Just a note for any new readers. You really should start at the begining. I think you'll find it's worth it!
Mile High Part 2-1
"Chris?" Kelvin slowly wandered through the warm, dark terminal building. They'd gotten one of their rare, yearly dustings of snow that February night, but thankfully the skies had cleared. This promised to be a memorable morning. Today the last of his small circle of friends was going up with him. Whether he wanted to or not! Jenny would see to that.
He glanced out the glass that made up the wall facing the ramp to see his dad's little biplane - well, his dad had given' it to him for Christmas but kept everything in his name for legal expense reasons - resting next to a King-Air and a MU-2 rice rocket', bathed in the yellow flood lights. Chris was perched on the top of a stepladder, obviously putting fuel into the tiptanks of the high winged Mitsubishi business plane. Kel smiled to himself briefly, remembering the story about the linemen who'd positioned their ladders wrong, only to find that when they'd finished fueling the twin engined turboprop, it had settled all its weight onto the ladders and wouldn't budge.
Kelvin suppressed his urge to wander outside to stroke the new paint on the little biplane. They had just had it recovered and repainted. The bare white was gone, replaced with a gray and black stylized seagull covering the wings and fuselage. That had been Chris' idea after the packages arrived from Brian's school friends. He felt his smile fade as he fought back the hollow space in his heart, left by his dead brother.
The first Christmas without him was pure hell on Kel and his family. He, James Jr., and his dad had tried to hide it in front of his mom, but they didn't fool her in the least. Then UPS had started to deliver and they learned that Brian's roommate had found his list of potential Christmas gifts for his family and kept it when they'd packed the rest of his belongings up to send home. For the next month the students had divided the list and filled it. Then they'd wrapped the gifts and sent them. At least they weren't stupid enough to try to lie and say Brian had gotten the gifts already; he'd never done any shopping before the last minute, but the ideas and thoughts behind them were all Brian's.
Even almost two months later, Kel felt the emotional turmoil flow through him as he remembered opening his package to find a couple of video tapes and the wings his brother had wanted to get for him. The one that meant the most to him was the video of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' with the soundtrack CD, that and the copy of the list with its notes written by the gift ideas. Brian had written For my own Jonathan and Fletcher' in the margin of the page, clearly meaning Kelvin and Christopher. So, when it was decided to refinish the Christen Eagle, Chris had come up with the design and name: Brian's Own Jonathan.'.
Kelvin quietly wiped his eyes and sat down on one of the waiting couches, placing his headphones on. His feet and hands went to their controls' and he began his flight, thinking through what he wanted to do from the takeoff roll. Right rudder, feed in a little more...." He closed his eyes and concentrated on the routine as the music filled his ears. He loved to fly to music and had carefully selected for this flight from his dad's collection. A slightly evil little smirk began to spread across his features. This would be a birthday Steven would never forget!
"Hey, short stuf...." Chris let his voice trail as he saw Kel deep into his `flight', arms and legs comfortably moving in their peculiar patterns. He finished with the fuel paperwork and let the warmth of the terminal seep through him as he hunted for the Kleenex box. He hated feeling sick. His throat and sinuses were pounding from the cold and his forehead had felt hot for the last two days. He figured his blood was too thin for these temperatures. He was much happier with the hundred degree summers. He gave himself a lopsided grin; anything below fifty was too cold for him. His thin uniform pants weren't enough, even with the two sets of longjohns he had on.
He couldn't wait for Jenny to arrive with Steve. They had all done their best to shame their team captain into this moment. It had finally come down to a bet that Steve had lost to get him here. Chris just hoped, as he watched a vigorous exchange of moving hands and scruffy sneakers, that Kel would take it easy on Steve. It wasn't his fault that he was afraid to fly, that he'd held out until now.
"Kelvin!" Chris tried again when he saw his love stop and remain still. He could only smile at the stuffy, nasal twang to his voice, "have a good flight?"
"Yeah." Kel felt himself blush a little, like he always did when caught unaware. He blinked a couple of times to bring himself back to the present and stretched. "I just want it to be perfect."
"You're always perfect..." Chris's smile spread into a grin, "...to me!"
