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As a reminder, in Chapter 6, the new year started off with Corey and Patty breaking up. Corey's circle of friends had their night of confessions following Geoff's admission of having problems with sexual addiction, particularly to porn. Aiden said he took advantage of Corey and stopped showing affection. Donny and Aiden started seeing each other again, and Slater told Corey that Aiden saved his life.

 

 

7 – February

Aiden

I felt fingers tease the hair on my chest. I knew they weren't mine. His touch stirred me from my sleep.

"What time is it?" I softly questioned the darkness.

"5:45," Donny whispered into my ear.

His arms were around me. We had slept that way for most of the night I assumed. It was how we fell asleep.

My eyes opened. I was staring across the room in the faintest of light. Donny's roommate was a motionless heap of covers. We had only said a couple of sentences to each other before turning in. He didn't seem to mind another guy in the room — sleeping with his gay roommate.

I turned inside Donny's embrace. Our lips gently touched.

"Why are you awake so early?" I whispered.

"Feel me," he softly said back.

I reached between us to feel his cock. It was a beam of steel. "Ah."

I realized I had morning wood as well. I pushed my boxers down beyond my butt and balls and yanked his underwear down too. I held our two cocks together as he held us tight with his arms.

"This feels nice," I whispered.

"It does," he softly said back.

I stroked us together gently. One of his hands caressed my shoulder as I groped our genitals.

Then I let go of mine and just held Donny's erection. I began pulling on it.

Just before Donny put his lips on mine, I heard him whisper, "Aaaaiden."

Unfortunately, it was my left arm because of the side I was lying on. I was right-handed, but I still managed to jerk on his dick fairly efficiently. I separated from our kiss and put my mouth on his neck. I could hear him breathe heavier.

I jerked him harder. I stroked his erection for a few minutes and an almost inaudible moan was panted into my ear. This early-early morning flirtation was fun, but I didn't want to be caught.

Chas remained silent. Asleep. Oblivious. Unaware.

Donny's warm dick in my hand felt magnificent. It was hard and hot and thick and ... mine.

"You feel so good," I whispered to my lover.

"You make my dick feel good," he replied.

I stroked him harder at the base of his shaft.

"Aiden, I'm-"

He didn't have to finish. I plunged my head below the blankets praying that it wouldn't make noise and awaken his roommate.

My mouth descended on Donny's cock. He placed his hands on my head and thrust his crotch into my face. The first blast of cum rocketed down my throat. I heard Donny pant discreetly as shot after shot of his orgasm coated my mouth. I loved feeling the warm liquid inside my throat and on my tongue. I didn't gag; I didn't cough. I swallowed his orgasm and all its evidence.

Donny tried to regain his breathing as I emerged from the covers. I nibbled on his ear.

"Good morning," I whispered.

He snickered. "I didn't expect you to do that."

"I didn't expect us to do anything."

I looked at the clock. The alarm was set for 6. There was no time for me to pleasure myself. I reached for his wrist and brought it to my cock again.

"Just hold it a minute."

Three minutes later, the alarm went off. The roommate stirred. He turned it off.

"Time to get up," he grumbled.

"Yeah," we both said.

Chas crawled from the sheets and turned on a light. His boxers were tented with morning wood. I saw him scratch his crotch. He didn't seem to mind that I could see him.

Donny's roommate grabbed his towel and shampoo and headed toward the showers. We remained in bed.

"I really didn't expect you to do that," he said.

"I was expecting to sleep until the alarm went off. It was a bonus."

"Want me to get you off?"

"We don't have time. I've got to get to class, and I don't even have a change of clothes here. I have to get back to Dunne."

"Wear the same thing."

Donny pulled my underwear down my legs. His hand gripped my still-hard dick firmly. After stroking me a minute, he put his mouth on my cock for the first time.

"Wow."

He sucked me vigorously. His hand gripped my shaft at the same time. I let my fingers run through his hair as his head bobbed up and down my cock.

I wondered how long his roommate took to shower. Three minutes into it, I felt we were safe.

Five minutes into it, I wondered how much time we had left. My groin was feeling incredible. But I wasn't close to coming.

Seven minutes into it, I felt I was getting close.

"Donny. Man, that feels so good. Suck me, babe. Donny. Ohhhhh, Donny. I'm so close."

Eight minutes had me right at the edge. I could feel my climax building. I knew my cock was yearning to explode.

"Donny! I'm coming!"

Donny plunged deep on my shaft.

Chas opened the door.

"I'm coming," I wailed softly.

Chas shut the door. He remained outside.

It took me a minute to compose myself. The two of us looked at each other sheepishly and grinned in both embarrassment and glee.

I opened the door. "It's safe," I said to Chas.

"Didn't want to intrude," he said emotionlessly as he walked in. I could only imagine the awkwardness of him standing in the hall just holding a towel, wearing only boxers.

"Thanks," Donny said. "Sorry. We weren't ... um ... planning on ... anything. It just sort of happened."

"None of my business."

 

—

 

It was cold outside, much colder than the week before. The jacket I had to wear to my first class was not heavy enough.

I met Corey and Sam for lunch. Corey told me about Forrest stopping by our room the night before.

"What do you mean I saved his life??"

"That's what he said," Corey informed.

"Me? Saved Slater's life??"

"So he said."

"Hmm. I'm going to have to get to the bottom of that."

 

—

 

Winter finally dealt out its harshest temperatures. I didn't even like walking from Dunne to the dining hall. Once back in our room, the thought of going outside was not even an option.

Corey brought in some things from the grocery store a few minutes later.

"Guh! It's so cold out there."

"I'm telling ya," I agreed.

"The long-range forecast doesn't look promising at all. Sadly, snow isn't forecasted though the next week. Just brutally cold and windy."

"Do you want snow?"

"We've hardly had any," Corey said. "I just kind of like it."

"It's not like we have sleds here or anything. I know you wanted to do that over the holidays."

"Right. I know. It's just ... pretty. I like it."

We changed into fuzzy pajamas and sweatshirts.

To my surprise, Corey jumped on my bed with me. "So. Tell me about last night."

"Ummm. How much? How many details?"

"What do you want to share?"

"Everything," I smiled. "But I don't want to overwhelm you with details."

"I'll brace myself."

"Well, he asked me to spend the night with him as you know."

"Why a Monday night?"

"We saw a late movie, and he wanted to just extend it, I guess. I suppose he wanted to be more intimate than just heading out after the movie. His roommate was fine with me being in his bed."

"What all did you do?" Corey asked, feeling kind of awkward in doing so.

"Nothing too much. We talked to Chas for a few minutes. He didn't say much. Donny and I just kissed once and slipped into bed."

"And his roommate didn't care?"

"He didn't seem to." I thought for a second. "If I had brought Donny to stay with me, would you be upset?"

"Are you wanting to?"

"Not necessarily. We are just casually dating right now. Nothing serious. I wouldn't even say we are a couple."

"But you shared his bed."

"We just slept. Well ... until this morning."

"And?"

"We ... surprised ourselves."

"What does that mean?!" Corey said with some urgency.

"Before Chas woke up, we ... felt around."

"Ah. I get the idea."

"After the alarm went off, Chas went to shower. Donny kind of sort of kind of ..."

"Kind of...?"

"A quick blowjob."

"Casual dating, huh?" Corey said, sarcastically.

"It was sort of spontaneous." I rolled my eyes. "Chas came back just as I came in Donny's mouth."

"TMI," Corey interjected. "So, what was that like?"

"Humiliating in the moment, but ... kind of fun. It was just what I wanted back at the end of summer. Not Chas, of course. Donny was so reserved then. He seems more laid back now."

"If you and Donny ever want the room, just let me know — but let me get out!"

I laughed. "Maybe one day."

It was too early for bed, but neither of us felt like studying. We still were trying to shake off the cold.

I texted Forrest. "Can you come by my room?"

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I invited him in.

"Corey said you came by last night."

"Hey, Slater," Corey said from his bed.

"Hi." He turned to me. "Yeah, I was ... just wondering if you were ... in the room. Nothing important."

"Do you want to talk?"

Forrest looked at Corey. "Nah. I'm okay."

"Sit," I instructed. I motioned to my bed.

"Corey said you told him I saved your life. I don't know what you mean."

It was obvious that Forrest felt uneasy talking in front of Corey.

"I can go next door if you want some privacy," my roommate offered.

"That's okay. There isn't much to say. It was the night before New Year's Eve. I had ... I had become turned off by most of my family. I thought my brothers were total assholes. I had looked up to them for so many years ... and then I ... hated them. I couldn't stand being around them. I was miserable at home."

"They are your brothers; you can't hate them," I said.

"Perhaps. I just didn't like them. I didn't want to be like them — and I knew I was."

"I've seen you change."

"I don't know, Aiden. Most the people here still think I'm a dick."

"Not everybody."

Forrest looked directly at Corey.

"Do you?"

Corey suddenly looked panicky. He felt like someone on a witness stand.

"Oh. Uh."

"You don't have to say it. I know your answer."

"Wait," Corey said. "Last semester, when you gave Aiden a hard time ... yeah. I thought you were a total jerk."

"I know. Everyone did."

"But ... Aiden has seen more in you. And ... I'm inclined to give you a chance."

"Thanks. But ... I'm not sure I can change."

"You already have," I insisted.

Forrest pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them. "No one really likes me though. Not here in Dunne. I feel very ... isolated."

"Are you close to your roommate?" Corey asked.

"Hardly. I was kind of a douche to him early in the semester. We keep to ourselves. I've tried to be nicer, but I don't think he cares at this point. I'm sure he at least appreciates not being yelled at."

The room was quiet.

"When did I ... how did I save your life? What do you mean?"

"The family was talking about plans for New Year's Eve. Just the thought of spending time with my brothers was bothering me. I felt like I no longer fit in with my family. I hated being there. Hated it. Except for my sister, I didn't feel like spending another day there. I was off by myself. I just started thinking about the New Year and all, and I knew school would start up and I could come back here. Then I realized, no one liked me here. No matter where I went ... no one liked me. I didn't fit in. My thoughts just ... got dark. And I ..."

"You didn't try something, did you?" Corey said, jumping up. He sat next to Forrest.

"No. I started thinking about how I didn't belong anywhere, and my thoughts spiraled. For just a moment, I thought about how it wouldn't make a difference if I was gone."

"Forrest," I said. "No."

"No one would miss me. And I couldn't blame anyone but myself."

"Don't say that. Things can always get better," Corey said.

"It just seemed so peaceful to just be ... gone. I admit it was life getting the better of me. But I didn't like myself. Just when I started thinking of ways for me to ... well, Aiden's text came in."

I put my hand on my heart. I remembered texting him. I moved my hand to his shoulder.

"You weren't seriously considering..." I said.

"I don't know. I just knew I didn't want to be there, and I was afraid to come back to school where I was hated. It seemed like just ... being gone ... was a solution."

"No," Corey and I said together.

"The fact that you cared enough about me to send a text ... it brought me back. I didn't think ... well, I don't think ... I can ever be a good person or one that people will like, but I made a resolution to be better ... to be nicer."

I pulled Forrest to lean his body into mine. "No. No, no, no. Don't ever think that way. Today is just today. We have no idea what great things might happen next week or next month."

"This semester is going better," he softly said.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Yeah. Most people in my new classes don't know me, so none of them really have a reason to hate me. I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying. After growing up the way I did, I'm not sure I can do that very well."

"You can. You will. You are." I wrapped my arms around him, and his weight leaned into me further.

"You're not ... having thoughts like that ... anymore, are you?" Corey asked.

"Not seriously, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it from time to time. It's hard coming to my room every night. Being here. I just wish I could like myself. I try not to let myself go down that hole, but-"

"NO! Promise me you will call me if anything like that ever pops into your head. Promise!" I commanded.

"I ..."

"Promise!!"

"Okay. Okay. I promise."

I hugged him further, and I felt Forrest pull me into him tighter.

"You made me want to go on living," he whimpered. Forrest's eyes watered. "Sorry. I just let that get to me. I'm sorry." He wiped his face on my shoulder. "I wasn't expecting this all to affect me like this. I'm sorry."

Corey put his hand on Slater's knee. "I know you are closer to Aiden, but ... you can talk to me. If you ever want to, I'm here, okay?"

"Thanks. Sorry, I'm sort of being a loser tonight."

"I think it took courage to open up to us," I said.

"I should probably go back to my room."

Forrest stood. He looked like someone who didn't have a friend in the world. We hugged again, and he shut the door behind him.

"Holy cow," Corey said softly.

"I know, right? I had no idea." I looked at Corey directly into his eyes. "Can we please invite him to the next dinner?"

"Absolutely. Count on it."

We went down the hall for our nightly pee. In the room, we took turns brushing our teeth.

Before turning out the lights, I saw Corey standing in the middle of the room. His face said a million things. He was waiting for a hug, but we agreed to stop our affection in that way. There would be no hug. This was the new norm. I would no longer count how many hugs we had given or kisses when needed or times that we jacked off together. The numbers stopped.

And we both hated it.

"Good night," we both softly said.

 

—

 

February continued to feel much colder than January. Thoughts of taking simple walks around campus never seemed pleasing. It was just classes, meals and Dunne. I hated winter.

Donny and I had done more texting than actually seeing each other. I still enjoyed our new-found friendship. Last summer we had ended things so awkwardly — or he did — and there was no real closure. Now, things seemed fresh and new, even if it was just texts. With the cold keeping everyone in, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for us to have private time. Corey said he would be willing, but I hated kicking him out of the room. Last year, Donny admitted he liked to take things slowly, so maybe this was better for him ... and us.

Our dinner night wasn't until next week, but I was going to ask Donny instead of Josh and Brady. We didn't need to make it so big that it became unmanageable. I'd go out with Josh and Brady for pizza one night and perhaps introduce Donny to them.

I texted Forrest. I asked him to join me in the dining hall. He agreed. Corey came with me.

Ace had taken Geoff out for burgers, so it was just the three of us.

"Tell us about your classes, Slater," Corey suggested to move conversation along.

Forrest mentioned his Theology class was his favorite and his least favorite was Accounting. He said the work in accounting wasn't hard, it was just boring.

"My dad is an accountant for an investment firm," Corey said.

"I'm sure he does well," Forrest said.

