James

Hey, readers! Finally finished this part... sorry it's taken so long, but with school being the way it has been this semester I don't regret a bit. With all the assignment writing I had to do it was difficult to get motivated to come back to the story. I didn't want to do a half-assed job, so I waited until I could put everything into the story, and here it is. I expect to have part ten up soon, hopefully within the next two weeks. I hope you all enjoy this. Part 9 is written in the point of view of our lovable James. I figured it was finally time to give him a voice.

Thanks to everyone who writes in. Special thanks to Chris, Wes, Derek, and everyone else who gets to listen to me bitch about my story. :-) You guys are all special to me. Happy holidays!

Dedicated to Alex, always the number one fan in my book... and to all of you who appreciate a good story. My eternal thanks.

Part IX

James POV

I reached down and tried the knob to Dave's apartment. As usual, the man never remembered to leave his door unlocked for me when he got home, so I had to knock and wait for him. I had another key to my apartment that I had given Dave, but he and Matt had the only two keys to their apartment, and they had to have permission from their landlord to get another, so I was shafted. That's what I get for falling for a jock, I thought. All muscles, no brains. I laughed. Yeah, right. David Collins, Mr. Dean's List Poster Boy inside.

The door opened to a shirtless Dave holding his cordless phone to his ear. "Uh-huh," he said as he rolled his eyes. He motioned me in and I followed through the short entry hall. My eyes wandered over the big muscles of his shoulders and back as he walked on into the living room. I could never get tired of looking at the muscular perfection of Dave's body. My cock stirred in my khakis as I skated into the living room.

Dave continued making exasperated and impatient motions with his hands while he talked. I figured he was talking to his mom, since she had the tendency to ramble on and on. I plopped down on the couch and watched Dave pace across the room. "Uh-huh... mm-hmm... sure, Mom... right...yes..." he continued. It was all I could do not to burst into laughter.

I figured a good way to pass the time was to mentally undress Dave the rest of the way, which was one of my favorite pastimes. Dave had a big tattoo on his left shoulder of a ram, his old high school mascot, with his number 22 under it. Dave was really attached to his old high school coach. He was the first person that Dave came out to other than his family. Dave had told him the night of his graduation from high school. The coach had been awesome and understanding of his former all-state player and this made the coach even more of a hero to Dave. I was hoping that sometime we would meet.

I followed his massive shoulders down to his pecs. Just like you would expect on a linebacker, he had big pectoral muscles, covered in dark hair. Yummy, I thought as I zeroed in on his dark nipples. I had recently gotten my other nipple pierced, and I thought Dave would look good with his done as well, but he had backed off, shaking his head and yelling, "No! That would hurt, dude!" For a guy who got through college by ramming into other guys at top speed, Dave could be a big pain wuss.

I let my gaze fall down to his stomach. Dave didn't have a six-pack, but his stomach was flat as hell. I think he just had too much body fat to be defined. Not that I would complain. I would rather eat bugs than for Dave to change anything on his body.

As I watched Dave pace, I thought back to that night during the summer when I saw him for the first time. I had been sitting at the bar talking to Todd, and his lover Barry had popped up out of nowhere. "All right, hot stuff, you hitting on my man?"

I laughed. "No sir, wouldn't dream of it."

Barry smiled. "All right, as long as we have that covered." He leaned in to the smiling hunk on the other side of the bar. "Evening, sweetie." They kissed. No, check that; they made out. Those two can't be content with just kissing; they have to check each other's tonsils and dental work.

I chuckled and turned around, sipping my rum and coke. That was when I spotted him. He was just sitting down at a table on the other side of the room, wearing a tight white t-shirt and 501s. My God, he was beautiful. A perfect expression of the male beast, just waiting to be unleashed. I growled a little in my throat as I looked at the masculine animal across the room. Dark brown hair, tan skin, what looked like day-old beard stubble, and a huge, muscular body. I could feel my knees going weak. My eyes dropped to the fly of his jeans, and I got a good look at a mouth-watering package stuffed behind those buttons. I closed my eyes. What a hunk!

"Hello? Earth to cute guy?! Are ya in there?"

My eyes snapped open. I turned to see Todd and Barry staring at me, Todd with bemusement, Barry with concern. "Umm... what'd I miss?" I asked.

Todd laughed. "Barry was asking your name, man."

I put my glass down and extended my hand, with my eyes still straying to the hunk in the corner. "Ummm, Kennedy, J.P. Kennedy."