"Keep that up...and you'll put yourself into a coma." Kel smirked back at his diabetic boyfriend as he rose to cross behind the counter. "I don't think even I can stand all the syrup you're spewing. How you feelin?"
"Like shit!" Chris wiped his nose quickly and held up a hand. "Yeah, I know. `I look like it too'. You don't have to say it."
"I wasn't going to say that." Kel tried to give Chris his best green `puppy dog' eyes, feigning hurt. "When was the last time I ever said anything mean to you?"
"What time is it?" Christopher cast a sidelong glance dramatically at Kel, then gave in to his urge and blew his nose, hoping to clear it. "What are you laughing at?"
"I was just wondering if you could get another job," Kel said in between his suppressed laughter. "Maybe as a foghorn or a moose call."
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Chris suddenly grabbed his boyfriend and tried to pull him closer. "If you're not careful, I'll kiss you right now. It'd serve you right! Hell, I should just breathe on you!"
"Hey," Kel pulled himself closer and gave what he hoped was his most seductive look. "I'd be more than happy to let you blow me." He grinned and pushed back, freeing himself from Chris's grasp. "I mean blow on me."
"Let me get over this shit..." Chris made another playful grab at Kel before redirecting his grasp to himself, "...then I'll have something you can blow all right!"
"Ha! I was thinking more of a sixty-eight." Kel quickly slipped past to the door. It was time for him the start his preflight. He saw the amused confusion on Chris's face. "You know....You blow me and I'll owe you one!"
Chris watched Kel's retreating back as he sneezed hard a couple more times and rechecked the morning pull-out orders. He was relieved to see he'd finished everything. All the planes leaving that morning had been pulled out and fueled. He looked at his watch, one hour left! Thank God it was Sunday morning. He'd get to stay home and sleep that night. He ruefully shook his head and turned back to wait for Steve, Jenny, and the others. He really should have called in sick, but then he'd have missed this.
Their only regret was that Mike wasn't here to see it. He smiled a little at the memory of their trip to Fort Worth to see him before New Year's. It had been wild when they'd walked into Mr. Goldman's house to find Michael learning how to dance to some big-band music, Glen Miller, they later learned.
Paul, Mr. Goldman's lover of over fifty years, had the patience and toes of a saint. His only requirement had been that they lose their shoes. It had made their lessons during the visit less painful for him. The visit had been great for them, as were the `war stories' the old couple had told them. His respect for the elderly lawyer, that had already been high, was multiplied ten fold.
He figured he, Kelvin, and Mike were the hit of the New Year's celebration at Mr. Goldman's. He had been nervous about it and the possible sexual overtones of the party due to his own previous experiences, but the possible predatory subcurrent had never materialized.
Hell, Kelvin hadn't even pestered him about the time when Mr. Goldman's co-pilot came on to him, though he couldn't help but make a few comments, earning him a playful swat to the back of his head at Mike's expense as they watched him circulate. Everybody was comfortable with each other and welcomed them into their circle of old friends with innocently opened arms.
He had been amazed at how comfortable he'd finally felt among the (mostly) older crowd and was overjoyed to see that enduring love was possible. It was what he and Kel had dreamed of, had to look forward to.
He and Kel had gone to bed that night just cuddling, thinking about their lives and growing old together. It was strange but they never really had `sex' during the visit, yet the whole experience had been great. Especially when they danced. He loved being able to hold his short dark-haired lover in a room full of people and had to laugh at the school dances he'd been to. What would their friends make of this? Dancing and holding each other at the same time? That was unknown to his other teen friends!
Chris managed to lower the intensity of his grin as the first group of businessmen and a couple of pilots entered the terminal. He figured he'd have a few strange music requests if they ever got up the courage to go to a school dance together. He quickly suppressed the urge to shrug his shoulders as he wished the customers `good morning'. That last thought was nothing more than a pipe dream around here.
"Ah, Kel?" Kelvin heard Steve's nervous voice through his headset as he guided the small plane to the end of the runway. "Wha...where are the parachutes?"
"Don't worry..." Kel didn't think his grin could get much broader as he scanned for traffic in the pattern, "...there aren't any!" He quickly depressed the push-to-talk radio button, cutting off the string of curses directed his way from the front cockpit. "Three six sierra papa taking the active." He almost laughed out loud. Sierra Papa stood for Stuart Petroleum', but Steve kept insisting it stood for Three sixes, Satan's Plane' every time he'd seen Kel take his friends and his fiancee up.