"I don't know. We have a fairly new house. I think it's nice. We aren't rich by any means."

Forrest blustered out a burst of air. "My family sure isn't. Well, that isn't true. We own land; we have some I guess. I'm the first to go to college."

"Your brothers didn't?" I asked.

"Huh! They were lucky to graduate high school. They aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."

"But, you ..."

"I'm smart. Sorry, I don't mean to sound arrogant. I didn't mean it that way, but I was a 4.0 student back home. I received a full ride."

"Why Notre Dame?"

"My aunt. She was a graduate from here. She thought the culture here might steer me in the right direction."

"Oh?" Corey said.

"She knew my brothers were a big influence on me. It's funny; I used to hate my good grades. I was teased sometimes."

"For being smart?" I asked.

"Yeah. I tried to adopt my brothers' personalities to make me not appear so much like a ... brainiac. By my senior year, a lot of people thought I was kind of cool, but I knew I had blown off the honors kids that would have made for better friends. I'm sure they all think I became a total dick."

"Well, you've got new friends now," I said.

"One. You."

"If you'd like to, you can add me," Corey said, putting his hand on Slater's wrist.

"Thanks," Forrest said, stirring his mashed potatoes.

I felt so good that my roommate was seeing a nicer side of Forrest. That warmed my heart.

"I've really tried to be nice to some of my classmates. You know, simple conversation before classes begin. No one has been particularly friendly — well, like inviting me to join them in things — but my new classmates are polite to me. It's an improvement over last semester, at least."

We still saw stares from people who wondered why we would sit with Slater. I hoped we could slowly help Forrest change his reputation ever so slightly.

Later that evening, Corey and I checked on Geoff to make sure he was doing okay. He seemed to be hanging in there.

As we went down to pee, we heard someone yelling at Forrest when we walked into the shower room. Forrest was brushing his teeth down there.

"Hey, Slater! Just because my dick is out doesn't mean I'm gay. But maybe you want to suck it anyway."

I walked up and looked at the naked student outside the shower with a towel around his shoulders. "Please don't," I said. "He doesn't need that."

I didn't know the student, but he clearly knew who I was.

"Are you taking up for him??!"

"He's my friend. Please don't verbally abuse him."

I noticed Forrest had stopped. He just stared down into the sink. He eventually spit, rinsed and wiped his mouth with his hand. He quickly darted from the bathroom.

I looked back at the student. "Please give him a chance."

"Weren't you the one he picked on last semester?"

"I was. I forgave him. Please ... give him a chance."

The stranger stared at me. He seemed taken aback. I could tell he didn't know what to say.

"Too bad you aren't gay," I continued. "You're very attractive. Nice dick."

The stranger moved his towel in front of his crotch.

"That was just a compliment. I wasn't hitting on you."

His buddy suppressed a laugh.

"My name is Aiden, by the way."

"Henry." He remained blank.

Nothing else was said in the shower room as Corey and I peed. There were most likely stares and comments after we left. Perhaps in a tiny way I let people know that Forrest deserved a chance.

 

—

 

Corey had volunteered to help some friends in one of his classes move some things. I couldn't remember the details, but I was content to not be involved. I had enjoyed dinner with Forrest, but he said he had some serious studying for the evening.

I called Donny to see if he wanted to join me for some private time in our room, but he also was busy for the evening — and disappointed.

I thought I'd check on Geoff. It was funny how making sure my friends were okay was almost a part of my daily routine. But I didn't mind.

I knocked on Geoff's door.

He answered. Sam was there, standing in the middle of the room. I noticed Ace was absent.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing," Geoff said.

"Is Ace busy too?"

"Yeah. Playing some basketball."

Geoff and Sam looked ... odd. Something was off.

"So, what are you two up to?"

"Nothing." Geoff shifted his weight. Sam still stood in the middle of the room.

"You act like you're hiding something," I said.

Sam sighed. "Just tell him."

"Tell me what?"

"We were going to ... have a `provide' session."

"A what?"

"God provides a way ... thing."

I looked confused. "God provides a ..." It clicked. "Oh. OH! Ooohhh. Together?"

"It kind of ensures I don't look at porn. Having a ... friend helps."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not in a chaperone type of way but a ... `I'm here for you' type of way."

"Wow."

"Want to join us?" Sam offered.

"Uhhh..."

This was new. Corey and I had jacked off together before. I never had the desire to just do it with friends. Not that it bothered me or freaked me out. It was just ... new.

"I can leave you two alone. That's not necessary."

"Feel free to join us," Sam said.

"That won't make it weird?"

"Weird. Because there would be three of us or because you're gay?"

"I was thinking the three thing. Would it bother you that I'm gay?"

"You've seen my dick before," Sam said.

True. I had seen Sam's body when he won the bet last fall. I liked his dick. I had never seen Geoff naked. I was slightly intrigued.

"Mine's nothing special," Geoff said.

This was all strange, but I didn't want to make a big deal about it and make Geoff feel embarrassed. We all wanted him to feel better.

"I suppose I ... could stay."

"You have to be a participant; you can't just watch," Sam said.

"Right. Obviously." Or was it obvious?? Nothing about this was routine. It was new. "How does it ... um ... work?"

"Well, when a boy reaches a certain age, his penis gets hard..." Sam mocked.

"Fuck you, Sam."

The two of them laughed.

"Sit with us on my bed," Geoff said.

I was not sure what to do, what to say, how to act. I felt oddly uncertain, which I never did in sexual situations.

Would we get naked or just whip it out?
Would we touch each other?
Did we talk while we do it?
How do we deal with cum?
Lights on or lights off?

I suddenly felt fourteen.

The two of them pulled off their shirts. I followed suit.

Geoff had two pillows on his bed. He gave one to me and one to Sam, and the two of us leaned back against the wall with them cushioning the space behind us. Geoff hopped over to Ace's bed to get his pillow.

"Are you going to tell him what you used that for?" I smiled.

"Hell, no."

Did we just ... start?
Did we look at anything?
Did we say anything?
Did we make any sound?
Was it determined that one person start first, or did we start at the same time?

I was NOT hard.

Tell us about your girl over Christmas," Sam suggested to Geoff.

"Were you nervous?" I asked.

"After watching so much porn, I knew what ... I needed to do," he said. "We had gone out for dinner, and we talked about college. We knew each other from church in junior high. I told her I hated being a virgin, and she was very forward and said, `I can help with that.' And ... we eventually wound up in her bed. Her parents were out."

"Is she pretty?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. We kissed some. She actually pulled my shirt off. We kissed more. I got hard. She asked me to take off her shirt. As I unbuttoned her blouse, I was just sort of freaking out that it was actually happening. Before I knew it, my hand was feeling her boob through her bra."

Sam and Geoff started rubbing their crotches as the story was told. It wasn't doing a thing for me.

"She was pretty sure that it wasn't a time that she would get pregnant and..."

"Pretty sure???" Sam questioned.

"Well, she said she was in her less fertile days in her cycle."

Gross. Ick. Eew. I wasn't hard.

"She still asked me not to come inside her. By the next night, I had purchased condoms. That first night, I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull out in time, but ... I could tell I was about to come, and she asked me to shoot on her tits."

"Wild girl," Sam said. He rubbed his dick through his jeans and pulled open his fly.

Geoff pried open his buttons and spread his fly open, exposing a bulge in his white briefs. That stirred something in me.

"The next time we did it, I was super excited to actually come inside her. Granted, I was wearing a condom. I thought it felt slightly weird, but I loved just fucking her to the very finish."

Sam pulled his dick out. He began feeling and groping it. That did it. I started getting hard.

"Were you loud?" Sam asked.

"The first night, yeah. I loved listening to her moan and squeal. It was hot. The next time I slept over, we had to be quiet because her parents were down the hall. We moaned some."

"Think they heard you?" I asked.

"Nah. They would have had to have been standing at the door. Our moans weren't that loud. But ..."

"But?" Sam asked.

"An hour later, we did it again. Her parents had to have been asleep by then. I think I was kind of loud when I came. I groaned louder than I should have. Not screaming out, but ... it was good. I loved being naked with her."

Geoff pulled his pants and underwear off at the same time. He was completely naked next to me. He groped his dick. It was hard, but I could tell it wasn't a long erection. It might have been as long as Corey's but maybe not. He had a beautiful bush. His chest was quite nice too. Geoff was a good-looking young man. I always had found him simply attractive, but naked ... he was pretty hot. I didn't mind that he didn't have a huge schlong; he was beautiful.

I groped my erection through my jeans. I reached for the fly to open it up.

"And your first time?" I asked Sam.

"High school girl. Senior year. I was so prepared: condoms, lube, candle, soft lighting. And I finished in like two minutes."

We chuckled.

"Have you ever had a blowjob?" Geoff asked.

"You know I have, so that must be a question for Sam," I said.

"Twice."

"Boy or girl?" I asked.

"One of each, actually."

I pulled out my dick.

"Dang, Aiden. You're long."

"Not super thick. Donny has a thicker dick than me. But not as long."

"Well, I have drawn the short stick," Geoff said.

"Don't let that get into your head. It looks nice."

"Corey's the same way. Not sure if you've seen it, but he isn't big either," Geoff said.

Yep. I'd seen it. Many times. I've held it. I've made it come. I swallowed it. Wait — how had Geoff seen it?

"You've seen Corey's junk?"

"Briefly. Don't let your mind picture anything sexual. It was just a result of ... a weird conversation first semester."

"What kind of conversation made my roommate show you his dick?"

"Never mind. I was down. It was just after the bet, and I started to get really focused on sexual stuff."

"It was my dick that twisted his mind all up," said Sam.

"Don't believe him. The whole bet with him and Ace ... it just started me thinking and exploring..." Geoff sighed. "And started watching porn."

"But you've been good for a week," Sam defended.

"I have. I've stayed strong. In that regard at least."

"God provides," Sam smiled.

"And here we are," Geoff said.

Yes, we were. Sam and I were jerking our dicks, and Geoff was completely naked.

"So. This blowjob with a guy ... tell me more," I said, turning to Sam.

"Not much to tell. A good friend in high school. I stayed at his place. We had jacked off once before. He said he wanted to see what it was like, so ... he sucked me."

"Did you suck him?" Geoff asked.

"No. After I came, I kind of was over the whole thing. And that was it."

"How was it?" I asked.

"I liked it. Honestly, I thought it was amazing at the time."

Sam pulled all his clothes off. I then felt peer pressure to do the same. It all should have been weird, but ... it wasn't. We were just three friends.

For the life of me, I had no idea why, but both my hands reached over and flicked their hands off their own hard-ons. I grabbed both of them at once. That was a first for me. I gently stroked them.

"Mmmm," Geoff moaned.

"I've never done it," Geoff admitted. "I mean, she did that night, but ... I've never given one."

"Which of us is the lucky winner?" said Sam.

"He has to pick just one, huh?" I laughed. Sam did too.

"Ever since I saw it last fall, I love Sam's cock," Geoff said.

I was astonished he said that so matter of fact. So plainly. So openly. I was impressed.

"Can I Sam?"

"I'm not turning down a blowjob."

"Switch with Aiden."

We did. Sam was in the center.

"I – I just put my mouth on it, right?"

"Lead with your lips. It will come to you," I said.

"Show him," Sam said.

"You want ME to suck your dick?"

"Show him."

Well, holy fuck. I wasn't expecting this from my friends. If they were consenting, I was in the mood. Odd as it was, I wasn't bothered by it.

I leaned over and rubbed my nose up and down Sam's beautiful cock. Putting on a show, I inhaled his balls and let my tongue massage them.

"Ooo," Geoff said, watching.

"Nice," said Sam.

My tongue went up and down Sam's shaft. I got it wet and shiny.

"Suck him. Suck him," Geoff cheered.

My mouth took in the entire length of Sam's erection. I lubricated it in my mouth. Slowly, I raised and lowered my face over his crotch.

Sam lightly moaned. Geoff got on his hands and knees to watch close. "That makes me so hard," he whispered. Typically, I have my eyes closed in a blowjob, but I opened them for a second to see Geoff watching me intently.

"Your turn," I proclaimed.

Smiling, he slowly leaned down and opened his mouth. He kissed the head of Sam's dick. Then he moved down over the whole thing.

Both of them hummed in approval. I smiled watching Geoff enter into the world of oral gratification. I had no idea why it amused me or made me happy. For a second, I hoped we weren't doing anything that would harm him in his recovery.

I leaned down and suckled Sam's testicles again. He gasped in some air as he felt all his genitalia receive attention from his two friends. My tongue and mouth loved giving Sam's wonderful balls attention. Sam had a handsome package. My tongue roamed all over his ball sac until it traveled to the base of his cock. Geoff's mouth met my tongue.

We looked at each other. He removed the organ from his mouth. Slowly, both our heads positioned our mouths at the base of Sam's cock. Almost in slow motion, we let our mouths and tongues rise up each side of his shaft. After we made it to the tip, our lips met. I wasn't sure why, but we both wanted to kiss. We did. Then we lowered back onto Sam's erection which punctured our kiss. We had let friendly exploration elevate to male lust. The three of us were extremely hard. Rigid. Stiff. Iron.

Sam moaned and placed his hands on our heads, running his fingers through our hair.

"Fuuuuuuuck, yesssss," he softly hissed.

"Take turns," Geoff whispered. He pulled away and let me consume Sam's hard-on. He leaned up and jerked his dick while he watched.

I pulled off and we alternated the routine. Jerking my cock felt tremendous. I was in my first threesome, mild as it was.

Back and forth we continued to suck on Sam's cock. His hips started pushing deeper into our throats. I could tell I was better at accepting it than Geoff, but soon he could take more of it. Sam's breathing was incredibly heavy.

"Yeah, guys. Oh, yeah."

In a bold move, while Geoff serviced Sam's erection, I leaned over and planted my lips on Sam. I didn't know why. Sam opened his eyes in surprise, and I leaned in again. It was soft, but he accepted it. I gave him a deeper kiss and then plunged back down on his rod.

Sam thrust his cock up and down in my mouth. "I'm getting close."

"Geoff," I said. My eyes motioned him down to join me.

The two of resumed kissing and licking and slobbering all over his cock. It was like a bear mauling through food at a campsite. We attacked Sam's cock like toothless piranha.

"Fuck, guys. I'm coming," Sam softly announced.

