Sea Change

Sea Change, pt 47

I wish to retain all rights to this story. However, I am delighted to grant permission to any person to publish this story as long as there is no charge to the reader and as long as no changes are made to the story.

Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved.

SEA CHANGE

CHAPTER 47 — Fishing

They were almost angry that I had been gone all weekend; Eric, Ferg, and Caitlyn. They all had Algebra tests coming up and expected me to tutor them. Not only had they organized themselves into a study group, but they also delivered an ultimatum to me at lunch on Monday. I was to tutor them that night and couldn’t even think about doing anything else.

I had already decided to stick around the dorm that night anyway in case Dan called. I didn’t want him finding me at Lenny’s as though nothing had happened and everything was cool. With the three remedial algebra cases in my room, though, I wouldn’t be able to speak freely.

And maybe that wasn’t bad. I wasn’t sure yet what I’d say.

Dan hadn’t called Sunday night and I didn’t call him. But I had given thought to the things Lenny said. As much as it bothered me, I knew I was the one who needed to apologize. And not only apologize; I needed to change. But maybe Dan needed to change as well. I needed to think it all through.

. . . . .

I used the cane all day, and had to kick lightly when I swam that afternoon. There was no doubt about it; my knee was swollen.

Ken hung back in the showers after workout that afternoon, waiting for me. “You still sore from that kid hitting you on a bike?”

I shrugged. “That, and I overworked my knee this weekend.”

“How was the weekend?” he asked.

I gave him a brief outline of the good stuff; skipping the final conflict between Dan and me. We dried off and headed for the lockers. Ken had used the one next to the one I regularly used. He was getting bold, I decided. He was getting comfortable with the idea of being out.

“So how was your weekend?” I asked.

“It was cool,” Ken answered lukewarmly.

“You guys OK?” I asked.

“Sure,” Ken said with a smile.

“Good. For a second, I was afraid you were still thinking about that Rafael guy.”

Ken looked away, pulling on his briefs. Did he turn red?

“Ken, you…”

“We’re fine,” he said brightly. “Mikey’s got Thanksgiving off. He’s invited me to go home with him and Lenny for the holiday.”

“Lenny’s spending Thanksgiving with Michael?” I asked.

“You didn’t know?”

“Uh-uh,” I said. “I was afraid to ask because Dan and I have been planning to be together and I didn’t think I could invite Lenny. What would I have said if he wasn’t doing anything?”

“Well he’s going home with Mikey. He did last year, too. So you’re cool.”

It occurred to me that I might need to apologize to Lenny. I should have asked him. I wondered how to apologize, and I realized that I was still very tired from the weekend – too tired to ask Ken any more about his weekend.

As we headed out the locker room door, Ken cleared his throat. “OK, look. Mikey worked both Friday and Saturday nights, so Saturday night, I thought I’d give Rafael a little call. He wasn’t home, OK? I waited at Mikey’s both nights for him to get off work.” Ken glanced at me and smiled. “I was glad I did, Streak. Both nights turned out really good. And it is cool to sleep with your lover and wake up beside him in the morning.” He patted my back. “Real cool.”

. . . . .

Dan called that night, right after supper. “I’m sorry, Seany,” was the first thing he said when I answered.

Ferg and Caitlyn were already in the room. So I stretched the phone cord into the closet and closed the door. “I’m the one who needs to apologize, Dan.”

“No you don’t…” he started to say.

“Yeah, I do. Look, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Lenny clued me in. He tried to get me to see your point of view.”

Dan chuckled. “Lenny’s a gay marriage counselor, huh?”

“Don’t joke. He really laid it on the line, and I have a lot I want to say. But I can’t right now. Caitlyn and Ferg are here, and Eric’s due any moment. They all need help with Algebra. I’m sorry, Dan, but I really can’t talk.”

“OK,” Dan said. “I just want everything to be right between us again. And I am sorry, Seany. I was awful yesterday.”

“No you weren’t. But we’ll talk later, OK?”

“Yeah. OK.”

“Look, Dan. I’m not trying to put you off. You know that. I love you. I’ll always love you.”

“Me too, Seany.”

. . . . .

Lenny called later, after Ferg had ordered pizza for us all. “It’s your weird friend,” Eric said, covering the mouthpiece.

