Nathan's Naughty Note

©2021 by Gamin Paramour

Hi folks! Here is a little something I hope you enjoy. It's based on characters from my earlier story Nathan's Nipples. If you've never read it that's OK; this one will still make sense but the first story might give you a better feel for who these kids are.

Please remember that fiction is make-believe. None of this ever really happened, sad to say.

Stay safe. Don't break the law and get your Covid vaccination if you haven't had it yet. Let's all stay free and healthy and flip a collective middle finger to the self-righteous.

Oh, and donate to Nifty if you possibly can. That's another eff yew to the straights.

Comments are incredibly welcome, and I intend to answer everyone.

Gamin Paramour, July 2021

Nathan's Naughty Note

Dear Evan,

Love, Nathan

I distinctly remember the paper I used for that note. It was lavender, stolen from my mother's stationary set because it was Evan's favorite color. I had written it out in florid longhand, trying to make it look like calligraphy but failing rather badly. Nevertheless I was proud of my result and folded it tightly the way I'd seen girls fold secret notes for passing in class, leaving a final flap to tuck in so that it wouldn't come open in transit.

I hurried down the middle school hall that Monday morning with the note burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted to sneak it into Evan's locker before he showed up because the surprise was half the fun. I couldn't wait for Evan to find it because I knew what his reaction would be.

I loved making silly little romantic gestures like that. He would get such a delighted grin on his cute little face when he saw what I had done.

I looked up and down the hall and, satisfied that no one was watching, slipped the folded note through one of the air vent slots at the top of locker 315. I then casually leaned against the opposite wall and waited for my little lover.

"Nathan!" I heard in the clear, high voice I loved so much. Evan still looked and sounded like a 5th grader, being a full year younger than the rest of the class and on the small side to boot. "How come you didn't meet me out front like usual?"

"My Mom dropped me at school on her way to work," I replied, "so I got here a little early. How was Disney World?"

"It was fantastic, man!" Evan gushed. "Tomorrowland was so cool! They had real robots!"

Of course Evan liked the science stuff more than the rides and Mickey Mouse and all that. He was probably the smartest kid in the whole school, having skipped one grade and turned down an offer to skip another one. Our school district didn't have a formal Gifted Student program but Evan and a few others were allowed to do advanced work with a teacher named Mr. Atkinson, who himself had graduated high school at age 12 if the rumor mill was to be believed.

Evan started walking away still gushing about the Carousel of Progress and I became alarmed.

"Don't you have to stop at your locker?" I asked, trying not to show my distress.

It would suck if he found the note later when I wasn't there to see it.

"Sure," he said. "I'm going to."

"But it's right there," I said, confused.

Evan gave a short laugh. "Oh, didn't I tell you? They changed my locker the last day before Easter break."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "What?"

"Yeah," he said. "Mr. Atkinson saw Amy Harris struggling with those big giant textbooks they have us using. They're made for, like, high school kids and me and Amy are the smallest boy and girl in the whole sixth grade. Isn't it weird how all the smart kids seem to be little? Anyway, Amy could only carry one book at a time and had to go back to her locker between every class, and they were even kinda heavy for me, so Mr. Atkinson went to the office and got us both assigned new lockers right outside his classroom."

I stood, unable to close my mouth. "You mean you don't have locker 315 anymore?"

Evan gave me a questioning look. We had both accepted the reality that he was way smarter than me but I must have seemed especially dumb at that moment.

"No, like I just said they moved my locker to be closer to Advanced Studies."

I couldn't seem to close my mouth. "Oh shit," I muttered.

"What's the matter, Nathan?"

"Um, who has 315 now?" I stammered.

"I don't know," Evan said. "I guess whoever had 189 before the switch."

I stood there another moment, forming the full mental picture of our bleak future.

"I think we might be in big trouble," I said quietly. "You know how I like to surprise you with little love notes and presents and stuff?"

Evan glanced around for eavesdroppers, then with a sexy little smile whispered, "I love when you do stuff like that. It's so romantic!"

"Well you might not love this," I said. "I wrote you a really hot love note while you were gone, because I missed you so much."

"Oh Nathan, that's sweet!"

"And then this morning I slipped it through the vent into your locker so you would find it. This locker, number 315."

Evan stood in silence for a full 10 seconds. "Maybe nobody has this locker now," he offered hopefully. "Maybe they just moved me to an empty one by Atkinson's room."

"It has a lock on it," I pointed out. "Why would it have a lock if it was empty?"

Evan sighed resignedly. "It wouldn't," he said.

He had barely finished speaking when a tall, very pretty blond girl in a cheerleader's uniform stepped up to 315 and began manipulating the lock. I recognized her and muttered another dirty word.

"That's Stephanie Curtis," I said. "She's one of the 8th grade Mean Girls, and like the meanest one of all!"

Evan grimaced and said, "One time I saw her pour a whole carton of milk right into a kid's lap just because he was sitting at her lunch table. Everybody laughed and she didn't even get in trouble."

"I heard about that," I said. "Even the lunchroom teacher is afraid of her."

"Maybe Stephanie won't see the note," Evan offered.

"It's on colored paper," I said, "and it's bound to be right on top of her stuff."

"Well, even if she reads it she might not realize what it means."

I frowned. "It's really gay," I said. "All full of what I wished we were doing to each other."

"Oh," Evan said glumly as Stephanie pulled on the lock but it wouldn't open. She growled in frustration and started again. "Maybe she won't know who it's referring to," he continued. "After all, I didn't know whose locker I was getting."

"The note starts Dear Evan and ends Love Nathan."

