Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 08:21:23 -0700 From: David Courson Subject: Quarterback with the emerald eyes - part 15 This story is fiction. Any similarity to any persons living or dead is merely a coincidence. If you are not allowed by law to view this material, please do not do so. If you are under 18 years of age, please leave now. This is a love story between two boys in high school. If that offends you, I apologize and ask that you not read any further. Otherwise, enjoy. Check out the Quarterback Yahoo group. There are photos of guys who you might think Blake or Todd looks like. Submit a picture of how you see the boys or just post your own picture in the members section. There are polls and just general messages. Please check it out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quarterback_with_the_Emerald_Eyes/ I want to thank Stephen and Vann for being my proofreaders on this story. I appreciate your patience and your suggestions on how to make it better. Thanks for everything. And I would never forget George, thanks for keeping up with the group. Without you, it probably wouldn't be as successful as it is. You're the best. And to think, 1000 members now. WOW!!! Quarterback with the Emerald Eyes -- Part 15 The following morning, Todd woke me again a little after five. When he did, my eyes fluttered opened to look at him and then closed. "Do I have to go after your ass again, like yesterday?" "If you want, but use your dick this time, okay?" "I wish I could, but this early in the mornin', we might wake the parents. Come on, get up, and let's go." Throwing the covers off me, I lay there for a few more moments, as Todd sat on the bed to irritate me to get me up. "Stop," I playfully whined as he traced his fingertips over my nipples. "Well, until you get up, I gotta do something." "You keep doing that and you won't be able to leave this room." "Oh yeah? Why not?" "'Cause my dick'll stand up, and I won't let you leave `till you take care of it." Removing his fingers, he said, "Okay, how `bout I tickle you?" as he poked me in the side. My eyes flew open and I said, "If you do, I'll scream until mom and dad wake up." I closed my eyes for a few more seconds and he started with something else. I put up my finger to get his attention and cracked my eye lids. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me. Only centimeters apart, I said, "If you keep this up, I'll make you pay. Now, why don't you go and make your little concoction of that gross drink, and I'll be down by the time it's done." "You promise you won't go back to sleep?" Kissing his lips, I said, "I promise. I just need to get my mind awake. A couple more minutes and I swear I'll be down." "Fine, I'm trusting you not to go back to sleep. If you do, you won't like the outcome." I opened one eye and asked, "You sure about that?" "Yeah. It won't be anything sexual." "You're right. I won't like it." He leaned in and kissed me and told me to be down in two minutes. I gave a salute to acknowledge I had heard him and mentally woke myself. About three minutes later, I showed up. "You're late." he said with a smile. "I had to pee. God, give a guy a break." "Fine. Okay, but don't let it happen again, mister." He smiled at me, and I walked to the door and held it open. Outside, we did our warm ups, and as we did, he asked how lunch was with dad. "It was actually great. You know he asked a question yesterday that threw me for a loop." "Oh, yeah? What was it?" "He asked if you and I were fucking." Todd was stretching his legs with his right knee bent and his weight supported on his right foot as his left leg was stretched out as far and as straight as possible to the side of him. When I told him what the question was, he lost his balance and fell forward, catching himself with his hands. "He did what?" he asked, a little louder than usual. "Shhh," I said, giggling as I looked around. "He asked if we were fucking?" "Yeah, but not exactly that word. He asked if we'd been intimate yet." Looking worried, he asked, "And what did you say?" "In a round about way, I said we had." "Oh, shit. Was he pissed?" "Actually no. He was very cool with it. He just wanted to make sure we were safe. I assumed he meant condoms, but I told him you were my first, and I was yours." "Then what?" "Nothing." "Nothing? Like, no more was said about it?" "Nope, not a thing. Then he told me that he and mom still have sex three times a week." "Oh, Blake! Damn! Why'd you have to tell me that?" he asked, with a look of horror on his face. "'Cause, I know you hate to think about it," I said, smiling. "Remember the other day when I called you an asshole after you kept sucking my dick?" "Yeah," I answered. "This is why. You know I don't want to think about that, but you keep bringing it up." He turned back around and gave a body shudder as I heard him say yuck. "One more thing about that before I change the subject." "Do you have to?" he asked, turning his head to the side, continuing his stretch. "I think you might find it interesting. Did you know that mom was dad's first and only?" He turned his head to look at me and asked, "Really?" "Yeah. They first had... uh... did it when he was sixteen. They got married at eighteen." "I knew they got married at eighteen, but I never knew that they were each other's firsts." "Well, I don't know about mom, but dad said she was his." "Kinda cool," he said. The conversation ended and we started our run. I only stopped a couple times and afterwards, I knew we still had to walk, so I didn't collapse like the previous day. Once inside, mom cooked a quick breakfast of oatmeal for her and dad, and Todd got our cups and poured our drinks. Taking my first gulp, I gave a face of disgust and said, "You know dad, you should be drinking this too. Todd says it helps lower blood pressure." "Oh, yeah?" he asked looking at Todd. "That's what I read. Is that what the doctor told you? You had high blood pressure?" "One of the things. I need to start eating healthier and exercise more." "We could always use a third to run with in the mornings." "Don't start that again," he said, giving Todd a look. Todd smiled, and mom asked me what my plans were for the day. "Just wait around for the pool guy, and then turn in my applications." "What pool guy?" Todd asked, putting his drink down on the countertop. "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you last night," dad started. "Your mom and I decided to get a pool." "Really?" he asked, excitedly. "Yup. We were going to get it last week, but with the news of Bobby and his funeral, we decided to postpone it." "Wow, this is gonna be so awesome." Todd's face fell in an instant when he thought of something else. "Wait a minute. Is this gonna take away from my college fund?" "What?" asked mom. "Hell no! Since you were a baby, we've put away about a hundred bucks a week each, if not more, for you to go to college. You're completely covered there. This is extra that we've been saving for." "How much is in this account?" Todd queried. Thinking for a second, mom answered, "Last time I checked, about a hundred seventy five thousand." "Holy crap," he exclaimed. "When I'm done with school, what happens if there's money left? Is it mine?" he asked with a smile. "In your dreams," dad answered. "It'll go towards our retirement fund." Looking at his watch, dad said, "Well, guess I better go. Gotta be at the office soon." As he grabbed his briefcase he kissed mom goodbye, and when he passed me, he stopped. "Let me taste that," he said. I handed him the cup and he took a sip. He gave the exact same expression I did the first time I tasted it. Handing the cup back, he said, "I think I'll do this the old fashioned way." "Slacker," Todd called out, smiling. "Well, its better than drinking that stuff," dad said as he opened the door. "See you guys later." "Bye honey," mom called out. A few minutes later, mom excused herself to go get dressed for work. "Do you have an idea about your hours at work?" "Yeah. Tiffany, one of the other workers, had to go to night shift `cause she has kids, and since they're out of school she needed to be there during the day while her husband worked. So Mr. Avery offered me the morning position. 