We licked his shaft feverishly as Sam thrust his cock upward, shooting cum into the air and landing on our faces. Sam's groans weren't loud enough to be heard outside the room, but Geoff and I enjoyed hearing them.

As the last of Sam's cum stopped escaping from his dick, his body shuddered. "Holy fuck."

"Geoff, crawl up to me," I said in my feverish lust.

Our three bodies scrambled for different positions. In moving over to me, I felt Geoff leak pre-cum on my leg. He saw the cum on my face and licked Sam's liquid off me before putting his lips on mine. Then he leaned up and moved his cock into my mouth as I had requested.

The pillow was only against my back, so Geoff was fucking my head into the wall. I placed my hands on his hips to slow him down just a little to where the pressure wasn't as hard. One of his hands was on the wall, but the other one pulled my hair through his fingers. It was male passion. It was male hormones. It was male ... love.

Geoff's dick was easy to suck. I loved taking all of it with loving comfortableness. It was oral joy.

A minute into it, I felt a grip on my cock. I couldn't see with Geoff's body in front of me, but I knew it was Sam stroking my erection. God, yes.

I gripped Geoff's ass cheeks as he continued to fuck my face. I feasted on his delicious cock.

"Shit. I'm there!" Geoff announced. He started to pull out, but I kept him firmly in place.

Geoff unloaded into my throat and just wailed in his orgasm, a little too loudly if I were to analyze the situation. I groaned in approval of cum shooting down inside me.

"Jesus," Sam said, watching me swallow Geoff's load.

He jerked me harder. My hips bucked, and I shot cum up to Geoff's butt cheek. The rest pulsed in stripes up my torso. Sam kept pulling and yanking. I couldn't come anymore, but I didn't want him to stop.

Eventually, I moved Geoff's hips away from my face.

"Damn, that was hot," I announced, regaining my breath.

"I'll say," Geoff said.

The three of us sat naked catching our breath.

With the moment past, the three of us began to process what happened in our silence.

Geoff got up and placed ACE's pillow on his bed. There were no spots of any kind. Still, Geoff flipped it over to the "cleaner" side.

"Well. That happened," I said.

"Yeah," Sam said. "I wasn't expecting ... all that."

"I'm sorry I kissed you in the middle of it," I told Sam. "That wasn't very nice of me."

"It wasn't unpleasant. It was a surprise ... but I didn't ... mind. You were giving me a blowjob after all."

I snickered.

Geoff came back to the bed with a warm, wet washcloth. We inspected ourselves and the bed. As I wiped my dick off, I allowed the glow of the love between friends fade and pondered how I felt about all of this that just happened and me starting to date Donny. We weren't "boyfriends" yet. Or were we? I admitted I felt a twinge of guilt.

We began getting dressed.

"Are you okay ... after all that?" I asked Geoff.

"Sure. I didn't watch porn, and I didn't have sex with a woman."

Sam and I laughed.

"I don't think Father Eric would have approved," Geoff continued.

We laughed again.

"So, it's the same for you whether you do anything with a guy or a girl?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's all ... sexual. I'm not sure how Sam managed though."

"Well ... it was more than our recent jackoff sessions, that's for sure. It was ... fun. It's not like the three of us are in a relationship."

"No. But I do love the two of you ... as friends. I can say that. It doesn't bother me to say that to you."

"Ace would die," Geoff said.

"Oh, he'd write the three of us off as friends if he had walked in," Sam said.

"I'm not sure Corey would have approved either. But ... as deep as his moral code is, he doesn't judge me harshly."

"His dad's gay! How critical can he be?"

"He still has his standards. He has values."

"He was going to fuck Patty two weeks ago," Sam protested.

"He was ready to take a relationship to the next level," I pointed out.

"How come you haven't dated, Sam?" Geoff asked.

Sam turned bright red. He didn't say anything. He had the look of being in a spotlight and not knowing what to say. Geoff knew he had said something he shouldn't have.

"Well ..." Sam cleared his throat. "That ... that sort of involves money. I don't have much money. I could take a girl out on ONE date. Then what? I'd be considered a cheapskate."

Sam had shared that his family — a single-parent home — grew up with meager opportunities.

"My aunt helps with tuition. Mom has worked hard to make sure we had what we needed, but the only way I could date is if I got a job here, but then I wouldn't have time to date because I'd have a job. Plus, I'm not having problems in classes, but things don't come quite as easily as they do for Corey."

"I can relate to that," I said. "I worked twice as hard as he did last semester." I paused. "Maybe that's not true. He studies too. He just makes it look easy."

"So, dating isn't in the cards for me," Sam said.

"Well, apparently you have `provide sessions.' You have that," I smiled.

"It's not the same and you know that," Sam argued. "it's not like we've done it a lot. Only a few times."

"And it's helpful?" I said, looking at Geoff.

"Yeah. It keeps me from porn. I feel like I'm doing something more natural this way."

"Instead of in private??"

"Alone or with a friend, it's the same thing. Well, tonight wasn't."

"With what just happened, I've now kissed everyone in my circle of friends," I observed. "I teased Ace during the bet last fall."

"You've kissed Corey?" Sam asked.

Damn. I didn't want to say we had hugged 112 times and kissed 48 times since we came to Notre Dame. That would sound too weird. Because it was.

"You know I kissed him in high school, right?" I pulled out of a hat.

"Oh. Yeah. I think you guys had mentioned that."

"It's cool that you became closer friends after that," Geoff said.

"Thankfully. I almost screwed it up." I turned to Sam. "Again, I apologize. I hope you didn't feel I was pushing gay crap on you."

"Two guys kissing isn't gay?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"In the moment, it was more ... I love you as a friend than it was Let's make out. My mouth on your dick was more gay."

The three of us howled.

"But I liked that," Sam said.

"That said, I probably shouldn't be a part of your `provide sessions' if I'm starting to see someone else."

I went back to my room, somewhat in a fog over what just happened. How weird it was to kiss Geoff and Sam while knowing that 112 would be the final count for me and Corey. We had stopped our affection. Surely that wasn't why I suddenly kissed Sam.

I was thankful my straight friends put up with me.

Corey wouldn't have approved of what we did. Then again, he did let me give him a blowjob and we have jacked off together. Perhaps he wouldn't be so judgmental.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt I had let Donny down. We hadn't used any boyfriend terms, but my actions tonight were not very healthy in the two of us starting out anything more serious. I was disappointed in myself. I should have just excused myself from the room.

I dialed him.

"Hi. What's going on?" he answered.

"Not much. I – I guess I just wanted to hear your voice before bed."

"Aw. What a sweet thing to hear."

"I hope the semester calms a bit so we can find more time to be with each other," I said.

"For sure. But I am looking forward to the dinner next week."

"Right. Yeah."

We made small talk for a couple more minutes, but the longer we talked, the more I knew I wanted Donny to be more important in my life. I was falling for him. Which made me further ashamed. To make it worse, I could feel dried cum on my face. I wiped and scratched at it. I ended the call and then washed my face in sheer guilt.

As I thought about dating Donny, I sympathized for Sam's situation.

I called him.

"Um. What's up? I just saw you."

"I know. I just wanted to let you know that I can ... um, help some if you need it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam said. "This isn't some sex thing, is it? Because, really Aiden, I'm straight."

"Oh, God no. What you said — you know, about not having the money to date — I'm not a bank or anything, but I can spot you some cash now and then if you want to take a girl out to a movie or something."

Sam was curiously quiet.

"Why would you do that?" he finally said.

"Because you're my friend."

"You can't pay for all my dates!"

"Not all, but something here and there so you don't talk yourself out of asking a girl out."

"That's really nice, Aiden. We'll see. I'd feel guilty taking advantage of you."

"I'm offering. You wouldn't be. Just think about it."

"Thanks," he said with quiet sincerity. "And ... tonight was sort of crazy, but thanks for that too."

"Sure. It was just this once. And don't tell Corey."

"For sure. Good night, Aiden."

I was climbing in my sheets when Corey came in.

"Hey, how was your night?" he asked. "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"I'm exhausted."

Corey began to brush his teeth. Once again, we wouldn't hug. We wouldn't kiss. We wouldn't masturbate. We would just go to sleep ... like regular friends did.

I worried about taking advantage of him in the past.
I worried about Forrest's mental health.
I worried about Geoff working through his problems.
I worried about Sam not being able to date.

As I started to get sleepy, I realized I was the person in our group who had his life together. How the hell did that happen?

 

—

 

A light snow made Corey smile in a way I hadn't seen in a while. It was not a heavy snowfall. I didn't like the cold. Although, it did give me reason to wear my new scarf, and I thought it made me look super sharp. Corey skipped lunch to just walk in the gently falling flakes. It wasn't bitterly cold, but the gusts of wind were enough for me to want to remain inside.

I volunteered to go buy the ingredients for the upcoming dinner. There was potential for heavier snow the next day, so it was wise for us to get all we needed. There would be eight: our usual circle of friends, Emanuel, Forrest and Donny. It would be the first time for everyone to meet or really get to know him. I wanted everyone to like him. Donny was likable. Everyone was kind to Patty when Corey brought her. A bigger concern would be Forrest. Opinions on him were changing, but several in the group harbored grudges for his earlier reputation.

Martin's Super Market was busy. Perhaps everyone was thinking as I was and beating worse weather. The store was by no means wiped out, but people were stocking up.

Corey had provided me with the shopping list. Just like driving home, it was more fun when he and I did this together. I felt uncertain about buying a pineapple. What made a good one over one that wasn't as good? Dinner was two days away; should that affect my decision? I suddenly felt inadequate.

As I turned my cart away from the produce section, I saw Roy a couple of aisles down. My body shuddered. What a horrible night last September. I was so ready to be fucked for the first time ... and I was such a failure. What if Donny wanted to do it. Would I be willing to try again? Why would it go better? Obviously, Roy had a bigger dick, but ... would I just be bad at that type of sex? Last semester, Donny wanted to take things really slowly, but we've moved much faster in the past couple of weeks.

I was feeling lost with the shopping list. Damn it, Corey. Why weren't you here? A store employee was ahead.

"Could you tell me where to find coconut? I have no idea."

I thanked her after she directed me three aisles over.

Once I had checked out, carrying the bags to the car was trickier with snow falling in my face. The flakes were thicker. I hoped Corey was enjoying them because I wasn't. I hated the cold.

Once I had parked, I texted Corey.

"Please come help carry the bags."

"Did you enjoy your walk in the snow?" I grumbled as we started our trudge to the Dunne Hall entrance.

"It was great. It's coming down now. The ground is pretty much white."

"I hate the cold."

 

—

 

 

The following day, Corey and I still worked our shift at the CCE. They were appreciative of our efforts to show up. The snow had stopped falling, but there were several slick spots on the road. We grabbed something nearby to eat. Once we were back at Dunne, we were staying in. There was no snow, but the temperatures were in the low 20s. I didn't want to walk anywhere.

Ace ducked his head in.

"Just checkin' on ya guys to make sure ya made it back okay."

"Aw. Aren't you sweet," I said.

"That's not a word people typic'ly say about me."

"But you are," said Corey. "I love how you are looking out for Geoff. Is he still doing okay?"

"Far as I can tell."

"Hey, tomorrow, will you be nice to Donny at dinner. I want him to feel welcome in our group."

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm nice to all your friends. I was nice to Patty too, and Corey broke up with her."

We laughed.

"Donny hasn't introduced me to any of his friends, so this is sort of a step ... I guess ... for us. I would think he would have to have at least a few straight friends."

"Kinda hard not to," Ace said. "Math'matic-ly speakin'."

"I suppose."

"You guys getting' serious?"

"Oh no. But ... things are moving somewhat in that direction."

"Tell me ya got condoms."

"Wha-?"

"You got condoms, right?" Ace whirled to Corey. "You got `em, right?"

"B – but – but Patty and I broke up," Corey stammered.

"Damn it, guys! Don't give me that shit!"

"Don't cuss," Corey said in his confusion.

"Ace ... I don't think Donny and I are even close to doing ... that ... and in that regard, we both have never done it ... so we should be safe. It's not like one of us will get pregnant."

"Do you know 100 percent FOR SURE ever' person Donny has ever been with?"

"Uh ... uh ... I ... um..."

"That! And maybe even he don't know that someone he slept with has somethin'."

"But-"

"And Patty or no Patty," Ace started, pointing at Corey. "You're gonna get hot and horny with some new chick eventually and you need tah be prepared."

"But..."

"Remember Sam's friend who got the girl knocked up? He's nineteen and his life is over."

"I wouldn't say his life is over," Corey said. "It's just different than what he may have planned. I mean we weren't a curse to our parents because we were born."

"You weren't. Your parents wanted you," Ace said.

We were silent for a second. I assumed my parents wanted a child. Was I an accident? Would my father tell me if I asked him?

"Ace?" Corey responded. "There was something buried in that statement. Do you think your parents didn't want you?"

Ace didn't move. His face said a million things:
My parents didn't want me.
I can't talk about this.
I can't look at you.
I didn't live up to their expectations.
My parents don't love me.

I put my hand on his arm. "Ace?"

"Fuck! I can't talk about this shit."

"About what?"

He looked at both of us. His body language indicated he wanted to leave, but he sighed and looked at both our faces.

"It's not that they didn't want me; they wanted a girl. After my two brothers, they were hoping for a girl. And ... they got me."

"Did they tell you this?" Corey asked.

"Nah. I once heard `em talking to `nother couple. They said they wanted to have a girl."

"But you have a sister," I said.

"She came two years after me. They tried one more time when I wasn't what they wanted."

"That doesn't mean they don't love you," Corey said.

"I suppose. I – I – I just ain't what they were hopin' for."

"Don't say that," I said. "You were a great son. You are a great son."

"Ya don't even know my real name."

True. We never asked. We figured "Ace" was a nickname, but we didn't know.

"It's Presley."

"Were they Elvis fans?" I asked.

"No. They were hopin' for a girl. They liked the name and kept it, sayin' it fit a boy too. Yeah. Right. When I started playin' sports, one of the announcers called me Ace later in the season when I had a really strong record that year. It was my freshman year in high school. All my friends picked up on it. Teachers too. It was who I was. An' I liked it. I thought maybe my parents would be proud'a me."

"I'm sure they were," Corey said.

