Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2016 16:04:08 -0800 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: Rough Edges Chapter 47 Welcome to the last chapter of "Rough Edges". A huge thanks to all of you who read the story. You are greatly appreciated. Please show your appreciation by making a donation to the Nifty Archive. It should not surprise you that this chapter contains sex between minors. Nor should it be news that the entire story is mine. Please do not copy it part or in its entirety without my expressed permission. I would love to hear your take on the story. Contact me at thehakaanen@hotmail.com Douglas CHAPTER 47 PAST FUTURE "Do you think this is private enough?" Larry asked Phil as they laid out their sleeping bags between two dunes well above the tide line. "You worry too much," Phil laughed. "How many people have you seen racing past us? Besides it's almost totally dark here." "Listening to the ocean is cool." "It will be even cooler when we have sex." "The cousins were fun," Larry mused, "but this will be, well, funner." "I thought Perry was the only one who said `funner'." "It might not be a real word, but it fits." "Yeah it fits." The two teens were wearing sweatshirts and nothing else. They had strewn their shorts on the sand. "We're going to have sand all over us," Larry said. "Yeah, we'll be sandpapering ourselves while we fuck." "Your cock is going to be sandpapering my butt, too, if you're not careful." "I think it will be the other way around," Phil uttered quietly. "You mean...," "Yes, I'm gonna be the bottom man." Larry's eyes lit up. "Wow, very cool. I mean totally and completely awesomely cool. Don't worry, I didn't get a grain of sand on my cock. Your butt will be pure." Larry thought about what he had just said and then giggled, "Well, as pure as an asshole can be, I guess." Phil wasn't real fond of being a bottom, but when he did it, he didn't hold back. He always found out it felt much better and was much sexier than he thought it would be. "It was, well, fucking awesome," he confided the last time he and Larry did it, "but I'd still rather be fucking you." "No worries," Larry told him. "I like having your cock up my ass." "You must," Phil grinned. "You've taken it enough times in the last few days." "Do you remember when we did it on the beach back in high school?" Phil asked. "How can I forget? It was one of the rare times I got to plow your sorry ass." "I was saving it for a special occasion." "You mean an occasion where you could possibly get sand up your bowels?" "But thanks to my careful and caring partner that didn't happen, just like it won't happen to you tonight." "This town has certainly built up since that night," Larry sighed. "Very much so. If we had decided to lay out our sleeping bags on the same stretch of beach we did back then we'd probably be fucking in the middle of a traffic jam." "It wouldn't be quite that bad—I mean it is almost eleven o'clock." "Yes, and people still love taking late night beach walks," Phil said. "Don't remind me. My fucking heart was racing a zillion miles an hour when those four kids found us. If that happened now I might just end up having the big one." "You're still a young dude, Larry, and your heart is strong and pure." "I'll concede strong." "I know the best way to keep our junk out of the sand, not to mention our asses," Larry said. "How?" "Doggy style." "But I wanted to watch you and kiss you," Phil moaned. "Next time. I mean you really don't want your ass sandpapered do you?" "Yeah, you're right." "Oh cool, that means you'll let me do you again." "Well, yeah, I mean we do plan on being boyfriends for a while, right?" Phil could detect Larry's grin in the dark. "That was my plan." Even though they had their position planned for the dirty deed, the boys needed to make out some first to get them totally turned on. They lay side- by-side on the single sleeping bag they'd brought with them which they had set on a beach blanket in their efforts to keep sand out of their sex. They kissed, rubbed each other's bodies and asses, and stroked each other's cocks. Phil pushed his middle finger up Larry's ass and started finger fucking him, causing Larry to go crazy when Phil found his sweet spot. "Shit, Phil, you keep that up you're gonna make me shoot." Phil pulled his finger out. "That was feeling really good. I want to lick your butt and get you ready." "You're getting really sex crazy, you know that, don't you?" "Yep, and I know you love it." Phil's reply was to quickly take a position on his hands and knees. He moaned softly as he felt Larry's tongue lick along his crack. He moaned louder as Larry spread his ass cheeks and ran his tongue along the entry to his nether reaches. Phil's moans increased even more when Larry pushed his tongue inside of his hole and licked around inside as far as his tongue could reach. "Fuck me," Phil begged. "I'm ready. Do me! Fuck me!" Larry pulled his face away from