Umm, so yeah. This Chapter is pretty benign. I guess one could say that there is some course language and mature subject matter, so if that offends you don't read. Future chapters will deal with homosexual relationships between consenting adults and include scenes of sex between males. If this is likely to offend you, it's probably best not to start reading now, because you won't like what comes. If content such as that outlined above is illegal where you live, don't read this or find a better fucking country to live in. Characters in this story are mostly fictional. Those based off of actual people are substantially changed and bear different names.
Do not duplicate without seeking permission of the author.
Thank you and enjoy.
Luke's Life - Chapter 1
Luke sat alone in the basement of his parents' house, while his twin brother Alex shuffled about in the next room packing. Alex would be leaving tomorrow for a new job opportunity in the interior of British Columbia, while Luke remained at home with his parents over the summer.
Now going to different colleges, Alex and Luke hadn't seen much of each other over the last eight months and as much as Luke was enjoying the short time with his brother, there was something wearing on his mind.
It had all seemed so clear to Luke a week ago. After months of soul searching culminating in a poorly timed breakdown that happened to coincide with finals, Luke had come to two realizations. First off, he was gay.
This was something that he had known deep-down since he had hit puberty, but hadn't been ready to confront until pushed to do so by the unmitigated disaster that was his first year of college.
Second, Luke had decided that the first person he should come out to was his twin brother, Alex. Although tonight had seemed like a good time, Luke was now sitting in the basement hours away from his brother's departure and he was seriously second-guessing his decision.
Both Luke and Alex were athletes and they were both fiercely independent. They had gone to a big elementary school and had never been in the same class and once they hit middle school, they went to entirely different schools. This was a decision wholly supported and partially instigated by their parents. As well as having few friends in common, they both ran in their own circles, and had their own private lives.
Essentially, as twins go they weren't as close as most would expect. Despite their need for independence from each other, both boys did share many common interests. Both were good students, especially excelling in the social sciences, and both were outwardly, at least, completely straight. In fact, both had spent time picking on fags in middle school -- this not so much out of any particular malice or actual negative opinion of gay people, mostly it was just following what others were doing -- and both had professed interest in and even dated various girls.
So it was with some trepidation that Luke was going to finally confront his brother. At best, this could open up the channels of communication and be the start of a closer or at least more functional relationship between the two young men. At worst, Luke knew that his brother might just need some time to accept it. Hell, from the reading Luke had done he knew that there was a 30% chance that Alex might even share his interests in this particular regard. So why was this so hard?
Luke was interrupted from his thoughts by his brother sauntering in, having apparently finished shoving the last of his various belongings into random boxes and duffle bags. Alex flopped down onto the pool table dangling his feet over and onto the couch, which stood just a few feet away. A few minutes of awkward silence ensued as both boys silently watched the television flicker in the corner.
Although nothing was outwardly different in the room from any other evening Luke was having increasing difficulty dealing with the tension he felt. Under these circumstances, he would usually have paced back and forth uncomfortably, but that would have been a dead give away, what with his brother sitting there as well. So instead Luke decided upon the more discreet option of getting a bottle of Jack Daniels off the shelf and pouring himself a glass. Both boys were used to drinking in the other's presence and a drink now wouldn't be anything particularly out of the ordinary. Besides, Luke thought, maybe this would give him the courage he needed to sit down and finally have a real talk with his brother.
"Hey pass us the bottle" Alex yawned from his perch.
Luke mindlessly passed his brother the bottle without breaking from his trance-like state, apparently glued to the television.
"Hey space man! Am I supposed to drink this out of my hands? C'mon get me a glass"
"Fuck you! Do I look like your bitch?"
Luke regretted his choice of words the second they passed from his lips and cringed at the predictable banter that was to follow.
"Not really" replied Alex "My bitch is hotter and he, at least, treats me right..."
"Pfft! Hotter? You wish, man. We both know you think pretty highly of yourself, and I got the better looks out of us two so basically I am already out of your league. Anyway, here's what I suggest: you get a glass yourself or grow a pair and drink from the bottle".
"Blow me", huffed Alex as he went to get his own glass.
Usually Luke would have smiled at this victory but tonight it was all he could do to stop himself from crying. Having retreated to the usual practice -- effectively known as gay chicken -- there was no way he could seriously confront his brother with the news that he was actually gay.
`Fuck... Well there would be a next time' Luke thought as he proceeded to finish the rest of the bottle while sulking in front of the increasingly irrelevant TV.
The next morning Luke dragged his ass out of bed, head pounding and feeling like he had been hit by a train. He tossed on some boxers and a T-shirt and, after a quick inspection of himself in the bathroom to make sure that his hangover wouldn't be too obvious to his parental unit, he proceeded to stumble to the door to wish his brother goodbye. After that, it was off to bed until noon and then down to the rowing club.
