A New Life

Most of the morning I wandered around the apartment aimlessly. My mom had left another note under a magnet on the fridge. Beneath the note were two twenty-dollar bills for me to take with me. I was instructed to offer to pay for my own meals and, if the offer was refused, to stuff the twenty’s in Mrs. Hundser’s purse when she wasn't looking.

There was nothing but the usual daytime talk and game shows on so I turned off the TV and went to my room. I turned on my stereo and PC thinking that playing Civilization would make the time fly by faster.

Don't ever start a war in Civilization when you're looking forward to spending the weekend with your boyfriend. I got my ass whooped by the Mongols who had forged an alliance with the Chinese. My entire Russian Empire was disintegrating before my eyes. Disgusted, I ended the game and lay on my bed staring off in to space.

My every thought was filled with Keith - Keith and I in the mountains, at the beach, riding around town, going to the movies. Having someone to be with again for the first time in so long had me ecstatic enough. But having a special someone that just so happened to be the sweetest and most handsome boy I had ever met made my mind reel.

He was not only gay but a romantic as well. On the beach, he told me about some things that he felt were public misconceptions about homosexuals. His speaking voice was captivating but his softer whispers were raspy and so damn sexy sounding! It kept my heartbeat fast for so long, I actually felt a little buzz after a while. We told each other how we wanted our relationship to be and promised each other we would keep those ideas in mind as the days and weeks progressed. The talk we had on the beach two nights ago would be the foundation for our new relationship. And, along the way, we kept reassuring each other that we were being honest with our agreements, that way the foundation wouldn't be flawed. We looked forward to learning more about each other and to the challenge of keeping our friendship strong. By the time Mike and Derrick returned from their walk, we both felt pretty pleased, I think.

Now that we had given in to our hormones and had sex, we had taken another step closer to a long-term commitment. That's really what we both wanted. I could tell by the conviction in his voice that he wasn't faking it. We were giddy, completely happy with one another. But we also realized that we had only known each other a little more than a day. Our relationship was moving fast and we tried to slow ourselves down but it was like slamming on the brakes while moving at the speed of sound. By having sex, we had punched down on the accelerator again. I was happy with him, he seemed just as happy with me and now, while we were temporarily separated, we were coasting. I knew that when I saw him again, my heart and mind would speed up. It couldn't be helped! Even if it could be helped, I didn't really want to even try and slow down. Recalling our sexual encounters, I realized that we had made love three times in one day and giggled uncontrollably.

Feeling a little hyper, I got up and went to the kitchen. Passing the living room, I realized something and yelled, "Oh shit!" I forgot to ask Keith about some videos for the weekend. Mom would like those more now that she would be alone this weekend. I started thumbing through the Yellow Pages to get the number for Blockbuster. Then I asked myself, what the hell am I doing? It’s lunchtime. I'll just ride over there and ask him to grab some videos before he comes over this afternoon. Maybe we could have lunch together? I got my keys and wallet then headed over to visit Keith at work.

When I got to the store, I didn't see Keith behind the checkout counter. I asked where Keith was and learned he had either gone over to Taco Bell or home for lunch. I walked across the street to Taco Bell. There he was, waiting in line to be served, wearing khaki shorts and his Blockbuster shirt. Just seeing him after only a day apart made my heart beat faster. Watching from outside, I waited till he sat down to eat before going in.

Stepping up from behind him, I covered his eyes with my hands and asked, "Guess who?"

"Hey, Prez!"

I asked, "How’d you know it was me?" and sat down across from him.

"Two reasons. First I called your house before I came over here. Second, I saw you walking across the street and loitering outside."

"Damn! I wanted to surprise you."

"I was wondering why you didn't answer the phone at home. I'm really glad you came over," he said, and trapped one of my legs between his under the table. His leg rubbed up and down against mine making my heart beat faster and my dick swell. "So, what’s up?" he asked, then took a bite out of a taco. I could tell by the gleam in his eye that he knew exactly what he had asked. He also seemed more than pleased that I was getting really turned on in a public place. A little bit of sour cream started to ooze out of the end of his taco, which I wiped up on my finger and seductively licked clean. His eyes damn near popped out of his head! I could barely believe I had done that. The old Preston wouldn't have.