9:30 to five." "Cool. When I turn in my applications, I'll give `em some story about not being able to work past five or so. Summer night class or something." "Sounds good to me," Todd said, finishing his glass. "Are you showering with me again today?" "Sure," I said and then finished my drink. Rinsing out my cup, I put it in the sink and followed him up the stairs. We went to the room and undressed then headed to the bathroom. When Todd had the water just right, we both stepped in and started washing each other. As I was washing Todd's back, we heard a knock at the door. "Yes, ma'am?" "You boys have a good day." "Thanks, mom. You, too," Todd called back. "Hey, mom. What time is it?" After a short pause, she answered, "About 6:45." "Cool, thanks," he shouted back. "Bye," we heard her say one last time. Turning around to face me, Todd has a big smile on his face when he asked, "I wonder what we could do with two hours to spare?" "Actually, it'll be about an hour and a half," I said back. "Remember, you still gotta get to work. That means traffic." "Damn, you know how to spoil a mood." Smiling and putting my arms around his shoulders, I said, "Yeah, well, I know how to get it back, too." I leaned in close and kissed him softly with short pecks. I leaned down and kissed his neck and up to his ear. "Yeah, you do," he said, breathlessly. I kept kissing his face and neck until I hit every spot I could reach. Finally, working my way back to his lips, I gave him a very passionate kiss. He got so into it, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in tight. I let my soapy hands roam over his back and down to his ass before moving them between us and grabbing his semi-hard erection. After a few strokes it started rising further, and I knew what I wanted to do. I broke our kiss, stepped towards the water and rinsed off my hands. Then I reached back and pulled Todd over to rinse off the suds that were slowly sliding down his perfect skin. When he was soap free, I pushed him out from under the water and gave him another quick kiss before moving to my knees. I kissed his stomach, licked his belly button, and finally kissed his lower abs before dragging my tongue through his pubic hair. I followed the hair down below his penis and licked over his balls. I heard Todd inhale loudly at the feeling of my tongue on his nuts. After a few more licks, I pulled one in my mouth and let my tongue assault it while he went crazy. "Oh God, Blake. That feels so good." I looked up and saw his head turned toward the ceiling. I continued my attack on his balls for a few more minutes before I let them fall free and traced my tongue up the underside of his hardened shaft. When I reached the sensitive underside of the head, Todd once again inhaled sharply until my tongue was on the tip of his dick. I looked up to stare into his emerald eyes looking down at me. With a mischievous smile, I opened my mouth and engulfed the head letting my tongue journey over the bulbous tip. "Oh God," he said as his hand landed on my head. I slowly lowered my lips down his dick until about half of it was inside, and then, just as slowly, pulled back using my tongue and the suction my mouth made to give him pleasure. His hand was gently putting pressure on my head as I took him in and was slacking off as I pulled off his manhood. I got into a rhythm and slowly picked up the pace until he started moaning. Both his hands were now helping my head make the to and fro journey on his cock. I pulled back until just the tip was still in my mouth and took a deep breath. When my lungs were full, I slowly went down as far as possible until I heard his intake of breath. I stopped for just a moment and looked at him. He was watching me intently as I slowly sank all the way down until he was balls deep in my throat. "Ahhh. Oh God. Oh shit," he said, throwing his head back, as my chin hit his balls. His hands pulled my head into his body for a few seconds until he felt me pull back. Moving just as slowly, I came back to the tip and let it leisurely fall from between my lips. Over the year or so we've been having sex; I've learned how to allow Todd all the way in my throat without having to be in the sixty-nine position. And I learned that when he's there, how to use my throat muscles to tease his head while my mouth is pulling as much pressure as it can to give him double pleasure. I know it's one of his favorite things I do when I give him a blow job, so I try to do it a few times, knowing it makes him happy. I kissed the tip before taking it, once again, about half way. I kept up my rhythm for a while, then would break the routine to deep throat him a few times. Over the course of however many minutes passed, I would suck him as usual then he would hold my head steady as he took control and fucked my mouth. When I knew he was finally ready to finish, I pushed him back the few inches to have him lean against the wall. I started the usual rhythm to get things going, and then deep throated him a few times in a row before going back to the normal sucking. I grabbed his balls and started to massage them between my fingers and I felt his sack pull tight against his body. "I'm gettin' close," he said, warning me. I knew what I was doing and how his body was reacting, so I kept up my attack on his cock while keeping his scrotum in my hand. When he told me he was about to blow, I grabbed the skin of his balls between my first finger and thumb and started pulling, gently, away from his body. "Oh, fuck, that's it. Here it comes," he said. He tried to buck his hips, but my free hand was forced against his stomach, holding him against the tile. A second later, I felt the first blast hit my throat. "Oh God. Oh fuck," he kept repeating as I continued to suck his dick and pull on his nuts. He shot a good six healthy volleys until my mouth was full, and I had to swallow. When I did, he just about filled it again with what was left. When he was completely finished, I swallowed what had gathered and started to pull off. His hands grabbed my head and held me steady for a moment. "No teasing. You know it drives me nuts." I smiled to myself and gave a nod of my head between his hands. I let his penis slowly pull through my lips without putting pressure on the shaft. When the head was all that was left, I couldn't help myself and sucked, hard, one last time as it slipped out of my mouth with an audible pop. "Ahhh," he said, jumping and looking down at me. "Damn, you," he said with a smile. Standing, I kissed him then said, "You know I couldn't resist." "I wish you were as sensitive as I was so you could feel the torture you give me when you do that." "I am as sensitive as you, but I like it, remember?" "How can you like that feeling? It makes me want to..." He couldn't find the word. "Hit something?" I suggested. Exhaling, he said, "Yeah, kinda. It's just so intense, I can't stand it." "That's what I love about it," I said smiling while locking my lips to his. After a few minutes of allowing his afterglow to cool down, he pulled away from me and started to lower himself to the floor. "Nope. Sorry. This was for you." "But I want to get you off. After what you did for me, I want to return the favor." "Sorry, I don't know how much time's passed, so we better finish washing and get out. Don't want you being late for work." "But Blake..." he started. "I'll make a deal with you. We finish washing up, and tonight when we get in bed, maybe we can actually have real sex and not just blowjobs." Todd's lips curled into a smile and asked, "Really?" "Yeah. I need to get fucked. It's been way too long." "I can do that," he said kissing me. Breaking the kiss, I gave him a gentle shove towards the still falling water from the shower and said, "Now, grab the shampoo for me, will ya?" When his body interrupted the shower stream, he gave a yell and lurched forward towards me. "Holy, shit, its freezing." "What? The water?" "Yeah. I think we wasted the hot water." "Oh, no. Please tell me you're kidding," I said, feeling the water myself. Sure enough, the hot water wasn't there. I turned off the cold and the water turned back to a bearable temperature. I turned off the hot water and said, "We gotta finish up quick. The hot water's almost gone." Getting the shampoo, I slapped my hands together and slathered my hair, and Todd had the soap in his hand. I turned on the hot water for a moment to wet my hair, and Todd caught the run down to make it lather. We finished washing and turned the water on one last time to rinse. By the time we turned off the shower, the hot water was just a memory. We got out of the shower with our teeth chattering and quickly dried. A few minutes later, we were in our room with me on the bed watching Todd get dressed. I grabbed a pair of shorts to put on while I waited for the pool guy. At the front door, he kissed me goodbye, told me to finish the drink, and then I went to the couch to watch TV while the time ticked by. A couple hours later, the man showed up in a white truck with the name of the pool company displayed on the door. I showed him to the backyard, and he looked around. "Anything buried around here?" he asked me. "Don't know. I've only lived here for a few months." He turned his attention back to the yard and walked out on the grass like he