LOVE'S SACRIFICE

By Matthew Croft

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story starts by gradually developing the characters first, and it takes a few chapters to get to the "good stuff." That said, let us take care of all the usual legal stuff. This is a fictional story containing consensual sex between boys. You should know the drill. If you are under 18, if it is illegal for you to read this kind of story in your area, or if you do not wish to read this type of tale, please hit the back button now. Finally, I am always open to comments and/or plot suggestions. Please feel free to email me at wowcrofty@icloud.com. That is it! Now, without further ado...

CHAPTER 2

A light breeze arose and gently rustled the leaves along the path and on the nearby trees. The sky was a deep indigo without a wisp of a cloud, and the sun beat down on the already smoldering blacktop, turning it into a pulpy mess in some places. The temperature had to be near 105 degrees, but this was not unusual for Southern California in July. The summers were all this way. While Dale enjoyed the chance to soak up the rays and work on his tan and liked the fact that he lived in a place where you could almost surf comfortably all year, he had to admit that a little cool thrown in once in a while would be a welcome break.

He walked casually, taking in the scenery and the refreshing air of the park. He was topless with his shirt tied around his waist, but he was still sweating profusely. Soon he followed a bend in the path that would bring him to the large fountain in the middle. As he rounded the corner, his heart leapt and he stopped dead in his tracks. The slumped form of Simon, the boy he had seen for the first time from across the hallway, was sitting on a bench at the far side with his head down. He was crying and he did not hear Dale as he walked up beside him.

"Hey," Dale said gently, "what's wrong, buddy?" He lowered himself onto the bench.

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Simon sat up and turned, his expression going from one of surprise to one of fear and anger. "Wha--what are you doing here? You were the guy that was staring at me in school. Why were you d-doing that? Did I do something wrong and now you want to beat me up? Please don't hurt me." He was visibly shaking and struggling to speak.

Dale silently cursed himself for having scared the kid half to death. He had not even considered that his gawking earlier could have made the boy uncomfortable; in fact, he had been confident that he had not even been noticed by him. Perhaps the drooling is what did it. He would have to remember to keep it in his mouth next time. "No, buddy, you are not going to get beat up. You did not do anything wrong. in fact, I was reacting to how nice you looked when you caught me staring at you."

Simon relaxed when he heard that he was not in danger and the worry left his face, but his expression still retained the note of shock. Confusion clouded his eyes as he asked, "What do you mean 'how nice I looked'? You mean my clothes? You think my clothes look cool?"

The kid had obviously not had "the talk" about the birds and bees. And he had not been given the modern version of it if he had: the one that said some male birds and bees are attracted to other males of the same species. Dale wondered what else Simon had not learned or been taught in his seemingly sheltered life. He was willing to bet that Simon did not even know about masturbation or understand why and how his body was or would starting changing. If they were going to have any kind of future together, he had a lot of work to do. That was if Simon wanted it after Dale explained what it meant to be a boy.

First he needed to sort out a couple basic things. "You're name's Simon, right?" Dale asked conversationally.

"Yes. How do you know that?" Simon replied quietly. He clearly was not sure if Dale had meant what he had said about not hurting him, and the question seemed to further convince him that he would be knocked down by the bigger boy. He tensed and prepared to sprint away before he got hurt.

Dale sensed that the kid was about to bolt again and placed his left hand on his right shoulder to stop him. He jumped. "Relax, Simon, I meant what I said about not harming you. To answer your question, my best friend told me your name when I asked about you in school today. I have not been stalking you."

Until now, Dale thought, but quickly put that notion out of his mind. He was beginning to think like Tommy, who was a person that examined every merit and consequence of an action before taking it. The only time Dale had seen Tommy act quickly was when he had saved him in first grade, when they had met. He had not seen him move that fast since. Dale, for the life of him, could not figure out why his friend was so cautious and this fact had often been the source of bitter arguments between them. Dale believed that if it happened it was meant to be, and you should do it before you lose it. He was reckless and very much the rebel, while Tommy was the predictable and logical one.