“All my friends are weird,” I said, “present company included.”

“Hey!” Caitlyn protested. Ferg growled.

I took the call while they kept eating.

“Sorry to bother you, Baby, but I just had to tell you what happened,” Lenny said, sounding really excited.

“What?” I asked.

“When I went out to the Stuebings — to water everything – Mrs. Stuebing was there. She said she hadn’t been able to wait to see what we’d done. She loved it, Sean! She loved everything!”

“Of course,” I said. “I could have told you that she would.”

“Yeah, but that’s not all. I told her about ideas I had for a seating area behind the pool house, close to the bluff – a place to meditate, with a water feature. And I told her about an idea I had for a wildflower patch in the Spring. She got all excited!”

“You gotta charge more if you do more,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. We talked about that. She even said she’d pay extra if I’ll keep doing the watering until the plants take root,” he said in a rush. “But here’s the best part… she told me that the architect they’re using for the big house has talked Texas Homes and Gardens into doing a before and after story, and she thinks they might be interested in doing a separate story on the pool house landscaping when they come out in the spring. Do you know what that could mean?”

“Publicity?” I asked.

“Advertising… yeah, publicity. People will see the pictures and my name. It could really get things started for me.”

“If we give them some of the pictures that Peter took last weekend, that could really get you started,” I said.

“Smartass,” Lenny replied.

“You going to call your company Elephant Men?”

“No,” Lenny said with a laugh. “And not any of the other names you’re thinking of right now.”

“Spoilsport,” I said. “But seriously, congratulations, Lenny. I hope it happens. You deserve it.”

“And you deserve something. I really owe you.”

“We’ll think of some way you can pay me back,” I promised.

He laughed. “And you’ll have it, Baby!” he promised in return.

“Do you want me to do any watering when Trevor and I go out to the Stuebings Thursday afternoon?” I asked.

Lenny thought for a moment. “Nah, I may go out myself. If you did that, you’d spend your whole time watering and not get any fishing done.”

“Well let me know if you change your mind.”

Ferg, Caitlyn, and Eric talked the whole time I was on the phone with Lenny, but they were evidently listening. I had to fill them in on the landscaping progress, and only Eric knew who Trevor was, so I told them about Trev.

The next day, walking between classes, Caitlyn told me how sweet she thought I was for being a big brother to Trevor. She told me that just before trying to talk me into sneaking out to the Bronco with her.

“I told you Cait, there’s no way I’m going to have Ferg after me for cheating with his girlfriend. He could squash me with one blow.”

Caitlyn smiled. “You know what I can do with one blow…”

“Cool it Caitlyn,” I said with a playful swat to her butt. “Oh damn, I hope Ferg didn’t see that.” I looked around as though I was afraid he could have seen my gesture.

“We can go to your Bronco, and you can slap my ass again.”

I frowned. “Seriously Cait, you really do like Ferg, right?”

“Of course I do,” she said, surprised.

“No, seriously,” I repeated.

She thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

I slapped her butt again, harder. “Then behave.”

She laughed, taking a swing at my butt. I dodged.

. . . . .

I had fallen behind badly in my assignments and I needed to have a couple done for Wednesday, including the article for Tom. I thought I’d get them out of the way before calling Dan on Tuesday night. But it was close to two in the morning when I finished.

And then, before going to sleep that night, I did something I hadn’t done in a while. With Eric asleep in his bed, I lay back under my bedcovers and jacked off. After a weekend of sex and then two days of nothing, I’d been fighting erections and that vaguely feverish feeling guys get when they just really need sex. I knew I’d get blueballs badly if I didn’t do something soon.

I slipped one of my socks over the end of my cock just before coming, then cleaned up and slept.

. . . . .

On Wednesday, I called Dan right after supper, but he wasn’t in. “Tell him I’m meeting with my professor tonight and I’ll call when I get back,” I told his roommate.

But that night Tom and Sarah had a lot to talk about. Not only were they going through with the wedding on Friday night, but also, Tom was still serious about my being his best man. I returned to the dorm late, and in a slight daze from Tom’s scotch. I tried to study, but fell quickly asleep over my books.