Barry shook it and looked at Todd with an expression that looked suspiciously like, okay, this kid's a total wacko! I put my glass down on the bar and pointed at the hunk. "Who is that, dude?"

Todd and Barry both followed my hand. Barry burst out laughing. "Him? You familiar with college football?"

I shook my head. "Nah, not really. Lost track of it when I went to college."

Barry grinned. "Well, that is David Collins, former defensive player of the year for his conference. About three, four years ago."

My eyebrows lifted. "Wow, impressive. Linebacker?"

Barry grinned bigger. "Yup. Pretty cute, huh?"

I whistled. "Understatement, dude. What's his story?"

Someone called to Todd and he excused himself. Barry hopped up on a stool next to me. "Oh, you name it, cutie, it's happened to him. Poor guy. He came out a few months after graduating from college, and has had the worst luck with men. You wouldn't believe it. Guy's been shit on so many times it's not even funny."

I looked back at the guy, then at Barry. "What's happened?"

Barry shook his head. "Guy's had 3 serious boyfriends. Every single one has cheated on him. Repeatedly. Now, I don't know how you feel about monogamy or open relationships, but Dave's a one-man kind of guy."

I grinned. "I hear that, man."

Barry cocked his head and got a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm. Interested? In him?"

I looked at the hunk and felt my stomach lurch again. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."

Barry looked in my eyes. "Well, let me tell you. Dave's a little gun shy right now, needless to say. He has some of the best walls man ever made guarding what's inside. You think you can get through?"

I smiled. "Oh yeah. Just watch me."

Barry smiled. "Come over here and tell me about yourself. We'll see."

Barry and I had gone to a table to talk when Todd joined us. I told them some of my story, leaving a few parts out. I could tell why Barry was a good lawyer; he saw right through me and knew I was hiding something. So, I told them my whole past, from being kicked out to stripping to fucking guys for money. I had already figured that Barry saw himself as Dave's protector and that once he heard about my "escorting," he would tell me to hit the trail. Instead, he was very compassionate and sympathetic.

"You know, you've got a soul, kid," he said to me. "I think you might have a good effect on ol' Dave over there."

I smiled. "I hope so. I want a chance." Barry looked down, thinking.

"Well, J.P., if you went over there now, you'd probably get nothing but a curt hello and some small talk, and it would end right there," Todd said grimly. "You'll have to figure something to get his attention long enough to get inside." Barry just nodded, still looking at the table, deep in thought.

I grinned. "I have just the thing." So, I outlined my plan. Sometime soon, I would come over on a busy night when lots of guys were there. Dave just had to be there, nothing special. But, on cue, Todd would start playing a song I had stripped to before, and I would "entertain" my way over to Dave by dancing. Then, once I got to him, I would strip for him. "What do you think guys? Will that keep him guessing long enough for me to get a foot in the door?"

Barry laughed. "Oh yeah! It's perfect!" We spent the rest of the night and a few nights afterwards setting it up. It wasn't for two and a half more weeks before we could put it in motion, though. Dave's last relationship had self-destructed pretty spectacularly, and he wasn't in any mood to go out. I was getting pretty desperate. Ever since I had laid eyes on him, I hadn't been able to get him off my mind. He was all I talked about. Finally, Todd called me and told me Barry had gone to drag Dave out. He said Barry and Dave's roommate, Matt, were both in on it. I should hurry and come on over. I had dressed pretty quickly and made my way over. Soon enough, Dave arrived, looking depressed as ever. My heart ached for the guy. Time to go to work, I thought.

I snapped out of my memories as Dave paced in front of me. I followed him with my eyes as he walked from one end of the room to another, listening to his mother gab. I laughed again. Poor guy, he was so sweet, he just couldn't cut his mom off for anything. Best plan I ever had, I thought to myself. I had landed the most awesome guy ever created. Big, gorgeous, sweet, and loving.

Right now, though, my attention was being constantly diverted by his awesome body. Dave wasn't a ripped guy with really defined muscles. There was some definition, but most of all he was just big. I could imagine being an opponent on the football field and seeing him run at me. Honestly, it would be a toss up whether I would run like hell or bend over and beg him to take me right there on the field. I've seen pictures of Dave when he was playing and he would get this look on his face when he was hot on the trail of some quarterback and it was so arousing that I got hard looking at the pics. If I had been on the receiving end of that look, I probably would have shot a load in my jock. He gets a variant of that grimace on his face when he's in bed, and it's hot as hell. I briefly imagined playing football with him and being able to feel him up every time he tackled me. Might be worth it, I thought.

