East Side Prep

East Side Prep

By

Michael Sheridan

This story is entirely fictional, as are all the characters in it. To the best of my knowledge, there is not now nor has there ever been a school in New York called East Side Prep, and my depiction of it is not representative of any real school, past or present.

To my younger readers: This story is set in the last days of the blissfully ignorant pre-AIDS era. That is the reason that no mention is made of condoms. It is certainly not my intention to encourage or condone such reckless behavior today.

Chapter I

In September of 1980, I was a freshman at East Side Prep, an upscale high school for boys on the corner of 86th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. It had been a hard week. The first week of school is slightly traumatic for an incoming freshman in any high school, but at East Side, the seniors made sure it was pure hell.

In an effort toward freshman orientation, the school administration assigned every senior a "freshman buddy" whom he was supposed to befriend and show the ropes of the school. In practice, the seniors made their freshman buddies wait on them in the cafeteria, carry their books for them, and address them Mr. or Sir for the first week of school, which they called "Freshmen Initiation Week." They abused us in any way they could think of.

I was lucky enough to get David Donovan as my senior buddy-abuser. He was the most popular guy in school. Aside from being incredibly handsome, he was the captain of the basketball team as well as the student body president. Although every time he passed me in the hallway he gave me a wedgie, and every time he saw me in the cafeteria, he made me wait on him and give him a shoulder massage while he ate, he was kinder than many of the other seniors were. At least he never hit me or reduced me to tears in front of everyone like some of the others did to their "buddies." There was another advantage to having him as my buddy. The first time that I met him, he shook my hand, looked into my eyes, and I got a hard on. No guy ever had this effect on me before. After that, I noticed that I got a hard on any time he looked at me! I found it difficult to keep my eyes off him, and stared at his body whenever he wasn't looking. Every day after school, I went home and jerked off imagining what he looked like naked.

Somehow, I made it through the first week of school. My last period on Friday afternoon was Phys Ed. The idea of getting naked in the showers with the other guys in my class made me nervous, so I took my time getting there, hoping that everyone else would be finished by the time that I did, and I could have some privacy. It worked. I looked in the mirror with some pride before I stepped into the shower. I was tall for my age, about six feet, with blond hair and blue eyes. If someone didn't know me, he would take me for at least a sophomore, I thought.

I was alone in the locker room toweling off, when David Donovan and some of his friends came in to change before they went to work out in the weight room. By the time I got my shorts on, the seniors began to undress. I had never seen an older guy naked before, and I couldn't believe how big their cocks were and how low their balls hung. I couldn't take my eyes off of David's beautiful body in particular. He was about six feet two inches tall, with short brown hair, brown eyes, smooth skin with a little hair on his arms and chest, and a perfect suntan line. He was well muscled, and had the biggest cock of any of the guys. He reminded me of the Greek and Roman statues I had seen at the Metropolitan Museum. He looked even better than he had in my imagination. All of a sudden, I wasn't so happy with my own physique. Without realizing it, I started to stare at him.

I was shaken out of my trance when one of David's friends, said, "Hey, Dave this frosh is staring at your cock!"

I froze with fear. I just knew that they were going to kill me. David yelled, "Get your ass over here, Sheridan!"

Knowing that his friends were between the door and me, I went to him. He looked deeply into my eyes, angrily at first, and then his gaze softened and he smiled. He said to his friends, "Get the fuck out of here, guys! I'll take care of this by myself."

After his friends left, he said "You know, Sheridan, I should kick your ass and report you to the headmaster for what you did."

I broke out into a cold sweat. If David told the headmaster, he would notify my parents and expel me. Even if I denied it, there was no way the headmaster would take my word over the word of a senior and the Student Body President, no less. My life would be over!

He continued, "But I have a better idea. I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse. You're going to be my personal slave for the rest of the year. Since you like my dick so much, you'll get to see a lot of it from now on! Any time I get horny, I'm going to take you in here, or the boy's bathroom, or an empty classroom, and make you suck me off. You'll sleep over my house any weekend I want, and I'll fuck you in my bed. Today, I'll teach you how to suck my cock. Eventually, you'll learn to take my cock up your ass. In return, I'll keep quiet about what happened and tell my friends to shut up too. Is it a deal?"

I looked at him in shock. Although I had been curious about what an older guy's body looked like, I had never even thought about doing any of the things he had mentioned. I said, "L-Let me think about it."

"There's nothing to think about. Either be my fuck slave, or get expelled for being a faggot", he said. I stared at him like a deer caught in a headlight.

"If... If I do what you want, n-nobody will ever find out?" I almost begged.

His face lit up in an evil, sexy grin. He knew he had me. "The only people I'll tell will be into this sort of thing too. You'll be my property. If I decide to loan you to one of my buddies, that's my business. I promise that the school and your parents will never know."

After a long pause, I said, "Ok... I guess I don't have a choice."

"Ok, what? I want to hear the words," he said.

"Ok, I'll be your slave."

"Take off your shorts and let me see my property, Sheridan!" he said.

Nervously, I dropped my underpants.

"Not bad!" he said. He started to touch my chest. "Nice tits. Almost as good as a girl!" he said, laughing. He slowly moved his hands down toward my waist, and started to feel my ball sack and dick. He measured my soft dick against his hardening cock.

"Cute little wee-wee, not bad for a freshman. Don't worry; you'll be too busy making my cock feel good to pay much attention to your own little nub. Now, turn around and let me see your ass."

I did what he said, and soon felt his hands caressing my cheeks.

"What an ass you have, Mike! I'll bet you have a nice virgin hole, too. Let's see. Spread your legs!"

I started to beg, "Please sir, please don't do this to me..."

"Spread your fucking legs, Sheridan, or I'm getting dressed and going to see the headmaster!"

With tears streaming down my face, I did what he told me to do. He reached over to his locker and pulled out a jar of Vaseline. He coated his finger and started to penetrate my asshole with it. I moaned in pain and humiliation.

"Yep, you're a virgin, all right. I'm going to enjoy popping your cherry!" I froze in terror.

He laughed, and ran his hand over my back soothingly.

"Don't worry, I told you I'm not going to fuck you right now; soon, but not yet. I have other plans for you first, and you can drop the `sir'. You have my permission to call me Dave like my friends do, since I'm going to be the most intimate friend you ever had in a few minutes."

I breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled his finger out of my asshole.

"Turn around and face me!" he ordered. As I did, he pulled my body to his. I could feel his hard cock pressing against my smaller one. He pushed his mouth to mine and started kissing me. His breath was hot, and he pushed his tongue into my mouth. At first, I was tense and nervous, but soon started to relax. His embrace was warm and strong, and his body smelled of good cologne. I had never experienced a sensation like it before. Before I realized it, I was kissing him back, and my tongue was in his mouth. I was actually enjoying his kisses!

As we were kissing, he took my hands and started to move them around on his body.

"Feel me, Sheridan. Feel my body! I know that you've wanted to all week."

I ran my hands over his smooth suntanned skin. I could feel the hard muscles in his arms and chest. I worked my way around and down to his ass. It felt smooth and tight, and the feel of his cheeks in my hands started to make my dick hard.

"You don't seem to mind this all that much, you little faggot! You're as hard as a rock now!" he said between kisses.

I looked down in horror and realized that he was right. My dick was now at its full length of about six inches.

"On your knees, Sheridan!"

I braced myself for what I thought was coming next. I knelt down in front of him and found my face just inches from his huge cock and balls. Their musky aroma filled my senses. Just then, he turned around.

"You seem to enjoy feeling my ass, so I think I'll give you a treat. Kiss it!"

I hesitated. Kissing a guy and enjoying it was bad enough, but kissing ass? To my mind, that was the ultimate humiliation.

"Kiss it or I'm going to see the headmaster."

With tears welling up in my eyes, I started kissing his cheeks. In spite of my self, my dick had never been harder.

After a few minutes of this, he said, "Now, spread my cheeks and French kiss my asshole, faggot! It's nice and sweaty, so you should really enjoy it," he laughed.

"Dave, no... Please..."

Before I could finish the sentence, he spread his legs and bent over, shoving the open crack of his ass in my face. Knowing I had no choice, I buried my face in his crack and my lips found his asshole. I started kissing it the way I had kissed his lips a few minutes before. I stuck my tongue in his hole and started licking it.

I thought that the smell and taste of his ass would be revolting, but they weren't. He was very clean, just a little sweaty. His ass had an almost pleasant manly smell, and it just tasted a little salty. My dick had never been so hard. "Oh yeah Sheridan, that's right! Give me some more tongue!" He moaned. I shoved my tongue in as far as I could. I was actually starting to like the taste of his ass, and the smell was making me horny beyond belief! I couldn't believe it! This guy was turning me into a faggot, and there was no way to stop him. Even if I could, I wasn't sure that I would want to. I wondered what he had in store for me next.

Suddenly, he pulled his ass away from me; so suddenly, that I was stunned and disappointed. He turned around and looked at my hard on, and said, "You know Mike, if you want some more of my ass, all you have to do is ask me nicely." I knew what he was after. He wanted me to give up my last shred of pride by begging him to let me eat his ass. I didn't have the strength to fight him any longer. I didn't know if I wanted to. I seemed to enjoy letting him take control of me. I was confused. I looked back into his eyes.

"Please Dave, can I eat your ass some more?"

His face lit up in a big smile.

"So, you like eating my ass?"

"I-I don't know. I think I do," I answered with surprise in my voice. He knew he had broken me.

"Tell me the truth; did you enjoy kissing me?"

"Yes, I did." I said, as I blushed with shame.

"I'll let you munch for a few more minutes and then we'll move on." He turned around, spread his legs, and gave me a few more minutes of paradise.

About five minutes later, David pulled his ass away from me again.

"Ok Sheridan, now you're going to suck my cock."

He turned around and showed me his eight-inch hard on. He grabbed my hard, but two-inch smaller dick and measured it against his monster.

"This is what a man's cock looks like, faggot!"

As he let go of my dick, I knelt down and opened my mouth, moving my face toward his mushroom-shaped head. As I did, he pulled his cock away and slapped me across the face with it.

"Not so fast, you little faggot! You have to work for it. Start by kissing my balls."

I started planting hot, wet kisses all over his scrotum.

"Yeah, that's it! Lick my balls, Mike! Give them the best tongue bath that they've ever had!"

I started licking his huge balls. The smell and taste of his crotch was intoxicating! I started working my way up toward the base of his shaft.

"Oh Mike!" he moaned, "That's it! Work your way up to my head and swallow my dick!"

Within a few minutes, I had worked my way up to the head of his cock. There was a wad of pre-cum oozing from his slit. Before I could lick it off, he wet his finger with it and smeared it over my lips. I licked it off.

"You like the way that tastes, Sheridan? There's a lot more where that came from! Suck my dick!"

Before the words were out of his mouth, he shoved my head down on his huge, oozing dick. He gave me a minute to get used to it. It didn't taste as bad as I thought it would. His cum tasted kind of sweet and salty at the same time, it reminded me of the sea. Although his cock was rock hard, its skin was silky soft. I realized to my horror that I liked sucking cock! I liked everything about David's body, and I was starting to like the idea of being his slave.

I started to lick and suck his dick. I could tell by the way that his dick twitched in my mouth that he was enjoying it, and this knowledge made my dick even harder.

"Oh yeah, deep throat it!" he said as he grabbed the back of my head and shoved his cock down my throat.

My lips and nose were in his dark, soft bush of pubic hair, and I started to gag. He pulled me up just long enough to catch my breath and then shoved me down again. He repeated this a few times until I began to get the hang of it. Soon, I started going up and down on his cock by myself. I was enjoying the challenge of seeing how much of him I could swallow.

"Yeah, that's it!" he moaned. "You're a natural cock sucker, Mike! Lick my head and play with my balls."

I did what he told me and after a few minutes had passed, he pulled his dick away from me. I tried to put it back in my mouth, but he pushed me away.

"Mike, I'm going to give you a choice. If you want, you can finish sucking my cock and become my slave. If not, I'll let you off the hook. I'll forget that any of this ever happened, and I promise that nobody will ever know. I'll give you exactly two minutes to think it over."

I didn't need two minutes to think, I knew what my answer was. David had awakened feelings in me that I had never known I had. I had known that I liked to check out other guys, but I never dreamed that I would actually have sex with one, and that it could be this good. Besides, David was the best-looking guy in the school, and a senior. To be honest, I was more than a little flattered that he would be interested in a lowly freshman like me.

I only hesitated a second before I said, "Please cum in my mouth. I want to belong to you, David. I'll do anything you want; I like it."

He took me in his arms and kissed me, softly and tenderly.

"Thank you, Mike," he whispered in my ear. "You won't be sorry."

I thought to myself, "Maybe he's not as tough as he seems."

I started kissing his neck. Then I moved down to his chest, and kept moving down until I was in front of his dick again. I took it in my mouth, swallowed its whole length, and started sucking him off with even more passion than before.

He started moaning, and in a matter of minutes said, "I'm going to cum! You're going to swallow my whole load. If any leaks out, you're going to lick it up, understand?"

I grunted a yes. He grabbed me by the ears and started pulling me up and down on his cock. I felt his cock starting to twitch in my mouth, and then it exploded. I felt blast after blast of his hot sperm shooting into my mouth.

I did my best to swallow all of it, but there was just too much, and some of it leaked down my chin and on to his balls.

"You're not done yet, Mike! You know the deal." Smiling, he dipped his finger into the overflow and held it to my mouth. "Now lick it off, nice and slow."

I started licking his sperm off his fingers as slowly as I could. He seemed to enjoy watching me do this, and I enjoyed the taste of his seed. When I finished, he took me in his arms, gave me a long hot kiss, and started jerking my rock hard dick. After only a few strokes, I shot my load all over his belly.

"Clean it up!" he said. I licked my cum off of him. It mingled with his in my mouth.

"Come on Mike, let's shower, and get out of here. They'll be closing the school soon. Do you think your parents will let you stay over my house for the weekend?"

I said that I thought they would.

"Good; nobody's home at my place."

"Are you going to fuck me tonight?" I nervously asked.

He looked into my eyes. "Do you want me to? Be honest."

"Yes, Dave; I want to give you my virginity. I'm a little scared, but I want to be with you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. I've wanted you since the first day we met."

He kissed me. "Don't be scared. I promise that I'll be gentle with you. I want to make this the best night of your life."

I trembled with fear and excitement.

Chapter II

After we left the locker room, David gave me a dime and sent me down the hall to use the phone while he went outside to smoke a cigarette. When I got outside, David was talking to his buddies, and to my surprise, two guys from my year.

