Mike and Richie

MIKE and RICHIE REDUX

Off To College

by Donny Mumford

I'm riding behind Mike on his motorbike, we're on our way to the Barbershop to get buzz cuts before heading off to college. Mike wants us to at least start off our college days looking good... of course, a buzzcut and looking good is a matter of opinion, but Mike's the boss; in many ways he hasn't changed a hellava lot the last three years. He still has this idea in his head that he won't be taken seriously unless he has a severe haircut and a pissed-off expression on his face. I don't mean when it's just Mike and me, or Mike and our parents, but other times. He's never said it to me, but it's because of his baby face... his uber cute baby face. And, to make matters worse, neither of us is shaving yet, which pisses Mike off royally but makes me happy. Some of the gang who graduated high school with us could be twenty-five years old if ya just go by their looks; not Mike and me, we look more like sixteen than eighteen. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned a haircut is low on my list of things to worry about so I go along with it to make Mike happy. Going away to college is more of a concern than a haircut. So many unknowns to deal with, like getting around that huge campus and finding our way from a simple point A to point B, and doing it on time too. They're minor concerns compared to my worry about Mike and me fitting-in at our dormitory though... well, maybe not so much me fitting in, as Mike. He's a unique personality and, ya know, things could get dicey. Handling the college workload concerns me too even though we both did well enough in high school. Then there's the concern of getting a part-time job... we'll need the money and, oh hell... many things to worry about. I'm still not confident enough about lots of things in general, and Mike doesn't initially like anything new, especially where peers are concerned, so it gives me things to think about for sure. One thing I like doing is making new friends so I'll try running interference for Mike in that regard. I'll break the ice with guys and as soon as a new friend is exposed to Mike they'll surely recognize how cool he is and see his leadership qualities, and all that. It won't be long before they'll be trying to get into Mike's world like the guys on the boardwalk did during our boardwalk days. And yeah, I plead guilty to being soft around Mike, he's so awesome I pale in comparison, but in most of my dealing with everyday life I'm as normal as the average kids I grew up with, so I fit in pretty easily in that regard.

Riding on the back of that motorbike I make sure to have my arms tightly around Mike's waist, and not just because I love the feel of him either, although I do... it's mostly because he rides that thing like a dare devil and I'd rather not slide off onto the street during one of his sharp turns or fast take offs. On the straight-away parts of the trip I lay the side of my face against the back of his neck or pretend I've been bumped into him so I can rub my nose along the back of his head... there's a uniquely sexy natural fragrance to his skin and hair that never gets old to me; nothing about Mike gets old. He's been a huge turn-on for me ever since I met him, and he still is. Even to this day, it's rare I get off the back of his motorbike without a boner in my pants... that's how contact with his person affects me. Mike will sometimes pat my crotch and laughingly say, "Little Richie showed-up again, huh?" He's aware of how I feel about him; he knows I love him with a wild passion and he gets a kick out of my devotion to that love. He loves me too, I know that for a fact because he told me directly to my face; as a matter of fact he's told me on two separate occasions which is pretty good considering he's not known for being excessively romantic with words.

In the barbershop the barber gives Mike and me a gruff nod of the head as Mike pushes on my shoulder for me to get in the barber chair first. I climb up to a grumpy question, "Same?" and I say, "Yes, buzzed and outlined" he goes "Huh." Mr. Personality! Then all we hear are the clippers running for the next five minutes. Mike and me get quarter inch buzzcuts, which is short even for a buzz cut, but I'm happy there's at least that much of my light brown hair left by the time I get out of the chair. My hairline is distinct after he shaved a line across my forehead and down the sides, making pointy sideburns for me, then he fades the neck line; he's an artist with this, more or less. By now I've come to accept buzzcuts even though I never had one until Mike sorta told me to get one. Reading a Sports Illustrated magazine, Mike's in the chair now getting his haircut and I'm absently running my fingers over the top of my head, gawking at him. Like I said, he's got that pretty, light blond hair that would be curly if he let it grow in like happened that time he was recovering from the stabbing. A perfect match to his hair are his beautiful bright-blue eyes under narrow light brown eyebrows; long dark lashes complete the picture. There's perfect symmetry to his facial features: cheek bone, nose, lips, and chin. These features compliment each other amazingly well, like a drawing of the ideal boy's face; beautiful, yet still extremely boyish. So many times I've felt the smooth healthy flesh of his face against mine, and tasted his lips, his tongue, his spit? Jesus! Just thinking about it and I need to adjust my crotch, and I do so with a quiet grunt and then glance up and see Mike smirking back at me. Dammit, he doesn't miss much, but that's okay; I make a face at him with a little grin and he goes back to reading his magazine. There's a connection between us that's invisible but very obvious to me; it's like an electric force which sometimes allows us to know what the other is thinking. I can't describe it any better than that, and there's something mysterious about the way I was immediately attracted to Mike too. From the first awkward time we met I felt something funny, like a pleasant buzzing, in my nuts. He's never said it to me, but I think he feels that same unexplainable attraction to me. Maybe two boys the same age can be absolutely perfect for each other; fit together filling in the gaps of each other's personalities, and so forth. And maybe once in every hundred years these two meet and there's a magical union that makes them both better than they were. Or maybe I just fell in love with him and discovered I love being in love with him... maybe that's all there is to it.

Shortly, we're back out on the street, me feeling slightly scapled like I always feel after a fresh buzz. As always, Mike rubs my head, and says, "Okay, that's they way I like my boy to look," and I say what I always say, "Sure thing, Mike". We light Marlboro cigarettes and saunter down to the little shopping mall at the corner so Mike can pick out new sunglasses. I like walking close to him, keeping pretty much in step and occasionally bumping my side into his side because, as I said, I like the feel of his body. I've been walking with him like this since our boardwalk days. Mike's six foot tall and I'm five foot, ten inches but most of the time I feel there's more than just the two inch difference because Mike's become such a huge part of my life, it's like he's bigger than life to me. Actually we're more than best buds in love, we're step-brothers too; his mom married my dad. I sometimes jokingly call him my little brother because I'm a couple of days older than he is. He'll go, "Little brother, my ass!" Mike and I are still eighteen but we'll turn nineteen during the first semester of college, and nineteen seems so old to me. Damn, the last teen year we'll ever see is just around the corner... sad but true. The past two summers we hardly hung out on the boardwalk at all; we're too old to do the stunts and pranks we used to do ... only dorks would make the mistake of pushing the age limit. Still, I miss our boardwalk days and think about them often; I guess I don't have as big a desire to grow up as Mike. Hell, I'd stay a kid for years if I had my choice, not that going to college necessarily mean ya gotta do a lot of growing up; at least that's what I've been reading on some cool sites about college partying and so forth. We'll see.

My dad and Mike's mom know Mike and me are gay boyfriends, although we've never actually articulated that fact back and forth. We're sure they knew it before they got married, and are apparently both fine with it. Mike and me don't act in any kind of stereotypical gay manner, if there even is such a thing, not that there's anything wrong with boys who do act gay. It just that our natural every-day mannerisms happen to be in the manner of straight boys, so we're just being ourselves, not putting on an act. Mike actually falls into this habit of thinking he is straight half the time anyway, and then the rest of the time he says he's bisexual. With me he's admitted to being gay on occasion, but just where I'm concerned. And, he blames that on me; as in, I made him be gay. It's laughable but he's serious about it so I manage not to laugh when he infers it. He still tries acting tough and bossy with me at times but I feel his love, and not just through our sex together either. I feel it in many ways.

He has this attitude that he's my protector, and God knows he's twice as strong as I am, but it's more than just the muscle part. At times he can actually be overprotective and controlling to an awkward degree, but I know it's just the way he has of showing me he cares about me, and sure, it's over the top at times but I feel good enough about myself to let him be that way. Mike's been molding himself to be this way for too long to change quickly, he has this ultra confident manner that can appear physically intimidating at times, even to me, but I know the real Mike and the real Mike is a sensitive boy with deep feelings who uses his outward aggressive demeanor to hide these tender traits, and more than a few insecurities as well. In his early childhood days, growing-up in a very rough, dangerous neighborhood, he recognized he needed to be hard in order to survive. In that kind of environment you better not be a timid boy or you'll be bullied beyond belief. Mike developed his persona of "don't fuck with me" to protect himself. It's consist of a look, a walk, a stare, and a smart-ass challenging remark, and the ability to back it up too. Mike's brother, Danny, has always been Mike's idol and Danny set a high standard of "bad-ass" to live up to. To this day Mike tells me stories of some of the exploits his brother pulled off, not all of them legal, and how Mike always wanted to be like Danny. Mike's defensive personality created a rough beginning for me in my relationship with him, but like I said, I was mysteriously attracted to him right from the first time I laid eyes him. Hell, I didn't even know I was gay until I met Mike. Fairly soon after meeting him though I had to admit to myself that I was, and I've always been suspicious that the idea of being gay must have been lying just under my subconscious mind because I accepted the notion easily, almost with a sigh of relief.

