Thanks to all for your support of the story and the kind words. As always, keep Nifty in mind if you appreciate the platform.

All characters are fictious, as is the town of Jackson Bend.

Feedback is welcome via email or the blog: timothylane414stories.blogspot.com

 

12

 

Mike's alarm was set for 6:20. I knew we would need to say goodbye, so I set my phone to go off at 6:00. It went off on the nightstand, and I silenced it immediately. Mike didn't even flinch.

We had just showered before going to sleep, so I figured I would be fine for classes today. I slipped out of the bed. His boxer shorts I had been wearing were on the floor. I had brought briefs in the bag, but I felt like keeping his underwear around my crotch. I wasn't sure if that was romantic or pathetic.

I brushed my teeth and had everything packed and ready when Mike's alarm went off. He turned it off, and then his body whirled to see if I was in bed next to him. I walked to the bedroom doorway.

"I thought about leaving a note, but I wanted to say goodbye in person."

"Come here you," he said, holding out his arms.

I slipped into his embrace, him completely naked and me fully dressed. We kissed a few times, our arms wrapped around each other.

"Have a good day. And have a nice visit with your parents," he told me.

"Thanks," I said, as I fondled his dick. "I'll talk to you soon."

I leaned down and kissed the head of his penis and then headed to the doorway.

"Love you," he called out as I opened the front door.

"See ya," I said back, with an evil smile.

 

—

 

My euphoric high of spending the night with Mike carried me a few hours. I turned in my paper for my Ethics class in my second class this morning. It's in; it's done. It was a hard one, but I felt confident I should score well. It may not have been perfect, but I was thrilled to have it off my plate.

My phone buzzed. It was Mike.

"Saw my T-shirt folded on the chair, but not my boxers. Clearly, I should have gotten you a package of those for your birthday," he texted.

I laughed and replied, "I liked the gift I received."

I threw a heart and smiley emoji on it. Then I resent the picture of both of us in boxers I had taken weeks ago.

I checked in with Dr. Owens after my first afternoon class.

"Trent, good afternoon. How are you feeling this week?"

"Better," I answered.

"Well, that's good. Do you have any reason you might think as to why that is?"

"How open can I be?"

"Say anything you want. It's all private and confidential here."

"Well, I had sex last night," I said, watching his expression to see if that was too much.

Dr. Owens remained silent. His expression indicated he was listening and that I should continue.

"I was worried the first time after ... well, the incident ... would terrify me. I thought I might freak out. Thankfully, it was with the one whom I love. It was wonderful."

"I see."

"Don't get me wrong. That night will still trouble me for some time, but it was also a wakeup call, too. I will never allow myself to get in that situation ever again."

"Aside from this lover, do you have a support system of friends?"

"Absolutely! In fact, they all but hovered over me the day after. They've been great," I explained.

"I'm pleased to hear that."

"I have been keeping a journal. Any time I feel like getting something out, that's helpful too."

He asked me a few more questions. I thought they were more to guide me into opportunities to talk things out. I answered them truthfully, but I'm not sure if they conveyed any more information to him.

"Well, Trent, there are only a few weeks of school left," Dr. Owens said. "Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. And Trent, here's my number."

He handed me a card.

"I know you are concerned about your parents. Even after school is out ... I've known your family for so long ... you can always call me."

I offered my sincere thanks to him and exited his office. I wasn't sure if I would see him again, but it was nice knowing he was there. My last class of the day was a breeze.

That evening, Kevin and Paul wanted to have dinner with me knowing I was spending the weekend with my parents. We had a nice meal together.

Before heading home, I gave Lance a call.

"Are you at your apartment?" I asked.

"Yeah, for a little bit. What's up?" he replied.

"I wanted to see you before heading home."

"Aw. Thanks. Yeah, come over."

A few minutes later, Lance was letting me into his apartment. He gave me a simple hug as I entered. He introduced me to one of his roommates, who was heading to the cafeteria for dinner. Lance said he would join him shortly.

I noticed Lance had a beer open on the coffee table. It was 6:15. I was now officially concerned.

"Now that the season is done, are you just consuming calories like mad?" I asked, pointing to the beer.

"It's Friday night," he replied.

"It's 6:15."

"Anyway..." he said in an attempt to change the subject.

"I just wanted to let you know I saw Dr. Owens again today."

"Ohhh good," he said, looking at me with sincerity.

"I told him I was doing better. After Mike and I had sex last night, I was able to sort through a few things. I was ... worried about it. The sex was awesome, by the way."

"You kill me when you say things like that," he said.

"What? Why?"