"Hey Mike, you know my friends, don't you?"

I knew who they were. They were the guys who had been in the locker room earlier. The seniors were Brian Callahan, Tom Warren, and Jason Corbett. The guys from my year were Jack Chivers, who was a nice guy and Steve Corbett, Jason's brother, who was the biggest jerk in my class. For some reason he just seemed to hate me from the first day of school. He put me down or made fun of me every chance he got.

"Jack here belongs to Brian, and Steve belongs to his brother."

I couldn't believe it! I wasn't the only freshman cocksucker!

"Hey how was he, Dave?" asked Tom.

"I picked the right freshman." David said. "He's a natural born cocksucker. He learned fast. Some of these kids get sick or freeze up, but not Mike. I'm going to fuck him in my bed tonight!"

"How big is his wee-wee?" Tom asked.

"It's about six inches long; not bad for a freshman."

I must have blushed ten shades of red.

"Look Dave, why don't you let him give me a quick blow job. I don't have a freshman of my own yet." Tom said.

To my relief, David said no.

"Tomorrow afternoon you can all come over to my house and give him his initiation."

Steve grabbed my ass and said, "I can't wait to fuck your face, faggot!"

Before I could say anything David grabbed Steve by the collar and yelled "Who told you that you could touch my frosh? I've seen you treating him like shit all week. It stops now. He belongs to me now, and you'll treat him with respect. Understand asshole!"

Steve managed to sputter, "Yes sir!"

"I'd like to apologize for my brother, Mike. He's an immature little bastard." Jason said.

"For your punishment asshole, Mike's not going to suck your dick tomorrow; you're going to suck his!"

"Fuck that! I won't do it!" Steve shouted.

"Just for that, you'll eat his ass too!" Jason said.

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. It was obvious that his brother wasn't going to let him win.

"Well, I've got to get going now." David said. "I'm taking Mike for some pizza, and then its home to pop some freshman cherry!"

All his friends laughed, and high-fived him; Jack winked at me and Steve scowled.

As we walked, David put his arm around me.

"What I said to Steve goes for everybody. If anybody gives you any shit, I want you to tell me, and I'll put a stop to it damn fast. I won't allow anybody to be mean to you. Since you're willing to give yourself to me, I'll take care of you. I owe you that much. When I promised you that you wouldn't be sorry, I meant it."

I knew now that underneath his tough fa‡ade, David was a nice guy.

Chapter III

After we ate our pizza, we went to David's apartment. It was in one of those old luxury apartment buildings on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. He lived in the penthouse, which had its own roof garden and an incredible view of the park. The furniture was antique, and the colors looked as though an interior decorator had coordinated them. The painting over the fireplace was, as I would later learn, a genuine C‚zanne. It was the kind of place that you only see in movies.

"Dave, this is the most beautiful apartment I've ever seen!" I said with wonder in my voice.

"Yeah, my mom and step father have money. They're never here though. They live in England. I'm pretty much on my own."

He looked at his watch. "It's still early. Let's hang out for a while and have a few drinks before I fuck you. The alcohol will relax you. Do you like beer?" I said yes, and he told me to sit down at the table on the roof garden. I went outside and looked over the railing at the postcard view of the park. As I admired the view, a horrible thought occurred to me for the first time. I was gay. Deep down, maybe I had suspected it. I knew that I liked to look at other guys, but somehow I had never equated those feelings with the drag queens and leather men who frequented the bars on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. My eyes started to fill with tears. I didn't want to be a freak! David came out, put the beers on the table, and saw that I was crying.

"What's wrong, Mike?" He said with concern in his voice. I threw myself into his arms and sobbed. "I'm sorry I was so rough with you. I'm not such a bad guy, really. Don't be scared; I would never hurt you." He said.

"That's not it," I said. "I know that you're a good guy. I just realized that I must be gay. It scares me! I don't want to be a freak!" I sobbed.

David held me in his arms, and tenderly ran his fingers through my hair. "I know how you feel. It is scary. I was just as frightened as you are when I realized that I was gay."

"You, Dave? But you don't look queer, and you're so popular!" I stammered.

David laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Look Mike, not all gay guys prance around in drag. A lot of us look like the boy next door. You and I both do. I would never have guessed you were gay by the way you look or act. I only knew because of the way you stared at me when you thought I wasn't looking. That's something you'll have to learn to control. It could get you into real trouble if you do it to the wrong guy."

I breathed a sigh of relief. In my naivet‚, I thought that it would show; that I had a scarlet letter on my chest that everyone but me could see.

"Thought you would get the urge to put on a dress and skip down the Yellow Brick Road, didn't you?" He said. I laughed through my tears.

"This might sound conceited Mike, but today is your lucky day. Now you can talk to me. I didn't have any gay friends when I was your age that I could ask for advice. I didn't even have anybody to hold me when I cried. You're the first person I've ever told that I was gay. An openly gay guy would be an outcast at our school."

"Why did you trust me?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's simple. You told me that you were gay first, and being a freshman, you have even more reason to keep quiet than I do. If they find out about me, I'll only have a year in Hell. If they find out about you, you'll have four. Since were fucking around, we'll sink or swim together. Even without all that, somehow I just feel like I can trust you. I don't know why."

"If you knew that I was interested in you all along, you must have set me up in the locker room!" I said, surprised.

He smiled. "Guilty as charged. I saw you hanging around waiting for the rest of your class to finish so you could shower alone. From the looks you were giving me all week, I knew that you would stare at my cock if I undressed in front of you, so I got my friends to go in with me as witnesses and made you an offer you couldn't refuse!"

"What if I had refused?" I asked.

"I knew you wouldn't refuse, but if you had I wouldn't really have turned you in or hurt you. I could never do that to you. You're a nice guy, and I like you."

"I like you too, Dave." I smiled.

"What for, my body or as a person?" He joked.

"Both," I said truthfully.

"I'm happy to hear that. I'd like you to be more than just my fuck buddy."

"I'd like that too," I said as I kissed him.

We sat together for a while and drank our beer. The more we talked, the more I liked him. Like me, he loved old movies and was interested in history and art. I found out that he wasn't nearly as tough as he acted at school. He told me that he acted that way so people wouldn't suspect that he was gay. He couldn't even tell his friends, whom he fucked around with, that he was gay. They were supposedly straight and fucked around with guys when no girls were available.

As I started on my third beer, I started to feel a little buzz. "I can't believe this is happening." I said. "This morning I was just an average kid getting ready for school, and now I'm in a Fifth Avenue penthouse about to go to bed with the best looking guy in school. It's like a dream!"

"Do you really think I'm the best looking guy in school?" David asked, smiling.

"I think that you're the best looking guy I've ever met. Nobody has ever had the effect on me that you do. I couldn't take my eyes off you all week!" The beer was giving me courage.

"I couldn't take my eyes off you either," David admitted. "I almost came in my pants yesterday at lunch when I was making you give me that massage. After that, Tom said that he wanted to fuck you and I almost hit him!"

"I'm glad. He doesn't make me feel the way you do; none of the other seniors do. You're so much more handsome than any of them are." I could swear he blushed.

I made use of my newfound courage, and put my hand on his crotch. He was hard. I unzipped his fly, brought his cock out into the night air, and started stroking it. He put his arms around me and found my lips with his. His kisses were long, hot, and passionate.

"Let's go to my room." He said.

"I'm ready." I replied.

Chapter IV

David's bedroom was as elegant as the rest of his apartment. It didn't look like a typical teenager's room. The furniture was antique, and there was a King size bed with a nice bedspread and satin sheets. As soon as we entered the room, we were all over each other. As we passionately kissed, we started undressing each other. When we were both naked, David guided me to the bed.

"Lay down on your stomach, I'm going to take you from behind," he instructed.

"Couldn't we do it facing each other so we can kiss?" I asked.

"Not your first time. It would hurt too much," he said. "I'm going to lube you up really well and I'll take it very slowly. I would never hurt you, Mike. Do you trust me?"

I answered him with a kiss. "I hardly know you, but for some reason I'm sure that I could trust you with my life," I said as I lay down on my stomach.

"I'm going to put my finger in your asshole with some baby oil to lube you up. I know you're nervous, but try to relax your asshole as much as possible." I felt the cold oil on my asshole, and then I felt his finger go in. It didn't hurt, but felt strange. He held it there for a minute so I could get used to it, and then started pulling out and pushing in, deeper and deeper. It started to feel good. "Oh Dave, do it harder," I moaned.

"I think you're ready for the second finger," he said.

I felt him put more oil in my hole, and then he put in two fingers. It hurt a little at first, but I soon got used to it and started moaning in pleasure again.

"One more finger and you'll be ready for my cock!" He said.

Again, I felt the coldness of the oil and felt three fingers go in.

"Dave, it hurts!" I said this time.

"It's ok, just relax your asshole. Pretend you're taking a shit."

I did what he said and soon the pain stopped, and I started to feel good again. After a few minutes he said, "I think you're ready for my dick."

He took his fingers out, lubed up his dick, and poured some more oil on my asshole. He got on top of me, and I felt the head of his hard cock press against my asshole.

"This is your last chance to back out. Are you sure that you want me to be your first? Is there anybody else who you would rather be with? You only get one first time, you know," he said gently. "As much as I want you, I'll let you go if you don't really want me."

"You're the only one that I want. I've wanted you ever since the first day of school. Please fuck me!"

"I won't fuck you," he said. My heart sank. "You fuck somebody you don't give a damn about. I'll make love to you, if you want me to."

"Yes, make love to me Dave. I want to feel you inside of me."

He kissed my neck from behind, and then I felt his big dick head pushing into my asshole. He went in slowly, and I guess between all the lube he used and the fact that I really wanted him, it didn't hurt very much at all. Before I knew it, I felt his pubic hair tickling me. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Oh, yes! It doesn't hurt like I thought it would!" He pulled part way out, and went back in. I felt a strange feeling, as though I was cumming on the inside. "What was that?" I asked.

"My dick pressed against your prostate. Did you like it?"

"Yes, can you do it again?"

"You bet!" He laughed. He started going in and out in a steady rhythm.

"Oh Dave, yes!" I shouted. It was the most incredible thing that I had ever felt. I had been jerking off for years, but had never felt anything even remotely like this.

"Oh Mike, you're unbelievable! I've never been with a guy who made me feel like you do!"

"Go harder, Dave! Don't hold back. I love this! I've never felt this good before."

He started to go at it with all his might. I felt like I was in Heaven. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.

"You're mine now, Mike. You're a part of me. How does it feel to belong to another guy?" He panted.

"It feels GREAT! I want to belong to you FOREVER!"

The funny thing was that I really did feel like I was a part of him. It was more than just a physical feeling; I felt as if our souls were one as well as our bodies.

He started to go even harder and faster.

"I'm going to cum, Dave! I'm going to shoot all over your bedspread!"

"Fuck it, go ahead!"

A minute later, I started to shoot my load. The funny thing was that David started to cum at exactly the same time that I did! I felt his hot load shooting deep inside of me in rhythm with my own orgasm. It was wonderful.

After we had both cum, he lay on top of me for a minute to catch his breath. Slowly, he got up, pulled me to him, and gave me a long, hot kiss. I could still feel the warmth of his sperm deep inside of me.

"I never dreamed it could be this good, Dave."

"Me neither. I've had sex lots of times, but I never felt anything like this before. It was as if we were one person. I mean it, Mike; I swear, it's not just a line. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, I do. I felt it too. Oh, your bedspread!"

There was a huge puddle of cum on it. I had never shot so big a load in my life. David went over to it and to my surprise, licked it up, and swallowed it. I went to him and kissed him, sharing the taste of my passion.

"Dave, would you give me a hickey?" I asked.

He laughed. "Sure, but why do you want one?"

"This is going to sound silly, but I belong to you now. I want to wear your mark."

"I don't think it's silly at all. I'm flattered." He started kissing my neck, sucked hard, and put his purple mark on me.

Chapter V

We were lying in the bed in each other's arms when David reached over to the nightstand for a cigarette. I asked if I could have one, too.

"I never saw you smoke before," he said

"Well, I've only tried it a few times, but I've always heard that smoking after sex is supposed to be the best. I just have to try!"

David laughed, put two cigarettes in his mouth, lit them, and handed me one.

"I saw that in an old movie once. I've always wanted to do it." He said.

"Now Voyager with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid," I said with a smile. "It's one of my favorite movies. I guess we have the same taste in everything."

We just lay there for a while and smoked, giving each other an occasional smile. Underneath my calm exterior, my mind was spinning. Up until that afternoon, I hadn't known that I was gay. Up until a few minutes ago, I didn't know that one guy could fall in love with another. Nevertheless, I was in love with David. I knew it as surely as I knew the sun would rise in the morning. Should I tell him? Did he love me? Should I ask him? Would he laugh at me if I did? I wished I had some more of that courage the beer had given me earlier, but it had worn off long ago. I finally decided that I had to know.

"Dave, could I ask you a personal question?" I said

"Of course, you can ask me anything." He smiled.

"Before you said that you liked me. How much do you like me?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I...never mind."

"Please tell me, Mike. I want to tell you how I feel, but I'm too much of a coward to say it first. Nobody has ever said those words to me before, and I've never said them to anyone either."

"Promise you won't laugh or make fun of me? It would kill me if you did."

"I swear I won't. I would never hurt you like that." He put his arm around me.

I took a deep breath. "I love you, Dave. I think I fell in love with you the first time you shook my hand. It was love at first sight. I love everything about you. You're older and so much more mature than I am, you probably couldn't love a stupid kid like me, but I do love you."

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I love you too, Mike. You're not a stupid kid, and I never want you to think of yourself that way again, understand? You're the nicest, sexiest guy I've ever met, and I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have you love me."

Now I had tears in my eyes too.

"I think I had better tell you what kind of a monster you've fallen in love with," he said. "I didn't plan to fall in love with you. I wanted to use you as my own personal whore. When I said that I wanted you for my fuck slave I was telling the truth."

"I know that. I could tell that you changed your mind about me when we were talking on the roof. Why?"

"It was when you were crying and threw yourself in my arms. It was one of the most traumatic moments of your life, and you trusted me to take care of you; you even said that I was a good guy after the way I treated you. I can't explain it; I just fell in love with you. I've never been in love before, and I didn't think that I was capable of it. When we made love, it wasn't like any sex I've ever had before. I felt something in my heart, something emotional. Sex for me has always been purely physical. All I ever thought about was getting my rocks off as quickly and as often as possible. It was so different with you. I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you in the locker room today. It was practically rape, and you were a virgin."

