Best of Friends

This is a work of fiction with an adult theme. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the story: Frontrnrusa@netscape.net

The Best of Friends By: Holloway H. Copyright 2005 Holloway H.

I knew at 17 I would be joining the Marines no matter what else happened in my life, the Marines was the one sure thing. Graduating from high school two months before my 18th birthday, my mother signed the papers and three weeks later I was on my way to boot camp at Parris Island. The war in Iraq had started and seemed to end just as quickly I went from being elated to being almost heartbroken. You see I have a destiny, in Iraq I know a bullet waits for me. I am not crazy I don't want other people dying for me, I want to sacrifice my life, after all there isn't anything left for me to live for, Eric died in Iraq, a road side bomb blew him and another Marine to bits, Eric was a month from being 19 when he died in action.

Eric and I attended the same high school we actually could have been brothers. Eric was an only child while I had another brother that was almost seven years older with his own family. Eric was about 5'10", he had brownish blonde hair and brown eyes, and was really well built aside from the soccer we both played and running which we did all the time neither of us worked out. I was an inch shorter than Eric, and had almost the exact same build, with blonde hair and blue eyes. We first met on the school's soccer team, we hit it off the moment we shook hands.

After only a week of knowing each other, we began studying together and within a month we knew each other's family very well. Eric and I would talk all day long and then call each other and talk on the phone. Actually, we would watch television or listen to music while we were on the phone. As our first big holiday approached, we made plans to go camping. Eric's father was a big hunter and belonged to a hunting lodge, it wasn't used much during the summer so we were given the go ahead to spend three days at the lodge as long as we kept it clean, I felt like a 12 year old I was so excited.

School let out early on Friday, I met Eric in the school parking lot and we headed to my house, I ran inside grabbed my backpack, kissed my mother and ran back out to the car, Eric was all smiles, I looked over at him what.

He grinned, "You look really cool Josh."

I punched him in the arm. "Yeah right, you're the cool one."

He backed out of the driveway and we headed to his house. We gathered the food his mother had bagged up for us, he hugged his mom, and we were headed to the lodge it wasn't far about 39 miles. We talked and listened to music all the way. Turning off the main road we turned onto a road that was a mixture of sand and some clay, trees, palm fronds and bushes of all types blanketed everything as far as the eye could see. It took another twenty minutes before we passed a small pond and then the lodge was in front of us. It was not much to look at, but the woods around it were beautiful. We spent the next half hour putting things away before we pulled on our hiking boots and headed out.

The first thing we saw was a small alligator in the pond, we already knew about the alligator but it was cool just seeing the gator swim across the pond more scared of us then we were of him. We spent the entire day hiking through the woods; we saw a couple snakes and one set of rattlers that had evidently come off a living rattlesnake. It was great. On the way back we stopped by a sinkhole filled with water, the water was the most beautiful blue green I had ever seen. We looked around for any signs of snakes before undressing and getting the sweat off our bodies, we sat on the rocks dripping wet and talking. Eric looked at me somewhat funny, I had seen him look at me that way before but never thought much about it. Now I found myself looking back at him, my eyes darting over his body.

"Josh can I ask you a question?"

"You know you can" I replied.

He nodded his head. "Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

His question caught me off guard and my face turned a bright crimson "Because I don't want one."

He was quick to apologize for the question I shook my head, and then I looked up at him. "You like me don't you."

He smiled, "of course I do you're my best friend."

"No, Eric I mean you like me more than that."

Now it was his turn, his face turned a bright red but he did not divert his eyes from me. "Yeah, I do, probably even more than you've thought about."

With those words spoken, we sat in silence unsure what to say, my stomach was filled with butterflies, I was happy, nervous, and about everything else, as I looked over at Eric I knew he was too. The sun was going down and that broke the silence, we quickly pulled our shorts on over our underwear and headed to the lodge for dinner. We had sandwiches and chips then sat outside around a fire, we sat beside each other. I am not sure what I was thinking. I put my hand on the back of Eric's neck my fingers moved up into his hair, I immediately got excited.

