Tripod Chapter 50

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Tripod -- Chapter 50

For seniors, it was the next to last week of school and also the week of the state gymnastics championships. Coach Melnyk had done his best with us. We weren't the biggest school competing, so we didn't have much depth to our team. We'd never placed higher than eighth in the state in my four years on the team. I'd heard that Evanston West had won the state championship sometime around when my grandparents were born but nothing of note since then.

We'd gotten the sad news that this would be the last year for boys' gymnastics as the state athletic association had cut the sport from the roster starting the following year. That added even more pressure to perform.

Cody Burke, our youngest team member, had been struggling. He'd grown two inches since the previous year. He had started on the team already tall for a gymnast, but he was now pushing 6' (183cm), which is a gymnastics giant. Imagine me playing basketball. Well, that's what it was like for Cody in gymnastics. Coach Melnyk had to cut him before the meet, leaving five of us to compete. We all felt sorry for Cody, who loved gymnastics, but just wasn't cut out for it.

We headed out to Hoffman Estates on Friday for the start of the two-day event with both individual and team competitions.

Tyler was the one team member who everyone had their hopes on. His specialty was pommel horse, but he was also competitive on still rings and parallel bars, and pretty good on vault, floor exercise, and horizontal bar. Tyler may seem like kind of a goof sometimes, but he was extremely focused on his gymnastics and worked very hard at practice.

Being the shortest guy on the team, I naturally gravitated to floor exercise, vault, and horizontal bar where being short gives you the biggest advantage. Not that I was bad at any of the other events, but those were the ones where I thought I might stand a chance to make it into the top ten.

The other three team members each had one or two specialties but weren't outstanding in everything.

Coach had designated Tyler and me to participate in all six events. Seán would be in four, Ron in three, and John in two. The top three scores from our team in each event would count toward the team's total score to determine the championship and for Tyler and me, our total scores from the six events would determine the individual results.

All our team members' families were in the stands to cheer us on. Mom and Dad had taken off work early to be there and had brought Asher and Darius with them. Tyler's folks were there and had brought Eddie. It made me smile to see how close Tyler's folks had gotten with Eddie since he and Tyler came out. Tyler's parents had always liked Eddie, but they had grown even closer and now treated him like a second son.

Floor exercise, pommel horse, and rings would take place on the first day, and vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar on the second day.

The crowd was polite and applauded each athlete as he did his routine. Tyler gave a good performance on the floor and I just beat him out by a tenth of a point. Seán was a tenth back from Tyler.

On pommel horse, Tyler had a good, clean routine. I lightly clipped one of the pommels for a slight deduction, but otherwise did well. But in the middle of Ron's routine, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie stand up and start jumping up and down cheering. You just don't do that during gymnastics meets. Fortunately, Ron had finished his dismount by the time Tyler's folks stood up and started screaming five seconds later. The whole audience was aghast until Eddie turned to us and screamed at the top of his lungs, "I just got into MIT on a full ride! Ty, we're gonna pahk yah cah in Hahvahd Yahd!"

The audience laughed and applauded, then Eddie ran down to the first row and Tyler ran over to meet him, giving him a big kiss right on the lips, shocking the hell out of some of the audience and leading others to hoot and holler in support.

Eddie ran out to call his folks while Ron, Seán, Tyler, and I got ready for our still rings routine. By the time Eddie came back, Ron had finished and Seán was just about ready for his dismount. Both had done a great job. As Tyler approached the rings, he looked over at Eddie and his folks. Tyler waved to the judges' table as Coach Melnyk lifted him up to mount the rings. Tyler gave the routine of a lifetime, better than I'd ever seen him do in practice. He solidly stuck his double back dismount and pumped his fist in celebration.

I felt a surge of adrenalin as the coach lifted me into place. The routine was going well until I got to the Maltese Cross. It's an incredibly difficult move to pull off and I just couldn't hold it long enough. The rest of my routine was fine.

All teams are required to remain in the venue until the last team has finished the session, so at 8 PM, we headed home. We dropped Darius off at his house because we'd agreed that I needed to get as much rest as possible before heading back the following morning, something I'd never get if he stayed over.

We picked him up at 7:30 the following morning and headed back out. The competition started up again promptly at 9:00. It was tough. There are a few schools larger than ours that have amazing gymnasts. By the time it was all over, Evanston West had placed fifth out of twelve schools. It was our best showing in decades. Tyler placed fourth in the individual competition out of twenty and I placed ninth.

"Ty, I'm so proud of you, dude. The whole team is," I said.

"Eddie's news just lit me on fire. I can't fucking believe it. We're going to school together in Boston, Jaime! Oh, shit. I'm sorry."

"It's OK. I'm cool. I'm really happy for you guys. You've been together a long time. I'm just glad things worked out OK. How far is BU from MIT?"

"Dude, you can walk. They're like right across the river from each other. We both have to stay in dorms as freshmen, but I sure hope we get roommates who don't get pissed off when I wanna bring Eddie over and vice versa. You need to come visit. I'm sure some hot guys would love to meet my amazing friend with the biggest dick I've ever seen."

"I promise I'll come out for a visit. Have you guys even been there yourselves?"

"Nah, we applied to so many schools that there's no way we could see them all. Hey, maybe Eddie and me can convince our folks to head out early, so we tool around New England and get to know Boston before we move. I think orientation starts mid-August, so maybe we can head out at the end of July and tool around. Hell, Eddie's on a full-ride scholarship, so his folks should have some money to finance a trip."

"Sounds like fun. I think we'll be back around mid-July, so we can hang together for a little while, OK?"

"Fa-sure! `Hang' is the right word," Tyler laughed. "A little skin party would be in order before we head out."

***

"Goood moooorning, students, teachers, and staff! This is my final announcement before I graduate on Sunday."

