UNDER THE CHERRY TREE
By
Rev. Jesse Penfield Gibson, MDiv, DMin
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The characters and situations are purely imaginary. Any resemblence to any living persion is coincidental. This story is primarily a romance but does contain some scenes of explicit sex, primarily homosexual but not exclusively.
Complaints, compliments and comments to revjpgibson@hotmail.com
Please rememeber to give to Nifty, I have and you should too.
TWO
I run. I run most days. I do some weight training too but it's a little bit hopeless. I know I am too skinny and want to bulk up but I still run a lot. It helps clear my mind. In high school, I was on the track team. So, I had a route planned out all ready. Basically it was down Adams Street to the Park, around to the other side, then down the length of the park to the main Gate, down College Street the whole length of campus, up the hill to the Hilton Garden Inn, then back down Adams Street. That was probably a bit more than 1 1/2 miles and not quite 2 and I figured two laps would be a nice morning run. I was up and out the door early, in the dawn morning before full light, letting Robbie sleep since he has snoring pretty good, to get it done in the cool of the day. Blowing out the door into the parking lot, I was taken aback to see Xander out there all ready, stretching. I usually run alone, so I had mixed feelings about his being there. I prefer the alone time but I find this guy totally intriguing.
"Hey," I said, walking over and beginning to stretch. I tried to keep my eyes off of him, just stealing a few little peeks, because he was shirtless. His body was lean, athletic, defined with being overly built and smooth except the thick blond hair on his tanned legs. He was a Greek god. "So you out for a run? "
"Yeah, you can come along if you can keep up," he said with a playful punch.
"I can keep up, don't worry"
So we took off down Adams, basically down hill, past the Art School and the Chapel. He was chatty as we ran.
"So you and Carter friends?"
"No, I just met him yesterday. "
Xander nodded, approvingly I think. "Yeah, he doesn't like me much. Usually, takes people a little while. This is a new personal best. You and Robbie friends?"
"We went to high school together"
"Well, He seems like a good guy" Xander said.
"You and those two guys from yesterday are friends?" I asked him as he turned onto Coleman Ave, running past the front the Chapel toward Mercer Audiotorium.
"Cass and Dex? Yeah, you could say that. I've known them since I was really young. We're sort of like step brothers, I guess. My mom and their mom were lovers. More than stepbrothers, really, more like brothers."
I tried to process the casual way he treated that. "Your mom is a lesbian?"
He stopped running. We were just in front of the iconic Administration Building. I stopped a split second later and turned toward him. He looked at me hard.
"Was. She died when I was 13. I'm gonna assume that wasn't a lead in to a homophobic comment."
"No that's not it," I protested to him. "It was just a question. It was stupid really."
"Cool," he said, patting me on the back. "I'm over sensitive. I assumed that you were ... I've taken a lot of shit over the years because I come from a non-traditional family, you know? I don't like people judging."
"Yeah. I get it. Nobody's business anyway"
For whatever reason, I didn't feel comfortable telling about my own secret
He nodded . "Are we running or not?"
Once we turned back onto campus proper, on College Street, passing by the large dorm known as MEP, the slope was uphill for the next half mile. By the we got to the Co-op, not even close to half way, Xander had fallen behind a step. Past the library and then the Science building, where I expected to spend most of my time, I was barely winded but Xander fell behind even more. As we turned to go up toward the Hilton, I actually had to wait for him to catch up. Once we got on Adams, it was downhill again.I ran past the dorm, still going. I didn't think about it even. That was my plan all along and it never occurred to me that he might have a different distance in mind. But, for whatever reason including pride, Xander kept on going to. The hill took it's toll on him. He really was struggling that last third of a mile. But he did it. Once we got back to the parking lot outside of Nottingham Hall, Xander stopped, bent over with his hands on his knees, sucking air.
"You don't want to do another half a lap?" I taunted him. I probably could have done it.
"No" he panted, rising up only to brush sweat off before bending back over. "That hill fucked me over bad."
I told him I was going to go take a shower and he followed me in the building. I went in my room and stripped off, grabbing a robe and some flipflops, still congratulating myself for outdoing him. It was only when I went into the bathroom and heard the water running that I realized what communal showers meant. I kicked myself mentally. Hood and Truett both had a single shower for a 2 room suite. But not Reade. Reade is communal. The boy I was fantasizing about when I masturbated last night is in there, naked. This is not going to be good. But I couldn't back away and I couldn't go 9 months without a shower either. Hesitantly, I put the robe and my towel on a hook and stepped in.