My cock stirred more in my pants as I imagined how he was in bed. I looked down at his feet, encased in worn-out tennis shoes. I followed his jeans up his big muscular legs to the bulge at the button fly. I wondered how he got those jeans on, since they seemed to be painted on his legs. I followed the thin line of hair up his stomach and across his chest to his face again, which was scrunched up in thought. Probably thinking how to get rid of his mom, I thought and chuckled. He reached up and scratched his head, making the big muscles of his arms pop out. I felt a drop of precum ooze out of the head of my cock, and I reached down and rubbed it a little. I looked at Dave's handsome, rugged face and his dark blue eyes were wide and his mouth had dropped open. Score! I loved catching him off guard.

He jerked a little. "Yeah, Mom, I'm listening. Uh-huh," he said but his eyes never left my crotch. I grinned and began rubbing myself a little more seductively. His mouth closed and he swallowed nervously. A faint sheen of sweat broke out on his face and chest as he watched me. I pulled off my roller blades and stood up and stretched. I snuck a glance at his fly and it was definitely bulging out with his beer can dick.

I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head and stretched again. His hand went to his fly and he began rubbing himself. I smiled and licked my lips as I walked over to him. I got behind him and began kissing and licking his shoulders and neck. Dave was trembling under my fingers as he tried to concentrate on whatever his mother was saying. "Uh, yeah, Mom, James is here... he just got in."

I leaned up next to the phone. "Hi Mrs. Collins," I said toward the phone right before I stuck my tongue in his ear. He jerked.

"Umm, Mom, I need to go. Can I call you tomorrow? Yeah, sure, I'll ask him. Don't worry. No, I won't forget. Okay, Mom. Okay. Okay! All right. Bye!" He hit the off button and dropped the phone on the couch before he grabbed he and pulled me to his tight body. He buried his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder and growled as he nibbled on my skin. Dave was turning into a real animal, and I loved watching him emerge from his shell.

I shivered in delight as Dave ran his hands down my back into the waist of my pants and then cupped my ass cheeks. I licked his ear again. Damn, Dave had the cutest little ears. "So what did your mom want?" Dave kept chewing on my skin. "Dave." Lick, chew. "Dave." Lick, chew again. "Dave!"

"Mmm? What?" he mumbled as he licked up to my ear.

I groaned. "What did your mom want?"

Dave licked his way down to my chest as his fingers flipped the rings in my nipples. I lurched as lightning bolts went right to both my brain and my cock. I inhaled deeply in pleasure. "...Thanksgiving," Dave finished.

I shook my head. "Huh? What?"

Dave laughed and tongued his way down my abs. "She wants me to bring you home for Thanksgiving."

I shook my head again to clear my hormonal haze. "Really? She wants me to come with you?" God, what a space cadet, I thought. State the obvious a little more, James.

Dave laughed again as his hands snaked between my legs and rubbed my bulging crotch as he tongued my navel. "Yep," he said between licks. "I told her I would ask."

I reached down and ran my fingers through his short hair. Dave's hair had grown out a lot from when he had shaved it, but he was keeping it in a short buzz cut. Dave rubbed his head against my hand. "Mmm," he said. "Feels nice."

He stood up and embraced me, pulling me tight against him. I felt his chest hair rub my sensitive nipples, and another jolt went right to my cock. I groaned. He leaned back and grinned, then leaned in to kiss me. "So?" he asked.

Did he ask me a question? I was too busy concentrating on his chest hair rubbing against the smooth skin of my chest... what? Oh, would I go to his parents' house. "Umm, sure, no problem," I said before I let out another moan as his left hand slipped back down the waist of my khakis. I reached down and started unbuttoning his fly.

"Mmm," he moaned. "You sure you want to do this?"

I slipped my tongue in his ear. "Oh yeah, or I wouldn't have started it."

Dave chuckled. "No, I mean my folks. Thanksgiving."

I reached inside his now-open fly and began palming and rubbing his bulging crotch through the tight boxer-briefs. "Mmm, sure. Fine with me."

"Well, we can be a handful."

I grinned. "You sure are." With that I sank to the floor and pulled down his jeans and boxer-briefs in one motion, then took him to the root.

"Mmm," I groaned as I snuggled back into Dave's warm chest. "That was fun."