I had been studying during the day every chance I’d gotten that week. I desperately wanted to get ahead so that I could help Lenny finish up at the Stuebings that weekend and still be ready to skip out a day early for Thanksgiving. I thought about backing out of the fishing trip with Trevor, but decided there was no way I could do that; it would crush him.

So I called Dan before leaving for the LeCostes that afternoon. Higher, daytime phone rates were still in effect, and I might miss Dan by calling so early, but I wasn’t sure when I’d have another chance to phone.

“You said you were going to call last night,” Dan said. “I waited up.”

“Oh man, I’m sorry,” I told him. “Tom and Sarah kept me late, talking about their wedding… and I still haven’t bought them a present… anyway, I had too much scotch and fell asleep almost as soon as I got back to the dorm.”

“Well, you have me now,” Dan said.

“But I’ve got to scoot. Trevor’s waiting and we need to get out there if we’re going to have any daylight at all. Look, I’ve been thinking. We can talk this weekend, OK? Maybe after the wedding tomorrow night. I just don’t want to rush things, OK?”

“I’m not coming to the wedding,” Dan said.

“What? Why? Are you still pissed? Are you pissed I didn’t call last night?”

“No,” Dan said immediately, then paused. “Maybe I was last night; I did wait up Sean… but no, that’s not why I’m not coming to the wedding. I’ve got tons to do before we leave for Thanksgiving. I just can’t blow another weekend.”

“I’m sorry you blew the last one,” I said.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Look, we’ll have plenty of time to talk next week.”

“We’re cool, right?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “We’re cool.”

“I’ll miss seeing you this weekend.”

“Me too,” he said. “And Little Danny’s going to miss Little Seany.”

“Tell me about it. I guess we’ll just have to get Sammy or Marco and Lenny to fill in. We gotta do, what we gotta do. But when I do see you, I’ll take damn good care of Little Danny.”

“OK, you need to get going. You and Trevor have fun fishing.”

“You know, I think we will. It’s been ages since I fished for bass.”

. . . . .

Trevor was waiting on his front porch when I arrived at his house. He came bounding out to the car with his bag as soon as I pulled up out front. I was happy to see him, but I remembered Lenny’s caution. “You look at a guy like that often enough and he can’t help falling in love with you,” Lenny had said. So I hid some of my pleasure at seeing Trev.

The weather was cool, and he wore jeans and a jacket just as I did. His mom came out the front door, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She didn’t hide her pleasure at all, looking absolutely delighted for Trevor. “He’s packed for overnight,” she said, “but he knows you might have to come back tonight.”

Trevor eyed me, hopefully.

I shrugged. “We’ll see.”

Trevor whooped and tossed his bag into the back of the Bronco and climbed into the passenger seat.

“If you do stay overnight,” she said, “just take him directly to school in the morning.”

I nodded as I took the driver’s seat. “I will.”

She leaned against the door. “Are you going home for Thanksgiving?” she asked. “Because if you’re going to be around, we’d love for you to come over.”

Trevor watched for my reply.

“I really appreciate the invitation,” I told her. “I’m going to Houston with my friend, Dan. Truth is, if I stayed in town, I’d probably need to go to my grandparents. They’ve been having a fit because I haven’t been over there since coming to school.”

“Shame on you!” she said with a playful slap at my arm. “That’s terrible. Why haven’t you taken the time?”

I shrugged. “Well that’s the problem,” I said. “Time.”

“Wanna soda?” I asked as we pulled away.

“What do ya have?” he asked.

“A couple of different kinds. Check the ice chest behind you.”

Trevor knelt up in his seat and fumbled in the ice chest behind his seat. “Can I have a sandwich too?” he asked.

“Sure, but those are in there in case we don’t catch any fish to fix for supper.”

“Cool! We can eat the fish we catch?” he asked.

“Yeah, well, we have to catch a fish to eat it.”

“We’ll catch one,” he said confidently. “You’re a good fisherman… So can I eat a sandwich?

“It’s OK, if you’re hungry now. Eat it.”

“You want yours?” he asked.

“Sure, if you’re going to eat yours.”

“What kind of soda?”

“Red pop.”

“Can I have one too?”

“Sure. You like Red pop?”

“Don’t know,” he said, handing me mine. “Just thought I’d try one if you like ‘em.”

“Go for it,” I said.

Trevor handed me my sandwich and then twisted back into his seat with his. He gave me a big grin. “This is so cool.”