It started slowly, but within a couple of seconds, you could hear the cheers building up and down the hallways of Evanston West because the Wannabe Voiceover Guy was about to fade out permanently.

"Seniors, remember to pick up your caps and gowns by 2:00 PM today or you'll be forced to walk naked across the stage. Although for our favorite baker, I'm sure he'd put on a pretty impressive show!"

"Die, you motherfucker!!" I screamed to myself at the top of my mental lungs while trying to retain my composure as my classmates in homeroom snickered around me.

The asshole continued, "Underclassmen, don't forget that you still have another week of classes ahead, but for any who are old enough to drive, you can use the senior parking lot starting Monday. Don't let it go to your head.

"As for yours truly, I have decided to pursue my one true passion, other than my girlfriend's body, and will be studying voice acting at Columbia College right here in Chicago. So, in a few years, expect to be hearing this voice again, only I'll be getting paid for it."

"Not a snowball's chance in hell, shithead," I shouted in my head. "You'll be making those announcements over the PA at the dollar store between working the cash register and stocking the shelves."

***

"Good morning, class," Lincoln Choi began, "I want to tell you that it's been an honor and a privilege teaching you this year. Most of you know that this is my first teaching job and it's been even better than I'd hoped. I appreciate your enthusiasm and patience with me and hope that you feel free to keep in touch and let me know how you're doing.

"As for me, I'll be heading back to China for a visit. My mom reached out and wants to see me."

Spontaneous applause erupted around the classroom, causing Lincoln to tear up a bit.

"My dad is still holding out. It's been seven years with no contact but those ties are ones you never forget. I'm an only child, so hearing nothing from my parents has been tough, but I'm traveling with some close friends and I know they'll be there for me. If there's one important lesson that I've learned from being here, it's that a family can also be one you make, rather than one you're born into. You can surround yourself with people who love and care for you even if they're not related by blood. I've been blessed this past year to have found where I belong and I hope that as you go out and live your lives as independent adults, the same happens for you. But don't sit there and wait for it. When you give love yourself, you will get it in return."

***

"Well, our last shitty cafeteria lunch," I began, "I'm definitely not gonna miss the mystery meat burgers or cardboard crust pizza."

"Jaime, shut up," Tyler began, "You bring your lunch most of the time anyway, except when Darius stays over and you're too fucked out to make yourself something. I've had to eat this crap every school day for years. I mean they can't even put pineapple on their fucking pizza."

"That's one cost-cutting measure that makes good sense," I snickered.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Seán said. "You've been the only friends I've ever been able to just be myself with."

"We're gonna miss that spectacular ass of yours, Seán," Brandon said. "...Wait did you feel that, the table's starting to rise just thinking about it."

"Ha, very funny," Seán said obviously hurt.

Brandon stood up, walked around to the other side of the table, and gave Seán a bear hug. "We're gonna miss you, too, buddy. We all love you, you know."

"You guys wanna get together for a last daylight orgy at my place next week?" Tyler asked.

"Let me ask Connor if he'd be OK with that. He'll still be in school that day," Seán said.

"I can't do it on Thursday. That's Asher's adoption day," I volunteered. "Let me see when Darius is free."

"I can't do Monday or Tuesday," Eddie said. "My grandparents are flying in from Georgia for graduation and I've gotta spend time with them. They go home on Tuesday night. Let's try for Wednesday. It's Hump Day after all."

"It's a fucking tradition," I laughed. "Hey, let's take a selfie. I wanna remember our last day here."

"Jaime, your arms are too short to get us all in the picture," Tyler joked. "Hey, Ron," Tyler shouted, "c'mere for a second."

Ron was sitting a couple of tables away with Stephanie and Ashley. He stood up and Stephanie slapped him hard on the ass. He said something and she nodded.

"What was that about?" I asked as he approached our table.

"I forgot to ask the mistress's permission first," he smirked.

"Here, can you take a picture of the five of us?" Seán asked.

"It would be my honor, dudes. I've got you to thank for opening me up, literally, to new adventures with Stephanie. I'm gonna miss you guys when I'm up with the cheeseheads in Madison...smile."

Once he'd snapped a couple of photos, I asked him, "Where's Stephanie gonna be?"

"She's gonna be at IU. She wanted to put me in this weird, internet-enabled, chastity belt contraption, but it's not really practical with her being so far away. I mean, I gotta pee, right? Like I'm gonna ask her permission every time I gotta take a leak? And what happens if the fucking thing gets hacked and I get locked in permanently? It's actually happened. I read about it online. Jesus Christ, who would I call to cut me out of it? And dudes, I mean, I like the dom-sub thing, but there's a limit. I gotta send a chat whenever I wanna rub one out? I'd lose my fucking mind."

***

"Well, this is a cool surprise," I said when Asher and I arrived home that evening to find Mom cooking dinner.

"It's your last day of school and we wanted it to be special. I'm making Spanish food to get your palate ready for our trip."

"It smells amazing," Asher said. "What's on the menu?"

"For tapas, I'm making these little meatballs with peas in a sauce thickened with ground almonds. We've got Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, and toasted country bread rubbed with garlic and tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil. And we're having paella as the main dish."

"Yum. I'm starving," Asher said. "Can I help? It's Jaime's special night, so he gets to take it off."

"Sure. I just need you to chop some onions and garlic for me."

"I'll be back in a sec. I'm just gonna drop off my backpack and throw on an old t-shirt," Asher said as he headed downstairs.

"Jaime, I have some very exciting news. My dad's DNA test came back earlier this week and he's matched with some people in Spain who are nieces, nephews, and cousins. Some of the names on the list matched ones you found on social media and in the Spanish birth registry. Abuelo reached out and got some replies right away. He's not only got nieces and nephews he's never met but two sisters and a brother who want to see him. They said that Abuelo's parents wouldn't let any of his siblings try to contact him and once a few years had elapsed, they had no idea how to contact him anyway. Once his parents died, the trail had gone cold and they had no idea where my dad was. So, we've decided to stay in Spain an extra couple of weeks at the end of the production so we can meet relatives."