Dave chuckled. I wriggled as the warm rumbles vibrated into my back. "I hope you enjoyed it, because I'm not sure how much more we'll get this weekend."

I rolled over and started tracing his jawline. "Oh, come on. Does that mean I won't get another chance at that beautiful bod while we're at Casa Collins?"

Dave grinned. "Nope. Mom and Dad may be cool about me being gay, but loud sex under their roof isn't the best way to introduce them to you. Not even my brothers do that."

I grinned back. "That just means we'll have to be quiet. I'm sure your brothers aren't celibate when they visit."

Dave looked thoughtful. "I guess," he mused. "But I think..."

I put my finger on his mouth to shush him. "No thinking, Dave. Let's play it by ear. If they assign us separate bedrooms, then that's a signal. If they put us in the same one, I say we don't worry."

Dave nodded and then smiled at me. "You're too cool, James."

I laughed. "Yeah, I know." We leaned in and kissed lightly, then again deeply. I turned around and snuggled into his warm chest. Dave wrapped his big arms around me and hugged me.

He kissed my neck and then tightened his arms before speaking, "I have a question."

I sighed. "Shoot."

"How come you never bottomed when you escorted?"

I smiled ruefully. After our first conversation about my past, I had expected some questions from Dave, but he never said anything. Now he was wondering. "Well, I figured it was an exercise in denial, a way of keeping my head straight. I knew what I wanted sexually, and by denying it to myself, I would keep from getting immersed in escorting and would be able to let it go."

I could sense the frown in his voice. "You mean nobody ever asked you to bottom?"

"Oh sure, plenty asked, but I always said no."

Silence. Then, "So how come you like bottoming? I would figure that with the equipment you have, you would be the king of tops."

I laughed. "That's a natural conclusion, I guess, but you've been around long enough to know that things aren't always what they seem. Some nelly guys are total tops, while the butchest guy may be a pig bottom. You never can tell.

"I knew from the first time I thought I might be gay that I wanted to be a bottom. I fantasized of being fucked from day one, and when it happened I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I topped for the first time shortly thereafter, and while it felt good to me, I knew it wasn't what I wanted."

"But how do you know?"

"You just do, is all I can say. I see a nice ass and I like it, but the idea of topping the guy really doesn't do much for me. When I would get hired out, it usually took some fantasizing to get into it. My ass gets this itch in it when I meet a hot guy, and it needs to be `scratched,' so to speak."

"I always figured some submission or stuff like that was involved," Dave mused.

"Nah, not that. We've been together for a few months. Would you call me submissive?"

Dave chuckled. "No, I would say not, given some of the scratches you've made on my back or all the hickeys."

I grinned. "There you go. Aggressive bottom, that's me. I don't know why I like being like that, I just do. Have you ever wanted to be bottom?" My question was greeted with silence. "Dave?"

"Umm," he muttered. "Yeah, once or twice. Not because it was some itch or anything, just to kind of return the favor. Just reciprocation, not a real desire."

"So have you done it?" I asked.

"Only once," he said.

I waited for a few minutes before I pressed on. I knew from Dave's reaction that there was a story here. "So?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Well," he began, "It was with my first steady boyfriend. I was in my senior year of college, a few months away from graduating. Football was over for me, so I figure it was okay to take my first few steps out of the closet.

"The guy was cute. I met him at a club and we went out a few times. We had sex on the fifth date, and it was hot. I topped him that night.

"We went out again the next night, and we had sex again. Afterwards, he told me he wanted to top me. Well, I didn't really care either way, so I said all right. Dude, you have no idea how bad it hurt! He stuck one finger up me for about a minute, then he jammed a little lube in, and then he stuck his dick in. The whole time he kept saying shit like, `I can't believe I'm going to fuck Dave Collins.' Asshole," Dave muttered.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Jeez, this guy must not have picked up any cues. If you treated him even halfway like you've treated me in bed, then he should have know some way of how to prepare a guy."

Dave snorted. "Yeah, well, I wasn't quite as thorough then, but I knew enough not to stick one finger in, rub in about a quarter-sized bit of lube, and then shove my dick up someone's ass whose never bottomed before! Man, I thought I was going to die. I couldn't even make a sound for a long time, but when I did, I told him to stop. He kept going, and finally I had to physically throw him off me." I whistled as Dave went on. "I jumped up and ran for the bathroom. I felt like I had to take a huge crap and so I did. Guess what was in the toilet when I got up?"