He looked at me, "Josh I want to go to bed."

I nodded. We poured sand on the fire and headed inside. We turned the lights off and lay down in the same bed. Eric turned on his side and ran his hand over my chest I actually shivered, his hand moved down my stomach, I heard him sigh. I turned toward him and pulled his lips to mine, we kissed awkwardly at first, the more we kissed the more our bodies ground into each other, I loved feeling Eric's silky hair, my fingers would stray to the side of his face, I could feel the outline of his strong jaw, I wanted him. He moved down my body, his lips gently kissing my skin, I could see his eyes watching me in the darkness, the moon shining through the windows provided enough light for me to see his body. The minute he touched me I lost all control, I cried out, I could feel the tension in my bodybuilding towards an explosive climax, I yelled out to Eric. His eyes looked at me, my back arched involuntarily, he never moved, his moans told me he loved me. He laid his head in my lap, his eyes looking into my eyes in the moonlight, my fingers moved across his lips. He gently kissed my fingers then moved up next to me. I kissed him wanting badly to devour him he became pliant in my hands. I touched every part of his body, my lips moved down his body, every part of him belonged to me and I loved him, nothing mattered at that moment but his happiness, I wanted him to feel like he'd never felt before.

He pulled me up until I was laying on top of him, his body felt electric, I felt his excitement between our bodies, he looked at me, "Josh, I want you to take me."

I looked at him unsure, he was waiting for me to say yes, I nodded my head.

Eric pulled out some lotion and his hands were gentle but exciting. He turned over on his stomach, I lay on top of him, my face in his hair smelling his sent, I would never feel this way again.

I pushed forward, Eric cried out "Stop."

I didn't move. It took a while for him to get use to me. I kissed the back of his neck and whispered, asking him if he had ever done this before, he said no, never. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly began to apply pressure, it took some time, but when I was lying flat against his back, it was the best feeling in the world.

I reached around Eric, he moaned and moved a bit, each time he moved I entered a little deeper. I was gentle but being a teenager my hormones soon took over and I began to move in and out, if he cried out, I stopped. He was holding my wrist, kissing me and telling me he loved me, really loved me. As soon as he said those words, I wanted him so badly I hurt. I moved harder and deeper, I could not hold out, I pushed forward, he pushed backwards, I buried myself in him he cried out loudly. He yelled when he felt the first contraction in my body, I lay on top of him until my breathing calmed then I rolled off. I rolled Eric over gently and wiped him off with my underwear, he took my hand and we showered together. We pulled the sheet off the bed. Eric kissed me. We made love repeatedly before we fell asleep exhausted. It was mid morning when we woke, we grabbed our clothes, something to eat and went hiking.

I found myself watching Eric's body more closely he was beautiful. We stopped after an hour or more and sat down, Eric laid his head in my lap and looked up at me.

"Josh, last night was everything, I love you so much."

I smiled down at him, "I love you."

He nodded his head, "I know."

He made love to me, I ran my fingers through his hair it was so silky it drove me wild, he looked up at me, I bent forward, and kissed him deeply, I wanted him now. He stood up, when he did I knelt in front of him, I never wanted the feeling to end, he had to sit down because his legs were weak. He pulled my lips to his and we kissed again. Yes, we were in love, I was fifteen, and he was sixteen we knew about these things at least that is what we thought. When we returned to school, we played soccer with a new understanding of each other one that went much deeper than any other players on our team. We spent all of our time together we had plans for our life.