"Shit," Evan said. "Aren't you the only Nathan in the whole school?"

"As far as I know," I said. "There's a 7th grader called Nate but I think his name is Nathaniel."

We watched in horror as Stephanie successfully opened the locker door and began rummaging inside. Sure enough, she presently came up with the square of folded lavender paper and looked at it quizzically. I sucked in my breath as she began picking at the tucked-in flap but at that exact second two other cheerleader-types called out and distracted her.

Stephanie turned to her friends and with a devilish grin seamlessly joined into their verbal vivisection of some girl with a sweater so ugly it literally made them barf. Without a thought — her usual state of being — Stephanie tucked the folded note into one of her books and snapped it shut. She closed her locker and the three tittering twats headed side-by-side down the hall, books clutched to their chests.

"What are we gonna do, Evan?" I moaned. "When she reads that note she'll tell the whole school!"

Evan looked as stricken as I must have looked, but in a few seconds I saw the gears begin turning behind his deep blue eyes.

My heart quickened. My boyfriend was going to save the day with his big magnificent brain!

"We have to steal the note back," Evan pronounced. "We have to stick close to her until she puts her books down and snatch the note when she isn't looking."

"How exactly do we do that?" I asked skeptically. "We're only 6th graders. We can't just waltz into some 8th grade classroom and sit down next to her."

"Too bad she isn't in Advanced Studies," he mused. "We have kids from all three grades, but only smart ones and Stephanie is an idiot."

"How do we get close enough, then?" I asked urgently. "The longer it takes the more chance she'll read the note."

"We need a distraction," Evan said. "You bump into her or something and make her drop her books. While she's yelling at you I'll steal the note."

"Why me? Why don't you bump into her and I'll steal the note?"

"Because I'm not big enough," he said. "I probably couldn't knock her over even if I tried."

"But she'll rip me a new one the whole rest of the year! She'd go easier on a cute little boy like you."

"Seriously? Do you really think Stephanie Curtis would ever go easy on anyone?"

"No," I sullenly admitted. "She'd have the whole school saying you wear baby diapers inside of an hour."

I couldn't do that to the boy I loved, so I decided to man up.

"This is my fault," I said. "I never should have brought a note like that to school in the first place. I have to be the one to fix it."

"Well whatever we're going to do we'd better hurry up," Evan said. "The bell's gonna ring soon."

Stephanie and her posse were waiting while one of the other girls stopped at her locker. I paused a few seconds to screw up my courage then launched myself purposefully toward them. I built up steam, walking faster on a direct collision course with the meanest of the Mean Girls. I deliberately looked away, hoping she might somehow believe that I didn't see her. In the last three feet I closed my eyes and prepared for impact.

Suddenly something propelled me completely off of my feet and 90 degrees to my right. I went literally airborne and slammed against the lockers, my books and papers flying as I crumpled to the floor.

"Watch it dork!" barked an angry, half-changed male voice. I nearly shit myself as I looked up into the scowling face of Seth Randall, the towering, broad-shouldered power forward of the school basketball team who I instantly realized must be Stephanie's boyfriend. In 8th grade he was already over six feet tall, and from my position on the floor appeared about twice that.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Seth shouted, his fists clenched and his athletic body coiled for whatever further battle was necessary. Given that I was not yet 12 years old, just under five feet and barely 90 pounds I dearly hoped he didn't find it necessary.

"Yeah, kid, what's your problem?" I heard from behind Seth, a welcome high voice I knew and loved.

Evan ducked around Seth's legs like a forest sprite around a tree trunk, gathering up my books and papers and taking me by the elbow. "You gotta be more careful," he said, helping me to my feet. "You could have knocked somebody over. Tell them you're sorry."

"Sorry," I mumbled as Evan led me away. "My fault."

"You bet your ass it is!" Seth threw after me, but thankfully he only threw words and not fists. We scrambled away as Seth turned to Stephanie to accept her adoring 'My hero' look.

"Man," I said, massaging my aching shoulder. "That was close. That guy could've killed me and we still don't have the note back!"

"What was that all about?" came another familiar voice, my oldest friend Tommy. He and fourth Musketeer Richie had apparently arrived just in time for the floor show.

The me-on-the-floor show.

Evan swooped in and shushed Tommy, ushering us all a few feet further down the hall.

"Keep it down," Evan ordered, and recognizing the seriousness of his tone our two friends complied.

"Yeah, fine," Tommy whispered, "but what's the deal?"

We watched Stephanie fawn over Seth while Evan quickly explained.

"Oh, shit," Richie piped in. "You two are really fucked now."

"What do you mean them two?" Tommy said, looking angry but mightily reigning himself in. "We're their best friends. If kids find out they're gay they might think we do gay stuff too!"

Evan looked at him sideways. "You do!" he said. "Remember?"

The fact is the four of us had kissed and licked and sucked our way through the whole school year so far, in every possible combination of partners. Tommy's Dad flipped houses for a living and often had an empty place waiting to be worked on, and Tommy would borrow the keys to provide us with a nice private playground.

"But we're not gay like you two," Tommy quietly protested. "We're just goofin' around until we can do stuff with girls."

"I'm sure the bullies will appreciate the subtle distinction," Evan said sarcastically, hauling out his superior vocabulary to further emphasize the point.

Now Tommy may have been one of our school's most athletic hunks of 6th-grade beefcake, but he was still only a pre-pubertal 11-year-old. He'd get pulverized by the likes of Seth Randall nearly as badly as I would. Tommy and Richie exchanged frightened looks.