"But I didn't get a free ride."

"Do you think they were expecting that?!!" Corey blurted out.

"I dunno. I – I just don't know if they are proud o' me anymore."

"Good heavens, Ace. Do not be hard on yourself like this," Corey said.

"I aint. Really, I aint. It's ... it's just how I feel now and then."

I hugged Ace from behind. "It's okay."

No one said anything for a moment.

"But! Back to what I was sayin', ya both are gonna go get protection. Don't screw around with that. 's important."

"When it's the right time," I said.

"Now!"

"Now?" Corey said. "The streets are covered in snow. We don't need protection now."

"By the end of the week then. Don't make me ask. I'll whup your asses."

"Jeez Louise," I said. "Okay."

"I ain't kiddin' around either."

Corey put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "You're a good person, Ace."

"Don't know about that, but..."

"You are."

Ace was silent for a few seconds. "Y'know, growin' up, I knew what gay people were and all, but ... I was a kid, o' course ... but I never thought I'd know a gay person. I never figgered I'd have gay friends." Ace looked at me. "I think I'm a better person because I met y'all."

"Thanks. I'm not gay though," Corey said.

"Ya might as well be, Corey. You're all but swimmin' in gay atoms. Yer dad is gay, yer roommate is gay, Ya have gay friends back home. It's all over ya, dude."

"So that's how it works?" Corey said sarcastically.

"Don't mean nothin' by it. I'm jealous o' you two."

"We aren't a couple," I insisted.

"I get that. But you guys have somethin' special."

"We did," I heard Corey mutter. He didn't expect me to hear it.

I had taken our affection away. I felt bad for taking advantage of him, and now that it stopped, I was picking up vibes that he felt rejected. I had totally messed him up. I often worried if I was good for my best friend or if I was just making his life too complicated.

"Don't know why, but it's easier to talk to y'all. You know, about stuff like this."

"Why so?" I asked.

"All my jock buddies ... you can't talk about this shit. You try hard to look all tough and everythang."

"And having real emotions isn't allowed?" Corey asked.

"Not really," Ace bowed his head. "You'd be made fun of."

"That's bullshit!" I said.

"Okay, guys. Enough with the cussing," Corey said. "Ace, all those guys have feelings too. You're not any less masculine by having honest feelings. All of you should be ashamed for being cowards for burying that stuff inside." He paused. "I say that in a friendship way, of course."

"I know. It just don't seem like it works that way."

I hugged him. Ace wasn't a huge hugger, but he seemed to accept it. Every single one of us had grown in some ways since we checked in last August. Slowly accepting hugs was Ace's accomplishment.

Our friend went back to his room.

 

—

 

"Manny! Holy cow, you are getting thin," I said.

"Yeah, right. It's not that noticeable."

"It is."

"I don't think so, but ... I'm down fifteen pounds in six weeks. It's a start. Clothes feel better."

"Nice," said Corey.

"Who do I pay?" Manny said.

"I'm collecting," I said.

Manny handed me eight dollars. "It's nice not to have to do anything. I'm sorry that you guys have to do all the work."

"No problem," Corey said. "We enjoy it. Aiden got burdened with the shopping this week."

Geoff rushed in. "I'm sorry guys. I ran late. I wish I could have gotten something really nice for dessert, but ... I had time to grab ice cream. I bought stuff to make banana splits. I know it's lame, but ..."

"It sounds yummy," I said.

"I'll watch you all eat," Manny said.

"Maybe a small scoop?" Geoff said, sheepishly.

"We'll see."

Within the next fifteen minutes, Ace and Sam had arrived. Forrest entered the dining area very slowly.

"Hi!" I said, trying to convey I was happy to see him. He waved to the room.

"Ya gotta pay Aiden the eight bucks," Ace said. It sounded a bit more aggressive than I think he had intended.

"Right. I knew how it worked."

We were only missing Donny at that point. For a split second, I had a moment of panic that he was going to ghost me again like he did last September. We had been great these past weeks. No way. He'd be here. Wouldn't he?

Then he opened the door. I almost gasped in my exhale. How did I let myself get that worked up in that fraction of a second?

"Hi everyone! This is Donny."

"It's nice to officially meet you, Donny," Corey said, shaking his hand. "I'm Corey, his roommate. He's talked a lot about you."

"He talks about you too."

Corey introduced everyone, gesturing around the room. "Emanuel and Sam live on the first floor. But they aren't roommates. Ace and Geoff are in the room next to us on the third floor. And ... Slater is on our floor too."

Donny waved to everyone again. Hi."

"Can everyone call me Forrest, please? I don't really care for ... I just would like it if you called me Forrest."

That comment slightly threw everyone, but most of the group nodded or said "okay."

Donny handed me the eight dollars. "I'm sorry I'm late. The sidewalks and streets are kind of crazy."

"I know, right?" Geoff said. "Getting in and out of the grocery store was a nightmare."

I was thankful I had done my shopping when I did.

After a couple of minutes of conversation, I started filling glasses with iced tea. Donny and Forrest didn't say much, being the new people. I gave Donny a quick kiss, hoping that would put him at ease. It was the first time I had kissed a guy in front of my friends. I wondered if that would make a difference. No one said anything of any kind.

I gestured to everyone to fix their salad at the counter. Forrest moved in slow motion. I wondered if he was going to enjoy being a part of the dinner. I motioned for him to sit to my left, but his body language was that of someone facing a jury.

"I'm glad you're here," I softly said to him.

"Thanks."

"Donny, where are you from?" Sam asked.

"Cleveland."

"Ah. What is your favorite part about Cleveland?"

"Hm. I've never thought about that. I guess the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is cool for some people. I grew up going to Cedar Point, but that's about an hour away in Sandusky."

"What's that?" Ace asked.

"Huge amusement park on Lake Erie. It's like the Coaster Capitol of the World. I love it."

"Cool! We should go some time," I said to Corey. He nodded.

"Forrest, where are you from?" Manny asked.

Forrest looked surprised to be asked a question. "Oh. No place special. Marshalltown, Iowa. It's ... rather boring. I was never much of a small-town person. For me, Cedar Rapids was a big deal, and it's nothing like a really major big city."

"I get that," Ace said. "It sounds a lot like Nebraska."

"Whereabouts?" Donny asked.

"York. Not much to know about it other than every other city named York is prob'ly more interestin'."

"Were trips to big cities a bid deal for you when you grew up?" Forrest asked.

"Totally. Heck, they still are. I get excited drivin' through big cities comin' here. It's about ten hours."

"Ouch," said Sam.

"Omaha and Des Moines are at least somethin'. Chicago is really cool. I hope to one day spend some time there."

"We should do a weekend there," Geoff told his roommate.

"Maybe."

I glanced at Forrest. He seemed more at ease.

Manny collected the salad bowls. Corey said dinner would be plated and he would serve it.

"Fancy," said Sam.

"This is fun," Donny whispered to me.

Corey spent some time at the oven and counter preparing everyone's meal. It looked like a cooking show without the overhead camera.

"Can we help with anything, Corey?" Forrest asked.

"Aw, that's kind. But I'm good. Just about done."

A minute later, Corey brought over the first two plates. "For our new guests. Welcome Donny and Forrest."

"Thanks," they both said.

I got up to help Corey distribute the final plates.

"This is Hawaiian chicken, coconut rice pilaf and tropical green beans with garlic, onions, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic."

"Damn," Donny said.

"Don't cuss in front of Corey," I whispered. He shot me a weird look.

"The bread is Hawaiian sweet rolls," Corey finished.

"Out of a bag," I flatly informed.

The meal was colorful, and Corey had seared pineapple spears alongside the chicken. I hoped I had picked out a good pineapple and that Corey was pleased with it. Regardless, it looked nice.

"Corey, are you a chef or something?" Donny asked.

"Nope. Just learned to like cooking in high school. My parents let me when I got the wild hair to do it. I'd seen a few cooking shows with Mom. I got slightly interested. I suppose when they complimented my meals, it was motivation to do more."

"This looks amazing," Donny said.

"Agreed," said Geoff.

Conversation stopped as everyone began eating. Compliments came to Corey, which made him feel good. I could tell.

A resident or two popped their heads in. Our dinners always seemed to draw a few people in, wishing they were a part of it. Two guys none of us knew came in to fix something in the kitchen area. It wasn't like we could reserve the common area for just the eight of us. We had our meal finished, so others weren't too intrusive. We knew they were envious.

Donny seemed at ease with everyone. Forrest lightened up a little too.

"So, Aiden..." Sam began. "You and Donny. You guys serious?"

"Yeesh, Sam. What a question. We've just dated a couple weeks." I looked at Donny. He looked at me. "Dare I say it ... that we are ... boyfriends??"

"I'd say so. Sure," Donny smiled.

We kissed in front of everyone again.

Once dinner was over, Geoff popped up to begin cutting bananas and dipping ice cream. Everyone else helped clean dishes.

"Manny?"

"I'll pass, but thanks, Geoff."

"How about a single scoop?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll just pass. Just a little would probably make me want more. I'm trying to be strong."

I saw Geoff hug Emanuel. "You're the man. Actually, you're the Manny." Everyone chuckled, even Forrest.

We built our banana splits and carried our bowls into the lounge area.

"What the hell? Where'd you get that?" Steve said as he walked by.

"There's ice cream over in the kitchen if you want some," Geoff said.

"Hell yeah!"

When Steve came back with a bowl topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream, he noticed Forrest sitting near me. His look clearly conveyed: "What the hell is he doing here?"

"This has really been nice," Forrest told me. "I'm so grateful you invited me. Thank you."

"I'm glad you came."

Once everyone had finished, they placed their bowls on tables nearby. I noticed Forrest quickly jumped up to gather them. He came back five minutes later saying they had been washed, dried and put away. We thanked him.

Steve headed up to his room after thanking Geoff for the ice cream.

Donny snuggled up to me on the couch. I saw Ace watching us. I wasn't sure if he was put off by two guys being so close or if he was mentally giving me a condom ultimatum.

Eventually, everyone said they needed to get some studying done before turning in. Donny gave me a long kiss before heading out.

"Please be careful out there," I said.

"I will. I'll call you tomorrow. This was nice. I enjoyed it."

It was down to Corey, Forrest and me.

"Aiden, I really appreciate you inviting me. I – I ... really enjoyed myself. It was great."

"I'm glad you were here."

"Corey, it was really impressive. Bravo."

"It was just chicken, but thank you."

He turned to me again. "Do you think Donny would mind if I ... is it okay if ..."

I hugged Forrest. Corey did too.

"Before I head up, I'm going to go walk in the snow for a few minutes," Corey told me.

"Suit yourself; you're deranged. You don't even have a coat."

"Just a few minutes."

I wasn't in our room two minutes before there was a rap on the door. I opened the door to see Ace. He put his hand on my chest and pushed his way in.

"He's really nice."

"Thanks," I said.

"You guys are gonna do it. I'm givin' ya `til the weekend. Don't make me whup your ass."

"Ace, we aren't that far along."

"I don't care. Be ready. I could see it in his eyes. He really likes you. You guys'll fuck soon."

"Good NIGHT, Ace," I said, motioning him to the door.

I sat on my bed, adjusting the light on my name art to blue from its usual purple. As I leaned against the wall, I couldn't help but wonder if Ace was right. It was too soon, but Donny and I had only done simple blow jobs. Could we actually fuck? Would I? I was afraid to after Roy.

My phone buzzed. I wondered if Corey was going to ask me to bring him his coat. It was Steve.

"Did someone say something to Forrest?"

I didn't understand his text. I called him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just passed Forrest in the hall on the way to the bathroom. His eyes were all red like he had been crying. Did someone say something? To be honest, I couldn't believe you two were together like that."

"You know I've forgiven him. We're friends."

"Just you watch. He'll be a douchebag to you at some point."

"But no; no one said anything. Nothing mean. Thanks for letting me know."

What was that about?

I texted Forrest: "Let's do lunch tomorrow. I'm glad you joined us. Hope you had fun."

Corey came back. A little bit of snow had melted on his shoulders and hair. Somehow, the remaining flakes looked amazingly sexy on him.

My phone notified me of a text. "It was really great. I'd love to do lunch. I'll text you after my 11 tomorrow."

 

—

 

Saturday.

Corey and I had left our shift at the CCE. It was 1:00. Target was busy after people had been cooped up with snow. We roamed around the cosmetics area.

"Should we ask someone?" Corey suggested.

"Gawd. I'd hate to even phrase the question."

A Target staff member went by.

"Excuse me. Um. Could you tell us where ... um ... where we could ... um ... find ... uhhh ... birth control."

"Condoms are three rows down," he gestured. "Look to your left on Aisle 18."

"Could I go crawl under a rock," I groaned.

We walked the three aisles to where the clerk had motioned. Corey and I stood before shelves and selves of condom choices.

"Oh man." Corey didn't sound well.

Bare Skin. Sensitive. Ultra Sensitive. Raw. Reservoir tip. Ultra Thin. Ultra Ribbed. Excite. Elite Large.

"Dear Lord. I don't know where to begin," I said.

Someone came down our aisle. Corey and I stiffened. We didn't want people to see us looking at condoms, but we couldn't move down further, because those were items for women. I wanted to turn red. I acted as natural as I could.

Men buy condoms. Why should we be freaked out buying condoms? Why would anyone care?

"I. Am. Mortified," Corey uttered.

"We are totally doing self-checkout."

"But what do we pick??"

"Does it matter? We just have to show Ace to shut him up."

"I feel completely lost. I feel like a three-year-old," Corey whined.

"Are expensive ones better?"

"I don't know! I have no idea."

Someone else turned down our aisle. The two of us walked quickly to the next aisle. It was shelves of Just For Men products. That was equally as stupid to be seen in front of for two college guys.

"Let's just get something," Corey said a minute later.

"I still don't know what to pick."

"Does Ultra-Thin mean dick size or the thickness of the condom?"

"This is too hard," I groaned.

Two minutes later we carried the packages as obscurely as possible to the checkout area. Corey scanned his and quickly shoved it in a bag to conceal the item. I moved up to the adjacent scanner.

It.

Would.

Not.

Scan.

No. NO! No, no, no. I couldn't ask for help. I could NOT ask for help. What if they got on the microphone and asked for a price check? Did stores still do that?

Beep.

