DISCLAIMER: This story contains depictions of homosexual contact between underage males. Read at your own risk, and do not read at all if it is illegal in your city, state, or province. All characters depicted are fictional, and any resemblance to real persons can be attributed to chance.
We were the sweet notes of a chord. He was beautiful by himself, a pure tone, but when we were together he seemed to brighten, as if he'd found his place. I felt exactly the same. Maybe it was too good to be true. Probably. I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted, then. I felt better than I'd felt in a long time. I was glowing. It wasn't just physical. Although it was a lot of physical. Chance and I understood each other. We didn't have to talk much, we just had to be near each other to enjoy each other's company. Even so, I knew precious little about him. It hadn't posed a problem yet, but I still felt like something was missing. I brought it up with my mom over dinner.
"Your attraction now is mostly physical. That's all it is. You fell in love with his body. Now fall in love with his mind. His story. Once you do that, you'll be inseparable."
"Mom, how do I even begin to do that?"
"Go out for a movie. Meet his parents. Adopt a pet. Do something that doesn't involve you two sweating all over each other. Believe you me. The sex gets old."
"Is that happened with you and dad? (I couldn't quite believe I was asking this.)"
"Pretty much. He got bored with one toy and found another." I was silent at this. My father was not "the enemy" of our household, but it was understood that any happiness we found was despite him. A counselor that evaluated me as a child would probably have attributed my homosexuality to a lack of father figure. I dunno. Sounds too Freudian to me.
"All I'm saying is, talk to the boy. Get to know him. Don't just "know" him. You'll find it worthwhile."
"Should I get a ring while I'm at it?" She snorted and flung a piece of garlic bread at me.
"Don't patronize me kiddo. I'm still your mother." She dug into her purse and slapped a brochure on the table. Some classical guitarist was playing at a nearby hoity toity performance hall, apparently. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "You both like music, don't you?"
"Um... yeah." She flipped open the brochure and revealed two tickets for the performance tomorrow night.
"I got 'em from a client. Take him. Dinner afterward. On me." She added her credit card with the lowest limit, one she saved for rare vacations. Whew. Social situations. I was a little nervous about going on our first date (rather, first date that involved clothes) and a little nervous about doing so in public. Truth be told, we probably wouldn't be feeling up on each other (all that much), but for all its talk of freedom and tolerance, America isn't quite yet ready for two boys to love each other. I looked up at my mother, and she seemed to sense my qualms. She put her hand on mine. "If it's meant to be, there's nothing to worry about. You two look so happy together. Oh, it's a black tie affair." Heh. A tux would look so cute on Chance.
Damn right it would. He cleaned up really nicely. Somehow the tux gave him subtle curves instead of hiding them, and his hair was combed like a professional. He had put on some kinda cologne that made him smell so good I wanted to just eat him. He smiled sheepishly as he walked out the front door of his house because both of us knew we had no business in tuxedos. He got in the mustang, and we drove off. At the end of our street, I put the car in park and grabbed him. We kissed like we couldn't breathe without each other. "I missed you," I said in a whisper. I had spent the entire day finding the place, making reservations, and having my mother take the hems out of my tux, which had been bought large a couple of years ago for just an occasion like this. I had only called my boyfriend, and asked him if he was busy tonight. He'd sounded amused when I told him to wear a tux. I didn't see what was funny about it, but in it, he was my kryptonite. Well, not as much as he would be out of it. It was this thought that drove me to smooch him as soon as we were out of the neighborhood. We had just gotten some tongue into it when a car appeared behind us, honking its horn. It was the van my mom used when delivering various sugary foodstuffs. She whipped the van around me, waving happily as she sped off. "Have fun!" "We will," I said quietly, touching Chance on his side. I got on the highway, and flipped on the radio. The Eagles were on. So we flew down the highway, top down, bow ties flicking in the wind, howling the laid back lyrics to "Take it easy." Take it easy we would. * * * * * * * * After a long hiatus, I'm finally settled in at college, and will hopefully resume a writing schedule that resembles normal. This one's a little short because I kinda had to get to know my characters again and plan some more of their future development. More fun and foreplay to come, I assure you. But hopefully you'll laugh and cry a little too. Until then, take it easy. Ian inlwtx@yahoo.com