Friday – May 2, 2014

If it was a game Tom was playing, I would've understood the riddles. Perhaps like in a horror movie. But that wasn't the extent of it. This wasn't a game. How could love be as simple as a game? Winning or losing. That might be it. Still, it couldn't be as simple as a game.

I still couldn't figure out the dagger that I should be shielding Alex from when May 3rd arrives. The line with the angel and star, I could reasonably guess it was Alex altogether. My angel, as he said it himself, and my star whose laughter was envied by those little points of light shining down on us when all the lights went out in our neighbourhood at night.

As I lay dumbfounded up in my tree house with my phone staring down at me, I couldn't find myself drifting off to sleep. There was just so much to think about, so much to do and so little that I know of.

A dagger unsheathed, set free

And could I blame my fucked up mind when I thought of the dagger as being my dick? I mean, what else could it be? Unsheathed which would mean that I'd be stripped of my pants and briefs. Set free which would essentially mean the same thing. My pants unzipped, my briefs pulled down and the dagger pointing proudly toward Alex as it would soon stab him from behind.

Damn my fucked up logic.

An angel will fall, your star will sway

Oh yes. Alex would fall on top of me, riding me down to hell and back. The longest drop an angel could probably take. And, certainly, he will sway uncontrollably as he'd begin to shout my name and make husky noises through his ragged breaths and he'd make me sway with him, holding onto his hips before pulling him down and reaching up to his lips.

Yeah. That could be it.

I could feel a blush settling on my cheeks while the rest of my blood started filling up my hard on. I felt pretty sure that we'd pick out the have sex with my boyfriend from our jar of things-to-do.

With Alex's smile replacing the uncertainty inside my head, I finally drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~

Saturday – May 3, 2014

"Guess what."

"What?" I asked.

"I feel like squirting a load."

I looked at Alex absently. He was smiling like an idiot and he smelled like he was left to dry out in the sun for too long. Maybe that was just the summer heat getting to me. We had taken our shirts off a while ago, but Alex still had an apron on. That was for sanitary purposes, he told me. He was still serving his customers after all.

It had been a slow afternoon at first, but once we took our shirts off, people kept pouring in and I even caught one of them eyeing Alex. I didn't mind though. He could stare at Alex all day long, but I know that Alex wouldn't return that lustful gaze of his. That was reserved only for me.

"Later," I told him. "We still need to pay off my dad. Dividends and such."

"Okay, okay."

He went back to pouring sweetened milk, scooping ice cream and giving it to people while I took care of the cash flow.

After a while and when there were no customers in sight, Alex sat next to me and I could feel his sweat dripping onto my shoulders. I was holding a fan in my right hand and started redirecting the wind toward Alex's face. He smiled and looked as happy as a dog going out for a ride with his head and tongue sticking out of the car's window. The dog's tongue, not Alex's.

"Aaaah, that feels good."

"You look like shit," I told him.

"Not my fault we live in this goddamn desert."

It wasn't a desert. It felt like it though.

"Why don't you make yourself some of that halo-halo?"

"Nah," he said. "Too tired."

"We could close for the day. We made enough cash already to pay back my dad and still have some left for us."

Without hesitation, the CLOSED sign was hung down one side of the table and we brought all the ingredients and stuff back to my house. Gumball was sleeping on the kitchen floor and it didn't look like he was bothered by the heat or anything. He just slept there, ears flopped down the sides of his head, tail curled toward its black snout and he sounded like he was snoring.

"Where's you mom?" Alex asked.

"Book club meeting."

"She has a book club?"

"Nope, but at least she's not here."

"I'm surprised she left us alone," he said and I could tell from the way he grinned that something was playing inside his head. "I need a shower."

"Me, too."

It was decided that we'd take a shower in our yard. A garden hose should be waiting for us out there and I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind us watering her plants.

We stripped down to our briefs and I felt a bit disappointed that Alex's undies had no print on it. It was plain white or maybe dirty white. Mine was as black as midnight. It didn't really bother us that we were almost naked outside and that people could see us. Two teenage boys in briefs and spraying each other. To them, we would probably look like the kids who lived across from my house and who jumped through sprinklers in their dirty underwear or none at all. That was the joy of being a kid.