was inspecting it for something. He squatted and picked some grass and moved it around like he was looking for ants buried beneath the blades. Standing and dusting his hands, he took a last look at the options and said, "I think right here," he gestured to the middle of the yard, about five or so feet off the stone patio. "Sounds good to me," I said. Walking back to the house, he thanked me for my time and I escorted him to the door. After he left, I went back upstairs and got dressed. Before leaving, I grabbed the applications and locked the door behind me. I started returning them in the lower part of the strip mall first, and then headed over to Brush Strokes. Once there, I walked in and spotted Joe stocking books. Walking to him, I called out, "Hiya, Joe." Turning to look at me, he smiled and said, "Hey, Blake. How goes it?" "Not too bad. Just wanted to give you this," I said, handing over the paper. "Oh, great. Thanks. I'll hold on to it for next month." "Thanks. I appreciate it, but there is something I need to let you know about. Starting next week, I'm going to be taking a night class at GSU, so I won't be able to work past five or so. Class starts at six." "Oh, wow. It might not work then. I'm looking for a night person." My heart fell as well as my expression. "Oh, well, sorry about that. Guess you won't need that then," I said, pointing at my application. "Well, I'll hold onto it in case something should open up." "Thanks. I better go. Don't want you getting in trouble." "Thanks, Blake. I'll keep in touch." I left Ansley Mall and was headed home when my phone rang. "Hello?" "Hey, baby. Whatcha doin'?" "Hey, puppy. Just dropped off my applications, so now I'm going back home." "You wanna stop by for lunch with me?" "That sounds great. Where do I meet you?" "Just come to the store. We'll head over to get lunch after you get here." "Cool. Be there soon. Love ya." "You too, babe. Bye" After I hung up the phone, I couldn't get the grin off my face. A few minutes later, I pulled into the mall parking lot, then went inside and headed up the stairs to Todd's store. He was helping someone, so I started browsing around the store. I came across the book he bought me last year and smiled. I kept looking around and came across a globe that had little lights on it like seeing the earth from outer space. When I flipped it on, I wished I was in space to see the real thing. My mind and eyes got so lost in the spinning of the earth, that I didn't realize Todd was done with his guest until he put his hand on my side. "Hey, baby." "Hey, Todd. How're things going here?" I asked, looking around. "Been dead all mornin'. Sometimes it's good, but other times, it makes the time drag." "Yeah, well, why don't you find something else that keeps you busy?" "'Cause if I did, it might not be the hours I have now and I don't want to worry about anything before college. Don't want any stress." When he mentioned college, my smile faded, somewhat, and he noticed it. "Hey now. Don't get upset." "I'm not. I'm just going to miss you is all." "I'm going to miss you too, but..." "I know," I said, smiling. "It's a dream, and I want you to follow it. We'll manage." "Yeah, we will," he said smiling back at me. "You ready for lunch?" "Sure am," I said, following him back to the counter. "Mr. Avery," he said, as he walked through a door to the back. "I'm going to lunch now." "Enjoy," I heard someone say. "Thanks. I'll be back in a half hour." Todd turned me around by my shoulders and gently pushed me through the store out into the mall. We headed over to the food court and decided on salads. Since we were eating healthier, we didn't want to spoil it with greasy burgers or any fried foods. We were starting the summer out right and I was willing to give it a go. We got our salads and talked. Todd asked about the pool guy and told me how excited he was about getting a pool installed. I told him that for my birthday, instead of going somewhere, maybe we should invite the team and some other friends over for a cook out and to enjoy the pool He agreed and told me not to forget to invite Pax and Tristian. The half hour went by quickly and our conversations were rushed, but the important thing was that we got to spend a little time together to enjoy each other's company, during actual daylight hours. We didn't dare kiss in the open, but Todd did hug me before he left to go back to the store. I stood and watched him leave, smiling, and once again realized how lucky I was. Over the next few weeks, the pool was installed and was ready to go on my birthday. Actually, it was ready with about a week or so to spare, and we called to extend the invitations. I started working at the movie rental place and was only working till five every evening. I told them about my birthday and about Pride, explaining it would be my first and if I couldn't take the three days I wanted, I would have to go somewhere else. They understood and marked the days off for me. Since I had a discount, Todd and I caught up on a lot of movies. Things we've wanted to see and others we figured we'd give a try. I had never seen a horror movie, being raised in a strict house and all, so Todd picked Nightmare on Elm Street. I saw the front cover and thought it didn't look so bad. Boy was I wrong. Now see, Todd kept laughing, either at me or the movie, but I was scared shitless. We were watching it in our room, and we were on the bed with the lights out. Every time something scared me, I turned over and buried my face in Todd's chest. At that moment was when he started laughing, so, here in lies the dilemma. Was he laughing at me for being scared, or the movie for being scary? Oh well, it gave me an excuse to roll over and hold onto him, so I didn't care who or what he was laughing at. My birthday finally rolled around, and I couldn't have been happier. I would officially be an adult. Well, at least according to the state. We had the gang from school coming and even a few new people that tagged along. All in all we had about fourteen people, not counting the family, show up for my birthday. Ryan, Ari, Jessie, Derik, and Ray all brought their girlfriends, Jason and Paige showed up, as well as Howie and Kelly. They had gotten closer over the summer, and it showed at the pool. Without asking, Howie offered to rub suntan oil on Kelly's back, and she actually looked a little surprised, like she finally didn't have to ask for herself, but instead, smiled and rolled over to let Howie cover her in the lotion. I think I heard a couple moans escape her lips as he did so. She caught my eye, and I smiled and winked at her. I swear she blushed. My birthday couldn't've fallen on a more perfect day. There were huge, white, puffy clouds in the sky with a slight breeze blowing. The only thing was, being June, it was ninety nine degrees. So, if you weren't in the water, you were baking. Most of the time, I was in the water. We ended up playing games, and we raced and competed to see who could make the best dive, and competed to see who could make the bigger splash. Howie won that one. Right as dad started the grill, we all were in the water just lazily floating around, talking and having a good time, when mom came back out of the house. "Blake, this man says he belongs to you," she said pointing with her thumb and a smile. I turned around and saw Pax and another man; I assumed it was Tristian, walking towards the pool. "Pax!!!" I screamed as I got out of the pool. Running to him, I stopped just before hugging him and looked down at my wet body. "I ain't the wicked witch. I'm not gonna melt," he said, opening his arms. I fell into them and gave him a big hug. "I didn't think you were going to make it." I said. Pulling away, he said, "I wouldn't have missed your birthday for anything." I smiled and glanced at the man beside him, and Pax caught my eye. "Oh, Blake, finally I can introduce you. This is Tristian," he said, turning sideways. I extended my hand and said, "Very nice to finally meet you, Tristian." "And you as well, Blake. I've heard so much about you." I looked at Pax, narrowed my eyes and said, "I hope it was good." "Well, of course. What do you take me for? A nasty..." he stopped and looked around for a second, then finished, "Female dog?" "Well, if it talks like a duck..." I said. "Hey!!!" Smiling big, I said, "Just kidding." Hugging him again, I said, "Thanks for coming." "Anytime, baby." When I pulled back, I saw mom staring at us. "Mom, I'd like you to finally meet Pax. He's the one I was telling you about. Pax, this is Christine Blyth." Walking over to shake hands, she said, "Thanks for looking after him. It's just so good to finally meet you." "And you as well. I tried to get him to move in, but this one is a strong little guy. He