"Oh Dave, don't be sorry about that. I loved every second of it!"

"I even knew it was wrong then," he continued. "That's why I offered to forget the whole thing and let you go without me cumming in your mouth. I really would have done it if you wanted. I couldn't believe it when you said that you wanted to belong to me, and that you wanted to give me your virginity. I think that's when I started to realize that you were somebody special. Giving someone your virginity is the ultimate gift and you wanted to give yours to me! Nobody has ever cared that much about me before."

He was crying now. I put my arms around him and started to kiss him.

"Please don't cry! We love each other, that's all that matters."

He smiled at me through his tears. "Would you like to make love to me, Mike?" He asked.

I was shocked. "You'd really let me?"

"I want to be your first in every way, but there's something that you need to know about me; I've been fucked once before. I was gang raped."

"Oh Dave no, when, who did it to you?"

"I'll tell you about it another time, if you really want to know, but not now. I just wanted you to know that even though I can't give you the gift of my virginity the way you gave me yours, I'll always consider you my first; that is, if you still want me now that you know that I'm damaged goods."

"Of course I still want you, and you're not damaged goods! In your heart, you're still a virgin. You've never wanted anyone to make love to you before, and I'm honored that you want me to be your first. Even if you had let someone else make love to you before, it wouldn't make any difference to me."

"I love you for saying that, Mike; you'll never know how much it means to me that you feel that way about it. I've always had this nightmare that when I met the right guy, he wouldn't be able to love me when I told him, and he would call me a whore and leave me."

"Nobody could be that cruel! You couldn't help what happened; it must have been horrible." I said.

"You could never be that cruel, but plenty of other guys could. I guess that's why I love you." He said. He kissed me, got up, brought his face down to my balls, and started kissing them. I got hard right away.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." I said.

"I do want to. I need to feel the guy I love inside me." He started kissing his way up my shaft and then swallowed my dick whole.

"Oh, Dave! This feels incredible!" I moaned.

"I think you'd better fuck me now. I don't want to make you cum too fast." He said.

"Like you said, I won't fuck you. I'll make love to you." He rolled over on his stomach; I got my face between his cheeks, and started licking his asshole.

"No Mike, you don't have to do that. I only made you do it before to humiliate you."

"But I like it, and I know you do too! Please let me."

"You can do anything you want with me. I want to belong to you just as much as you belong to me. My body is yours."

I ate his ass for a while, and then poured some baby oil into his hole and started working my finger in.

"Tell me if it hurts or if you change your mind." I said. Since I knew he had been raped, I wanted to give him every chance to back out if he was uncomfortable.

"No, it feels good. Keep going." He said.

I started pulling my finger in and out, copying what he had done to me earlier. When he started to moan, I added some oil and a second finger.

"I think I'm ready. I'm not as tight as you were." He said.

I pushed the head of my dick against his pucker, paused for a minute, and ran my hands over his perfect body. Was this really happening? I half expected to wake up and find that it was all a wonderful dream. How could Mr. Average Freshman Michael Sheridan be here, about to make love to the most popular senior at East Side Prep? I started slowly pushing in.

"Don't be so gentle Mike; I don't deserve it after the way I treated you this afternoon. Hurt me if you want to!"

I slowly pushed in the rest of the way and waited for him to get used to it, as he had done for me.

"I could never hurt you; I love you too much. I want to make you to feel as good as you made me feel." I pulled out and pushed back in. He moaned with pleasure, so I started going faster.

"That's it! Harder!" He said

"Oh, this is unbelievable! Now you belong to me too, Dave! We belong to each other!" Our souls joined again.

"I love you Mike! I'm yours forever."

I started rubbing his hard oozing cock. I could tell he was about ready to cum not only by the way his cock was twitching, but by the way his muscles clenched at my dick.

"I'm cumming too, Dave. We're cumming at the same time again!" We started shooting at the exact same moment. The funny thing was, as I was stroking his cock and cumming in his ass I had the sensation that I was jerking myself off; we were shooting our loads in perfect rhythm. It really felt as though we were one person. When we finished, David asked my to put my mark on him as he had done for me.

We lay in bed smoking again.

"I can't believe it. It was so different from that other time." David said. "I didn't know it could feel so good when you're in love. The last time it hurt. It was degrading. I thought it would be like that again, and that it would be my punishment for the way I treated you, but it was beautiful. I didn't deserve it."

"Have you ever told anyone about that other time? I asked.

"No, never. I'd be too humiliated. You're the only person who knows about it at all."

"Tell me. It won't make a difference to me; I love you no matter what."

"Ok, it can be my punishment."

"Please stop talking about punishing yourself, Dave! If I'm not angry at you, there's no reason to be angry at yourself."

"Don't you see that I'm just as bad as the guys who raped me?"

"Please tell me about it. I think you'll feel better." I said.

"Are you sure you want me to tell you? It's a horrible story. It might upset you."

"I want you to share everything with me, good or bad."

"It happened in the beginning of freshman year. You wouldn't have known me then. I was much shorter; I wore braces on my teeth, and had acne. I was painfully shy, and didn't have any friends."

"One Friday afternoon, a guy from my class asked me if I wanted to hang out at his place after school. His parents were away, and his brother was having a couple of his friends over too. He was a tough guy, and he hadn't been too nice to me before, but I was so lonely and I wanted a friend so badly that I said yes, and went with him. When we got there, his brother and his two friends were already there drinking beer. They offered me one. By the time I finished it, I knew something was wrong; I felt strange. I don't mean the buzz you get off of one beer, I mean totally wasted. They drugged me. When they were sure the drug had taken effect, they dragged me into the bedroom and undressed me. They started laughing at the size of my dick. It was smaller then too. Then they started calling me their whore and telling me that I wanted some cock. They all waved their cocks in my face and told me to choose one. I couldn't move or speak because of the drug. One of them said that they heard me say the big one. That was the brother. He had to have been about ten inches. He got behind me and spit in my ass crack. He fucked my virgin ass with a ten-inch dick and only a wad of spit, Mike! He stole my virginity from me, and from you too; I would have given it to you tonight. I'm so sorry I couldn't!" David sobbed. I held him in my arms while he cried for a few minutes. Tears were welling up in my eyes too.

"It hurt, Mike! I can't even describe how much it hurt, both physically and mentally. They all took turns. The guy from my class went last. He went out of his way to hit my prostate and make me cum. I didn't want to, but I couldn't control it. They all started laughing at me and told me that only a faggot could cum from having his asshole fucked. After they finished with me, they dragged me into the bathroom and threw me in the tub. The brother and his friends all pissed on my face. The drug was starting to wear off by then, and the guy from my class told me that he was going to piss in my mouth and if I didn't drink it, he would cut my dick off. I refused at first, but his brother held a knife to my dick, so I had to do it! It was the worst moment of my life. You can't imagine the humiliation I felt being forced to drink another guy's piss, especially that asshole's." He sobbed. "After that, they were finished with me. I cleaned myself up as best I could, got dressed and went home. I seriously considered suicide that weekend, and thought about it for a long time after that."

"There's a really tough looking guy in your class with a tattoo on his arm. Was that him?" I asked.

"Yeah, Matthew Johnson; stay far away from him, Mike."

"I'd like to break his fucking neck!" I cried.

"He'd kill you if you tried! He carries a switchblade, and he's so strong that he wouldn't even need it to take care of you. He's as tough as they come. Swear to me that you'll never get near him." He said. I hesitated.

"I MEAN IT MIKE, SWEAR!" He yelled.

"Ok, I swear. I know you're right. I'm just angry." I sobbed.

We lay there for a few minutes holding each other, crying.

"Why are you crying for me? I don't deserve your sympathy. Don't you see now that I treated you just like those guys treated me?"

"I'm crying because I love you so much that I feel like they raped me too. You're nothing like those bastards. There's one big difference between what they did to you and what you did to me; I wanted to have sex with you. I've been going straight home all week to jerk off thinking about you. All you did was to give me a push. If I really didn't want you, don't you think that I would have called your bluff? Wouldn't you rather be kicked out of school than be raped by a guy that you didn't like? I would. You gave me a choice. Those animals sure as hell didn't give you a choice!"

David looked as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You're right. I didn't think of it that way; I gave you a way out. It wasn't an easy way out, but it was a way out, and I really would have let you go without telling the headmaster." He smiled through his tears. "Now I can love you with a clear conscience!" He kissed me.

I blushed. "As long as you have a clear conscience, I might as well have one too. Didn't you miss a jockstrap the other day?"

He looked at me in shock.

"You didn't!"

"I took it home, and I've been using it when I jerk off. It gave me the best orgasms I've ever had, until today anyway."

He laughed. "You horny prick! How did you ever get the nerve? What would you have said if I had caught you?"

"Luckily for me you didn't. Now do you believe that I wanted to be with you?"

We both had a good laugh, kissed some more, then fell asleep in each other's arms.

Chapter VI

W e awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. "Hello," David said. "Good morning, James. I have a guest...In about an hour...We'll have eggs benedict and mimosas. If it's nice outside, we'll eat on the roof. Bye."

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"It was just the butler asking about breakfast."

"The butler?" I asked.

"I told you my parents had money." He said nonchalantly.

"Whoever said it's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man was right!" I laughed.

"Do your parents have money?"

"Not like this. I mean, were more middle class."

"It figures. Most rich guys are assholes. You'll find that out after you've been at East Side for a while. My friends at school are all middle class."

"What will the butler say about me sleeping with you, and what about the cum stains on the bedspread?" I asked nervously.

David laughed. "Don't worry. Butlers keep their jobs by being discrete. He won't go making any overseas phone calls to my mother; besides, James is gay himself. Come on let's shower. I have an extra toothbrush and you can use any of my cosmetics that you want."

"Are we showering together?" I asked.

David smiled "Of course we are, but let's try not to cum just now. My friends are coming over and we'll be cumming a lot later"

I got up and went into the bathroom with him. He turned on the shower and we got in. We got all soapy and washed each other from head to toe. It wasn't long before we were both hard. I slowly started soaping up his hard on until he moaned with pleasure. I turned my back to him and bent over.

"Soap up my asshole and fuck me right here." I said.

"I've created a monster! I thought we were going to save our cum for later."

"I need you now, Dave; please? Knowing the two of us, I think we'll have more than enough cum left for later anyway."

"You're right," He said as he put his soapy fingers in my asshole.

"I'm not a virgin anymore. Go nuts! I said.

David laughed. "Remember, you asked for it!" He shoved his soapy cock into me full force, and started pounding my ass. All the soap and water helped it to go in easily.

"Oh yeah, harder Dave!" I yelled. He started pounding me with a force I didn't know was possible. He grabbed my dick with his soapy hand and started jerking me off.

"Oh fuck, I'm cumming!" I moaned. As usual, we came at the same time.

After the shower, David went to his closet and started choosing his clothes.

"I'm not looking forward to wearing the same clothes as yesterday." I said.

"You're not going to. I'm picking out what you're going to wear. Put these on."

He handed me a beautiful blue silk shirt and tan chinos.

"You'd better take these too, but no jerking off on them like you did to my jockstrap!" He laughed as he handed me a pair of his silk boxers.

After I was dressed, he looked at me approvingly.

"I knew that shirt would look great on you. It matches your eyes."

I looked in the mirror, and saw a stranger. I looked so mature! I remembered as if from another lifetime yesterday, when I looked in the locker room mirror right before David and his friends came in. The boy I had seen was gone forever. I thought to myself that although the shirt looked great, something other than my clothes had changed. It was my eyes. They weren't the eyes of a kid anymore; they were the eyes of a young man.

"You just need one more thing." He said. He took the gold rope chain off his neck, and fastened it on me. "I want you to wear this from now on. If I were in love with a girl I'd give her my school ring, but that wouldn't look right in our situation. This is a little less obvious."

"Oh Dave, it's beautiful! It must have cost a fortune! Are you sure that you want me to have it?"

"I want the guy I love to wear something of mine all the time." He said as he took me in his arms.

Chapter VII

We sat at the table on the roof having breakfast. It was a beautiful morning. The butler had been polite, and smiled when David introduced me as his boyfriend. David's boyfriend. I liked the way it sounded.

"I guess you can't call me your boyfriend around the guys." I said.

"I wish I could. Hell, I wish they weren't coming over today at all. I don't want to share you with them you know."

"What am I going to have to do for them?" I asked.

"Brian won't let anyone fuck Jack, so I don't have to let anyone fuck you. All you'll have to do is suck them off. If there were a way out of it, I wouldn't even let you do that. It's going to kill me to watch."

"It looked like you had the biggest cock in the locker room yesterday." I said, smiling proudly.

"No I don't. Tom is a little bigger than I am. Brian is about my size, and Jason is about an inch smaller. By the way, I'm sorry that I said those things about the size of your dick yesterday. For the record, mine was exactly the same size as yours when I was your age. You might even be bigger than me in a year or two."

Nervously I asked, "How about Jack and Steve." I would be embarrassed if I was the smallest of the group.

David smiled. "Don't worry. Jack is about your size, maybe slightly bigger or smaller. Steve has a five inch wee- wee."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't mind if Jack was bigger than me, but it would kill me if Steve was. He'd never let me live it down. Why does he hate me so much anyway? I never did anything to him."

"I think he's jealous. He's been after me all summer, and I didn't give him the time of day. When he saw me drooling over you it drove him crazy."

"That explains it! I can't say that I blame him, poor bastard. If I was in his place, I guess that I would hate me too. Do you think there's any way that I can make friends with him?"

"You have a big heart, Mike. That's one of the reasons that I love you. If I were you, I would try to talk Jason out of making him eat your ass. At least make the effort. I have a funny feeling that Steve will open his big mouth again and ruin it, though. Even if he does, offer to suck his little wee-wee before the day is over. Maybe you can at least soften him up a little. If not, he can go to hell. If he would have been as mean to me as he was to you all week, I don't think I would be so kind to him."

"I want them all to like me. I want to make you proud of me."

He leaned over and kissed me. "I am proud of you; I'm proud that you love me. We can't tell them were in love, though; and we can't kiss. They can't know we're gay."

"What would happen if they found out?"

"We'd be outcasts. There's a sophomore named Tony who confessed to being gay last year. He lost all his friends, has been beat up several times, and I've heard that he was gang raped at least once."

"But your friends have sex with guys too. How can they think they aren't gay?"

