A New Life

Drew was laughing, his feet were shuffling but he couldn't get away from Preston’s weight holding him against the tree. "I didn't hear a thing!" Drew laughed, "John told me all about it, I swear."

"Ah Ha!" I shouted. "The gig is up John and your busted bro!"

John quit struggling and whispered, "Shit!"

Obviously they were both lying through their teeth. I put John down and tried like crazy to hold a steady serious stare at my brothers but I couldn't hold it for very long. I remember doing my share of eavesdropping when I was their age so I couldn't bring myself to be too rough on them. "I don't know what to do about you guys," I finally said.

Prez let go of Drew and John asked, "Are you gonna tell mom and dad, Keith?"

Prez turned towards me smiling widely as if saying, "Yeah, tell mom and dad you guys caught us having sex. That would go over really well… NOT!"

Walking over to a nearby picnic table, I said, "No John, I'm not gonna tell the rents. But I would like to know the truth about why you guys were hanging around and what you heard."

Drew and John sat at the table and eyed each other as if they were trying to psychically come up with a good story. Drew said, "The reason we came back to the cabin is because John had to take a leak."

"We didn't mean to spy on you guys," John added. Yeah sure like I was going to believe that, I thought.

Drew continued, "I was just about to knock on the door when I heard groaning and stuff. I dunno why we stayed around listening. I'm sorry Keith. Sorry Prez."

"You guys were just being curious," Prez said. "We've all done similar things. Right Keith?"

I said, "Yeah, that’s right but here’s the deal. Prez and I, we want some time alone now and then. I'm in love with him and completely helpless." I paused for a few moments realizing just how easy it was for me to confess my love for the first time. "I feel kind of bad in a way. I guess I feel like I'm doing you guys wrong somehow. Like I'm adding confusion to an already confusing time in your lives."

"I ain't confused, bro," John said in a very self-assured tone. At twelve years of age the little shit was already kissing girls at school.

Drew sat there quietly until he realized we were all looking at him. "What? You're not confusing me Keith," he finally said. The way he looked at me though I could tell that the gears in his brain were spinning.

"Okay guys." I said, "Let’s get back to the lake. If you want we can talk more about it later tonight. For now though, just promise me you won't be snooping around anymore."

"Cool. I promise." Drew said.

"Me too, I promise." John said. "Ya wanna play Frisbee, Drew?"

"Sure," Drew said. "You guys wanna play?" He asked Prez and me.

"In a few minutes Drew, okay?" Prez said.

I was ready to play some Frisbee and get back to the lake but obviously Prez had something on his mind. We sat at the picnic table across from each other grinning while my brothers got out of earshot. I've never been one to look into someone’s eyes but with Prez…I could look into those deep blue pools for hours. Why was I so hopelessly drawn to him? I don't know why but it feels great!

"You're a cool big brother, Keith." He said making me blush.

I sighed and said, "It’s weird all the stuff that’s happened the last few months, man."

Prez asked, "How do you mean?"

I explained, "It’s a long story. A few months ago when I told my dad that I was sure I was gay, we talked for about an hour or two. Then we talked to my mom and my brothers. We all sat around the living room talking until about one in the morning. I was nervous as hell, dude. I thought they'd all hate me or start treating me different but they never have.

"You know that night was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. He cried because he knew it would be tough for me at times and that there would be little he could do to help me. I think we all cried over one thing or another that night. Drew and John were upset by it too.

"Drew and I have always been close. We'd stay up late on weekends watching TV and talking. He hangs with my friends and I've hung out with his friends. John and I though, well we're only starting to talk and treat each other better. When we were younger, I'd be in charge in the afternoons while my parents were at work. Drew told me once that John used to think I was ‘the enemy’. It hurt when I found that out. It hurt way more to see them crying and worrying about stuff." I paused for a few minutes not knowing how to explain what I felt for my brothers.

What happened next totally blew me away. Prez stood up, walked around the table and sat beside me. He turned my head and kissed me deeply. Right there at the picnic table with lots of people all around, he kissed me! People saw us; I saw them looking at us. I know Prez saw them looking. When he broke the kiss, he whispered in my ear, "I love you, Keith Hundser. I'll always love you." Once again he did something so incredibly spontaneous and said something so sweet that my heart swelled and I swear I got a dizzy rush.

My brain had ceased to function so my heart spoke. "Hey, Prez I want to tell my parents about us. I love you too and I want them to know."

Prez looked around the lake at the people that were looking our way. He then looked at me saying, "I guess we should tell them. Your brothers know. Everybody else here knows now. We can talk with them whenever you want."

I couldn't believe my ears. "You said ‘we’, Prez."