We're in Macy's now, I'm leaning up against a counter across from Mike while he tries on sunglasses. Something attracts my attention so I glance over to see these two guys about my age giggling between themselves, and kind of peeking over at me. I give them my impression of Mike's challenging stare, but they won't look back at me. They're both about five feet seven or eight inches tall, average build, nondescript looking... one of them is wearing eyeglasses. They both have long hair, over their ears, which is popular with some boys. I'm rubbing my nose looking around bored, when I hear "Er, excuse me, dude," and someone touches my elbow. I look to my right and there's one of the giggle boys, the one with the eyglasses. I go, "Yeah?" and he looks at his friend, giggles again, then looks back at me, "We're wondering, the two of us, we're wondering where we might join the Marines and we thought you'd be a good person to ask." I must look like an easy target to fuck with, others have tried it; those that don't know me, or Mike. I'm kinda skinny and real young looking but I've been lifting weights with Mike and I'm tougher than I look. This four-eyed geek obviously is mocking me because of my short buzz cut so I pretend to look away from him for a second, then my hand shoots out and I grab a fistful of his long hair and yanks on it twice, hard. His eyeglasses are askew with the first yank, and fall completely off his face to land on the counter with the second. I snarl, "What the fuck did you say?" Of course I heard what he said but, following Mike's example, I got up on this kid fast and hard, immediately proving who's in charge. Making him repeat himself further establishes that I'm the one in charge. One more hard yank of his hair and he goes, "Nothing, I didn't say nothing... sorry.. ow.. please!" His friend's turning pale, his eyes wide as he takes a step back. Pushing this kid's head back roughly, then letting go of his hair, I spit out, "Get the fuck away from me, maggot". The kid's face is dark red with humiliation as he grabs for his glasses and, trying for some dignity, slowly saunters a few steps away before turning, and saying, "I'll see you outside, baldy". I give him the finger and both of the giggle boys, no longer giggling, give it back to me. I know they won't be outside. Glancing over to Mike again I see he's staring at me, we make eye contact and he nods his head once, then goes back to his sunglass selection. That's usually as much praise as Mike passes out, he approves of how I handled the tourist and it made me feel proud. Like I mentioned; Mike says that in a confrontational situation you get really aggressive immediately and do something completely unexpected, like a fistful of hair. Almost every time the other kid will back off, and even if he doesn't, you haven't lost anything. The fistful of hair is one of Mike's favorite maneuvers; he did it to me a few times, and it's one of the reasons I finally got the buzz cut. Nah, I'm just kidding about that; Mike is the reason I got the buzz cut, but not because he pulled my hair... it's basically because he wants me to be like him, whether he knows it or not.

Mike finally decided on these sick blue sunglasses, round lenses and wire frames that look wicked cool on him. Outside the store, as I expected, the two long-hair boys are nowhere to be seen, and it's a damn good thing for them because Mike wouldn't be as polite to them as I was. We're heading back to the motorbike, Mike doing his natural swagger, me still trying unsuccessfully to imitate it, when we run into one of our boardwalk friends, Tucker... AKA, Tiny Dick. Tiny is normally a good natured kid, about five feet, six inches tall, nice looking and all that... but he has a hidden dominant side which he exhibited to me in his backyard pool and then tried it again which resulted in a wicked fight bewteen us, a fight from which we've never really gotten over.

We're not real tight, let's leave it at that. Mike does not know the true facts about this incident, and that's the way I want to keep it. Tucker goes, "Dudes, wassup?" Mike replies, "Getting ready for college, Tiny... bouncing here and there. Whadda you up to?" Tiny says he's mostly been just kickin this summer, but he's cranked-up about heading off to Penn State next week... seriously looking forward to it. Penn State University is about an hour and a half drive from West Chester University where we're going. It's in the western part of Pennsylvania, so we got that in common anyway. While Mike's unlocking the motorbike and adjusting something, Tiny quietly says to me, "Dude, this summer's almost over and I can't help but wonder if we're missing the boat, you and me. We had something going there the summer before last, ya know?" Mike, calls over, "Let's go Richie" then waves at Tiny saying, "Peace, dude...". Tiny quickly whispers to me, "Come on, get that pussy of yours over for a fuck this week, what the hell; we're only young once." I pretend to smile at Tiny, hissing under my breath, "It'll never happen, Tucker, forget about it." I gotta be careful not to antagonize him or he could spout out about that misadventure we had to Mike." Tiny hisses back, "I'm horny, Richie, and we were good together; you're the perfect submissive." Keeping my temper under check, I pat Tucker's shoulder, and mumble, "I don't know, Tucker... it don't seem right, ya know?" and start walking away as Tucker quietly says, "I might need to insist, Richie." With my heart beating too fast, I wave at him and leave it at that. Still, I gotta wonder was my heart beating too fast because I'm worried Tucker will tell Mike about us, or at the thought of Tucker dominating me in sex again?

I'm getting on the bike behind Mike, and he's like, "What were you two arguing about?" I go, "Nothing, why?" and he's like, "I saw you arguing for fuck sake, what was it?" then he stomps down on the starter and the bike roars to life. I say, "I'll tell you about it later, Okay?" Revving the engine, the mufflers deep throated roar sounding so cool, Mike doesn't respond, just flies away from the parking space, me holding onto him tightly, as always. That's the first time I've seen Tucker in over a month. When we all stopped meeting on the boardwalk the gang sort of broke up. Only Mike, me, and Mac still wear our hair in buzz cuts, the magic that held the group together seemed to fade as the haircuts got longer. Mike and me are done working our summer job at the tomato farm and I have to chuckle remembering my first try at working the farm. Ha ha, I only lasted a couple of days that time; the work was too hard for me. I've toughened up since then though. It's the last week before college and we're free to do whatever we want. Today's a cloudy day, not a good beach day, so we get our haircuts and then back to the house Mike asks, "Ya wanna go check out that Jetta your dad said he and mom would help us buy? We gotta finalize something, make a decision." We've saved quite a bit of money this summer for that specific reason, a car at college. We're gonna have both the car and the motor bike on campus. I go, "Sure thing, Mike". He's looking at me, squinting his eyes, as he says, "Yeah, we'll do that... but first, you look kinda sexy with that new buzz, let me see how it looks on you without any clothes on." I gulped thinking, an "afternooner"... Yes! As I mentioned, the sex is still real hot for both of us, even Mike admits that. We're probably over-sexed but who cares, sex rocks! I've been faithful to Mike ever since Tucker; not that I haven't had a few offers. They'd probably be more offers if I was "out" but only a few guys, like Tiny, Tom Brown, and Tony know I'm gay. Not that I'd take anyone up on an offer anyway, mind you... just saying.

Both our parents work so the house is empty and except for the almost unnoticeable hum of the central air-conditioning, it's very quiet. There isn't any chance I'd turn down Mike's suggestion of sex; we talked quietly in our bedroom as I quickly undressed and stood there naked waiting for Mike's next instruction. He's rubbing his crotch, saying how lucky we are that we'll be sharing a dorm room, and how bad it would to not have our recreational sex at college. I'm nodding my head in total agreement, thinking, "Recreational sex, my ass!" as I play with my cock. Our sex together is much more than recreational sex, and there's no way we could just discontinue it... no way, but I say nothing. Actually, I hardly ever argue with Mike; he totally fascinates me. Like right now; standing in front of him naked, waiting for him to get us going, I'm squirmy and short of breath, and extremely hot for him, it's like a tangible thing. I can't describe how aroused he makes me, or the one specific thing about him that makes me feel this way, it's the total package consisting of many, many things. I'm in awe of him, although he appears oblivious to his magnetism, except to find it amusing. I've noticed Mike's uniqueness affect others besides me, it's just that he doesn't meet new people easily. The exception to that was Ronny Dwyer who was his roommate in the hospital. Mike took to him immediately, but that's because Ronny treated Mike like a rock star right from the beginning. Other than that, Mike's suspicious of new acquaintances. Of course, except for Ronny, Mike's magnetism, or whatever it is,

doesn't affect others nearly to the level it does me, but it's a fact that guys and girls notice him without him even trying to get noticed. He has a wild child smile that makes my eyes get big, and my dick and ass quiver.

Mike's lazily pulling off his socks while telling me about his brother's visit this weekend. Danny's been in the Coast Guards for the past couple of years and he's on leave visiting home for a couple of days to introduce his fiancee. I'm not trilled about the visit because Danny never took to me; hell, I hardly know him. But more troubling than that is the fact Danny doesn't know about Mike and me. I mean, he doesn't know Mike's gay, well Mike doesn't either most of the time, but you know what I mean. Danny will not look kindly on Mike fucking another boy and I can't imagine how Mike's gonna handle it. 'Don't ask, don't tell' will hopefully apply. Anyway, at the moment Mike's getting as naked as I am, and that's got all my attention. He has a regular size pubic bush, soft light-blond hair around the base of a six and a half inch uncut cock. It's the nicest looking cock I've ever seen and almost doesn't look real. Nice pink helmet shaped head with a slightly large pee slit... the head is hidden behind his uncut foreskin at the moment, but I know very well what it looks like, and tastes like. The shaft of his penis is very straight with a nice heft to it, the pinkish skin smooth and the vein barely noticeable... his balls are a little oversized, incased in a hairless scrotum that shows off the two orbs nicely; golf ball size nuts, one slightly bigger than the other. I've seen this exceptional package many times, and of course all of it's been in my mouth many times as well... the penis part's been up my butt a good many times too, and I'm licking my lips in anticipation of that right now.

Mike's looking at me with those serious eyes, a beautiful shade of blue that's not so much dark or pale as it's like the metallic blue of a Mini Cooper, an unusual shade of blue for eyes. He wiggles his forefinger and I walk right over to him so he can wrap me up in his arms, my arms trapped at my sides as our two slim naked bodies rub together. Our crotches moving, grinding against one another, I let out a long, quiet sigh... this is the one place I most want to be in the whole world. He kisses my face, and mumbles, "I don't tell you very often, but you're kinda cute for a boy." I blow out some more air, my heart's beating fast now as my cock firms up and I nestle into his arms trying to get tighter to his strong, taut body. There's fine definition to his torso, arms, and legs; not body builder stuff, but rather a natural boy's body blessed with the right genes that creates an almost hairless, perfect male form. The scent he has is intoxicating to me, and with his face against mine I inhale deeply, then do it again and feel dizzy. Mike's rubbing my body down, starting at my shoulders and working his way down my back to my ass. "You've got a great little body here, Richie... especially here" and he's got both hands on my buttocks, squeezing. Our cocks are full grown boners now, mine next to Mike's, both pointing up between our bellies. Leaning his head down slightly his lips find mine, then our tongues come together and he pushes a finger inside my anus, I moan a muffled "Ow" into his mouth. He sucks on my tongue pushing his finger in further, his other hand pulls one side of my buttocks away from my hole, stretching the hole slightly. We've been doing the fucking raw lately, with no lubricant, because Mike likes the tighter feel. I'm training myself to deal with the rougher aspect of lube-less sex, but find it exciting and very sexy too. Initially the early penetration hurt, but now we've learned some tricks and, for me, the good far outweigh the bad.