"Hey!" I shouted when cold water hit my chest. "Not too much, Alex."

"You need to cool down a bit," he said, giggling.

"What about you?"

He smiled and put the hose over his head. He looked like he was under a waterfall and he might have drunk some water. I laughed and took the hose from him.

He protested and reached out to grab the hose. I stepped to one side and grabbed his waist before he could fall down flat on the driveway. He was laughing real hard when I sprayed his back with cold water.

That one mistake he made which he probably forgot was his white briefs. Oh sure, white was alright...when dry. But give it a good soak and spray, it'd become some sort of transparent fabric that hugged the skin too close. In Alex's case, his white briefs started forming the outline of his crotch and cute butt.

He stood there in front of me, laughing. My eyes drifted south and I could tell that he still didn't have a hard on. He caught sight of where my eyes went and as we exchange looks, I could see the blush forming on his cheeks and the pout on his lips. He looked like a kid who had an accident, deeply embarrassed and didn't know what to do.

"That looks good on you," I mumbled.

He kept staring at me and we were far too oblivious to notice our neighbours walking past us.

"Not funny," he said.

"No. Not funny. Good."

He snatched the hose from me and sprayed my briefs. To his disappointment, black stayed black.

"Not fair!" he whined.

"Don't worry," I told him. "I doubt anyone can see anything from afar. But here...looks good."

The water hit my face this time and when I brought my hands up as a shield, the water stopped. Alex took my hands away from my face and brought it down with his. He still had that pout and blush as he looked up to me. He looked awfully adorable and I couldn't stop myself from...

Poof.

The kiss was inevitable. Alex tiptoed and touched his lips on mine. Our eyes closed and water dripped steadily from the hose, forming a puddle around us. I grabbed his waist and pulled him closer. Every distance between our bodies, I wanted to get rid of. Our tongues felt wet. His lean body felt wet. Everything around us felt hot and wet. I couldn't be sure if there were people who were watching us, but I didn't bother thinking too much about it.

It reminded me of that kiss under the tree back in Alex's house. He felt light all over again and the breeze carried him into my arms. His wet chest felt incredibly awesome on mine and I felt something throb from under his wet briefs. Mine included. It felt like floating in eternity.

Poof.

Perhaps like a magic trick, the dagger was immediately unsheathed.

It hit Alex like a storm. Someone had pulled him away from me. I stared up and there she was, standing tall like some shadow cast with light from the summer sun. Her face was red with anger. Her fragrance was reminiscent of dandelions drifting in the wind.

Alex stumbled back and fell on his butt. He hit the paved driveway quite hard and the blush on his right cheek was replaced by something redder and brighter.

She had come swooping down like an eagle trained on its prey. Her talons, as sharp as her manicured fingernails. A bloody dagger spread out in fingers.

I was stunned. Alex and I were both stunned beyond words of contempt and anger. But I knew I had to say something or do something. I rushed to Alex's side and helped him up. He was holding one hand to his cheek and I could tell that he was on the verge of tearing up.

"What the hell, mom!" I yelled.

She looked at me furiously. She took a step toward us and I instantly put myself in between Alex and her.

"Step aside, Michael," she almost hissed.

"NO! Alex didn't do anything! We didn't do anything wrong."

"Wrong? You were kissing a boy!" she yelled back. "That is very wrong."

"You're wrong," I argued. "Just `coz I love him doesn't mean we're doing anything wrong."

"I did not raise you so that you could kiss another boy. Stop being abnormal."

"Shut up!"

"Step aside, Michael."

I shook my head wildly before turning around and pulling Alex along with me. We ran out of the driveway still dripping wet and dressed only in our underwear. My mom kept yelling at us, but I didn't dare stop running away from her. People were staring, mumbling to themselves, but I just ignored them.

Poof.

Just like that, we found ourselves far away from my house after turning several corners and running barefoot on the hot ground.

"Mikey!" Alex shouted.

"No!"

"Stop, big bro!"