"Wait a minute," Evan said, brightening. "Look." Stephanie was handing a book to Seth, and it was the one the note was in!

"You left this at my house last night," she said, adding with a sly smile, "when we were studying." A naughty grin spread on Seth's face, confirming that the only thing they had studied was Comparative Anatomy.

Hey, who was I to judge? Evan and I had done plenty of that kind of homework.

"It's Seth's book!" Evan said in hushed excitement. "We don't have to steal it from Stephanie anymore!"

"How is that better?" I asked. "Stephanie would only humiliate us. Seth might decide that queers need to get pounded!"

"Yeah, but at least he's a boy," Evan said. "Girls like Stephanie notice every boy who's around, even little twerps like us. Seth is basically oblivious, so we can just blend in with the crowd."

"If you say so, Ev," I said skeptically, wondering what the hell oblivious meant. "I just hope Seth doesn't blend me into another locker."

They said cutesy see-ya-laters and Stephanie walked off with her girlfriends while Seth joined a small group of his basketball teammates going the other way. Tommy gave me one of the most serious and angry looks I could ever remember from him.

"You'd better get that note back, Nathan," he warned. "I mean it," and he and Richie turned down the other main hallway toward first period Earth Science with Mr. Baker, where being one second late gets you marked tardy.

Evan and I followed Seth and the jocks at a discreet distance, trying to appear casual.

"They're heading for the Commons," Evan said, referring to the large open area at the intersection of the three main hallways. It was full of aluminum picnic tables where kids would eat their brown bag lunches in a few hours, there being no hot food service in our district until high school. Kids were allowed to socialize there before and after school, which was good for our current purposes, but we were running out of time. The big clock above our heads showed six minutes until the first bell.

Seth's group took over one of the tables and the hunky 13-year-olds started getting semi-rowdy. They knew how much they could get away with and pushed right up to that limit. As we watched from two tables away my eyes suddenly widened.

"Evan!" I whispered urgently. "Look at Seth's book!"

There was a tiny corner of lavender paper sticking out between the pages, enough to grab with fingertips if only we could get close enough. I shared an excited smile with my boyfriend, though I had no clue how to proceed.

"Stay here," Evan said. "Seth might recognize you."

My four-foot-eight boyfriend sauntered straight over to the Land of the Giants.

"Hey," he called with a big smile. "Who wants to play me one-on-one over lunch hour?" They all stopped their boisterous banter and gaped at him in silent astonishment.

Evan held their surprised gaze for a beat and then broke up laughing. "Nah, I'm just kiddin'. I'd have to grow a couple feet taller to play against you guys, but I sure like watching you on the court."

"You like hoops, little man?" one of the jocks asked with a patronizing smirk, like he was addressing a toddler. I knew Evan hated being condescended to for no better reason than his physical size, but he was playing up to it now, trying to get to that note.

"Yeah, man," he said in a fawning voice and inching closer. "It's the best sport there is!"

I tried to remember if Evan had ever talked about basketball even once in all the years I'd known him, but if anyone could bullshit his way through it Evan was the one.

"What's your favorite pro team?" asked another of the boys, not nearly so condescending. He had what looked to me like a genuinely friendly look in his eyes.

"Chicago Bulls!" Evan answered without hesitation. "Derek Rose is my favorite, 'cause he's a shooting guard and I can pretend a little guy like me can be that good someday."

Though I didn't really follow sports much even I knew that the Bulls had won six NBA championships in the Michael Jordan era before I was born, and were shooting for it again here in 2011, but except for Rose I didn't even know who was on the team.

"Rose is cool," the older boy said downright kindly, "but he ain't no Kobe Bryant. Maybe you and me can shoot around a little sometime. I'll bet you've even got some game, for a Munchkin."

Evan grinned but I could tell it was strained. He drifted a step toward the table, almost close enough to reach Seth's books.

"That's the only way you can win, Sullivan," said the first jock. "Playin' against kindergartners."

Pubescent voices burst out in laughter and Evan's soprano joined in. Evan took one more step, holding Sullivan's eyes and positioning himself with his back to Seth's stack of books on the table, screening his grasping fingers from view.

"I'll bet you could teach me a lot," he said, and I didn't know what to make of his tone of voice until I realized he was pretending hero-worship.

"I think he likes you, Jake," mocked another vertically-enhanced 8th grader. "You could get a little collar for him and take him for walks."

A round of less-enthusiastic laughs ensued for a second, until Seth suddenly spoke up. "Look at me, kid," he said, turning Evan by the shoulder.

Though it screwed up Evan's sneaky attempt it didn't kill the whole plan because his other hand ended up next to Seth's books, maybe six inches away. My ice-blooded little boyfriend made unflinching eye contact with the husky colossus while easing his hand toward that tiny exposed corner of lavender paper. His face showed no fear at all, confirming once and for all that Evan's hairless little sack held much bigger balls than mine.

"Aren't you the one who helped that kid this morning? The one I knocked on his ass because he almost ran into Stephanie?"

He didn't sound angry, just suspicious.

Though his expression never changed I knew my boyfriend, and I could tell by his hesitation that the gears were spinning madly in his head. Even so his hand crept closer to the note.

"Yeah," he said a bit cautiously. "He was bothering you guys, so I got him out of your way."

"Are you following us around?" Seth challenged, suspicion rising higher. "Why the fuck are you following us around?"

"Give him a break, Seth," Jake said. "The kid likes B-ballers, that's all."

"Well let him like somebody else," Seth said. "I don't want some little shit hangin' around. I get enough of that with my little brother."