With his finger up my ass to the knuckle, Mike lets go of my buttocks and puts a finger in my mouth so I can suck it and load it with spit, he puts the spit around my hole and when he takes his finger out he pushes the spit in there. It doesn't take long, "Turn around, Richie... I want to fuck you standing up." I turn around and lean back on his chest stroking myself as Mike lines up his cock and says, "Here we go... Okay?" and pushes the head of his cock inside me. It does burn, but I know it's a temporary burning feeling and a quiet grunt is the only sound I make. Mike generates a lot of precum which mostly enables these fucks to be routinely pleasurable. As a matter of fact, having Mike's cock inside me is the number one pleasure of my life, there isn't anything better.

He gives it a minute and then slowly begins his boner's ascension up my tunnel, also known as my ass, my rectum, or sometimes he calls it my boy pussy, when he occasionally gets drunk. I don't mind what he calls it as long as he fucks it. The many sensitive areas in the anus and rectum feel wonderful when properly stimulated, and Mike with his hard boner knows how to stimulate it just fine. Pushing in all the way now, the final hump making me go ,"Oh!" then flattening his crotch against my buttocks, compressing them slightly, allows his boner to go in a little bit deeper. It's feeling good already, he waits a second before beginning a slow retraction till the head of his cock is captured by the sphincter muscle ring, a steady push all the way back in follows immediately. Not bad today, real smooth and not hurting much... and soon, ecstasy. Mike waits a few seconds then does it faster begining a steady rhythm of deep strokes as the back of my head pushes against his chin, his arms under mine now, around my chest, holding me against him as he moves only his hips hammering my hole with that hard pole. My eyes close to concentrate on how good it feels. mumbling, "Ohh God... oh my God... yes, this is soooo good" Mike grunts with the effort and then turns up the energy further, fucking me till I'm dizzy with the erotic sensations. I know he's ready to blow his wad when he begins making squeaking sounds, and breathing in burst like he's doing now.

I'm up on my toes pushing back against his thrust, trying to catch a breath. The pleasure I'm feeling is mind-boggling, stroking my boner to match Mike's penetrations and then "Eeeeee" as a thin, fast moving string of cum explodes from my boner followed by three quick short ones, stroking my dick as fast as I can, my fist clamped around it tightly, the cum splatters against the bedroom door. Three more strokes on my boner enhancing the after-climax feelings, then I hear Mike groan, "Ah ah shit...yeah.." and he pours cum up my ass slapping his crotch against my buttocks and almost strangling me when his muscular arm slips up under my chin onto my throat. In a fuck, there's the wonderful build-up and then those few seconds of actual climax where the sensations are so vivid you can loose control of yourself for an instant or two, you're body is shuddering, sensations flying around under your skin... so fabulous. Mike isn't usually one to stay in me very long after he fires off, so he soon pulls out leaving me with a very empty feeling back there; quickly his cum is running down the inside of my legs.

I always see dots in front of my eyes when Mike has fucked the cum out of me, it's lack of oxygen for a few moments maybe... I don't really know. For me, except for those dots, the after-glow of climax is a truly wonderful feeling, particularly in the pelvic areas, inside my thighs, my ass, my cock and balls, and even my lower belly... all tingling and buzzing, just awesome with my toes curling tightly. There's a fireworks display at climax where you're temporarily in a different world, then the electricity sparkles around various parts of your body during the after-glow... nothing compares to it. When we're fucking in bed Mike will sometimes cuddle for a bit, but he isn't the real romantic type to be honest. Once in a great while he'll surprise me and say something romantic to me. Not this time though, he's pulling on his dick and chuckling, "Holy shit, Richie... that was hot, thanks man. God Almighty, what a fabulous cum shot I fired up your ass!" Maybe not real romantic, but him saying that makes me feel good, I say "Sure thing, Mike" but damn, I have to laugh a little myself now realizing how happy it made me that he told me it was hot fucking me. It don't take a lot to get me feeing good if Mike's involved. I say, "Let me have a kiss, Mike... whaddaya say..." he frowns at me, "Don't act like a girl Richie, I couldn't stand it if you acted that way; that's too gay."

Looking down now, I say "Sorry" and he goes, "Oh, fuck... no... it's okay..." and he's pulling my head over to kiss my mouth. That kiss hit us both just right and we turn it into one of our sexiest wet kisses ever. It lasts maybe a minute, and afterward we hug together, not saying anything, both of us with semi-boners again. You see, he can show his love for me in different ways. His mouth at the side of my head, he says, "Okay now, Richie?" I go, "Sure thing, Mike." He squeezed me harder, saying, "Can we go now, go look at our car, or what will hopefully be our car?" I mumble, as usual, "Sure thing, Mike".

After I cleaned my rear end and Mike his dick, we got dressed and did just that.

Pulling into Kelso's Volkswagen dealership, we rode slowly down the line of used cars until we get to the two year old Jetta we're thinking of buying. Mike says, "Well, it hasn't been sold yet; should we just decide this is the one and be done with it?" We've looked at maybe ten cars and narrowed it down to this one and a Mustang. I say, "Yes, definitely, this is the one," and Mike mumbles, "Finally...," then he does a wheelie out of there, heading for the tomato farm to tell his mom. He used to scare the shit out of me with those wheelies, me clinging to him for dear life, but now I expect them; there's isn't much Mike does anymore that I don't expect; I've been studying him very closely for over three years now. The dust billows up behind us as we roar down the dirt road leading to the tomato farm. It's only a quarter mile dirt road and then the black macadam parking lot appears out of nowhere and the dust is left behind. We park the bike and go into the office to see his mom. I call her mom now too, Mike calls my dad by his first name. Mom's the nicest woman, always giving us an enthusiastic greeting with a warm, sincere smile. She credits me with saving Mike's life way back when, and I guess I did, but I never bring that up to him. We tell her the good news, "We've made a decision, it's the Jetta." She smiles, says "Good choice," and then calls her brother who's one of the salesman at the car dealership. She gives the okay for her brother to prep the car and begin the paper work, we can pick it up Saturday. Mike and I do a quick hand shake and hug congratulating ourselves on resolving one more college detail. We've got to pack clothes, and that's about it now... we're ready to go, but there's still Danny's visit which Mike and his mom excitedly discuss for the next ten minutes. I can't believe Mike's not nervous about, you know... the gay thing. Later, after lunch on the boardwalk, we're back at the house sitting in the backyard smoking, Mike says "You said you'd tell me about the argument with Tiny Dick, I wanna know whatsup with that?" I take a deep breath thinking, "Lie to him," and then say, "It's going to piss you off Mike, it happened the summer before last man, when you were on the West coast with your brother. Is it okay if we just leave it at that? I mean, I didn't initiate anything, ya know? I didn't purposely do anything behind your back... okay?" I'm asking him questions instead of answering his.

Whatever Mike's doing he's fully engaged in it, like with smoking. He'll look at the cigarette he's smoking, take a big drag of it, then while the smokes drifting out his nose and mouths he'll stare at it again, rolling it in his fingers, studying it to see if it's different from the previous thousand cigarettes he's smoked. I watch him do this now while waiting for his answer, which turns out to be, "No, it's not alright, Richie. Tom Brown, remember?

You didn't tell me about him either." I inhale from my own cigarette remembering the slap Mike gave me when the Tom Brown fiasco broke. That deal wasn't anymore my fault than the Tiny incident, it's that I didn't tell him about it that made Mike mad. He apologized for the slap back then, surprised himself by admitting he was jealous, which shook up the image he has of himself.

I shake my head, resigned that I'm gonna need to tell him, and go, "Tiny invited me to his pool and basically raped me, but to be honest I didn't fight him off very hard. Then, remember that time in our bedroom, that time my face was all fucked up after a fist fight with Tiny? Well, he wanted to try it again that day and I said, no! and it ended-up in the fist fight. That's the whole story." Mike's furrowed eyebrows indicates he hadn't expect anything like this, but he isn't saying anything either, so I add, "We got in an argument at the Mall today because of the same thing... he wants to fuck me before I go away to college, says we're only young once..." Mike makes a face, like, "You gotta be shitting me", takes one last drag off his smoke and flicks it over the hedges into the street. He goes, "What'd you say?" I shrug my shoulders, and say, "Basically I said 'No!' but in a nice way because I'm worried he'll tell you about that first time, and now here I am telling you about it. I can't keep nothing from you, Mike." That sounded a little aggressive to me, and I'm usually never aggressive with Mike, so I'm tapping my foot nervously.

After a few seconds I realize, fuck it... I'm a little agitated about being interrogated, or maybe I'm agitated because I've had this incident hanging over my head for two years and end up confessing it anyway, or whatever. Mike's nodding his head, like he's thinking "I should have known it!" then he asks, "Okay, who else you screwing around with, either now or in the past?" I get even more agitated now and my voice reflects it, "God dammit Mike... nobody else, and you know that. I'm your exclusive boyfriend, now and forever. Remember when you slapped me, you said that I could do what I wanted, that you didn't own me, and I said, 'Own me, Mike. Please, own me.' That's how I still feel about you, Mike... you're the only boy I've ever wanted to be with." He's looking at me as if he wants me to say more, so I go, "Both Tom Brown and Tiny Dick pulled that domination shit on me and before I know it I'm involved in something I didn't start or want, and didn't know how to get out of either but I never did it with them again. And anyway, why does this shit happen to me?"