"You're kidding, right?" I said. "Eddie, Tyler, and Brandon are all going to schools that work on semesters. They have to leave here by mid-August. We won't even be home now until the beginning of August. Do I have to stay?"

"Jaime, I thought you'd be excited. I'm guessing that some of Abuelo's nieces and nephews have kids around your age. It'll be fun."

"Mom, please, if it was any other time, I'd be all in, but this is my last chance to hang with my friends before they all leave."

"Jaime, mi hijo, I know how much you love your friends, but don't be so dramatic. Darius leaves for L.A. at the same time we leave for Spain anyway. And, except for him, you'll still have some time back here with your friends before everyone leaves and they'll all be back here again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for our family."

That stung, but she was right. No one was dying. It wasn't a lost, last chance to see my inner circle. It was just time to move on, as much as that hurt.

***

Two days later it was graduation day. And, as usual, the weather was not great, cloudy and unusually cold. Evanston West had the arena from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Evanston East held their graduation ceremony the same day and in the same space from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM. Darius and I had mutually agreed that there was no need to subject each other to the torture of sitting through a graduation ceremony twice in one day and we'd meet up later that evening.

Since we were limited to four tickets per family, we'd randomly picked a relative's name out of the hat to see who got to attend in person. Abuela Zyanya was the lucky winner.

She'd apparently arrived that day at 6:30 AM, while I was still sleeping, and was armed with shopping bags of food to make breakfast. By the time Asher poked his head in to wake me up at 7:30, the house was already filled with delicious smells.

"Good morning, Mr. Almost-Graduate. Abuela's here and she's making chilly-killies, so get your ass out of bed right now. Should I call for an eighteen-wheeler to help haul the monster out with you?"

"Ha. Ha. It's `chilaquiles' and I can haul it out myself, thank you. I'll be down in about twenty minutes after I shower and get dressed."

By the time I'd made it downstairs, everyone was seated around the table waiting for me.

"Jaime, are you really going to wear jeans to your graduation?" Dad asked.

"Uh, I don't think it matters. Look."

I threw on my cap and gown. The gown reached my ankles.

"These things aren't exactly custom couture. They're gonna look like miniskirts on the basketball players," I smirked.

"OK. You've proven your point," Dad said. "Please put on a decent pair of shoes then."

"You got it. Mmm. Chilaquiles! My favorite. Thanks, Abuela. Are you excited to meet your in-laws?"

"Well, yes and no. I mean, I'm the reason they cut off your abuelo in the first place. But that was a very long time ago and it looks like the new generations are a lot more open-minded than Abuelo's parents were. José is trying to be calm about it, but I can see he's so excited. Now eat up, everyone, we need to get going."

We arrived at Northwestern's arena early for the graduation ceremony. My family took their seats and I took mine in alphabetical order up front with the other graduates. I was near one end of my row and Brandon was near the other end. Tyler was almost right behind me and Eddie right behind Brandon.

After Principal Pappas gave a stock speech about the great things that lay ahead for my graduating class, Eddie walked up to the stage propelled forward on a wave of applause, and adjusted the mic before he began:

"I'd like to extend a warm welcome, especially given this unusually chilly day, to teachers, staff, family, and especially to this year's graduating class. Well, we did it, Evanston West seniors! Every single one of you should be proud of yourself. Not only have you managed to complete all of your coursework, but I hope that you've learned a lot about yourselves as well in these past four years.

"When I started as a freshman, I strove to be perfect...in class, on tests, at running, and in life. I had clear goals and I was determined to exceed the highest expectations that everyone had for me and that I had for myself. But then, life intervened.

"Most of my classmates know that I was outed as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in a very public way last October. But only a very few know that I seriously contemplated taking my own life after that. You see, being pansexual was not in my vision of the perfect Eddie Hondo. And losing control of my own narrative was devastating. But with the love of my family, my friends, and my boyfriend Tyler, who's graduating with us today, I've learned to love myself just as I am. With the help of mental health professionals, I learned that being kind is not just a gift you bestow on others, but on yourself, too. Having lofty goals is great, but learning from our failures is greater. Giving ourselves permission to fail, taking risks in order to advance, trying things that are completely outside of our comfort zone, are all options that will make you a better person.

"If you are struggling, for whatever reason, don't keep it to yourself. Approach a trusted friend or family member, and if you don't feel you have one, stop scrolling through your social feeds for a few minutes and search out mental health resources. You are worth it. The world needs you and all you have to offer. If the pain feels unbearable, know that you don't need to suffer alone. There is someone who would love to help you and ease your pain.

"We are the first generation not to know a world without smartphones, the internet, streaming video, and artificial intelligence. We have no excuse for ignoring these amazing tools and resources. But while social media has become a part of our daily lives, it sets unrealistic expectations for us. It has cast us into a constant competition between the way we see ourselves, the way we want others to see us, and the expectations that social media places on us. We reach out for digital connections with people we barely know or don't know at all, in a never-ending struggle to appear popular or important. Just ignore that shi...stuff. What truly matters are the connections we make in the real world, the relationships with people who are empathetic or smart or funny, or all of the above. These are the people who send you texts in the middle of the night to tell you that they care about you and that they love you. Or better yet, they hang out with you in person, to talk about anything and everything. Those are the connections that will stay with us for the rest of our lives, not the fragile, artificial ones we have sought out in social media.

"In the past year, I have been racially profiled more times than I care to count. I've been chased out of a store, had a police weapon pointed at me, and been tased, all for no reason, other than the color of my skin. The real world is a tough and scary place for some of us. But to those out there who have judged others solely based on the color of their skin, their ethnic background, their gender expression, their sexual orientation, or any other intrinsic characteristic, well this black, queer dude is going to MIT and you can go to hell."