The best part about today's flight was that, after clearing to make sure there were no other aircraft to interfere, he had the field to use. Even the student pilots waiting to begin their training at the flight school were outside in the cold to watch them. He slowly advanced the throttle and fed in some rudder to counter the propeller's torque as they swiftly accelerated.
"Hope you don't mind. I like to fly to music," he announced calmly and pressed 'play' as he kept his hand on the throttle.
"Just keep it slow..." Steve began just as the opening riff for Journey's 'Worlds Apart' started pounding through his headset. His eyes got as wide as they could as first the tail, then the rest, leapt away from the ground, the propeller biting the air for all it was worth. "Fuck!...God...oh fuck!"
Then suddenly they were upside down, then back, then...Steve soon lost count, until Kel effortlessly turned them sharply toward the middle of the field and pushed them over the top. Steve didn't weigh anything for a moment. His stomach should have felt queasy but was still doing the last set of flip-flops.
Then the nose swept up dramatically and he felt like he weighed over a thousand pounds for a moment. The world seemed to grow a little grayer to his eyes until he heard Kel grunt behind him and remembered to tighten all the muscles in his lower abdomen and legs like Kel had taught him to do. He was relieved to feel the G's fall off at the top of the loop when the plane flipped upright, completing the Immelman'. He'd never admit it to anyone, but at some point he actually started to enjoy it a little, if he lived through it. At least until Kel made the little biplane cartwheel end over end! He knew he was going to throw up then! Only, which way was up?
"I ought'a beat the shit out'a you!" Steve groaned when the wheels finally made contact with the runway. He felt green and was soaked with sweat, still clutching the half-full vomit bag in his hand. He kicked himself mentally. He should have waited before having breakfast. His mom was right, it didn't taste as good the second time around. "Who the hell taught you all that shit?"
"My dad," Kel responded as they left the runway toward the hanger, where everybody was supposed to meet them. "Happy birthday!" Kel broke into a grin. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before you and your evil henchmen try to strip another poor defenseless child naked before school."
"Well," Steve was starting to feel better now, "the next time we find one of those, I'll let you know. `Cause it certainly wasn't you!"
"What? I can't hear you." Kel laughed through the intercom as they continued to zigzag down the taxiway so he could see around the nose of the plane. "You say you want to do it again?"
"No!...No, hell no!" Steve started suddenly. "You said your dad taught you how to fly like that?"
"Yep!" Kel answered cautiously as he brought them to a stop where Chris indicated, still acting the lineman, even off the clock.
"Good!" Steve pulled the headset off, his wet hair pulling free from the underside to stick straight up. He turned in the seat to look Kel in the face. Kel was just as soaked as he was. "I don't care if I'm stationed in Alaska!" he began, smiling evilly. "I'm coming back next Halloween and egging your house!"
"I'd be careful, if I was you," Kel grinned back and lifted the canopy open. Their soaked bodies were instantly assaulted by the bitter north wind and he hoped their friends would hurry with their coats. "You could end up going with my father...and he's always wanted to do a wingwalking act!"
"He has?" Kel looked up to see Chris helping unbuckle Steve from his harness. Chris had a strange far-off look in his sparkling eyes. Well, Kel figured, the `sparkle' he saw could have been caused by post-nasal drip but wasn't too sure.
"No, Chris, no!" Kel playfully admonished him. "Don't even think about it! Bad boy! Bad boy!"
Christopher grinned while he began whimpering like a hurt puppy, until he was forced to turn his head away, suddenly wracked by another sneezing fit. "Damn!" __________________________________________________________________________________________
Chris silently scowled at the old green Jeep. If this kept up, the paint would weigh more than the vehicle did. He was getting tired of painting out the slurs that kept appearing. He could only hope they'd eventually catch the bastards. His dad had come close a few times, but close only counted in horseshoes and handgrenades.
He'd been shocked to see his dad with the shotgun. He hadn't known that his dad had ever owned a gun and, considering his former suicidal mindset last year, thanked him every day for keeping its presence a tight secret. He shuddered slightly as he waited for Kel to pick him up that Monday morning. He'd been extremely lucky then to have the Stuarts in his life.