With that Seth brushed Evan bodily away, as easily as shooing a fly. I saw the disappointment in Evan's eyes. He had gotten so close and just missed grabbing the note!

"What do we have here, Randall?" said the kid who made the kindergarten crack. He held the tightly-folded lavender square in his hand and wore a huge grin. "Love note from your girlfriend?"

My heart leapt into my throat and I saw Evan inch away in wide-eyed alarm.

"What?" Seth exclaimed. "That's not mine."

"It was sticking out of your Math book," the kid said. He waved it tauntingly in Seth's direction.

"I saw Stephanie give you that book this morning," Jake laughed. "I'll bet she left a sexy note for you to find."

"Give me that, asshole!" Seth growled and made a grab for the note, but the kid jerked it out of reach. Seth jumped up and made another grab but the kid danced away, laughing and teasing. Seth rushed him but the kid threw the folded paper past him, spinning it flat like a Frisbee, to another grinning, laughing jock.

"Give it!" Seth demanded, but that kid kept up the game of keep-away, tossing it this time to Jake in a high arc over Seth's head.

"This should be interesting reading," Jake said as he turned his back to Seth and began unfolding the note.

A tiny bit of pee squirted into my undies.

"God damn it, Sullivan!" Seth yelled as he advanced on his tormentor, but Mrs. Barrow the Art teacher happened to be passing by.

"Settle down, you boys," she commanded sternly. "It's a bit early in the day to land in the Principal's office, don't you think?"

"Yes, Mrs. Barrow," Seth replied, disengaging but still angry. All four of the jocks sat back down on the picnic benches and the teacher went on her way, but Seth wasn't finished. "I swear to God, Sullivan..."

"Or what, Seth?" Jake replied coldly, and I suddenly knew these two had gone at it before and Seth had not come out on top. His eyes widened and he immediately toned it down a notch.

"Come on, man," he said with a hint of imploring. "It's not cool, OK?"

Jake turned up one corner of his mouth in half a smile. "We were just jokin', and it's nothing anyway," he said, flashing the now-open note much too quickly for anyone to see what it said. "It's to Stephanie from Rebecca, asking if you invited her to the Spring Dance yet." He crumpled the note into a ball. "She probably stuck it in your book by mistake."

"Don't be mad, Seth," the note-stealer said. "We only wish we had girlfriends as pretty as Stephanie."

Seth allowed a sheepish smile and it seemed the storm had passed. Right on cue the first bell rang and everyone gathered up their books, heading for class.

Jake turned to my boyfriend and said with a smile, "Hey, it's Evan, right?" he asked. "Which lunch session do you have, first or second?"

"Um, first," Evan replied. "How come?"

"I have first lunch too," Jake said. "Look for me after. We'll shoot around a little."

"Yeah, OK," Evan replied apprehensively, forcing a smile in return.

Evan fell into step beside me and as soon as there was a chance I whispered, "What just happened?"

"He covered for us," Evan said in disbelief. "But why?"

"Maybe he's thinking up the nastiest way to do it," I said. "You know, to get the biggest laugh."

"I don't know," Evan mused with a troubled look. "That doesn't feel right. There's something else going on."

All morning I worried, and twice got called on in class and didn't know what the question had been. It was no consolation to know that it was a misery of my own making. My fate -- and worse yet the fate of my sweet boyfriend -- was in the hands of some dumb jock who was no doubt plotting the worst possible thing he could do to us. I might have ruined the very life of the boy I loved, and whatever happened next was completely beyond my control.

Evan met me in the Commons at the start of lunch period as always. Tommy and Richie had the other lunch session so Evan and I always sat together, sometimes with other friends but this day the table was otherwise empty. We hadn't said a word beyond "Hi" until after we'd bought our half-pints of milk and settled into our usual seats.

"I'm so sorry, Evan," I launched in quietly. "It was dumb of me to bring that note to school. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."

He looked aghast at the suggestion. "I could never hate you, Nathan," he said, then leaned in and whispered with all his sincerity, "I love you no matter what."

I smiled sheepishly and reflected for the thousandth time how lucky I was to have him.

"How was class?" I asked lamely, more to break my awkwardness than to actually inquire.

"Fine," Evan said. "There was nothing I could do about it, so I decided not to worry."

"Boy, I wish I could do that," I lamented. "My stomach is flopping around like crazy."

Just then a short blond boy walked up to us without a word and abruptly sat next to Evan. Despite my agitated state I couldn't help marveling at his big hazel eyes, nearly as lovely as Evan's ocean blues.

The kid was ridiculously cute with plush red lips, a small, upturned nose and tiny, cute-as-a-button ears partially covered by feathery wisps of soft blond hair. He smiled at each of us in turn then took a sandwich and an apple out of his brown paper bag.

"Um, hello," Evan said in surprise. "I don't think I know you. I'm..."

"Evan," the boy completed in a sweet, unchanged alto voice. He looked at me and added, "And you're Nathan."

Evan and I shared a quizzical look and Evan said, "That's right. I know I've seen you around but I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Alex," he said, unwrapping a PB&J on whole wheat. I noticed the bread because I myself was one of the very few kids our age who would eat anything other than white bread.

"OK," Evan said, still perplexed. "You're welcome to sit here, of course, but I just kinda wonder why."

Alex took a big bite of his sandwich and, chewing furiously, leaned back so he could get a hand into his front pants pocket. He withdrew a crumpled ball of lavender paper and tossed it onto the table.

"Fuck," I said under my breath and looked around for the expected mob of villagers with torches and pitchforks.

