?" I said softly. "Wake up Matt." Matt made a few grumpy groans but woke up. He rubbed his eyes for a second, and then shot up right beside me. "What the?" he goggled. "What happened to our tent?" I looked around; the tent was no where in sight. "I have no freakin' idea." I got up and looked around the campsite. I was still unable to locate out tent. Matt joined me soon and we stood next to the fire. "This is just unbelievable. There is no way the wind blew it away. It's tied down just like all the others." I heard noise from behind us so I turned. My dad had his machete and was walking back to the campsite from the woods. I waited for him to get close enough to us. "Dad, our tent just disappeared!" He stopped and looked at our belongings. "It does appear that way huh?" he said nonchalantly. "What?" I questioned in disbelief. "How can you say that? It just didn't get up and walk away." "You know, I think you're right Will. I'm sure it didn't walk away," he said in return. "I don't believe you. What's wrong?" I looked at him; he was calmly standing there as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. "What were you doin?" "I was gettin' more firewood." "But you don't got any wood with ya?" My dad chuckled lightly. He walked toward us then stopped. He looked me in the eye and said, "That's because I didn't get any." He then walked past me and sat on the log bench. He continued, "You know son, I really didn't want it to turn out this way." "What? What way?" I replied. "This way. The way we've become. I can't handle it. I just can't." My dad lowered his head. I suddenly felt sorry for him. I knew he had been trying, but I couldn't imagine how hard it must be to accept a gay son. "Look, I said I was sorry for yellin' at you yesterday. I know you're tryin'. That's all that matters. We'll get through it." "No -- we won't." "Why not?" I asked, but my father didn't respond. He just held his face down. "I don't understand?" When my dad still didn't respond, Matt embraced me in a hug. I looked intently at my father over Matt's shoulder. My dad looked up at me -- his face red with anger. I squinted my eyes. My dad stood up, machete in hand and lunged forward. I reacted out of instinct. "Matt!" I yelled as I pushed him aside. My dad fell into me as I grabbed his arm with the machete. I fell back as his momentum carried me. I heard Matt gasp as he fell over the log bench backwards. My dad grunted loud and he stood up, pushing me down hard. I saw Matt scramble to his feet as my dad turned to face him. He swung the machete forward. Matt tried to dodge it, but I saw it slice into Matt's lower abdomen. "What the fuck!" I yelled as I got up and jumped onto my dad's back. "What the fuck! STOP!" Matt groaned -- letting out a squeaky yelp. I struggled with my dad, attempting to control his machete arm, but yet trying to see what happened to Matt. My dad swung his body sideways violently to jolt me off, but I wasn't letting go. My dad turned to face Matt once again. He was lying on the ground right behind the log bench holding his lower left side. He cried in pain. "Dad!" Matt cried -- then groaned loudly. My dad reached over his shoulders and grabbed the back of my head. He leaned forward as he pulled hard. I slide off over him. He got out of my grasp but I jumped up quickly. He stared at me for a second. "What are ya doin'?" I bogglingly asked. He grunted then lunged forward at me this time. I attempted to avoid his thrust, but he nipped me across my arm, leaving a sharpening pain shooting to my head. Out of pure adrenalin, I didn't respond immediately to the pain, instead I focused on grabbing his arm as he pulled back. As I held on as tight as I could to the butt of the machete, I twisted my body into his and tried to knock him over. "ARG!" Matt continued to cry, "Dad!" He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me away from my grip. I coughed at the pressure against my throat, but I refused to let go of my grip on the machete. And when I was flung aside, I dug my fingernails into his thumb and the weapon came flying out. It landed right next to me. As soon as I realized what happened, I snatched it. But my father was right on top of me, pushing me hard into the ground -- his hand firmly on top of mine arm. "STOP!" I screamed with all my might -- the weight of my dad making it hard. Matt continued to cry in pain as my dad and I struggled. My dad pushed my face down into the dirt and I got a mouth full of dried dirty leaves. This enabled him to pull the machete free from my hand and stand up without a problem. He backed away, inching ever closer to Matt. I turned over to look at him; he was red with anger. I spit the dirt out of my mouth. "What are you doin' this for?" I begged again. He started using the machete as a pointer. "I'm doin' this for your own good. You have no idea what I'm saving you from. Both of you," he said as he glanced at Matt, who was weeping in distress. "I can't live like this any longer -- knowin' my own son is -- is -- it's just not gonna work." "But I thought we went through this," I pleaded. "We have many times," he growled. "I'm doin' this as a favor son. You'll realize that soon enough." He raised his arms into an attacking position above Matt. "NOOO!" I screamed. Matt shrieked and put an arm up in self defense. I jumped up as fast as I could, ran and tackled my father right as he started his downward motion. I pushed and shoved as hard as I could as we went crashing into