Now it was time to see if any of his friends had heard anything yet about the attacks. So far they'd drawn a blank for the last two months. Whoever it was kept themselves hidden far too well for Chris's taste. At least they hadn't tried to burn it like they had his car. Chris could only figure that whoever it was didn't want to risk the light giving them away.
Chris sneezed again and reached for another cold tablet and his water bottle as Kel pulled in, sighing as he took one of the tablets. At least he was keeping his food down now, but was ready for it to be over. It was playing hell with his blood sugar levels as well. He absently fingered his medic alert and grabbed his backpack.
"Hey, gruesome." Kel's smile faded, looking at the new paint and he glanced at his own damaged vehicle. Someone had tried to take a hammer to it not too long ago, but he and his dad had decided to leave it alone. They were determined that the damage would be repaired by whoever did it. Thankfully, the heater still worked. "You're looking better this morning."
"Wish I felt better," Chris groused as he sat next to Kelvin, loosening his coat a bit in the heat of the yellow Jeep CJ. "Let's go. I wan'a talk to Mrs. Lee about Valentine's day."
"What about?" Kel glanced over quickly at his boyfriend as he guided them toward their classes that day.
"I'm just tired of this shit!" Chris let his agitation show. "That is three times now I've had to paint out that crap. I want to throw it right back in their faces." He stopped and looked intently at Kel. "Let's go to the dance."
"What, stag?" Kel felt his nerves tingling now, silently dreading the answer to what Chris was proposing.
"No. You and me." Chris continued to watch for a reaction. "I figure most of the other kids won't care, and those who will? Fuck 'em! They'll just have to deal with it."
"I don't know?" Kel quietly mulled over the idea. Throw it back in their faces was right! Hell, it would be like tossing gas on a fire. He winced at that reference in his mind. He couldn't imagine a stronger reaction if the town was told they'd be nuked in ten minutes. Besides, the last time their enemies had to `deal' with him, he'd ended up in the hospital. "You think that's such a good idea? I mean what if she says no?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Chris watched Kel as they finally pulled into the school lot. "Do you think the old man would help?"
"Yeah, he'll help us." Kel shook his head and popped his door. "Right into a loony bin." He watched as Chris started slightly and looked back, scowling at him. He began to squirm uncomfortably. This obviously wasn't a joke to Chris and, if it was important to Chris, it was important to him as well. Still.... "I think we're both nuts, but if you want to do this, I wouldn't be anywhere else." He slowly began to evilly grin through his misgivings as they entered the building. He found himself warming to the idea. This could be fun, as long as they were able to live through it!
"So what did she say?" Sharon sat, squirming, at the cafeteria table along with the rest of their friends as she left her hand in Joel's lap, quietly groping. She loved to shock her friends. Besides, Joel wasn't objecting.
"She said she'd have to think about it." Chris smiled wanly and glanced around as he sat down. He couldn't see any difference in the crowd of students, but somehow felt an undercurrent flowing around them. He closed his eyes for an extended moment. He decided his imagination was working overtime.
"So?" she asked impatiently. She retrieved her hand from her boyfriend's lap and grinned at them all. Mission accomplished, Joel would end up walking to class with his books held in front of him again, but she'd make it `up' to him that night. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know." Chris looked back at her in amazement, tinged with jealousy. He was amazed that she could be so cruel, and jealous that she and Joel could be so public. His initial reason for wanting to take Kelvin to the dance was fast replaced by a longing so hard it hurt. He wanted what everybody else had! It wasn't fair! "I suppose we'll just show up and see what happens."
"Great," Steve snorted from his seat next to Jenny. "I can see it now, `No officer, I went to a fight and a dance broke out.'"
"Steve! I'm surprised at you." Jenny jumped into the building fray before Sharon could. She reached across the table to hold Chris's and Kel's hands. "How would you like it if we couldn't even hold hands when we wanted to?"
"That's not what I meant." Steven hung his head. "It's just...Hell, I'll never totally understand,...but you all know I'll be there to watch your backs."
"We know." Kel quietly tried to catch their guilty friend's eyes. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned at them to lighten up the mood. "Just remember, if it does come down to a fight, I'll fight to the last straight boy!"