I smiled back. “So, guy, tell me about your week. Anything special?”

Trevor took a bite, nodding. “Yeah,” he said around a mouthful of food. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you. I think I know a gay guy at school. I mean,” he said, gulping down his mouthful, “I mean, I know a guy at school who I think might be gay. I’ve known him like a long time. He’s not in sports or anything. He’s sorta quiet.”

“Is he cute?”

“Yeah,” Trevor said, taking another bite. “I like him.”

“What’s he like?”

“He’s sorta skinny,” he said, and grinned. “But he’s got really thick, brown hair and the coolest grey eyes. And he’s got long arms… you know… sorta graceful.”

“Why do you think he’s gay?”

Trevor shrugged. “I don’t know. Just the way he acts. Like I told you he has long arms and he uses them all the time when he talks. And his hands; he uses them all the time when he’s talking. And he likes me. He smiles a lot at me.” Trevor shrugged again. “I don’t know. I just think he could be.”

“Have you done like I told you?” I asked. “Do you watch to see whether he stares at guys or at girls?”

“I’ve tried,” Trevor said, taking another bite. “I can’t tell. It’s almost like he doesn’t look at either.”

“Well,” I told him. “Take it slow. Do you see him much? Do you guys hang around together?”

“Yeah, some. I mean, like we have classes together.”

“Then get to know him better,” I suggested. “Hang out with him.”

Trevor took a swig of red pop. “Oh, this is good,” he said and took another gulp.

“Good taste, Trev. You’ve got potential.”

He grinned and took another bite of sandwich. “How’d you know?” he asked. “Like the first time you did something with a guy, how’d it happen?”

“It was different with me, Trev. I was like… three years younger than you, and it was with my best buddy. You know, our cocks started growing and a couple of pubic hairs showed up, and we were starting to get hard-ons a lot. It was sorta natural to compare sizes and start jacking off together.”

Trevor chewed thoughtfully and looked out the window. “That’d be cool,” he said. Then he glanced my way. “Wanna compare sizes and jack off together?”

“Nope,” I said.

Trevor looked out the window and sighed.

“So what’s your friend’s name?” I asked.

“His name’s Milam. I had a dream about him the other night,” Trevor said, casually.

“Oh?” I said. “I hope you don’t think he might be gay because he was gay in your dream.”

“No,” Trevor said, frowning. Then he smiled. “But he was gay in my dream.”

“So what did you dream?” I asked.

Trevor adjusted himself inside his pants and I wondered if I should change the subject.

His eyes dropped to his sandwich. “I dreamt that he told me he loved me,” he said quietly. “He kissed me.”

“That’s a sweet dream,” I said.

Trevor chuckled. “I creamed my sheets.”

I laughed. “You’re going to have so much fun learning all the fun things guys can do in addition to kissing.”

“I’ve dreamt about you,” he said with a quick sideways glance at me.

“And I’m sure we behaved ourselves admirably.”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Yeah, well, dreams are dreams, Trev.” Then I couldn’t resist asking. “What did you dream about us?”

He started to answer.

“No. Don’t answer,” I said. “Best leave that alone.”

Trevor grinned, slyly.

“Cut that out!” I said. “Let’s talk about fishing.”

. . . . .

We pulled up beside Lenny’s Pinto and zipped up our jackets as we stepped from the Bronco. Lenny, hose in hand, was watering shrubs near the patio.

I nodded in Lenny’s direction. “Come on Trevor. I want you to meet someone.”

“This place is cool!” Trev said, catching up with me. “Oh wow, they’ve got a swimming pool.”

“And a hot tub,” I pointed out.

“Whoa… can we use it?”

“We’re fishing,” I said, “remember?” The last thing I needed would be the temptations that skinny dipping with Trevor would bring.

“Hey, Baby,” Lenny said as we came up. “So, is this Trevor?”

“Yep, this is Trevor,” I said.

Lenny held out his hand and Trevor took it. They shook. Then pointing the hose away, Lenny gave me a hug and kiss. Trevor’s eyes went wide.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“Nope,” Lenny said. “I’m almost done.”

“Wanna fish?” I asked.

He chuckled. “No. You guys have a good time. I need to get on back.”

“You kissed him,” Trevor said once we were inside, getting the fishing gear.