He smiled, running his hands through my hair. "Yep, we; as in you and me."

A few tears ran lazily down my cheeks. I couldn't speak, smile or move. All I could do was look into those gorgeous eyes. He never looked away. Prez reached up, cradled my face in his warm loving hands and wiped my tears away gently with his thumbs. For a long while we gazed deeply into each other's eyes. I don't think I have ever looked into someone's eyes for that long before.

He said, "Tomorrow night we can talk with my mom, okay?"

"Okay bud. Whenever you want."

"As soon as we get back home," he said. "I want to tell her everything Keith."

I smiled and said, "Almost, but not everything I hope," thinking it might not be such a good idea to tell her about the sex we were having.

Prez caught on to my meaning right away and blushed. "No we won't tell her about that," he giggled for a second then said, "My mom doesn't know I like guys, Keith."

I could hear the fear in his voice and I took his hand in mine saying, "It's gonna be okay, Prez. Your mom loves you. She might be surprised but it's gonna be fine."

He squeezed my hand and said, "I guess. It just seems kind of weird to admit it to your own mom though. I love you, you've helped me change my whole life."

We stood up and headed back to the lake, swimming side by side out past the floating platform. We waded out there, mostly out of site from the beach for a real long time, just talking about the decisions we were making and the decision Prez specifically was about to make. I said, "Prez, anytime you're ready to tell her, I'll be there. It's got to be totally your decision, okay bud?" He told me about his friend in Texas a few years ago and about how he felt so alone for so long. The longer he talked, the more tears welled up in my eyes. His were the same thoughts and feelings as mine were in many ways. The big difference was, Mike and I rebuilt our friendship, Prez never had that chance. He thought about what it might be like when school starts. I told him what it was like for me. First only Mike knew. Then I told my family. A few days after that Derrick knew. I started to realize one thing in the back of my mind though. It was one thing to tell a few people that you really trusted. It's another thing totally to have your boyfriend in arms reach an additional eight hours a day. More people would find out but I really liked the sound of spending every day with him. God! I love him. I could look at his face and into his eyes for hours at a time and never get tired. When he was all talked out he suggested that we go do some dives off the platform for a while. There was a bunch of other people up there though so I came up with a slightly different idea.

I swam to him saying, "Take a deep breath, Prez." He grinned at me and inhaled as deeply as he could. I wrapped one arm around him and kissed him deeply. We forgot about paddling and drifted down under water kissing and swapping air. We drifted weightless there about a meter down for about a minute before our racing heartbeats and lack of oxygen brought us back to the surface. We swam back to shore and played some Frisbee for a while with Drew and John. Then Prez and I went to lay out on the towels for a while. Prez turned on his radio and we both kicked back and got comfortable.

As usual my wandering eyes followed every hot body on the beach. I found myself comparing lots of those dudes to Preston. None of them really compared except one. I noticed an absolutely gorgeous Mexican-American boy wearing fluorescent green Speedo's that my eyes followed just a little too long and was promptly rewarded with a pretty good shot to the arm.

"What?" I giggled. "I can look."

Prez grinned, "You'd best be certain you never touch." Above that smile was a dead serious set of glaring eyes though.

"Hmm. Jealous, huh?"

He glanced over at the object of my lustful gaze saying, "Only of the way he looks." Then he looked me square in the eyes and said, "I love you, Keith. If I ever lose you, I might just wither away or crawl back into my shell."

He said it so matter-of-factly that I had no doubt he meant every word. Taking his hand in mine and squeezing it tight to reassure him, I said, "It won't happen, Prez. I love you too." We lay there for a while listening to tunes on the radio. He'd sing a little and I'd sing a little, picking out verses here or there that we both really liked. Prez let go of my hand then rolled over on his stomach and took hold of my hand again. I was glad that he did too. I really liked the feeling of his fingers stroking the back of my hand. Sometimes he tapped his fingers to the beat of the music and several fingers would move in different ways. What can I say? It just felt good to have him touch me.

Werewolves of London came on the radio and my brothers came running up laughing while Prez and I were busy howling and laughing through the lyrics. As soon as the next chorus came around there were four crazed boys howling loudly at an imaginary moon. After the song was over, the DJ announced the time and I think we were all pretty shocked to learn that the afternoon was almost over. Growling stomachs can be just as contagious as a yawn sometimes. After a few more songs we packed up our gear and headed back to the cabin.