Evan's face betrayed nothing but his body language also said fuck.

Alex washed down his bite of sandwich with milk. "Pretty hot stuff," he said, then took an even bigger bite while we exchanged apprehensive looks.

"Um," Evan began, "where did you get that?"

Alex held up his index finger in the just-a-second gesture while he spent an eternity chewing and swallowing with exaggerated deliberateness. He took yet another sip of milk and finally said, "From Jake Sullivan... my boyfriend."

My mouth fell open and I could do nothing but stare at the kid, who smirked in amusement. I finally tore my eyes away and looked at Evan, who was smiling broadly.

"I knew there was a reason he didn't clobber us!" he said, grinning at Alex.

Alex gave a little laugh and said, "I'm sorry for letting you guys twist in the wind. It was just too good to pass up!"

I slowly caught up to reality and in a minute I grinned with as much relief as the other two.

"You really need to be more careful, though," Alex said. "Seriously, it could have been bad."

"I know," I said, embarrassed. "I already promised I'd never bring anything like that to school again."

"Don't even write it down," Alex said. "You never know who might find it, like your Mom or a brother or sister or something." Alex quieted and leaned closer to me. "Evan knows how much you love him," he said sincerely. "Tell him every day but don't write it down."

"Don't worry," I said, "I won't!"

"I like Nathan's notes," Evan said softly, "but you're right. It's too dangerous."

Alex got a naughty look and said, "It's more fun to show each other anyway."

We all grinned and sat back happily.

"How the hell did Seth Randall get hold of your note anyway?"

"You won't even believe it," I said, and proceeded to tell the whole ridiculous, ghastly story, from the locker mistake to trying to knock Stephanie over and landing on my ass to Evan's brave, brazen attempt to steal the note right out of the lion's den, to Jake ending up with it in a game of keep-away.

"Jake told me the last part," Alex said with a grin. "He was laughing his ass off, but it sure wouldn't have been funny if Seth or any of those other guys had read it. You would have been screwed, and not in the fun way."

I didn't know precisely what that meant, but I got the drift that it was a gay reference and laughed along.

"So listen," Alex said to Evan, "Jake changed his mind. He isn't going to play basketball with you today... or ever. It would look too weird to the other jocks, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Evan said. "It's just as well because I suck at basketball anyway."

"We kind of figured that," Alex said. "But we were also sort of hoping that maybe we could get to know you guys better, outside of school."

"We sure have something in common, don't we?" Evan said with a smile.

"Lots of boys fool around," Alex said, "but you're the only other serious couple we know about. It helps, you know? To know we're not the only ones."

"Yeah," Evan agreed. "I think I'm starting to see that."

Alex smiled shyly and we shared it all around.

"Jake is taking me to the movies on Saturday," Alex said. "Do you guys want to double-date with us?"

Evan shot me an excited look and I returned a perplexed one.

"You guys go on dates, right out in the open?" I asked. "Isn't that dangerous too?"

"Me and Jake have kind of a different situation," Alex explained, glancing around for prying ears and keeping his voice below the general din of the Commons.

"See, he's been my next-door neighbor my whole life, and even though he's two years older we've always played together. Then one time last year when I was 10 my Mom needed an emergency sitter so Jake offered to do it, and that was when we fooled around the first time. We talked my Mom into letting him be my regular babysitter even though he was only 12, and pretty soon... Well, you know."

"So your folks and his folks are used to you guys being together all the time," I said, getting it. "It's not weird at all for you to go to the movies together."

"And that's why his friends can see him hanging out with a younger kid when it's you, but not when it's me," Evan said. "They're used to you being around, but another younger boy would look weird."

"Right," Alex said. "So if you guys come along on Saturday we'll just say that you're my friends and Jake is babysitting all of us."

It sounded like a plan to me, but nevertheless I piped in, "Let's go easy on the babysitter talk though, OK? I've been trying to convince my parents that I don't need one anymore!"

~ ~ ~

The rest of the week dragged by, not just because of our anticipation of the weekend but also because relations had decidedly chilled with Tommy and Richie. We barely spoke in school and they actively avoided us around the neighborhood. Evan reassured me that they were just distancing themselves in case everything went to hell and it would all blow over soon. While I missed them I guess I didn't blame them.

Saturday afternoon Evan and I shared an excited grin as we hurried toward the food court at the mall. We had talked about nothing else for days except for our first real date and our new, like-minded friends.

Well, there was about one hour there when the subject slipped our minds. Thursday after school Evan and I finally wrangled some alone time, in his bedroom when his Mom was out shopping. He had finally read my note and, as expected, thought it was the most romantic thing ever.

We had wonderful sex, our ten days of pent-up desire coming out in wave after wave of delicious orgasm. I thought he would suck the nipples right off my chest! After Evan pulsed his second dry climax between my lips we lay back and cuddled, cooing words of undying devotion.

And then we started talking about the date again.

"There they are!" Evan cried excitedly. Alex and Jake sat at a table with the remains of their nachos and soft drinks, Alex jumping to his feet with a grin when he spied us. Jake said something to him we couldn't hear and he reacted slightly abashed, taking his seat again and reining in his enthusiasm. His smile remained warm and welcoming, as did Jake's.

"You made it!" Alex chirped happily. "Hi, you guys!"

We exchanged ebullient greetings. I could feel everyone's excitement, not exactly sexual in nature, though there was some of that in there. We were taking our love into the wider world, baring our true souls to relative strangers, and it was both exhilarating and a bit scary.

"We've got half an hour before the movie," Jake said. "You guys want some food?"