“Well, yeah,” I said.

“But he’s not your boyfriend,” he said.

“He is, sorta. He’s my San Antonio boyfriend.”

“Huh?”

I set down the rod I had in my hand. “It’s sorta a long story, but basically it’s this… Dan, my boyfriend who you met, goes to school in Austin and I usually only see him on the weekend. Lenny lives close to Trinity and he’s a special friend. I sleep over at his place a lot.”

“Sleep over? Like you guys have sex, right?”

I picked up the rod again. “Yeah. Now let me get our gear together.”

“Sean,” Trevor asked thoughtfully, “if you kiss special friends…”

“Forget it,” I said before he could finish.

The rods were perfect; the shorter, stiffer kind that made targeted casting over a short distance easy. The reels were closed-bail with button releases; easier for kids to use.

I handed Trevor his gear and explained how the rods and reels worked as we walked down to the pond. Lenny waved as he passed us in his Pinto on his way out.

“You don’t want to cast your line just anywhere,” I said. “Bass are territorial. They hang around submerged tree trunks and stuff. Since this is a man-made pond, there are still trees in the shallows around the edges. That’s where we want to cast; right next to tree trunks.”

“This,” I said, holding up what looked like a tennis ball size mass of white rubber tentacles, “is called spinner bait. Bass love it. Why? I don’t know. I’m not a bass.”

Trevor laughed and reached up to pat my back in the friendly manner guys that age often use with their buddies.

“Anyway, Trev. You cast this in front of a tree trunk, a bass thinks it’s the most incredible thing he’s ever seen. He takes it. You set the hook… you know how to set a hook?”

Trevor shook his head.

“You give the line a little tug, like this,” I said, with a short upward jerk on the end of my pole. “That sets the hook in the bass’s mouth. As soon as you feel him take the bait, you set the hook. Then… you reel him in. OK?”

Trevor nodded. “Got it.”

I demonstrated how to cast and Trevor tried it. His first try dropped the lure behind him and caught a log. His second cast dropped the lure with a splash at his feet.

“OK, let me help you,” I said, stepping up behind him. The top of his head came just above my chin. I took the hand he was using to hold the rod into my hand and wrapped my other arm in front of his shoulders to hold him steady. “Let me put my thumb on the button. You put yours over mine and feel when I release it, OK?”

Trevor nodded.

I pulled his hand way back. “You ready?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“OK,” I said, casting. “Be sure to follow through, just like with anything else. Now reel it in.”

I laid my hand on his shoulder and let him reel in the line. Trevor leaned back into me. “Show me again,” he said.

With a chuckle, I closed my hand over his on the rod, and we cast the line once more.

The bait hit a tree trunk and dropped into the water. Immediately, the end of the pole dipped. Trevor jumped liked he’d been goosed.

“Set the hook,” I encouraged, squeezing his shoulder.

Trevor jerked the pole up.

“Oh, damn, not so hard,” I said. “You’ll jerk it out of his mouth. Start reeling. See if he’s still on.”

Trevor started reeling and the bass broke water. Trevor gasped.

“Keep reeling,” I said.

Trevor lifted the end of his pole and reeled. The bass made a short run against the drag.

“You’ve got him Trev. Ease him in,” I encouraged.

Trevor excitedly reeled the fish in, lifting it from the water when he had it close. I reached out, demonstrating how to grab the line, and take the bass in hand. “You slide your hand down over the fish like this,” I said. “Don’t come up from below or you’ll get finned; the spines of the fin will stick you. Instead, you slide your hand down, pushing down the fins like this, and close your hand under the gills.”

He held out a tentative finger and I held the fish so that he could touch it.

“It’s slimy,” he exclaimed.

“Nothing like saltwater fish,” I told him.

He pulled his hand back and I laughed. And I thought of how different Ry was; he wouldn’t have been so squeamish, but then, he had fished all his life. I remembered how excited Ry used to get about fish and fishing. I remembered how Ry even got excited over my aquarium. I thought of how excited he must be, waiting for next Tuesday. I was so ready to see him again.

Trevor reached out again and stroked a finger down the fish’s shiny side.

“It’s a nice one, Trevor,” I said, carefully removing the spinner bait from the bass’s mouth. “I didn’t think they’d be very large in this pond, but this is a nice bass. It’s big enough to save it for supper if you want.”