"Oh?" Steve finally looked up into the smirking faces and smiled himself. "I thought we'd agreed to fight to the last gay guy."
"Will you two knock it off?" Sharon huffed through her cheeks fiercely. "There won't be any fights! So get over it!"
Kel glanced at Chris, then turned back to Steve, pretending to ignore Sharon. "OK, we fight to the last straight girl!"
"Agreed!" Steve reached over and shook Kel's proffered hand, also ignoring Sharon's follow-on comments that would have made a sailor blush. He continued, changing the subject to something more pleasant, "Oh, before I forget, Mike'll be home Wednesday."
"He will?" Kel's smile grew impossibly huge as he looked at Chris's smiling face. "That's fantastic!" He got his face back under control. "He's still gon'a be able to graduate with you, won't he?"
"Yeah! That's why he waited when he couldn't come back sooner." Steve was obviously relishing being the bearer of good news. "They waited for the first grading period to be over, before he transferred back."
"I can't wait." Chris's eyes took on a mischievous shine. "Did you tell him I've been `practicing' with my towel?"
"No!" Steve's visage transformed instantly into a grimace. "And if you don't stop...you won't like it when the rest of us catch...."
"Are you going to bring him?" Sharon found her chance to interrupt, and jumped at it. "To the dance, I mean."
"I don't know..." Steve glanced cautiously at Sharon. If women were a mystery, she was the Bermuda Triangle. "He won't have anyone to bring."
"I don't know... Jenny, what about that one?" She pointed off into the crowd. "I think he's cute." She redirected her focus away from Jenny's comments. "What do you think, Steve?"
"What do I what?" Steve had done his best to tune his friend and fiancee out. This was becoming dangerous for him. He groaned, this was like being asked, `does this dress make me look fat?'; he'd have to be careful.
"What kind of guy will Michael like?" Jenny took up Sharon's slack.
"How the hell should I know?" Steve shrugged his shoulders as he tried to figure a way to change seats. He only now realized he shouldn't have sat between those two. "The only gay guys I know are these two!" He jerked his thumb at Chris and Kel across from him
"You're his best friend! You must know something." Sharon's eyes were thankfully distracted again. "Ooh, Jenny, what about that foxy little number?"
"Him?" Jenny's eyes grew wide as she started to giggle, oblivious to the confused looks the guys were giving the two of them. "That's `Julie the Bitch's' little brother. I don't think he even drives yet." She cocked her head to one side as if listening to a hidden voice. "Still, wouldn't it be too funny if the only son in that shit family was queer too? What do you think, Steve?"
"Whatever!" Steve let his head fall with a thud onto the lunch table as he hid his red face from Kel and the others who'd begun to laugh uncontrollably at the exchange. He was starting to wish it was already the end of August. He was looking forward to the relative peace and quiet of his Coast Guard basic training!
"Where's your dad?" Kel quickly shut the door behind him as he followed Chris to his room. "Still working?"
"Yeah." Chris shed his coat into a corner of his small closet and dumped his books onto his bed. "He finally got the windshield and back window in for that school plane. The instructors didn't want to fly it with bullet holes." He unconsciously rubbed the scar hidden under his shirt. "He should be home in a couple of hours. Why?"
"I don't know." Kel looked at his feet. If he didn't love him so much, he'd have to find a boyfriend who wasn't so dense sometimes. "I thought we could...uh...you know."
"OK." Chris grinned and pulled his love closer to him. "But then what do we do for the other hour and fifty nine minutes after you're done?"
"Fine...fine, I thought you might be tired of using your hand." Kelvin reached down to rub his boyfriend's crotch. He had to stifle a chuckle. If Chris had been a cat, he would have started purring. He suddenly pulled back from the contact, "But, if you're not as horny as I am right now...?"
"Nobody's as horny as you are!" Chris smiled back. Actually he figured they were running a close one and two, with no clear winner. "Well, you might as well come back and finish what you started."
"No, I don't have to if you don't wa...." Kel`s words were cut off as his lips and body were engulfed in Chris's firm embrace. He never ceased to be amazed that, for all their differences in stature - Chris was at least a foot taller than his own muscular five foot five frame - they fit so well.