"Nah," I said. "I want popcorn!"

"Nathan can eat his body weight in popcorn," Evan teased, and our new friends smiled fondly.

"What are we going to see?" I asked.

Jake had suggested the second-run theater in the older, less-popular mall in town. He explained that the tickets would be cheap because the movies are old, plus we probably wouldn't run into any of his friends there.

Not that the movie really mattered. I would never have missed this double-date regardless. It could have been a documentary on typewriter ribbons for all I cared.

"It's a super-old one from, like, the 90s," Jake said.

"The 90s?" Evan questioned. "We could have watched it on video practically free."

"Watching a movie on video isn't a date," Jake countered. "This is going out as a couple."

Evan smiled up to the older boy. "Yeah, a couple. I like that."

"We're a couple of couples," I joked and everyone grinned in reaction.

Alex jumped in excitedly. "The movie's called The Sandlot and the boy on the poster is super hot!"

Jake laughed and gave his smaller friend an affectionate shove on the shoulder. "Is that all you think about?"

Alex confronted him with a cheeky smile. "Like that isn't why you picked this movie."

Jake kept a sincere face. "No, I heard it was funny, and I like baseball," he said, but when Alex stared him down with a challenging look he broke into a grin and said, "OK, I guess it didn't hurt!"

"Let's go get good seats," Evan suggested, ever practical, and we all pitched in cleaning up their trash and putting it in the can. We sort of naturally fell into step four-abreast as we walked to the theater. I shared a happy glance with Evan, and when Alex noticed it he shared it with us as well.

"This is great, you guys," he said. "Me and Jake are so glad you wanna be friends."

He said it with such pointed sincerity that it made me blush a little.

Four girls from our school approached us going the opposite way, also four-abreast I noted a bit self-consciously, and smiling giddily just like we were. It was disconcerting, for though I was getting pretty comfortable with the whole liking-boys thing I didn't want the world to perceive me as girly.

"Hi Jake," the prettiest one said, shooting him moonbeams with her eyes. All of them watched for his reaction and grinned broadly when he returned a smile.

"Ladies," he said with suavity he must have learned from James Bond movies. If he was wearing a hat I think he would have tipped it. The girls managed to get about five steps past us before they all erupted in giggles and whispers. I shot a look to Alex but he was unperturbed. He saw my questioning look and walked a little closer to me as he checked for people in earshot.

"Jake has to do stuff like that," he said. "It's all part of the fake-out."

Something about that troubled me but I didn't know exactly what, and it would percolate in my mind for a long time, but just then we arrived at the theater.

There were giant posters around the box office for the various movies that were Coming Soon, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, in which I had zero interest, and Radio Flyer starring the then-10-year-old Elijah Wood. I looked at Evan and he was predictably focused on the young movie star's face, gazing out from the poster with a mesmerizing, troubled half-smile. Our new friends noticed, too.

"Evan loves old Elijah Wood movies where he's a kid," I said, and my boyfriend blushed.

"He was real cute," Jake agreed softly. "I liked that one where he was Huck Finn."

Alex called to us from in front of the poster for The Sandlot. "Here's the movie we're gonna see," he said.

I stepped over and admired the photo, a group shot of nine boys ranging in age from about ten to fourteen. Given the movie's title and the fact that some of the kids wore baseball caps and unbuttoned uniform shirts I presumed they were a ragtag pick-up baseball team.

By far the tallest was a dark-haired Latin boy, a really good-looking teen surrounded by younger boys who grinned and looked upon him admiringly, all fondly touching him with their hands.

"Isn't he gorgeous?" Alex asked in quiet reverence.

"The big one?" I asked.

"Well yeah," Alex said, as if it was a dumb question. "He's tall, strong and handsome, and he's the best player."

"How do you know he's the best player?"

"All the other kids are congratulating him, like he just won the big game," Alex explained. "Besides, just look at him!"

After a pause he glanced at me and said, "I'll bet you like this one," pointing to one of the smaller, younger-looking kids, a sandy-haired cutie in a blue striped t-shirt with an adorable smile and not just one, but both hands on the tall Latin hero in the middle.

"Um, yeah," I replied in surprise. He knew which one I liked before I even considered the question. "How did you know?"

Alex smiled slyly. "Because he looks the most like Evan."

I looked more closely and damn if he didn't resemble Evan in all the important ways. He wouldn't pass for a twin brother but he had the same straight, sandy hair, the same cute little nose and sweet delicious lips, and the same kind of soft boyish body. Though the azure of his eyes was lovely it didn't measure up to Evan's deep ocean blue. Still there was definitely a lot for me to like about the kid.

"I can see it," I said, "but Evan's cuter."

"And Evan likes Elijah Wood because he kinda looks like you."

"What?" I exclaimed in surprise. "No, I'm nowhere near as cute as him!"

"I'll bet Evan thinks you are," Alex insisted. "You two got it bad for each other."

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess so. But who are you to talk? You like the tall kid because he's just like Jake, except for being Mexican."

Alex gave a little shy smile. "That's 'cause I've got it bad too!"

Evan had the buck-and-a-half for his own ticket but that broke him, not scheduled to receive his allowance until Monday. I bought a huge drink and a larger popcorn than usual so we could share.

Jake led the way up the stairs of the auditorium followed by Alex, Evan and finally me. The ceiling lights were already off but there was flickering light from the previews playing on the screen and little safety lights on the stairs. Jake passed the middle rows and kept climbing.

"We usually sit about halfway up," I said. "You can see really good from there."

Alex turned and gave me one of his sly smiles. "We'll show you the best seats in the house."