Trevor’s eyes lit up. “Yeah. Save it and I’ll try to catch a bigger one.”

I laughed and put the fish on a stringer. “I suppose you might. When Mr. Stuebing said they stocked the pond, I thought the fish would all be little. But this one could be two pounds.”

But Trevor wasn’t listening. Instead, he tried casting. The bait landed out away from any trees.

“Not bad, Trevor,” I said. “Just aim a little closer to the trees.”

His next cast wound around an overhead limb. But Trevor wasn’t discouraged. He’d been hooked just as much as that first fish. As soon as I untangled his line, he cast again. “Just don’t get tangled in a tree out in the water,” I cautioned. “Sometimes I can wiggle them loose, but it’s too cold to have to wade out for one.”

Trevor nodded distractedly.

“It’s too cold for you to wade out after one,” I said, clarifying.

He grinned. “Guess I’d have to strip for that.”

“And freeze your balls off,” I warned. “So don’t try it.”

That afternoon, he caught four bass, none as big as the first. The last two, he held himself, removing the bait and releasing the fish back into the pond.

I caught two bass, but mostly I just helped Trevor, and before it grew too dark, I gutted and gilled his fish. Filleting would have been easier, but not for Trevor’s first fish. It needed to look like a fish when we ate it, even if we had to pick around a few bones.

I’d brought foil and a little butter, oil, and seasoning salt. We cooked the fish at the fire ring and ate it from the foil with two borrowed forks, along with chips and sodas.

Trevor kept giving me the same kind of smile that Lenny accused me of being too free with. He was transparently happy, and it was catchy. I felt good inside, and I was damned glad that Dan had talked me into being Trevor’s big brother.

We added wood to the fire and talked. We talked about fishing and biology. We talked about sports because Trevor was really into that. And sketching; I had seen a couple of his sketchpads and he was quite good. Sprinkled into our conversation were casual questions and comments from Trevor about being gay, like did I think some sports figure was cute and could he be gay.

I told him about home, and about Colin, and how much fun we had fishing together. He told me about Russell. I bragged about Colin doing so well at football, but I was careful not to overdo Colin’s praises because Trevor was my little brother that night, too.

It grew cooler and he moved beside me. I put my arm over his shoulder and Trev snuggled into my side. He told me about Milam and the things he liked about him. He asked me about Dan, and when did I know I loved him. He wanted to know about Lenny and how I could have two boyfriends, so then I told him about Ry, too.

“I hope you meet him sometime,” I said.

“And he’s my age?”

“I didn’t say he was your age. He’s a little older.”

“How much older?”

“Enough,” I said.

Trevor made a grumbling noise. “It doesn’t sound like it… is he cute?”

“Yeah, he’s cute,” I said.

“I’d like to meet him.”

“I bet you would,” I said and jostled his shoulder under my arm.

I changed the subject, asking about his school and his favorite classes and teachers, and about his other friends. When I asked about his straight friends, he grew quiet. They’re cool,” he said. “But it’s not the same anymore… we don’t have as much in common.”

“You mean you don’t have one thing in common.”

Trevor shrugged. “They wanna talk about girls all the time.”

I nodded. Even I talked about girls at that age. I kissed the top of his head. “Time for bed, fella. We’ve got to get up pretty early to get you back in time for school.”

He nodded and sat up. “Do we leave the fire going?”

“It’s pretty low,” I said. “It’ll be fine.”

“Don’t we need to put some water on it?”

I grinned. “Well, in scouts, sometimes we pissed our fires out,” I said, unzipping.

With a smile, Trevor unzipped too. Then his eyes went sorta wide as I pulled out my cock and let loose a stream on the fire.

“Come on, Trevor,” I said. “I don’t have enough piss by myself.”

He shook himself and pulled out his cock. “You’ve got a nice one,” I said. And he did. You never can tell for sure with a soft one, but then his wasn’t completely soft.

“Nothing like your’s,” Trevor mumbled.

“You know what they say,” I said. “Size isn’t everything.”

“Huh?” Trevor asked as his stream joined mine.

“It means you don’t have to have a big dick to be a good lover,” I said.

He eyed me skeptically.