Time passed and Eric graduated a year earlier than me, he came by the house one day, sat on my bed, held me in his arms and said he was joining the Marines. He explained to me that as soon as he got to his first duty station we could get our own place and I could go to college then by the time I got ready to graduate from college his enlistment would be up and he could go to college while I worked, we had a plan. Our last night together before he left for Parris Island was emotional, too emotional to write about even now. Over the weeks that followed we sent letters to each other in code, no one would be able to decipher that one guy was writing to another guy, this was a part of loving someone of your own sex in the military. Eric was allowed to call home half way through his training, we talked for five minutes, he used all his time talking to me so he didn't get a chance to call his family, I called them for him. When his graduation neared I rode with his parents to Parris Island, the minute I saw Eric in uniform I thought to myself, I was no longer in his league and I'd soon be a part of the past, he looked like the guy on the Marine commercial. After graduation, he threw his sea bag in the trunk and we headed back home, he had 10 days of leave before his next phase of training would begin.

The minute he got home we ran up to his room, he locked the door and looked at me, I pulled him in my arms and kissed him deeply, he lay in my arms unlike he'd ever done before. He kissed my neck before kneeling in front of me he pulled my pants down to my knees and he began to make love to me, I knew I would only last seconds, he moaned and laid me back on his bed, I ran my fingers over his short hair the tension building inside me more than I could stand. Eric looked up at me, I tried to pull him on top, he stood in front of me and pulled his shoes and then his pants off, he dropped his white boxers, I wanted him immediately, I needed to make him mine once again.

He smiled "wait."

He positioned himself over my erection and lowered himself on me, he threw his head back and told me he belonged to me forever. My hands on his shoulders gripped tight pulling every inch I had deep into him, his head shook the same as his body, he cried out his warmth mingled with my sweat. I arched my back and cried out a warning, Eric cried out when he felt the first jet inside him. He collapsed on top of me, my lips kissing up and down his neck. I gently moved down his body and made love to him until exhausted he lay in my arms.

We didn't talk for the longest time until Eric told me, "Josh I love you so fucking much, it's unbelievable."

I nodded my head, "I love you too."

Over the next ten days we acted like we were on a honeymoon, we spent every minute together, we were so raw from loving each other we looked like bowlegged cowboys the way we walked while hiking. Eric's last day was a killer for me we knew we wouldn't see each other for probably six months. Eric was confident, he had actually set up his direct deposit and opened an account in our name, I told him he should wait and be sure, he looked at me, "if I'm not sure now then I never will be. If you have doubts tell me now."

I smiled at him, "I love you, and you've always known that."

He shook his head, "I'm a Marine, I take care of the people I love."

We sat in his bedroom holding each other.

I looked in his eyes, "Eric I want you to take me the way I've had you."

He looked at me "what."

"I want you to make love to me the way I have to you."

I watched his face, "Only this once."

I nodded my head and watched him get out of his clothes he was too perfect, too perfect. He watched me and smiled "you know I like this when you do this to me a lot more."

I nodded my head, "so do I, but I want to belong to you completely."

He smiled, "okay."

Soon he was pushing into me, his body filled with hormones, I almost screamed. He immediately stopped waiting for the pain to pass before he started again. It took a while, he moved in me two, or three times until his body, shook and he collapsed on top of me. We held each other for dear life until it was time for him to go.

I watched him dress in his uniform as I pulled on my shorts and shirt, he looked so fucking handsome, I knew he could see the tears in my eyes, he looked away and I realized I would make him cry. I picked up a magazine and read it as he finished; actually, I was looking over the top still watching him, trying my hardest not to sniffle. We said goodbye.

Eric completed Camp Pendleton and his computer school, we wrote letters and talked, it had been over six months. He called me and told me he was going to Iraq, I thought it was cool, after all our Military was much larger and there definitely wouldn't be any problems taking Saddam Hussein out of power.