I look over at him as if he's got an answer to that rhetorical question and get a surprise. He puts an incredulous look on his face, stands up and gets a grip on the back of my neck pulling me inside the house and over to the large mirror over the sofa, then says, "Look at yourself, Richie. Look at your face, your body; what you see there in your reflection is one fucking adorable eighteen year old boy who even straight guys probably think is hot, but won't admit it. Plus, you gravitate to a dominant personality, so if the dominant personality happens to be interested in guys, sooner or later you're probably gonna get his dick up your ass... that's why it happens to you; and you're too damn nice to everyone too, that's another problem." I look quizzically at our reflection, thinking how we look good together, we look perfect together, but I say nothing about what amounts to mostly a compliment Mike goes on with, "Christ Almighty, I fought off the urge to do something sexy with you as long as I could, but you kept throwing yourself at me and I couldn't resist... get a clue, Richie. To someone interested in gay sex, you're desirable and submissive, which makes you very doable..." Now, fuck the compliment, I'm agitated again. I shout, "I'm not that submissive, that's insulting, don't insult me Mike... that hurts too fucking much. Anyway, I have common sense and free will... and will power too." Mike mumbles, "Except in the cases of Tom Brown and Tiny Dick," and we stand there frozen in place, not saying anything.

It seemed longer, but about ten seconds passes before I quietly go, "Yeah, except for those two times." I'm still staring at the two of us in the mirror thinking, Mike's much more attractive than me, so I mumbled, "Look at yourself why don'tcha. I could say the same things about you, except for that submissive part." He says, "That's a pretty big part, isn't it? And anyway, we all see things as we want to see them, you'll have to take my word for this... gay males will be attracted to you, and come on to you; they won't to me, so you need to be on the lookout for that." He let go of my neck then, and asked, in a surprised manner, "Tiny's dominant?" and as I'm moving my head around getting the kinks out of my neck I tell him vaguely about the incident. He's shaking his head by the end, saying, "You're too vulnerable, Richie... and you like getting fucked a little bit too much too, maybe." I think to myself, "Look who's talking!" but I don't say it out-loud. He goes, "Please... don't bullshit me, be honest with me, is there anything I do with you that you wish I wouldn't do? I don't want to take advantage of you, I swear to God, I don't... I kinda, you know... I... well, you're wicked special to me." I look in his eyes, and say, "Oh no, Mike... if anything, do more to me, not less. I like everything you do, don't change... please stay the same." He wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, slowly nodding his head, saying, "What do you want to do about Tiny?" I go, "Don't hurt him, Mike. I didn't start it or even expect it, but I was liking it before he was done so I'm not innocent, not completly." He says, "Lets ride over and you can tell him, with me sitting on my bike, that you don't care to be raped at this particular time... Okay?" I go, "Sure thing, Mike" and that's what we did.

Tiny wasn't at the pool, so I rang his bell. The look on his face when he opened the door was one of smug contentment, "I knew you'd be back for more. You're gonna need to take that submissive act up a couple of notches though 'cause I got some things planned that give me a hard-on just to think about 'em. Okay, this is good, nobody's home. Get your pussy in here, and the first thing you need to do..." I hold my hand up to get his attention, and then interrupt to say, "I came over to tell ya face to face that I can't play with you and your tiny dick today. I'm sure you have some wonderful ideas for humiliating me, but you'll need to find another boy. Like I told ya fourteen months ago, you and me are one-and-done, we have zero future together where sex of any kind is concerned. Don't even bother asking again, the answer is no, no, no... You got it?!" His face is getting redder by the second, he points his finger at me, and says, "I'm going to so blow your cover with Mike, he's going to hear every detail and..." Interrupting again, this time with a laugh, and then, "Yeah, blackmail is fun, Tiny, but forget about it," as I'm pointing over my shoulder with my thumb, saying, "Like I should have done when it happened, I told Mike all about it this afternoon, and he's pissed; he says you raped me and I guess I can see his point." Tiny gets up on his toes so he can see over my shoulder, his eyes get wide when he sees Mike. I'm glancing behind me to see Mike's giving Tiny the finger... he's got that blank expression on his face that us boardwalk boys knows is serious trouble for somebody. Tiny goes, "Oh shit..." pushes me in the chest to back me up, and slams the door. I hear the dead bolt engage. Turning around and shrugging, I go, "Guess he's not gonna invite us in." Back to the bike and, without further conversation, we roar off back home with me wondering how often Mike's tasted the fruit of another boy, or girl... and wondering why I don't ask him. Nah, I don't even want to know and I'm just damn glad to have clean conscience now. I left out most of the details 'cause my submissive behavior is embarrassing in hindsight and some of it might piss Mike off or at least cause him to lose respect for me. Some things are best forgotten.

There was a end of summer party at Joey's house Thursday night and over sixty kids showed up including Tiny who acted like nothing happened between us earlier. He gives us a wave and an enthusiastic "Hi!". Mike and I smile at him but didn't engage in a conversation. No Tom Brown, of course; he's not in our group of friends... we're beneath Tom and his crowd of phonies. Tony introduces us to his latest overweight girlfriend; some guys go for the full-figured girls although if Tony had his way he'd mostly goes for Tiny Dick. They had some sort of break-up that Tony whined to me about last month, but without details. He claims to be bisexual which a lot of gay call themselves, that's if I can believe what I read on the internet. I read gay chat sites trying to understand my gayness better and what I've discovered is I'm apparently getting a lot more sex than the majority of gay or bi boys my age... and so is Mike, whatever category he falls into, gay, bi, or... well, forget straight. I know at the party he spent most of the night flirting and dancing with girls, but that don't make him straight although he probably thinks it does. I hung out with the stag guys drinking beer and talking about the colleges we're going to. Some of the boys, and two of the girls, are joining the Armed Forces. They say they'll eventually get a free college education out of it. With at least two wars going on it seems a hard way to get to college, but at the same time I felt kind of proud to know them. It's unusual for our gang to have a booze party without a fist fight or two but we managed it at this party. Maybe we are growing up at last, but frankly I don't feel much different now then I did at age sixteen, and I don't do things much differently either. How much growing up you do in those years probably isn't much anyway, if truth be told. Of course, we tell ourselves, and each other, we're all grown up, but our actions often belie that theory. I like the Peter Pan syndrome myself.

Next morning, as soon as the alarm goes off we get cleaned up nursing hangovers, and then Mike drives us, in my dad's car, to Atlantic City to pick-up Danny and his bride to be. Mike doesn't seem nervous about this reunion, so why should I be. In fact, he's as excited about seeing Danny as I can remember him being about anything. It's only about thirty-five mikes to the Atlantic City International Airport and we made it there in less than half an hour. We're inside the terminal a full hour before their plane's scheduled to land which will tell ya how excited Mike is about seeing Danny. "Come on, Richie, we're a little early, let's get a couple Dunkin' Donut's coffees," so off we go looking for that. No problem, we find what we want right around the corner. We wait in line, then get our coffees and strawberry icing donuts, and find an empty table to eat and drink our healthy breakfast. Blowing on my coffee, I ask, "Um, Mike... ah, does Danny, you know, know you and me mess around with each other?" He gives me an irritated expression, then say, "Of course not! That's between us, you and me... it's nobody else's business." With a mouthful of donut, I go, "Oh, sure thing, Mike. I was just, ya know, wondering..." He's takes a swallow of his coffee, burns his mouth, and hisses, "Goddammit!" then goes to light a cigarette before remembering there's no smoking in the airport. There's no smoking allowed anyplace it seems. Mike, without looking at me, mutters, "We're special buds, Richie; you know that, and we do some gay stuff because of that... you're special, I'd never do this stuff with anyone else." I bite the side of my cheek to keep from mentioning Ronny Dwyer, and god only knows who else. Mike calms down some, looks at me now, and says, "Sorry I snapped at you... didn't mean to. Guess I'm excited about seeing Danny; it's been over a year now. And, he's getting married and probably wants me to be best man." I go, "Uh hun," and Mike says, "Don't mention that though! I'm going to act real surprised and, ya know, honored... or whatever." I roll my eyes, but not so Mike can see me do it. Maybe I'm jealous Mike thinks so much of his brother, who I've met a few times and, frankly, I'm not impressed. If ever I've seen someone with pure bully potential, it's Danny Sullivan, but that was over a year ago, maybe he's changed.

The plane's on time and we're waiting right outside the security gate waiting for the passengers to walk out of the secure area. Mike spots Danny and grabs my arm excitedly, saying, "There he is! He's so cool!" I frown, squinting to see him among the hordes of people, and there he is walking with a youngish-looking short girl. The girl, obviously his fiancee, has her arm hooked around one of Danny's; they're both pulling carry-on luggage behind them. Danny's talking a mile a minute. Clear of the secure area they walk right past us with mike yelling, "Danny, over here!" Danny wasn't even looking for Mike, he turns and waves, then waits for Mike and me to come to them. Mike's gushing, "Danny, great to see ya, bro! I miss you so much!" They're hugging, then Danny kisses Mike on the cheek, rubs his head like Mike's a six year old, and says, "Calm down! Here, take this fucking piece of luggage and, for christ sakes, lets get out of the corridor before we get trampled." No acknowledgment of me or introduction for the girl. The girl and me follow Mike and Danny to a open area where Mike hugs Danny again, Danny's going, "Okay, okay! Enough already." Mike looks a little put out Danny's not happier to see him and it makes me think of that time I felt the same way about Mike at our reunion after the west coast trip. Danny says to Mike, "This is my girlfriend, soon to be my wife, Arlene Waffer. Arlene, my brother, my uber cool brother, Mike... give each other a hug, you two." Laura says, "Wonderful to meet you, Mike. Your brother thinks the world of you, and oh my god, you're so good looking!" Mike looks distressed, says, "Ha, oh, thanks," and allows Arlene to do an awkward hug of him. Danny's like, "Okay, lets get outta here," and Mike says emphatically, "Danny!" Then to Arlene he says, "This is our other brother, Richie Mealey." She gives me a warm smile and a handshake, saying. "So nice to meet you, Richie. Aren't I the lucky girl though, with the three best looking guys in Atlantic City." I go, "Great ta meet..." but Danny cuts me off, saying to Arlene, "Step-brother. His mother married dad." Arlene's like, "I know that, honey... you told me all about it, but I like Mike's idea that Richie's one of the brothers, not a step anything!" and she puts her arm around mine like she'd done with Danny's walking down the corridor. Danny says, "Hey, you're right, Arlene," then to me, looking me in the eyes, he says, "Sorry for the slight, Richie... bro," and he gives me a rough hug with me thinking, "This is like hugging a statue!" 'cause Danny's all muscles. Very, very tight body.