The purpose for my visit escaped me for a moment. All I could think of was how much I wished I was wearing boxers instead of briefs and how much I wanted to kiss him right there in front of everyone. "Umm… I just wanted to see you… to have lunch with you. I need to ask a small favor too."

Frowning and sounding disappointed, he asked, "Only a small favor?"

I blushed and giggled. "Would you be serious for a minute?"

"I am serious. Seriously head over heels in love with you," he whispered.

Oh God! He makes me feel so great! Here comes that adrenaline rush again. I blushed so hard that I broke out in a sweat. "I love you more," I whispered.

"I love it when you get all bashful," He laughed. "What’s the favor you wanted to ask?"

"Can you put aside a few videos for my mom?" I asked. "She'll be alone this weekend with no cable TV."

"Oh that’s easy. Sure, I'll grab a few and bring them with me later on."

After lunch Keith and I walked back to Blockbuster together. We walked around to the back of the building and kissed each other goodbye. When I got back to the apartment, I got a soda, kicked back on my bed and replayed the events of lunch in my mind. How did I get so lucky to have such a fantastic guy fall in love with me? This Sunday it would be two weeks since mom and I arrived in California. Four of those fourteen days I've spent with Keith. He filled the emptiness in my heart, mind and soul.

The hours passed quickly. I heard a knock on the door and ran to answer it. Flinging open the door, I grabbed Keith by the arm, pulled him in the apartment and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him over and over. He dropped the bag of videos on the table. Both his hands roamed freely up and down my back under my shirt. He stepped forward towards me making me step backwards.

"I've wanted you all day, Preston," Keith said. "I love you so much it actually hurts not to be with you."

"I know. It hurts me too. Make love to me, Keith. I need it so much."

He removed my shirt, dropped it on the sofa and kicked off his sneakers. Slowly, he would advance towards me and I would retreat. Item by item, we removed each other’s clothes, leaving a trail behind us. For a few moments we stood naked, face to face, hand in hand at the foot of my bed, drinking each other in with our wandering eyes.

Keith guided me on to my bed and crawled beside me. Silently we lay there admiring each other, occasionally kissing passionately. My finger traced its way from his fingertip up his arm to his neck and slid behind his ear. As I did, gooseflesh formed up his arm and across his upper body making him shiver. This boy was turning me into a creature of passion. All I want in life is to please him in every way.

"Omigod! Dude! That felt so great!" He exclaimed breathlessly.

I grinned like a madman and said, "You can touch me too."

He kissed me and laid me flat on my back. Then he sat up and began tracing a line from my big toe down my foot to my ankle, creeping ever so slowly up the inside of my leg, my thigh, past my scrotum and throbbing erection and up the center of my torso. My heart was beating a mile a minute, as a little shiver became a bed-shaking quake. He laid back down close beside me, his arm slid underneath me. I pulled him on top of me. Holding his neck, I kissed him deeply. My hands traveled down his back to his ass and I gave those gorgeous cheeks a gentle squeeze. We ground into each other for the first time moaning loudly. Our leaking cocks soon created a pool of lubricant between our stomachs. I wrapped my legs around his and my hands squeezed his cheeks harder. We humped each other with ever-increasing urgency, harder and faster until we could take it no more. I called out his name and he shouted out mine as we emptied our loins between each other. Slowly our breathing returned to normal as we cooed and hummed appreciatively in each other’s ear. Keith lifted his head and looked into my eyes with a wild grin on his beautiful face. I licked from under his chin to his mouth and kissed him once again. We started to giggle and the giggles turned into laughter. We rolled around on the bed, tickling and touching and laughing as if we were possessed. Eventually, we got out of the bed and walked naked over to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

I pulled out my suitcase and backpack from the closet. Keith started tossing shorts, swimming trunks and other articles of clothing my way. In no time I was packed and ready to go. We got ourselves dressed, I wrote a note to my mom and we left the apartment. When we got to Keith’s house, Mr. Hundser was loading up the Suburban. With our help and John and Drew’s help, we were on the road to Big Bear in no time. It took about three hours to finally make it to the place where the cabins were. Mr. and Mrs. Hundser went over to the administration office while the four of us guys tossed a Nerf football around in the parking lot.