"I'm kidding," he said, walking past me, taking time to give me a quick peck on the lips. "I'm happy for you. I am. You guys are great together."

Lance slumped on the couch. He reached for his beer.

"I just wish we had ... you know ... more ... `times' together. I like them," he said.

"Still hoping for friends with benefits, huh?"

"You get me, Trent."

"Have you slept with anyone else on campus?" I asked.

"Mostly girls. Two or three guys, I guess."

"I could introduce you to some people. Once word started getting out about me, I was getting all sorts of invitations to go out."

"They wouldn't be you," he said.

"I'd say that was sweet, but I know you just want the sex." I looked around the apartment. "Well, I need to head home and your roommate is waiting for you."

I walked around to the back of the couch and leaned over it to give him a one-armed hug.

"Call me this weekend if you want," I said. "I'll be at home, so a break from parents could be good."

"See ya, dude," he replied.

I felt a little bad leaving him that way. He clearly had feelings for me, but I couldn't tell how deep or really what they were. He was not willing to be out. I still cared for him too. I found myself looking forward to seeing him. What were my feelings? Friendship or more? I loved Mike, so I needed to make sure I didn't do anything foolish with Lance. Mistakes in the past were enough.

I pulled into the driveway 50 minutes later. Mom came out the front door to greet me. I grabbed two bags of laundry from the trunk.

"I expected that," she said, hugging me even though both my arms were holding bags.

The evening was really good. Mom and Dad were both in good spirits. We laughed a lot during dinner, watched some television and even played a board game before going to bed. Mom had made a birthday cake, which sat on the counter until we cut it during the game. She had my favorite ice cream to go along with it. It wasn't a wild party by any means, but a nice evening.

Dad went to watch the night news in their bedroom. Mom asked if I would have a glass of wine with her. I was avoiding alcohol, but I acquiesced. I sure wasn't going to bring up why.

 

April 24

Today was full of emotion, each one striking me differently. The relief of getting the paper turned in, the simple pleasures of family, the comforting words of a counselor and the uplifting face of a friend — a good day all in all. However, I was now on the lookout for Lance's drinking. Like Tariq, I was now concerned. Lance seemed fine, but what if he wasn't? I felt like texting, but I had just seen him a few hours ago.

 

When I turned in and went to bed, I took off Mike's boxers. I crawled into bed naked thinking of him. I had just had crazy sex last night, so I wasn't planning on masturbating. However, thinking about last night did get me incredibly hard. I gently stroked my cock a little, but it was more fondling that anything else. I wasn't serious. Soon I fell asleep.

—

I woke up at 7, my normal time, and had to pee like crazy. I slipped the boxers on and went down the hall. I was hoping to get another hour of sleep. I made it 45 minutes, but then heard the clanging of pans in the kitchen. I threw on some sweats and a T-shirt.

"Good morning, darling," Mom said as she prepared eggs on the stove.

She was wearing the most unflattering nightgown. It was mom clothing. I could see bacon waiting to be fried up. I looked for some juice in the fridge and saw a big bowl of cut fruit.

"Wow, this is quite the breakfast," I said.

"You can have birthday cake if you prefer," she answered.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll have a slice about every two hours," I said.

Dad came out to the kitchen dressed like he was going to work in the yard.

"What are your plans?" I asked him.

"I want to get that back flowerbed ready for planting. It's full of weeds."

"Want me to mow the lawn?"

"Wow. That would be marvelous, son. If you're offering, I'll take you up on it."

"Sure. I will just want to get in a run to work off this breakfast." I paused to wink at Mom. "Then I'll get right to it."

It made me feel good to do something for Dad. We don't often bond. This would let us do something together, without actually doing it together.

"Okay, boys, but don't take the whole morning. We have a surprise at noon, and I'll want you cleaned up," Mom informed.

"OoooOOOooo. A surprise," I said. "Any hints?"

"None," she said with a smile, and she turned her back on us to tend to the stove.

I talked about classes during breakfast. Dad talked a little about work. He headed out to the yard, and I put on shoes for my run. It took 45 minutes to cover a lot of the neighborhood. It was a good sweat. Much of my thoughts centered on Lance. I wondered what he was doing, but more importantly, how he was doing.

Dad and I both showered by 11:30. The yard looked much better. He sat flowers he had bought by the area of the yard he had just tended but said he would get to them tomorrow.

"Come to the kitchen, boys," Mom called.

Both of us entered the kitchen. The table was set and in the center was a wrapped gift. Mom and Dad both smiled at me.

"Guys, I'm grown now. You shouldn't be buying me gifts."

"Oh, shut up and open it," Mom said.