There was no training scheduled for Sunday, but Luke enjoyed getting out on the water on Sunday afternoons. The lake was busy and there were plenty of people to watch and plenty of people to watch him as he gracefully sculled, passing dragon boats and canoes with deft, seemingly effortless strokes; the sun radiating off his bare shoulders.
And plenty of people glanced at him, apparently a sign that some people were interested in him or what he was doing. This made Luke smile. He was proud of his body and aside from the occasional night spent drinking himself to sleep, he generally took very good care of it. The problem was that all people ever seemed to do was look. No one ever approached him to ask about his training or what it was that he was doing and even among his fellow teammates he had yet to exchange anything more significant then the superficial formalities of greeting each other and exchanging names.
Luke was a loner for the most part. He had his few drinking buddies and the odd acquaintance from high school that he still kept vague contact with, but other than that there was no one. He hadn't had a meaningful relationship with anyone, including his parents for well over 8 years, and despite the fact that he desperately wanted one, nothing along those lines appeared to be coming. Luke picked up his stroke rate in frustration, thinking about the fact that he was partially to blame for this. All he had to do, after all, was talk to someone, go to his parents or his brother and tell them how he felt. But that would be awkward, a transgression of the artificial boundaries that he had created in his relationships; boundaries that apparently no one cared enough about Luke to ignore.
Besides, it had been his parents who had stopped talking to him in that way. From the time he hit puberty they were content to treat him like a man, they allowed him his distance and never stepped in to make sure things were going ok, offer input, give advice or any of the help he needed but was too proud to ask for. In fact his pride had been a major problem in and of itself. During middle school he had a falling out with most of his friends, which is to say that they turned on him. Instead of asking them why or confronting them, Luke had done the only thing that came naturally: he stiffened his upper lip, pretended it didn't bother him and went about his existence. Fuck what they thought. Fuck what they said to or about him. Fuck them. He wasn't about to give any of them the satisfaction of letting them know that they had got to him. If Luke cried, he cried alone. For all the hurt and despair he felt he took it out on other, weaker kids and thus established himself somewhere in the school pecking order. In fact, Luke was so successful at this that by his entrance into highschool he was almost completely ignored.
"SINGLE, WATCH YOUR COURSE!"
Luke was suddenly shattered from his commiserations as he was forced to hold down quickly to avoid a collision with a sailboat. Sailboat? What the fuck was a sailboat doing on this side of the lake and why wasn't the sailboat yielding to the rowing shell? That was it! Luke was going to let this prick know exactly what he thought.
"You fucking watch yours or get the fuck off the lake" snarled Luke, "You're in the rowing course at the moment and sailors have to yield to rowers anyway, so how's `bout you pull your head out of your fucking ass?"
The sailor visibly blanched and then cursed a few times at Luke
"Oh c'mon! Tell me how you really feel, taunted Luke" but the other guy apparently decided to take the high road and leave.
"That's right! Get the fuck out of here" Luke yelled, intent on getting a parting shot.
Luke quickly regained his composure and then checked his watch. It was probably time to head in, anyway. Back on the dock, Luke was just pulling his boat out of the water when he heard clapping and chuckling. That was odd. He hadn't seen anyone there when he had pulled in. With his boat on his shoulder, Luke turned around to see the smiling face of a K1 kayaker. The guy was cute -- hot even. Luke had seen him before, training at the same brutally early time of morning that the rowers did and usually well ahead of his respective teammates. Apparently Luke also wasn't the only one who didn't believe in taking `days off', scheduled or no.
"It's about time someone told those sailors what's what out here", said the mystery boy while grinning, "I don't think he will be back on this side of the lake any time soon"
"Heh, yeah... Probably not" Luke stammered, unable to keep a sheepish grin from spreading across his lips. "I may have over-reacted somewhat but I mean honestly the guy could have killed me, or worse sunk my $7,000 boat!"
Mystery boy frowned briefly at that but quickly changed the topic as they both carried their boats off the dock preparing to wash them down.
"So I know you rowers don't practice on Sundays, so what brings you out here?" he asked.
"I dunno. Every little bit of training helps I guess, besides I kinda like it out here. Beats sitting around at home and doing nothing"
"Well you are right about that. I for one couldn't stand the idea of sitting around at home listening to my younger brother and sister fight. Besides, the extra training seems to be paying off for you; you seem to pull away from the other rowers pretty easily during morning training, especially when you are in the pair with that other guy... come to think of it, what's your name"
"Luke, and that other guy is matt. You?"
"Shane"
"Cool. Anyway you seem to do pretty well for yourself too, at least from what I have seen."
"Heh, thanks, man"
Shane and Luke smiled at each other resulting in a sort of awkward moment, after which both boys resumed putting their boats away
So that's chapter 1. More will come if there is a positive response.
Email feedback to: dgwhatever@yahoo.com
-Dan