"They claim to be bisexual. They say that they only fuck with guys when they can't have a girl. It's a funny thing at East Side; it's ok to have sex with another guy as long as you don't love him. If there's any sign of affection, like kissing you're a faggot."

"It's going to be hard not to kiss you." I said.

"I know, but we have to do it, and another thing, please don't tell them that I let you make love to me. It wouldn't look good for a senior to allow a freshman to fuck him."

"I understand. That's our business anyway. Just in case you're worried, I'll take everything else you told me last night to the grave; I swear it."

"I never had the slightest doubt about that, Mike." He squeezed my hand. "What's really going to hurt is that I'm going to have to act a little rough toward you, like at school. Don't let it upset you; it's only an act. To make up for it I'll suck your dick as soon as they leave."

"I'm looking forward to it already."

James had just cleared the breakfast dishes when the doorbell rang.

"Mr. Callahan and Mr. Chivers," James announced. David and I stood up and shook hands with them.

"James, bring us some more champagne, orange juice, and five more glasses. The other guys will be here soon." David said.

"Mike, what did Dave do to you? You look so different, more mature." Brian said.

"He let me borrow these clothes. I do look different in them, don't I?"

Jack laughed and touched the mark on my neck. "I'll bet he did more than lend you some clothes."

I blushed.

Jack took my hand. "Dave, can I take Mike into the living room for a few minutes? I just want to have a little `freshman' talk with him."

David smiled. "Go ahead."

Jack and I walked into the living room.

"Brian was right, you look great, but it's not the clothes. You look so happy you're glowing!"

"I am happy, Jack. Last night was the best night of my life. I never knew it could be like that. Dave is incredible!" I gushed.

"I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way after my first night with Brian. We have the two hottest guys in the school! I'm glad David chose you. I've wanted to have a friend in our class who I could talk to. Up until now there's only been Steve, and he's a jerk."

"I'm glad to have a friend too. I know that Steve hates me, and Dave just told me why. Do you have any advice on how I should handle him?"

"Yeah; have as little to do with him as possible and don't piss him off too much. Jason put you in a terrible position yesterday. Do what ever you have to do to talk Jason out of making Steve eat your ass. Maybe you could ask Dave to talk to him. Steve hates you enough as it is. If Jason forces him to eat your ass, he'll never forgive you. There's something about that little punk that scares me."

"Why?" I asked.

"He's more than just a little twerp, he's mean natured. I'll bet he was the kind of kid who got his kicks plucking the wings off of butterflies."

"Ok; I'll talk to Dave. He gave me practically the same advice."

"Good. So how does it feel to be fucking around with the richest guy in school?"

"It's funny, but I wouldn't have guessed he was this rich. There's nothing snobby about him."

"Brian says he's generous too. Any guy at school who gets in trouble and needs some cash knows he can go to Dave. He won't even let his friends pay him back!"

"That doesn't surprise me. Underneath that tough front he puts on, he's the nicest guy that I've ever met."

Jack whispered, "You love him, don't you? It's written all over your face."

I froze

"You don't have to answer that. I know the subject is taboo, but I just wanted you to know that I understand. I feel the same way about Brian."

I smiled at him and changed the subject.

"How does Steve feel about being with his brother? Does he love him?" I asked.

"I don't think he's capable of love or kindness the way the rest of us are. To him it's all about getting his rocks off. You'll see that the first time you suck him off. All he does is talk dirty and try to humiliate you. When he has to suck you off, he acts disgusted and does as little as possible. Dave hates that kind of attitude, that's one reason he blew him off. I think the only reason that he was interested in Dave is that he's rich and popular. Steve is a user.

"I'm starting to see why he scares you." I said.

"I'd be even more scared of him if I were you."

I put my arm around Jack's shoulders.

"I just saw James go outside. Let's go and have a mimosa." I said.

Chapter VIII

Jack and I went back out to the roof.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" David asked.

"Jack thinks that you should talk to Jason about making Steve eat my ass." I said.

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"I don't like him, Dave. I'm worried about what he might do to get even with Mike. He hates him so much as it is, and I wouldn't put anything past that guy." Jack said.

"Do you really think it's that serious?" David asked with concern in his voice.

"I wouldn't be sticking my nose in if I didn't." Jack said.

"Ok. There's no sense in taking chances. I'll get Jason on the side and talk to him. Feel free to stick your nose in any time you want. I'm glad that you're Mike's friend and you're looking out for him."

The doorbell rang, and a minute later James announced, "Mr. Warren, Mr. Jason Corbett, and Mr. Steven Corbett."

We shook hands all around, and David made us all drinks.

"Look Dave, I'm as horny as hell. Can't you let Mike suck me off now, just to take the edge off? I haven't had anything in so long!" Tom said.

"Have some class, Tom." David said. "I don't want you talking about Mike as though he wasn't here either. Freshmen have feelings too, you know."

"I'm sorry, Mike. I didn't mean it like that; I guess I was pretty rude. I'm just so desperate!"

I laughed in spite of myself. "Dave, would it be alright if I went inside with Tom for a few minutes? I don't want him cumming in his pants or anything! Since he was already desperate last night, I don't think we'll be gone long." Everybody laughed, including Tom.

"You're lucky Mike's kind-hearted. Go ahead!" Dave said jovially.

Tom took my hand. "Bless you for this, Mike!" He said.

"I have an idea," Steve said. "Why don't we just put Mike under the table and let him give us all blow jobs while we drink and if any of us have to piss, we could use his mouth as a urinal. He'd probably like that. Piss doesn't taste so bad, does it David?"

David and I exchanged a worried glance. He couldn't possibly know, could he? It was probably just a coincidence. He was just trying to insult us both.

"Listen asshole, the next time you try to degrade Mike I'm going to beat the shit out of you, understand?" David said.

"For the rest of this day, you're not to speak unless you're spoken to." Jason said. "I apologize again, Mike. Please don't hold my asshole brother against me."

I smiled at Jason and took Tom inside.

We went into the bedroom and I knelt down it front of Tom.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Mike. I'm sorry if I sounded like a jerk. I promise I'm nothing like Steve."

"It's ok; I know you didn't mean it." I said as I unzipped his fly. His cock sprang right out at me. "You really do need this, don't you? I said as I started sucking him off.

"Oh, Mike! Dave was right. You are a natural!" He moaned. As I predicted, he exploded in less than two minutes. His load was so big and thick that I almost choked on it.

"When was the last time you jerked off?" I asked.

"Last night," he said. "It didn't help much."

"So I see", I laughed.

"I need to get laid or sucked off every couple of days or I wind up like that. I've been dating this girl who's a real cock tease. Do you know of any freshmen who might be interested in me? I promise that I'd be good to him, like Dave is with you and Brian is with Jack."

"Not off hand, but I'll keep my eyes open for you." I said.

We walked out on the roof just in time to see David give Steve a black eye.

"I warned you, asshole!" David yelled. He grabbed Steve by the hair and shoved him down in front of me.

"I'm not sucking his cock!" Steve yelled. "I'll bite it off if he puts it in my mouth!"

"You're not good enough to suck his cock. You're going to eat his ass! Mike, pull down your pants and spread your cheeks!"

"But Dave," I started.

"Never mind what we said before, do it!" There was no use in arguing; I did what he told me to do.

"Now eat it, you little fucker!" David's face was bright red with rage.

"Jason..." Steve started to plead.

"Do what you're told, shit head!" Jason said.

Steve started half-heartedly licking my asshole.

"You'd better have him moaning in ecstasy damn fast or you'll be sorry!"

I think Steve realized that there was no way out and he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. He really started to lick my asshole. I started moaning, "He's doing it, Dave." After about five minutes, David told him to stop.

"Point your dick at him and cum on his face, Mike. I'll help you." David spit in his hand and started jerking me off. I came on Steve, and David made sure it got all over his face and in his hair.

"What did he mean by that, Dave?" Jason asked.

"I can't tell you, but believe me it was a threat, and a very cruel one."

"You're in no position to threaten anyone!" Jason said to his brother. "We're going home; you've embarrassed me enough for one day. Maybe I'll use your mouth as a urinal! Come with us, Tom. You can help me punish the little cocksucker. We can both fuck him until he bleeds, and you can piss in his mouth too."

"Sounds like fun!" Tom said.

"Mike, it seems like all I ever do is apologize to you. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you better. The next time I hang out with you guys I'll leave my asshole brother at home."

"I know you're a nice guy, Jason. It's not your fault." I said.

After the three of them left, Dave poured the rest of us a drink.

"Guys, I need to talk to you", David said to Brian and Jack. "I've got to take a huge gamble on our friendship." He took a deep breath. "Mike and I are gay, and we love each other."

Brian and Jack looked at each other and smiled. "We're gay and in love, too." Brian said. We all breathed a sigh of relief and kissed each other.

"You're my best friend, Brian. I've wanted to tell you for so long." David said.

"I know; me too. I was scared too."

"What made you change your mind, Dave?" I asked, confused. A half hour ago, I knew that he didn't intend to tell anyone.

"It was what Steve said. Guys, I need your help. Jack, you were right about Steve. He is dangerous. What he said was a direct threat."

"What did he say?" I asked. David took my hand and looked into my eyes.

"He said that he was going to take you up to Matthew Johnston's apartment for a drink like the one that I had with him in freshman year. He said it just that way." I gasped in horror. David took me in his arms.

"Don't worry; it's going to be ok. I won't let them touch you. I'd die first."

"Dave, fill us in. What does it mean?" Brian asked.

"When I was a freshman Johnson invited me to his apartment where he, his brother, and his brother's friends drugged my drink and raped me."

"Dave, why didn't you ever tell me? I'll break his fucking neck!" Brian said.

David and I looked at each other and smiled. "I think you and Mike are going to get along fine. Those were his exact words when I told him last night. I never wanted anybody to know about it, but I need your help to protect Mike. As much as I'd like to, I can't be with him every second of the day at school, but one of the three of us can. I never want him to be alone when he's not in class, not even for a second."

"You can count on us, Dave." Brian said.

"I'm in most of your classes anyway. We can walk together in the halls." Jack said.

"Thanks, guys. Knowing that I have friends around makes me feel a lot better." I said.

"What scares me is that Steve must be talking to Johnson. No one else knew about the rape until I told Mike about it last night." David said.

"You're right. If I haven't heard about it in all these years, I'm sure nobody else knows." Brian said.

"Is there any way that Jason could have known and mentioned it to Steve?" I asked.

"I doubt it", Brian said. "I saw his face. He was just as shocked as we were by Dave's reaction to what Steve said. What do you think about telling Jason what Steve meant? Maybe he could keep an eye on Steve."

"It's one thing that I told you guys about the rape, but I don't want the whole school to know." David thought for a minute. "I'm being a selfish prick. I'll tell him. Hell, I'll let Walter Cronkite announce it on the news if it there's a chance that it might protect Mike."

"I'm sorry, Dave. This is all my fault." I said.

"It's not your fault, Mike. Steve would have gone off on anybody that I liked. If anything I should be apologizing to you."

"Hey guys, wake up! It's Steve's fault for threatening Mike and this Johnson guy's fault for raping Dave." Jack said.

We both laughed. "Like I said, stick you're nose in anytime you want!" David said.

Chapter IX

It was about three o'clock when Brian and Jack left. We all had such a good time talking and laughing that we never got around to any sex.

"Ok, Mike, it's our first Saturday night together. Do you see that city out there? It belongs to you tonight. What will it be, dinner in an expensive restaurant, a Broadway show, and end up at Xenon?"

"You're joking, right?" I said.

"The hell I am! Don't forget, you fell in love with the richest guy in school; I'm going to show you a world you've only imagined."

"You don't have to spend your money on me. When I fell in love with you, I had no idea that you were rich. I'd be just as happy to heat up a TV dinner and watch The Love Boat and Fantasy Island in bed with you."

"I know that I don't have to spend money on you, I want to. I get a huge allowance and I have money in the bank. Please let me do something special for you. Why would you want to watch Fantasy Island on television when you can be a guest star? There must be some restaurant that you've always dreamed of eating in, or something in the city that you've always wanted to do but couldn't afford. Let me be your Ricardo Montalban!"

"Well," I said, weakening, "Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to have dinner at the Plaza and take a carriage ride through Central Park. Would that be too much?"

"I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island!" He said in a terrible Spanish accent.

"I love you, Mr. Roarke." I said.

"When we get home tonight, we can show each other how much."

"We have some time now. It's a few hours until dinner time."

"And I owe you something, don't I?" David asked, dropping to his knees in front of me.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Mike, every time I want to suck you off or give myself to you, you act like I'm degrading myself, and you don't even want me to take you out on the town. Why?"

"Well, I don't know. Look at you. Look at me."

"Ok, I will. Come with me," he said, leading me to a mirror. "I see two handsome guys. What's your point?" As I looked objectively, I saw what he meant. We looked good together.

"You're a senior, and you're so popular. I'm nobody."

"If you were nobody', I would have fucked you and sent you home last night. I've done it to lots of guys before. I wouldn't waste my time taking nobody' to the Plaza, and I certainly wouldn't have let `nobody' make love to me last night. If you think that I'm so great, you should respect my taste in boyfriends. I shop for my jewelry at Tiffany's, not Woolworth's, and the same is true for my boyfriends. Don't you realize that every senior at school wanted you? It's only because I am so popular that I'm lucky enough to have you!"

"Dave, that's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. Do you really think that much of me?"

"I love you just as much as you love me. Do you think that much of me?"

Through the lump in my throat, I managed to choke out, "Would you suck me off now please?"

David took me in his arms and kissed me. "I hope we've got that straight," he said as he knelt before me.

"Do you think that maybe next Saturday you could take me to Xenon?" I asked. "I'd like to have dinner at The Russian Tea Room first."

David smiled at me. "It's a date!"

Chapter X

David picked out some dress clothes for me to wear to the Plaza. The blazer was made from the softest cashmere I had ever felt. "I bought it at a good tailor shop on Savile Row in London when I went to visit my mother last year." He said.

"I'd like to go to London someday", I said. "I'd like to sail over on the QE2. I've always wanted to sail first class on an ocean liner."

"That's how I went. I'd like to go again with you. It was nice, but I was lonely. At night, I'd go out on deck and look up at the stars, and wish that I had someone to share them with me."

"Share them with me now. I've always dreamed about sailing across the ocean. Let me see them through your eyes."

"You can't imagine how bright they are. You're hundreds of miles from land, so there aren't any city lights to spoil the view. I know it's a clich‚, but you really do feel like you can reach out and touch them. You can see a lot of falling stars too. The sea air makes you feel so alive. Oh Mike, if only you could be there with me right now!"