Whatever, I'm feeling good Mike stood up for me that way, Arlene too. And I can see how Danny can be charming when he wants to. He made me feel special for the ten seconds he was talking directly to me, and he is handsome although certainly not at Mike's level... few are. Danny's an inch taller than Mike which makes him six foot-one, but he's stocky where Mike's slim. Danny has light brown hair, cut for the military, but not as short as Mike's and my haircut. He has brown eyes with a look of danger in them. Maybe it's just that he's a little on the wild side, but there's something about his eyes that's a tad scary. Mike and Danny have the exact same light complexion, and their voices are almost identical, but that's where the similarities end. Danny's good looking, like I said, but his facial features don't go together nearly as well as Mike's do, and Danny's face isn't perfectly shaped like Mike's. Mike, with the blond hair and blue eyes, is far more attractive than his brother, not that either of them probably notices, or cares. They seem to get more macho the longer they're together. Arlene and I know our place; we get in the back seat with Mike driving and Danny riding shotgun. The brothers are having what amounts to a private conversation since neither Arlene nor I were included in it and that's just as well 'cause they're talking about events in their lives before Arlene or I made an appearance. It was a little awkward sitting beside Arlene in silence, so I ask, "How was the plane flight?" Arlene gives me a warm smile, saying, "A little bumpy, but very nice." That was it so I guess she doesn't want to talk right now. Maybe she's uncomfortable too.

Halfway home, Mike asks, "Danny, ya wanna stop at our place before I drop you at Arlene's parent's house in the Crest?" Arlen stiffens, as Danny goes, "Oh yeah, there's been a change of plans. We're, ah, not staying with Arlene's parents; we're gonna knock you and Ricky out of your beds and sleep there," and he forces a laugh as he's saying it. First off, he knows goddammed well my names not Ricky, and secondly I distinctly heard him say beds, as in more than one. He obviously doesn't know, and is going to be very curious, about Mike and me sharing a bed. I know Mike's mom hasn't said anything to anybody about the gay boys living under the same roof as her and my dad. It's personal! Mike's shoulders stiffened and he stammers, "Wha... are you serious? Why aren't you staying in Wildwood Crest?" Danny seems uncomfortable now as he lights a cigarette, saying, "Just a sec, bro.." The first whiff of smoke tells me it isn't a cigarette he lit up, but rather a joint. This has Mike a little frantic, "Not while I'm driving, Danny. What if we get stopped?!" Danny doesn't like to be criticized apparently as he does a little slap at Mike's cheek, saying, "Hey, who the fuck do ya think you're talking to?" and pushes the joint at Mike, "Take a hit! Do it!" Mike's face gets red as he shrinks away from the joint, mumbling, "Don't, Danny... not here," another slap on Mike's cheek and Mike's like, "I'm driving!" but Danny wants his way, "Take a fucking hit off this thing and pass it back. What, you forget how things work?" Mike actually seems to cower or cringe as he does what he's told. One quick puff and he passes it over his head toward Arlene who shakes her head 'no', as if Mike has eyes in the back of his head, so I reach over and take the joint. I've had pot a couple of times and don't care for it, but to maintain the peace I take a little inhale and hold it in my lungs while Danny, who'd turned around to watch, nods his head at me. I pass the joint to Danny with him saying, "That wasn't so hard was it?" Mike grunts, "I'm fucking driving, Danny!"

Danny's the only one talking, with pot smoke circling his head, he says, "I had a little misunderstanding with Arlene's daddy about sleeping arrangements." Arlene pipes in, "Daddy said we could sleep together, Dan," and Danny goes, "Yeah, but only after I pitched a bitch and now I'd feel uncomfortable staying there. Anyway, I want to spend time with Mike and mom." Arlene crosses her arms and looks out the window, as I'm wondering, "Why does Mike think Danny's so cool, and why would a nice girl like Arlene want to marry him?"Danny's rude and crude and self centered, as far as I can tell... yeah, well he was nice to me for a few seconds, but that's about it. And, oh my god, what about when he sees our room with the double bed, and the cum-stained sheets? Oh man, Mike's gotta be thinking the same thing. What's the chance Danny's gonna be cool with Mike gay-fucking his step-brother? Can you say "Homophobe?" I'm guessing there a better chance of him being a homophobe than a liberal from Boston pushing gay marriage. This could be serious trouble. I start formulating a lie: it goes like this: we hate the double bed... it what was sent by mistake. We're waiting for the twin beds that we ordered to replace this stupid double bed. This lie is worst than weak for a lot of reasons: for one, mom and dad won't lie along with me, and two, we've been in the house for almost two years so that's a hellava' back order for twin beds! Damn! We're home, and I got nothing. Usually I'd just keep my mouth shut and let Mike handle it, but he doesn't seem as capable of handling things around Danny as he is around most. I can't think of anything though; I'm freakin' nervous, to be honest about it. Taking a last hit off his joint, Danny flips it out the window, saying, "Yessss! That's what I needed," no one says anything to that.

Two minutes later Mike's still silent as he pulls into the driveway, while Danny's now phonily acting pumped and jacked and whoop-de-doo, like maybe he knows he's brought everybody down and under his drug induced current state of mind he thinks he's now taking everyone higher. He goes, "Wow! Great house!

Mom's done alright for herself! Hey, Rich, what's your old man do anyway?" Dad and mom will be married two years this Thanksgiving, and Danny doesn't know what dad's job is? I say, "Blackjack dealer in Atlantic City." He twist around in the seat to ask, "Really, ya kidding me?" In a bored manner, I go, "Really." Danny doesn't like my flip response, something shimmers in his eyes, then he turns around, muttering, "Smart-ass." We get out of the car and I grab Arlene's suitcase as Mike gets Danny's, then inside we go; no one can think of anything to say. The initial excited exchange between Mike and Danny in the car was cut off with the news we'd be having guests at the house. Inside Danny goes, "Nice..." then hugs Mike's shoulders and says to him, "I'm happy for ya, dude... this is a far cry from the place I remember growing up in." Mike says, "The bedrooms, I mean, our bedroom is kinda small... let me show you the guest room." Danny goes, "Ohhh, a guest room, how 'bout that Arlene, they got a guest room and we don't even gotta throw the boys out of their beds." She says, "This is very nice, but mom has guest rooms too." Danny goes, "Arlene!" and she mutters, "Sorry... just saying." I feel like slapping my forehead, exclaiming, "Guest room!" Why didn't I think of that? Still, they'll see our bedroom sometime or other anyway, so we're still fucked. Damn! It didn't take long either. Walking past our bedroom, Danny looks in and asks, "Is this it?" Mike takes a deep breath, and says, "No, next room." Danny walks on as Arlene looks in and hesitantly asks, "Who's room is this?" She has to know before she asked because it's a three bedroom house and this one is way too small to be the master bedroom, and the next room is the guest room which leaves only one other possibility; our bedroom. Mike gulps, looks at me and mumbles, "Our bedroom," as Arlene frowns, then goes, "Oh... it's ah, nice..."

Danny's in the guest room still trying to be upbeat, calling, "Arlene, get in here, this is awesome! Like a swanky hotel." Mom decorated the room with top shelf stuff and it did look really good. Arlene gushes on about how great the room is and then Mike and I go into the kitchen for cokes while Danny and Arlene put their stuff away and wash up after the long trip from the west coast. I'm using my newly acquired technique of keeping my mouth shut during tense times and Mike's doing the same. He swallows his coke in two long swallows, then slams the empty in the waste basket, quietly going, "Fuck!" I keep my mouth shut until Mike looks at me, biting his lower lip, then asks, "What are we gonna do? Danny's sure as shit gonna ask us about the double bed. They were suppose to stay at Arlene's place" I shrug and say, making it a question, "Tell him it was delivered by mistake? Or something..." He just shakes his head, like, 'That's all ya got?" Shrugging again I mumble, "Tell him we like the double bed then, oh I don't know... Fuck it!" We hear, "Ya gotta be shittin' me!" from Danny, down the hall. Arlene must have shown him our room. Danny's in the kitchen with a big grin on his face, asking, "They make you share a bed? Ewww! Yuck! Maybe you guys don't have it as good as we thought... ha ha!" He doesn't get it. The thought that Mike might be gay never enters Danny's head, but I can tell it's entered Arlene's by the way she's now nervously checking us out from the corner of her eyes. Re-checking us out might be a better way of putting it. Mike glances over at me, then mumbles, "Hey, man, it's what they had, a double bed.

Richie and me, we don't make waves, the folks work hard." Danny rubs Mike's head laughing, "Yeah, but aren't ya afraid your cute step brother here might be sneaking some grips on your pecker? Ha ha!" Arlene goes, "Danny Sullivan!" and he goes, "Hey, I'm just saying..." Mike stares at Danny, then says, in a challenging manner, "No, I'm not worried that Richie will grab my pecker; why should I be?" Danny spreads his hand out in my direction, and says, "Well, look at him; he's pretty, for christ's sakes! I'd be worried, heh heh!" Arlene goes, "Danny! Stop it!" then to Mike and me she says, "He's a kidder." Mike's looking at Danny with a frown on his wonderful face, as I'm thinking, "I'm pretty? How 'bout your brother, asshole... he's prettier than me!"