It was a fairly big box. I poked at the tape, but eventually just tore off the wrapping paper. Inside was a balloon. Taped to it was a thin box. I gently pulled the box off the balloon and opened it. Inside was a beautiful watch. It was gorgeous and in the taste I particularly like.

"Oh man, that's beautiful."

I took it out and started to put it on.

"Turn it over," Mom said.

Trent, We are so proud of you and always will be. Dad and Mom

The engraved message meant a lot to me.

"That's awesome. Thank you, both of you."

I went around the table to hug each of them.

"But why the balloon? Just to make it funny? To throw me off?"

"Pop it," Dad said.

I looked around and then grabbed a knife off the counter. The balloon popped in a loud burst. Inside was a small, folded note. I picked it up and opened the paper.

Turn around, it said.

I looked puzzled but turned to the living room. There stood Matt and Ali.

"Surprise!"

"Hey, you two! I haven't talked to you in forever! I'm so happy you are here."

Mom and Dad were all smiles as we hugged and reminisced. She added two more place settings at the table.

"All right everybody. The lasagna will be ready in about 15 minutes, so we should probably sit down to salad," she said.

The five of us had a glorious lunch. We talked about the play Mom had seen a couple months ago and how she thought Matt and Ali were so wonderful in it. They all pushed me to write something for The Showcase. Dad asked Matt how his father was doing following his surgery. It was just like a holiday dinner with everyone catching up, although it wasn't relatives. Mom's lasagna and homemade garlic bread were top notch.

Dad helped out by clearing the table. Mom knew I loved spumoni, so she started dipping us each a bowl.

"We have something for you, Trent," Ali said, handing me a card.

I opened it. The birthday greeting was cute and funny, but there was something else. I opened another envelope. It was a save the date for their upcoming wedding.

"We've decided we want a fall wedding, and we want to make sure you can make it," Ali said.

"Well, of course. I wouldn't miss it."

"That's good," Matt said, "Because I want you to be my Best Man."

Mom shrieked at the news and gave them both hugs.

"Of course, we'd love both of you to be there, too, Mr. and Mrs. Kyriazi," he added.

"We'd be delighted," said Dad. "Congratulations, you two."

I told them both I was honored. We visited a bit more, and Dad excused himself to run a couple of errands. Mom made some iced tea and we decided to sit on the patio. Ali helped me bring the cushions from the garage. Matt carried glasses out to the table. We fluffed everything and made it look presentable. Matt lifted the umbrella over the table.

"So, does you Mom know yet?" Ali asked.

"Yes, she does," Mom said, coming up behind us silently. "If I think I know to what you refer."

My face looked awkward, but I smiled at Matt and Ali's apparent unease.

"I told her two weeks ago."

"Oh good," breathed Ali. "You should see them, Mrs. K. They're adorable together."

My eyes got wide.

"Oh. There's a `they'??" Mom said curiously.

"I hadn't told her that part yet," I muttered to my friends between clenched teeth.

"Ohhh," said Ali, immediately feeling two inches tall.

I looked at Mom.

"Yes, Mom, there is somebody. I'll bring him home one day, but let's get Dad on board first. Okay?"

"Hmm," said Mom. "Well, I hope this young man is nice and treats you right."

"We think he's a good guy," said Matt. "He makes Trent very happy."

"Well, I do want my boy to be happy."

The four of us returned conversation to the wedding. Mom loved discussing decorating ideas with Ali. She felt the fall theme was very creative. The weather was pleasant and being outside was perfect in its simplicity.

Matt commented how tomorrow the weather was supposed to change, so we felt lucky to be enjoying the moment.

After Matt and Ali left, I played piano for about an hour. Dad returned as I was wrapping up, and the three of us enjoyed more board games and a Blu-ray that evening.

Before we sat down to dinner, I texted Mike Matt's news. He was happy for me.

 

April 25

Mom now knows there is a someone, she just doesn't know who. She seems very accepting of things now, but Mike could be a big wrinkle considering who he is, not to mention his age. It's going to be a trick to explain why we work. It might be hard for some people to see, especially my parents.

My parents have put just the right amount of surprise and effort into my birthday. It will probably be my last one at home. Considering I don't even know where I will live after graduation, who knows? If a job took me away from here, would I take it? Or would I stay close to Mike? There are still a lot of unknowns, which is scary.

 

Before turning in, I gave Lance a call.

"Sup?" he answered.

"Just wanted to call."

"Well, that's nice. Any reason in particular?"

"No. Just wondered how your day went."

The two of us shared the events of the day as friends do. His mood seemed fine, and I couldn't detect that he had been drinking. Maybe I was being a little too concerned.