Xander was facing toward me, letting the hot water hit him from behind. The sight of him made me a little ill but it was also like a stab in the groin. He was physically perfect. His chest was defined but not overbuilt like Robbie, who lived to lift. He had six pack abs, broad shoulders. His pubic hair looked like he trimmed it, which I thought was really strange, and the same sandy blond as his head. I should mention his muscular legs but there's matter of his uncircumcised penis which caught my attention more. Then I had to turn away suddenly when he looked at me.
"Um, dude," he said to me, turning toward me still in the water stream flowing over his medium length blond curls, "those condoms I gave you, they're not going to fit."
"What?"
"They're not going to fit, dumbass. They're too small. You need the magnum's."
I was confused for a half-second and then got it. He was, in his way, telling me it was okay that I had been looking. He had looked too. But still I found myself feeling flushed and warm. I heard him laugh out loud.
"That is so fucking funny. You are actually blushing, dude."
On the way back to our rooms, he invited me to go breakfast. I got dressed as Robbie was slumbering awake fairly reluctantly. He was a little put out that I was up and going, waking him up but the truth was he needed to get up to make it class for the first day. Still, I pulled on some shorts and a T shirt and headed out. Of the two of us, Xander was clearly the cooler. He wore his clothes better and he moved with an easy grace even if he seemed like he was in constant motion. I am skinny and gawky but self contained. We headed over to the Co-op and grabbed a tray after the cashier read our BearCards. I got grits, some disgusting eggs and a couple of strips of bacon. He got fruit and a cup of black coffee.
"You sure you need that?" I asked him in a teasing way as we headed to a table. "You seem pretty wired all ready."
He grinned as he sat down, starting to rock his leg. "This is just baseline wired, dude. When I'm really amped, I can drive people to fucking despair."
"And you like fruit?"
"Yeah, definitely. You gotta have 4 full servings of fruit every single day. Plus, it is way better for you than fried pig guts. Lots of pineapple. It makes my semen taste better."
"That's gross" I said.
"But true."
I laughed. "So is this a peer reviewed, double blinded, placebo controlled study or some personal taste test?"
"That's personal information, dude."
"Yeah, okay. So, you went to this thing in the desert with your friends and you drove back across country non-stop to go to college. Is that the kind of thing you do a lot of?"
"Not like all the time. I mean, they only have it once a year," he said with a grin that said he knew he cool he thought he was. "It is beyond cool, too. I've gone the last 3 years with my dad. My dad is ... well, kind of unique."
"No, I mean the driving back cross-country."
Xander shrugged. "Let's just say I'm not known for my good judgment. But it's a fucking adventure. "
I was quiet for a minute and Xander, ever restless, continued to bounce on the other side of the table. Then it struck me. "SO, you and that girl, Ashley, you two together?"
He laughed. "We were for about 15 minutes. Not really. She's hot, though. So, yeah, definitely eat more fruit."
We split after breakfast and I went to my first class, which was Introduction to Scientific Concepts, a prerequisite to any lab course. At 11:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had First Year Seminar. It is required. The first semester was entitled "Composing the Self" and it is reading heavy, discussion oriented kind of class. I was taking the experiential section, which involves an "extra hour" that the Professor can use for any number of things that enhance the learning experience and a weekend Wilderness experience and Ropes course. I was surprised that Xander was in my section. My heart sank when the Professor, normally a Philosophy professor, handed out the syllabus. There were five major papers due for the course and a ton of reading. Just looking at the list of required supplemental texts, in addition to the required anthology the school published, and the optional supplemental texts, I knew would be expensive. I am here because of scholarships and Pell Grants. MY family doesn't have much money. My dad farms and does warehouse work and my mom is secretary. Every penny matters.
I was also a little concerned for Xander, since he seemed to be totally broke, but he didn't act concerned at all. For all I know, he has rich parents. Of course, he was probably the only freshman to move in without his parents. The prof talked for a while but then left to let the TA, Reed, take over. I was a little surprised that he and Xander knew each other. Xander asked him to level with us and tell us which books on the long list that we actually needed to buy. He did and it really wasn't as bad as I thought. And Reed seemed like a good guy, telling us that the Prof tended to really press you in discussions but didn't savage your written work. He reminded us that the seminar was pass/fail.
I went to lunch with Xander and he introduced me around to a knot of lacrosse players. They seemed pretty friendly and were interested in the fact that I had run track in high school, mainly distance events. A couple of them tried to interest me in learning their sport and trying out for the club in January. I liked the fact that they were passionate about their sport, and Xander was right there telling how great a game lacrosse is, but I had to admit that I'm not much for team sports, especially if it involves a ball. Plus there is the issue of locker rooms.