I slowed down and we stopped in front of someone's yard. Kids were having a blast in their rubber pool and we must've looked like Martians to them `coz they kept staring at us like we had more than one pair of eyes.

I let go of Alex's hand and turned to face him. My mom's handprint was still plastered to his face and I felt awful just staring at him.

"Alex, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"But..."

"No." He shook his head. "It doesn't even hurt that much."

I placed my hand on his cheek, rubbed it a few times and wondered if it was still the dripping water from his hair that fell down the side of his face or his tears.

"She's a bitch," I mumbled and he just smiled.

"So...where to? And I think we need a change of clothes."

My eyes drifted south again and his white briefs was still soaking wet. Not even the hot sun could dry it fast enough. At least it didn't stick to his skin that much now.

"Quit looking at it," he said.

"I could see right through it, y'know."

"I know."

We decided to head for his house and walked the distance to there. Who knows what my mom was up to right now? She couldn't track me though.

When we got to Alex's house, his mom immediately hugged him and asked what happened. We didn't lie to her. It seemed wrong to lie to her knowing that she and Alex's dad knew everything about Alex and me. Not everything, but that's beside the point.

"I still need a shower," Alex told me and lifted up one of his feet which was all dirty from running on paved and unpaved ground.

"We both do."

We finished up properly inside a bathroom. We got rid of our undies and I washed the dirt off Alex. He deserved to be taken care of. I felt guilty with what my mom had done. I shampooed his hair, lathered his body with soap and took care of everything. He just stood there, watching me.

I crouched in front of his crotch and paused.

"It's dead," I whispered and toyed with his dick like flipping a light switch up only to come down again.

"Stop that," he said.

"I want to see under it."

A few more touches and the light switch finally stayed up. Alex's dark spot was visible again. I leaned in closer and smelled the soap from his skin. He suddenly pushed forward which brought his hard on to my lips and I could taste how bitter the soap was.

"Not funny," I told him, but he just laughed at me.

"Hey, big bro," he said. "Can you, maybe...just hug me?"

His request came out of the blue, but I complied anyway. I stood up and held him close to me like a child. He rested his head on my chest and he felt so fragile like that. Just when I thought that calmness would wash over us, his chest started to rock gently with his sobs.

"Alex?"

"Ssshh."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

He wrapped his arms tighter around me and the shampoo on his hair briefly touched my nose. His erection stood stiff against mine, but that was the least of our concerns. Alex needed me for a different reason right now.

I turned the shower on and the water washed over both of us. The shampoo on his hair slid down his back, drowning the soap with it. He calmed down a bit as inhaled deeply and exhaled on my skin.

"I think...," he paused. "I think we should find you a girlfriend."

I pushed him gently away from me and I could see how puffy his eyes were. I didn't even think he cried so much. Maybe I just didn't feel it on my wet chest.

"I already have you."

"No, Mikey. Your mom will always be in our way. She needs to see you with someone else, not me. A girl."

"That's nuts, Alex!"

"She slapped me!" he contested. "She'd do it again if she sees us together. And I don't want her to do that to you."

"We'll make sure she's not there when we kiss."

"That's not the point, Michael."

I didn't like it when he called me by my first name. He sounded so serious.

"She needs to see you with a girl."

"I don't want to," I said, almost like a child.

"Please, big bro. Find a girlfriend and maybe your mom will think you're...normal again."

"You sound just like her," I said. "We're not abnormal, lil' bro."

"I know," he whispered. "But that doesn't change what she thinks of us."

"I don't care what..."

"Just find a girlfriend, big bro. If not for your mom, do it for me."

I stared at the dagger's mark again. My mom sure knew how to slap the life out of someone. She definitely slapped something out of Alex.

"What if...you'll feel hurt when I find a girl?"

"I won't. I promise."

There seemed to be no point in arguing. Alex looked seriously at me and he didn't seem to want to change his mind and hear my other reasons why I shouldn't replace him with a girl.

"I can't...do that Alex."

"Please."

"No. I really can't," I said and pulled him into a hug.