"Blood?" I asked.

"You got it. Well, I stuck some tissue up there to stop the flow, and I went back and showed him. He just kind of shrugged, so I threw him out."

I chuckled. "I would have found a way to get him back."

I could feel Dave smile. "Oh, I did that. I used my growing connections to spread a rumor or two about him. Last time I heard, he hadn't dated in about 2 years."

I smacked his wrist. "Bad, bad Dave." I could stop my laughter though.

"But, anyway," he continued, "that was my first and last foray into bottoming. I haven't felt the desire to do that again."

I nodded. "I can understand that." I was quiet for a few minutes as I thought how to phrase my next question. "So... ever thought about us reversing?"

Dave was quiet. "You mean you fucking me?"

"Yeah."

The silence stretched out. I could almost hear the wheels clicking in Dave's brain. "I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. But I can't say I really want to. Do you?"

I laughed. "Dave, I could be happy for the rest of my life getting filled up by that thing. I just figured maybe sometime we could try it, just to be a change of pace. Not like we would start doing it regularly."

Dave sighed. "I need to think about it, James. I don't know if I can get past what happened." Then Dave smacked his forehead. "Shit. I can't believe I just said that, to you especially!"

I smiled, a little ruefully. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Here he was, saying he didn't know if he would ever want to bottom again because he had a little bad experience, and here I had been gang-raped and was pretty well-adjusted. "Dave, don't worry," I said. "I won't say I am totally over it. I don't think a person can ever get over something like that. You just have to cope."

Dave's arms tightened around me as I went on. "It took a while for me to open up sexually, you know? I mean, it was tough to force myself to even get up and face the world at first. But life gave me a swift kick in the ass to get moving, in the form of unsupportive parents and a need to support myself. That's another reason I never bottomed when I started escorting. But when I met a guy who was nice, sweet, and had a hell of a lot of patience, I was able to bend over and get what I liked once again."

Dave laughed incredulously. "I can't believe you sometimes, sweetie." He kissed the side of my neck.

I pulled his arms tighter again. "It's true! I lost my virginity to my cousin's roommate when he came him from college. I was 15. Man, he wore me out that night. But the itch started and never went away. That's the best way I can describe it."

"Tell me more."

"Hmm... well, his name was Ron. He was about five-ten, average build. Nothing much to speak of, but he had the most amazing brown eyes. I swear, it was like they pulled you in. I couldn't take my eyes off him the night my cousin brought him over to see the horses. The next day, Ron came out, saying he wanted a tour of the farm. Said my cousin was out fucking his girlfriend, who was still in high school. I walked him around for a little while.

"When we got to the barn, he grabbed me by the waist and started feeling me up right there. I didn't even think, I just kissed him. I swear, we were naked in the hay in about thirty seconds. I won't bore you with the details, but we didn't come out for about three hours, and I was walking funny. I never saw Ron again, but I had good memories, some jackoff fantasies, and an itch up my ass that requires a cock to scratch it every now and again."

Dave was quiet for a while. Sometimes I think I surprise him with my candor about some stuff, but I don't believe in holding my feelings in. "So you never gave another thought to being a bottom?"

"No sir. I just went on my merry way. I got my first dildo when I was sixteen. Didn't have sex again `till I was seventeen, a junior in high school. I won't say I was oversexed, seeing as how I was a closeted gay boy in a redneck Kentucky town. But I was pretty happy. When I got my first car I managed to get into a gay bar for the first time, and had a lot of fun. Everyone in there thought of me as a raging top man. I obliged a few, and learned for sure what I liked."

I thought for a minute. "I guess I had formed my sexual identity pretty quickly. I didn't really question myself. Once I figured stuff out, I went right on with it. The rape didn't change a lot. It made me timid around some guys for a while, but I had to grow up again really fast if I was going to survive. I guess I'm lucky I didn't get hard and cynical because of it. Some stubborn part of me wouldn't let some stuff go."

Dave kissed my neck again. "And I am very glad for that," he said. He turned me over so that we were facing each other. "So very glad." He leaned in and we kissed again. "I have one other question for you, and it's been nagging me for months now."

I laughed. "What?" I asked as I pecked his mouth.

"Why is it you tell everyone else to call you J.P., but you told me to call you James the night we met?"