Eric had a weeks leave and came home on a Monday night. I watched as Eric walked off the plane in civilian clothes this time, he looked at us waiting for him and got tears in his eyes. I was not sure if the tears were for his parents or me. We sat in the back seat of his parent's car for the drive to his house. I felt his hand brush against my knee. We went up to his room, and for the first time since I'd known Eric he began to cry, we sat on the bed together, and I held on to him for dear life. He told me I had grown up a lot and was beautiful, I smiled at him, taking his face in between my hands and kissing him deeply. Not a minute passed that we were not together I could miss school my grades were perfect, I would be able to graduate early anyway. We spent two nights at the lodge, there were a few hunters out, but they left before nightfall. At night we took each other with abandon, Eric's cries drove me crazy. I savored every inch of his body over the next week by the time he had to leave we were exhausted. He wrote me a letter and told me I couldn't open it until he said I could, he made me promise. We held each other, I whispered my love for him over and over, he cried and I held him promising I'd always be here for him. I wanted to protect him from the world at that moment, he belonged to me I loved him. Before the drive to the airport Eric pulled me in his arms and told me he could not picture his future without me in it, I cried as I nodded my head. He kissed my tears and told me we would always have each other.

Eric called me from the PX on base and told me he was scheduled to leave at 2pm, it had been almost three weeks since he'd left home after his training. He sounded excited and asked me what I wanted him to bring me from Iraq, we joked about it, talking as if he would be walking into Ali Baba's cave, instead we settled on a surprise. He said once he got to Iraq they would have the Internet set up and we would be able to email each other and chat online. I was as excited as he was. I asked him what he wanted me to send him he said he had everything.

He arrived three days later and by the end of the week he was on the internet, he said it was fucking hot and sand was everywhere, he told me he needed batteries and plastic bags and all kinds of things I said they would be in the mail by tomorrow afternoon. He wrote he loved me and once his enlistment was up that was it. He had guard duty so we said goodbye I told him I loved him, he wrote 'me too.' As soon as I got off the computer I borrowed my mother's car and went shopping, I finished in time to have the box mailed the same day, it would take nine days for him to get it.

We emailed each other and chatted almost everyday. I was surprised when he said he'd gotten the box, he said he had my picture in his wallet and the card I'd written inside his shirt, he told me he was going to punish me for almost making him cry in front of the guys, I laughed and told him I couldn't wait. He asked me if I had read the letter he had written to me and I said no. He got very serious and asked me to read it tonight I promised I would. He talked about all the stuff he'd gotten in his mail and how much it meant to him, he told me he loved me and said goodnight.

I immediately found his letter and opened it. Eric was such a cool guy he wrote telling me he was happier than he ever felt possible. He hated us being apart and promised he would take care of me for the rest of our lives. He had me crying at this point. Then he wrote about dying and said if anything was to happen to him that he wanted me to go on with my life and be happy. He said that anything that happened was meant to be and that he could face the future with the knowledge that he loved me until the end of time. I closed the letter and sat on my bed balling like a baby. I found myself sitting there feeling very lonely and very much in love. After school the following day Eric was already on the internet he said he had patrol in an hour, I told him about reading his letter, I wrote him a bunch of stuff, I didn't want him to cry but I wanted him to know that I really did love him and didn't even think of other guys that way and finally I made him swear to me he'd come home safe. He wrote back saying he felt the same and no other person here made him think about sex or anything. I sent him 10 smiley faces and reminded him they better not. He messaged me until he had to leave for patrol. Eric didn't write the next day or the day after. The following day, when I got home from school Eric's parents were at my house. I knew by the look on their faces something was wrong, very wrong. Eric's mother said that Eric was killed in Baghdad during patrol a roadside bomb took his life.

I didn't cry I think I passed out I'm not sure. When I woke up my father was sitting next to me on the sofa, he looked at me and told me how sorry he was and that he knew that Eric and I were best friends. I remembered crying at that time, not even now could I tell anyone we loved each other. Eric's funeral was two weeks after he had died. I sat next to his parent's at their request and watched as people from school that knew him passed the closed coffin and finally I watched as the honor guard from the Marines delivered the flag to his parents and played taps as his coffin was lowered into the ground. I never cried a tear.

I graduated from boot camp, at the top of my class. I achieved sharpshooter and after a couple of months of grunt training at Pendleton I have pretty much been assured I will get the chance to fight in Iraq. I am psyched about going to Iraq, the problem is I want to kill the people that killed Eric all of them, but I'm not sure I know how to go on living anymore, what do I do now?