My dad's Suburban wasn't in the parking lot so we at least had some time to shower and cleanup before dinner. As soon as we got in the cabin, Drew and John attacked the refrigerator and the bag of munchies with a vengeance. Prez set some clean clothes aside and was the first one to make it into the bathroom. I plugged the power cord into Prez's radio then grabbed the last two Kiwis' from my brothers. How can anybody not like Kiwis? I suddenly had this weird urge to finger feed Prez a Kiwi. There were weird thoughts like that popping into my mind an awful lot the last few days. I hid the last Kiwi away on the night table behind the lamp for later... just in case.

While Prez showered, I kicked back on the bed, watching my brothers tossing Corn Pop's into the air and catching them in their mouths. Within moments the tossing got higher and further away. I watched them from the bed as they started diving around the room at flying breakfast cereal.

Prez walked out of the bathroom with only a white towel wrapped around his waist and my jaw hit the ground. He was glowing red from head to toe! My mom was definitely not gonna like the looks of this. I didn't like it much either.

I shouted, "Dude! You're blazing!"

Prez said, "Huh? Oh yeah, the sunburn, well it's not that bad. I've had worse."

John and Drew came over to look and John said, "He looks like a lobster."

Drew added, "Or a Christmas candle."

Prez asked, "You California people never get sunburned?"

Drew sat on the edge of the other bed and said, "Sure we get sunburned but you are fried dude."

Walking over to the edge of the bed, Prez said, "I get a little burnt all the time. This is not a problem."

John said, "Man, your not going to be able to sleep tonight," then turned and walked into the bathroom.

Prez turned away from us, dropped the towel and put on clean underwear. The gray Jockey briefs he put on didn't change the picture.

I got up from the bed and got the Aloe gel off the table. "Just sit down there and take your medicine."

Sarcastically he sighed, "Yes daddy," and sat down on the bed. I squirted a large amount of the green Aloe gel into my hand then handed Prez the bottle. I reached over to rub some onto his shoulder but he backed away from me saying, "That stuff is cold, Keith. Warm it in your hands for a bit like this." Prez squirted a large amount into his hand, put down the bottle and held his hands together for a few moments. I repeated the process and when he started rubbing the aloe onto his thighs then I started on his shoulders.

I have to say that I was really feeling pretty sad that Prez had got so burned. I've gotten sunburned a few times and I was always uncomfortable with any clothes on or trying to sleep that first night. It suddenly dawned on me that rubbing aloe on him might be the only way I would be touching him tonight. Then we'll just have to go get some more, I thought and a mischievous grin spread across my face.

Prez grinned at me and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I said. "What are you grinning about?"

Drew giggled and blushed from the other bed.

Prez said, "I was just thinking, wondering something."

"What's that?" I asked.

Prez asked, "I was wondering if you were just lucky enough to naturally develop those abs or if you had to work for them?"

Drew and I started laughing.

Drew laughed, "He worked for them. Yeah, you could say that!"

Prez said, "What's the joke? I don't get it."

He would find out eventually from Mike, Derrick or Drew so I had to confess. "When I was younger and puberty started I was... hmm... how can I say this... "

Hysterical, Drew laughed, "He used to beat off ALL the damn time!"

Prez started laughing and I shouted "Not ALL the time! YOU just kept following me around and catching me!"

Drew chuckled and shook his head, "That first time I heard you grunting and saw you doing sit-ups and push-ups in the living room after school one day... after a while I never knew what you might be grunting about!"

We all just about died laughing and I made a feeble attempt at explaining that push-ups and sit-ups were just my way of dealing with the sexual frustration.

John stepped out of the bathroom, grinned and asked, "You guys are talking about sex again, aren't you?"

Drew chuckled, "Yep, we are,"

While starting to dress, John said, "You're not gonna stop again cuz I'm around are you? That's starting to bum me out."

We all looked at each other across the room.

John whined, "See. There you go again! I walk in to the room and the laughter and talking stops. Why won't you guys include me?" and his voice cracked not once but three times.

Drew nodded, "I think it would be cool, Keith."

"Yeah," John said, grinning excitedly, "I'm twelve you know. I'm getting boners and thinking weird stuff and my voice is changing and I'm even getting a few pubes."

Drew giggled, "You should've seen him at Corey's pool the other day."

John loudly complained, "Don't tell them that!"

I asked, "Tell us what?"

Prez said, "You wanted to be included, John."

John looked at us and gave Drew a nod.

Drew said, "We were all at Corey's pool, John and Tommy and Julie and Kim; just swimming and stuff. John and Kim were having a really good time talking and joking around. Then we all decided to go over to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Suddenly John is stalling and it took him forever to get out of the pool."

John said, "I'm so embarrassed!" and we all cracked up. Drew got up and hit the shower while Prez and I talked with John about our plans to talk with mom and dad. When Drew got out of the shower, I told him about the plans. Then I jumped in the shower and thought that they both seemed to be genuinely happy for us. After my shower, we had only just started talking about it again though when my dad knocked on the door and we all went out to dinner.