kept refusing. Said he needed to get through it on his own. Guess I just wasn't strong enough to fight him. Nor am I a mother," he said, winking at her. "She's also a lawyer. There's no arguing with her," I added. "Well, that explains it." Looking back, he grabbed Tristian's arm and said, "Christine, this is my boyfriend, Tristian Bergeron." Smiling, mom said, "Nice to meet you, Tristian." She called dad over and there were more introductions as I observed Tristian. He stood about six feet tall, had salt and pepper hair, more salt on the sides, with brown eyes. He looked to be about forty five or so years old but had the body of, what I would assume to be, a thirty five year old. He was dressed in a tee shirt and had on swimming trunks. His legs were hairy, and I could see the definition in his calves and thighs as he walked. When dad and mom finally stopped talking, I pulled them over and introduced them to everyone. I told them the names of the people I knew and had the boys introduce their girlfriends. "Everybody, this is Pax Andrews and his boyfriend, Tristian Bergeron. Pax and I met after I was kicked out of my house. He helped me out and is one of my best friends." Everyone was polite and said hi, but a few of them got shy. Either it was an older gay couple or just someone new. I found out, by the end of the day, it was just because it was someone new. Todd came up and gave Pax a hug and shook Tristian's hand. I was about to get in the pool when I saw Pax lean over and whisper something in Todd's ear. When he pulled away, I saw Todd smiling and Pax nodding. "Okay, you two. No secrets." "It's not a secret, it's a birthday surprise," Pax said to me. "I told everybody, no gifts." "Sorry, I didn't hear that part," he said, smiling back. "Yeah, right. Didn't hear it my foot." Again, he gave a big, fake smile letting me know he had the upper hand. "You guys gettin' in the pool?" I asked. "I am," Tristian said, walking over to a chair to remove his shoes and shirt. When he did take his shirt off, my assessment of his body was right. He actually looked younger than Pax, and Pax said that Tristian was older. Guess there wasn't anything else in Seattle to do when it was raining, but work out. Well, what ever he did, it showed. He had a dusting of light brown hair mixed with a few silvery grays on his pecs and still had the faintest of abs showing through his belly. Turning back to the pool, he called out, "Any hair that needs to stay dry?" Everyone looked around, shaking their heads. When he saw that, he ran and did a cannonball. Water went everywhere; some even hit Pax on his jeans. "God, Tristian, I just bought these pants," he said, after Tristian surfaced. "What was that about you not being the wicked witch?" I asked, smiling. "Oh, bite me," he snipped. "You comin' in?" Tristian asked. "In a few. Wanna talk to Don and Christine for a few minutes. Get to know them a little." "Fine, but before you leave, you'll be getting in the pool," I said. "Maybe," he answered. "No maybe about it. I'll have Todd throw you in. And as skinny as you are, I know he can pick you up." Looking at Todd, he said, "You wouldn't dare." "It's his birthday. What he says goes," Todd explained. Looking between the both of us, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh, you two are evil." Everyone in and around the pool laughed as he smiled. Walking with mom toward dad, they huddled around the grill while dad tended to the burgers and hot dogs. Todd and I got to know Tristian better, and soon the rest of the kids were asking him about Seattle and his photography. He said that he once had an exhibit that toured the country and made a stop in Atlanta. When he explained what the exhibit was and where it had been held, a few of the kids mentioned that they had seen it. One of the girls, who had seen it, was completely fascinated by it and pulled Tristian into a conversation about the pieces that had been shown. Tristian looked elated that someone so young could find his work so appealing. He was happy to have the conversation, especially since she said that she wanted to be a photographer herself. While they talked, Todd came up behind me, wrapped his arms around me, and held me tight. "Are you having a good time?" "Hell yeah! It's the best birthday ever." "I'm glad," he said in my ear. He put his chin on my shoulder and watched as the others laughed, talked and horsed around. I covered Todd's arms with my own and let my head lean against his. Howie walked over and held Kelly in much the same way that Todd was holding me. At first, she was surprised again, but after a minute, I saw her eyes grow loving towards her boyfriend. Once again, she caught my eye and smiled. After twenty minutes or so, dad called for burgers and dogs. Everyone got out of the pool and dried themselves. After getting plates, napkins and drinks, we accepted our meat of choice and then found a place to sit. There was one picnic table and one round table with an umbrella. I was told to sit at the round table, and the guys brought the picnic table closer so everyone could be near. There were still a few who had chairs but no table to use. Pax and Tristian were some of the people who just had chairs, and I made a smart remark. "Pax, would you like my seat? I know how clumsy you are and don't want you to spill your food all over you." "Listen here, little man. Just `cause it's your birthday don't mean I won't smack you." He turned to mom and dad and said, "Not that I ever would, of course." "Go ahead. I won't say anything," Dad said and winked. "Dad!!!" I exclaimed. He just smiled as he bit into his burger. For a few minutes, the conversations lagged, and we dug into the little feast that dad had worked on. Finally the silence was broken by Kelly. "I know you said no gifts, but I did get you something." "Kelly," I said in a whiny voice. "I didn't want you guys to get me anything. Just ya'll being here is enough." "I know, but I wanted to," she said, pulling a nicely wrapped gift from her swim bag. "I hope you like it." I smiled at her and grabbed the present. I started to undo the tape, but Todd told me to rip it open, so I did. When it was unwrapped, I saw that she had gotten me a picture of the two of us, framed in a silver frame that said, `Friends Forever' at the bottom. "Oh my God, I love it," I said to her. "When was this taken? I can't remember?" "It was taken a few weeks after I moved here my freshman year. You and I had every class together, and you came up and introduced yourself. A few weeks later, we were sitting on the steps of the parking lot at lunch, and some kid walked up and took that picture. Alicia found it when she was going through some old pictures for the yearbook and she gave it to me." "I remember now. We both had brought our lunch, and it was a nice day, so we went to the steps. That kid who always had his camera came up and just started shooting us. And you asked what he was doing, and he said he was with the yearbook. I remember he had glasses and was real nerdy." "Yup. Scott something was his name, I think." I reached over and took her in a hug and said thanks again. Pulling back, I asked, "Does anyone else have something for me?" Everyone shook their heads, and only Pax nodded yes. "Well, thanks to the rest of you for not giving me anything. I don't need anything. I have my friends, Todd and my new family. That's all I need." Looking back to Pax, I asked, "What did you get me, even though I told you not to?" "Nothing yet," he answered. "Good. Don't get anything." "We'll see," he said, smiling. After lunch, we all sat around and talked for a while longer before everyone started getting tired. One by one, or I should say two by two, they took off, and I thanked them for coming to help me celebrate. Left were Pax, Tristian, mom, dad, and Todd. Mom and dad were talking to Pax and Tristian while Todd and I were back in the pool playing around and having fun. When it was time for them to leave, Pax came over to the pool. "Hey boys, Tristian and I are leaving, but I was hoping I could have your assistance with something, Todd." Getting out of the pool, Todd said, "Sure, what is it?" "Your mom told me you have a computer and I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind coming with me to get one. You know, point me in the right direction." "Sure, when?" he asked. "Well, if you have time, maybe now?" he asked. "Can Blake come?" "I don't know. He sure teased me a lot today," Pax said, crossing his arms. "It was all out of love, old man." "See? A lot of teasing there. Don't know if he deserves it." Walking over to him, I said, "You know I love you. If it wasn't for you, I might not be in this great situation I'm in. I'm convinced that our meeting put me where I am today." Smiling, he