Phil's ass and took some accoutrements out of his backpack. Soon, both boys were lubed and ready for action. Phil was back in position and Larry eased himself into Phil's asshole and held himself still after sinking his cock to his pubes. He then started his rocking motion, pulling out and moving in at a gentle pace, knowing that he would be upping that pace in a hurry. Phil grunted at each thrust while Larry completed the sultry duet with a matching moan. At the same time four tweens were sneaking away from a condo situated at the end of the built up area and above the sand dunes. They were aged from eleven to twelve and were long-time friends, as were their parents. "It's going to be so fun to walk on the beach naked," said Frank, who was twelve. "Yeah, as long as our mom and dads don't find out," twelve-year-old Jason cautioned. "They're all busy getting drunk," Frank reminded them. "They ain't gonna miss us." "I gotta pee," eleven-year-old Shane whined. "Pee in the ocean," Jason told him. "Yeah, it's like a giant toilet," said the fourth kid, eleven-year-old Crystal, who, even though a female, saw herself as just another boy. In fact that was how the three boys saw her even though she was missing some necessary equipment in her genital area. "You just don't have to flush it." "And since you got a boner like the rest of us," Jason told him, "you can just let your piss fire up into the air." "I wish I had a boner," Crystal said with a hint of sadness. "Just remember, you got a great hole for us to stick our boners in," Frank grinned. The four children made their way through the maze of sand dunes, grass, and driftwood. Shane wanted them to turn on their flashlight, but the other three didn't want to risk their parents seeing them until they made it out onto the main beach. "Did you hear that?" Crystal asked. "What?" Jason asked. "All I hear is the waves." "I thought I heard a voice." Just around the dune in front of the kids, Larry was ramming Phil's ass hard. "Oh, yeah, oh fucking yeah. Fuck me hard, Larry, fuck me deep and hard." "Don't rush me, I'm just getting warmed up," Larry grunted as he crammed his cock into Phil's ass. At that moment the four kids came on the rutting teens. Even though it was dark, there was just enough light for them to be able to make out what was going on. Jason, who was carrying the flashlight, turned it on and the four tweens saw two naked teen boys, one of whom had his cock buried in the other's ass. "What the fuck?" Larry shouted out. "Wow, look, it's two guys having sex," Frank remarked astutely. Phil and Larry could see that they had been accosted by four pubescent children, all of whom were naked. Three were boys, who were sporting boners, and the other was a girl who looked boyish right down to her totally flat chest. "Are you fucking his ass?" Jason asked, even though he knew the answer. "Yes," Larry admitted, surprised that his erection hadn't lost any of its hardness. The situation both frightened him and turned him on. "Don't worry, we won't tell," Crystal said. "Yeah, we do sex together, too," Shane informed them. "It's fun," Frank said. "How old are you guys?" Crystal asked. "Fifteen." "Can we watch?" Jason asked. "We'd just as soon you didn't," Phil told the four kids. "You're kinda young to be watching this." Even though we were old enough to be watching fucking when we were your age, he and Larry both thought. Larry's cock had fallen out of Phil's ass. "Me and Jason are twelve, and Shane and Crystal will be twelve really soon." "I'll be twelve in two weeks," Shane reminded them. "I'm almost twelve," Crystal said, although she didn't reveal how close to being twelve the word almost indicated. "We won't tell," Crystal repeated. "We really want to watch." "Maybe some other time," Larry said. "You guys go and have fun." "Okay," Jason said, a little intimidated by the athletic boys. He kept the flashlight on the two naked teens, getting an extra look at their hard, adolescent cocks. Then he flicked the light off and the four of them moved off to the beach. "I can't believe he had his dick in the other guy's ass," Frank said. "I wonder if it hurts," Shane said. "I wonder if it would feel better than when we stick our dicks in Crystal?" "Maybe we should find out," Jason challenged. "Yeah," Frank agreed. At almost the same time Crystal said, "I know my pussy feels better than his butt." "How?" Frank asked. Phil and Larry never heard her answer as their voices were drowned out by the surf. "Damn, that was scary," Larry said as he worked on his now drooping cock to get it hard again. "Yeah, but I wasn't worried. I mean there they are running around naked in the dark with boners and shit. It didn't seem like they were upset about finding us." "Maybe we should have let them watch us." "Oh, fuck no. Now, get your cock hard and ram it back in me." Deep down, Phil agreed with Larry. He had a soft spot for younger boys, finding them sexy, if untouchable. It would