I exhaled. "Thank you, Jesus."

Just before 2 o'clock, we knocked on Geoff's and Ace's door. Ace answered. We pushed our way in and shoved our condom packages in his face.

"Satisfied!?" we said in unison.

"That's mah boys! Ya made me proud. Now I feel you're ready for the real world. Yer men."

"Fuck you, Ace."

"You'll thank me one day when you're happy you are prepared."

 

—

 

Valentine's Day fell on a Monday. With classes, Donny and I planned on meeting just for dinner at the dining hall. We tried to let Sunday be the day to be romantic. I asked Corey if we could have our room that afternoon. My roommate, being the amazing person he was — is — was happy to oblige. He took his books down to the study area to where he would await an "all clear." I was so grateful that he didn't make it embarrassing or make a big deal out of it. An hour or two should give us time.

I made the lighting behind my name art turn red. There was enough light coming through the blinds that our room wasn't remotely dark, but it had a romantic feel to it.

"I'm glad we can make time for us," I told Donny.

"Me too," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

We kicked our shoes off and climbed onto my bed.

Donny kissed me with such tenderness, I couldn't help but wonder why he had been so hesitant at the beginning of the year. The two of us were in such a good place now.

As we lay side by side, our hands roamed on each other's bodies. I felt him push his groin into mine. I felt his tongue on my tongue. I squeezed his butt, shoving his crotch harder into mine. We were both fully erect, and we knew it.

I pulled his sweatshirt off. I kissed his neck. Donny's chest didn't have any hair, but I let my hands caress his pecs, and I kissed his nipples. As I did that, I felt his hands pull and tug on my Henley, yanking it over my head.

I loved feeling his fingers touch the hair on my chest.

"Your chest is so hot. I wish I had hair like you."

"I hope it gets thicker."

"You're nineteen. I think it will still grow," he said sarcasticly.

We kissed more, this time even more firmly.

My hand rubbed his dick through his jeans. Donny hummed in his kiss as I aroused him further. Then he groped my cock.

We needed out of our jeans.

I hopped up to pull my jeans off my legs. Donny stood and did the same. Underwear was next. Our erections sprang free and all but waved to each other. We slipped under the sheet of my bed and resumed kissing. My cock poked his. He reached down to fondle my protruding rod. I groaned into our kiss.

Our hands pulled on each other's adult anatomy. Pulled. Stroked. Felt. Groped. Yanked. Fondled. Jerked.

"You feel so good," he said.

"I love feeling your cock," I panted.

We kissed more. We felt more. We rubbed more.

I wanted to suck him. He wanted to suck me. I threw off the sheet and whirled around in bed. Each of us consumed the rigid flesh we desired.

As we pleasured each other in a 69 position, we moaned loader. I didn't think anyone could hear, but we could.

Our heads mauled our partner's crotch. Bobbing and thrusting and squirming, our mouths feasted on the object we craved.

Three minutes into it, Donny removed his mouth from my cock, and wailed, "Ohhhhh, Aiden. You're gonna make me..."

I knew he was ready to burst. I stayed on his erection and awaited the load to strike my mouth. He grunted and gasped as warm cum hit my tongue and the roof of my mouth. I swallowed it as it erupted.

"Oh man," he breathed. "I'm sorry I didn't last longer."

"Keep going," I instructed.

He placed his mouth on my cock again and sucked me vigorously.

"Fuck yeah, Donny. Suck me. Keep sucking me."

It took me longer. Five minutes later, I was whining as my orgasm built. Donny knew I was close. He took his mouth off and grabbed my dick in a firm grip. Jerking and pounding, his hand wrestled my organ.

"UUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHHH!" I called out. The third floor heard me come, or so I feared. Cum plastered my chest as my boyfriend forced it out of me. I continued to grunt loudly, and liquid kept escaping my iron pole.

"Ohhh, God," I gasped when my orgasm subsided. "Man oh man."

"That sounded pretty intense," my lover smiled.

"Indeed. It was."

Donny looked around. "Uhhh ... got anything. Oh, I see tissues."

"Grab the T-shirt out my laundry basket. The blue one."

My boyfriend jumped. His dick still had enough firmness to make it bounce as if on a spring. Upon his return to the bed, I was amused watching him wipe my climax off my chest. He shot my shirt to the basket like an athlete.

"Two points," he softly said to himself.

Pulling the sheet back over us, he slipped an arm behind me. I rolled into him. His other hand felt my chest.

"That might still be a tad sticky."

"I like it that way," he whispered into my ear. It was hot.

We held each other in quiet bliss. I nuzzled my face into his neck. My lips offered a kiss of approval under his jawbone.

"I'm sorry I don't last as long as you do," he said, remorsefully.

"Does it feel good for you?"

"Of course."

"That's all that matters."

We enjoyed another few minutes of silence. We just held.

"It was nice of Corey to let us have the room," he said.

"And we still have time to do ... more of this."

"Meaning holding each other or more sex?"

I giggled. "Just holding each other. Howeverrrrr..."

I looked at the clock.

"We have about another hour. Let's see how we feel in about 45 minutes."

He giggled.

"Corey's really good looking. If he were gay, I'd be jealous."

"If he were gay, I probably would have proposed by the end of high school." I laughed at my comment. "But he makes a great best friend. I got lucky with him being my roommate."

"Nice."

"How about you and your roommate?"

"Chas?"

"How do you spell that?"

"With an `s,' not a `z.' He's from Finland."

"Hm. Is he a good roommate?"

"I guess. We knew each other our freshman year. I was in a room with three last year. They were slobs. Chas was nice. I thought he would be a great roommate. We agreed. He's fine. There's a ... cultural difference, I guess. Things that are normal in the U.S. aren't always necessarily that way for him. Particularly as roommates."

"Yeah?"

"Little things. Expressions. Differences in clothes. He's only lived in the U.S. for just over three years. His English is perfect. But ... you can tell he's not from here. Still, he's very polite and much neater than the knuckleheads I roomed with last year."

I pulled on Donny's penis. It wasn't hard, but it was warm. I liked holding it and juggling his balls.

"I'm glad we got back together," he said. "I was such a dork last semester."

"I did kind of like you. I hated that you ghosted me."

"I hate that I sent you into the arms of Roy."

"We're together now," I said and gave a simple kiss.

We were silent again. His fingers gently graced my chest.

"You have dried cum in your chest hair. Should I get a rag?"

I paused. "Maybe later. I kind of feel like adding some more to it."

Thirty minutes later, both his cum and mine were on my chest but were admittedly lighter loads having just come before.

We let Corey know when we were finished and cleaned up. I kissed Donny goodbye, and Corey came back to the room.

"I don't believe this!" he said, holding out his phone.

"What?" I asked.

"My parents. Look what they did!"

I stared at his phone. The picture was snowy.

"What? What are you showing me?"

"They went sledding!"

"So?"

"Without me!"

"It snowed quite a bit back home, it looks like."

"Yeah. I can't believe they did this on their own."

"It looks like fun," I said, scrolling through the photos sent.

"But ... they are supposed to be doing this WITH me."

"I think it's cute they did this."

"Cute, my ass. I'm calling them right now." He dialed.

"Your ass is cute," I muttered to myself.

I sat back and watched as Corey's frustration and annoyance gradually turned to envy and happiness as he melted at Laramie's words.

"I can't believe you did this without me?"
"Was it your idea?"
"Dad's, huh?"
"How on earth did you get Mom to go?"
The pictures are great."
"How long did you stay?"
"Were there a lot of people?"
"How much snow fell?"

After then talking to his father for a few minutes, he decided to call his mother.

"I can't believe you went sledding. Without me!"
"Daryl wanted to, huh?"
"Did you have fun?"
"Laramie sent pictures. They were great."
"Yeah, I wish I could have been there too."
"Don't make any statements like that. You said that last time, remember?"
"I miss your hot chocolate."
"He's fine." I waved. "Aiden says hi."
"Classes are good."
"Nope. Not yet. The quilt isn't needed yet. I'll let you know when I'm seeing anyone. MAYBE."
"I love you too. Miss you."

A sense of melancholy overtook my roommate. I so wanted to just hold him and comfort him, but we weren't doing that anymore. Fuck. I knew it was for the best, but I missed the affection between us.

 

—

 

Valentine's Day. It was too soon for us to give gifts, but Donny and I wanted to have lunch together. Outside, we openly kissed in the courtyards. No one seemed to care. At least I didn't notice anyone.

As we ate our meals, we had space around us, so we could talk openly.

"I enjoyed yesterday," he said.

"Me too. I love it when we can find time to be together to ... do that."

I was glad Brady had reconnected with a high school friend because what I felt with Donny was much stronger than the simple stuff we did in December. I felt a connection to Donny.

Sadly, I was losing my connection with Corey. We didn't hug. We didn't kiss. We were still nice to each other, but ... we weren't us. But it was better this way. He shouldn't have to put up with affection from his gay roommate. That wasn't normal. It was better this way.

I wasn't sure if he felt that way though.

"Aiden, I was hoping..."

"Yeah?"

"Not today, but ..."

"Go on."

"Soon ... I'd like to..."

"Like to do what?"

"I – I would like you to – to be my first."

That settled in.

My heart raced a little faster but not for good reasons. Roy and I tried that, and I was a failure. Did Donny want me to fuck him? Or was he implying he wanted me to be his first fuck?

The moment was suddenly doused with anxiety and doubt. Was it my turn to be the problem for the two of us?

"Wow. Um. Okay. I guess we should talk about some stuff ... then."

"I'm not pushing anything on you. If you aren't ready, then that's okay. I want you to know that."

 

—

 

"I'm scared."

"Don't be. Donny said if you weren't ready then there wasn't a rush." Corey sat down next to me on my bed. "At least Ace has you prepared."

"Gawd. There is so much I feel I don't know."

"I get that. Trust me, I GET THAT. But the two of you will talk it out. You'll figure out what's good for you."

"Porn makes it look so easy. Some guy comes to the door to fix something, and then you just naturally start fucking each other."

"Naturally. Ha. That crap is so unrealistic and stupid. I wish you'd never watch it."

"Well, since I've been with Donny, I don't."

"I wonder how Geoff is doing?"

"Let's check," I said.

We knocked on his door.

The two of them answered.

"We just came to see if the money in the envelope was ... secure," Corey said.

"Safe and sound. Haven't looked at porn at all."

"Sorry to disappoint ya," Ace said. "He's bein' a good boy."

"That doesn't disappoint me," Corey said. "I was hoping it was bragging rights for him. I'm glad."

"Of course, Aiden made it really difficult yesterday," Geoff sarcastically announced.

"Urk." I choked on my own saliva.

"You should have heard him," Geoff said to Corey. "He had me hard as a rock. I could hear just enough to jack off with him."

"So glad I wasn't here then," Ace said.

"I'm – I'm soooooo sorry," I softly said. "And embarrassed."

"I came just after you did."

"Oh, dear lord."

"Hey, you kept me from looking at porn, right?" Geoff said, slapping me on the shoulder.

I groaned and went back to our room, wondering if my face was red.

We ate in the dining hall and got our work done fairly early. So many guys were out on dates for Valentine's Day. To kill time, Corey and I shot some pool down in the rec area. We didn't do that often. I wasn't very good, but Corey was worse. It killed time. Quietly. Neither of seemed to feel like talking.

"I've never really liked Valentine's Day much. I thought not dating this year would make it easier," he said, as he crawled into his bed. "Today sucked."

"Tell me why."

"I don't know. I don't have to date. I'm just feeling lost like I did earlier on last semester."

"You'll meet someone. Or not. It's fine either way. You don't need anyone else to be awesome."

My body ached to hug him. This was a test. I needed to pass it. I couldn't just hug and touch him whenever I wanted. He didn't need all my pent-up gay feelings complicating our friendship. We needed to be more normal, like everyone else in our dorm.

The lights went out.

In the darkness, Corey said, "I know we aren't ... the way we used to be. Is it still okay to tell you I love you?"

"Anytime you want," I answered back. "You know I do."

"Yeah," he said, but it sounded like he didn't really believe me.

I had messed us up.

 

—

 

Notre Dame had endured temperatures below freezing for ten days straight. I hated the cold. It seemed like life had been paused. We all just lumbered through the cold to where we had to go but didn't make plans. We didn't do much. Study. Eat. Sit in our room.

Heavy snow was forecasted overnight. It was deemed too inclement for Friday classes to be held the next day. Having all those canceled was a slim bright spot.

 

—

 

"Corey! Wake up."

"Mm-huh? Wha?" He could hardly see me in the darkness of the room. "What time is it?"

"Just after 3. The power's out."

"How do you know?"

"I was cold. I noticed the night light didn't shine on the floor. I went out to the hall. Nothing is on. Everything is dark. The power must be out. Maybe snow brought down some lines or something. I don't know. What should we do?"

"Go back to sleep???"

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"I don't know what options we have. We can't fix anything."

"Damn it. I'm cold."

"Don't cuss. Bring your blanket over here and put it on top of mine. Sleep with me."

"I hate winter," I said, pulling the covers off my bed and throwing them on top of Corey's. I went back to grab my pillow.

I crawled into all the bedding. We both had T-shirts on; he had on sweatpants, I was just in my underwear. Nothing felt warm.

Corey put his arm around me, and I moved back into him. "You'll be warm enough," he mumbled and tried to go back to sleep.

My thoughts ran away with me. What if the power doesn't come back on? How cold can Dunne get? If it continues for days, what will do for food?

"You're shivering. Are you that cold?" Corey asked, squeezing me tighter.

"I hate feeling helpless. I felt like this when the tornado hit the house."

Corey seemed more awake hearing that. "No! This is not that. That was different. That was real damage. This ... this is just tonight. This is not that. I'm here. We're okay. It's okay."

I felt his lips kiss the back of my neck.

My arm pressed his arm further into my chest.

A minute later, he asked, "Do you feel better?"

"Some. I'm still cold."

"Take your shirt off."

"Why?"

"If we both do, our body heat will warm us."

The two of us wrestled with our shirts under the covers and bunched them around our waist. Within a few minutes, pressed into his body, I did feel warmer.

"Thanks for this," I said. "I feel better."

"Mm hm."

I could tell Corey wanted to fall back asleep.

"I'm sure Ace and Geoff aren't doing this," he mumbled.