"We are there," I said. "What would you do?"

"I'd brush your hair out of your eyes like this and look into your eyes so I could see the stars reflect in them; and then I'd..." He kissed me, softly and tenderly.

"You must be magic. I really was there for a minute. He said.

"Me too; it was more beautiful than I ever imagined."

"Someday I'm really going to take you."

"Can we go on our honeymoon?" I expected him to take it as a joke.

"Yes, I promise. I'll take you there on our honeymoon." He was serious. My heart leapt.

The Plaza was everything I dreamed it would be. All those crystal chandeliers and gilded moldings made me feel as though I had traveled back in time to the turn of the century. Since I was wearing David's English blazer and David, as always, looked like he just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine, I felt as though we belonged there. Although the prices on the menu appalled me, David insisted that price was no object and ordered us both the duck   l'orange and a bottle of good champagne.

"So is the Plaza everything you hoped it would be?"

"Oh, yes; I feel as though I'm in a scene from a movie. But Dave, It's so expensive!"

"Mike, you've got to get used to letting me worry about that. I can afford it. If I couldn't, we wouldn't be here."

"I'd be lying if I said that I don't love living like this, but I want you know that it isn't the reason I'm with you."

"I do know that; that's why I love giving it to you. If you liked me for my money like Steve, we would be having hot dogs and orange drinks at Neidick's right now and you would be picking up half the tab."

"Ok, I won't mention it again, as long as you know that I'd love you even if you didn't have a dime."

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.

"Good evening, gentlemen." To my horror, it was our headmaster, Mr. Powers.

"Good evening, Mr. Powers!" We said in unison.

"I am very pleased to see a senior socializing with a freshman. It is unfortunate that it doesn't happen more often."

"Yes sir. Mike here really came through for me tonight. I had a date with my girlfriend, but it turned out that her younger cousin was visiting. I called Mike, and he agreed to be her blind date as a favor to me. After it was all set, they had to cancel. I knew that Mike was looking forward to eating here, so I figured that since neither of us had any plans, I would treat him to dinner."

I thought to myself, "Damn he's good! I could never have thought that fast."

Mr. Powers smiled. "Mr. Donovan, what sort of a fool do you take me for? I saw the way you were looking at each other. Don't worry you're not in trouble. My brother is gay, and I was an early supporter of gay rights. Do you realize that you are playing with fire? If your fellow students ever learn what is going on between the two of you, you will both be ruined.

"I know you're right sir, but when two people are in love like we are, they're willing to risk everything for each other."

"Mr. Sheridan, you have even more to lose than Mr. Donovan. Are you willing to risk everything in order to be with him?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "Yes sir, I am."

"In that case, I will wish both of you good luck. If you are discovered, please feel free to come to me. I shall try to help you if at all possible."

"Thank you, sir!" We both said.

"Will you have a glass of champagne with us, sir?" David asked.

"Thank you no. My wife is waiting for me at our table, good night.

"He's a good man." David said after Mr. Powers had left. "Everybody at school loves and respects him."

"I was afraid that he would expel us right here!" I said.

David took my hand. "Would you really risk everything for me?"

"Of course I would. I'd risk my life for you."

Chapter XI

The next few months were the happiest that I had ever known. At first, I was very nervous about the situation with Steve. For the first few weeks, David, Brian, and Jack were as good as their word and stuck to me like glue. However, it soon became evident that I was safe; David talked to Jason, who knew nothing of the rape, and Jason promised to keep Steve away from me. An uneasy truce eventually developed between Steve and me. We never spoke to each other, but tolerated each other's presence when necessary.

As soon as word got around that David was having sex with me, I found that I was the most popular guy in my class. Everybody wanted to be my friend. I was popular merely because I sucked David's dick, yet if word got out that that he kissed me, we would both be ruined. The irony of the situation made me angry when I thought about it, but when I saw Tony (the sophomore who had admitted to being gay) sitting alone without a friend in the world, I realized how important it was to play along.

I heard through the grapevine that they had broken this poor kid to the point where he would let anybody fuck him at any time, just to avoid being beaten. I noticed that sometimes someone would tap him on the shoulder, and he would walk to the locker room with him, only to return alone ten or fifteen minutes later with red teary eyes. They had turned this poor kid into the school whore. Although my heart ached for him, I had too much to hide myself to risk befriending him.

To my surprise, I found that someone had nominated me as a candidate for Freshman Class Representative to the student government. With the endorsement of the Student Body President, (David) and the Senior Class Representative (Brian), I won the election in a landslide.

For Thanksgiving, the school sponsored a Student Follies. The theme that year was The Fabulous Fifties. Brian, who played guitar and sang well, was looking for someone to sing a medley of The Everly Brothers' songs with him. He couldn't find anyone among the singers of the school who sounded right with him, so he started auditioning everybody he could find. I finally tried out just to get him off my back. To my amazement, he said that my voice was perfect. We were the hit of the show, and even did an encore.

My love life with David was going just as well. We went out together every weekend. We took long walks together in Central Park and enjoyed the beautiful autumn weather, occasionally stopping to kiss under a golden tree. Every Saturday night we would get dressed up, I would put on my beautiful English blazer (which David, by this time had given to me because he said that I looked sexy in it) and we would have dinner at a wonderfully expensive restaurant, and then we would dance the night away at The Copacabana or Xenon. Our love for each other grew with every passing week, and the sex just kept getting better.

I soon realized that I had become a completely different person. With David's encouragement and gifts of expensive clothing, I realized that I was a very handsome young man who was worthy of David's love. It was more than just skin-deep; I now had more self-confidence than I would ever have thought possible that first week of school. Even my parents, who at first were nervous about my spending so much time with a senior, noticed the difference and realized that David was a good influence on me. My life was perfect until two days before Christmas vacation. That's when I broke my truce with Steve.

During a study period, Danny Schmidt came over to me and asked shyly if he could speak to me. There's one of Danny in every class. He was the smartest guy in our class, but very shy and introverted. He was the class nerd. Most of the guys in my crowd wouldn't have given him the time of day, but remembering the way I was in junior high and the way David told me he was in freshman year, I had a soft spot for him. I asked him to sit down.

"I want to ask you something, but I'm afraid that I'll insult you." He said nervously.

"I promise I won't get angry, Danny. Go ahead."

"Everybody says that you and David Donovan are..." He was afraid to finish.

"It's ok. What they say is true." I said reassuringly.

"What I need to know is...does it hurt much?" His voice shook with fear.

"It depends on how gentle the guy is with you. Most people say that the first time is painful, but it wasn't for me at all. Dave was great."

"Mike, you're friendly with all the seniors. Do you know anybody who would want me; somebody who would be gentle with me the way David was with you?"

"I'd like to be your friend, Danny. Why don't you tell me the whole story? I know a lot of people around here, and I might be able to help you if you're in trouble."

"There's this guy. I've been...well, sucking his dick since September. The first time he forced me to do it, but it turned out that I liked it. Since then I've been doing it because it turns me on. The problem is that now this guy wants to fuck me, and I don't want him to. I don't trust him, Mike. He's mean; he only thinks about himself. I told him that I wouldn't let him fuck me and he threatened to beat me up and rape me. If I were with a senior, he would have to leave me alone."

"It's Steve, isn't it?" I asked.

"How did you know?" He asked in amazement.

"It sounds like his style. You were right to come to me; I can help you."

"Oh, thank you Mike! I was so scared."

"The first thing I need to know is whether or not you really want to be with a senior. It would be the easiest way, but not the only way. If you're not ready to have sex yet, I could talk to Steve's brother. Believe it or not he's a good guy, and he has some power over Steve."

"Which senior would it be?" He nervously asked.

"Do you know Tom Warren?"

"Tom Warren! Oh Mike, really? Do you think he would want me? He's so good looking! I think about him sometimes when I..." He blushed.

"There's only one way to find out," I laughed. "He's sitting right over there. I'll introduce you to him."

"How could you have done something so stupid?" David shouted when I told him what I had done. "Steve has left you alone all semester. You've just declared war on him, that's what you've done. Have you forgotten that he's in with Matthew Johnson? What ever possessed you?" David had never shouted at me like this before.

"Dave, if you could have seen his face, I know you would have done the same thing. He was so naive and so scared! He had tears in his eyes when he asked me if it would hurt. I had to help him; I couldn't have lived with myself if Steve had raped him." I started to cry.

The look on his face softened. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Mike. I love you; you know that. I don't know what to do with you. On one hand, I love you for being so kind- hearted, and on the other, I'm as scared as hell that you just signed your own death warrant."

"I know something that you can do with me." I said as I put my hand on his crotch.

David smiled. "You know I can't stay mad at you."

"Do you really think Steve's going to try to get even?"

"Maybe not; he forgot about it the last time." He said, not very convincingly.

The next morning at school, I got the answer to my question. It came in the form of a note dropped in my locker. It was made from letters cut from a newspaper, like a ransom note. It said simply, "THIS TIME I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"

Chapter XII

David had been so angry about my helping Danny that I dreaded telling him about the note. I thought seriously about keeping it from him until after Christmas, but decided against it. I had never kept anything from David before, and decided that Steve wouldn't make me do it now. As soon as we got to his place after school, I handed it to him.

"I found this in my locker. You were right, I was stupid."

David looked at the note in horror and I braced myself for an explosion that would never come. Instead, he took me in his arms.

"You must have been so scared when you saw this." He said gently.

"Oh Dave, what am I going to do?" I cried.

"Don't you mean what are we going to do? You're not alone, you know."

"I thought you were going to be angry at me again."

"I was never really angry; I was just worried about you. You were trying to be kind to somebody without a friend in the world. I couldn't be angry with you for that. I love that about you. By the way, I talked to Tom, and he's crazy about Danny. If we weren't in so much trouble I'd be proud of you for that."

"I'm glad. Danny is a nice kid. He deserves to be happy." I said.

"Look Mike, there's nothing that Steve can do until after Christmas vacation anyway, so why don't we forget about him for now and go out and buy a Christmas tree. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

I smiled. "I think that's the best idea I've heard all day."

We went out and brought home a Christmas tree. As I might have guessed, David insisted on a nine-foot tall blue spruce, which cost over a hundred and fifty dollars. We decorated it together with David's beautiful old family ornaments, and tinsel and lights that we bought at Woolworth's. We went to Gimbel's, and bought one new ornament, a ball that said "Christmas 1980" on it to commemorate our first Christmas together.

We spent Christmas Eve together in David's apartment, and not being able to stand the thought of him spending Christmas alone, I invited him home for Christmas dinner with my family. We exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, and I could hardly wait for him to open mine. He had mentioned a while back that he wanted to get an ID bracelet, so I took my birthday money and saved my allowance, and bought him one at Tiffany's. I made him open my gift first. When he ripped open the wrapping paper and saw the blue Tiffany's box he said, "Mike, you didn't!" It was a gold bracelet with his name on the front and the inscription "With all my love forever, Michael" on the back.

"I don't know what to say," he said with tears in his eyes. "It's just what I wanted. You must have saved up for months to be able to afford this. You must have gone without things that you needed. Nobody ever sacrificed anything for me before. I love you so much!"

"You're everything that I need, and as long as I never have to go without you, I'll be happy." I said.

He kissed me and said, "Open mine now."

I tore open the wrapping, and saw another blue box. I opened it and found a gorgeous star sapphire ring.

"Oh Dave, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever owned!"

"The sapphire is blue like your eyes. The star reflection represents the stars that I'm going to see reflected in them someday. Do you remember my promise?"

"I remember." I said with tears streaming down my cheeks. "I love you, Dave."

We kissed, snuggled up together on the couch, and watched the fire glow in the fireplace.

"Where do you want me to take you for New Years Eve?" David asked. "We can go anywhere you want."

"I've been thinking about that. Would it be too much trouble to have a party here? With your money, we can do anything that we want, but our friends don't have that luxury. I've heard that they're stricter than usual about checking ID's that night too. Jack and Danny would have a hard time getting in anywhere."

"I think it's a great idea except for one thing; I'd have to invite Jason, and that means that Steve would be here."

"I didn't think of that," I admitted. "You know, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe if we invited him and were friendly to him he would calm down."

"You'd be taking a chance, but if you're willing to try it's ok with me. It would be a nice thing to do for our friends. It won't be any trouble; James is an expert at this sort of thing. All we'll have to do is tell him what we want for dinner and how many guests we'll be having."

"I can't wait to see Danny's face when he walks into this apartment and finds himself socializing with the most popular guys at school!"

"You really like that little guy, don't you?" David asked.

"Yes, I do. He reminds me of myself before I met you. He's so shy and wide-eyed. He just needs somebody to take him under his wing, the way you did for me. I hope that Tom is that guy."

"You're a good friend. Steve doesn't know what he threw away when he made you his enemy."

"He has a chance to change that. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones."

"I wouldn't bet on him changing."

"Me neither; but it can't hurt to try."

Chapter XIII

I was excited. This would be my first adult New Years Eve, and the first party I had ever hosted. I wanted it to be perfect. I'm sure that I drove poor James crazy checking and double-checking every detail that he had already thought of. Realizing that it was my first time co hosting a party, he showed remarkable restraint. "Don't worry Mr. Michael, everything will be perfect." He must have said those words a thousand times that week. David had given parties before, so he just sat back and smiled while he watched me drive James and myself crazy.

"Why does this party mean so much to you?" David asked as we were getting dressed for the party. "It's not like we have to impress anybody; it's only for our closest friends."

I blushed. "I'll tell you if you won't laugh at me."

"I promise."

"I know that this party is just for our friends, but someday you'll have a party for important people. I want you to know that you can count on me to plan a party that you can be proud of, the way a husband can count on his wife."

"I don't think it's silly at all. I love you for it. It doesn't matter though. I would marry you even if you were the worst host in New York, but I have a feeling that you'll turn out to be the best. Everybody loves you."

I kissed him. "I needed to hear that; you always know the right thing to say." I said.

Although I had scheduled the party for eight o'clock, we were ready by seven-thirty.

"Have a drink, it'll calm you down." David said with a smile.

"I think you're enjoying this!" I said.

"It's a party; I'm supposed to have fun. Besides, you don't know how flattered I am that you're so eager to please me. It's turning me on. Want to go to the bedroom while we wait?"

"You think you're funny," I said with mock exasperation in my voice.

"I think you're sexy," he said as he poured some champagne.

"I feel like were an old married couple waiting for our guests to arrive." I said.

"I know. I like it."

The doorbell rang.