I gave Evan a look but he shrugged, and so I shut up and kept following. Jake led us to the very top row of seats which didn't even go all the way across, instead interrupted in the middle by a partial wall where the projection booth stuck out a few feet into the audience. It wouldn't block anybody's view of the screen but it seemed to me a bit on the claustrophobic side.

Jake settled into the seat next to the wall and Alex next to him. I let Evan in first with my usual deference and sat on the end. Evan found a cup holder for our shared soda and I held our popcorn.

I smiled as I realized that buying our snacks and sharing them with Evan made it feel even more like a real date; a whole different vibe from the dozens of movies Evan and I had seen together as mere pals. Also very different was the perspective from way up in the stratosphere of the theater.

"The screen looks like a TV set from up here," I complained. "Why in the world do you guys sit so far away?"

Evan nudged me and nodded toward our two new friends. Alex's hand was in Jake's lap, avidly fondling his prominent bulge. I gasped and my pulse vaulted in panic but even though the auditorium was pretty full for the first matinee of the day there were no patrons in the four rows just below us. The seat-backs were high enough too that even if someone turned around to look they wouldn't see anything.

Alex made grinning eye contact and whispered, "Best seats in the house!"

Evan turned to me with a conspiratorial smile and whispered, "Slouch down in your seat like Jake."

I figured what the hell? I slouched and opened my knees wide, imitating Jake's pose.

My dick was half-inflated when Evan's little fingers found it but stiffened up to tempered steel in about two seconds. He squeezed it and tenderly traced its three-and-a-half inches, my sweet boy grinning up at me as I opened my mouth in silent appreciation. In a minute he moved on to one of my favorite moves, taking the sensitive head between his thumb and forefinger and gently pinching toward the tip. I couldn't help moaning a bit too loudly for my own comfort, but nobody turned to look.

I glanced over to the other guys intending to whisper, "This is so great!" but they were in their own private world. Alex's hand was now right down Jake's pants, the denim rising and falling rapidly as he masturbated him. Jake leaned fully back in his seat, his hips thrust upward and his eyes closed to narrow slits, his big hands white-knuckle gripping the armrests.

This astonishing sight was suddenly too much for me. I grabbed Evan's hand and squeezed it around my dick, stopping his manipulations but not breaking contact.

"Stop, stop," I whispered. "It's too much."

Evan gave me a fond smile then looked to the others, gasping in disbelief. Just then Jake did exactly the same thing I had done, firmly squeeze Alex's hand around himself and force him to stop.

"OK, OK!" he whispered urgently. "I don't want to be all sticky the whole movie like last time."

I didn't know exactly what Jake meant by that but I figured at some point they must have gotten too wild and spilled a Coke or something.

I was very relieved that they had cooled it in this far-too-public place, but nevertheless impressed by their boldness. They had been boyfriends a lot longer than we had and in fact had chastised us for not being careful enough about the note. I decided they surely must know how much they can safely get away with and I elected to trust their judgment.

Jake made sure no one was looking and bent down to give Alex a kiss that, while quick, was full of affection. I remembered what Alex had said that first day at lunch, that it was great just knowing that there were others who felt the same way, and suddenly it felt a lot less weird to be me.

While Jake pulled himself together Alex turned to us and whispered, "We can move down to closer seats now if you want. We just wanted our first double-date together to be memorable."

"Well, you succeeded," Evan said. "I'll never go to the movies again without thinking about it!"

We managed to find four seats just a couple of rows higher than Ev and I would normally sit and got settled in just before the feature started.

It turned out to be a great movie, and I wondered how it had been around on video my whole life and I never knew about it. It was funny and exciting as hell, especially when that big huge dog was on the screen.

Then there was the scene that was a whole other kind of exciting, where the boys all stripped down to swimming suits at a public pool.

The glasses-wearing kid called Squints faked drowning to con a teenage girl lifeguard into giving him mouth-to-mouth. I guess it was supposed to be tamely sexy in the good old hetero-normative boys-will-be-horny-boys sort of way that PG movies can get away with — as long as it's girls they're horny for and they don't actually get any.

It did zilch for me of course. Instead it was Scottie — my little sandy-haired boy-crush played by Tom Guiry — whose near-nakedness had my pulse pounding. As cute as he was on the poster Scottie was a lot hotter in a swimsuit, and I felt decidedly gypped that the camera lingered instead on the far less beautiful Squints.

After, as we walked through the mall to the designated exit where Jake's Mom would pick us up, Alex playfully jostled Jake, bumping into his side and pushing off of him with his elbow and Jake happily followed suit. Evan smiled as he exchanged looks with me, acknowledging that he noticed it too. They were enjoying just engaging one another, and pretty soon Evan and I were doing it too. We must have looked like ordinary kids horsing around but the subtext was full of meaning for us.

Jake's Mom was nice, all smiles and making a point of keeping Evan and me in the conversational loop all the way home. She actually listened to what we said too, and asked real follow-up questions about Evan's scientific interests and my love of reading. It wasn't the usual grownup condescension and we appreciated it.

"OK, boys," she said, pulling into the circle drive of a hotel-sized edifice that must have been their house. The whole neighborhood seemed like that and I felt a bit out of place. "You all get washed up for dinner right away, because my husband will be home with the pizza any minute."

"Pizza?" I asked in surprise. "I don't know if I can stay for dinner. My Mom expects me home."

"It's all right, Nathan," she said. "I called both of your mothers and made arrangements. We'll have pizza and then you boys can play some games or watch TV for a while and Mr. Sullivan will drive you and Evan home around nine o'clock."