I smiled at my lover. "I was wondering how long you would sit on that one. It started when I left home. I figured I would sort of start over, in a sense. I had been called James' or Jamie' by everyone in my family and back home, so I thought if I called myself something else, it would help. So I told everyone I met to call me by my initials, J.P. It actually worked. Since then, nobody has called me James until I met you. For some reason, I wanted you to call me by my name."

Dave smiled. "That's cool, James." We kissed again for a few minutes, and then just held each other. I rubbed his shoulders for a minute and then turned and got out of bed. "I guess we'd better start getting prepared for the weekend. When were you planning on going?"

Dave threw his arm over his eyes and groaned. "Man, you just love forcing me to think when I least want to... I guess we'll leave Wednesday. It's only a few hours away to my house. You want me to drive?"

I picked up a pair of my sweatpants that I had left behind out of the dresser and pulled them on. "Yeah, I think your car will handle the trip better. Not that mine is in bad shape, but yours is newer."

Dave got out of bed and stretched. My mouth watered as I ran my eyes over his hot hairy body. "When is your last class on Wednesday?" he asked.

I sat down on the floor and started stretching. "Ten," I answered as I stretched my hamstrings.

"Cool," Dave said as he pulled on his underwear. "My last one is at two, but I think I'll cancel it. It's one of my European history classes."

"Cool," I answered back with a grin. I kept doing various stretches, and my eyes never left Dave's. Dave loved to watch me stretch out. His dick stayed half-hard the entire time.

Finally, I finished my last one and bounced to my feet. I walked over to Dave and straddled his legs, sitting in his lap. I leaned in and kissed him. "I love you," I said.

He wrapped those huge arms around me. "I love you, too."

I stood up and walked over to the dresser again, this time pulling a worn garment from one of Dave's drawers. I pulled it on and turned back to Dave. "What do you think?"

Dave's eyes widened and his dick popped to full erection. I had pulled out his old college football jersey. It was loose on me, but it draped and caressed my muscles in all the right places. He swallowed nervously and stood up. "Jeez, that's hot," he rasped. He got to me and put his hands inside the waist of my pants and slid them down to cup my cheeks. "Damn hot." He leaned in and kissed my neck just as his hands pushed the material down. Score one for me, I thought as his hand reached for my meat.

I stared out the window as house after suburban house flashed by. Dave looked over at me and squeezed my hand, which rested on his right thigh. "Nervous?" he asked with a smile.

I squeezed back and smiled. "A little," I admitted. "I guess it's always a little tough meeting the boyfriend's family."

"Have you ever met any of you previous boyfriends' families?" he asked as we pulled into a four-way stop.

I laughed heartily. "Hell no... never had one serious enough to do that before you."

Dave turned to me, and his eyes sparkled. "Same here."

We shared a look and then Dave started the car moving again. "I guess that pretty much sums up how serious we are getting," Dave said.

"Yep," I answered as I looked out the window. Serious didn't even begin to describe what I was feeling for this total sweetheart of a hunk sitting next to me. It was getting to the point where I needed him as much as I needed oxygen or water to live. I turned back to study his profile. Dave met every need I had. Physical, emotional... he was the only man for me. I faced the window again and tried to imagine my life without him. The thought was enough to draw tears to my eyes as I faced utter emptiness. I knew then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Now how to convince the big lug, I thought to myself with a grin. I couldn't exactly strip and dance myself into this one. Dave had one semester left on his PhD, and then the great job search began. Dave wasn't talking about his plans after graduation, but I knew it had to be bothering him. The history professor job market was pretty saturated, and the odds of him finding a job teaching right off were pretty slim.

He had talked about research, working for a museum, but I was wondering if he would even be able to do that. I knew how much Dave wanted to teach. As frustrating is it was sometimes, he really enjoyed it as much as I did. I had another three semesters left on my masters before I finished, but I had plenty of money in the bank should it be necessary. I didn't think Dave would be willing to even tap that. The boy was proud to a fault.

My thoughts were broken by another squeeze from Dave. "What are you thinking?"

I smiled. "About you."

He grinned big. "So do you think you're ready for my family?"

I groaned. "I don't know. Run me down the list again."

Dave laughed. "All right. I think we'll be the first to arrive, so we'll go over the parents first." I nodded. "Okay... first is my mom. Her name is Charlotte, and she's an interior designer. She wont tell you her age, so Ill save that for some other time." I smiled. "She likes to cook a lot, and you'll be ready to burst when she's finished. She also loves sports, which you would figure."

"Check... next?"