"I know I frightened you with the way I acted, but you have to trust me. I just want to talk. Do you believe me?"

Simon contemplated this for a minute, and slowly nodded. "Yeah. What do you want to know?"

Dale removed his hand and settled back against the bench. "Have you ever wondered why your penis gets hard sometimes?"

Simon raised his head and looked at Dale questionably. "What's a penis?"

Oh boy, what kind of parents don't even explain to their son what a penis is. Even Dale's parents, as overprotective as they were, had given him an honest answer when he had asked about his. "The part of your body where pee comes out is called the penis."

Simon's eyes lit up. "Oh, you mean my wiener?"

"Yes, your wiener. Do you ever wonder why it gets stiff and sticks out sometimes?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah, but when I asked my dad about it, he told me that it just does that to let me know I have to pee. I shouldn't think anything more than that about it."

Dale couldn't believe how much some parents would exaggerate the truth just to avoid a potentially difficult and long conversation. They practically lie to their kids. "It does get hard when you have to pee real bad. But, has it ever gotten hard when you didn't have to go and you couldn't explain it?"

Simon enthusiastically nodded. He had someone he could ask about what happened to him when he had watched Dale running away from him with Tommy in tow. "Mmm hmm, it got like that when I was watching you from my locker. I thought I hurt myself in some way because I know I didn't have to pee."

"You got hard when you were watching me?" Dale's excitement was building, but he tried to keep his voice level. The younger boy was turned on by him.

"Yep. I remember thinking that I had to have hurt myself somehow, because boys cannot make other boys' penises stick out like girls can. I also felt as though I was going to throw up. It was really scary."

Time for reality speech one, Dale thought. "Look, buddy, I don't know who told you that boys can't like other boys the same way they can like girls, but they are wrong. There are actually a lot of guys who like only guys, and don't get excited when they see a girl. It's called being gay, and that's what I am. There are also people who like both guys and girls equally. They are called bisexual. If you like girls only, you are considered straight."

Simon did not say anything for a few minutes, no doubt trying to take in everything he had just heard. Then his eyes widened as he made a realization. "So, that's what I am. I'm gay?"

"I'm not sure, buddy. You're the only one that can know for certain. But I'm going to guess that since you got aroused-" Dale paused for a minute to remind himself that Simon probably had no clue what that word meant. "-Er, sorry, I mean since you got hard when you looked at me, you're probably not straight. You could be bisexual. Do you get those same feelings you had when you see a girl?"

Simon shook his head. "No, girls are icky."

Dale chuckled, "Well, I'm not going to argue with you there. How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Well, a lot of guys that end up being straight still think girls are disgusting at eleven. I don't think you will know for sure what you are for a few more years. Just remember that whatever you turn out to be does not change the kind of person you are. So, if you turn out liking boys, you like boys. That does not make you any less of a person than if you were straight. You understand?"

Simon suddenly stood up on the bench and wrapped Dale in a bear hug. "Yep. I like you even though you're a boy."

Whoa, where'd that come from so quickly, Dale wondered. Nevertheless, he had to restrain his first impulse to pry Simon's mouth open and start wrestling with his tongue. "Hold up there, Simon. You're a cool kid and all, but let's take it easy. We just met. I like you as well, but how about we just be friends for right now?" Dale could not believe those words had just come out of his mouth. He was both surprised and secretly pleased that he was showing such control at a time when he perhaps needed that control the most. He had been sure he would have tore the boy's clothes off to get at him the first moment they had alone.

Simon sat back down. "Ok. So, would you like to hang out for a while my new "just friend."

Dale ruffled the boy's hair. "Sounds like a plan to me. What do you want to do?"

"Let's go play video games at the mall. They have this awesome dancing game there called DDR. You've played it, right?"

"Let's see, have I played it?" Dale said theatrically. "I think only about a million times. All I can say is prepare to lose."

Simon scoffed. "You wish. Oh, and can you keep that we are friends a secret? I don't want my dad finding out. He wouldn't understand."

"No problem, buddy. But, who's your father?"

"His name is Devon McLockland."