"Cool," I said with a grin. This date was getting better and better. "Thanks a lot, Mrs. Sullivan!"

"You're very welcome, Nathan," she said, sounding sincere. "Jake and Alex have talked about nothing else all week but their nice new friends, and now that I've met you I understand why."

Presently Jake's Dad bustled in with one large and one small pizza. He was followed by a cute little girl about seven years old struggling with two 2-liter bottles of soda. They looked just like older and younger versions of Jake, both with his same light-brown hair and matching eyes, and Jake's pleasant, highly symmetrical features.

"Hi Dad," Jake called.

"Hello boys," Jake's Dad said cheerily. "You must be Nathan and Evan."

"Nice to meet you sir," I said, while Evan smiled along.

"Hi, Squirt," Jake said to the girl with obvious affection, taking the sodas and placing them on the table. Then to us he said, "This is my sister Janie."

We both smiled and Evan waved hello, but it wasn't enough for Janie. She scowled and said, "What? Isn't it nice to meet me too?"

Everyone laughed, including Janie, and I made a small show of telling her how nice it really was. She beamed at me for a moment and then ran to her brother, who gathered her into a tight hug. It was clear that this family was extraordinarily close.

"I hope you like mushrooms and anchovies," Jake's Dad said, and when Evan and I made yucky faces he broke up laughing. "Don't worry," he said. "Cheese and sausage for us and plain cheese for Janie."

The pizza was amazing, probably the best I'd ever had, from a place I'd never heard of before. It turned out to be from a really expensive Italian restaurant rather than the cheap pizza joints my folks frequented. Mrs. Sullivan said she would tell my parents about it since I obviously enjoyed it so much, but I was pretty sure my Dad would never spring for it. He wasn't cheap, but it was pretty clear from their beautiful house and everything in it that Jake's folks were much more well off than mine. Still they made us feel right at home, and Evan and I ate and chatted and joked and laughed like we'd known them for years. We even pitched in with cleanup when our tummies couldn't hold any more.

"Everybody wash their hands and face!" Mrs. Sullivan ordered jovially, swatting her husband lightly on the ass and adding, "That goes for you too, mister." He laughed and spun her into his arms, giving her a kiss that was far more than just a peck.

As I came out of the powder room Janie grabbed one of my freshly-washed hands with both of hers and pulled me toward the stairs.

"Nathan! Nathan! Come see my room!"

I looked to Jake but he just smiled indulgently and said, "You might as well just go and get it over with."

Janie's pink bedroom overflowed with toys and stuffed animals and posters of unicorns and Disney princesses. She grabbed up a rag doll that looked like an old gray-haired woman wearing a gingham apron and round wire-rimmed glasses.

"This is Granny," she said a bit too loudly, then when she was sure no one had followed us into the bedroom she dropped her voice to a whisper and asked, "Are you and Evan special friends like Jake and Alex?"

I felt the air rush out of my lungs. I could do nothing but stare at her, barely breathing. After a really uncomfortable moment Jake stuck his head into the room.

"Can I have Nathan back now, Janie?" he asked with fond indulgence in his voice. "He can meet the rest of your dolls next time."

I started to follow him, grateful to be out of the conversation, but Janie grabbed my arm and whispered up to me with a huge grin, "I know you are! I can tell, and I think it's cool!"

I don't know what my expression must have been but when I got downstairs Evan saw me and registered concern.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly.

"Tell you later," I said and tried to compose myself. Being friends with Jake and Alex was turning into quite a roller coaster ride.

"We're gonna go play Super Mario Brothers at Alex's," Jake announced to his parents, and I suddenly remembered that Alex lived right next door.

"OK," his Mom said, "but be back here by a quarter to nine, and don't make a mess. I don't want Mrs. Granger coming home and finding soda cans and chip bags all over her clean house."

"Don't worry, Mom," Jake said. "I'll go into Babysitter-mode and make Alex clean everything up!"

Alex grinned and returned the teasing. "Oh no you won't! You're not my babysitter tonight!"

"Can I come too?" Janie begged, and I saw Jake gearing up to gently refuse her when his Mom came to the rescue.

"Not tonight, young lady," she said firmly. "It's bath night and by then it will be almost your bedtime. Say goodnight to your brother and his friends and go on upstairs."

"Aw, Mom!" Janie complained, but dutifully marched over to Jake and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Goodnight, kid," Jake said tenderly and bent to give her a kiss.

On the lips, I noted.

"I love you," the tall boy said.

"I love you too," Janie replied.

I was astounded when she then turned immediately to Alex, who she wrapped in a similar hug and said, "I love you, Alex."

I was even more astounded when Alex smiled fondly and also kissed Janie on the lips. "I love you too Janie," he said.

And then I was beyond astounded when she turned and wrapped her little arms around me! She hugged me tightly and I felt her genuine emotion.

"Good night, Nathan," she said and looked up to me expectantly.

I had no idea what to do and turned a searching look to Jake, who shrugged and said, "I guess she likes you."

I bent and pecked her soft little lips and she ever so tenderly kissed back.

"Goodnight Janie," I said and she smiled happily, then turned to Evan and repeated the whole ritual. He returned her kiss and wished her a sincere goodnight, while Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan beamed in approval.

Thanks for reading Part 1 of Nathan's Naughty Note. Part 2 is coming soon, or if you came to this story late it's already in my story archive here on my Prolific Authors page.

If you email me I will add you to my mailing list and notify you whenever I post on Nifty. I won't use your name for any other purpose and I will remove you from the list upon request.