"Okay, then there's dad. Larry, engineer. Was in the Army for about fifteen years. Also loves sports. He likes to build things at home. In fact, he did our kitchen cabinets and some of the furniture."

"Check," I said.

"Also, when they leave a room together giggling, you might want to move to a different end of the house. Dad and Mom still get kind of frisky even after 32 years of marriage, and occasionally they get loud."

I let out a huge guffaw. "I'll be sure to remember... next?"

"Okay, my oldest brother is Tanner. He's thirty-one. Inherited the family love of sports also. He works in construction. You'll be able to see that big-time when you meet him. His wife's name is Dana. She's a sweetie. One of the most loving, energetic women you'll ever meet in your life, and she needs to be to keep up with Tanner and their son, Trent. He's four, and she's pregnant again."

"Sounds like the boys may have inherited something from pop," I observed. Dave turned red.

"Umm, right. Well, then there's Joe. Army, all the way. Went to West Point, actually. Dad was so proud of him the day he graduated. Joe is so easygoing you'd never guess how mean he could be. Actually, all of us can be mean, but Mom's the meanest of all of us."

I looked at Dave and he grinned and winked. "You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Just watch. Anybody gets in her way or threatens one of her boys, and watch out. Even Dad is afraid of her when she gets in those moods."

I thought for a minute. "Okay, I have a question for you."

Dave grinned. "Shoot."

I laughed at his perfect impression of me. "It's kind of a serious one."

Dave just nodded. "Go on."

"Well, you said both your dad and brother are in the Army, and you've told me a lot about how you all were into sports and all that masculine stuff. I was just wondering how your family can be so accepting of you being gay."

Dave smiled. "Yeah, I have to admit that their supportiveness surprises even me sometimes. I don't know... Dad was really quiet when I told him back when I was sixteen. It took a few weeks before we could talk about it. From what he's told me, he and mom had quite a few long talks about it, and he also spent a lot of time at church praying about the right thing to do. He said that more than anything he got the impression that what I needed more than anything was his love and support."

My eyebrows must have been in my hair with my surprise. "You mean your dad got that from going to church?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah. He can't explain it, but somehow he just got a conviction that it was the right thing to do, and it grew stronger every day. So he decided to put aside everything he thought about homosexuality and move on. He and Mom have been awesome. They gave me the whole we want you to be happy' and be sure to be safe' speeches, but they have never looked down on me or anything I have done. When I first told them about having a boyfriend, it kind of hit them again, but I guess it's natural. Kind of the no turning back' thing, when your son has a boyfriend. They went to some PFLAG meetings and everything. Mom always said she had a feeling, but I dont know. They say mothers always know."

I shook my head in amazement. "Wow. So what about your brothers?"

Dave laughed. "Believe it or not, Joe took it the best. He was home on leave and I was home from college, and I told him we needed to talk. We went for a walk and I told him I was gay. He just stood there staring at me, then he started laughing. I was shaking, I didn't know what was going on. He finally just turned to me and said, `You know, Runt, that's probably the worst kept secret in the house. You honestly think I didn't know? Come on, give me some credit.'"

I burst out laughing. "Runt? He called you Runt?"

Dave blushed. "Yeah, sort of. He and Tanner called me that when I was a kid because I was shorter than them. I made up for it when I hit my growth spurt, but it just stuck."

I chuckled some more. "So what about your older brother?"

"Well, when I was coming out to Joe, I asked him that. I said if he knew, what about Tanner? He said that he knew because he had been home more often than Tanner had, so there was a possibility Tanner didn't know. Well, I found out the week of my parents' anniversary. Joe couldn't get leave, but Tanner was there with Dana; they had just gotten engaged. He came in, told us the news, and then he asked me if I had some `hot chick' in the wings at school. I sucked it up and told him we needed to talk.

"I basically told him the same things I had told Joe, that I didn't ask for it or choose it, that I was happy, and all that. He didn't even say a word. He got up and left the room. We didn't say one word to each other the whole rest of the week.

"Dana came in to my room one night a few days later. I always liked her, she is so cool. She sat down and hugged me, and told me Tanner was having a hard time dealing with this. It wasn't that he had a problem with gays in general, he just didn't know any personally and it was tough learning that your little brother is gay. She was so nice to me. I asked her if she ever thought Tanner would come around, and she said that I should give him time, but to not just give up on him."

I whistled. "So what happened?"

