This story contains course language and sexuality. It is not intended for those under the age of 18.
Adam sat on the front doorstep waiting for his ride to arrive. Having to wake up this early was a rude awaking after a long summer of wasting the days away sleeping in, and taking life at a snail's pace. The morning sunlight glistened of the dew covered grass; the air had that first day of school smell and feel, it was fresh and crisp, autumn was almost underway Adam thought as he pulled up the zipper on his hooded sweater. His tranquil moment was cut short by the sound of a crash that came from within his house. Adam sprung to his feet and stuck his head through the front door. "Everything ok..?" Adam asked.
"Just fine!" Tina replied, she made her way out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her pricey apron she'd bought at some French cookware store downtown. "I just dropped a pan."
"It sounded like someone was being attacked." Adam said laughing. "Scared the shhh... I mean crap out of me."
"You look so handsome." Tina said with a warm smile. "Are you nervous for your first day?"
"I'm glad I got to meet some of the guys on the weekend, at least I'll know some people... otherwise, yeah, I'd be pretty nervous." Adam replied
"Well I'm making that chicken casserole that Maria use to make for us, I know how much you loved it. Figured we could have a family dinner tonight?" Tina said sounding proud she was attempting this.
"Except, no one ended up in the hospital when Maria made it." Adam laughed. He knew it was only a matter of time until Tina put out an ad for help around the house; however he was interested to see how long this phase would last for his Mom. "I was actually going to hang out with the guys after school maybe, if that's ok?"
"I'll save you a plate." Tina said giving Adam a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly, the smoke alarm nearest to the kitchen started to sound off.
"Shoot!" Tina yelled, bolting towards the kitchen. "Have a good day honey!"
With perfect timing, Adam saw Nathan's Range Rover pull up his driveway. Adam wasted no time getting to it. His worst fear was that his mother would come back with a paper bag and tell him she made lunch.
"Thanks for the drive." Adam said checking out the luxurious interior. "Nice ride..."
"Thanks... no worries....." Nathan replied sounding distant.
"You sound thrilled to be going back to school..." Adam laughed.
"Ugh..... I wish it was that." Nathan said. On closer look Adam noticed that Nathan's eyes looked puffy and red.
"Is everything ok?" Adam asked putting his hand on Nathan's arm.
"I'm just so tired of it." Said Nathan, his voice was breaking as his eyes welled up with tears. "Always feeling like second best."
"Boy problems?" Adam asked softly.
"Simon ended up staying in New York an extra night. He was supposed to come home last night and have dinner with me this evening before he starts University tomorrow...." Nathan wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "I keep trying to see him and it's like he doesn't give a shit.... And then when I'm doing something else, he expects me to drop everything to see him."
"Have you told him how you feel?" Adam felt badly seeing Nathan so upset.
"I could hear some guy in the background when I was talking to him; I just wanted to get off the phone before I started an argument." Nathan said sounding worried.
"I really think you should call him up and tell him how you feel....." Adam said. "I'd be pissed if I was in your shoes."
"Yeah, be thankful you're not." Nathan said sounding more angry than upset now. "Anyways... this is your first day of school, so let's make it memorable."
Adam was glad this school had a uniform, navy dress pants, white polo shirt and black dress shoes. No guesswork in what to wear each morning, he was certain going to school with people like Nathan; he'd look like an underdressed slob. As Nathan and Adam entered the main doors to the school, there was a frenzy of talking, as students who hadn't seen each other over the summer embraced and caught up on their friends' lives. Soon though Adam noticed much of the attention was on Nathan and himself. The two made their way down the hall as the occasional person would whisper.
"What's going on?" Adam asked in a hushed tone.
"You, you're fresh meat." Nathan laughed. "And I'm sure a little bit to do with me."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked curiously.
"Well, I'm sure you'll hear it eventually anyways." Nathan paused. "I wasn't a really nice person a year ago. I was a total douche bag actually... when the news started exploding with teens, mostly gay committing suicide because of bullying, it really affected me and hit home, I was a terrible person. I didn't want to be responsible for pushing anyone to do that."