Mr. Ducker's tent. It collapsed under our weight, the thin frame snapping and the fabric ripping, engulfing us in an intertwinement of confusion. I reached for his arms to grab the weapon -- but it was gone. I looked around for it, but was interrupted by two hands wrapping tightly around my neck. I gasped; my lungs desperate for air. I instinctively clutched his wrists, trying with all my strength to break free. "STOP!" Matt attempted to yell, but his voice was weakening. My dad rolled over on top of me, still squeezing the air from me. My tongue jolted out as I desperately sucked in what I could. A rock hit my father across the back, catching his attention. His head swung backwards to see what happened. He let his guard down for just a moment, but I took advantage and when he looked back at me, I jabbed my thumb into his eye. He let out a groan and released his grip around my neck. I coughed and gagged for air as I pushed him aside and scrambled away from him. Matt was slumped against the log bench, blood covering his entire left side, running down his leg. I was astonished by the amount of blood; I knew it couldn't be good. I wobbled over to him. He pulled the machete from behind him and looked up at me. "Take it!" he wheezed out. I seized it and turned around to face my dad -- positioning in defense mode. My dad was still holding his eye and lying on the ground. He cursed sporadically, but seemed to have given up when he saw I had the machete again. I looked down at Matt. "My God Matt!" I muttered. I bent down next to him. My dad grunted again, so I looked at him. "Don't come near -- I swear I'll use this thing!" I declared as I swung it in his direction. My dad slowly got up and moved forward. "Don't do it! I will hurt you!" I declared again. Instead, my dad backed away toward his tent and crawled inside. I instantly lowered my guard and attended to Matt. "Matt!" I wheezed, instantly reached down to comfort him. I placed my arm around his shoulder and caressed his face. He was red and tear jerked from his injury. I reached down to touch his hand holding pressure on his cut, but when I came in contact with the blood, I froze. "Let me see it," I ordered. He gasped as he removed his hand. I saw the t-shirt had a large rip in it. I lifted it up and saw the worst thing I could have imagined. He had a large laceration starting just left of his belly button and reaching to his side. It looked deep based on the length and size. "Just keep pressure on it -- I can't fuckin' believe this. I'll get you help. Hold on Matt -- please!" "It hurts -- really," he squalled. I took my shirt off and pressed it against his wound. I looked around, trying to see what happened to Matt's dad, but he was no where in sight. "Mr. Ducker! Help! Anyone?" I hollered to the woods. Realizing I was not attracting any attention, I turned to my dad's tent. "Gimmie the keys!" I shouted. I turned back to Matt. He was looking pretty bad. "I'll drive us outta here if I hafta." I heard my dad rummaging through his bag making a lot of noise. "Gimmie the keys dammit!" I repeated. I poked the front of the tent with the end of the machete -- the fidgeting inside ceased. A second later, my dad came out. Only he had a gun. My eyes widened and I lost all sense of confidence. The adrenaline had since worn off and I came to comprehend the situation. My knees felt weak and when I glanced at Matt, I felt a sense of urgency, as I feared he was hurt far further than I originally felt. There was a massive amount of blood -- more than I figured he could lose. I lowered my arm as my dad indicated for me to drop it. I dropped the machete on the edge of the log bench as I backed up. I inched backwards as my father inched forward. He started chuckling in defiance of me. "You know, I'm doin' this for your own good." "You -- you, you planned this from the beginning? You brought a gun?" I chocked out. "You -- you planned this before we even got here!" He chuckled some more. "I only have one son left." He raised the gun to point it straight at me. I started shaking in fear. I was in complete awe at the sight I was witnessing. "Dad -- don't!" I said calmly, hoping to reason with him at this point. With his arm straight out, he turned and looked down at Matt, and slowly turned the gun on him. BANG! My skin jumped. My heart skipped. I felt stunned and in utter stupor. Matt went limp, the rag dropping from his grip; his head slumping back onto the bench. Blood slipped from the edge of his mouth. I was frozen -- my mind unable to comprehend what happened. My knees became so weak, they buckled under my weight. I wasn't able to understand anything. Matt was looking at me, his red tear-soaked face gazing straight at me. The gun smoke blurring the vision, the blood sucking my will. I started breathing heavily and soon it turned into gasping for air. My head went light. I felt dizzy and I soon collapsed and fell flat on my face. I was conscious but unable to move, think or feel. My body, mind and soul felt empty, suddenly vacuumed from existence. Rage built up and soon adrenaline filled my system as my body geared toward survival. My dad nonchalantly walked closer to me, the gun still in hand and raised it to me. I pounced onto my hands and knees and jolted forward, hitting my dad's lower legs. He tried to brace himself but I was too pumped and heavy for him. He fell backwards and hit his head on the edge of the bench. The gun fell from his hand as he gave an awful yelp. My