have been interesting to have seen what the three preteen boys would have done as spectators. He didn't really care what the girl thought or did. It didn't take long for Larry to be hard and back to humping Phil's ass again. The two teens worked themselves back to a sexual frenzy, moaning, cussing, groaning and finally cumming. Larry felt his cock expand and then jerk inside of his boyfriend's ass as he emptied out his balls. Phil, who'd been jerking himself off, fired his thick teen jizz onto the blanket that was laid out underneath him. Neither one of them took notice of three preteen boys and a girl peeking around a ragged bush, having orgasms of their own watching as much as they could in the darkness. "Since I was the bottom our first time on the beach, guess what?" Phil grinned. "You've sure got a long memory for some things." "I'm ready if you are," Phil said, ignoring Larry's gibe. "First things first," Larry told him as he planted a deep, wet kiss on Phil's lips. The two men wanted themselves to be totally ready and totally turned on when they engaged in sex. After kissing, licking, petting, and stroking each other's manly bodies they were ready for some serious action. Phil lubed his hairy cock. Larry trimmed his big bush of brown pubic hair and he had very little body hair for a middle-aged man. A slight treasure trail, a dusting of chest hair, and light blondish hair on his legs and arms were the extent of it. Phil, on the other hand, had thick chest hair as well as hair on his belly. He had thick hair on his muscular legs. The differences between them could be seen at a glance when looking at their faces. Larry had light facial hair while Phil could grow a full beard almost instantly, which was something he often did in the winter knowing he would often be outdoors in cold weather. Phil took his nearly seven inches and pushed it inside of his new husband. Larry grunted with pleasure. He always loved having Phil inside of him, but having him enter his body as his husband gave him an even better feeling. The sex started slowly, but Phil kept upping the pace, just like Larry had done to him a quarter of a century ago on this same beach. They rarely had sex doggy style, and some of the feelings were pleasantly different. Larry moaned loudly as Phil's man tool rubbed over his prostate. Phil could feel Larry's sphincter close on his thick cock. He knew Larry was close to orgasm and hoped he could time his to match. He was almost there as Larry howled with pleasure as he blew his wad with a no-touch cum. Phil came within a minute of his spouse, filling Larry's ass with his thick, pungent man seed. Both men dropped to the blanket, totally spent and satisfied by their orgasms. "It's been a while since I blew a no-touch wad," Larry said. "Felt great, huh?" "Hell, yeah. Made me feel like a young teen on the beach." "How would you compare the two experiences?" "I don't think I can," Larry answered. "Man sex and teen sex simply aren't the same thing. I wouldn't trade either one." "I mostly agree, but there is something about a big manly orgasm that is hard to beat." "There is something about the newness of teen sex that is hard to beat as well." "Do you want to sleep out here, or head back to the condo?" Phil asked. "Let's get dressed and head back." "You slept just fine on the beach last time." "My fifteen-year-old body liked the adventure. This body has seen forty come and go and seems to think it likes a soft bed more than an adventure." "I like how it thinks." The two men dressed, gathered their stuff, and trudged back to their condo, where they undressed again. They had a second round on the bed before they felt ready to turn in for the night. "Hah," Larry said. "We only did it once that night on the beach." "That's because your two little cousins spent the week wearing us out," Phil laughed. They cuddled naked under the covers and engaged in pillow talk. They weren't yet ready to fall asleep. "I did have my rough edges back when we met, didn't I?" Phil asked. "You definitely weren't the smoothest eleven-year-old around." "You and your parents and Troy did so much to smooth me out. Of course I helped to smooth out your rough edges as well." "Who me? Rough edges? Surely you jest. I was the epitome of the suave and knowing sixth grader." "Only in your own mind. You were smoother than I was, but you had some places that needed smoothing." "Like what?" "Like the fear you had of your gayness." "I was much more at ease about it than you were." "Once again, only in your own mind. Once I accepted myself as gay and accepted you as my boyfriend, I saw where I often had to push you into doing things." The two men talked about their middle school and high school years, and how Larry sometimes backed off trying anything new or different. Marriage, first anal sex, and coming out were three topics discussed in that vein. "What was it that you think knocked the edge off of us the most back when we were