put his hand on my head and mussed my wet hair and said, "I love you, too." Rolling his eyes, he said, "The boy knows how to apologize, huh? Yeah, sure. You can come, too." "Great. We need to change. Be back in a few," I said as Todd and I headed in the house. Ten minutes later, we were down and walking out the door. We drove by Pax's place first to drop off Tristian. He had a few things to do while we went out looking for a computer. We arrived at Electronic Corner near Lenox mall and headed inside. Walking over to the computers, Todd asked, "So, what are you looking for exactly?" "Whatever Blake wants." I turned to look at him and asked, "What do you mean, whatever I want?" "This is your birthday gift. You're getting a laptop." "Oh, no I'm not," I said, defiantly. "Okay then. Let's head over to the Mercedes dealer and get you a car, instead." "Pax?" I said, stomping my foot. "Listen here, young man..." my mind flashed back to my parents with that phrase. Weren't any good memories there. "I am going to get you a gift whether you like it or not. I want to. It'll make me feel good. So, it's either a computer under ten thousand dollars or a car worth over a hundred. Take your pick." I looked at Todd and said, "Did you know about this? Is that what you were whispering about at the pool?" Todd had his hands in his pocket and shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yeah." "I can't believe you would tell him it was okay. You know I don't like to get gifts." Todd was about to say something, but Pax cut him off. "I told Todd not to say anything. He smiled as I told him what I needed him to do. That's how we got you here." "But still, I don't like to get things from people." "Why?" Todd asked, walking closer to me. I looked around for a few minutes and said, "When I was growing up, I never got expensive things. My parents could afford to pay for things, but never did. I asked for so many things growing up and was always disappointed. The most expensive thing my parents ever got me probably cost them fifty dollars. I just don't know how to take things from people." "You took that picture frame from Kelly," Pax said. "Yeah, it probably cost, what? Twenty-five bucks." Stepping over to the laptop display, I looked at a price and said, "Not twenty five hundred." Grabbing my biceps, Pax said, "But I want to do this for you. It'll make me happy. You know how much money I have; I will never go through it in my lifetime, and it won't hurt me to spend some on you today. So, please accept this gift from me." I stared at Pax in silence and realized he wasn't going to give in. Giving a huff, I said fine and turned to the laptop displays and looked at the different computers before me.  I honestly had no idea what I was looking for and I was grateful a salesman came over at that moment.  Looking at his name tag, I saw that it read Lance.   "Hi, welcome to Electronic Corner.  How may I be of service?" "Well, since you asked..." "Pax?" Todd called in that `be very careful' voice. Looking at Todd and smiling at me, he said, "Never mind," and lowered his head.   I turned back to Lance and said, "Yeah, according to my friend here, I need a laptop."   "Great," Lance said.  "Have anything in particular in mind?"   "I have no idea what I'm looking at."  Leaning in to look at the display tag, I asked, rather stupidly, "What is RAM, and do I need it?" He laughed a small laugh and explained, "RAM is a necessary part of a computer, and the more you have, the faster the computer will run. But before we get into specifics, let me ask you, what will you be using the computer for? Email and surfing the net, work, or school?" "I'll be using it for personal things, I guess.  I didn't even know I was getting it, so just personal."   "How much are you looking to spend?" Lance asked me.   "Money is no object," Pax interrupted.   "Pax.  Please, don't spend too much," I begged.   "It's either this or the car.  Take your pick."   Feeling defeated, I turned back to Lance and said, "What he said." "Since you're using it for personal reasons, are ya going to be playing any games on it? Or is it just surfing the net?" "Honestly, I really don't know.  I've never played games on the internet.  Maybe just browsing or watching movies and such." "Okay, in that case, you'll want one with a DVD player, possibly even a DVD burner. Do you know if you have wireless at your house?" "Yeah, we do," Todd interrupted.  "Mom and dad, both, use it for work."   "Okay, so..."   "But wait," I said, cutting him off.  "What's a DVD burner?" "Well, it has a couple different uses. It works as a CD player and burner, meaning that you can listen to music and also make your own CD's. But let's say you have something that you need to save, in case the computer gets broken. With a DVD burner, you can save all your stuff on a disc. You could even make your own movies to send to people." "Okay, then.  Wouldn't even know how to begin to make a movie, but it seems important.  What about," looking back at the tag, again, I asked, "Memory and disk space?" "Well, memory is RAM, which we already talked about. Disk space is how much information the computer can hold. If you aren't going to be playing games or downloading a lot of music, you really don't need to worry about it. Most laptops come with a fairly large hard drive." "That's good," I said, but Pax cut me off.   "Give him the biggest disc thingy you got.  Once he learns how to use it, I'm sure he'll need the space."   "Pax, he said it'll be fine."   "Yeah, but once you're able to figure out how things work and become a computer internet savvy, you'll bitch about it later."   "No I won't," I said.   "Blake, when are you gonna learn?  You're talking to Pax," Todd said.   After a minute of staring at Pax, I said, "You're gonna regret this, you know?"   "How?" he asked me.   Turning back to Lance, I said, "Since he's the boss, give me the biggest, best, and fastest computer you got.  No need to even explain it to me.  I might have a couple questions on how to start the damn thing, but this way, I can finally get him to shut up," I said pointing with my thumb over my shoulder.   Laughing, he said, "Okay, you got it. I'll be back in a few minutes." "Thanks," I said. A few minutes later, Lance came back with three boxes in his hand. "Oh my God," I said. Setting the boxes on the counter, he said, "You just happen to be in luck. This is probably the best computer we sell, but you can only get it online." "If he can only get it online, why is it in the store?" Todd asked. "Well, it was special ordered for a guy for his birthday by his wife, but his mother got another brand that he liked better, so they returned it here. They never even opened the boxes." "I didn't know you could do that," Todd said. "Yeah, it's rare, but it happens. Now, I know you said you didn't want specifics, but I'm gonna tell you a little about what you have." Placing his hand on the main box, he said, "It's an Alienware, Area 51 m17x. It has the best video card, memory, processor, operating system, wireless card, and sound card available. "It also has two internal hard drives, totaling a terabyte of space, plus an external hard drive with an additional five hundred gig of space. External speakers, wireless mouse as well as the on board mouse pad, thirty two gig flash drive and wireless card. You can hook it up to your cable and watch TV. It has a seventeen inch, widescreen monitor for superb viewing. It also has a Blue Ray, duel layer burner so you can watch DVDs, BlueRay discs, and burn your own disks of movies or music. It comes with a backpack, three year warranty with twenty four-seven phone support, headphones, car power adapter, security software, and for the most exciting part, for me at least; you can work on it in the dark because the keyboard is back lit." "Awesome," Todd said. "I didn't understand most of what you said," I chimed in. "I agree," Pax commented. "From the little I know about computers, this would be like a Bentley compared to a BMW," Todd said. "Exactly," Lance agreed. "Very cool. Now I'm afraid, `cause I have an idea of how much Bentley's cost. How much?" Lance picked up the boxes and carried them to the register and scanned in each item. After the third beep, he hit a button on the keyboard and said, "Total will be, with tax, $7,724.84." "Holy shit." Looking at Pax, I said, "Pax, please!! I don't need this. At least, not one this expensive." Putting his hands on my shoulders and looking hard into my eyes, he said, "I know you don't need it, but it's something I want to do for you. I know you've never had the best things in life, always getting them second hand or maybe not at all. Please, let me do this small thing for you. I want you to finally say that you have