He sighed, but I knew this wasn't the last of it. Our argument was in pause right now. It would be Alex's turn next when he pushed play and hit me with a rebuttal.

We finished showering and got dressed in his room. I borrowed the same pair of boxers that I wore on Valentine's Day. Alex didn't mind wearing another pair of briefs. We didn't even bother with shirts and pants. It was yet another hot summer's day.

"What do you think we'll do today?" Alex asked.

I saw the jar on his lap and he was preparing to take another thing-to-do off our list.

"Anything," I said.

He picked one out and showed it to me. Did he just have to pick that one out? No, it's not have sex with my boyfriend. But it had turned me on in an instant.

Exchange underwear with each other.

I was wearing a pair of boxers and Alex was wearing briefs. I looked down at his crotch and saw how the bulge became larger. Mine was barely noticeable, but I could definitely feel it.

I stood up and was about to take of the boxers when Alex stopped me, now standing up as well. His red cheek brightened with a blush.

"Not yet," he whispered.

He put his hand on my erection and rubbed the fabric against it. It felt good. The static, the roughness and his delicate hands fondling me. He pushed me on the bed and settled on top of me.

So who's seme and uke?

That was Pau in my head. Who's top, who's bottom?

Alex descended gently, his hard on rubbing on mine. Skin to skin, boxers to briefs. He rocked his hips up and down, his hands supporting the upper half of his body. I bent upward and met his lips in a fiery summer taste as I returned the favour by grinding into him. My knees buckled, locking his hips between my thighs. He leaned toward me, my head resting on a pillow once more. Our kiss lasted longer than ever. Our quick-drawn breaths heaved against our chests and Alex started humping faster.

I couldn't help my hands from going down his curved back before slipping it inside his underwear. I felt his crack from tail to end, tracing it while holding firmly on his round butt. I squeezed it a few times which sent erotic giggles from Alex's quivering lips to mine. I pushed him deeper to me from that end, causing him to moan as my finger found his virgin hole.

With every grinding motion he made, I doubled it with my hands on his butt forcing him down on me. His briefs was already pushed down from the back, but it still held on to the front. It was like his dick was a hook it couldn't tear away from.

The dancing lessons Alex took might have helped in some way. It was like he was dancing on top of me. It was like I was a pole he kept grinding on, going up and down. Of course, a hard pole was definitely what he was grinding on. The boxers felt loose on my thighs and it was almost like I wasn't wearing anything at all.

"Ffhucchk." I bit into his lips and he sucked on mine harder.

My toes curled as the tingling sensation in my gut started. It descended lower and my dick was almost quivering like it was cold. It was that feeling inside it, not the actual quivering of my pole. I poked a finger up into Alex's ass and he grunted. I could tell that his erection was also tingling and it wouldn't take long until...

Yeah. Pretty much everything exploded in my boxers and in his briefs. Everything sticky and an intoxicating smell surrounded us. Alex broke the kiss and he let out a long breath as his head settled on my chest, his hair falling down my shoulders and neck.

"Fuck...that was like..." He giggled. "...fuck."

At lost for words, at lost after having grinded with too much fabric between us.

"Cool," I whispered.

"Yeah, big bro."

Our crotches felt wet and sticky, but Alex wasted no time in pushing himself off me and stripping himself of his briefs. I sat on the bed while I took of my boxers. A clear patch of cum was at the centre of both our underwear.

"Here," he said as he gave me his undies. "Try smelling it."

I didn't cringe at the smell. It smelled awfully good and it was turning me on again.

"It's not like we're blood brothers," he said. "...more like cum brothers or..."

"Underwear brothers," I continued for him.

"Cum brothers sounds more awesome."

"Yeah."

I slid into his briefs and he slid into the boxers I borrowed from him. I put my hand over my crotch and the stickiness was still there. It will take a long while to dry and I like the coolness of it over my semi-flaccid dick. Not semi-hardon. Coz god knows I want it to go back down.

Alex sat next to me in bed and it didn't take long for us to lie down and hold each other in our arms. Our jizz was drying off on its own. Despite the humidity in Alex's room, we managed to fall asleep. For the record, that was the easiest thing-to-do on our list.