The audience erupted in cheers.

"And to those of you who, because of your genetic inheritance, have enjoyed privileges that not all of us have, enjoy your privilege, but also use it to defend those who need an ally, a friend, or a shoulder to lean on.

"For our generation, in many ways, things will be tough. We'll have a really hard time affording a house, paying off student loans, or earning as much in real dollars as our parents and grandparents did. But we also have all of those tools at our fingertips to change the world for the better. Are you upset about something you witnessed, some injustice you've seen? Make a video about it and post it. Get groups together to fight for what's right. Run for office. Work for a non-profit. Volunteer. Fight for peace. Vote. Make a difference.

"I know that we're all anxious to get our diplomas and head out to a party or a nice meal, but I just wanted to say a special thanks to some people who have made a huge difference for me and for some of you, too. To Mr. Lincoln Choi, you are what every teacher should be: informed, smart, motivational, and sympathetic. I looked forward to every single one of your classes and even more to the Gay-Straight Alliance meetings where you made us realize that we all have a responsibility to look out for one another. To Brandon Grimes, who taught me that the real person sometimes hides out of sight, just waiting for a chance to be set free and that love, compassion, and forgiveness can be the keys to liberating those who have lived in a prison not of their own making. To Jaime Fine-Cruz, the little guy with the biggest..."

"Oh, God! Don't say it, Eddie. Please!!!" my brain screamed.

"...heart," Eddie continued.

The graduates burst out laughing, leaving most family members clueless.

"You are one of the smartest, most loving, and kindest people I've ever met. I can't imagine what I would have done this year without you. To my parents and sister, you always pushed me to be my best, but were there to gently catch me when I fell. You made me realize that I didn't need to be perfect to be perfect for you. And lastly, to Tyler Jacobs, we've been together since we were thirteen. At first, it was a deep, dark, don't-tell-anybody-ever secret. But now, it's not, and I'm so much happier. So is he. Tyler, you always know how to make me laugh. You've made me a better person. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. Tyler and I are both headed off to school in Boston. He'll be right across the Charles River from me at Boston University. We'll be walking distance from one another.

"Now go off and live your best lives. Seize whatever opportunities are presented to you, but take time for yourselves. You've made this school proud.

"Thank you."

Tyler was the first on his feet, with Brandon and I a split second behind him. The whole audience rose to applaud one of my BFFs, the boy genius, the world's nicest guy.

Once the clapping died down, the long march to receive our diplomas began, stretching out in what seemed like a never-ending drone of names, all the way from Emma Aarons to Jack Zywiaski.

On the ride home, I received a text:

DARIUS: You looked so hot in your cap and gown. Role play in them 2nite? U naked underneath?

ME: Sounds like fun. I can finally find another, better use 4 this ugly gown. Now that's upcycling. But how'd U C me in it?

DARIUS: UR mom sent me videos

ME: My mom has U in her contacts? That's weird

DARIUS: Nah. Kinda nice. CU@9?

ME: Yup

As we pulled into the driveway, I spotted the "Congratulations Graduate!" sign that had been placed on our front lawn.

"OK, what's going on? Should I act surprised when I open the door and see a bunch of people there?" I asked.

"You'd better," Mom said. "I wanna see an award-winning performance. Got it?"

I laughed. "I. Am. So. Shocked! I. Had. No. Idea."

"Jeez, Jaime, now I know why you want a career behind the camera and not in front of it," Asher sighed.

It was a small group, just family. Noah, Jermaine, and Lincoln were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on lunch: a huge Greek salad, skordalia, taramosalata, moussaka, a roasted leg of lamb, and baklava for dessert.

"Did you guys get all of this done in two hours?" I asked.

"Hell, no!" Jermaine said. "A lot of the stuff we made last night, or at least started it last night, and brought it up here this morning. But we were practically waiting in the bushes for you guys to get the hell out of the house."

"I did wonder why Abuela kept pushing us so hard to eat up and get out. We were one of the first families at the arena this morning."

As we all gathered around the table to have a seat, my little cousin Ricky pulled me aside and asked, "Where's Darius? Isn't he coming?"

"Darius has his own graduation to go to. I'll see him tonight though."

Ricky looked disappointed. "That's too bad. I like him. And I wanted to try to beat him at video games. I know he let me win last time."

"And you're OK that he's my boyfriend?"

"Yup," was his terse reply.

"Hey, Jaime," Lincoln began, "do you think anyone noticed that I snuck out early?"

"Nah, it was a total shit show. But how early did you sneak out?"

"Right after Eddie's speech. I didn't want anyone to see my mascara running."

That got a big laugh from everyone except Ricky, who looked confused.

"Besides, I needed to help out here anyway."

"Well, the food is spectacular," Dad said, "You guys did an amazing job. But now, I'd like to say a few words about my oldest son, Jaime. Smart. Kind. Loving. Clever. Funny. Generous. Resilient. Determined. Sweet. Fraternal. Now let's have dessert."

Darius stuck to his word that night: we did some fun role-playing. I pretended I was one credit shy of graduating and I offered to trade sexual favors for the credit, which, of course, Darius accepted. But this role-playing game lost a bit of credibility when the two of us, wearing nothing but our graduation caps and gowns, got hard and made the gowns look like camping tents. It was fun anyway, but we looked ridiculous. We slept cuddled up and tried to ignore that we only had one more week together.

Mom put me to work on Monday and Tuesday, having me check over the family's travel documents and our itineraries, and having me assemble lists of restaurants near our hotels for the weeks we were doing pre-production and not filming.

On Monday and Tuesday evening, I gave Asher a quick crash course in production, so that he knew what each of the crew member's responsibilities were and a general timetable of how productions run. I explained what he'd be expected to do as a production assistant.