the best." "When I met you, I got the best. A best friend. I don't need material things to prove anything." "I know, but it'll make me happy. Please? For me?" I turned to look back at the total and then back at him. I gave up on talking him out of it and now couldn't figure out how to tell him thanks for something so big. I looked down at my feet for a moment, then back up to his eyes and said, "I don't know what I can do to thank you. Whatever I do, it won't be enough." "Your simply accepting this is thanks enough," Pax said. I smiled and gave him a big hug. "Thanks." Pulling out of the hug, he gave me a big smile and pulled out his wallet. "You guys take platinum?" "Yes, sir," Lance said and swiped his card. After only a few seconds, the receipt spit out, and Pax was signing his name. I thanked Lance as he packed up my new computer and handed me the bags. As we got in the parking lot, Pax asked if we could come back to his place for a while. We didn't have plans and said we'd be happy to. When we arrived at Pax's place, Todd brought the laptop inside to keep it from disappearing while we were away from the car. After putting the bag on the floor next to the door, Pax handed us each a backpack. "What're these for?" Todd asked. Reaching in the fridge, he grabbed a couple bottles of water and said, "For these," extending the water to us. "We're going to the park for a little while. Tristian's going to get some pictures of you guys. Just want to have a few drinks in case we get thirsty." Going back to the fridge, he grabbed a few more bottles of water and a few bottles of diet soda. Grabbing a notebook, he said, "Here, put this in one of those, too. I might just need to write something down later." Todd took the blue note book and stuffed it inside his army green back pack and buckled the latch closed. I zipped up my dark grey back pack and threw it over my shoulder. As we waited for Pax to retrieve Tristian, Todd came over and kissed me lightly, and said, "I've got something for you later tonight." "Really?" I asked as I lifted an eyebrow, smiled and traced my finger down the front of his shirt. "Yeah, well, that too," he said, smiling big. "But I got you a gift." Pulling back, slightly, I said, "Todd, why? I said no gifts." "I know, but I'm your boyfriend. Even if no body else got you something, it's my duty to give you something on your eighteenth birthday." "It's not your..." I said, but Todd cut me off. "Would you just shut up?" he smiled and pulled me closer, again, to lock his lips to mine. Within seconds, I melted and forgot what I was saying. "Looks like you boys are ready, but I don't think it's for the park," Pax said coming around the corner. Tristian was behind him, smiling. Breaking our kiss, I said, "Well, yeah, but we can wait." I looked at Todd and he was blushing, hard. Walking past Todd, Pax said, "Honey, don't be embarrassed; when you have someone to do it with and you're always hot for `em, doing other things can sometimes be a drag. Believe me, I know," he said, glancing at Tristian. Now, Tristian joined Todd in the blushing. Winking at me, I smiled back and asked if we were ready to go. "Looks like it," Pax said, looking around. "You guys have the drinks, Tristian has the camera. Oh, do you have extra film?" "It's on digital, honey," Tristian said, looking at the camera. "Technology today confuses me. I've always had a regular camera, I sometimes forget there are newer things for me to explore. Anyway, I think we're done. Come on. I want to get some great pictures today." Within minutes, we were in the park, and Tristian was getting casual, unexpected shots. We walked all around, near the base ball parks, near the botanical gardens, at the main entrance off 14th St., in the gazebo on Lake Clara Meer, on the shore, near the tennis courts, and just all around. My favorite shot of all was one of the last ones we took. Todd and I were lazily relaxing on the ground in one of the park's many fields with the Atlanta midtown skyline behind us. Tristian was clicking away, when Pax said, "Come on, guys. Give us a pose together." Todd moved over closer to me and put his head on my chest as I put my hand behind my head to hold it up to look at the camera and letting my other arm rest on Todd's body. After a few clicks were made, Todd moved up and kissed me softly. We actually started acting like ourselves and forgot about the camera, until Pax brought us, once again, back to the present. "Okay guys, sit up now." "Pax, would you stop? They're fine like they are," Tristian said. "I know, but I want to get some of them looking at the camera. I wanna get some with the skyline in the back ground." "But we can get those later," Tristian defended his stance. "No, Tristian, it's okay. I'd like some with the skyline, too," Todd said as he sat up. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me into a sitting position, then stood and got behind me. I got on my right knee and put my left foot flat on the ground in front of me. My right hand was a little behind me for support and my left arm was resting on my knee. Todd got behind me and squatted down, using his left arm for support on the ground and his right arm across my shoulder. His first two fingers started to intertwine with my own, and I looked at him with a smile. After a few clicks, I looked back and smiled at the camera. Before long, my smile faded slightly with the thoughts of how lucky I really was. Thinking how different my life would have been if I hadn't found Todd. If my parents never found out, would I still be living my old life? It wasn't that it was bad, but just no fun. With all the fun Todd has shown me, I can't imagine how I lived sixteen years without it. And then there's Pax. If things hadn't gone like they had, I would never have met him. The talks we had, the laughs, bad jokes, ribbing, and the sexual tension we had shared since day one. He's given me a wealth of advice and knowledge that I might not, otherwise, have learned. Lost in my thoughts, Pax called, louder, for me to smile. I snapped away my thoughts and gave a big smile while leaning back into Todd. Unfortunately, he wasn't ready and lost his balance and fell over backwards. Since I had no place to go, I landed between his open legs, laughing. "Would you guys like to use a room at my place before you go home?" Pax asked. "Would you leave them alone?" Tristian said, taking his hand. "I just wanna get some pictures of them. Not goof off." "I've got about three or so hundred as is. That's enough," Tristian explained. "But I..." Before Pax could say another word, Tristian put his hand over his Pax's mouth and said, "It's enough. Let them be," then closed the distance and kissed Pax's lips. I could see Pax melt as I had before. He even lifted a leg at the knee. "I hope that's us, someday," Todd whispered to me. "You have nothing to worry about there. It will be. You can count on it," I said and lightly kissed him, repeatedly. When we were done with the park and the sun started to set, Pax and Tristian drove us home. When we got in the driveway, I leaned up and kissed Pax and Tristian on the cheek and told them I had a wonderful time and thanked Pax again for the laptop. "I've got one more thing for you," he said, reaching down onto the seat and grabbing an envelope. "Pax..." I started to protest. "Oh, stop. It's just a card." Smiling, I said thanks and kissed him again. As I got out, Todd told them goodbye, and I saw Pax tap his cheek for a goodbye kiss too. Todd obliged and did the same to Tristian and followed me into the night. We turned and waved goodbye as they drove away. Back in the house, mom and dad asked how the rest of the day went. "Well, considering Pax just spent over seven thousand dollars on me, I'd say pretty well." "He did what?" mom asked, looking at me. I walked to the couch and pulled the laptop out of the bag and handed it to them. "It's the Bentley of computers." "Why'd he get this for you?" she asked. "Well, be lucky it was that. He was going to spend over a hundred thousand on a car. Or that might have been a threat, I don't know." "A car?" dad asked. "That's what he said. He said it was either a laptop under ten thousand or a Mercedes over a hundred thousand." "Where the hell does he get the money for something like that? He told us today that he doesn't work," Mom asked. I looked at Todd and he gave me a nod saying, "They won't tell. Go ahead." "Pax's grandmother left him an inheritance of over a hundred and eighty million dollars." "Holy shit," dad said, then immediately covered his mouth. "See, sometimes it just slips out," mom said, smiling. Looking back at me, she asked, "Do you think he was serious about the car?" "That's what I was afraid of, so I decided on the lesser of two