dad looked unconscious as I got up off him and crawled toward Matt. My emotions soon overcame my adrenaline and tears started rolling from my eyes. I got over to Matt and found a blotch of blood center mass. "Matt?" I whispered. I shook his shoulders. Then I touched his face, wiggling it from side to side attempting to wake him. "Matt?" I cried again. I pulled him into me, embracing his limp body in a hug. I couldn't feel anything but emptiness. I cried as I put my face against his, forehead to forehead. I put my lips on his and they were still warm as I kissed him, my tears squishing between our lips. I squeezed him hard, tighter than I've ever squeezed before. "Matt?" I whimpered again. "Wake up. Don't! No -- wake up Matt." I lost the energy to speak and soon I was crying hallow moans. I looked at his light blue eyes and they appeared to be staring back at me but they gazed lifelessly. I slowly closed his eyes, taking in his look, hoping he could see me one last time. I closed my eyes and pulled him back into me. I had to feel him. I caressed his soft hair and touched every aspect of his face -- lips -- nose and cheeks. I had to take him in one last time. I had to live for that moment forever. I couldn't let go. I wiped Matt's blood from my face; I started feeling sick to my stomach as I had no energy or adrenaline left in me. I was going to heave, but it was gone the second I saw a reflection in the car window. My dad was standing behind me again. I slowly turned to face him, red with anger. He had blood on his hand, and a stream of blood running the side of his face. "WHY?!" I cried out. He didn't respond in words, but in action. He raised the gun at me -- his hand twitching with emotion. I glared at the gun, angry but scared. I gradually began to shake my head side to side, fearful of what he was going to do. He held his place for a few minutes. His eyes closed, and when I thought about getting up to attack him again, I was held down by the lifeless body I was clutching. I couldn't let go of Matt. It felt like he was holding me in place, gripping me not to leave him. The wind picked up, making the noise of the leaves amplify. I couldn't hear anything but the leaves, crashing against each other. My dad's mouth moved as if he said something, but no noise came from him. I saw him squeeze the gun -- a flash of light beckoned and a puff of smoke spewed from it -- but no noise. I was motionless and thoughtless, but my body told me I was in trouble. I felt suddenly weak. I looked down at the gush of blood on my chest. It turned immensely painful. I collapsed to lie next to Matt. My eyes blinked in pain, then blurred. I watched my boyfriends face slowly fade from my vision -- my eyes too heavy to hold open. I blinked, trying to see him as long as I could, but I could only keep my eyes open for moments at a time. I couldn't breathe for what my lungs desired. His face lit up, bright and white. I blinked -- and blinked -- each time his face becoming whiter and whiter. I closed my eyes, trying to open them, but I saw Matt, wading in the swimming pool, laughing and giggling -- jumping up and making large splashes. Then he was crouched behind the door of Vanessa's room, peeking through the crack -- his gorgeous smooth legs flexing in front of me -- the rim of his ankle high socks complimenting perfectly his delicate skin. I was next to him, watching a movie in the dark theatre, two people next to me on the other side kissing. I looked over and Matt leaned into me, our lips meeting half way and then parting slowly. Then he was lying next to me on his bed. He looked at me and smiled. He reached for me, taking my hand and placing it on his uncovered crotch. His eyes closed and he sighed in pleasure. I saw him struggling to release himself from the bully's grip, whipping his arms and legs violently. He screamed a silent echo. I pushed my way to him in an attempt to help him, but I was knocked away. Matt was dragged from my view and again, gave a hallow yell. He was sitting on his bed, miserable -- unable to speak, words not coming to him. He started to whimper -- to the point of breaking down. I whispered for him not to worry, that I was there and was not going to let him be lonely and miserable any longer. I moved toward him and touched him. I leaned him down and our lips made contact. I slowly kissed him -- reassuring him everything was alright now. A second later, he was slowly going in rhythmic circles. He was dancing with a girl, and I was opposite him, dancing with another girl. I watched him closely, smirking at the irony of the situation. His smiled in return. We watched each other, both knowing full well we wanted to be dancing with each other, holding hands and being close. The girl was gone and we were behind his garage. He was being verbally abused by his father, mentally anguished. I longed for saving him, but he was soundly accepting it was to be. I told Matt to hang on and I'd try to help, but we were interrupted, I couldn't tell by what. I found myself with Matt in a dark room -- our secret hiding place in the back of the school theatre. It was just me and him -- we were holding each other. He reached down and touched my crotch -- my pants fell to the ground, my hormones getting the best of me. He dropped his own pants and then took a hold of me. We held each other, half naked in the cold dark room. We were at our excursion campsite; the spring air was cool against our naked bodies as we stared into