kids?" Larry thought about the question before replying. "Fucking on the beach sure put things in the forefront—especially after we got caught in the act." "Yeah, but that was just sex. Granted it was sex in a public place, but it was the kind of thing two horny teens, gay or straight, were somewhat likely to do. Besides, we got caught by a group of horny tweens, so that ended up being a big turn-on, even if we did send them away." "What about coming out to my parents?" It was a couple of weeks after the trip to the beach. School would be starting the following week. Football practice kept Larry and Phil busy, along with Tyson, Daniel, and Q. Ever since they got home from the trip, Larry and Phil discussed a topic that had been brought up during the trip. "We really don't need to tell them," Larry insisted. "You didn't feel that strong the first time we talked about it," Phil said. "That's because I didn't think you were totally serious about doing it." "Well, I was totally serious and I still am totally serious." "Yeah, well, they're my parents, not yours." "So? They've been more like my parents than my own parents have been." "But you don't have to live with them," Larry did not like the direction the conversation was taking. "I live at your house as much as I live at mine, maybe even more." "Yeah, but you don't HAVE to live there—I do." Phil paused, took a deep breath as advised by Troy and the people in the meetings he and Troy sometimes attended, and then calmly proceeded. "We've talked about this a lot of times. They know about us, Larry, and you know they know. I think it's time we be honest with them and quit hiding. Every time I see them I feel like I'm some kind of liar and that they're seeing right through me." "What do they know? I don't know what they know, so how do you know?" "Quit being dense. You know exactly what I'm talking about." "Yeah, I remember that last conversation we had before we took the plunge," Larry mused. "Damn, I was a stubborn asshole then, wasn't I?" "I wouldn't go that far, but you did have a bit of a rough edge." "When I think about it, I did have somewhat the same attitude regarding matrimony, didn't I?" "All I will say is that your edge wasn't nearly as rough," Phil chuckled. "And about anal sex?" "In the end that issue was the easiest to overcome." Larry's shoulders sagged some. "I suppose you're right—but I'm kinda scared." "So am I, but when did that ever stop us from doing the right thing?" Larry straightened up and rose from the bed. "Let's do it now before I chicken out." "Now you're talking." The boys headed downstairs where Larry's parents were busy reading. Larry decided to act quickly before he was tempted to run back upstairs. "Mom, dad, we need to talk to you," Larry said as he tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Is everything okay, dear?" his mom asked, concerned about the worried look on her son's face and about the tone of his voice. "No..., I mean, yes...I mean, no, we just need to talk." "This is sounding serious," Larry's father said. Larry could feel his legs shaking and sat on the large part of the sectional before his knees gave out. How was it that it was so much easier to be at the plate with the winning run on base and two outs in the final inning than it was to say something to his own parents? Phil sat beside him—both boys resisted the urge to hold hands. "Well, you know how Phil and I have been best friends since way back in sixth grade?" "Yes, we do seem to have noticed something like that," Larry's father said with an amused look. "Art, the boy is nervous—now is not the time for your sense of humor," Larry's mother admonished his father. "Sorry, son. You may continue without interruption." "Well, you see, we're kinda like, well, we're, you know, more than just best friends," Larry went on. He waited for one of his parents to say something, but all he got was silence, which made him even more nervous. He looked over at Phil, hoping to get some encouragement to continue. When he saw Phil nod his head he let out a big pent-up breath. Without thinking Larry reached over and placed his hand in Phil's, an act that sent a wave of warmth and confidence through him. "Phil and I are more than best friends," he repeated. "We're boyfriends." He grabbed Phil's hand even harder, waiting for the ax to fall. Sandy Sanders coughed and shuffled a bit in her recliner. "Well, I have to say I'm not real surprised," she said softly. "You're not?" Phil gave Larry an I-told-you-so look. "Even if we didn't have a lot of other evidence the fact that the two of you are sitting on the couch holding hands would be a dead giveaway," Art Sanders said. The two teens self-consciously let go of each other. "How did you know?" Larry asked. "I mean before we held hands." "A mother knows these things." Larry's mother said. "Not to mention that boys sleeping together at age eleven is cute, but at age fifteen it may have more meaning," his father