I chuckled. "For sure."

With each minute, I felt warmer. Sleeping so close to Corey, I felt a different warmth. The love we shared seemed back. Strong. It didn't take words. It didn't take anything but being there for each other. I felt okay. He probably had fallen back asleep, but I was just content to breathe normally again and be in the arms of the person I loved most in the world. He warmed me. He comforted me. His skin warmed me. His skin comforted me.

And made me hard.

Above us on the wall hung "The Journey" made by Jakob and Laramie. We were in the middle of the art. Together. Each day we were on our journey. We weren't alone; we had each other. At the same time, I loved going out with Donny. We were boyfriends. I hoped that wouldn't interfere with our journey — Corey and me.

Corey must have been asleep by now. I pulled the covers tighter to me, as if to build a cocoon. I pressed into his body further. We were warm.

His arm pulled away from mine. He was still awake. It slid down my torso and down my leg. I was surprised. He felt the hair on my leg up and down. Slowly. Gently. Rubbing. For a moment it was comforting and loving — and somehow made my dick harder. I enjoyed feeling my best friend run his fingers through the hair on my legs even if I wasn't sure why he was doing it. It just made me warmer. His hand returned to my chest and then rubbed my belly. Finally, it slid underneath the waistband of my underwear. His fingers wrapped around my erection.

Neither of us said anything. He just held me.

We were warm.

Dear heavens, I loved him touching my cock. It was even harder now. Neither of said anything.

We were warm.

"You're still awake, aren't you?" he said in the darkness.

"Yeah," I breathed.

"I was hoping you were hard. Want to jack off?"

"Practically always."

"It'll make us warm."

We wriggled out of our clothes and lay naked.

I thought of Donny. If he walked in, what would he think? Friends sometime jack off together, but was this cheating on him? I wrestled with conflicting feelings.

"Um. Since I'm seeing Donny, I think it is better if we don't ... touch each other. Just take care of ourselves, you know?"

"I can respect that."

There was no light to see anything. I could just hear the sound of the covers moving up and down with our fists below them. An occasional moan or heavy breath was heard — the only sense working for me at the moment. We both stroked our cocks, not saying anything. I inched closer to where our warm bodies touched.

He reached out his arm, and with it behind me, I moved further into his body. I so wanted to grab his dick, but I kept my hand on my own. Warmer than ever, my body vibrated as I stroked my cock. Corey moaned. I did too.

We kept masturbating in the darkness. No light allowed our eyes to adjust. Jerking our cocks relaxed us, warmed us, comforted us. Our moans all but harmonized for a minute or two.

"Do you have your cum towel?"

"It's always next to me," he replied.

 

I thought of his warmth.

I thought of his skin.

I thought of his hard-on inches from my hand.

"Hand it to me," I said.

I felt the movement of fabric above my hand. Seconds later, the hand towel was pushed into my hand. The soft fibers of it had a crusty spot.

I had been so cluse to my climax that the dried cum on his towel took my mind — and dick — over the edge.

"Fuck yeah. UNGH ... ungh ... UNGH! ... ungh ... unhhhh ... ohhhh." I breathed heavily.

I moved the towel back to him.

For another minute he just panted and whined.

"Oh man," he whispered. "I'm close. Oh man. Oh man. Ohhhh. OHHHHHH! Yeah," he panted.

I held his arm as he came into the towel. Corey whined and groaned in his orgasm. I gripped his tricep until all his cum had been shot into the rag. His other arm went limp. I could tell.

Corey pulled the towel out from the covers and tossed it over me to the floor.

He then curled into me, his arm reaching around my chest to hold my shoulder.

"I'm so glad we can do that," he said.

"Me too."

But I had decided that we shouldn't. I decided we weren't supposed to hug. Or kiss. Or show affection. Me.

"I ... miss this," he softly said into my shoulder.

"This ...?"

"Us. The way we were. You're my rock, Aiden. You have been for two years. You don't know how important you are to me."

"Wow. Thanks."

"But ... when I can't ... when we can't ... I like showing you affection and-"

"And I do too, but I feel like-"

"Don't say that you are taking advantage of me. You aren't." He sighed. "I'm the one taking advantage of you. I need your friendship. I need your closeness, but I'm the one making it difficult for you."

"I know you think that. But I completely understand we can only be friends."

"BEST friends," Corey said.

"Best friends."

"I know we do ... stuff. We do stuff a lot of friends don't, but ... I miss it." He kissed my shoulder.

"Hold me," I said.

We resumed our position of me in his arms, feeling the warmth of his body in my back. We lay silent, still too energized from our orgasms to fall back asleep immediately. That was fine. Our warmth was good. I felt a drop of cum on the tip of his penis ooze onto my leg.

"Aiden?"

"Yeah."

"I understand that if Donny thinks our closeness is wrong that I have to step back."

"He won't know."

"I don't want you to have secrets."

"He's seen me hug people."

"Okay. But ... don't think you have to do stuff you don't want to just because of me."

"You're the most important person in the world to me, Corey. We're good."

"You're a pillar of strength," he said back.

I pulled his hand to my lips, then I gripped his fingers and held it to my chest.

 

—

 

A rap on the door had me springing from Corey's hold.

I rustled under the covers for my underwear and T-shirt. I opened the door to find Geoff standing there, although I could barely see him. Some temporary lights had been placed in the hall. I assumed they were battery operated, but they still didn't offer a lot. At least a little bit of light was coming through the window.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I was cold at first."

"It feels fifty degrees to me," he said.

I hadn't actually invited Geoff in, but he moved past me anyway. He could maneuver just enough to sit on my bed. It had no covers on it, just sheets. Tiny slivers of daylight were coming through the blinds.

"Did you sleep through the night?" Corey asked, still under the covers, still completely naked.

"I needed to pee around 5:30. I woke up wondering why it was so cold, then when there were no lights, I figured it all out. I heard them bringing these lights in about 6:15."

"How would they have enough for the whole campus?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Geoff said. "Not that there's a lot. A couple in the hall and one in the bathroom."

"What's Ace doing?" I asked.

"Sleeping. He got up an hour ago, cussed at how cold he was, and once I told him what was going on, he put on another layer of clothes and went back to bed."

Geoff then looked down at my bed. He could barely see but definitely feel there were only sheets. He looked over at Corey's bed and saw the extra bedding.

"You guys slept together, didn't you?"

"We stayed warm," I said.

"Don't overthink it," Corey said.

I nudged the cum towel behind my feet, hoping Geoff hadn't seen it.

Geoff looked at the two of us, back and forth to our faces. He eventually smiled.

"You guys are adorable. I love it."

"Don't overthink it," Corey said again.

"I'm envious. You two are awesome."

"I was just freaking out a bit and Corey held me. We were warmer that way."

And naked. And masturbating. And coming. And in each other's arms all night. We were weird friends, but we both loved our special closeness.

"Ace didn't offer to keep you warm?" Corey asked.

"Ha. Hardly. I just curled up into a ball. Given the chance, I would have crawled in bed with you two."

"Aw. You're sweet," I said, slightly sarcastically. "But let's not tell Ace, okay? I don't need any teasing."

"Understood."

"What should we do today?" Corey asked. "It's awful outside, but we have no electricity or light or food here. This is kind of strange."

"I think we should try to drive somewhere better," Geoff said.

"Are the roads passable?" I inquired.

"I have no idea."

"Go investigate and report back," I said.

"Oh, sure. Send me out into the brutal winter."

"Be brave, Sir Geoff."

"Okay. I'll check. I'll be back shortly."

Once Geoff was gone, Corey threw the covers off. I smiled seeing he had a hard-on. Even with the time Geoff was in here, it didn't go down.

"I need to pee. I guess I'll venture down the hall."

"What do you think Geoff thinks?"

"It doesn't matter. I would assume he just thought we shared the bed."

"We did."

"Yeah, we jacked off naked too," Corey said.

"I doubt if he probably suspects that. I think it was cute that he wanted to join us. He would have joined us in the jerk-off session too."

"I'm sure it was the cold rather than the tight space that affected that decision."

"He is turned on by anything though."

"True. It's nice that we are so interesting to our friends."

"Apparently our phones still work."

I texted Forrest. He didn't reply back. I called Donny. He answered.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm freezing cold, but I'm okay."

"This is nuts, isn't it?" I said.

"I wish I could be over there with you, but I'm not venturing out."

"I totally understand that. Hopefully power will come back soon."

"I'll call you later. I think I'll go check to see if they have more information."

Five minutes later, Geoff returned.

"The snow has stopped. They are plowing the streets, but the parking lots are deep. I'd say about six inches of snow."

"Swell," I said.

"Even if we could get out, nothing would be open," Corey said.

"Something should be. It would be warmer. I wonder how widespread the situation is?"

"I haven't heard. I don't know if it is just the campus or not."

"I actually saw some girls making snow angels," Geoff said.

"That's crazy," I replied. "How cold! You can't come back inside and heat up. Is there even any hot water? That's nuts."

At 9 o'clock, several of the residents were gathered in the common areas just to talk.

At 10 o'clock, word was that power wouldn't be restored until later in the evening.

At 11 o'clock, snowball fights had sprung up all over campus.

At noon, Sam, Corey, Geoff, Ace and I tried to leave Notre Dame for food. We inched through the half foot of snow slowly. Luckily Ace's truck handled it better than any of our cars would have. It took us five minutes to get out of the parking lot, but one lane each way on the roads had been plowed. We slid in a couple of spots on our drive, and the rest of us had to get out and push to get us back to where we could get traction one time, but none of us felt we were doing anything dangerous. As much as I hated the cold, I knew as we enjoyed slices of pizza — ones that we particularly appreciated for the restaurant being open and for us adventurously venturing out — that I would remember the experience for my entire life.

 

—

 

Donny came over to meet me for lunch. He lived in Fisher Hall, so it was a short walk but the snow made it challenging. The sidewalks were slowly being cleared, but there were still slippery spots.

Forrest joined us, as did Corey.

Everyone talked about the drama of the power outage the day before. Food. Warmth. Canceled classes. Snow. Snowball fights. Scarves.

Corey talked about wishing we could go sledding.

"I can buy us a sled," Forrest said.

Corey looked shocked. "Forrest, no. It's only for a day, and then what would you do with it? I mean, that's kind, but we don't even know where there is a good enough hill to go sledding on."

"You seemed like it would be something you would enjoy."

"I would, but ... no. But that's very nice of you to offer. I'm not sure where to even go to find sleds around here."

Both of them looked into each other's eyes. They both smiled. I could tell Forrest's kind gesture was winning Corey over.

"Okay," Forrest said.

As we walked back to Dunne, we noticed a snowball fight breaking out near one of the women's dorms. People still seemed to be making the most of the snow. I was over it. I wanted Spring Break.

Near Dunne, a couple was making snow angels and laughing hysterically. Upon approach, we realized it was Ace and a girl we didn't know. I pulled out my phone.

"Smile."

Ace rolled his eyes but played along. They sat up. "Hi guys. This is Beth."

"Hi Beth," the four of us said simultaneously.

She waved.

"That's Aiden, Donny, Corey and Sla-... Forrest."

We had numerous questions, but we would wait until he was back in his room.

"Have fun," Corey said, and we went inside to thankfully get warm.

The four of us walked to our room.

"The only good thing about winter is how dashing I look in my scarf," I groaned as I took off my coat.

"Indeed you do," Donny said, smiling.

He grabbed the two ends of my scarf and pulled me in for a kiss. I gave him a second one. When we pulled apart, Forrest was looking directly at us. When I looked at him, he diverted his gaze as to not appear as if he was staring at us — which he was.

I wasn't sure how Forrest felt about the whole gay thing. He verbally abused me about it last semester, but clearly we had become friends. Was he overlooking it? Did he disapprove but not just voice it? Had he accepted it? His expression was neither a smile nor one of being repulsed. I had come to know Forrest better, but there was still so much left to learn.

"So, what's with Ace? Has he mentioned a girlfriend to you?" Corey asked me.

"No! Snow angels? Ace?? Geoff hasn't mentioned anything either. Hmmm. Secretive."

Corey looked at Forrest. "Ace almost introduced you as Slater. I remember you asking us to not call you that. Any reason why?"

"Oh." Forrest looked uncomfortable. "Oh. That. Never mind."

"I didn't mean to pry, but ... we're kind of an open group. You can feel safe sharing with us."

"Would a beer help?" I enticed, offering him a bottle.

"How do you have beer?" he smiled.

"We have connections."

Forrest took the bottle and sat at my desk.

"Everyone called me Slater back home." He popped off the lid. "When I got to Notre Dame, a lot of guys used their last names, so it was just natural. Then ... when everyone started ... hating me, the way they said it: Slay-der," he said with mocked emphasis. "I just ... hated my name."

"Wha-?" Donny uttered in confusion.

Forrest looked at him. "You didn't know me then. I was an asshole. People hated me. Everyone hated me."

"W-why?"

"I treated people poorly. I was rude. Arrogant. I just ... wasn't a nice person. I'm probably not now either."

"Yes, you are!" I defended.

"No, Aiden. YOU are. You forgave me. It was you who was nice."

The room was awkward in its momentary silence.

"I – I think you're nice," Donny said, softly.

"Thank you, Donny. You don't really know me well. I'm a prick."

"Pricks don't say that about themselves," Corey noted.

Forrest sighed. "I don't really ... fit in. In high school, my friends were kind of jerks like me. We put other people down. We thought it made us cool and popular. I'm sure half the school hated us. My brothers were the same way. I grew up wanting to be like them. Now I hate who I was. I feel Slater was the person I used to be."

"You're not that person now," I said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I still have my moments when my default response is to lash out. To strangers! Fast food clerks, people doing their laundry. Since the New Year started though, I've tried to be nicer. Whenever I'm an asshole, I go back to the person and apologize."

"See?" I said.

"It's still inside me, Aiden. I'm a dick just wanting to get out."

"Well, as one of the two gay guys in the room, I'm going to let that joke waiting to be made just slide by," Donny said, making us all chuckle. "But I think you're nice. That's the only Forrest I know."

Donny left my side and walked over to hug him. Forrest was still seated, but he reached up to hold Donny's shoulder in the cumbersome embrace.

"Thanks."

"If we're going to a movie tonight, I have to get my studies done this afternoon," Donny said, turning to me.