"That's great that you made that change. You should be really proud." Adam said putting his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "So why are they acting so scared and timid now?" Adam said as many of the students began talking and embracing once more.
"They probably still think I'm that same asshole, scared to cross me..." Nathan said as him and Adam reached their lockers. "Actions are louder than words right? So now I've got to prove I'm a changed man."
"Our lockers are next to each other?" Adam asked seeing his locker number was beside Nathan's.
"I thought it would be nice, we can meet here when we grab our books between classes." Nathan smiled. "I guess you can say I pulled some strings with my dad." Nathan whispered.
"See you're such a nice guy." Adam laughed. "I'm glad we met, coming here knowing no one would have hugely sucked balls."
Out of nowhere, Adam felt a poke in the middle of his back followed by a man's voice he knew and missed all too well. "Sucking balls isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Adam was taken of guard and turned around to see the face he'd wanted to see more than anything.
"Peter." Adam said with a big smile, he felt his face turning red again. Peter raised his arm giving Adam a high five.
"So, are you going to look at me today?" Peter asked laughing, he was obviously referring to the night at Nathan's house when Adam was so shy around Peter and did anything to avoid eye contact. Peter light-heartedly put his arm around Adam and pulled him in for a half hug.
"So guys, do we have any of the same classes?" Nathan asked, he was amused by Adam and Peter's flirting.
"I have first period English..." Peter said checking his time table.
"Same here..." Adam said relieved he knew one person in the class. "Oh wait... I have second period English and Biology first period." Adam said as he looked closer, he felt a wave of dread come over him.
"Did I hear you say biology first period?" Marcus asked as him and Scott walked towards the group.
"You heard correctly." Adam said sounding disappointed.
"Great, so do I!" Marcus said excitedly. "Guys I'm going to borrow Adam, we'll see you all at lunch." Marcus said guiding Adam away.
"You can't keep him though!" Peter called out after them.
Marcus waited till they were out of the way before he began to speak. "I just wanted to apologize about the other night." Marcus said. "I was kind of a dick."
"What are you talking about?" Adam asked stunned, and trying to figure out what Marcus was referring too. "I wasn't that drunk, did I miss something?" Adam laughed.
"No... Just how Scott and I kind of put you on the spot, prying into the gay thing at Nathan's." Marcus said sounding apologetic.
"Are you kidding?" Adam said smiling. "You guys helped me come out... I'd probably be here today feeling ridiculously awkward, still completely in the closet."
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Marcus said smiling and relieved Adam wasn't upset. "I want us to be good friends and get off on the right foot."
"Marcus, my man... We are more than ok." Adam said, he felt more at home in his life than he had in a long time.
"So just so I was clear on that, soccer tryouts have been pushed back to Thursday at four o'clock. We apologize for the inconvenience................ Now before I sign off, I want to welcome you all back, for what I hope is your best year yet! My office door is always open. Have a wonderful day." Principal Bradshaw's voice carried over the P.A. system.
"We love you Nathan's dad." Scott whispered laughing to himself. "Where is the teacher.......?" he said looking at the classroom door still no sign of him or her. "Oh great, Marcus, look who walked in..." Scott said rolling his eyes.
"No way..." Marcus replied looking towards the door. "Fuck my life."
"Who is that?" Adam asked turning to look at the guy who had walked into class casually five minutes late, not that it mattered, the teacher was still missing in action Adam thought. The student stood about Adam's height and had a toned well defined build. He had male model looks, not like men's fitness, but high fashion looks. His jaw line was nicely squared, like it was cut from rock, his eyes were narrowed but Adam was still able to make out a light almost honey brown color. His brown hair was parted neatly to the side, not a hair out of place. He walked like he owned the place; he gave of a cold, cocky demeanor.
"That would be Brent Van Straten......." Scott said in a hushed tone. "He spent the whole summer after him and Peter broke up in the Hamptons at his grandparent's summer home....... apparently he was dating... more like rebounding with the son of a Rothschild.