pointed out. "But then again, it could have none at all—you might have been more comfortable that way." "Does this mean you two are gay?" Sandy asked. By now Larry had enough confidence to be slightly snarky. "Well, duh, I guess it does." He could already tell that his world was not going to fall apart because he and Phil had just come out. "What about you Phil?" Art asked. "I mean you've always managed to generate an air of machismo." "I am gay," Phil said in a steady voice. "And I love Larry." "And I love Phil," Larry said quickly. "And we love you both," Art and Sandy said in unison, which led to a round of easy going laughter. The tension had been broken. From that point on the family discussed the present, the past, and most importantly the future of the two boys. For their part, the love of Larry's parents for both boys was unconditional. As far the boys were concerned, they knew they could tell Art and Sandy anything and never lose their love and trust. There was a lot of adjusting to do now that the relationship had become official, but right to the day of their marriage, Larry's parents always had the backs of their son and the boy they thought of as a second son from the time he was a preteen. Phil's coming out to his mother was somewhat on the simpler side. "I'm just glad you're not a drunk like your father and brother," Phil's mother said when Phil and Larry stood in front of her holding hands and telling her that they were gay boyfriends. Phil couldn't help but wonder what his mother would think if she knew that he and Troy were both sober drunks. "I really hated to tell you I told you so after we came out to your parents," Phil said. "You knew they knew the whole time and I never believed you. I thought there was no way my parents would think of us being gay and boyfriends without us telling them." "Your mother is a perceptive lady." "So I've learned. Nobody was happier than she was when we got married." "Nobody pushed harder for us to do it either, which is saying a lot." "Yeah, there was a bit of pressure." Larry planted a light kiss on Phil's lips. "So, if that didn't take the edge off our being gay, then what did?" "I was the one who was asking you." "Was it us winning the state baseball championship our senior year?" "No, but you're close." It was the top of the seventh inning at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. The Valley High School Pioneers were on the field holding a 3-1 lead in the Class AAA State Championship Game. Larry was on the mound, having pitched all six previous innings. Of course, his catcher was Phil. They were three outs away from a state championship. Unlike the day he'd come out to his parents over two years ago, Larry was poised and focused. He was in his element—a competitive game on an athletic field. The fact that the stakes were high made it even better. Outside of sex with Phil, nothing gave him a bigger high than a tough win in a competitive situation, and no competitive situation he'd ever been in was as important as this one. Larry and Phil were totally in synch. Larry was in a groove on the mound and Phil made sure he stayed there. They'd been battery mates since sixth grade. They'd been best friends since sixth grade. They'd been boyfriends since whenever it was in middle school that they acknowledged the relationship they had with each other. All of it was coming together on the baseball field—they'd never felt more as one with each other as they did that afternoon. Larry put the first batter in a 0-2 hole and then enticed him to pop up to short on a 1-2 pitch. He blew two fastball strikes by the next batter and got him to take a called third strike on a wicked curve. That third hitter in the inning proved to be a bit tougher as he ripped Larry's first pitch for a single to left. That brought the tying run to the plate. Phil went out to talk to his pitcher. In this situation they weren't boyfriends or even best friends. They were pitcher and catcher—a baseball battery, and that was all that counted. "This asshole is yours. Just throw what I tell you and the bastard doesn't have a chance," Phil instructed. Larry nodded. He was ready just as he knew Phil was ready—and just as he knew his opponent was ready. The first pitch was ball one—low. Then it was a foul back to the screen. Both pitches had been fastballs. The next pitch was a changeup for a called strike. Then came a curveball in the dirt which the batter almost went for and which Phil blocked perfectly. And finally Larry threw his best fastball. The batter got a piece of it and hit a slow bouncing ball to second which was fielded cleanly by Jung, who set himself and then made a perfect throw to Q at first to get the batter by three steps. Larry shivered with joy, not only because the Pioneers were State Champs, but because two of his best friends in the world had teamed up to make the final out. There was jumping and leaping and hugging and celebrating. Larry never forgot