***

Seven of us showed up at 2:00 PM that Wednesday at Tyler's. Hump Day. In all likelihood, it would be our last gathering, at least for the foreseeable future. The plan was to head out to dinner afterward and celebrate.

Sho was also out of school but had to head to the restaurant at 5:00 to work the dinner shift, so he only got to stay for the fun, but not the food.

Tyler had imposed a dress code: our athletic team uniforms. It was a no-brainer for Eddie, Tyler, Seán, Darius, and me, since we'd all been on teams in school but left a mystery for what Sho and Brandon would wear.

"Sho, didn't you get the memo about the dress code?" Eddie asked. "You didn't bring anything to change into. Have you got it on under your street clothes?"

"Nope."

Sho reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bathing suit from one pocket and goggles from the other. "I was on the swim team, dude."

"The goggles are kinda hot, babe," Brandon said.

"What about you, Brandon?" Tyler asked. "You're the only one who wasn't on a team."

"Give me a sec. I'll be right back."

Brandon slipped into the bathroom, leaving us all in suspense. Five minutes later he emerged leaving us all in stitches. He was in complete lucha libre gear from boots to tights to the all-important mask. He wore no top, showing off his amazing, chiseled torso, but wore a rainbow-themed cape. Then he turned around and lifted the cape to reveal that the tights had been ripped open in the back to provide easy access to his butthole.

"Get changed, you fuckers!" Brandon bellowed. "This hole needs servicing. "And who's gonna be the first to chow down on my huge burrito?"

Formerly-shy and prudish Seán didn't waste a split-second. He was in his full gymnastics uniform in under a minute and on his knees pawing at Brandon's massive bulge and licking it through the elastic fabric. Seán arched his back inviting anyone and everyone to have a go at his magnificent backside.

Since Sho had the least amount of clothes to put on, he was in his tiny banana hammock in a second and followed Seán over to service Brandon's eagerly waiting hole.

"Hurry up, boys! I wanna see you pervs going at it now! You don't need to keep those cute little uniforms anymore. I wanna see `em ripped and cum-stained. Got it?" Brandon growled.

"Yes, sir!" we all screamed.

We hurriedly changed and rushed over to join the action. Sho was already slipping his cock in and out of Brandon's hole while Seán used his teeth to tear open the front of Brandon's tights and free his 10-inch, uncut cock, which disappeared in no time down Seán's throat.

Darius looked so hot in his wrestling singlet that Eddie, Tyler, and I couldn't resist. He was so turned on from seeing what was going on with Brandon that he was leaking pre-cum through the singlet, which outlined his big, rock-hard, cock and ample balls, leaving little to the imagination.

I caressed Darius's neck, then slipped one hand into the singlet and slid my fingers through the fur on his chest. I tugged on one of his erect nipples as I leaned in for a kiss. My hot wrestler moaned quietly.

"One, two, three!" Tyler called, as he and Eddie simultaneously tore through the fabric to access Darius's rigid penis and furry hole.

"Ah, fuck yeah..." Darius purred when Eddie went down on his cock and Tyler slipped a tongue up his butt. Darius pulled me in close and slid his hand down my pants, grabbing a hold of my cock. "God, am I gonna miss this," Darius whispered in my ear as he stroked me. "I want you and your friends to take turns fucking me. Then I want to fuck you hard, OK?"

I nodded, then grabbed Tyler by his muscular shoulder and pulled him to his feet. I grabbed a hold of Tyler's gymnast form pants and tugged them down in one move, causing Tyler's thick dick to spring back and slap him on his belly.

"Let's get you lubed up," I said. "Let's give Darius a send-off he'll never forget."

Tyler grabbed the bottle of lube and squirted some into my hand. While I slicked up Tyler's dick, he squirted lube into Eddie's outstretched hand so that Eddie could reach under and slip a couple of fingers up Darius's backside.

"That's it, Eddie. Yeah, get me ready."

"Go for it, Ty," Eddie said as he gently slid his digits from Darius's hole.

Eddie relinquished control of Darius's dick to me, as I got down on my knees. Seeing how turned on I was, Eddie grabbed my pants and ripped open the crotch, freeing the angry monster inside. Eddie used his already slicked-up hands to stroke me while I let Tyler's pounding push Darius's dick down my waiting throat.

"Fuck me harder, you cocksucker! I want every inch of that fantasy cock shoved up my hole. Do it! Do it!" Seán screamed to Brandon a few feet across the room.

Seán had his legs resting against Brandon's shoulders and his arms wrapped around Brandon's neck as Brandon slid all of his huge cock into Seán with every stroke. At the same time, Sho braced himself against the wall, still fucking Brandon. It had to be seen to be believed. We'd turned Seán into a first-class whore in the space of a few short months. And Brandon the fuck machine was glassy-eyed with lust, pounding Seán silly. Seán's head bounced around as he screamed for more.

"OK, Eddie, your turn," Darius ordered. "Ty, go fuck Jaime."

I pulled off Darius's cock and lay down on my back on the floor. Tyler squirted lube onto his fingers and slicked me up while Eddie went to work on Darius. It was a huge turn-on to see Eddie's big, uncut black dick disappear into my guy while Eddie's boyfriend prepared to mount me.

I threw my legs over my head, giving Tyler ready access to my waiting, hairless hole. But Tyler took a second to lean in for a kiss first. He kissed me passionately and I could feel his love for me. We locked eyes and he gave me a warm smile. Then he grabbed my ankles and slipped his beer-can cock into me. Tyler kept looking into my eyes as he made love to me, only looking away to catch Eddie looking back at him and smiling sweetly.

"We love you so much, Jaime. Next year's gonna be hard without you," Tyler said.

Then a switch turned on in him and he got down to the task at hand, fucking me silly. For a short guy, Tyler is really powerful. Gymnasts have amazing abs and hip muscles. You wanna good fuck? Call a gymnast. He never disappoints. Wave after wave of tingles shot through my groin.