I nodded. We kissed.

"See you later, babe."

Once Donny closed the door, Corey looked at me. "I see we're on a `babe' basis now."

"Oh, stop."

I motioned Forrest to sit on the bed with me. He carried his beer over. Corey got a Dr Pepper. I heard a fizzy pop as it opened.

"I want to thank you guys," Forrest started. "You don't know how much it means to me to just ... be able to eat with someone. To have someone to talk to from time to time."

"Anytime," Corey said.

Forrest's eyes looked very wet. "You really have no idea," he said, almost losing his voice in saying so.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"I am. I hated myself over the holidays so much. I really didn't want to go on. I just didn't fit in with ... ANYONE. I felt so alone. And I truly hated myself. But ... you guys, your friends ... that's when I feel I belong. The other week when we had the dinner, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom. One of the guys in the shower room said he was jealous — it smelled great, and he thought it looked really fun. I don't know why it hit me, but I started crying. I went into a stall just to pull myself together. It just felt like ... I didn't feel alone."

"You aren't." Corey said. He asked for Forrest's phone and put his number in it. "You have friends."

"A few at least."

 

—

 

Corey didn't go to church. Donny and I didn't have a chance to do anything sexual the night before, but we still enjoyed each other's company.

I knocked on Geoff's and Ace's door at 9:30. Ace answered in just his underwear. He said Geoff had gone to mass.

The two of us inquired about "Beth."

"Thanks for not tellin' Geoff, by the way."

"Should it be a secret?" Corey asked.

"Kinda. Geoff is struggling with ... you know."

"Sexual temptation?" I replied.

"Yeah. That. Beth and I are ... doin' it. Fuckin' whenever we have the chance. I don't want Geoff to feel weird or depressed or left out or ... anythang."

"How long have you been seeing her?" I asked.

"A little over two weeks."

Corey tried to conceal his look of surprise. I knew my best friend. He wanted to ask how soon they had sex, but he held in the temptation.

"Where have you been able to have sex?"

"Once in here when I knew Geoff would be gone for a few hours. Once in her dorm. We didn't actually ... well, fuck ... but we ... did ... stuff ... in mah truck too."

"I probably don't want to know," I said aloud, barely.

"She's a good lay. I really like her tits. You should see `em."

"Pass," I said.

"How do you think Geoff is doing?" Corey asked.

"Fine, I thank. I feel kinda bad for not doin' more stuff with `im. He's a good kid, but ... he and I like differ'nt stuff. There are times I feel sorta pertective, but then I feel like it's his life, ya know?"

"I'm sure he looks up to you in many ways," Corey said.

"I know. I'm just glad he has you two. Yer better examples than I'll ever be."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Ya just are. He ain't ever gonna learn anything from me, but you guys'll make `im a better person."

"You're there for him. That's plenty," Corey said.

 

—

 

I was pleased to see the temperatures rise into the 40s. I knew the snow wouldn't be gone immediately, but we already had a week and a half of it being around.

Emanuel asked several of us to join him in the kitchen area for an announcement. I gathered Forrest, hoping Manny wouldn't mind.

Ace, Geoff, Corey, Forrest and I entered the area together. Sam was already there. We hadn't met Manny's roommate before, but he was there. He was introduced as Dalton. Another close friend, Santos, was also there.

"Grab a mug," Emanuel said. "I brewed coffee and made hot chocolate too."

"So ... what's the announcement?" I asked.

"I probably shouldn't have built it up as a big announcement. It's nothing really. Don't expect to be excited."

He motioned for us to sit around the dining room table.

We all took a seat, holding our hot beverages for its warmth, even after setting them down.

"Now I'm embarrassed," he said. "I shouldn't have done this."

"Just say it," I said.

"It's nothing. Really." He paused. "But ... since I dragged you down here, I just ... felt something today, and I wanted to share it with my friends."

We all hung on his words, waiting for him to say it.

"Really, it's nothing. I mean..."

"Just say it, damn it," Ace said.

Emanuel drew in a breath. "It seems so silly now, but ... this afternoon, I went to Target and ... I had to buy some new clothes because my old ones were too big."

"Hey!" a few of us cheered.

"I know it's nothing; it's silly..."

"No, it is not silly. This is an accomplishment. You are doing an amazing job. You look great too," Corey said.

"Well ... I still have a long way to go, but if I keep this up, I think I'll be down to 200 by Spring Break."

Two hundred pounds. For someone of Ace's height, that wouldn't have been anything. Manny was shorter than most of us, so it was still an amount of weight that most doctors and dietitians would address. But he had lost enough to where all of us could tell.

"That's awesome news," I said. "I'm so proud of you."

Manny turned red at the attention. But his smile was infectious. He was proud.

"The bad thing is, I can only afford so much, so I only have a few pants I can wear now."

The ones he had on looked noticeably baggy, and a belt looked as if it was struggling to keep them up. It was a good problem to have, at least.

He grabbed his mug and sat with us.

Brady walked by, and Emanuel motioned him in. While he poured himself a cup of coffee, Manny explained the occasion as Brady stirred creamer into his beverage. It was funny how we all championed something so simple, and yet for Emanuel, it was significant. I loved being around these gentlemen. Back in Jackson Bend, I had never felt this. My family was back there, but ... this felt like family. I loved these people. Was it right to place them higher than your own parents and relatives?

As I topped off my hot chocolate, Sam pulled me aside.

"Remember when you told me you ... might be willing to ... uh ... to help me out if I wanted to date?"

"Ooooooooo, tell me more."

"Ace is seeing someone and-"

"I know."

"She has a roommate, and ..."

"You want to ask her out."

"I do. I'll be honest with her. I'll let her know my limitations, but I thought if we went out for a movie, I can handle that, but I would follow up with burgers the next day. I hate this. I hate to ask. But would you be willing to float me a twenty?"

"Don't give it a second thought."

"I promise not to do this all the time. Hopefully never again. I – I – I just want to make a good first impression."

"Understood."

Slowly, people got up and rinsed their mugs. Before Santos and Dalton left, we said it was nice meeting them. They both felt like they knew all of us because Manny had spoken about us so often.

Ace patted Emanuel on the back; Geoff hugged him.

Corey and I offered hugs and praise too. As we stepped into the hall, I noticed Forrest offering a hug. I was pleased that Manny accepted it.

Before Donny kissed me goodbye — in front of many other students — he pulled me aside next.

"Chas is going home this weekend. I was kind of sort of kind of hoping ... you would spend the weekend with me in my room."

"Oh."

It was wonderful news until I knew he was hoping we would fuck. I wasn't sure I was ready for that. At the same time, my experience with Roy just made me scared. I didn't want to look like I was twelve, but at the same time, I sincerely didn't know if I was ready. I didn't like this type of anxiety.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"You know what I'm hoping for ... right?"

"Yeah. Right."

"We'll just take it one step at a time. We'll just ... do what we are comfortable with."

What if I wasn't comfortable enough?? What would Donny think of me?

We left with one last kiss.

Back in our room, Corey received a text from Manny twenty minutes later. Corey read it to me:

"You won't believe this! Forrest offered to help me buy more clothes! I can't believe it."

"What's going on?" he said. "First, he wanted to get me a sled ... or one so that we could go sledding ... and now clothes for Manny??! Do you think this is some kind of sign?"

"I'm not sure. I hope it is one of kindness."

"Or friendship."

I thought about Donny again. Just the thought of our weekend made my insides tight.

"Can we talk?"

Corey looked at me in surprise. "Of course. Is something wrong?"

"Donny has his room to himself this weekend. He wants me to stay over there."

"Okay. That sounds nice."

"He wants us to ... take things further."

Corey's expression slowly connected the dots.

"How do you feel about that?"

"Scared! I'm totally scared."

"Aiden, don't do it then. If it isn't right right now, then ask to wait."

"I don't want to be some childish scaredy cat."

"Sex is the most intimate you can be with a person. It's not to be taken lightly."

"Ace doesn't think so."

"You aren't Ace!"

"I'll think about it."

Corey held me. "It'll be okay." An expected kiss on the lips followed. I was glad to receive it. I could always be comfortable with Corey. Why was I feeling different about Donny?

 

—

 

Friday evening. Dinner.

"How do you feel?" Corey asked.

"Fine."

"You're sure?"

"I'm nervous, yes, but ... if it feels comfortable, then ... I'll see how it goes."

"Just make sure it is what you want."

"You know Ace would say, `Just fuck,'" I said in my best impression.

"You aren't Ace, and he isn't you. What do you want to feel the next day? That will help you make the right decision."

I took a deep breath. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, shoving a forkful of pecan pie in his mouth.

9:00 I showed up to Donny's room. I set down my bag near the door. We embraced and entered into a long kiss.

"I'm so glad you are here," he said.

"Me too," I returned, even though my heart was beating faster.

He handed me a White Claw. As he fiddled with cans in his fridge, I noticed items on his desk. There was a bottle of lube. I wasn't sure if that is what it was, but when I saw a rolled-up towel next to it, I figured there was no doubt. I couldn't tell for sure, but I thought I saw a pair of condoms tucked underneath. There was a candle too, although I was confident open flames weren't allowed.

My heartbeat accelerated. I didn't like being nervous. I loved sex with Donny. Everything had been great. I just felt out of my comfort zone.

He clinked his can to mine. "Cheers."

The two of us reclined on his bed. We leaned into each other as we watched television briefly. I was still nervous, but I tried to realize that Donny and I had been great up to this point. Nothing had changed.

As we watched the news move toward the weather forecast, he draped his arm over my leg. Gently, he rubbed up and down my jeans. I should have gotten hard, but I just got more nervous.

Once the weather was over, he stood and stripped to his underwear. Grabbing the remote, he turned off the television. With just a lamp on, the room seemed darker without the TV.

Donny turned to me and kissed me. Tenderly. Gently. My hands moved to his shoulders. Our kissing became more forceful. My hands roamed down his back. I liked all of this. All of this was easy and comfortable. All of this was in my wheelhouse. All of this made me want more.

But did "more" have a limit?

"It's not necessary for you to be fully dressed," he whispered to me.

"Right."

I stood.

"May I?" he said, standing before me. I couldn't help but notice his underwear tented with a huge boner beneath.

Donny pulled at the sweater and lifted it over my head and off my arms. My shirt was next. One button at a time became dislodged. He spread the shirt open and lowered his mouth to my chest. Kissing a nipple, his tongue flicked at the left side and then moved to the right one. Then Donny pressed his face into the hair in the center of my chest and breathed hot breath down to my navel. Getting on his knees, his hands fumbled with the fly of my jeans. He had it open. I wanted a bulge to be protruding there, but there was nothing. He yanked on my jeans, pulling them down and taking my boxers with them.

My cock hung. It was not hard. I stepped out of my jeans and stood before him in white socks and a long-sleeved shirt hanging on my shoulders.

Although he tried to conceal it, his expression showed confusion as to me not being erect. Softly he pushed me back down on the bed and we resumed kissing. His hand fondled by cock. It felt nice. It caused my organ to stir some. I liked these feelings. I liked that touch. I liked those strokes.

Donny stopped kissing me and moved his mouth down to my crotch. His tongue licked my cock — which I loved — and made it move a little more. His nose buried into my balls — which I loved — and inhaled, and his teeth ever so gently bit and tugged at my ball sac. He moved his mouth to swallow just the head of my dick — which I loved — and his saliva lubricated the end of my penis. Now hard.

Erect.

Rigid.

Long.

Firm.

Ready.

After sucking me for a couple of minutes, he took his mouth from my crotch and moved up to look me in the eyes. My hands reached down to free his cock from his underwear. I shimmied out of the shirt; he wriggled free of his last article of clothing. Naked, we found each other in an embrace of warm arms.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked.

"Talk?"

"I'm getting the impression you're not sure about tonight. I know you know what I want to do, but I'm not sure you're ready."

"I'm not sure either," I said.

"We don't have to. We can still enjoy the night without ... that."

"I don't want to disappoint you."

"Hold on." Donny got up. He lit the candle, forbidden as it was. He turned out the lamp. The room now had a glow that was undeniably romantic.

"Nice."

Back in my arms, he said, "You can't disappoint me. I was the one that pushed you away last fall. I was so embarrassed about that ... coming so quickly ... in my pants ... that I couldn't bare to face you. After all that — and you giving me a second chance — you can't disappoint me. I like you, Aiden. I think you are a wonderful person on so many levels."

"Me?"

"I could go into everything I like about you, but for right now, let's just say you are totally hot."

I smiled at Donny as he continued to put me at ease.

"I want to be the boyfriend you want. I – I – I – I am so nervous about messing this up. It all went wrong with Roy."

"I'm not Roy. I care about you. He just wanted to shove his big dick in your ass."

I snorted.

"I want more than that. I want to make love. I want us both to enjoy it. I want you inside me when you feel you are ready."

"This is helping."

"Good."

We kissed some more. His cock pressed into my cock. His hardness rubbed against my hardness.

One of my hands cupped his ass, the other ran through his hair.

We rolled back and forth as we kissed. Groping. Grinding. Loving.

"I brought condoms, but ... I really don't know what I'm doing, Donny."

"Like I do? You're my first."

"But you have lube."

"A fresh bottle of lube. I bought it two weeks ago when I knew I wanted you to be the first."

"How do we use it? Do we put it on my dick or ... do we rub it in your hole?"

"Probably both. Let's just see what makes it work."

I was very nervous, but I was pleased that my heart wasn't beating as fast as it had been earlier. I took a deep breath. I wanted to do this right. I wanted it to be good for Donny. I remembered how painful it was for me. I couldn't bear to hurt him, my boyfriend. I thought about Corey. If it were him, what would I do? I would never, ever hurt him. What would I do to make it feel good for him?

"It was so painful when Roy tried to fuck me. I don't want to hurt you."

"I understand. I know it's ... bad at first, but I think it feels better as we go on."

"Why does it have to be so scary? Straight people don't have to put up with this crap."

"Speaking of which, I showered before you came over. I'm squeaky clean."

"Uck. Way to kill the mood."

Donny laughed.

I got up to get a condom. I had brought a strip of three. I didn't know how many times we would do it over the weekend. I didn't know if he would want to fuck me. I didn't know if you could reuse a condom. I didn't know what to do with a condom when you were done. I didn't know when to put the condom on. I didn't know how you knew which way to roll it. I didn't know what condoms and lube and fucking would smell like.