evils." "Well, we can't compete with a seven thousand dollar laptop, but we did get you a little something." I sighed, internally, as dad leaned up and grabbed an envelope off the coffee table. Handing it to me, he said, "Happy birthday, Blake." I smiled and took it from him and opened it. Inside was a gift card for the mall for a hundred and fifty dollars. "Thanks, guys, but you didn't have to do this." "We know but we wanted to. We didn't know what to get you, or what you wanted, so we just decided you can get whatever you want with that." I handed Pax's envelope to Todd and asked him to open it for me, then leaned down and hugged mom and dad and told them thanks. Standing, I said, "Well, I could get some new shoes and some pants and..." "Another computer," Todd said, cutting me off. "What?" I asked, looking at him. "You can afford another computer, if you want one." He leaned over and handed me Pax's card. When I opened it, there was a check made out to me. I didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything. I just stared at it. All those zeros; and my name was on the check. "What's he looking at?" dad asked. "A check, for ten thousand dollars, with his name on it." "What?" mom asked and got up to look. "Ten thousand dollars?" She grabbed the check and inspected it. "Oh my God! It's real," she said, handing it to dad, who joined us. Looking it over, he whistled and handed it back. I was still speechless and didn't know what to do. Walking to me, Todd put his hand on my back and asked if I was okay. "I don't know." Looking at the three of them, I asked, "Why is he doing this?" "It's because he loves you," mom explained. "But he's given me over seventeen thousand dollars worth of stuff in one day. How do you thank someone for that?" "Beats the hell outta me," Todd said. "Me, too. That's the problem," I said. "Next time you see him, just give him a hug and say thanks. Looks like you got an angel looking after you as well," mom said. "I guess so. I never would have expected things to go like this, though." "How do you mean?" dad asked. "When I got kicked out, I thought my life was over, and then I met Pax. We developed a good friendship, and then I moved in here. Now, I have you guys and Pax taking care of me. It still blows me away with how much everyone cares." Taking me in a hug, mom said, "We love you, Blake. You've become like a son to us. We just want you to know that. And I'm sure you're like a little brother to Pax." Pulling back, I said, "I do know it and I love you guys, too," I said, looking between mom and dad. "But Pax doesn't need to spend money on me to prove it." "I don't think he's buying your love, Blake," dad said. "I think he's just letting you know he cares and one way is by getting you things." "I guess so, but I've never been good at accepting things." "Especially compliments," Todd added with a smile. "Especially those," I agreed. "But I'm getting better." "Yeah, ya are," Todd said, coming up behind me and putting his arms around me with his chin on my shoulder. "Blake, you better not get any taller. You'll be blocking Todd's face if you do," dad said. All I could do was smile and cover my mouth as Todd went on the defensive. "I am not that short," Todd said. "I'm five foot ten." "You sure about that?" dad asked with a smirk. "You look shorter than that," then immediately started running around the house with Todd close behind. "Hey, boys, stop running!! I don't want you two breaking anything." Todd and dad kept laughing and running around, and I ended up at the back door and opened it quickly and called dad's name. Out the door he went with Todd following behind. I walked back to mom and gave her a hug when we both heard a splash. "Oh shit," she said, smiling. I let a giggle escape as we walked to the door. There in the pool were both guys with dad's head locked in Todd's arm next to Todd's chest. Dad was screaming he was sorry and Todd had the biggest smile on his face. "Guess he's gettin' too old," Todd said, as he smiled at us. "I am not old," dad protested. "And I'm not short," Todd said. A while later they both came out of the water, breathless. I held the door open when they came in and sent them both upstairs to change into dry clothes. I then followed Todd into our room, and while we were there, he dried off and changed clothes. When he was done, he sat on the bed and pulled me down to sit on his lap. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a few kisses. By this time, night was starting to fall and the stars were beginning to come out. A knock on the door interrupted our intimacy. "Come in," I said, looking at the door. Dad stuck his head in and said, "Your mom and I are going to a movie, so if you guys wanna stay here, I'll understand." Without anything else said, he winked at us. "Actually, I would like to stay here and relax, thanks dad." "Okay then, we're gonna get the eight `o' clock movie so we should be back at ten sharp, okay?" "Cool, thanks," I said and watched him duck back into the hall and close the door. "That was weird," Todd said. "What was?" "Telling us that he and mom are going to the movies and if we wanted to stay, he would understand." "That wasn't weird," I said, smiling. "And what was with the wink?" Leaning in closer, I looked at Todd and said, "He was telling us that he was going to be back at ten sharp, so if we wanted to have sex, we needed to be done by ten." "No, he wasn't telling us that," Todd said, not wanting to believe it. "Yeah, he was. That's what the wink was for. I already told you he knows we have sex. Maybe being my birthday, he's giving us the opportunity to do it legally." "Oh God. To think I was breaking the law for the past year." "Actually, only ten months. Before that, we were both breaking the law." I leaned in and kissed him again. I had my arms wrapped around his neck, and before I knew it he put one arm under my knees and the other behind my back and stood. "Oh, shit. What're you doing?" I asked, looking at the floor. "Nothing," he said smiling. He leaned in and kissed me again. He turned and lowered me to the bed so that I was lying down. After leaning in and kissing me again, he pushed himself back to standing and stared at me. "What's wrong?" I asked, getting up on my elbows. "Nothing. You're just so beautiful. I don't ever want to lose you." "Puppy, you won't ever lose me. I promise," I said, sitting up and grabbing his hand. "You know, I got something for you," he said with a smile. "I know," I said and reached up to start unbuttoning his shorts. "I can't wait." Grabbing my hands, he said, "That comes later. Right now..." he walked over to the desk and opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a wrapped box about the size of a CD, only it was about two inches thick. Smiling big, I said, "I'm glad you didn't listen to me. Gimme, gimme," I said, teasing him. He chuckled and handed it over and sat next to me. I was so excited; I scooted up on the edge of the bed and started pulling the paper off. Beneath it was a wooden box. I smiled and looked at him and opened it. Inside was a slightly smaller box, wrapped in the same paper. "How many of these do I have to open?" I asked, teasingly showing anger towards him. "Just a couple. Go on," he said and nodded his head. I turned the wooden box over and out popped the second wrapped box. I unwrapped that one and, again, another wooden box. Inside that was a much smaller box wrapped in green paper. Looking at him, I tipped the box over and the small box fell into my hand. I unwrapped it and noticed it was different from the others and I started to get worried. "Todd, if this is what I think it is, I can't..." "Just open it first, will ya?" he said, silencing me. I gave a small sigh and opened the top of the box and inside was a gold ring. I was so shocked, my butt slid off the bed and landed on the floor. Todd thought it was funny and laughed as I continued to stare at the ring. "Oh my God, Todd! I don't know if we're ready for something like this. I can't." Lowering himself down to the floor, he tucked his legs under him and sat on his feet. He reached in to grab the ring and said, "Since I first kissed you, I knew there was a connection. It almost killed me, literally, to know I hurt you so much. I would come home and think of nothing but you and end up crying because I thought I had lost you forever. After we fought at the rest area, I got back in my car and cried like a baby, thinking I had really fucked things up and that you'd never want to speak to me again. When I came into the house, mom and dad freaked out seeing me cry. After I told them, mom grabbed the umbrella and headed straight down to the car. Dad and I had to literally run after her to catch up. "While mom was in the car