the night sky. The stars shining bright as we shared body heat in a long passionate kiss. Then, he looked at me, and I could hear him tell me that he loved me. I returned the notion. I loved him. I looked at him and he looked at me. I used all the strength I had left to open my eyes one last time. Matt's face was starting back at me, his eyes open and alive with emotion. "Matt?" I whispered -- bewildered at the sight. He smiled. "Hello Will," he said as clear as ever -- no sign of pain or anguish. He stood in an aura of bright warming light. My eyes widened. "Matt -- you're -- you're --" "I'm fine, Will. Nothing to worry about now." His voice was very comforting. "But," I said -- incapable of completing my thought with words. I looked around but I was unable to see anything -- everything was a warm glowing light. "Hello William," someone said startling me. "Robert?" I gawked audibly. "Yeah, it's me, your brother. Don't worry about anything. It's alright now." "But what's happenin'?" "Look for yourself," Robert said as he indicated for me to look past him. There, in the middle of the campsite, I saw unmistakably my father standing over two bodies. The blood was ever present and the image was numbing. I was staring at Matt and myself. The image swung around to my backside as I looked back at Robert and Matt, both standing in front of me. "Matt's here waiting for you," Robert said. Matt grinned, his eyes calm-vivid blue and his smile more adorable than ever. "But what's goin' on?" I asked. "You've been freed. You and Matt are free now. You can be together forever -- no worries." "What do you mean freed?" "You're free from the confines of the human mind and human society. You found your soul mate, Will. Matt found his soul mate -- and now both of you are ready to live eternity together." I must have looked confused because Robert continued to explain after a second. "When you find your soul mate, you can go into eternity as one -- as a complete being destined for love forever. Love between a man and a woman can be strong, but only so strong because it's not the eternal love a soul needs. In life, when a man and woman fall in love, they complete each other -- compliment each other -- but it's incomplete because it's not a soul mate -- just their completed self. The bond between you two is stronger than the bond of love between a man and woman because you're already a being. Gays search for love and can find their soul mate, an advantage above all else. Everyone else searches for their paired being. When they finally face eternity, they must find their soul mate then, something you and Matt already did. You and Matt found each other. That is all that matters. "You two are already complete beings and therefore your love is the strongest possible. It is when two young boys can fall in love despite the massive pressures against you, and defy the world, that true love forms. True love stands the test of human endurance and the human forces of ignorant evil. Gay love endures both of those, and in the end, cannot be broken. The bond between two boy's hearts is stronger than any human force. The constant funnel of bigotry and hatred simply because of one minor difference in the heart has only made that bond of love into a unison beating heart, shared in both mind and soul. The destruction of the physical body cannot stop what is the true test of time -- love. "And because you have your soul mate, you can venture into eternity as one and be together forever. No one can go in without their soul mate because there is only one emotion in eternity, and that is love." "There's no hate in there?" I asked. "We can be together without a problem?" "It's eternity. Love is the only true emotion; all other emotions evolved from humans and are emotions to distort love and to keep love apart. A soul cannot love without a soul mate, and a soul mate cannot be present without love." I looked back at Matt. He was standing as beautifully as ever. I smiled and walked over to him. I reached out and touched his face. He was soft and warm. "Go on now," Robert whispered. "What about you?" I asked. "Why are you still here?" "My soul mate is still not here. I have to wait." "Oh -- I'm sorry." "It's not bad though, really. Remember what I said -- only love can be felt here." I turned to Matt. Looking into his eyes I asked, "You know, I knew from that first kiss -- I knew it. I could feel it -- like our souls connected somehow." Matt beamed. "You could feel it too? I guess we were meant to be." We giggled. Matt leaned forward and kissed me gently. Then we walked leisurely into the brightness of eternity -- hand in hand. ***************************************************************************** Author's note: That's the end of the story. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do have plans to continue writing...and I think those who read the story close enough could guess what needs to be settled ;) Yeah -- that thing with Ian -- I think maybe he deserves a story of his own. I probably won't get around to it for awhile though -- end of May maybe, and I won't release any until I've completely finished with the story so I won't have the issues I had with this story...Hopefully sometime over the summer Ian gets released :) Now that the story is over...I'd love to hear complete feedback about the entire story- if you have questions/comments/suggestions on anything and everything... let me know. wcordova98@yahoo.com Thanks Love, Will