This reunion is not going well; apparently neither of the Sullivan boys is good at reunions. Danny adds, "Well, you're going away to college next week, maybe you can have your own beds there." Mike rolls his eyes as Danny exclaims, "Hey, Arlene, where's the envelope?" She smiles for the first time since the airport and walks back to the guest room, Mike's like, "What envelope?" and Danny goes, "Ya didn't think I forgot your graduation present, did ya?" Arlene's back holding and envelope out towards Mike who takes it, saying, "Hey, you didn't have to give me anything." Danny's like, "Go ahead, open it," and so Mike rips open the envelope and pulls out a card and three one-hundred dollar bills fall to the floor, there's another one stuck inside the card. Mike goes, "Danny!" and they hug, then Danny gives Mike another kiss on the cheek saying, "Congratulations, kid! Mom tells me you did great in high school, and hey, this is from Arlene too. Come here, hon," and she joins in on the hug with Danny saying, "Ain't this great?" Mike's looking past Danny at me standing there alone, then he makes a face like, "I'm sorry, Richie, but what can I do?" The three way hug turned into a three stooges act and the three of them end up on the kitchen floor laughing nervously. Getting up, Danny says, "Let's go up on the boardwalk for Mac's pizza. I'm starved!" And that's what we did with Mike sneaking in a squeeze at the back of my head and a sweet encouraging smile to let me know he's not excluding me, but let's play it cool. The general atmosphere of our little group got more relaxed as the day rolled on. I guess it's true; neither Sullivan is good at reunions but they can loosen up pretty quickly if everything goes okay. We ate and went on rides and generally did stuff tourist do. Danny has been away for almost two years and he's reliving an important part of his youth for a while here today. He showed off for Arlene too, and took her on the scariest thrill rides and I could finally see him treating her special and the two of them were having fun; no tension now... thank god! We got away with the double bed it seems, at least with Danny, and he's acting like a good guy although still cool towards me, but I don't give a shit about that... I just want things to go smoothly the last couple of days before we leave for college.

That night mom and dad had their reunion with Danny, and they met Arlene for the first time too. We had a nice dinner and were out on the back deck afterward talking, smoking, and drinking wine. Everyone except Mike and me, we were drinking cokes. Mike's kinda quiet, like he's thinking... I have this weird premonition that he's thinking about him and me being gay together, but I'm not sure which direction he's going with that. Will he resolve to again try to stop himself, or is he thinking of discussing it with everyone, and I pray to God that's not it, but ya never know with Mike. During a lull in the conversation, Mike quietly asks our folks, "Why'd ya put a double bed in our room? Danny thought it kinda odd." Danny intercedes, distorting what he'd said earlier, "I didn't say it was odd, mom. I said this is an awesome place, that's all. I know everyone's doing the best they can and you two are doing great. I didn't say nothing about the double bed being odd." Then he adds, "Did I, Arlene?" Before Arlene can answer, dad asks us, "Why do you boys think we gave you the double bed?" Without hesitating, Mike says, "Because you think we're gay," followed by this long awkward pause, with me totally unsure of what is coming next so I'm holding my breath with a mouthful of coke. Then I gulped, inhaled coke up my sinuses and blowing a little out both nostrils. A general hubbub ensues as I cough and cough trying to get the coke out of my burning sinuses. Mom and Arlene are patting me hard on the back, which helps, and I glance up to see dad observing a silent stare down between Mike and Danny. What's it gonna be?

Mom hands me a bottle of water and I drink some as everything settles down. Danny's still saying nothing, but he's broken eye contact with Mike now and is lighting a cigarette off the one he just finished. I'd be lighting one too if I'd fully recovered from my coughing fit. Mom asks, "You okay, Richie?" and I mumble, "Yeah, thanks, mom," then she says, "Well, Mike, you're right, Dad and I felt you and Richie were exploring your sexuality and we both thought it best to let nature run it's course." Danny's astounded, "You encouraged these two to be queer?" "Don't be crude, Danny... you're better than that," goes mom, and dad asks, "Well, since Mike's brought it up, are you gay, Richie?" I look at Mike and he looks back at me with a blank expression on his face. What's he want me to say, I wonder? We've hardly ever discussed this topic; with the exception of Mike always kiddingly reciting the mantra, 'You're so gay, Richie," we've discussed gayness maybe a total of five minutes in all the time we've been together. Everyone's looking at me, so I look at my dad, and say, "I'm sorry, dad, but yes, I'm gay. Mike's not though." Dad asks, "Are you upset about that?" and I say, "No!" with maybe too much conviction. Dad looks at me with compassion, and quietly says, "Son, if you're not hurting anyone or breaking the law or disappointed in yourself, then don't apologize for being yourself... it sends mixed signals. Being gay doesn't ever require an apology." Danny mutters, "Oh brother!" and Mike yells, "You shut up, Danny! Mr. Sullivan's right, there's nothing wrong with Richie being gay, or anything else. I wish I was as good a person as he is." I got tears in my eyes and Mike had tears in his voice. Danny's stunned at Mike rejection, I just mumble, "Thanks, Mike."

Mom starts to say something, but Danny interrupts to demand, "Okay, Mike... how 'bout you? Are you gay like girlie boy here?" Mike gets up and starts for Danny with Danny getting up to meet him, saying, "Come on, try it!" My dad and Arlene jump in between the brothers with my father staying calm, saying, "Let's remember we're family here, Danny, I know it feel strange to you because you've been away so long but we've grown together here, your mom, Mike, Richie and me.

We very much want you and Arlene to feel like part of this new family too, please lets sit back down and talk nice, okay. Mike, okay?" This is a new dad for me, his reaction two years ago would be a physical one; Mike's mom has been as good for my dad as Mike's been for me. Danny says to my dad, "Mom thinks the world of you, and you seem like a good guy, so we'll sit, like you said." This appeared to surprise Mike, but maybe Danny's growing up too. Everyone sits down and most of us light cigarettes, as dad says, "Thank you, Danny; you too Mike." Danny blows out some smoke, and says, "Well, Mike... sorry if I dumped on your home boy here, I didn't mean to." Arlene looks relieved and proud of Danny for taking the high road, he see that and takes it further by looking at me, and saying, "My bad, bro," then he holds out his fist and I mumble, "No problem," as I do a quick fist bump with him. Mike's eyes are open wide as he observes his brother's civilized behavior. Maybe Mike calling Danny out for dissin' me was sorta like calling out a bully; they usually back down. Or maybe, like I said, Danny's not as bad as he seems once ya get to know him. Everyone's quiet again, looking at Mike now to see if he'll respond to Danny's earlier question. Mike finally says, "What? Why ya looking at me?" and his mom says, "Because your brother asked you a question, sweetheart," and Mike blushes as he remembers, then says, "Like Richie said, I'm not gay... not really, more like bi, but just with Richie, I dig girls. Right, Richie?" I go, "Oh yeah, and girls dig Mike too!" Danny's frowning again and I think it's because Mike and I are falling all over ourselves sticking up for each other, but fuck it; what else can we do?

After another awkward silence, dad asks, "Anyone want another glass of wine? Or, a beer or something?" Mike and me say, together, "I'll take a beer," and then Mike adds, "Thanks," and Danny goes, "Yeah, I'd like one too, I'll help ya," and he gets up to follow dad into the house. Arlene says to no one imparticular, "I imagine it can be terrifying to say the words, 'I'm gay,' to your family and friends, but it's probably a feeling of relief too." I look down, dragging on my cigarette, not wanting to go there, but mom asks, "Is it a relief, Richie... Mike?" I mumble, "I don't know," and Mike says, "No!" and we leave it at that. With the beers in our hand now, Mike and I are gulping the bitter shit down hoping this inquisition will soon be over, when mom says, "Love is non discriminatory and non judgmental so we love you boys as you are... right, Danny?" He mutters, "I'll need to think about that, I can hardly believe my ears here." Arlene says, "You know Charles is gay, Danny, and that doesn't bother you, so why should it bother you if Richie's gay, and Mike's bisexual?" She looks at the rest of us, saying, "Charles is one of Danny's coast guard friends." Danny says, "Yeah, but that's different, he's not family and ya know, it's embarrassing that one of the members of your family is, kinda fucked up, ya know? No offense intended, but... come on." Dad says, "Are you serious? Get over yourself, Danny. This is the for-real Mike and Richie you see here, not the pretend ones." I'm getting sick of Danny, so I chirp in, "If you think less of Mike, or disown him or whatever, because he's being himself it's not a reflection on his failure, but rather your own." Danny says, "WTF does that mean?" and his mom goes, "Please don't use those letters like that, honey," Danny goes, "Sorry, mom, but I think this kid is dissin' me." Mike goes, "He's not dissin' ya, Danny, but let me correct something you said a minute ago. You said something about 'one of the members of your family being messed up' well it's not one member, but two. Richie is a member of your family now, dude, just like Arlene will be a member if she still wants to after today." Danny's like, "Hey, Mike... come on now," and he stands up to say, "Okay, I've been an asshole to day..." his mom says, "Danny! Watch your language!" He says, "Sorry... I wish I could start this day over, but I can't so let me apologize first to Arlene for acting like an ass, er a fool, with her parents and for putting her though all these awkward situations. I'm not good in new circumstances, but I learn fast; right, Arlene?" She nods her head, mumbling, "Sometimes," which makes them both laugh a little. Those two doing that little laugh at their private joke lightens things up quite a bit, and allows me to see a real affection between the two that I haven't seen until now.