I gotta say that I don't remember much about dinner that night. My thoughts were all twisted around wondering how my folks would react to my telling them that I had fallen desperately in love with Preston. Would they be happy? I hoped they would be. Would they think it was puppy love? How could I prove to them that I didn't think it was? Everyone was talking around me about this or that but I didn't really hear a word. I decided I'd talk to my dad alone first, just like I had a few months ago. I told Prez about it in the restaurant's men's room before we left.

As soon as we parked, my dad said he was going for a walk with my mom. I gave Prez the key to the cabin and asked my dad if we could talk for a while, alone. My mom excused herself then went to the registration office while Prez and my brothers went to our cabin. I stuttered and stammered, kicking at the rocks in the parking lot before my dad got impatient.

"Out with it, Keith." He said, "I want to spend this night with your mom just like you want to be with Preston."

He amazed me completely. "I love him, dad."

He loudly laughed, "No shit Sherlock!"

I looked up at him and grinned. "How'd ya know?"

"Only by the way you've been acting the last few days. Your mom noticed it too. You're just more content, at ease with things and that makes us feel good. I've taught you the best I could what's right and wrong. You've never really let us down and we trust you to make good decisions. So if it's approval you're looking for, you've got it. We do want to meet his mom. I'll leave it up to you two to tell us when that can happen."

That's my dad, directly to the point. He had grown up through the turmoil of the sixties and seventies, stuff I was just beginning to learn about in school. I guess he'd seen a lot by the time he was my age. I gave him a big, long hug and he hugged me back tightly.

He asked, "Is there anything else you needed to say?"

"Nope. That about covers it. Thanks Dad." I said giving him one last tight squeeze and he kissed my forehead.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, breaking our hug, "I have a date of my own."

I watched him as he met up with my mom and they walked hand in hand down the street. The sun was just setting and I breathed in deeply, noticing the smell of all the trees was ten times more intoxicating than ever before. As soon as I walked into the cabin, the Nerf football was tossed my way.

Prez asked, "How'd it go?"

I responded, "Excellent, they already knew."

Drew chipped in, "It's not like you guys hide it very much."

Prez said, "Two down, one to go."

Turning to my brothers, I asked, "Do you guys wanna go see a movie?"

John asked, "What's playing?"

I suggested, "Why don't you and Drew get a newspaper and find out."

Drew giggled, "Come on John, they want to be alone... again!"

"Just to talk guys." I said, as they walked out the door. Then I sat down next to Prez, kissed his cheek and asked, "How are you doing, baby?"

"I'm feeling pretty good," Prez said, "the sunburn is starting to sting a little."

"That's not exactly what I was asking about." I said, and got up for the aloe. "What about your mom?"

Prez stood up and removed his shirt saying, "I'm sure she'll take the news all right. I'm just thinking, maybe I might tell her I like guys first and just see how that goes."

Warming a palm full of gel in my hands, I said, "However you want to work it, Prez. Do you want me to be there?"

"I haven't decided yet. There are good reasons for you to be there but maybe I could talk with her alone."

I walked around him to spread the aloe on his back. He gasped a little when I first touched his shoulders. "It hurts?"

"A little bit and it's still feels kind of cold."

"Sorry, dude."

"It's okay. It's just the burn making it feel cold."

I finished his back and walked around to his front. His shorts were tented out and I looked in his gleaming eyes.

He giggled, "I just feel so good when you touch me," and pulled me in for a long, deep wet kiss.

John walked back into the cabin saying, "Told ya Drew."

Prez tried to push me away and break our kiss but I held him firmly in place. Hey, they were looking for a peep show earlier today. I just thought I'd give them one and see what their reaction was.

Drew said, "Men in Black starts in about twenty minutes."

"I don't think we're gonna make the movie," John softly said. "How can they kiss so much and for so long?"

Drew said, "I don't know but I can't wait to find out."

Breaking the kiss, I turned to look at my brothers and was about to speak when Prez started gently devouring my ear. I sort of forgot what I was going to say for a few moments there. "Men in Black sounds good."

John asked, "So you guys are coming then?"

Drew giggled, "Better watch what you ask, John."

John said, "Eww... Don't be gross."

We all chuckled at John and Drew reminded him of the other day with Kim. John just grinned and sighed and we all started laughing. Prez put his shirt back on and we walked the few blocks over to the Movie Theater. We had to convince the ticket lady that John was thirteen and not twelve but we eventually got our tickets. John and Drew shared a giant tub of popcorn and got some sodas while Prez and I just got sodas.