"Wait... That's Peter's ex-boyfriend?" Adam whispered. "He looks like a douche bag."
"He is absolutely dreadful." Marcus muttered under his breath. "He's a football jock. Usually they don't talk to us soccer guys, but Peter plays both football and soccer so when they were dating Brent started hanging out with us occasionally."
"If it isn't Scotty and Marcus..." Brent said as he pulled out the chair next to Marcus and dropped his books on the desk with the loud thud. "How were your summers?"
"It was great; I did two weeks in France." Marcus replied looking at Adam like did he actually just sit next to me written on his face.
"I spent the whole summer in the Hamptons, it was amazing. I saw Simon out there a couple times; we were at the same parities." Brent said opening his note book and writing the date at the top of the page. "Nathan and him are still dating right?"
"As far as we know..?" Scott replied, his voice sounded slightly annoyed. Brent knew he hated being called Scotty and clearly Brent did it to piss him off he thought.
"I'm glad they have that open relationship thing going on..." Brent laughed "Because Frankie Grande and him looked pretty cozy..."
"Regardless, I wouldn't tell Nathan." Marcus said sounding upset.
"So who's your friend?" Brent asked leaning past Marcus to look Adam over who was sitting between Scott and Marcus.
"I'm Adam." Adam said pointedly, he wasn't going to bullshit around and act like he liked this guy, but he also wasn't going to start something on the first day of school.
Brent looked Adam over before speaking. "You've got a nice build, thinking of playing football?"
"The closest I came to football was rugby, other than that I'm a soccer guy." Replied Adam, his tone was cold.
"What a shame." Brent said with a smug grin. "A strong body like yours seems wasted in soccer."
"There are plenty of things physical strength is good for." Adam replied giving Brent the same smug grin. And if this kid kept talking shit he would be glad to show him through his fist meeting Brent's face Adam thought.
Adam was beyond excited the day was finally over, his brain was numb from all the information it was forced to digest after two months of it checking out and going into standby mode. Adam was so busy with the stack of homework his English teach unloaded onto him, that he spent his lunch in the library so he could at least free up some time for himself in the evening.
"Hello stranger!" Nathan called out, as he quickly walked to catch up with Adam who was near the car park and determined to get as far away from academics until the next day.
"I missed you guys at lunch, but honestly if I didn't at least make a dent in my homework, I'd be doing it till sunrise." Adam said throwing his backpack over his one shoulder.
"Don't even get me started." Nathan said understandingly. "I thought the first day of school was supposed to be light, break us in slowly."
"Nathan Bradshaw, this wouldn't happen to be Adam Logan would it?" A man's voice came from behind both boys.
"HOLY!" Nathan jumped; he was startled by the man coming seemingly out of nowhere. "Coach you scared the hell out of me."
"I can see that." The man replied with a slight grin on his face. The man had light blue eyes and a moustache that was lightly peppered with gray, as was the hair on his head, from what Adam could see not covered by his blue baseball hat. The man had his thick muscular arms folded across his barrel like chest; each forearm had a dusting of dark curly hairs, hair also poked through the top of his black tank top, his legs were also hairy, stocky and thick. His black soccer shorts looked about a size too small.
"You're Adam?" the man asked extending his hand towards Adam.
"Yes sir." Adam replied, this man had a firm handshake, any harder and the bones in his hands would have shattered Adam thought.
"I'm Coach Henry, I coach the soccer team." Said the man, his voice was deep and very rugged, He sounded like one of those guys who did TV voiceovers.
"Nice to meet you Coach." Adam said discreetly flexing his hand to bring some of the blood flow back besides making sure he could actually move it.
"Nathan tells me are quite the athlete?" Coach Henry said sizing Adam up head to toe. "In fact, his father Principal Bradshaw was very adamant I put you on the team immediately."
"Well I certainly hope I can live up to that." Adam laughed nervously.
"I've seen your record." Coach nodded approvingly. "One of the best I've seen."
"Thanks Coach." Adam was flattered.