"All joking aside, I know it's going to be a success. I love you." He kissed me, and my nerves disappeared like magic.

To my delight, Tom and Danny were the first to arrive. I would have some time to find out how they were doing.

"So you must be Mike's new best friend Danny." David said as he shook his hand. "You made some impression on him. All he's done is talk about what a nice guy you are for the last week."

"David, this apartment, the butler..." he stammered.

"Now I see what you two have in common!" David laughed. He remembered.

"He's laughing because I said almost the exact same thing the first time I walked in here back in September." I told him.

"Have some champagne," David said handing Danny a glass.

"I've never had it before," Danny said.

"It's good. Just sip it slowly." I said. I watched and waited for the bubbles to tickle his nose. They did, and we all laughed. I could tell that David liked him already.

David and Tom went over to the stereo to put on some records.

"So Danny, I've been dying to ask you. Did it hurt?" I smiled.

"No, it was beautiful. Tom was so gentle. I know I'm not supposed to say it, but I love him. I want to tell him, but I'm afraid."

"I think the scariest moment of my life was when I said those words to Dave. If he hadn't told me that he loved me, I think I would have died."

"But he did tell you that he loves you, and look at you now!"

"If I were you, I would tell him. Just remember, it's a big gamble and you can't tell anyone else that you love him. If you tell the wrong person, you're dead."

"Mike, whatever happens, I'll never be able to thank you enough for setting me up with Tom. Steve would have raped me, I know it."

"I should warn you, Steve is going to be here tonight." Danny's face turned white.

"He's got it in for me too. I'm going to try to make peace with him. Just stay clear of him and close to Tom or Dave. You'll be ok; and if that doesn't work, you have my permission to hit him over the head with one of the lamps." Danny giggled.

The doorbell rang again. It was Jason and Steve. I greeted them and offered them drinks. Steve wore his usual snarl as he gulped down a glass of champagne and poured another. I maneuvered Steve to the other side of the room where we could have some privacy. I could see that David was keeping an eye on us.

"Steve, I want to talk to you. We've never really talked before; we've been too busy hating each other."

"So talk to me. Who's stopping you?"

"I'd like to bury the hatchet."

"You buried it in my back when you stole David from me, and if that wasn't enough, you saw to it that I couldn't even fuck the class nerd. I should be the one hosting this party wearing those fancy clothes and that sapphire ring, not you."

"I didn't go after David because of his money. I didn't even know he was rich when I fell in love with him."

"Ah, so you are a faggot! I thought so."

I blushed. I hadn't meant to say that.

"Ok, so you know. I love him for himself, and he loves me. You only loved his money and position at school and he never wanted any part of that kind of a relationship. Can't you understand that?"

"I might have been able to forgive the fact that you're two faggots in love, but explain to me why you fucked me up with Danny."

"You were cruel to him and he was afraid of you. He came to me with tears in his eyes and begged me for help. He was so scared and upset that I didn't have the heart to say no. Look, if you'll forgive and forget I'll make you one of the most popular guys in our class if you want. I'll even try to find you somebody to fuck around with, if you promise not to abuse him."

"Too little too late, faggot! I'm going to destroy you and your rich faggot boyfriend. By the end of this year, I'll have an asshole to shove my cock into. You'll be my fuck slave, and don't worry about David. He won't be lonely; he'll be too busy getting his ass pounded by Matthew to give you a second thought!"

With that, he walked away and joined his brother. Jack, who had just arrived with Brian, came up to me.

"You're as pale as a ghost. What was that all about?" He asked.

"Oh Jack, I think I'm in trouble!" I said.

Other than my failure to make friends with Steve, the party was a complete success. The dinner was perfect. The table was set with David's good china and silver and was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. David surprised me at midnight by kissing me in front of everybody as Auld Lang Syne played, and the other couples kissed as well. I heard Steve mutter something about faggots to Jason, and Jason told him to "shut the fuck up." By the end of the night, everybody was feeling happy from the champagne.

After the party, David and I were getting ready for bed. "I was so proud of you tonight." David said. "You couldn't have been a better host. When I saw you talking with Danny it was like looking at before and after pictures of you. When we first met, you were just like him. You never could have hosted a party like this. Tonight you were mature and self-confident. Every guy at the party told me how lucky I am to have you. You've grown into a handsome, confident, and kind young man and I love you more than anything on earth." He kissed me.

I wiped my eyes. "I have you to thank for the person I've become. Your love made me all that and more." I said. "I'm afraid that I did make a mess of one thing though."

"Let me guess, Steve?"

"He hates me worse than ever. He said that he would destroy both of us and to make matters worse, I let it slip that we're in love."

"Don't feel bad, I let it slip in front of everybody while you were talking to Steve." David smiled. "That's why we all kissed at midnight. We knew that Brian and Jack were in love, but when I let it slip that I love you, Tom admitted that he was in love with Danny. Jason heard it all, and admitted that he was gay too. We can all be open with each other now."

"I'm so happy for Danny. He told me that he was in love with Tom but was afraid to tell him."

"I'm sorry that I got so angry when you told me about Danny. Now that I've met him, I understand why you had to help him. You were right; I'd have done exactly the same thing. It would have been inhuman to allow Steve to rape that nice kid. I'll never question your judgment again."

"I'm really afraid of Steve now. I never saw such hatred in anybody's eyes before. He meant every word he said. He's jealous that I'm with you. He thinks that I stole you from him, and he should have been hosting this party wearing my clothes and my ring."

"I wouldn't have had anything to do with him even if I hadn't met you. He would have made me pay him every time that I wanted him to suck my dick!"

"If anything, he should pay you for the privilege."

"I'll give you a freebee if you want!" He said, whipping it out.

"The best things in life are free," I said, happily falling to my knees in front of him.

Chapter XIV

When school resumed in January, we had two weeks to prepare for midterm exams. All social life ceased for three weeks. Although I still stayed with David on the weekends, we were both engrossed in our books most of the time. We had quiet dinners together in the penthouse, and quizzed each other in our studies. We both passed our exams with flying colors. By the time exams ended, it was February, and we were all getting ready for the St. Valentine's Day dance. I never could have guessed what a traumatic night it would be for David and me.

The nightmare began, appropriately enough, on Friday, February 13. The last period had just ended, and I went to my locker to put my books away. There was an envelope taped to my locker. I opened it and stared in horror. It was full of pictures of David and me. They were pictures of us kissing, embracing, dancing at Xenon, and smiling at each other. The bastard must have had somebody follow us with a camera! They were all taken last Saturday. The unsigned note that accompanied them said, "Meet me at four o'clock in the locker room and bring your faggot boyfriend."

In a state of shock and panic, I ran into the cafeteria to look for David. I found him talking to some friends; I tapped him on the arm to get his attention. As soon as he saw my face, he knew that something was very wrong.

"What is it, Mike?" He said with alarm in his voice. I handed him the pictures and note. He took me by the arm and led me to a storage room where we could have some privacy.

"They were taped on my locker. What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We're screwed. He said he would destroy us and he has. If he shows these around it will be the worst scandal in the school's history. I don't care so much for myself; I'll be out of here in a few months. You've got three and a half more years. It's my fault. If it weren't for me Steve wouldn't hate you."

"No Dave; it's my fault. I helped Danny get away from him. That's why he did this." I said. "He's going to try to blackmail me to be his slave. On New Year's Eve, he said I'd be his fuck slave before the year ended. I won't do it!"

"I'd rather be ruined than see him touch you. I'd rather die. Mike, whatever happens in that locker room, even if we're the school faggots from now on, somehow we'll get through it together. Let's make a pact right now that we won't give ourselves to them no matter what happens."

"Give ourselves to them?" I asked in horror.

"I'm sure Johnson is in on this. He's been smirking at me all day." I fell into his arms.

"I promise. It's a pact." I said.

"It's just about four o'clock."

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you and I have no regrets." I said.

"That goes for me too." He said as he kissed me.

We began the short walk to the locker room. It seemed to take an eternity.

"It's ironic," I said, "The locker room was where our love began."

"This is just our second beginning." He said.

We walked into the locker room and just as we expected, there stood Steve and Matthew Johnson. We stood with our backs to the door in case we had to run.

"So, you got my little calling cards, good." Steve said. "I thought that I'd pass them out before the dance tomorrow night."

"All right, you've got us. What is there to talk about?" David said.

"I'm hurt", Steve said. Do you really think that I would ruin you without offering you an alternative?"

"What do you want for the negatives? Cut the bullshit and tell us."

"To start with, we each want a thousand dollars."

"That can be arranged. What else?" David said coolly.

"You become my whore." Johnson said. I still dream about that tight little ass of yours, even after all these years."

"What about Mike?" David asked.

"Mike becomes my fuck slave." Steve said. "And just remember, you won't be here next year to protect him. If he's an outcast, I'll find a way to rape him anyway."

David looked at me. "Do you want to give them our answer or shall I?" He asked.

I looked Steve straight in the eye. "You can both go fuck yourselves! Show those damn pictures to anybody you want. I wouldn't let either of you touch us if my life depended on it. I'd rather be disgraced with David than be the most popular guy in school, if it meant getting fucked by an ugly little worm like you!"

Johnson pulled out his switchblade and clicked it open. "Your boyfriend's life does depend on it, faggot!" He said. "On your knees in front of Corbett or your boyfriend's face won't look so pretty anymore." Steve unzipped his fly and pulled out his ugly little dick. It was hard and slimy. Johnson pulled a nine-inch hard weapon from his pants. "This is for you, Donovan; suck it, and if you're a good boy, I'll give you a nice warm drink from it when you're done. Do it now or I'll cut off Blondie's dick." Before I could react, I heard a click come from where David was standing. To my astonishment, David had a switchblade too.

"Get behind me, Mike and open the door." He didn't have to tell me twice. David backed out after me.

"Upstairs and out the front door!" David said. We ran like Hell. We got outside, and David hailed a cab on Madison Avenue. We held each other in the back seat. I don't know who was shaking harder, David or me.

Chapter XV

We got to David's apartment and bolted the door. David instructed James to use the peephole if the doorbell rang, and to call the police if it was Steve or Johnson.

"Where did you get that switchblade?" I asked David.

"I bought it back in freshman year, right after I was raped. I carried it for a long time, but never had to use it. I started carrying it again after Steve made his first threat, just in case he or Johnson tried to make good on it."

"Dave, if you didn't have it..."

"They would have raped us. They were smart enough to know that we might risk our own lives, but not each other's."

"What are we going to do?" I cried.

"First, we're going to hold each other for a few minutes and calm down. After that, we'll think of something."

It felt so good to be safe in David's strong arms again, after what had almost happened. I could feel his heart beating with a fear that matched my own.

"What will they do to us when they see the pictures?" I asked.

"Are you sure that you want me to tell you? Can you take it?"

"Tell me. I'll find out soon enough anyway."

"The first thing you'll notice on Monday is that everybody will back away from you as if you had the plague. There will be graffiti on your locker saying "Faggot" or an obscene drawing of you and me. The worst part is that even your best friends may turn on you. Gay guys are sometimes the worst, because they're afraid of being discovered themselves. Jack might spit in your face. Danny might call you names. You'll have to be very careful. You can't use the bathroom in school any more; someone could easily rape you in there. Once a week you'll have to use the locker room to change for Phys Ed. You could be gang raped by your whole class. It's happened before, to that sophomore, Tony. If you're lucky, one or two of your friends might stick by you and watch your back, but you can't count on it. It might not be so bad this year, because you'll still have me to protect you, for whatever that's going to be worth now. Your next three years will be like a prison sentence."

"Oh Dave," I cried, "Isn't there anything that we can do?"

"There's only one thing that I can think of. Blame it on me. Say that I forced you to kiss me. Say that I was blackmailing you or something. I'd much rather spend a few months as the school faggot than see you suffer for three years."

"You know that I would never do that to you; we're in this thing together. Besides, look at these pictures. The way I feel about you is written all over my face. Nobody would ever believe that you were forcing me to do anything."

"You're right. It was a stupid idea. But Mike, it's the only thing I can think of!" "I need a drink." I said.

"I'll make us both one." David said.

I took a sip of my scotch and soda. All of a sudden, I had an idea.

"Dave, do you remember when we saw Mr. Powers at the Plaza? Maybe he can help us!"

"Yeah, he can give us an armed guard to take you to class for the next three years." He said sarcastically."

"Maybe he could call an assembly and speak to them about gay rights." I said.

"Or maybe, maybe he could let us talk to them. We could throw ourselves on their mercy. Mike, if we did that, at least they'd have to give us credit for our courage! We could talk about the hypocrisy of the whole situation. A lot of them are fucking around with other guys and they might be sympathetic. We won't deny anything or try to hide; we'll pour our hearts out to them. We'll make them understand us."

"How about the dance? They'll all have seen the pictures by then." I asked.

"How much courage do you have?"

"I won't have to wear a dress, will I?" We both laughed. It felt good.

"You'll walk in there on my arm and dance with me. We'll make the social round once, have one dance, and leave. It's dangerous. We might get beat up, but at least they would have to respect our courage. What do you think?"

"I'd be willing to walk through Hell as long as I had you by my side." I said.

"That's just what we'll be doing, taking a walk through Hell together."

That night was the longest of my life. We didn't go out, and neither of us could concentrate on the television. We just sat on the couch and held each other. The funny thing was that as frightened as we both were, neither one of us had ever felt closer to another human being in our lives.

The next morning we awoke to a cold, gray winter day. The smell of snow was in the air. The dreariness outside did little to lift our spirits. How would we ever make it until nine o'clock?

"Mike, are you sorry that you ever met me? I'd understand it if you were."

"How can you even ask me such a thing? My life began the day you fell in love with me. How about you, if you had it all to do over, would you still be in this mess with me? Don't forget, most of this is my fault. I broke my truce with Steve."

"I wouldn't change a thing. My life was so empty and lonely before I met you; I don't think that I could live without you now. Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll never leave me."

"Is that a proposal?" I smiled.

"Let's just call it an understanding. You know me; when I propose to you I want to do it first class."

"I love you, Dave; I'll never leave you."

"I'll never leave you either. I want to be with you forever." We kissed. I now knew that whatever else happened, the dream that I hardly dared to dream would come true. Someday I would be Michael Donovan.

David stared at me for a minute and said, "Sometimes I look at you and realize how much you've changed since we met, and I wonder if I've been selfish. I've encouraged you to mature quickly because I'm mature for my age. I've lived on my own for so long now that I'm seventeen going on twenty- five. I've made you fifteen going on twenty-five; I've cheated you out of your adolescence."