“But big dicks can be fun,” I admitted, shaking off. “Yours looks big enough to have all the fun you want.”

We trudged back to the Bronco and I opened the back. “Sit on the back here,” I said, “to take off your shoes. And then we’ll close up the back end before taking off our jackets.”

“You sleep in your clothes?” he asked as he pulled off his shoes.

I set my shoes inside by the wheel well. “Well, no. Not usually. But it’s chilly, so I’ll probably leave on my shirt and briefs.”

Trevor nodded. “Yeah, I sleep that way.”

We undressed quickly and ducked under the covers. We used all the blankets that I had in the Bronco and soon it was warm enough under them to begin to relax. We grew quiet and fell asleep; me on my side of the mattress, Trevor on his.

I woke slowly to the feel of something warm and firm pressed to the back of my briefs. Trevor was pressing his erection against me. For a moment, I lay there deciding what I needed to do. But Trevor was barely moving, and I could barely hear his breath.

For all I knew, it was the first time he’d ever touched a guy… that way. I felt his arm close over my side and then very, very slowly his chest came into contact with my back. And then he lay there quietly.

He was so still and quiet, it was obvious that he believed I was asleep. And yet, I could imagine that inside his head, his pulse was thundering. My own pulse was up a little… well maybe more than a little. I hoped he wouldn’t reach for my cock because he’d find that it was growing hard, and then I’d certainly have to send him back to his side of the bed. But he didn’t, and I didn’t have the heart to stop him… not just yet. Instead, I simply pretended to sleep…

Suddenly, I felt his cock throbbing against the back of my briefs and could hear faint squirting under the blankets. I hoped he still had his briefs on and I was relieved to not feel liquid squirting up my back.

He froze there a moment, a faint whimpering escaping his lips. And then he quietly rolled back to his side of the bed.

Poor little guy, I thought. We need to find out if Milam is gay.

I should have realized that it could happen after being so used to sleeping with Lenny and Dan; I woke up later, spooned behind Trev, hard inside my briefs. It was pitch dark. I didn’t know if Trevor was awake or not, but the night had gotten cold, and I was too sleepy and it was too warm next to him for me to care. So I stayed.

I pulled my hips back so he wouldn’t feel my erection, and more to the point, so my erection wouldn’t feel his butt. I pulled my legs up so that the top of my thighs warmed the back of his. He snuggled back against my chest and seemed to do it in his sleep. So I slid an arm under his neck and looped my other over his side. I nuzzled in to the back of his hair and relaxed.

I wouldn’t do anything with Trev. But sleeping together like this, keeping each other warm was an OK way to be gay together… and friends. I fell back asleep.

. . . . .

And that is how I woke the next morning as the sun was just rising in the East. I rolled from Trevor’s warm body, looking for my pants. I really needed to take a piss.

Trevor groaned unhappily. “It’s cold,” he murmured.

“And time to get up.” I said, slapping his butt through the blankets. “I’m hungry and I want to buy you breakfast on the way back.”

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Damn, he had beautiful eyes without his glasses. I looked at his long lashes and decided again that I needed to get him contacts.

He smiled. “You slept behind me all night,” he said with a smile. “That was great!”

“And warm,” I agreed. “But now I’ve got to take a piss.” I started pulling on my jeans.

But Trevor made no move to get dressed until I was outside, pissing. Then he scrambled inside and I snuck a peek to see him pulling off his briefs.

“Wet dream?” I asked casually. “You sure don’t need to wear wet skivvies on a cold morning.

Trevor smiled bashfully and nodded. His long slender legs still had the undeveloped softness of that age. His cock and balls weren’t undeveloped though, and I smiled as he pulled his pants on. “Nope,” I said, “you don’t have anything to worry about in the equipment department, Trevor. Your’s is just fine.”

He smiled again and slipped on his shoes before stepping out to finish pulling his pants up. Then he stepped to the side to for a morning piss before zipping up.

I stamped my feet and blew on my hands. “Let’s get in and start the Bronco,” I said, “and get the heater going.”

“Sean,” Trevor said as I closed up the back of the Bronco.

“Yeah?” I said turning toward him.

He threw his arms around my chest and hugged me hard. I closed my arms over his shoulders and patted his back.

“Thanks,” he said.