~*~*~*~

Wednesday – May 7, 2014

True to her word, Pauline visited me this week. I was forbidden to see Alex ever again. That was my mom's punishment. Her flawed judgment, I liked to think. My dad tried arguing with her, but it was no use. So it was decided that my dad would try to think of other ways of convincing her to keep the friendship Alex and I had.

"That's not fair, Mico," Pau told me. Gumball was cradled on her lap.

"Tell me something I don't know."

She frowned at me, perhaps because of how I sounded so far off and angry at anything.

"You look cute together."

"I know already, Pau."

"Don't you dare be mad at me," she warned. "I didn't do anything to both of you."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"But I think Alex is right."

"About what?"

"You should get a girlfriend."

I stared disbelievingly at her and I swear that she reverted back to that old version of her who kept sending me love letters `sealed with a kiss'. She looked pretty, but I wasn't interested.

"No," I told her.

"Oh, for chrissake," she said. "Think about Alex, okay? If your mom catches the both of you again, she'd definitely kill him."

"I doubt that."

"Why?"

"I haven't seen him since Saturday."

We were silent for a while. Except for Gumball's wagging tail brushing on her skirt, there was no other sound.

"He's waiting for you," she said.

"What?"

"I called him earlier. Told him you'd meet up with him outside the gates."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Coz you really need to see him. You look like shit, Mico."

I knew she was right. I didn't just look like shit. I felt like it ever since the ban my mom imposed. It was like being subjected to martial law. I had a curfew, only a few places where I was allowed to go and a pile of chores to keep me busy. I couldn't argue with her. I didn't have anywhere else to go anyway. And Alex seemed to be keeping himself away from me.

"What time?" I asked.

"Right about now."

Half past 3pm and Alex was waiting for me outside the gates of our neighbourhood. A little old subdivision with a large area of undeveloped land and empty lots.

"My mom?"

"Oh please," she said. "You're a boy, Mico. Gay, but still a boy. You don't really believe that she can tie you down, do you?"

Actually, she had me locked up in a safe. Not tied down. Locked up in a fucking vault. I could say all the nasty things about her and snap at her when she does or says anything bad about Alex, but I was still afraid of her.

I could remember that coat hanger she placed beside my bed when I refused to take a nap in the afternoon back when I was kid. She said I needed to sleep, that it'll help me grow taller. A fucking siesta for a six year old boy who had lots of other things to do than to bury myself in a pillow when the sun was still up high. When I refused to eat (because I used to be a picky eater), she would hold my mouth open and feed me with whatever it was that she cooked. My dad didn't know about any of it. He was busy with his work, but I often used him as my last line of defence.

"I told daddy I'm not going to take a nap," I used to say to her.

She would nod and smile gently at me. My father would still be at the dining table with us. He'd smile at me and mess up my hair. His gesture meant that he approved my little request.

When it was just us in the house and when the clock was one hour past noon, my mom would lay the coat hanger by my bed and I'd soon be crying myself to sleep. She was vicious. I only got licked once, but that was enough for her to assert her position above me. After I woke up with red eyes, she'd place me on her lap and hug me close. That's what scared me the most. She could be the most loving mother on earth, but when she was mad, all hell would break lose.

If only she had known that a coat hanger failed miserably at making me want to take a nap. It only made me cry and tire out myself. If only she had known that making me cum just before telling me to take a nap would send me off to dreamland faster than a tranquilizer.

And if only my mind wasn't so fucked up to even think about her letting a six year old kid jizz his undies before taking a nap.

"No. I s'pose not," I finally told Pau. "She's at her book club right now, I bet."

A lie that failed to comfort me. She didn't need her trusty coat hanger anymore. Her hand was as swift and painful, I'm sure.

With the tracker stuffed in my pocket, I rode my bike toward the gates with Pau leaning over my back. She smelled sweet, as always. And I wondered how her skirt fared in the wind.

Sure enough, Alex was waiting for me. He was sitting on the pavement and...someone was with him. Another girl. One I didn't know. A pretty one, no doubt about that. Prettier that Pauline for sure.