 

—

 

Clouds had moved in by morning. Following breakfast, Mom suggested I get a run in quickly if I was going to. I did so and then showered.

The skies looked like they would open up any second, so we quickly carried my clothes to the car.

I wore my watch in front of Mom and Dad. They were pleased that I liked it. We had an early lunch so I could get back to school. As we ate, I asked Dad some advice on resumes and job hunting. He encouraged me to listen to the advisors at school as they were more current than when he was job hunting. But he did offer to help in any way he could. We discussed the graduation ceremony and the evening following. They wanted to throw me a celebration, but I said this week had been enough effort on my behalf. Mom insisted they have some relatives over. I agreed.

By the time I got back to campus, I had driven through the first line of storms, but it had passed. I was able to get my clothes back into the room all dry.

More rain followed. I loved listening to storms, so I grabbed my textbook and studied for my 8 o'clock class. There potentially could have been a quiz in the morning, but the professor didn't always give them on Monday. Still, the chance existed, and I wanted to be prepared.

Around 4:30 the thunder got louder. The storms were intensifying. At the first flicker of the lights, I was glad that I had finished my reading 20 minutes before. A loud clap of thunder and brilliant bolt of lightning came at the same time. That was close, and the lights went out immediately. I sat in the darkness a while wondering if the power would come back on. After a few minutes, I managed to find a candle. It wasn't huge, but it helped. I remembered we had thrown it in the kitchen drawer around Christmas time. Kevin had burnt a bag of microwave popcorn and we smelled it for weeks. The candle was one of our solutions.

I stood at the window watching the light show. Lightning was flashing all through the sky.

My phone buzzed. It was Lance.

"Got power?" he texted.

"Nope. Sitting here with a single candle."

"We don't even have that. I'm coming over."

He knocked on my door five minutes later. He had walked over with a beer in his hand.

"Hey. I'm bored. Thought I would at least have someone to talk to," he said.

"No problem. I'm thinking we're going to have to drive for a few blocks to find dinner if the power doesn't come back on soon. Want to come?"

"Absolutely. Let's wait until about 5:30."

We both sat on the couch. The candlelight flickered shifting our shadows on the wall back and forth. We sat on each end of the couch with our legs stretched and overlapping each other.

After talking about my parents for a little while, I asked Lance what his parents were like.

"They're fine. Actually, they were — are — good parents. You always hear about the father being away for work and the mother raising the kids more, but it was just the opposite. It seems like we spent more time with Dad than Mom for several years."

"We?"

"Yeah, my brother and me. Oliver."

"Why have you never talked about him?"

"I don't know. It never really had a reason to come up. He's okay. He's fine, I guess. He's seven years older than me, so we aren't super close. But ... he's fine."

"I never had brothers or sisters. I always wondered what it was like," I said.

"I think for most people who have siblings closer in age, you fight, you spend time together, you play together, you have similar friends. Oliver and me ... not so much. The most we did together was when we went on family vacations. Those were nice times. He actually spent time with me. We had meals together, of course."

A crack of thunder let us know the storm wasn't letting up.

"Sooo ... is his dick as big as yours?" I teasingly asked.

"I dunno. I have no idea."

"You never saw your brother naked at any time in your life?"

"No. We each had our own bathroom."

"Big house?"

"Four bathrooms, but only three baths. I guess we were lucky. Each of us had our own space. We weren't in each other's way. At the same time, I think it just made us a little too distant."

"Are you moving back home after graduation?" I asked.

"Probably not. My parents said they would help me be on my own by paying three months' rent at a place, and then it was my responsibility," Lance said. "I will probably just stay on campus until then."

"Wow. That's a chunk of change. You don't want a couple of weeks in your hometown?"

"No. Here. I like it here. After four years, this is what I've become accustomed to. I've actually looked at three different apartments. My cousin is wanting to move here. Once I find out for sure, I'll know if I should get a one bedroom or two."

"Man, I wish I had more concrete plans. I still have no idea."

"Well, if my cousin falls through, you could take the second bedroom," Lance said. "We could jack off all the time."

Lance jumped up, crushing his empty can and throwing it away. He went into the bedroom and grabbed the pillow off my bed. I had no idea what he was up to. When he returned to the couch, instead of sitting at the other end as we had been, he plopped my pillow on my lap and laid down with his head on the pillow looking up at me. I was slightly startled, but it seemed innocent.

"Do you think Mike will ask you to live with him?" Lance asked me.

"Geez, that would be fast. I'm sure not right away. We hit the brakes weeks ago because things were moving way too fast. I don't see us making the same mistake."

"Hmm."