We stopped at McDonalds on the way and ate heartily. Trevor wanted to plan the next fishing trip as we ate. I reached across the table and roughed his hair.

At his school, he put his hand on the door handle and looked at me seriously. “If I could kiss you, I would,” he said.

I grinned. “You liked fishing that much?”

“And sleeping together,” he said with an answering grin.

“Get outta here,” I told him with a punch to his arm.

He turned back to wave as he walked up the sidewalk.

It might have been a mistake to sleep snuggled I thought. But it didn’t seem like it. I really liked ‘ol Trevor.

. . . . .

“You going to be around tonight?” I asked Lenny when I called him on Friday.

“I’m going to the Stuebings this afternoon, and I thought I’d stay the night,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, and I need to do more watering… we planted a hell of a lot of plants.”

“I’ll come out tonight after the wedding. Dan’s staying in Austin this weekend. I was going to help you tomorrow anyway; and honestly… I’m horny as hell. I haven’t had sex since we got together last Sunday, and I spent last night hiding my erection from a horny fifteen year old who would have loved to get it on.”

“Come on up, then,” Lenny said. “You aren’t the only one who hasn’t had sex all week.”

I was sorting through clothes when Eric came in. I had been looking for jeans and a shirt that I could wear helping Lenny. I didn’t want to take clean clothes; I was trying to make my laundry last until Houston, when I could use Mary’s washer and dryer.

“You heading out again?” Eric asked. “You missing the game tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m heading up to Bulverde after the wedding tonight. If Dan calls, I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

With a sigh, Eric threw himself into his chair. “I’ll probably be around to tell him if he calls. Gotta get a good night’s sleep before the game.”

I paused. “I’m sorry, Eric, about not being at your games. You know I love football and all. And you are my roommate…”

Eric sighed and put his hands behind his head. “Don’t sweat it. We’ve been winning. You show up and you’re likely to spoil our luck.”

. . . . .

It would have been different if Dan had been with me. I wouldn’t have felt so lonely.

When Tom faced Sarah and repeated his vows, there was nothing but pure love and sincerity in his eyes. Happiness was in hers.

I handed him the ring to place on her finger and thought that someday I wanted to slide a ring on Dan’s and have him slide one on mine.

If Dan had been there, I would have glanced at him and he would have known what was on my mind and in my heart.

A wedding can be a little sad if your own beloved is away, and if you’ve waited longer for your ceremony than the couple at whose side you stand.

I made mental notes though, of the things I would like for our own ceremony. Sarah wore flowers in her hair and I dreamed of putting a band of gold in Dan’s hair. A friend sang, and I liked that; I thought of Linda’s voice and wondered if she might sing for us.

Even though it was a short ceremony, it was full of symbols, and every bit a celebration. When Dan pierced my ear, and I pierced his, it could easily be solemn, but I wanted our ceremony to be a celebration too. And yet, how could we celebrate until we actually moved in together.

Tom and Sarah fed prime rib and Chicken Kiev to the few of us who were wedding guests. And I danced with Sarah after. It was a good time, but I was glad it didn’t last too long. I wanted to get away and relax with Lenny. And I wanted to ravish him.

I know it sounds crude, but it wasn’t just the sex. I’d been a week without intimacy. One can become addicted to intimacy; addicted to a constant lover.

I stopped by the dorm to change from my sports coat and to gather my bag.

“Your buddy, Dan called,” Eric said, looking up from a book. “I told him you were going up to Bulverde and would be back tomorrow night.”

“Thanks,” I said, picking up the phone. It might be awkward with Eric in the room, but I wanted to tell Dan about the wedding. Dan was out and his roommate had no idea where he was. I decided that he was probably with Sammy or Marco and figured I’d have to wait to talk to him.

. . . . .

I was hard the last half hour of my drive in the dark to Bulverde. I thought of Lenny’s slender frame and tight body, his soft hairless skin, and the warmth of his mouth. I played out different scenarios for how I would make love to him when I got to the Stuebings. But in my headlights I saw another car next to Lenny’s pickup when I pulled up at the bluff.

I thought I recognized the car, and then I realized whose it was – Reggie’s. I turned the ignition off on the Bronco and leaned back in my seat, thinking. Dan could freak over this.

Emails are appreciated at btomandback@hotmail.com