Danny seems to relax most of all, he goes on, "I apologize to my mom next because I know how much she loves Mike and me and I've let her down today; sorry mom." Mom goes, in a funny way, "You should be sorry, asshole," which gets everyone nervously chuckling. Danny's on a roll now, "I apologize to my step dad, who I'm calling 'dad' from now on, if that's okay?" looking at my dad. Dad goes, "Sure, Danny... I'm honored," although he didn't sound honored. Like me, maybe dad's glad Danny's taking this approach, and dad might also agree with me that it seems like Danny's taking it a little over the top, like a performance. A performance that isn't over yet, as Danny continues, The apology extends to my new brother, Richie, too," and he looks at me, adding, "I had no right dissin' you, bro, I don't even know you." It still sounds a little like a put down but when I first met Mike he wasn't too crazy about me either. Finally Danny turns to Mike, and asks, "Do I need to say I'm sorry, Mike?" Mike gets up shaking his head 'no' and mumbles, "You know that's never necessary, Mike... we're always gonna be there for each other," and they do another hug, without the kiss on the cheek this time. Mom goes, "They've always been so close," and the chatter picked up from then on without the word 'gay' coming up once the rest of the night. Danny never said it's cool that I'm gay and Mike's whatever, but I'm satisfied with the whole thing. Thinking back, Arlene was right, I do feel relief that I said the words and that I'm not hiding anything from anybody; that a feeling of freedom and self worth. On the other hand, I think it's perfectly okay for Mike to fool himself about his true nature because that works for him and it isn't hurting anyone. Why force everyone to follow a single way of handling a very personal matter? That's stupid and rigid... I feel best about myself when I'm not judgmental, like someone mentioned earlier tonight, but I am true to myself, but that's just me.

The rest of the evening went okay, Danny still doesn't seem to qualify as worthy of all the high praise I've heard about him from Mike, but I've only just met him really. In bed that night, I roll over to lay against Mike, and whisper, "Mike, I..." but he puts his hand over my mouth and whispers back, "Don't even ask, Richie! We can't do anything with my brother and Arlene right on the other side of that wall... six inches away, fer christsakes!" I get his wrist him my hand and slide his hand off my mouth to whisper, "I know that! I was just gonna say thanks for having my back tonight. I liked that you stood up for me to Danny." Mike sort of rubs his hand over my chest, saying, "Oh, yeah, no problem. And, thanks for you doing the same thing, bro. It's great having a big brother like you to stick-up for me." He turns affectionate sentiments into jokes sometimes to ease the way and lessen his discomfort, while still getting to say basically what he wants to communicate. I lean over and kissed him on the mouth, then said, "No problem, little bro!" He got me around the neck and we did a long lovers kiss that left us panting, with boners pointing up our bellies. "Stop it, Richie!" Mike whispers, as if I started it. I mumble, "Okay," and put my arm across his chest, he didn't complain so I fell asleep that way. In the morning Mike's head was up against mine but he had a little case of morning breath so I had to adjust our position slightly, and then went back to sleep. It's Saturday morning so everyone slept until after nine, then mom and Arlene act as chefs and prepare a nice breakfast starting with delicious fresh fruit and juice. All six of us ate together; it was a subdued but polite affair after which Danny announces, "Arlene and I are going to her parents so I can apologize to them too. We'll probably be moving over there this afternoon, but we'll all be back tomorrow for the boys send off dinner." Mom said, "Your parents and sister too, Arlene, they're all invited, some of the boys' friends too. It's just a cookout but Dan's a heck of a grill guy.

Aren't ya, dear?" she asks him as she puts her arm around dad's waist. He goes, "If you say so, dear."

We picked up our Volkswagen later in the day and took it for a long drive. We're so used to riding Mike's motorbike the Jetta was a luxurious ride for us. There wasn't much conversation and I'm glad of that, it's so stressful dealing with complex issues, like being gay and telling your family, and all that. I suppose it's okay to come out, to sorta come out, the way we did; there isn't one perfect way, is there? Whatever, I admit that I'm tired of talking about it. All I know is Mike is worth anything I need to go through, even pretending Danny's cool. He may turn out to be, but so far he's a huge disappointment as far as my expectations of how he was going to be go. Mike built him up way too much. We took turns driving and I finally drove us to the boardwalk where we had lunch at Mac's pizza again. Pizza and birch beer... that's a winner. Walking back down the boards to the parking lot, Mike asks, "Ya gonna miss the boardwalk, Richie?" I go, "Sure, aren't you?" He goes, "I guess, we'll see. Fuck, I've lived here all my life, guess I'm looking forward to a different view." I couldn't help but thing that statement might be a metaphor for other changes in his life; maybe and unintended metaphor.

Danny maybe conned his way back into good graces with Arlene's family, or maybe made a sincere apology; whatever, they seem happy and relaxed moving their stuff over there, Good luck to them, but mostly it's cleared the way for an appropriate sexual farewell to our bedroom... as high school graduates, I mean 'cause we'll be college sophomores the next time Mike fucks me in this bedroom. Well, what am I saying, we're not leaving until Monday so there's Sunday night too, ha! All day Mike and I have been totally into each other. I don't know, it's just a feeling I had all day... a certain look from Mike, a smile, a squeeze on my arm. I've never felt closer to him, and I think the way we handled ourselves last night has a lot to do with that; we stood by each other even though his idol, Danny, was pretty much in an adversarial mode all day. Before dinner Mike and I spent a lot of time going over everything we're taking to college, double checking everything. Mike, like is brother apparently, makes a bigger deal out of an impending new experience than I think is necessary, but I want to do whatever I can to help Mike ease into our new college life so I go along with his obsessive preparation for the move. We ate a late dinner then sat outside smoking, without a lot to say. Then Mike goes, "Come on, Richie... let's take a walk. I'm a little wired about Monday, ya know?" As we walk Mike opens up about his difficulty with change and how he doesn't meet new people, especially friends, easily. I almost chuckled remembering how difficult our early days together were, then say, "Mike, please don't worry. Here's how I see it going: you'll be your usual quiet, mysteriously cool self, and I'll be your happy-go-lucky jabbering sidekick who makes friends by endearing myself to lucky acquaintances. The ones who seem acceptable will want to know you too 'cause we're always going to be together and everything will be swell." Mike laughs, and goes, "I'm sure you'll be able to pull off the 'always together' part 'cause every time I stop too quickly you bump into my ass, but the rest of your plan needs a lot of work."

Back at the house we get ready for bed and climb in together. Dad and mom are out on the town enjoying Saturday night... a little adult beverage and some dancing. Those two do not know how to act their age; good for them. Mike interrupts our silence, "Pull your boxers off, Richie... let's sleep naked tonight." Well, this is a good start to the night. I'm getting back in bed naked when Mike hands me his underpants; I pretend to smell them, for a laugh.

Mike chuckles and says his usual, "You are so gay, Richie!" and then I get my arms around him and insinuate my body as tight to his as is possible to do. Mike rubs his nose against mine a few times then slips his tongue into my mouth and sucks on my tongue until my cock is a steel spike. Then he sucks on my upper lip, then runs his tongue under my upper lip, back and forth, back and forth and then all around my mouth before settling on a long French kiss and then a lap up the front of my nose so that all I smell is his saliva... fresh and sparkling. Our faces side my side, he whispers in my ear, "Maybe you're not the only gay boy in this bed tonight. I good eat you with a spoon, you're so very special, Richie." I mumble, "Thanks, Mike," and he goes, "I realized last night when we were having that unpleasant time with the family; yoy know, the interrogation just short of water boarding." I interrupt, "It wasn't so bad, Mike... I feel good about it." He saysm "You would," then kisses my mouth and licks up the front of my nose again, then, in a husky voice, quietly adds, "And, so do I, Richie... I was making a joke, numbnuts," and he chuckles, before going on, "I realized how impossible it would be for me to not have you close to me in my life. It became so clear that I love you, Richie... love you the way you love me, and I wanted you to know that. I've told you before, and I know I said we're not going to be spouting this lovey/dovey stuff all the time, but I just wanted to say it to you because you're such a wonderful person... I'm lucky to be in love with you." Oh my God, this kind of thing's been happening recently with Mike loosening up so much and I love it, but it scares me a little too. I go, "Mike, you know how much this means to me... thank you so much, and I'm the lucky one, not you." He tries to be funny, saying, "No, I'm luckiest," and I go, "No, me!" and we do that a couple of times, imitating how little kids talk, then silence and a nice hug. He feels so good against me.

Two minutes late, Mike goes, "Um, one more thing, Richie. Ah, I realized something else last night." I wait, then go, "What?" and he says, "I think I've been over selling my brother a little bit, he just ain't as fantastic as I remember him being, and you must think I'm an idiot for going on about him these past couple of years, but at one time..." and he trailed off, not sure how to proceed. I wait to see if he'll continue, and when he doesn't, I say, "You, an idiot? A thought like that would never enter my mind... well, hardly ever." Mike chuckles, and I add, "No, really... when we're kids we appreciate different things than we do when we're older. No offense to Danny, but maybe you'ver grown up, matured some, and maybe with him: not so much. His rudeness, no offense, was cool to you back then, but now that you're older it comes off as being just plain rude, not funny or cool." Mike's quiet for a few seconds, thinking... then he says, "You might be on to something there; in any case, I'm moving Danny down a few notches on my all time favorite list which leaves the number one spot open. Ya wanna guess who I'm putting at the top of the list?" I go, "Hmmm, not Tom Brown surely... ah, me?" He goes, "Bingo!" and we're sorta joking around, but I love being his acknowledged number one person in the world! I go, "Yippee! I knew I could do it if I persevered!" Mike chuckles and kisses me, then says, "You sure know how to persevere too!" We wrestled around in bed a bit, then Mike says, "I need to be inside you, Richie," I go, "Okay, but could you call me number one from now on?" He says, "No!" That was the last joking around we did for a while.