"Mikey," Alex said as he stood up and smiled. His eyes betrayed him though. I could tell that he was up to something.

"Who's she?" I asked.

"Karyl," she said and her eyelashes fluttered beautifully.

"She's a friend from school," Alex explained. "She works for the gazette."

Of course she does. I've seen her a lot of times, but didn't bother with her name. If memory served me right, she was the gazette's cartoonist. And she could really draw. That much I know. Alex loved to draw, which would explain being friends with her.

"I hear you need a girlfriend," she casually said.

Being told that, I blushed. Pauline stood defiantly in front of her and I could tell that she was pissed off that someone was prettier than her.

"I can be his girlfriend," Pau said.

"Oh, yeah," Alex suddenly remembered. "Pauline, Karyl. Karyl, Pauline."

"I don't need a girlfriend," I told them. "I already have..."

"Alex," Karyl said. "Yes. I know that."

Her knowing made me blush some more. She started giggling and I felt annoyed at that. I looked at Alex accusingly, but he just shifted his gaze away.

"I don't mind playing pretend, Michael," Karyl told me. "And it's a lot easier since..."

"She has a crush on you," Alex mumbled.

"What?"

"Ever since the second grade."

What the hell? I'm not good-looking, that's for sure.

"Mico's mine," Pau declared and held onto my arm.

"No," I told her. "I'm Alex's boy..."

"Shut it, big bro."

That surprised me. Alex had closed his eyes when he said that. He looked hurt, unsure and totally like me. Like shit.

"It's just pretend. Nothing serious. It'll help calm things down a bit," Karyl said.

"No thanks."

"Please, big bro." Alex pleaded with his eyes this time. "My mom won't let me over to your house again. She doesn't like what your mom did to me."

"And how does getting a girlfriend solve things?"

"Let things settle down for a while," Karyl repeated. "It won't be anything serious."

"You have a crush on me! How can it not be serious?"

"I can control myself. I promise."

Control? Well, she couldn't even control how her eyes sparkled, her lips pursed, her blush showed and her overly short skirt danced in the breeze. Oh and that smooth legs of her. I bet she'd couldn't control that, too.

"She needs to see you with a girl, big bro. It'll be a lie, but it'll be well played."

Oh fuck that.

"We can just do it for a week at first," said Karyl. "If you want it to stop, just tell me."

"I want it to stop now."

What surprised me was Alex's hand hitting my face. It stung like hell. His eyes looked watery, but his sharp gaze didn't falter.

"How does that feel?" he asked bitterly.

"Alex..."

"Hurt like hell, right? Do it for me, big bro...please? Maybe your mom will let us be friends again."

I turned toward Karyl who looked equally shocked. I glanced to Pau who was shaking her head `no'. I looked back at Alex who still had some sort of fire in his watery eyes.

I had no choice then. Alex hit very hard.

"One week," I whispered. "If I say stop, we'll stop."

"Okay," Karyl almost giggled.

"Mico!"

"No, Pau. My mom already knows that you're siding with Alex and me. You're too obvious."

"But..."

"Karyl, right?" I asked. "Nice having you as my girlfriend."

I didn't dare look toward Alex. I was angry at him somehow. He was forcing this upon me. It didn't matter that he was on the brink of crying. He slapped me for godsake.

"Thanks...big bro," he whispered.

"We're not breaking up," I told him, still avoiding eye contact.

As the deal had been sealed, we walked back through the gates and Alex and Karyl took a different road from what Pau and I took. Glancing back over my shoulder as we started on my bike, I could see Alex's shoulders rocking gently and Karyl putting an arm around him.

Damn it.

That night, alone in my tree house once more, another message from Tom angered me. It was like he was spying on me. He knew everything that was happening.

*********69: Oops. forgot to tell u sumthin
Me: what?
*********69: the riddle was in Alex's POV.

POV? Point of view, you dimwit.

An angel will fall

That was Alex. He fell into my mom's trap, I felt sure.

Your star will sway

Could that be me? Oh, fuck.

*********69: meet me up at McD's. Saturday. u need help