"If that's the price I had to pay to be with you it was well worth it, and if I had it to do over I would do the exact same thing. No matter what happens, it was all worth it as long as I have you." The phone rang and David answered it, and motioned me to put my ear close to the receiver. It was Steve.

"I'm calling to give you faggots one more chance to accept my offer. I'm going to start handing out the pictures at seven-thirty. Just think of the reception you'll get at the dance! Are you sure that you don't want to pay my price?"

"Fuck you! Hand out the pictures, and if you pussy out I'll take our copies and hang them on the bulletin board myself! Mike and I are sick of living a lie. We're in love and proud of it!" He hung up loudly.

David's words awakened a rage in me that I had been pushing aside for months.

"I am sick of living a lie," I said. "You're right. I've been angry all along that we've had to hide our love; I just never put the feeling into words the way you just did. Do you know how many times I wanted to brag that you love me and couldn't? The whole damn school knows that we're fucking, and that's ok. I'm popular because everybody knows that you're fucking me. As long as it's dirty and sordid it's ok, but we're not allowed to love each other. If those were pictures of me sucking your dick, that would be fine I suppose. We can fuck but we can't kiss; what kind of bullshit is that anyway! I'm glad this happened now. That asshole Steve actually did us a favor. I've been so busy being scared and feeling sorry for myself that I never thought about the injustice of it all. What an idiot I've been! Why shouldn't I be allowed to walk into that dance as your date? I'm proud that you love me! What do you think of that, Dave?"

"I couldn't have said it any better myself, but I think we're both teenagers going on twenty-six now."

Chapter XVI

We took a taxi the few blocks to the school. We thought that it would be safer than walking under the circumstances. We arrived at nine o'clock, in order to make a grand entrance. We were both dressed to the nines and both wore bright red ties and red carnations in our lapels, not only to symbolize Valentine's Day and our love, but also to symbolize the invisible scarlet letter that we now both wore. As we walked into the crowded gymnasium, people backed away from us as though we were lepers. I put my arm through David's to make it obvious to everyone that I was his date. Steve was waiting near the door, and yelled, "Faggots!" The look that David gave him silenced him immediately. Of all people, the first one to greet us was Danny, my shy little Danny! He came over, looked into my eyes, and embraced me.

"Danny, no; they'll call you a faggot! I don't want to drag you down with me!" I said.

"You talked to me when I was unpopular, and anybody that hates you is no friend of mine anyway!" I had to blink back the tears. He went to David and embraced him too.

"You'll never know how much this means to Mike, or to me." David said, choking back the lump in his throat.

"Come with me, guys," Danny said. As we followed him, the crowd parted before us like the Red Sea. Danny led us to where Brian, Jack, and Tom were standing. To a man, they all embraced us. Our real friends were standing by us. "Jason left. He couldn't bring himself to face you, but he said to tell you how sorry he was. He was crying when he left. He didn't have any idea that Steve was going to do this, I'm sure of it." Brian said.

"I don't blame Jason," David said, "He's not responsible for what his brother does. Tell him that I still consider him my friend if you talk to him. If you'll excuse us, Mike and I are going to take one walk around the room, have a dance, and leave."

"You're going to dance together?" They said in a chorus.

"Would you guys wait for us by the door and escort us to a cab? We don't want to get beat up unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Of course we will," Brian said.

We continued our walk around the room. The crowd continued to part before us, and guys who had been our friends only the day before looked at us with hatred and disgust in their eyes. At one point, a wad of spit landed on my neck and startled me. In a gesture that I can only describe as chivalrous, David took an immaculate starched white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped it off for me, took my arm again, and continued our walk. As we finished our promenade, Mr. Powers approached us. There was no mistaking the gleam in his eyes. It was pure admiration.

"Gentlemen; I have rarely if ever seen such a display of courage and dignity. Bravo!"

I smiled. "You didn't think we had it in us, did you, sir."

"Not many men do, Mr. Sheridan. May I be of any assistance to you?"

"Yes sir; I request permission for Mike and myself to address the student body on Monday morning." David said.

"Permission granted; I'll call an assembly for nine o'clock. What are your plans for the rest of this evening?"

"We're going to have one dance and go home." David said. I saw the admiration in Mr. Powers' eyes double. He grabbed the arm of a passing sophomore.

"Go to the band and tell them to play a slow dance," he said. The sophomore guessed what was about to happen and glared at us. "That was an order Mr. Pierce; do it immediately!" The command seemed to blow him across the room; under no circumstance would a student at East Side Prep disobey Mr. Powers.

The band quickly ended the song they were playing and broke into Babe by Styx. David bowed to me gallantly and asked, "May I have this dance, Michael?"

"I would be honored, sir." I answered. David took my hand and led me on to the dance floor. I could hear an angry growl rise from the crowd. The other couples left the floor, and David and I danced alone. I put my head on David's shoulder.

"This reminds me of a scene from another Bette Davis movie I saw." David whispered.

"Jezebel," I said, "The other couples left the dance floor because she wore a red dress to the ball."

"Well, we're wearing red ties. Maybe that's why they hate us." David joked.

The dance ended and David led me from the dance floor. Mr. Powers met us.

"How are you gentlemen planning to go home?" He asked.

"We're taking a taxi, sir. Our friends are waiting at the door to see us out."

"I need a breath of fresh air. I shall escort you to the taxi myself." Having Mr. Powers escort us outside was as good as having a bulletproof vest. No one would dare start anything in his presence. He walked us outside and waited until we were in the cab and on our way.

"Until Monday morning then, gentlemen."

"Mr. Powers, we can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us." David said.

"Not at all; any two men with the courage that you displayed tonight deserve a helping-hand."

Chapter XVII

"I need to get drunk." David said as we walked into the apartment. "Care to join me?"

"I've never been drunk before. But then again, I've never been the school faggot before either. Let's get drunk."

"Get two shot glasses and the bottle of scotch; I'll get the beer." David said.

We sat down on the couch and David poured us each a shot of scotch.

"Good Luck," he toasted.

"We need it," I replied. We both downed the scotch, and I started choking. David laughed and slapped me on the back a couple of times.

"Don't worry. That happens to everybody the first time they drink a shot of whisky."

"Now I know why they call it fire water." I said weakly as I reached for my beer. After a few minutes, I felt a pleasant buzz.

"How do you think it went?" David asked.

"I don't know. At least our friends stood by us. Did you feel that hatred from the others though? They wanted to kill us. I don't know if they'll ever like us again."

"It's never going to be like it was before." David said. "The best that we can hope for is that they'll have enough respect for us that they won't abuse us. You'll never be the big man on campus again, but as long as they leave you alone, your next three years will be bearable. Jack and Danny are still your friends, and you'll still have me after school and on weekends. Let's have another shot." The whisky went down easier this time.

"Dave, ever since yesterday all you've done is worry about me. In one day, you've gone from being the most popular guy in school to being an outcast. You've lost everything that you worked so hard for the last four years. It must hurt."

"Not really; I'm going to be graduating soon anyway, and I still have you and my real friends. I've had my fun, and I'm ready to move on. What hurts is that I wanted to pass my popularity on to you. That can never happen now. I'll be happy if I can just keep you safe. My life with you is the only thing that I care about now."

"You're the most unselfish person I've ever known." I said.

"It's easy to be unselfish when the only person in the world who has ever loved you is in danger. You are the only one who has ever loved me, you know. Even my own mother doesn't."

"Oh Dave, I'm sure that's not true."

"Haven't you ever wondered why I live alone in this apartment?"

"Honestly, yes I have. I figured that you would tell me if you wanted to."

"You're the only person in the world who I do want to tell. My father died in an accident when I was four years old. Here's his picture." He pulled out his wallet and handed me a black and white photograph.

"That's you, Dave!" I exclaimed.

"I could be his twin. That's part of the problem. After my father died, my mother couldn't stand to look at me. She loved my father and I brought back too many painful memories. A governess raised me while my mother traveled through Europe. When I was young, she at least came back for Christmas, but when I was twelve, she married a baron and settled in England. She even had another baby. His name is Edward. He's cute, five years old, and I hate him! I know it's wrong to hate a little boy but I can't help it. My mother loves him as much as she never loved me, and it makes me sick."

"Mike, swear you'll never leave me! Nobody else has ever been able to love me, and nobody else ever will! You don't know what it's like to be alone, really truly alone. This apartment used to be my prison until you made it our home, and my money never made me happy until I had you to share it with me. I'd give it all up in a second if you asked me to; I'd wait tables to support the two of us and live in a tenement just as long as I could come home to you at the end of the day. I love you so much, Mike. I..." He broke down in tears.

I took him in my arms and comforted him while he cried. For the first time, I really understood him. The way he spoiled me, his protectiveness, his willingness to sacrifice himself for me, even his tough fa‡ade, they all made sense now. David had been starved of love and affection for most of his life, and now he was terrified that I would abandon him the way his mother had. I remembered that first day in the locker room, the tough act, trying to force me to have sex with him despite his aversion to rape and then giving me every chance to back out. Whether or not he realized it, he wasn't really trying to force me to have sex at all; he was trying to force me to love him. The first thing he did that day wasn't to make me suck his dick or to fuck me; he took me in his arms and kissed me. The irony was that all this time while David was going out of his way to build my self- esteem and make me feel secure, he was more insecure than I ever was. If only I had known!

"I'll never leave you; I swear it on my life. Don't you realize that I need your love as much as you need mine? Look into my eyes, Dave; I love you, and as long as I live, you'll never be alone. All those empty, lonely years you spent are over forever, I swear it. I'm here to stay. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried!"

"Oh God, I love you Mike; I love you more than my own life!" He sobbed. I held him in my arms and let him cry for a few more minutes.

"Dave, I'm scared too. What will happen if I have to be the school faggot for three years? They'll rape me for sure, probably on a regular basis. I never want to be with anybody but you!" I sobbed. "Will you still be able to love me if they turn me into their whore like they did to that poor guy Tony?"

David pulled himself together quickly and took my hands in his. "Now you look into my eyes. I'm not going to let that happen. You'll never be the school faggot, and you'll never be with another man as long as you live. Do you believe me?" I had never seen such determination on anybody's face.

"I believe you. No, it's more than that; I believe in you. I know that you'll save me if it's humanly possible, but what if it isn't? Will you still be able to love me if I come home one day and tell you that every guy in my class has fucked me?"

"I was gang raped; have you ever loved me any less because of it? Would you love me any less if it happened to me again? You know you wouldn't! I love you, Mike. Nothing they do to you can ever change that, or make me think any less of you, and no matter what happens I'll love you until the day I die."

"Dave, I need you tonight more than I ever have before. Will you make love to me?" He started kissing me with a strength that I had never felt before, and I kissed him back with equal passion. He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. We started pulling each other's clothes off while we kissed. "That's it Dave, don't hold back, I need to feel your strength!" We lay down on the bed and started going at it like a couple of wild animals. We got into a sixty-nine position and started sucking each other's dicks. After a few minutes, he pulled his dick away from me, threw my legs over his shoulders, and pushed himself deep inside of me. "Oh, yes Dave! This is what I need! I need to feel your strength! I'm not strong like you are. You're my strength!"

"Say it again, Mike. Tell me you'll never leave me!" He panted, as he thrusted into, and then withdrew partially from me.

"I'll be yours forever, I swear it. You'll never be alone again! You'll have to kill me to get rid of me!"

"I'll never let them touch you. You'll never be with anybody but me, and you'll belong to me for the rest of your life no matter what happens!" He said, as he put his lips to my neck and gave me his mark.

As usual, we came at the same time. It was the most intense orgasm either one of us had ever experienced. After we finished, I made love to him. It was just as intense.

Chapter XVIII

I awoke the next morning to find David's side of the bed empty. A few minutes later, he came into the bedroom with a breakfast tray. "It won't be as good as James' eggs benedict, but I wanted to do something special for you this morning to thank you for all the beautiful things you said to me last night and James is off today." He said.

"I meant everything I said. I'll never leave you."

"I know that now. I don't think that I ever really believed that anyone could love me enough to want to spend his life with me. I know now that by some miracle you do. I just wish I understood why you love me so much. Usually, either people like me for my looks, or for my money, but it goes so much deeper than that with you. What do you see in me that nobody else does?"

"I've told you that I fell in love with you the first time we shook hands, but I've never told you why. It was your eyes; when we shook hands, you looked into my eyes, and when I looked into yours, it was as if I could see your soul. It was beautiful. You're even more handsome on the inside than you are on the outside. Underneath that tough act you put on sometimes, you're the most sensitive, kind- hearted, caring, and unselfish person I've ever met, and for some reason I seem to bring out those qualities in you, and you bring out those same qualities in me."

David looked at me through tear-filled eyes. "I believe you when you say that you saw my soul that first day, because I saw yours too. That's why I couldn't take my eyes off you, and why I had to have you, even if it meant forcing you to be with me. I think I'm finally starting to understand what you see in me; deep down you and I are a lot alike. We're soul mates. You love all the same things about me that I love about you. I finally get it."

I smiled. "Well it's about time. By the way, Dave, if you ever do decide give up all your money and move to a tenement, I'll stay with you. I might have to physically hurt you, but I'll stay with you."

"I guess that was a dumb thing to say." He laughed.

"No it wasn't. I believe you would be willing to give it all up for me."

"In a heartbeat," he said as he kissed me.

"Eat your eggs while their hot. See what kind of cook you're going to spend the rest of your life with." I tasted the eggs, and they were delicious.

"They're good; I'm impressed."

"Don't be; I had them sent up from the coffee shop. I can't boil water."

"Don't feel bad, neither can I; we're lucky that you can afford a butler."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes and no; I don't think it will be as bad as last night. At least we know our friends are standing by us, and we won't get beat up at the assembly. I'm nervous about what we'll say and how we'll look to the rest of the school. Do you really think we can reach them? They seemed to hate us so much last night."

"Don't forget, very few of them are like Steve or Johnson. Most of them like us as people, we just have to make them understand how we feel about each other. A lot of them are in love with somebody too, most with women and some with men. I think we can get to them if we put them in our shoes."

"What if they still hate us?"

"I've been thinking about that. My mother and my father's estate donate to a few schools. I'll get my lawyer to use that pull to get you a scholarship to one of them. Your parents will never find out what happened and you can start over with a clean slate. Hell, if I have to I'll pay your tuition myself out of my trust fund and you can tell your parents that it's a scholarship. If I can't take it out of the trust fund, I'll sell the C‚zanne, the silver, or even the furniture to get the money. Whatever I have to do, you're not going to spend three years as the school faggot."