I've come to love the raw fucks Mike puts on me and tonight was even better than usual. Our hot make-out got our juices flowing and when Mike turns me over on my belly and spread my legs I felt the drip, drip, drip of precum on my buttocks. then a long string of his fresh saliva hits my anus and a finger spreds it around before poking inside me. I bit my bottom lip and go, "Mmmm," 'cause it feels good as Mike pushes way up there. He's slow, very deliberate, savoring each moment rubbing my back and shoulders, then massages my ass cheeks as he's opening up my anus. Then Mike's finger comes out of my ass and he's laying on my back with his boner sliding long-ways against my crack; he whispers in my ear, "Sometimes I dream of having sex with you, Richie," and he sucks my earring sending shivers down my spine. Now he's pulling on my earlobe and his tongues in my ear filling it up with his saliva. I'd like to be covered in Mike's spit sometime. The spit in my ear makes it hard to hear his quiet words as he says,before adding, "I can't help myself, no matter how hard I question my feelings I always come back to the realization I mentioned... the one about how much I love you." I'm breathing in gasps, his body covering me and the words he's saying in his whispery boyish voice has me hypnotized in a luxuriously erotic state of mine; my boner's so hard it's just this side of painful. I manage to mutter, "Me too, Mike," as he lifts his hips up and adjusts the head of his hot cock at my hole. Keeping his lips against the side of my face, he kisses me as he humps his boner past my sphincter muscle and forces that hard, fat organ two inches up my ass. I grunt at the initial pain, but the thought in my head of Mike's cock inside my body overrides the pain and I push back against him forcing him further inside me. My precum is now a wet puddle under me as Mike's slowly presses harder, sliding his cock inside my body all the way till his soft pubic patch surrounds my hole and his balls lay against the back of mine. A long, quiet, "Mmmmmm," escapes my lips as Mike gasps from the sensation of total stimulation on his hard penis, from it's throbbing head to it's root. My various rectum muscles haven't had a chance to expand fully for this intrusion so it's tight all along his cock, still hurting me but exciting me too. There's nothing I've experienced in my life that's as thrilling and erotic as Mike's cock up my ass. There are so many sensitive areas in my rectum, including the major one, my prostate gland, that will soon kick in as the hurt of bodily intrusion fades, and the ecstasy will build and build after that. Knowing this has me squirming with quiet squeals of pleasure. Mike withdraws and then slowly inserts his long cock back up my ass, easier this time, and the next is easier still. My rectum muscles have relaxed enough to allow Mike's swollen boner to slide easily, the additional precum and ass juices allow Mike to get into a smooth penetration rhythm, his crotch slamming against my buttocks every second or so. I'm going "Ahh!" with each deep penetration, the enlarged head of his cock massaging my prostate with each thrust in, and then with each withdrawal. Mike starts quietly grunting with each penetration but as the sensations on his cock grow the grunts become quiet moans, almost as if he's in pain, and as I near climax, pushing back at each thrust, Mike's quiet moans become sounds of desperation and he fucks me faster and faster until we both cry out together as our orgasms explode from our balls and fire out our hard cocks, Mike's spunk fills up my ass while mine joins the puddle of precum beneath me spreading all over my groin as I flop up off the mattress experiencing pleasure too thrilling to describe. Mike continues humping me wildly for thirty seconds, cum splattering against both my buttocks, then he slows down, breathing raggedly and moaning with his own pleasure before laying on my back again, and remembering me. "Oh, Richie... oh my God, that was fantastic!" and he kisses me and bites at my earlobe again. I still can't catch my breath to speak, my heart beats madly in my chest, and I can't imagine experiencing anything that's better than this.

It feels so good being filled up back there; it's sloppy now, but Mike's cock is still hard and still all the way up my ass. He randomly kisses and licks the side of my face or the back of my neck with me reaching back with my hands to pull against his ass trying to get his cock to go deeper inside me. I could lay like this forever, Mike's odor is all around me, his body covers me and I want to be part of him, my body and his combined into one. This is as close to that fantasy as I can get and it works wonderfully. After a while, I quietly say, "Nothing else feels this good, Mike... you make me so happy I could cry." He says nothing, just stretches his face down and twist mine sideways so he can kiss the corner of my mouth and then begins slow, awesome, thrust in and out of my slippery hole and soon I've got my eyes closed savoring every exotic, erotic second. He fucks me like this on and off for a half hour until the feeling captures him and he senses his second climax coming on; then it's the same wild, almost out-of-control slamming into me as before and then Mike's second climax brings mine on and we're both rocking that bed and making muffled sounds of extreme pleasure once again. The second climax, of course, can't provide the amount of messy spunk although it feels pretty much the same as the first; which is to say, fabulous! Even after all this time Mike still stays hard and is slowly humping my ass moaning with each thrust, then a groan and a muttered, "Oh man, I'm so sore," as he pulls out of my ass, after forty five minutes being part of my body. I smile to myself because, until right now, I didn't realize how sore my ass is. Mike turns me over onto my back and then falls on top of me, our arms go around each other's sweaty body, my cum gets spread between us and his sore cock lays next to my still semi-hard one, and I'm thinking, "This is nice too!"

It's fun being grungy with Mike, and we're certainly grungy right now. Sweaty, with my cum drying between us and Mike's cum drooling out of my ass. We add to the mess by exchanging wet kisses and licking each other like we're dogs. It got to be almost funny exchanging long licks, almost funny, but mostly hot and sexy. Mike laps my face from my chin to my hairline then hold still while I do it to him. We goofily do this until our faces are wet with the other's saliva, then deep kisses until Mike moans and turns me over again to slide his cock up inside me again and begin a slow fuck that never reached climax, but that feels good just the same, and never mine how much it hurt both of us, we need to do this. Finally satisfied that we'd shared enough of each other's body, Mike sits on my ass and get silly again, asking, "Are you ever going to be satisfied you sex maniac? I can't do it any more, have mercy!" I say, "You get that penis of yours back up my ass, and I mean right now!" He goes, "Damn!" and actually slides it up my ass one more time with both of us laughing, and exclaiming, "Oww!" at the same time. A little more cuddling without any joking, and then Mike goes, "Lets take a shower together," which is what we do. In the shower Mike says, "Okay, you want me to own you, and not just your ass which I already own... right?" I remember saying that to him in one of my more emotional moments... "Own me, Mike... please own me!" so I go, "Oh yeah, own me!" He says, "Well, if I'm going to own you I need take care of my stuff, so stand still." I stand there under the water spray as Mike shampoos my buzzed hair, then washes my entire body with a washcloth and lots of soap. It feels so good to be bathed, I had no idea. He cleans my private parts, with special attention to my ass, even going so far as to sliding his finger up there, asking, "Feel good, boy?" Surprisingly it did; the hurt always fades quickly in my asshole. When I'm sparkling clean, Mike say, "Oh fuck this! Owning you is too much trouble, I'm not gonna be able to keep you." It's so rare for Mike to be as romantically demonstrative in both word and deed as he's been since last night, and he's rarely this playful too, so I make the most of it. Tomorrow or the day after, some time soon, he'll be back to his more guarded self, even with me. I'm thinking that's going to be especially true in our early days at college, but right now he's perfect, absolutely perfect. I say, "Okay then, fuck it... don't own me, I'll own you!" and I shampoo and washed every inch of his head and body and when he's sparkling clean too we make out under the waterfall until it starts to run cool.

We don't do anymore joking around, and very little talking after the shower; we're worn out. Each of us had a pee, then we dry off and Mike gets us each a coke while I change the bed linens, then we go to sleep in each other's arms. I've never been happier and I'll never forget the past twenty-four hours. Sunday morning mom nags us into going to church which we hardly ever do. Then we all help put together the food for the barbecue, which will be Mike and my farewell dinner. Danny, Arlene, and her parents and sister came over around four, and they're all still in good spirits. Danny's especially nice to Mike and me; no reference is made about anyone's sexual orientation. It's a very comfortable situation for everyone and I notice some of Danny's charming side on display; he's more liable when not trying so hard to be cool. Mike doesn't need to try, he just is cool. Around six a carload of our boardwalk buds show up hungry and full of energy; full of beer too, but no problem. Mom contacted Tony yesterday and told him to round up any of the guys who are still in town and come on over to see us off. By the end of the night everyone had too much to drink, but everyone was on good behavior too. Mostly the booze made for over the top drama with the goodbyes. Hugs and tears, and over dramatic declarations of love and friendship forever, increased with each goodbye and even though it's mostly boozed induced, it made me feel really good anyway. Tucker whispered to me, "You still want it, Richie... I can see it in the way you stare at me." I thought he was serious until he rubbed my head, and said, "I'm kidding you! Fer chrisakes, it's a joke!" and then he kissed me on the lips so I don't know what's up with that. It's all good though.

In bed that night Mike and I went over what we need to do tomorrow, instead of doing sex, still being sexually satisfied from last night. The check list is more for Mike's benefit than mine. Finally satisfied we'd remembered everything, Mike says we should get to sleep; I give him a quick kiss, and mumble, "I love you, Mike." He goes, "Richie!" meaning he doesn't want to hear it, so I guess he's over his venture into romantic-land the past couple of days. I smile to myself and kiss him again, but we're both exhausted and the next thing I know it's Monday morning and we're about to meet our new life. My dad offered to drive down to West Chester University in Pennsylvania to help us settle in, but we politely declined his kind offer, it's actually the last fucking thing we need, a parent getting us settled in college... come on! Mom and dad give us one last goodbye hug, the Jetta's packed with all our stuff, the motorbike secured in a rack on the back, so it's finally sayonara Wildwood... until Thanksgiving break anyway. Waving goodbye, Mike's driving away and we're finally going away to college. I'm fighting the urge to sob, wiping my tears with the back of my wrist with Mike reaching over to pat my leg, saying, "I know, Richie, we'll both miss being here, but we got each other, don't we?" The tears roll down my cheeks then 'cause I'm too fucking emotional for my own good.

The End

Donny Mumford thinat20@yahoo.com