After a short while, Mr. Hundser called Keith and I over to him. Handing Keith the key, Mr. Hundser said, "Okay, you four guys will have a cabin of your own. I expect you to look out for your brothers, Keith. And don't wreck the place staying up all night goofing around. We'll be in the cabin right next door."

"No problem dad," Keith said.

"Get yourselves settled in and be back here in say... thirty minutes so we can get some dinner."

"Yes, sir." Keith and I said together.

We got our stuff from the Suburban and headed off to the cabin. Keith unlocked the door and turned on the lights. The cabin was one big room with a small kitchen area, a small bathroom in one corner, a table and chairs and two double size beds against adjacent walls. Keith and I just looked at each other and grinned. John stepped inside and starting whining about how he would obviously have to sleep with Drew. Keith told him, "It’s gonna be fun John. If you'd rather be a baby and sleep with mom and dad, be my guest." John was not pleased about the arrangement but didn't want to look like a baby so he settled down and began unpacking his stuff. Drew came in and went straight for the bathroom. The four of us got unpacked then went back to the Suburban to head out for dinner.

We had dinner at a little place that looked more like someone’s house than a restaurant. Keith and I both had Chicken Parmesan. The food was great there and they were really large servings. When dinner was finished, I offered to pay my own way as my mom had insisted. Mr. and Mrs. Hundser wouldn't have it though. They had heard of my helping out with the yard work yesterday and wanted me to consider this weekend payment for a job well done. I thanked them both for dinner and for inviting me along. Just then I felt Keith’s hand squeeze my thigh. This didn't shock me at all but I did have the sudden urge to stand on my chair and shout at the top of my lungs, "I LOVE KEITH AND I WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW IT!" It took every last ounce of my self-control not to do just that.

We left the restaurant and returned to the cabins. Mrs. Hundser had brought several shopping bags of food. Keith and I went over to their cabin. We returned to our cabin with some bananas, apples, oranges, kiwis, bagels, granola bars, milk, juice, and sodas. The tiny refrigerator in our cabin was jam packed with stuff. Drew and John were playing GameBoy baseball.

Keith asked, "How about we go for a walk, Prez?"

"Okay." I replied.

We walked outside and quietly past the cabins to a dirt path that led into the woods. He reached over to me, took my hand and wrapped it around his waist.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"There’s a quiet little spot I know down by the lake," he said. "Ever since I first found it, I've wanted to bring someone special there."

"You're really special to me too Keith. I can't believe how quickly our relationship has progressed."

"That first night, shortly after we met I knew you were gonna be a good friend. Later, lying with you on your bed, I started to let my mind wander. I couldn't say anything. I thought I was just stoned and horny. Hell, I'm always horny!" He laughed.

I pulled him closer to me and we stopped walking. We wrapped our arms around each other and kissed.

Keith rested his head on my shoulder and whispered. "When you said all that stuff about moving mountains and feeling like a wet noodle, you put in to words what I had been feeling perfectly."

"I don't know what came over me," I said. "The old Preston would never have said anything like that."

He moved his head to look in my eyes and leaned his forehead against mine. "If you hadn't said those things we might not be standing here right now. Promise me you'll always tell me what’s in your heart and on your mind?"

"I promise, I always will. It’s so easy to do with you. Can you promise me the same thing?"

"You bet I can! I promise to always tell you everything."

I slid my hand up his back and behind his neck and kissed him as deeply and as passionately as I could. Eventually we broke our lip lock and walked hand in hand down the path.

"It’s so dark. You're right beside me and I can barely see you. How can you see where we're going?"

"We've been coming here at least twice a year since I was about seven or eight. Drew and I would always go off exploring and get into a shit load of trouble." He laughed.

"The air smells so clean and fresh. I can't wait to see it all in the daylight."

Squeezing my hand tightly, Keith said, "It’s beautiful here, dude. It feels so great to be the first person to show you all this."