"You would really be willing to do that for me?" I asked with tears in my eyes.

"I told you I'd give up everything I own for you, Mike. I love you, and nobody's ever going to lay a hand on you, even if it costs me my last penny."

The next morning I was surprisingly calm but determined as David and I walked into the auditorium. I knew that thanks to David's love and generosity, I would be all right no matter what happened, but there would be other Michael Sheridans and David Donovans in the future. David and I truly wanted to change things so they would never have to endure the living Hell that we had known for the past few days.

The other students started to file in a few minutes after we arrived. As they saw us sitting on the stage, I heard them muttering comments about faggots, but nobody accosted us directly. Mr. Powers came up on the stage and the room went silent. Mr. Powers took the podium.

"Good morning, gentlemen; I have called this assembly at the request of Mr. Donovan and Mr. Sheridan. As you all know, two of your fellow students circulated candid photographs of these two men on Saturday night. I have seen fit to deal harshly with the guilty parties. I have expelled Steven Corbett, and I have given Matthew Johnson a week's suspension, which will appear on his permanent record, and he will not be permitted to attend any school functions, including the prom and graduation exercises. He will receive his diploma in the mail." There was a muttering from the audience. Mr. Powers continued, "The only reason that I spared Mr. Johnson from expulsion was his outstanding academic record and the fact that he is about to graduate. However, I have warned him that if I receive one further complaint from Mr. Donovan or Mr. Sheridan about his conduct toward either one of them, I shall expel him immediately, even if it is on the eve of graduation day."

"Before I turn the podium over to Mr. Donovan, I must remind you that these men are both in good standing with the school, and with me. They have done nothing wrong; rather they were the victims of an exceedingly cruel campaign to destroy their good names. I expect you to listen to what they have to say politely. I will not tolerate any interruptions or rude behavior. Mr. Donovan..."

David stood up and walked to the podium. I could see the fear in his eyes.

"My fellow students; I stand before you not to offer an apology, but simply to ask you for your compassion and understanding. As recently as Friday afternoon, I was one of the most popular men at this school, so popular in fact that you honored me by electing me to the office of Student Body President. Today I stand before you a pariah. What information about my personal life could have brought about that change in my social standing in so short a time? Did I commit a crime? Did I steal a car? Did I sell drugs, or kill somebody? No. Evidence came to light that I am in love. I admit that to you now. I am deeply and passionately in love. I love Michael Sheridan and, for some reason that I can't fully understand, he loves me. No doubt, many of you find this statement repulsive. I ask you for a show of hands; how many of you did not know, prior to Saturday night that Mike and I were involved in a sexual relationship? Please raise your hands." Not one hand went up. "It didn't bother any of you that I was having sex with Mike; on the contrary, many of you congratulated me on it time and time again. Mike gained instant popularity in his class when they found out, and you even elected him to the office of Freshman Class Representative on the basis of his involvement with me. It is a time-honored tradition at this school for seniors to initiate freshman in the art of sex, but if that senior and freshman show any sign of intimacy toward each other above casual friendship, they are, no, WE are branded faggots. Gentlemen, I submit to you that this custom is outdated, hypocritical, and just plain cruel. This is nineteen eighty-one, not eighteen eighty-one." There was a smattering of applause. He was winning some of them over! "Imagine if you would, that you went to a co-ed school and you had a beautiful girlfriend who you loved dearly, but if you held her hand or kissed her in public even once, both of you would be ostracized, ridiculed, and possibly even bodily harmed. Mike and I know first hand how you would feel; we live with it on a daily basis. How would you have liked to be in our shoes the other night at the dance? We saw people that we consider friends, people who we sit next to in class; people who have lunch with us every day look at us with the most intense hatred that we could ever imagine. What was the reason for this hatred? Two people, whom most of you know and dislike, distributed pictures of Mike and me sharing an innocent kiss or two on a weekend. We were the victims, not the criminals! We never hurt anyone; we were the ones who got hurt!" The room erupted in applause. I never knew what an effective speaker David was! "Let me share with you the whole story of how Steve and Matthew came to distribute those pictures. They were trying to blackmail us. What was their price for the photographs and negatives? Their price was two thousand dollars and the unlimited use and abuse of our bodies. Mike and I chose disgrace over dishonor. No matter what happens to us, we will never regret that decision!" The room went wild with applause. David continued, "I can't ask that you approve of or even understand the love that Mike and I have for each other; all I can ask of you is to allow us to live our lives among you. If you don't approve of us, ignore us, snub us; but please don't hate us. We don't hate any of you. Thank you for your attention." David received a standing ovation.

Mr. Powers took the podium. "Now, Mr. Sheridan would like to address you." I nervously took the podium. "My fellow students; please bear with me; I'm not the polished speaker that David...I mean, that my boyfriend is." The room resounded with applause. "I don't know how much I can add to what David has already said. I once heard a quote, and I don't remember who said it, `Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.' I know that the vast majority of you are good men, and I ask you not to remain silent any longer. I know what I'm asking isn't easy. I know it from personal experience. There is someone else who is gay sitting among you whose suffering David and I can only imagine. I think you all know of whom I am speaking. I have seen him sitting alone every day, and I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to speak to him, to offer him my friendship. I'm ashamed to say that I have never spoken to him. I was afraid that if I did, it would affect my popularity, and possibly cause some of you to scrutinize my relationship with David more closely. I did nothing although I knew it was wrong, just as many of you have done. I'm sure that many of you did nothing at the dance for similar reasons. I am asking you to be more courageous than I have been. I'm asking you not to allow evil to triumph. I'm asking you to speak out when you see someone treated unjustly. I'm simply asking you to be good Americans, and respect the rights of others who are different from yourselves. I'm asking you to respect my right to come to school every day and return home unharmed. David is worried sick that one day next year I'll come home beaten, and possibly even worse. I would like to remain in this school next year. I've come to love it here, and I've come to love some of you as my friends; but I'll leave if you want me to. Would you please give me a show of hands if you're willing to allow me to stay?" Practically every hand in the room went up, and then the room erupted in wild applause. Tears started streaming down my face.

A hand rose in the audience; it was Brendan Nelson, a six foot four inch junior who was on the school weight lifting team and who had many girlfriends.

"Yes Brendan," I said.

"I'm one of the many guys who Dave has befriended over the years. I've always thought that he was a great guy, and it made me sick to watch the way they treated you both the other night. It was just like you said; I was afraid to speak up for you, afraid that if I did they would call me a faggot too. I'm not afraid anymore. Dave and Mike have been good friends to us all and on Saturday night, they proved that they're braver than most of us will ever be, and that they have a lot of class. If that's the definition of a faggot, I'm on the faggots' side. From this moment on, you can all consider Mike my best friend. Anybody who messes with him messes with me. I'll protect him for you, Dave. You won't have to worry about Mike next year. I'll look after him like a brother."

There was more applause. David had tears of gratitude in his eyes. I embraced him and the room went wild. Somebody shouted, "Kiss him, Dave!" The chant went up, "Kiss him, Kiss him, Kiss him..." We looked at Mr. Powers, he smiled and nodded, and we kissed to a standing ovation. They didn't hate us.

Chapter XIX

In the days that followed, things returned more or less to normal. For the most part, the guys at school accepted David and me, and our popularity didn't suffer much at all. In fact, being the school's only openly gay couple brought us some celebrity. I decided to use my position in the student government to make some lasting changes to the school. With Brian as my ally on the student council, we passed our own version of the Civil Rights Act, banning discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, or sexual orientation. We also passed a bill, which allowed same sex couples to attend the prom. David happily signed both into law, and I could now attend the prom as David's date. I finally spoke to Tony, and he turned out to be a really nice guy. I introduced him to Jack and Danny, and we all became his friends. I was determined to see to it that nobody would ever abuse him again. I spoke to Brendan Nelson, and he agreed to protect Tony as well as me.

The months went by quickly, uneventfully, and happily. David and I attended the St. Patrick's Day dance and hardly raised an eyebrow when we walked onto the dance floor. Tom and Danny also danced in public that night with no repercussions, and Brian planned to take Jack to the prom. David and I had blazed the trail. The one sad note was that Jason didn't hang around with us much anymore. We told him repeatedly that we didn't blame him for what Steve had done, but he blamed himself anyway. The poor guy could barely look us in the eye when he spoke to us. He was just one more victim of Steve's cruelty.

As it turned out, Steve paid dearly for what he did to us. In addition to being expelled and having to repeat freshman year at his new school, Jason punished him by giving him to Matthew Johnson. Now a guy he didn't want would have the right fuck him with his nine-inch dick any time he felt like it, which was the exact fate he tried to condemn David and me to. Justice had been served! My only regret was that Matthew Johnson got away as easily as he did. A week's suspension was a slap on the wrist for what he did. Unfortunately, too much time had passed to prove that he raped David even if David had wanted to tell anyone, which he didn't. Years later, I learned that he went to prison for the attempted rape of a sixteen year old boy. Knowing how they treat child molesters in prison, I would like to think that the other inmates made him suffer exactly as he had made David suffer.

The weather grew warmer and David and I took our weekend strolls in Central Park under a canopy of cherry blossoms. I started to prepare myself for a long separation from him. Although he had decided to attend NYU and remain in his apartment even before he met me, his mother had decided that he would spend the summer at her country estate in England. I was dreading the summer as much as everybody else was looking forward to it.

One Friday afternoon in May, David told me to go with Tom and Danny to Danny's apartment after school and he would see me at eight o'clock. When I asked him what it was all about, he just smiled and said I would find out later. Tom and Danny were acting strange too, smiling, and winking when they thought I wasn't looking. Finally, at seven o'clock, they told me it was time to get dressed and took a tuxedo out of the closet.

"Dave wants you to wear this," Tom informed me.

Tom had to help me dress. Since I had never worn a tux before, I had no idea what to do with the shirt studs, cummerbund and suspenders. They put me in a taxi and sent me to David's apartment. James greeted me at the door.

"Mr. Michael, how elegant you look this evening!" He said.

"James, what's going on?" I whispered.

"Mr. David is waiting for you on the roof." He smiled.

As I walked out to the roof, David stood to greet me. He was wearing a tux, too. We just stood there staring at each other for a moment. We had taken each other's breath away.

"Dave, you look..."

"I knew you would look good, but..." He said. We both laughed, and then kissed.

It was then that I noticed that the roof resembled a rose garden. The table was set with the good china and silver, and Nat King Cole was playing on the stereo. Now I knew. He was going to propose to me!

As if he could read my mind he said, "Mike, I know you've figured something out by now, but humor me and pretend you haven't. I might still have a surprise or two up my sleeve."

"Everything looks so beautiful." I said to change the subject. "I actually got a hard on when I saw you standing there in that tux."

David laughed. "I did too when I saw you."

The dinner was wonderful. David and I reminisced about that first day in the locker room and all the good times we had had together all year. After desert, James brought out a bottle of Dom Perignon and two glasses. David got up, stood in front of me, and got down on one knee.

"Mike," he paused. "I had a romantic speech all memorized. I must have rehearsed it a hundred times this week, but I can't remember a word of it now. I'll just have to speak from my heart. Mike, you're the most wonderful person I've ever met. We fell in love at first sight, and we've already been through more together than a lot of people go through in a lifetime. You're the only one in the world I could ever imagine spending my life with. If you'll marry me, I promise that I'll devote the rest of my life to making you happy. Mike, I love you. Will you marry me?"

"Dave, my life began the day I met you. You're my soul mate, my one true love, and the only guy I would ever want to spend my life with. I'll devote the rest of my life to making you happy, too. Yes, I'll marry you." David reached into his pocket and withdrew a velvet box. He opened it, and inside was the most beautiful ring I ever saw. The diamond must have been at least two carets.

"This ring belonged to my father, and I've never worn it. I've saved it for the love of my life." He put the ring on my finger and we kissed.

"How do you feel about short engagements?" He asked.

"The shorter the better," I said.

There are no rules about two men getting married. We don't need anybody to perform the ceremony; the government and the church won't recognize it anyway. We can't live together full time until you graduate from high school and turn eighteen, and we could renew our vows then, if we want a wedding with all the trimmings. I would like to marry you now. All we have to do is make our vows to each other, and I bought these at Tiffany's." He pulled another box out of his pocket containing two simple gold bands.

"Marry me now, Dave." I said with tears in my eyes. He took my hands in his.

"I David, take you, Michael to be my wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others as long as we both shall live."

"I Michael, take you, David to be my wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others as long as we both shall live."

David put the ring on my finger and said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

I put the other ring on David's finger and said, "With this ring, I thee wed." We kissed.

"Let's have some champagne." David said.

David opened and poured the champagne.

"My name is Michael Donovan!" I said with wonder in my voice.

"You want to take my name?" He asked, visibly moved.

"If you'll let me; I can't legally change it until I'm eighteen, but I do want to."

"It's the best wedding present you could have given me. I'd be honored to share my name with you." He said. "I have one more surprise for you."

"Oh Dave, another surprise! In less than fifteen minutes, I've been proposed to, been engaged, gotten married and changed my name. What else could you possibly have in store for me?" He handed me an envelope. I opened it and saw two first class tickets to England aboard the QE2.

"You didn't think I forgot, did you? I promised you a voyage to England for our honeymoon back on our first date. I'm finally going to see those stars in your eyes."

"Dave, it would be my dream come true, but my parents will never let me go!"

David smiled. "I would never have given you those tickets if I wasn't sure. I asked my mother to call your mother and invite you for the summer. Your mother said yes."

I just stared at him in a state of shock. David smiled, lit two cigarettes like Paul Henreid in Now Voyager, and handed me one.

"Oh, Dave!" I exclaimed as I flew into his arms and kissed him. He laughed.

"My little brother can't wait to meet us. He thinks we're cowboys because we're American."

"YOU A COWBOY!" I laughed uncontrollably.

"You're not exactly John Wayne either, you know." He laughed.

"We can't disappoint him." I said. We'll have to buy a couple of cowboy hats and western shirts and wear them the first time we meet him. Hey, that's the first time I ever heard you call him your brother or even speak kindly about him."

"Now that I know you'll never leave me, I've been able to let go of my anger. None of what happened to me is his fault, and I'd like to have a little brother."

"I never knew I could be this happy!" I said.

"The only way I could be any happier is if it was three years from now, you had my name, and we could live together full time." David said.

I thought of the last line of Now Voyager and smiled. I couldn't resist.

"Oh Dave, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."

The End