I didn't know fucking anything!!!

I took a deep breath and kissed him. I gathered the things he had set out. "Let's roll out the towel so nothing gets on the sheets."

"Yes."

"Lie on your stomach," I instructed.

"Oh. Okay. Why?"

"I think it might be easier for me. This first time, at least."

"FIRST time. I like where that leads."

"Roy just shoved his cock in me, and it was painful. I think it might help to get you ready."

"Okay." He sighed. "You're very nice, Aiden."

"So are you."

"First, just let me lay on top of you."

I moved my body on top of him but held some of my weight on my elbows. My chest pressed into his back. I pushed my hard-on onto his ass. I kissed his neck.

"How does this feel?"

"I like you on top of me."

"Good. I think it might be easier if we got you ready."

"Um..."

"Your ass."

"Ah."

I reached for the bottle of lube and dripped a squiggle of lube into his crack. Donny jumped.

"Cold."

We snickered.

I put some on my fingers. I made tiny circles at the pucker of his hole and then pushed the tip of my finger inside. Donny used his arms to grip his pillow. I pushed my finger in further. I let it move in and out, exploring his tunnel.

"How does that feel?"

"Fine. A little strange. I'm okay."

"I'm going to do two. I think that will help when I move my ... dick ... inside you."

"Okay."

He tensed at first, but then relaxed. In that moment, moving two fingers inside my boyfriend seemed incredibly erotic. At any other time in the day, it would be horrendous, but the mood was very sensual. I pulled them almost out and squirted another drip on my fingers. Moving them back in, Donny moaned as I slid my probing digits inside. "Ohhhh yeah."

"Feels okay?"

"Keep doing that." He breathed out. "Ohhh, Aiden. That feels nice."

"It does? Good. Good."

I reached for a condom. My hands were slippery, and I couldn't rip it open. "Damn it. Here. Open this."

He giggled and tore the package of the condom. He handed it back to me. I was hoping it would be obvious how to put it on. It was pretty simple when I examined it. The condom rolled down my erection quite easily.

As I reached for more lube, he said, "We're both virgins in this regard. We probably don't need condoms."

"Ace would beat the shit out of me if I didn't use one. He would tell me I'm starting bad habits."

"Do you discuss your sex life with Ace?"

I laughed. "No. He – he just looks out for all of us. He fucks all the time."

I became aware of the sound of lube coating my cock. I became aware of the smell of lube and latex. I became aware of the shine to my penis in the low candlelight. My senses were enflamed.

"Are you ready?"

"I am. Be my first, Aiden."

I slid a finger back in him to open him up just a bit again. I used my hand to spread his legs open a bit and touched the head of my cock to his crack.

I did not want to mess up.

I did not want to fail at this.

I did not want to be terrible at being gay.

I did not want to look like an idiot.

I did not want to ruin the moment.

I pressed the head of my cock into his crack, but I missed the hole and my cock slid up and popped out.

"Oops."

I tried again. I tried to find his hole. I pushed inward, but it still didn't go in.

"Damn."

"It's okay. Try again."

I positioned my dick again. I touched his hole just to make sure I was aiming correctly. I pushed slightly.

The head went in! I gasped. He gasped.

I moved another inch in.

I exhaled a slow breath.

Another inch.

"You okay?"

He squeezed the pillow tighter.

"Give me a sec."

I pulled back an inch.

We breathed.

"Okay," he said.

Slowly I moved my cock in ... inch by inch ... by inch ... by inch ... by inch. I was all in. In!! I was inside my boyfriend. My mind tried to process the stimulation I was feeling around my dick.

"Ohhhh yeah," I said. "Oh, Donny. Donny. Oh wow."

He breathed hard a bit. His body was not relaxed. Then I felt it melt.

"You like?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. How are you?"

"It's weird, but ... it doesn't hurt. I'm okay."

"Okay."

I gyrated my hips, wrestling my cock inside him. Slowly, I moved in and out.

We were fucking.

Donny lightly moaned as my organ filled his inside. In and out. In and out.

We were fucking!

I let myself grunt a little as I continued to thrust my hard flesh into his body.

"We're fucking," I whispered.

"Ohhhh, yeah. Fuck me."

Pushing. Withdrawing. Pushing. Withdrawing.

Moaning. Panting. Moaning. Panting.

Thrusting. Groaning. Thrusting. Groaning.

Even with the condom on, my dick felt wonderful. The muscles and skin of his body constricting on my cock was very sensual. Pleasure built.

"I have to pull out!"

"What's wrong?"

"I was about to come. It feels really good inside you."

He smiled. "Well, that's good."

"How do you feel?"

"I'm okay. I like it."

I squirted some more lube on my cock. The strawberry fragrance melded with some internal funk, but we were enjoying the moment.

Gently, I thrust back inside him.

"Ohhhhh," we both groaned.

"Fuck me, Aiden. Fuck me."

I thrust my cock in and out. I lowered my head to his shoulder, panting in his ear.

"I'm so glad you are my first," I whispered.

"Same here. Thank you for fucking me. Thank you for letting me be your first."

We moaned and panted. I loved how my chest felt pressed against his back. I loved how my dick felt electric in his ass. I loved how he groaned as I pushed my hardness inside him.

And I lasted ninety seconds. "I'm coming. Fuck. I'm coming. Ohhhhhhh, Donny. Donny. Donny. Donny. Donny. Ohhh. UNGH. Ohhhhhhhhhhh." I caught my breath. "I wish I didn't come so quickly."

"It was your first time. It felt good for me. Keep it inside me for a while. I like it in there."

"Oh. Okay."

I let my weight slowly lower onto Donny. He groaned — in a good way — as I blanketed him with my body. Eventually, my penis retreated. I rolled onto my side. He turned and we kissed. I pulled the condom from my cock and looked at the cum smeared inside.

"What do we do with this?"

"You save them as souvenirs."

"What!??"

"I'm kidding. We'll wrap it in a tissue, and Chas will never know."

I followed instructions and dropped it in the trash.

Returning to the bed, my mouth immediately homed in on Donny's dick, which was partially erect but not fully.

Fifteen seconds later, it was.

"Oh, Aiden. Yeah."

My blowjob was sloppy. Wet. Loud. Active. Slurps.

Donny combed my hair with his fingers. "Nice."

I sucked him for several minutes, but he made a request.

"I have a favor to ask."

I pulled my face from his crotch. "Oh? What can I do?"

"Nothing. Be still. I ... um ... I always wanted to rub my cock through your chest hair."

"Really?"

"Totally."

"Okay."

I stretched out, not sure what to do.

"That's it."

Donny straddled my chest. Then he lowered his crotch and gently pressed his cock into the largest concentration of hair in the middle of my chest.

"Mmmm."

I enjoyed watching him rub his dick into me. He smiled. I smiled.

My hands reached up to hold him. I held his hips as he thrust his erection through my fur. The warmth of my fingers moved around to hold his ass cheeks. I helped him push his cock harder. He fucked my chest hair, my upper body, my male essence.

Donny groaned and grunted as his groin ground into my chest. I didn't realize how much I was smiling, watching him rub his hard dick through my chest hair. I was enthralled with it, completely captivated by his request and the execution of it.

"Fuck, yeah," I whispered.

"Aiden, baby, I'm so close."

"Keep going. Don't stop. Come all over me."

"UNGH!" The first shot hit my neck.
"OH!" The next spurt shot into the hair.
"Fuck." I felt the warmth of his liquid.
"Ungh." I watched cum stretch over the hair.
"Yeah." The final spasm oozed out of his cock and into the dark brown hair on my chest.

"That was fun!" I said. "I'm glad you did that."

"Oh, me too," he breathed.

He collapsed on me to kiss me deeply. His cum smeared into my chest even further. And on his.

Once he broke from our kiss, I grinned. "Messiest sex I've ever had."

"Glorious, huh?"

He rolled off me and got up. I heard him turn on water, and soon both our chests were being wiped with a rag. Then our dicks.

We kissed for a solid minute. After all my apprehensions, tonight had turned out far better than I thought it would — even though we both finished fairly quickly.

"Sorry. I need to go pee." Donny slid his jeans on and went down the hall.

I had to text Corey.

"Tonight turned out really well. Just wanted you to know."

"I'm happy for you," he quickly replied.

I was in an odd state of euphoria. All my anxiety had left me. I had fucked a guy! I fucked a guy. And it was fun and pleasurable and hot and wonderful.

Wow.

Life was grand.

And I needed to pee too.

I got dressed. Donny and I passed in the hall.

When I returned, the smell of the candle, along with wisps of strawberry lube, were prominent as I re-entered the room.

Donny was back in the sheets. I wasn't sure if he kept his underwear on or not. The towel was rolled up next to the bed.

"Blow out the candle," he said.

I did. The room was now dark. I took off every bit of clothing and slid into the sheets naked. I could feel that he had his underwear on, but I didn't care. I remained nude.

"I thought open flames weren't allowed in dorms."

"I bought it after the power failure. I wanted something if it ever happened again."

"They sell flashlights, you know."

"I bought one of those too. But you don't just want to keep a flashlight on all day; that's weird."

"This was romantic, I will admit."

"Yeah."

As we lay there, we instantly found ourselves in each other's arms. I was enjoying feeling the strongest emotions I had ever felt with a boyfriend.

"Would you want to come home with me for Spring Break?" I asked.

"Really?"

"I think I'd like that. Granted, my parents are truly dull, but ... I'd like them to meet you."

"Aw. That's so sweet."

"But you may want to be with your family."

"I could possibly go home a weekend or two before. Have you asked your parents if it's okay?"

"I will. I'll let you know."

We both felt so good about how well the night had gone that we didn't fall asleep for a while. Just holding each other was restful enough.

 

—

 

Saturday night.

"Fuck me harder, Aiden. I'm getting close."

Donny's legs were spread open wide. He held one leg up with one arm and jerked his cock with his other hand. It was fantastic to look at each other as we fucked.

"I'm close too. Donny, I'm ... ohhhh, I'm there."

I grunted as I shoved my erection as deeply into my boyfriend as I could. As I panted in my orgasm, Donny thrust his head back and fired shot after shot of cum onto his chest. We gasped for breath when we both finished. It took a moment for our breathing to calm down.

"Ohhh," I whispered, as I withdrew my cock from him. He let his legs move back together. I reclined next to him.

"We lasted longer tonight," he said.

I chuckled. "I thought it was cool that we came at the same time."

"Indeed."

 

—

 

Late Sunday afternoon.

"And then the third time, we fucked on our sides. I might have liked that the best."

"Okey dokey," Corey flatly said. "I don't need to know each sexual position."

"Today was sort of a surprise. We had lunch, and I was preparing to come back here, and ... we just decided to do it once more."

"Clearly, you resolved your anxiety issues."

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, he was the bottom every time. I'm not sure when or if I will be ready for us to switch. It's good that I came back; I think his ass needed a break."

"TMI, Aiden."

I laughed. "I know. It was just ... a big step for us. For me. I guess."

"And was it completely amazing? Will you want it every day now?"

That was an interesting question. Sex had consumed Geoff. I didn't feel that way. If Donny and I didn't fuck again for ... days, weeks ... I'd be fine with it. It was fun, but ... it wasn't the most incredible thing in the world.

"No. I enjoyed it. I did. I mean ... it felt good. Orgasms do, of course, but was it ... the most amazing thing ever?? No. I think people build that up in their minds."

"Really?"

"I did like it. And it was new for us. And fun. But ... it's a little more involved. An orgasm is an orgasm though."

"It wasn't better?"

"Mmmm. The coming itself, probably not. Everything leading up to it was ... way hotter."

"And here I thought the climax would be so much better."

"To say they are all the same wouldn't be exactly true. It always feels good, but if I had to pick the best one I ever had, it would be when you jerked me off for the first time."

"Seriously?"

"Over the top. But ... like I said. They are all good."

"I guess I will cancel the beam of light to shine down on my first time." I laughed. "Like that will ever happen," he sadly followed.

"It will."

I sat next to him. "I know me going on and on the last ten minutes was kind of ... I know it was a bit much. But I just needed to ... share, open up. I appreciate you letting me talk about all this gay stuff. I know it's not fun for you."

"You're my best friend. I'm here for you."

"And I will be here to listen to you talk about all the gross things involving vaginas."

We both rolled on the bed laughing.

I felt better for being able to talk about it. I could tell Corey anything. I wanted to tell Corey everything.

But I told Josh. He and Gavin had done it, but he listened anyway.

I told Brady. He hung onto my every word.

I even called Scott from high school. "That's so five months ago" were the words he used, but he was still happy for me. He asked if we could see each other over Spring Break. I told him I would love to introduce Donny to him if he came home with me.

I guessed I got the "breaking news" out of my system. The first fuck had come and gone.

As we turned out the lights, my name art still illuminated the room.

Both of us stared at the ceiling.

"So ... with me out of the room, what did you do all weekend?"

"I'll give you one guess," Corey flatly replied.

"Not the WHOLE weekend!"

"No. Each day. Twice Saturday actually. But I still worked at the ECC even though you didn't..."

"I'm making it up tomorrow evening."

"And I got caught up on my studies. Geoff and I hung out a little."

"Okay."

"I missed you though."

"Aw."

"Will you be doing this all the time now?" Corey sheepishly asked.

"I doubt it. Chas doesn't leave much, apparently. I'm not sure when we will have a lot of opportunities. Blowjobs are easier."

"Jeez, Aiden."

I laughed. "We may not be able to until Spring Break. I'm asking him to come home with me."

"Oh. That's nice." Corey turned to the wall. "Good night."

I felt it was sort of a sad "good night," a lonely "good night."

"Hey, Corey?"

He turned back. "Yeah?"

"Hug?"

We crawled out of bed and stood in the middle of the room. Our arms tangled around each other. I felt Corey squeeze me tighter. Hug No. 116. It said a million things to me. I hope it did to him.

As we pulled the covers back over us, Corey turned to the wall. I looked above him to see "The Journey." There we were — the two of us — on our journey together. For some reason, I felt out of step with Corey now.

I needed to get him laid.

I held up the remote. I turned off the LED glow behind my name art. The room was dark.

 

* * * *

 

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