"Nathan, I was wondering if you and Adam could run tryouts on Thursday? I figure my captain and someone as gifted as Adam could stand to put some new recruits through the paces?" Even though Coach Henry was asking, Adam felt they were more likely being told.
"I was going to be there anyway, why not." Nathan said looking at Adam to agree to join him.
"Sounds good, I have a couple good skill assessments we could use. Separate the boys from the men." Adam laughed.
Before Coach Henry went to leave he gave Nathan and Adam a strong firm pat on the shoulders. "Thanks boys." Adam felt like his shoulder almost dislocated, was this guy actually a soccer coach or some kind of genetic mutation with super human ability and strength. "Pleasure again Adam, it's great to finally meet you."
The Lighthouse was one of White Oaks finest restaurants, lobster and steaks among a dozen of other sea food options that had Adam's mouth watering as he glanced over the menu. Skipping lunch had him ready to devour whatever was put in front of him. Maybe even his mothers cooking he thought. The restaurant was designed to look like a lighthouse, like its name. It was situated on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. The view was breath taking.
"I'll have the California salad with the chicken, and dressing on the side thanks." Nathan told the waitress as she took each of the menus back from the three boys.
"Certainly sir, I'll be back with your drinks shortly." The waitress said as she gracefully headed toward the kitchen, like anyone would expect when you're paying $70 for a steak, not even including the sides.
"The steaks here are phenomenal, and you order a bunch of leaves?" Peter said looking disgusted. "Are we dieting Mr. Bradshaw?"
"I've got new clothing to fit into... Simon went to Bergdorf's when he was in Manhattan; he picked me up some stuff to show how sorry he was." Nathan said checking his phone. "He wants me to call him... let me know when the food gets here boys."
The two rolled their eyes and sat in silence until Nathan was out of sight. "That Simon guy sounds like a total dick." Adam said shaking his head. "Nathan seems like way to good a guy to deal with that crap."
"We've been telling him that for a while... You'll never change him..... He's stubborn." Peter replied taking a sip of his lemon water. "Besides, if you get involved... somehow you'll end up looking like the bad guy and Simon comes out on top, a hero."
"That's a good point." Adam laughed. "I'll just stand by for emotional support."
"So how was your first day?" Peter asked his face lit up with a handsome smile.
"It was actually really busy; I worked though my lunch just so I wouldn't be up to my eyes in homework." Though Adam didn't care if he lost out on his lunch or not, at least it allowed him to spend time with Peter. This guy he'd only met was now on the forefront of his mind all the time.
"Marcus told me you had the rare honor and privilege of meeting my ex-boyfriend Brent?" Peter said making an awkward face. "He's charming isn't he?"
"He's something alright... That's all I'll say about him." Adam laughed. "What did you see in him?"
"Honestly, I guess I was just taken by his looks... we had a very physical relationship... not a lot of talking or cuddling if you follow me." Peter grinned. "Anyways I'm looking for more substance in my life, a guy who can hold a conversation, has a good head on his shoulders and the physical doesn't hurt either."
"Good luck finding a guy like that." Adam laughed. "I haven't dated anyone, but from what I've heard and seen so far it's pretty shitty out there."
"I have a good idea where I might find a good guy like that." Peter said looking down and fidgeting a little in his seat.
"Oh Yeah..?" Adam asked treading carefully. He was going to be devastated if Peter had his eye on some other guy.
"I know you're really new to all this and this might be coming on a bit too strong, and I totally understand if you're not comfortable yet..." Peter began clearing his throat. "Would you allow me take you on a date this Friday?"
Adam was stunned, literally stunned, was this even happening? On his face he wore a smile and tried to remain composed, however inside it was like the fourth of July, fireworks exploding.
"That would be great." Adam said he was suddenly feeling shy again but was so excited all at once.
"My only requirement is you look at me." Peter laughed. "And I've been thinking about that kiss the other night, I at least want one more of those."
"I think that's fair enough." Adam said pretending to think about it.
End of Chapter 3