"Suck your cock for me, Jaime. Let me see you suck your own cock," Tyler begged. "What a fucking hot show!"

From the position I was in, the head of my cock was only an inch or so from my chin anyway, so I leaned over a touch and took it into my mouth, intensifying the already amazing feeling.

"I'm cumming," screamed Sho from across the room.

"OK, Seán, your turn, you hot ginger bitch!" Brandon screamed as he did the impossible and fucked Seán's exquisite backside even harder.

"Aaaaargh!" Seán screamed as rope after rope of hot cum shot out of his flailing cock and landed on his face, chest, and onto the floor below, completely hands-free.

"Not done yet!!" Brandon bellowed. "Fill `er up," he screamed as he threw his head back and pumped Seán full of his spunk.

The four of us couldn't help but sync up with the climaxes from across the room. Darius stroked his cock hard and shot right onto Tyler and me. Eddie wailed as he unloaded into Darius.

"Cum for me, Tripod!" Tyler screamed. "Let me see the monster blow his load."

I was already close just from Tyler's great fucking and from the supercharged sexual atmosphere in the room. I held my mouth open wide and within a few seconds, my jizz gushed over and over again onto my tongue. Tyler's hips bucked a few last times as he shot his spunk deep inside me.

And that was just round one.

We chilled for a bit to recharge, then Darius grabbed Brandon and me, laid us down on our backs in opposite directions with our ball sacks touching, and stroked the two of us until we were hard again.

"I'm gonna need a lot of lube for this one," he snickered.

Tyler grabbed the lube and pumped a huge glob into Darius's already stretched hole.

Darius slowly lowered himself onto my dick and when he'd gotten about 3" (7.5cm) inside, he managed to slide Brandon's cockhead inside as well. He slowly lowered himself onto a five-pound cock sandwich until both Brandon and I were nearly balls deep. The rest of the guys loved the spectacle as Darius picked up speed and impaled himself over and over again, filling my bottomless bottom with as much cock as I'd ever seen anyone handle, even in porn.

Sho decided that it was time for him to bottom, too, so Eddie nailed him while Tyler banged an insatiable Seán.

I could see Darius was starting to tire.

"Come on, babe, cum for us," I encouraged.

"You guys first," he smiled. Darius tapped into his reserves, tightened his butt muscles, and bounced harder until I felt my orgasm starting to boil up in my balls. I couldn't see Brandon's face but felt him tensing up and trying to get every inch into Darius.

"Fuuuuck!" I moaned as Darius milked me and the pulsations of my second orgasm sent waves of pleasure from my groin through the rest of my body.

"Oh, yeah!" Brandon screamed as Darius writhed on our cocks, sucking the spunk out of Brandon. Then Darius threw his head back and yelled as his cum shot all over me and he slumped down exhausted.

"Much more fun than leg day at the gym," he smiled.

The three of us had been totally consumed in our own actions and had failed to notice Tyler still smashing hard into Seán's ass while Eddie was pumping his seed into Sho.

"Fuck me like you mean it!" Seán screamed. "I wanna feel every fucking inch. That's it! That's it! Oh, yeah!"

Seán pumped on his cock frantically as Tyler's expression changed from concentration to ecstasy. Both came at the same time with Tyler slapping Seán's ass raw as his jizz pumped into the redhead.

After we cleaned up, we played video games for an hour, preparing for round three.

"Sorry, guys, gotta run," Sho said. "That was fucking amazing. I'm gonna miss our play time." He kissed and hugged us all and headed out.

As planned, it was time for Darius to tap my ass, while Brandon fucked Eddie, Tyler, and for the second time, Seán, reserving his orgasm for Seán, who barked orders like a drill sergeant.

We managed to clean up and take quick showers before Tyler's folks got home. We piled into my car and headed out to Lung Fung, where Brandon treated us all to an incredible feast. Four guys who couldn't stand the sight of him just eight months earlier were now his friends for life, connected with a bond that went way deeper than he'd ever imagined possible.

***

Asher's adoption hearing was scheduled for 9:30 AM downtown at the Daley Center. Abuela Zyanya, as Asher's social worker, sat with Asher in front of the judge. Mom, Dad, and I sat right behind them. Jermaine was there as our attorney, having donated his time for this final step in Asher's journey.

"All rise. The Honorable Maria Ceballos, judge of the county division of the Circuit Court of Cook County presiding," the bailiff announced.

"Please be seated," the judge began. "Good morning, Zyanya, nice to see you again. It's great to see you at an adoption hearing instead of advocating for termination of parental rights."

"Yes, Your Honor," Abuela replied, "I'm always thrilled to see a child adopted into a loving home. Even more thrilled when it's an older child. But this time I am triply thrilled because the adoptive parents are my own daughter and son-in-law. Once Your Honor approves the adoption, this wonderful, intelligent young man will become my grandson."

"That really is exceptional. Well, let's get this show on the road then. I assume that you are Asher Gold?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"I see that your birth family voluntarily terminated their parental rights last year, placing you into the foster care system. Have you had any contact with them?"

"Not with my birth parents, Your Honor, just a couple of short interactions with one of my brothers."

"I see. You seem like a nice, young man. Did your birth parents get into some legal trouble or did you have behavioral issues that would lead them to terminate parental rights?"

"I'm gay, Your Honor. That is considered an abomination in their community. They threw me out on the street. I am dead to them now."

"I'm so sorry," the judge replied. "How are things now? As a sixteen-year-old, you have a big say in this procedure. Is this a good fit for you?"