We came to a clearing and there was Big Bear Lake. It looked huge. The few lights on the opposite shore seemed to be miles away. Keith and I walked around the shore and back up into a thicket of trees and shrubs. There was a big, flat boulder there about four feet tall. It had a natural incline towards the lake. It sort of reminded me of those Craftmatic adjustable bed commercials on TV. Keith and I climbed up to the very top and sat there quietly for a while looking at the night sky. The rock was still warm from the heat of the previous day. It was a beautiful summer night with a light breeze whispering through the trees. We could see all the stars and a few constellations, the sky was so clear. Occasionally a shooting star would streak across the sky. Keith pulled me closer and rested his head on my shoulder. I kissed his forehead softly and asked if he was ready to head back to the cabin. He agreed. We stood up and jumped down off the boulder then, hand in hand started back to the cabin.

Keith said, "I need to tell you something, Prez."

"Oh? Is it serious?" I asked.

He said, "It’s not really all that serious but you do need to know about it," and paused for a moment. "I was talking with Drew last night before bed. He heard us fooling around yesterday morning."

"Oh shit! Has he said anything to your folks?"

"Nah, dude. He’s cool with it. He was just teasing me about it. We gotta be more careful though. If it had been John that heard us, I'd rather not think about the consequences."

"That’s a relief! What are we gonna do tonight though? Should we split up in to different beds?"

"Absolutely not! I'm sleeping with you but unfortunately, that’s all we're gonna do this weekend. As long as my brothers are around anyway." He said nudging my arm.

"I want to be with you all the time, Keith. I can think of nothing better than just being close to you. No matter what it is we do or if we're doing nothing at all, I feel better with you near me. Sex is like the icing on the cake. It’s a way for me to show you, when I can't all those other times, that I love you."

Just as I finished speaking and before we stepped back in to the light of the parking lot, Keith stopped dead in his tracks, pulling me into his warm embrace. He looked deep into my eyes and kissed me softly but more passionately than ever before. My knees turned to Jell-O. Had Keith not been holding me, I would have collapsed to the ground. We held our kiss for a while then, as soon as we caught our breath, we kissed again. Eventually we ran out of oxygen and broke our kiss. Keith whispered, "All of what you just said is what I've been trying to say. I love you so much, Preston."

We pulled ourselves together, walked over to our cabin then stepped inside. I started laughing at the site before us. Keith smiled and covered his eyes for a moment. There was John in a T-shirt and boxers and Drew wearing only boxers having a major pillow fight. Keith stepped over to his brothers in a vain attempt to get them chill out. All he managed to say was, "Come on you guys" before being attacked by both brothers. Whomp! Whomp! Keith started a battle with John for possession of the pillow. Drew got another good shot on Keith before turning his attention towards me. He managed to get two good shots on me before I could grab the pillow but I couldn't get it away from him. I spun around and landed on top of him on one of the beds. Keith was on the other bed tickling John mercilessly.

I had Drew in a bear hug and was reaching underneath him for the pillow when he turned his head and said; "I give! Please get off me." I thought this was just an attempt for him to regain control again and grabbed for the pillow again. Drew whined, "Please, Prez. I'm claustrophobic." Whoa! I started to get off him but was prepared for another blast from the pillow. I stood up and Drew rolled over on his back. There were tears in his eyes and he was visibly shaken. I sat on the bed next to him, put my hand on his shoulder and apologized for scaring him. He was regaining his composure when Keith and John came over to see what was going on. Keith sat on the other side of Drew and John climbed on the bed behind us. We spent the next few minutes reassuring Drew that the world wouldn't collapse on top of him and that none of us would ever purposefully hurt him.

I thought it was time to give the guy some air. I got up and dug my mini stereo boom box out of my backpack. I flipped the dial but couldn't really lock in on too many stations. There were only three to choose from. Some easy listening crap, a classical station and a pop/ rock station. "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits was playing when I put it on. I sat down and took my sneakers and socks off while Keith and John soothed Drew’s rattled nerves. In no time they were all giggling and laughing and goofing around.