Nasty freaking zits. Thankfully I've been pretty lucky so far and haven't had too many of them.

The flick was yosh! We cracked up during lots of parts. Like Elvis is an alien and that scene where they drive upside down at mach 3 through the tunnel; too funny! After Men in Black, we tried to sneak in to see Titanic but failed miserably and were shown the door. Oh well. It's always worth the shot.

When we got back to the cabin we heard music from my parent's cabin and saw them dancing through the window. None of us where really ready for bed so we all went down to the lake. There were lots of people at the main beach that night; every picnic table was occupied. Prez and I thought there were more people around at night then there was during the day.

Drew giggled, "As far you guys were concerned there was no one else around"

With that, John jumped in front of Drew, put his arms on his shoulders and whispered, "I love you, Keith."

"I love you sooooooooooooo much Preston," Drew replied, and they started making little kissing sounds. We all cracked up, but I wondered for a while; did we really look that silly? My answer came in the form of a tight squeeze of Preston's hand in mine. Who cared what we looked like? All I care about is how great he makes me feel. Nothing else matters as long as I have him by my side.

We went back to the cabin and chilled out for a while listening to some tunes on the radio. "We Can Work it Out" came on and I just love that song so I started singing and Prez sang along during the chorus.

Try to see it my way
Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on?
While you see it your way
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone
We can work it out
We can work it out

Think of what you're saying
You can get wrong and still you think that it's all right
Think of what I'm saying
We can work it out and get it straight or say goodnight
We can work it out
We can work it out

Life is very short and there's no time
For fussing and fighting my friends
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again

Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before to long
We can work it out
We can work it out

Life is very short and there's no time
For fussing and fighting my friends
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again

Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before to long
We can work it out
We can work it out

"That was great you guys," John said, standing up to get undressed. "I'm tired," he yawned, "good night" and he crawled into bed.

I got up and lowered the volume on the radio then got undressed and sat on the bed, begging Prez to join me with my eyes alone. He tossed me the aloe and took his shirt off. Man oh man he looked great. My poor baby was all burnt up though.

Drew stood up and took his shirt off then pulled a chair over by our bed. "Can I ask you guys something?" He said sitting down.

I said, "Sure bro, wassup?"

Drew asked, "How did you guys now you were in love?"

I said, "Tough question."

Prez answered, "For me it was just a feeling. I knew the first night right after we met that Keith would be a good friend."

"So umm... how did you guys... geez how can I ask this?" Drew mumbled. "How did you know it would be okay to, ya know, fool around?"

Drew was blushing so bad he looked as red as Preston did for a while. If he weren't so serious it would've been funny.

"It's not entirely about sex, Drew," Prez answered.

"Knowing when it's okay is the whole magic act," I said. "It can make you feel a bunch of really good things but it can also make you feel some bad stuff too."

"Bad stuff... like it would hurt?" Drew asked.

"It's more like it would make you feel sad or angry or guilty or depressed." I said.

"So how do you know when it's time then?"

"I don't know of any sure bets," Prez said. "For me that first time, all that mattered afterwards was that Keith was cool with it and that we could still talk and do other stuff."

I remembered that morning clearly. When I saw Prez with tears in his eyes, I really thought I had made another bad choice. Then, when I found out that all he was doing was worrying about me, every pore of my body tingled with delight. He was more concerned about me than himself. That said more about him than a thousand words ever could.

Drew sat there for a while absorbing what we had said and tried to hold back a big yawn. "Thanks guys. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Drew." Prez and I said.

I added, "Go ahead and turn out the light, bro."

We all settled back and I was happy that Prez cuddled up close to me. We whispered in the dark for a long while before kissing each other good night and falling asleep.

The next morning my dad rustled us out of bed for breakfast. My mom was concerned about Prez and made us promise to stay out of the sun as much as possible. They would spend the morning at the beach with Drew and John. The smile that swept over my face was enough to make my mom give me a firm kick under the table.

Prez and I went around town looking in various shops and stopped at Blockbuster music. I had my trusty Blockbuster employee ID in my wallet so he could afford to get two CD's instead of one. He picked out The Beatles Past Masters Volume Two for We can Work it Out and Sheryl Crow's CD for Everyday is a Winding Road. Prez handed me two twenty's and a five as we walked up to the check out counter. He told me about the promise he made to his mom and how the extra twenty kept jumping back into his possession. We stopped by Subway for lunch then headed back to the cabin. We were lying back on the bed talking when I looked over and saw the Kiwi I had hidden away the previous afternoon. We made one hell of a mess eating but we sure had fun cleaning up the juice.

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