those moments after the win, never forgot the hard work and team attitude that went into creating the championship season, and never forgot that last inning on the mound. Years later when Rich and Chandler pitched that final inning of his first and third state championship, he knew what was going through their minds. He could only guess what had been in Eric's mind in his final inning as he worked not only to win his second state championship, but to complete a perfect game. But even with that extraordinary circumstance, Coach Larry Sanders still knew what it was like to be on that pitching mound in the final inning of the most important game he ever played. "So, it happened right after that, not in college," Larry ventured. "Not long after. It was the moment we both totally knew who we were and weren't afraid to let anyone else know," Phil confirmed. "Well, then I know what that moment was." "Do tell." "Not now. I want to tell you in a special place in a special town." "I'll wait." Phil returned Larry's earlier kiss. When Phil and Larry returned to Mayfield they stopped off at the post office to pick up their back mail. There was a certified letter from a state attorney's office in the mix that was addressed to both of them. They looked at each other, signed for it, and took it home. The subject of the letter was a surprise and at the same time it wasn't. It appeared that Phil's brother Keegan had more children than Phil and Troy knew about. In a nutshell, the letter, which had been copied to Troy, said that the mother of eight-year-old Aiden Miller had died and left no known relatives and that the boy's father, Keegan Miller, could not be found and indicated that he was not competent to be a parent even if they could find him. The state was requesting that Phil and his brother Troy attend a hearing to determine if one of them could take the boy in as a long-term foster parent. They barely finished reading the letter when Troy called. Larry put the call on speaker phone so the three men could talk together. "Have you seen the news?" he asked. "We just got home and read the letter," Larry told him. "Sounds like something the new couple might be interested in." "We might be newlyweds, but we're not a new couple," Phil pointed out. "However, you are the experienced parent." "And you two have mumbled at times about having a kid around. I'm willing to vouch for you two as parents, but I think you'll want this. And no, I have never met Aiden—this is the first I even knew he existed." "It will be challenge, that's for sure. Phil and I will discuss it and get back to you." "And my final argument is that you just know your mother would love to travel to Mayfield to deal with a "grandson." Two weeks later, Phil and Larry sat together on a park bench in Mayfield's Town Centre Park. They wondered if this was the same bench a drunken thirteen-year-old Marty was sitting on before he stood up and vomited over George Bednarzyk's shoes in a move that would change his entire life. "Why did you want to meet here instead of at the ballfield?" Phil asked. "Because the park represents the entire town—it represents the place that is our home and accepts us. It represents the place where we will be bringing a foster son who may someday become our adopted son—a special place where I hope he will grow up into a man." Phil and Larry had met Aiden with Troy and a CPS social worker. They liked the quiet little blond, whose light freckles across his nose and cheeks made him almost unbearably cute. A week after the meeting, the state agreed to give them custody of the boy as his foster parents, thereby changing their lives forever. They knew there were issues surrounding the boy. His mother had worked for a large retail chain, making just over minimum wage. Prior to her death, Keegan was just one of a number of boyfriends who were observed living in the one-bedroom apartment. They had learned that the boy was very bright, but underachieved and was often in trouble at school. Both men were excited at the prospect of raising a boy who was coming to them from a tough environment—a boy with rough edges that would need patient smoothing. They would be picking him up in Seattle in two days. Their thoughts about their soon-to-be foster son were interrupted by the sound of a skateboard. Jeffrey Bednarzyk zoomed into view, adeptly controlling the board, his helmet covering his usually unruly hair. He stopped on a literal dime. "Hey coaches, welcome home." "Thanks Jeffrey," Phil said. "Dad says you have something new happening in your lives." "That we do." "I babysit cheap." "We'll keep that in mind," Larry grinned. Jeffrey hopped on his skateboard and raced off. "He's still the sexiest boy in town," Phil observed. "You've thought that since he was ten years old. You've always had a crush on him." "Have not." "Don't lie. I can remember you perving over his little preteen ass that day in the parking lot after a ballgame when he yanked