"I'm sorry." Chris reluctantly separated again. "I shouldn't have...You could catch...Fuck!"
"Catch what?" Kel looked on, perturbed at the interruption. "Jeeze, you act like it's mono or AIDs or something."
"No, just the flu," Chris sighed, dreading what his answer would imply. He found he couldn't look at Kel's face. "The other tests were negative."
"OK, then." Kel moved back to renew their embrace. He reached his hands up to Chris's face, to force their eye contact. "I've had a flu shot this year and you've already told me about those guys in Houston. Look at me!" He used his imitation of his dad's most commanding voice. "I don't care. Nothing can change how I feel." He was rewarded to feel Chris relax back into his arms, Chris's guilt over his past forgotten as they slowly collapsed onto the bed.
Chris arched his back and, reaching behind, managed to shovel his books out from under him and off the bed. He couldn't help but smirk when Kel squirmed, as he slid his cool hands under his shirt to warm them against his boyfriend's naked skin.
"God! I thought my doctor's hands were cold!" Kel moved his own hands under Chris's shirt to return the favor, only to be frustrated by another layer of underclothes. "What are you wearing?"
"I think mine keeps his glove in the freezer," Chris whispered back, remembering his last complete physical. He thought his voice had gone up four octaves when he'd turned his head. "I can't help it if I'm cold natured. I hate winter."
Kel sighed quietly as he began to attack his boyfriend's buttons in earnest. Half the fun in enjoying the gift was unwrapping it, but this was ridiculous. He could only hope that by the time they undressed each other, they'd have time to do something else.
Kel glanced at his watch before he stopped to just admire his boyfriend's tall, lean frame. He loved everything about it, even the angry scar that marred Chris's left arm, but he especially loved the spirit and warmth it contained. He felt his own body shudder from the pleasure he received between his legs as Chris licked him all over, tasting and sucking at the clear fluid he was expelling. That was a new feature that his body had developed since they'd started `playing' with each other.
He quickly pulled Chris down to bare his head and, leaning down, swirled his tongue around it. It was incredible how clean Chris kept himself but then, with his diabetes, he was paranoid about infections starting anywhere on his body. He continued to bathe his friend in his spit and fondled his tightening testicles as he felt his own pull close to his body.
It was great as he felt his own orgasm at the same time Chris started firing his load into Kel's hungry mouth. Kel decided he might have been mistaken about Chris using his hands a lot. It seemed like he kept shooting wave after wave continuously. They'd have to do this more often. He'd drown otherwise. It was also the first time they'd actually finished together. Maybe they needed the fear of discovery, by their parents, more often.
"That was incredible." Kel let his boyfriend slip from his mouth as they continued a slight stroking of each other. "I wish...."
"Yeah, I know," Chris quietly responded to his lover's unspoken request. "We'd better get dressed and start on our research papers before my dad walks in." He playfully fluffed his hand through Kel's dark, slick pubic hairs, causing him to lurch at the slight tickle, and reached for his boxers. "Give me another kiss, then we need to get to work."
Kel sighed again and pulled himself upright, scanning the floor for his clothes and picking them out of the pile. He was surprised that it was already getting dark, but was thankfully dressed by the time they saw the headlights pull up in the driveway. He smiled sheepishly as his stomach began to rumble, thinking about the spicy Cajun food he had to look forward to that night. Chris's dad's food would bring tears to his eyes, but he'd never turn it down.
"I can't wait to get you out there." Chris hugged Kelvin tightly, to wish him goodnight, as their visible breath hung around them in the still cold air of the night. He was determined that they would finally be able to show their affection for each other. "It'll be great, I hope. Are you OK with it?"
"I'm OK with it," Kel reassured his love again. "Don't know what my parents and Mr. Goldman will say, but I'll be there with you." Actually, he was dreading telling them. He figured they would think they were both nuts to take the risk and try to forbid them from going to the dance. But they'd made up their minds and were prepared to face what ever happened. Together as always.
End of part 2-1
My thanks to ED for his assistance with this story. For everyone who wanted the story to continue, here it is! Thanks for your feedback and I hope you continue to enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Please let me know. Your feedback is valuable to me. I will try to answer all I receive.
Thanks again for letting me share. Willy B. (haztech@msn.com)