"This family saved my life, Your Honor. They rescued me from a horrible situation at my old school, took me in, and treated me like a son and brother from the very first day. Nayeli and Barry are the best parents I could hope for. They've been patient and kind, but also guide me and encourage me to find what I'm really good at. And Jaime, my new brother, is amazing. He had been an only child for seventeen years and then, all of a sudden, I came into the family. He's never been jealous of me. He gives me his time and is so patient with me. We sometimes tease each other, but that's what brothers do. But it's never mean or hurtful. And I have new grandparents and uncles who love me just the way I am. This is my family now, Your Honor. This is where I belong."

"Nayeli Fine-Cruz and Barry Fine-Cruz, would you like to add anything to Asher's comments?"

Mom began, "Your Honor, I'm sure you know my mom and her role in advocating for kids, but my husband and I had never really thought about adopting a child. We were definitely of the `One and Done' school of reproduction. It was actually our son, Jaime, who met Asher first and it was only through sheer coincidence that my mom was his social worker. Jaime invited Asher for Thanksgiving last year and my mom was surprised to see him at our house. But when she saw how Jaime had taken Asher under his wing, she pushed for us to adopt him. Given that he's nearly an adult, it made good sense for us. We honestly wouldn't have had the time to take care of an infant or a young child, but Asher is at the age where he needs love, guidance, and a place to thrive, but not constant care."

Dad continued, "Your Honor, all four of Nayeli's and my parents pushed us into making this wonderful decision, but it was my late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, who put her foot down and insisted that this was the right thing to do. Asher and she had a very special bond. She only passed away a few weeks ago, and we miss her terribly. Being able to call Asher our son is an honor. He is truly an exceptional young man. And we will provide him with a good forever home."

"Well, I don't see any reason to draw out this proceeding then. It is my great privilege, under the laws of the state of Illinois, to declare this adoption final. Please issue three copies of the adoption declaration and, as is the law of this state, please seal the original birth records. Asher, you are now Asher Fine-Cruz. You should apply for an amended birth certificate and update any official documents, such as a driver's license and passport, at your earliest convenience. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Your Honor!" Asher said. He'd been holding it together nicely until the judge finished, and then the waterworks began. We gathered around him for a group hug.

There wasn't time to wallow in the wonderful warmth of the moment. Asher had to get back to school to take a final exam. We said our goodbyes to Abuela and Jermaine and armed with a copy of Asher's adoption papers, headed back to Evanston.

***

The next day was our last full day at home. We were leaving for Spain the following day.

Darius was helping with some last-minute things at his house, like taking down curtains and drapes that Yasmin wanted to take with them, and throwing out some things that they needed here, but would buy new in California.

The movers were scheduled to arrive mid-morning to pack their belongings. Darius was going to supervise the movers to make sure that everything got properly accounted for and nothing got left behind while his mom and dad took care of some last-minute business. The plan was for him to come over to my place when he was done.

"Jaime, you want to go keep Darius company at his place?" Mom asked at breakfast. "Maybe he could use a hand? Dad had to visit a client in the suburbs today, so he took his car and I need mine to run a few errands. but I'll drop you off."

"I thought I'd stay out of his hair, but why not?" I replied. "Can't hurt to have extra help, especially since his folks had to duck out. He's gonna stay here tonight and the rest of his family are staying at a hotel. Their flight's at 11:00 tomorrow morning. You don't mind if I drop them off at the airport tomorrow, right? Our flight's not until 4:45 in the afternoon, so I can get back here in plenty of time."

"No objections at all. We're just going to do something easy for dinner tonight, OK, since we have to head out tomorrow?"

"No problem. It's our last night together and that's all that counts."

Mom dropped me off at Darius's place. The moving van was already there.

"Hey, handsome," I said as I let myself in.

Four moving men had started to pack up everything, including some of those amazing paintings on the walls, which were packed into special wooden crates.

I wish I could say that the moving men were all hot, with toned bodies and nice smiles, and that we had an impromptu orgy on their lunch break, but this is real life; they packed, stacked, and talked about tits. Besides, Ariana came home from her last day of school at 12:30, killing any chance for Darius and me to sneak off to a secluded corner.

Darius's folks showed up mid-afternoon, as did the company responsible for shipping their cars across the country. All the moving work was completed by 5:30.

Just as Darius's family was gathering their suitcases and getting ready to call a ride-share, Dad showed up.

"I thought that you guys might need a lift. It might be a little tight, but it's a short ride," he said.

We managed to get the suitcases in the back and four of us piled into the backseat while Javid sat up front.

"Wait, you're going the wrong way," Darius said.

"No, I'm not," Dad replied. "We have a little surprise."

A few minutes later, we pulled into our driveway. I recognized a few cars parked out front.

"So, this is the `easy dinner' you were talking about?" I said to Mom as we walked in the door.

"This is a special night for both of our families. We couldn't just let it pass without a celebration. Besides, Dad's not joining us for over a month. He can cover the clean-up," Mom winked.

"Your flight's not until tomorrow afternoon. You're not getting away that easily," Dad said.

"Did you know about this?" Darius asked his family.

"Of course," Yasmin responded. "We stopped by a couple of hours ago to drop off some desserts."

Both sets of grandparents, my uncles, their families, and Ozzie were all gathered to say goodbye to Darius and his family, to officially welcome Asher to the family, and to wish Mom, Asher, and me a safe trip.

The whole family had shown up to help with the food prep because dinner for twenty people was ready to be served. Zyanya was the head chef this time. There were memelas for appetizers, along with chips and a homemade salsa roja. Her famous chicken in mole negro was the centerpiece, accompanied by a black bean and corn salad, some roasted Mexican squash, and of course, homemade corn tortillas. For dessert, we switched cultures entirely and dove into the Persian date cake, saffron pudding, and almond cookies.

About halfway through dessert, I looked around the room and realized how important every single person in that room was to me. It struck me how some who were at the top of the list I hadn't even known a year earlier. I grabbed a spoon, banged it against my water glass, and stood up.