"Give Me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman came on. God, that song has a great beat! As I took my shirt off, I started swaying and kind of half dancing to the music. Turning around in time to the beat, I got my toothbrush then shimmied and shook my ass over towards the bathroom. Keith and his brothers started whooping and hollering for me to "shake it baby!" I was more than a little bit embarrassed but just for a moment. I figured, what the hell. This is what I do at home alone when a good song comes on. I got more into my dance and Drew jumped up and joined me. Keith and John looked at us, then each other and shrugged then joined in. The three brothers dancing was a sight to behold, all of them trim and really good looking each in their own way. Keith removed his shirt in the most seductive way; my eyes became fixed on his every move. He kicked off his sneakers and reached for the button of his shorts. Before I popped a bone I turned away, danced my way over to the bathroom and finished with a seductive hip gyration then stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

The song on the radio changed to "Money" by Pink Floyd while I was brushing my teeth. I stepped back out to see Drew playing air drums on the edge of the bed while Keith and John played air guitar. John walked past me and into the bathroom. How can you play this song without a bass? I thought. I started playing air bass, strutted my way to the bed closest to the door and took off my shorts. I sat back on the bed continuing my air bass part and watched Keith play the air guitar solo. He was making grimacing faces, throwing his hands around and hopping around. It was too funny!

John came out of the bathroom, pulled down the covers on the other bed and lay down. After a brief station plug, "Change the World" by Eric Clapton came on the radio next. What a great ballad this is. Keith walked over to the radio, lowered the volume a bit then sat down on the chair over by the table. Drew came out of the bathroom and got into bed next to John. I got up, pulled back the covers and sat back in bed. Keith walked over to me singing. He was singing to me! He was singing to me in front of his brothers! Clearly, he sang in the most beautiful voice:

"…But for now I find
it’s only in my dreams.
I can change the world
I will be the sunlight in your universe
you must think my love is really something good
baby if I could
change the world."

Keith then bent down and kissed me just as softly and passionately as he did earlier. I looked over and saw that John had rolled over on his stomach. Drew was lying on his back with his arms under his head looking straight up at the ceiling. Keith broke our kiss and looked down at me smiling.

"Wow!" was all I could say. I sat there in total amazement, smiling back at my boyfriend.

"Was that pretty good?" he asked.

"The kiss and the singing were both great. You can sing for me anytime." I said.

"Yeah, Keith can really sing," Drew said. "We all tell him that. Mike and Derrick have told him that. He’s just too shy to sing in front of anybody he doesn't know."

I looked at Keith and said, "That’s a cryin’ shame."

Keith just shook his head saying, "No way. It’s not that good."

"Yes it is." Three voices said in unison.

Much to our surprise, John was awake. The little stinker was faking it! We all looked over at him while he sat up in bed. My jaw must've hit the floor.

John said, "You really do sing great, Keith. The better you know the words the better it sounds." He paused for a moment and looked at me and then Keith. "So you guys are more than friends, huh?"

"Yeah, we are John." Keith said.

"Yeah, much more than friends," I said.

"Oh wow, I knew it." John said.

"Are you okay about this, John?" Drew asked.

He paused for a few moments before finally saying, "Yeah, I guess I am." We waited again for John to say something more. "What? I knew it would happen some day. And Preston’s as good as any other boyfriend. Is that the right term? I mean one of you aren't like a girlfriend, are you?" We all cracked up hearing that.

Keith chuckled, "No, we're boyfriends John."

"Okay, cool. Umm… I guess the one thing that keeps going through my mind is, what will my friends say if they find out?"

Keith moved over beside his brothers saying, "Remember a couple of months ago when I told you guys and mom and dad? We said that all you have to say is, `That’s my brother’s choice, not mine`. If anybody presses the issue and starts calling you names or whatever, you just let Drew or me know. We'll look out for each other, just like always. Your friends that really care about you will be cool. As for the rest, well they're not very good friends after all. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay, I won't." John said. He began to settle back but stopped and asked, "You guys won't be doing anything tonight, ya know, to make the bed squeak will you?" We all cracked up again. Leave it to a twelve-year old to ask very simply and plainly, anything at all.

"No John, no monkey business tonight." I said.

Drew giggled, "You said `monkey`!"

Walking over to the bathroom to brush his teeth, Keith said, "How about we get some sack time in guys? If I know dad he'll be knocking at our door by 8 AM the latest." Moments later, he turned off the light leaving only the lights coming through the window from the parking lot. He found his way to the bed and crawled in beside me.

I turned towards him, wrapped my arm across his chest and kissed his cheek. He held my arm on his chest and said, "Goodnight, Prez. I love you."

"I love you too, Keith. Goodnight."

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