"Well, Tanner went back to work the next week, and I didn't talk to him when he called. I figured that when he wanted to talk, he would talk. Granted, that flew in the face of every instinct I had. A few times I demanded that Mom or Dad give me the phone so we could talk, but they always refused, saying that he needed more time. A few times I also thought of calling him up, but somehow better sense took over.

"One weekend I stayed at school working on a project. I got a phone call saying I had a visitor in the lobby of my dorm, so I went down, and there stood my big brother, looking nervous as hell. I walked up to him and shook his hand, and he asked if we could talk. We left the dorm and went to get some food. While we were there, he apologized for not talking, and that he just needed to understand. I told him it was cool. We made up, and he's been just as awesome as everyone else has ever since. I honestly didn't expect for my family to be so great about it, it just happened. I give thanks for it every chance I get."

I nodded and turned back to the window. A few tears stung my eyes as I remembered my father, the man I respected above all others, asking my mom what he did to deserve a pussy for a son. I remembered the look in my brother's eyes as I walked in from the hospital, a look of hurt and disgust. Then I thought about what Deanna had said to me when she came to visit. Could it be possible that my family had changed? Could they actually accept me as a gay man?

I felt a squeeze on my hand. "It'll be okay," Dave said. I just smiled.

We turned into the driveway of a very nice one-story brick house at the end of a tree-lined driveway. The neighborhood looked to be pretty affluent. The yard was landscaped, and the drive ended at a three-car garage. Very nice. I put my thoughts aside and began smoothing my clothes. Dave turned the car off and turned to me. "Ready for this?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yup. Let's go."

Dave jumped out of the car and walked around and opened the door for me. Wow, what a gentleman, I thought. I got out and stretched, humming to myself. The place was nice. Yard neatly raked, a back porch with a swing, it all looked great.

The back door opened and two people came out. The woman was about five-seven, with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. She was very pretty. I could see where Dave got his expressive eyes. She smiled at her youngest son and rushed up to give him a big hug. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "My baby boy is home," she said and patted his cheek. Then she turned to me. In that instant I sized this woman up. She had such a look of love in her eyes, I knew I would never have to worry about acceptance here. I felt such a rush of warmth from her. "And who is this, David? Is this the famous James I keep hearing about?"

Dave grinned. "Yep. James Kennedy, Charlotte Collins."

I reached out my hand. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

She smiled at me. "None of that," she said as she brushed aside my hand. She leaned in and gave me a big hug. "It's wonderful to meet you. You are very welcome here." Then she stepped aside.

I turned slightly to see probably the most imposing man I had ever met. There was something that emanated from this man that commanded respect. I felt like snapping to attention and saluting. He was right at Dave's height, about five-eleven, but somehow he seemed to be even taller than me. His graying brown hair was cut short and he was clean-shaven, showing a lantern jaw. Wow, I thought to myself. His body was lean and taut, he obviously kept in great shape. I looked from his wife and back to him. It was obvious that Dave came from great genes and got their best attributes.

Dave came up next to me. "This is my dad, Lawrence Collins."

I swallowed hard and stuck my hand out again. "Sir," I said. He looked me up and down, sizing me up. I felt like shrinking down into the brick of the patio, wondering if I met his approval as a suitable man for his youngest son.

Then the man's hard face broke into a smile. It had a tremendous effect. His pale blue eyes softened with the deep laugh lines. This was a man who laughed a lot and enjoyed life, I could tell. From the tender look he gave to his wife and his son, I could tell he loved them very much. He also ignored my hand and pulled me into a huge hug. I lost my breath for a moment as he squeezed me. He let me go and then slapped me on the shoulder. "Pleased to meet you, young man," he said in a loud voice. I felt myself grinning big.

"Likewise," I said. "You have a beautiful home."

Charlotte Collins beamed. "You haven't even seen the inside yet. David, don't just stand there. Take the boy inside and show him the house!"

Dave smiled. "Yes ma'am!" He hugged her again and then hugged his dad. I could see this was a family with a lot of love in it, and I was just happy to bask in the warmth. A pang of sadness struck me again as I thought of my own family and the past few years I hadn't seen them. I pushed it down as Dave grabbed my hand. "Come on!" he said and pulled me to the door.

"Don't worry son, we'll take care of your things!" his dad yelled as we went inside. As we passed through the door I caught a shared look of approval from the two of them.

End of part IX

More to come... hopefully before New Years! Thanks again, and WRITE ME! I LOVE EMAIL!!!