"Well, I guess in everyone's life there are events that you mark time from, what came before vs. what happened after. This night will be one of them for me. Lincoln, you are no longer my teacher now, but a family member. I just want to say to you that you have taught me lessons that will stay with me forever, and I'm not talking about covalent bonding. To you, Asher, now officially my brother, I think we must have been brothers in a former life because you are the part of me that was missing before you showed up. And to you, Darius, the kid who didn't know his gochujang from his bi bim bap, I'm so happy you were so ignorant."

"He certainly knows what to do with his bi bim bap now," Asher smirked.

"You are so smart, so self-assured, and so handsome, but you've also taught me so much about myself and about what a relationship should be. I'm going to miss you so much, but I'm going to do my best to make sure you know every day how much I love you. And to everyone else in this room. I owe you so much. You have always given me the best of yourselves. Thanks."

Once the tears were dried and the hugs exchanged, we all hung out for a while, with everyone pitching in for the cleanup.

A short while later, my relatives headed for the door, with my three gay uncles whispering some dirty things into Darius's ear before heading out, causing him to blush and laugh out loud. At 9:30, Darius and I drove his family to their hotel in downtown Evanston. We'd pick them up at 8:30 the next morning.

Asher and Ozzie had already quietly disappeared downstairs.

Once we got back, Darius and I headed upstairs to spend our last night together until who knows when. We didn't need to say anything, just slowly undressed each other as if it were the first time. We held onto each other tightly. Not a minute passed that night when our bodies weren't touching. We kissed, cuddled, and gave each other intense pleasure until we dozed off wrapped up in each other's arms, each of us carrying the seed of the other inside him.

"Wake up, you sluts! You have visitors!" Asher announced at 7:30 the next morning. "Get your asses out of bed and go down to see."

Darius and I threw on some clothes, stuffing our hard dicks into a pair of jeans as best as we could. We ran downstairs to find Eddie, Tyler, and Brandon sitting in the kitchen with enormous shit-eating grins and three bags of food from He-Brew. Ozzie surfaced from downstairs to join us.

"Eat up, bitches!" Brandon snarled.

"We couldn't let you dudes get away without saying goodbye," Tyler added.

"Darius, we're not sure when we'll see you next, but we just wanted to let you know that we love you and we're gonna miss you and wanted to wish you luck. Please don't break this little guy's heart, OK?" Eddie said.

"Nah, not a chance. There's no one else like him," Darius smiled.

"No shit," Ozzie said holding his hands about a foot apart.

"Eat up quick. You guys need to be out of here by 8:15 and I can smell that you still need to shower," Asher joked.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you guys," Tyler began, "Eddie and me are gonna tool around New England for two weeks before school starts. We're gonna leave about August first."

"That's right before I get home. That sucks, I won't see you guys." I moaned.

"I'll still be around, little buddy," Brandon said, grabbing my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"Jaime, we'll see you at Thanksgiving, OK?" Tyler said. "But let us know how things are going in Spain and we'll fill you in on Boston when we get there."

"Absolutely. I'll send all of you updates and we can video chat. But I'm gonna miss all of you, you know," I said.

"We're gonna miss you, too, Tripod," Tyler responded.

I made a big pot of coffee and we quickly devoured the bagel sandwiches that the guys had brought.

When we were done, I opened a bag full of rugelach and gave one to everyone. Holding them up like glasses of champagne, we toasted each other and took a bite, then leaned in for a group hug, wiping away tears as we parted.

Darius and I headed up to shower and get dressed for the longest trip of my life, dropping my first, and maybe my only, love at the airport, not sure when I'd see him next.

***

Dad dropped Mom, Asher, and me off at Terminal 3 at 2:30 PM for our flight to Madrid. He'd used frequent flier miles to upgrade Mom to business class but Asher and I were flying coach. We all checked in, but only Mom got to use the business class lounge, so Asher and I walked through the terminal and checked out the overpriced stuff before heading to the gate.

"Ozzie asked me to be his official boyfriend last night," Asher said.

"I bet he only asked you so he could fuck you," I kidded.

"You're awful...but 100% correct," he laughed.

"How did it go?"

"It hurt like hell at first, but Ozzie went really slowly and once I got used to it, well, fuck, now I know what all the fuss is about."

"Did you fuck him?"

"Nah, we'll save that for when I get back. He said he wanted to practice with something not alive first. But he said he'd like to. I'm glad I decided to go out with him, you know. Thanks for the push. You give good advice."

Mom got to board first and we passed her as we headed back to our seats. She smiled and slyly held up her glass of champagne as we headed towards the back.

We threw our bags in the overhead bins and settled into our seats. I was in the window and Asher was in the middle. Once the door closed and it was apparent that no one was going to sit in the aisle seat, I motioned for Asher to move over. He shook his head and reached for my hand.

"Does flying make you nervous?" I asked. "You never said anything."

"Not at all. I love to travel. And we're gonna have a blast in Spain, even though we're gonna have to work our asses off."

"What's going on with you then?" I asked.

"It's not me, Jaime. It's you."

I gave his hand a squeeze, then we sat there quietly while the plane pushed back and my mind began to wander. I looked back at this chapter of my life, how it began and how it was ending, as I prepared to start a new one. A timid young kid wrote the first words of it, but a confident young man wrote the last.

My name is Jaime. That's HI-may, not JAY-me. But you should know that by now. I used to hate my name, but not anymore. I used to hate a lot of things about myself, but not anymore. I'm short, mixed, freakishly hung, and loved by amazing people who have changed me forever.

Author's Notes:

When the idea for this story came to me two years ago, I would have never believed that it would take fifty chapters to tell the coming-of-age story of Jaime. This was my first attempt at fiction. I didn't have a clue if I could even write. If you've enjoyed it, please drop me a line at cagey507@gmail.com and let me know. I'm happy to discuss anything about the story or answer any questions.

Jay Gilbert

Panama City, Panama

February, 2024