off his pants." "Okay, maybe a little crush," Phil laughed. The two men listened to the late summer breeze rustle the leaves. Their thoughts were on the Mayfield boys of the future, like Jeffrey. They were also on the boy who would soon change their lives forever—young Aiden Miller. And they thought of the boys of their Mayfield past who had been so special in their lives. "They're here watching, you know," Phil whispered. "I know," Larry replied in a hushed tone. They could feel the spirits of their players wafting in the breeze, players who'd had their own rough edges. They could feel the courage of the gay players who had made Mayfield Middle School, Mayfield High School, and Mayfield baseball so special. They could feel the strength of Mike the Donkey and Ryan the Dawg leading the way. They could feel the teen athleticism of the Corcoran brothers—of Kevin and Lars, of Kraig and Hunter, of Korey and Chandler. They could feel Marty and Rich as Marty trudged the Road of Happy Destiny to sobriety. Then there was the quiet, intellectual leadership of Eric and Noah, the boys who were, without a doubt, the focal point of the great back-to-back title teams. In the mix were Connor and Scott, who were girl-chasing teens while questioning their sexuality at the same time. Toby and Justin, the gay boys who stayed in the background were there, as well as Hurricane Jeffrey and Nicky, who were taking over as the boys in the foreground. And there was also Bobby O'Neal, whose life ended so tragically at age thirteen. The two coaches also acknowledged the spirits of boys like Carl, Danny, Vince, Jerome, Gavin, and Rodney—boys who were regular small-town high school teens who showed up, suited up, and accepted and supported the gays who made their team unique and special. Larry broke the silence. "I'm ready to give you my final answer about when we totally accepted being gay," he said. "That's why we're here, although telling me at the beach would have worked." "I wanted the spirit of this town to be with us and the spirits of the players who followed us and smoothed out their own rough edges." Phil grinned. He had a feeling that he and Larry were thinking of the same thing. "So, fire away. Tell me what you think." "I think it's more about what I know." Larry could see the day they accepted themselves clearly in his mind as he described it to Phil, who realized right away that he and Larry were on the same page. The two men could picture themselves as high school seniors walking out of their statistics class on a spring day in May. They could see the boys holding hands with their girlfriends as the spring sap flowed in their veins. They saw those couples enjoying something that they felt had been denied to them. At that moment, without saying a word to each other, they mutually realized that they had been denying that enjoyment to themselves. Larry shivered as he felt Phil's right hand take his left hand. He glowed as he and his boyfriend walked hand-in-hand down the main hall of Daniel Evans High School, not caring who saw them or what they would think. They were two of the jock studs of the senior class—three-sport varsity lettermen for three years, and now they were holding hands in the halls of their high school, not caring what anybody thought. They saw the usual kisses snuck near a locker by couples they knew and couples they didn't know. No one said a word to the two male athletes walking down the corridor holding hands, but few failed to notice. The two teens stopped at their locker and placed their books inside before heading to lunch. Somehow they were facing each other, feeling the rough edge of fear as they looked into each other's eyes. Larry made the first move, placing his lips on the lips of the boy who had been his boyfriend since they were little eleven-year-olds. Phil wrapped his arms around Larry and returned the kiss. Larry was being held and kissed by the only boy he had ever loved. As he felt the strength of Phil's body, all six-foot-two and 190 pounds of seventeen-year-old muscle, he knew that he was being held by the only person he would ever be in love with, and he didn't care who knew it. Through his jeans he felt Phil's hand rub lightly across the hardness in his pants and he shuddered with pleasure and love. Phil held onto Larry and planted one more kiss. He could feel Larry's hardness as his hand brushed against his lover's groin. At that moment he wanted the whole world to know whom he loved and would love forever. Both boys knew there would always be rough edges to smooth out, but they had no doubt they would be smoothing out those edges together with the assistance of their unquestioned love for each other. As men they felt the same love and the same confidence in dealing with any rough edges that might crop up in their lives. And now, they would be adding their already budding love for Aiden, the trusting little person about to become intertwined in their existence. The End