After blowing nearly four hundred dollars on books, I went with Carter to Wednesday night prayer meeting at a local Baptist Church. The preacher there knew Carter's dad from working in the statewide Convention. There were about a dozen or so students there, all from the Baptist Student Union and the regular members seemed friendly and glad to have us. The preacher's lesson was mostly directed at us, though. He talked about how the Bible is inerrant and infallible and how we shouldn't let anyone undermine our faith through spurious and false scholarship. He warned us that, being on our own, we would be faced with temptation and he was confident that we could reject it as long as our faith was strong. But Satan was tricky, first he would use liberal professors to undermine our faith and then pull us down into sin and degradation. If you didn't grow up in a Southern Baptist church you might think that it was worse than it was. I've gone to church pretty much every time the doors were opened my whole life and I kind of tuned out after a while. They are really conservative but a core Baptist belief is that you are always free to disagree. The preacher preaches but the individual is responsible to God, not the church. If you don't agree with him, that's between you and God. Truthfully, my family is more moderate about a lot of things than many Baptists are. Of course, that still qualifies them as being pretty conservative.
On Thursday, I was hanging around the room just after dinner, trying to organize a study plan but generally failing. Robbie and I were mostly just talking about things in general, mainly about how much more work there was to do than we thought there would be. Carter came over to invite me to a Bible study and I was trying to find a nice way of saying "no" without hurting his feelings. I am saved but I'm not as into church stuff as he is. Carter had all ready given up on Robbie. His family was Holiness, which is even more right wing than Baptist but Robbie wasn't very religious at all. He believed in God and in Jesus and was actually pretty conservative himself, but he was also a small town jock who wanted to have a good time before he settled down to raise a family. I had no doubt that in 10 years time, he would be a married, church going father. In the meantime, he wanted to curse, drink beer and chase girls.
Carter was still trying to talk me into going with him when Xander showed up at the door with a girl, a different girl than Ashley. This one was petite, black haired and wore skin tight jeans. Even I could tell that she was pretty, but in an almost trashy kind of way.
"Lilly, this is Dylan and Robbie," Xander said, introducing her to us as he slid his hands around her waist and then into her front pockets. He has an easy grin on his face. "So, there is going to be a pool party at the Commons, sort of welcome back to school thing and you are invited. A good time will be had by all"
Carter looked at Xander and said in flat tone of voice, "There's going to be BSU mixer Friday, too, Dylan."
"Yeah, that'll be fun too," Xander said as pulled Lilly toward him. "So, Robbie, here's the deal. There's this girl I know from a high school, a freshman here at the Dub, who has a thing for ball players. You, my friend, get to have the first go at it, well in Macon at least. She's pretty hot and you definitely do not want to pass this up. Even minimal social graces and a recent shower with those muscles, you will definitely get a hummer, minimum."
"Is that the only thing you ever think about? Sex?" Carter sneered at him. His hostility was not hidden at all.
"Well, it isn't the only thing I think about but it is the thing I think about the most. What`s the point of having a dick if you're not going use it?"
"Did you see the contract I put on your bed?" Carter said, tightening his body up a bit, tensing for a confrontation.
"Yeah, I saw it and you can pretty much go fuck yourself with it," Xander said, turning toward him. If he was being light and airy before, all smiles and charm, this was another side of him. Tougher. "First off, the no drugs or alcohol part is bullshit. I know campus rules and I read the fucking handbook. I'm not a fucking idiot and I sure as shit wouldn't have anything around that you could throw me under the bus for. As for the no sex, well, fuck off. I'm not going to fuck while you're there but if you're not, then I'll do what I fucking want. I checked the rule book and there's no rule that says you get to run my sex life."
"You know I don't like that word."
"You mean fuck?" Xander said, getting up closer to Carter. "Well, fuck you."
"You actually want him to not have sex at all in the room?" Lilly asked with a bit of smirk on her face. Her butt was against Xander's crotch.
"This is none of your business" Carter snapped back at her.
"Well, right now it kind of is, considering she's the one I am about to have sex with. When is your church thing over?"
"I don't know," Carter said, the anger on his face very evident and his body language was tense. "An hour, maybe. Or an hour and a half."
"An hour and a half would be better" Xander said, sliding one hand up Lilly's shirt onto her belly.
"I'm putting in for a new roommate Monday" Carter said as he spun around to leave. "Go lay with your whore."
Xander stepped up to him and stood chest to chest with him. "Call her a whore again and you won't make it to Monday, fucker. "
Carter backed away from the confrontation and I was glad. Xander was furious and I was afraid that he would actually hit him. I didn't know for sure but I thought it would mean big trouble for him. I was actually getting up to try to get between them when Carter stepped back. "You're going to burn in hell, you know that?"