I sat silently for a minute. So, did he, just resting his head in my lap. He grabbed my jeans and pulled my legs to wrap around him. It looked like some fully clothed wrestling maneuver.

"Lance," I started, then stopped myself. "Are we close enough that I can ask you anything?"

He tilted his head so he could look directly into my eyes. "Of course, buddy."

"I'm afraid of asking this, but you are my best friend, so I feel I should be able to ..."

"I'M your BEST FRIEND?!!" he yelled out bolting upright.

I jumped. He laid his head back down.

"What about Matt?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, he's my oldest friend. He's a great friend," I said. "But I don't see him that often. And ... I feel like you and I can talk about ANYthing."

"We can. What's your question?" he asked now holding my hand to his chest.

"I'm worried about you."

"Worried?" he said looking puzzled. "Why?"

"How much are your drinking a week?"

"I dunno. I just have it in my fridge."

How much is in there right now?" I pointedly asked.

He was quiet.

"A full case of beer, and a few cans from a previous case."

"And when I left you Friday night, how much was there?"

Lance became uncomfortable. He rolled over and buried his face into the pillow.

Although muffled, I heard "Two full cases" answered back.

"So, you've drank about four cans each day the past two days?"

"What is all this, Trent?" he said defensively.

"Like I said, you're my best friend. I care about you, and I'm a little worried about you."

"I'm fine," he said, reaching up with one of his arms to give me a clumsy hug.

Suddenly, the storm became completely silent. We both lifted our heads to look at the window. The rain had stopped.

"Let's go eat," we both said at the same time.

He took the pillow back to my bed. We grabbed jackets and headed toward the door. I pulled him close to me and we held each other for a moment.

"I'm serious. I care."

Lance gave me a simple kiss. "Thanks."

He opened the door and we headed to the car.

We drove until we saw lights. Desperado Gulch was open but looked packed. It was full of college students out for anything to eat. When we entered, Avery and Aram were there and waved us over. The four of us hadn't had a chance to visit in quite some time, so it was good to catch up. Both of them said they talked to Coach a few times since we lost the chance to be in the playoffs. I should go say something to him. He had been a great coach. It also made me wonder if either of them had told the coach about Rich. I made sure to let them all know that Rich and I had patched things up.

As we drove back to the heart of the campus, it was still dark. More students had returned and there was no place close to park. We found a spot around the corner. As soon as we started walking back to my apartment, the skies opened up again. We had left the jackets in the car. We ran to my door, but by the time we got back inside, we were soaked.

We both groaned out loud and laughed maniacally at the situation. Both of us pulled off our shirts and laid them on the back of the couch. It was hard to slide my jeans off; they had adhered to my legs. Lance was out of his. Both of us were in our underwear. Before I could go to the bedroom to grab a change of clothes, Lance looked at me. He pulled off his underwear, showing me his cock.

"Seems like a perfect time to jack off," he smiled.

"Here? I have the worst luck of people just walking in on me."

"We could lock the door, go to the bedroom. That'd give us a couple minutes if someone came back," he said, stepping toward me and feeling my cock through my wet briefs.

"A couple minutes nothing. Maybe 15 seconds and you'd still be in bed with me."

He pulled my underwear down and fondled my cock, which was now getting very hard. I reached to feel his. It felt like grabbing a Red Bull. He slightly moaned into my ear as I gripped his enlarged organ. He rubbed my dick some more. I was fully erect. And I knew this wasn't what I wanted.

"We can't," I said.

"It's just for fun. It doesn't mean anything."

"Buddy. Stop. This is how my night with Detrell started. He kept talking me into what I didn't want to do."

Lance froze. His eyes widened. He let go of everything and backed away from me.

"Trent, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. How did I not realize that? Oh, God! I'm ... I'm ..."

Lance panicked. His voice quivered. He scrambled to collect his clothes. They would be miserable to put on. I went into the bedroom and gave him a pair of sweats, a dry T-shirt and an umbrella. We put his wet clothes in a grocery bag. I grabbed a dry pair of underwear for myself.

Lance was trembling. I walked over to hold him. He shivered in my arms. I held him tighter.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," I said.

"I'm sorry buddy. Please forgive me," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around my bare torso.

We didn't move. We held each other.

"It's forgotten," I said.

He opened the door. "Good night Trent. You're my best friend too."

He stepped into the rain. A tear rolled down his cheek looking exactly like the drops of rain falling from his umbrella.

 

 

April 26

I'm still a little new to all this. I have come to learn that sex can be a time bomb. When it is not in the right hands, it can do incredible damage.

Lance means the world to me. I feel bad I freaked him out. He has a lot of learning to do. And I still have a lot of feelings to process.