"Maybe. But I won't have to live forever with pieces of shit like you."
"Bro, it's not worth it," Robbie said to him, pulling his arm. "He's a dick, everybody knows it. Carter, why don't you leave. He shouldn't have called you that, Lilly. I'm sorry."
"It wasn't you" she said, looking a little deflated.
"Sorry guys," Xander said, his head down, not making eye contact. "That probably should have gone down better but I got pissed. And Lilly, he's just a tight ass closet case. An immature little kid. It doesn't mean anything."
"I know."
"C'mon. Let's have some fun, okay?" Xander said, nodding toward the door. Then he grinned broadly. "It'll be fun, I promise."
After they went into his room, Robbie and I gossiped some about what had happened. Robbie definitely thought that Carter was generally a jerk and had grown to dislike him a little over the few days that we had known him. I was a little more willing to cut him some slack but even I thought he had gone over the line at the end. It did prompt a talk between us about what we were going to do if one of us wanted to have sex, by which both of us understood that for the moment that meant Robbie, not me. I agreed that there should be some privacy and the other roommate had to accommodate it as long as it wasn't too frequent and the request wasn't too out of line. It was about that time, we began to hear Lilly groan. We snickered like school boys and Robbie made some lewd comments, which were actually funny under the circumstances. But then she began to moan louder. And then louder. It was becoming definitely obvious. For a few minutes after, her moans seemed kind of stifled and Robbie speculated that Xander had put his hand over her mouth to shut her up. I laughed but thought it might be true. Then, suddenly, it was a full one scream.
Tommy from next door drifted over to our room. "What the fuck is going on over there?" he asked, leaning casually against the door post.
"He's getting his freak on" Robbie answered.
"Xander, right?"
"You didn't think it would be Carter, didya?"
"No" Tommy admitted.
She was loud enough that you could distinctly hear her directing Xander to fuck her harder and to pound that wet pussy. Joe and Dave, who live next to Xander, came out into the hall.
"Somebody filming a fucking porno and didn't tell us?" Joe sniggered.
"Maybe it's just a porno they have on," Tommy offered. "Trying to make us think ..."
"Nah," Dave replied, his ear up to Xander's door. "He was fucking her on the desk. It was banging against the wall. Shit, that bitch is loud."
It was at that moment, almost on cue, that we all heard her scream out, "You're a loving fuck god. Fuck me." All of us collapsed in laughter. Robbie was literally rolling on the floor. Dave actually choked, having paroxysms of coughing between the laughs. I fell back on the bed, holding my sides. It hurt I was laughing so hard. You could hear the springs groan as Xander did his thing and then suddenly nothing. It was over.
"Shit" Dave exclaimed, shaking his head. "That was something."
We laughed some more and then everybody kind of dispersed themselves back to their rooms. Xander and Lilly didn't emerge immediately and it was beginning to push the 90 minute mark when they did. Our door was open and he could see us in there beginning to laugh again. Xander looked a little embarrassed as he kissed and made some vague plans to see her again. The fact that he knew that everybody had heard him made it all the more funny. As she turned to walk away, he began to wave one hand palm down to tell us to hold down. We tried but failed, the laughter exploded from clenched lips. More urgently he signaled us to be quiet and that didn't work either. Then, I guess as she made it to the stairwell, he visibly relaxed.
I saw Dave come out of his room and give Xander a playful fake punch in the stomach. "You're fucking love god, dude."
"No," Robbie yelled out. "It's a loving fuck god."
"Just shut the fuck up," Xander said, grinning and laughing a little himself. "Honestly, I didn't know she was a screamer."
"Dude, I've fucked girls that screamed," Tommy said, pushing on Xander's shoulder. "That was way beyond screaming. That's a whole new level."
"Hey, I'm going to let Chip know that we need a new hall rule," Dave said, motioning toward the RA's room. "Nobody can fuck her at night during the week. She'll keep the whole dorm awake."
"Hey, what could I do?" Xander asked.
Joe patted him on the back. "I was just impressed with your stamina there, stud. That was some high intensity pounding right there."
Just then Carter walked up to the crowd in the hall, his black leather Bible with gold foil edges in his hand. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Turns out your roomie is a fucking love god, Carter. Should've been here, that was some funny shit," Dave said, laughing.
"Lucky me," Carter replied, sticking his key in the door and unlocking it. He involuntarily jerked his head and shoulder as the door opened. He turned to Xander and snarled, "You could have cleaned up and aired out the room after doing your business, you know."