with you, I was crying into dad's chest. He had no idea why I was so upset, and I couldn't tell him then, that I loved you. I was scared, but I wanted them to take care of you. He just held me until mom told him to drive you two back home." I sat there with tears in my eyes. He had never told me this before; I didn't know he cared so much for me then. "Well, from that point on, you know the rest. Because of you, I found my way to love again without it hurting. I told you about Christopher, about how I was afraid to love because he left me. What I didn't tell you was that he came to me in a dream. The day before I yelled that I loved you in school, I cried myself to sleep. In my dream, I was like I am now and this kid walked off a playground and came right up to me. It wasn't until I heard, `little bro', that I realized it was Chris. "He was still twelve and I reached down and picked him up and hugged him until he begged to be put down. I couldn't stop smiling until he mentioned you. Then the tears started to come. He put his hand on me and told me to tell you I loved you. I told him I couldn't and he said that if I didn't, I would lose you. He also told me that he never left me. He's been watching me ever since he died and he knew that you were the one for me. He told me that if I ever loved anyone in my life, it had to be you because he knew how much you loved me. "After I agreed, we stared at each other for a minute... and then he just faded away. I woke up that day, never feeling more confident about anything else in my life. I knew I had to get you back and I knew that the only way was to tell you I loved you. Even the things I hate about you, I love." "What do you hate about me?" I asked, wiping my eyes dry. "The way you pick your nose in the shower and let the water wash away your boogers and the way you tear your toenails off instead of clipping them. Now, Shhh, I'm not done." he said and smiled at me. "There isn't one thing about you I don't love. You are my world, and without you I wouldn't have anything. I honestly feel you are my soul mate. The one person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. Every beat of my heart is because of you." I got on my knees and walked to him and straddled his knees and took him in a hug. He grabbed my arms and told me he still wasn't done. I sat back, still on his knees and listened. "This ring is a promise to you from me." He grabbed my left hand and held it while he finished up his little speech. "Know that even though I'm going to New York for school, I'll never forget about you. I'll never cheat on you. I'll never, ever stop loving you. Look here," he said, showing the inscription on the inside band. It read, `I'll love you, Always.' I looked up into Todd's green eyes, and a tear fell down my cheek. He reached up and wiped it away and let his hand fall upon my cheek. "Please don't be sad." I shook my head back and forth, not being able to find the words I needed. Finally, I said, "There's no way I can be sad. You've made me the happiest person in the world. I love you, Todd." Before he could say it back, I closed the gap between us and kissed him. With my lips on his, I brought my hands up and grabbed his cheeks. Breaking the kiss, I pulled back and smiled. He took my left hand again and slipped the ring on my third finger. It fit perfectly. I stared at it on my hand and couldn't stop smiling. "I'll never take it off. It wasn't expensive, was it?" "Would you stop worrying about money?" he said, chuckling. "I just don't want you spending a lot of money on me." "Let me put it this way. Pax beat me in the spending department," he said, then added, "But barely." "Oh hell no," I said, reaching to take the ring off. "I'm just kidding," he said, smiling as he grabbed my hands. "It wasn't that expensive. I promise." I shot daggers at him with my eyes and looked back at the ring. Looking back at him, I said, "I'll love you, forever, too." Our kissing turned into pure passion. I broke the kiss and stood up, giving my hand for him to take. When he was up, I said, "Now, it's my turn," and I turned and walked to the bedside table. "You didn't have to get me anything," he said. I flipped on the radio and found some slow music and said, "I didn't, silly. It's my turn to pick the music." "Oh," he said with a silly grin on his face. I walked back and wrapped my arms around his back and put my head on his shoulder. He did the same to me and we danced slowly for a while. I soon felt him start to kiss my neck. I shifted my head to allow his lips better access to my skin. After a couple of minutes, I started doing the same to him. Before I knew it, I had his ear lobe between my lips. Finally, his lips traveled up to my jaw and followed the line to my chin where he jumped right up to my lips. We started kissing softly and with love for each other. Soon our tongues started getting involved and our kissing became a little more intense with the passion we were feeling. Todd reached down and grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head. When it was gone, he came back and kissed me while his hands roamed over my chest. I put my hands beneath his shirt and repeated his actions. Soon his hands were on my back, quickly traveling down to my butt. When they found their mark, he pulled me into him and squeezed my ass. With our lips still connected, I let a moan escape my throat. "Oh Todd," I said into his mouth with my eyes closed. "I love you so much, Blake. I want to give you pleasure tonight. I want to take care of your needs." Without taking my lips away, I nodded my head to let him know he could do whatever he wanted. He locked his hands behind my back and lifted me up off the floor. We only traveled the few feet between where we were and the bed, but he broke the kiss and lifted me as he had done earlier and softly put me on the bed. I let go of his neck and stared at him. He straddled my legs and kept eye contact with me while he started unbuttoning my jeans. First, he unclasped my belt and pulled it completely out of my pants and let it fall to the floor. He smiled as he released it. Damn, he was so sexy. Next, he grabbed my top button and pulled it with two fingers, and it popped loose. He repeated the process on the four other buttons before he broke eye contact and went down to kiss my stomach. My head went back, and my eyes closed. I put my hands on his head and back and felt his tongue skate across my skin. He scooted down the bed and pulled open the flaps of my jeans and kissed my skin at the line of my underwear. Without removing the fabric, he went down and kissed my body through the underwear until he reached my hardening muscle. When he made contact with it through the fabric, I couldn't help but suck in a breath. The feeling was electric, and his lips were providing the power. After a few minutes of nuzzling my crotch, he pulled up slightly and hooked his fingers in the band of my underwear and started to remove both my underwear and jeans. He didn't stop until they were completely off. When he dropped them to the floor, I stared at him and watched him lie down between my legs and kiss my thighs before moving back to my crotch. When his hand touched my dick, my eyes shuddered, but I kept watching him. He wrapped his hand around me but didn't stroke me. He continued to kiss my thighs, then my stomach, then finally flicked his tongue across my scrotum before putting his tongue on the base of my penis. When he did, I couldn't hold out, and I closed my eyes. I felt his tongue travel the highway of veins between the base and tip. When he had reached the top, he opened his mouth and engulfed me. "Oh Todd. Oh my God," I said, putting a hand on his head. "You're making me feel so good." Todd slowly mouthed his way back down my hard penis until I was in his throat. When I was finally able to keep my eyes open, I looked down and saw him staring at me, through his bangs, while he gave me the pleasure he had been aiming for. I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair and pushed it back while laying my hand on his head to hold his hair out of the way. I watched as he slowly traveled up and down my dick, and I gasped each time I entered his throat. Finally, he pulled away, and I let my hands fall to my stomach, and he started sucking my scrotum into his warm mouth. "Oh, baby, that feels good," I said. I closed my eyes and let my body move with pleasure as he tongued my nuts. After only a few minutes of this delight, he reached back and put his hands under my knees and pushed them up to my chest. I took over and held them up as he went back to licking my nuts. Before long, he was following my body's crease down to my hole. When his tongue made contact, electricity flew threw my body causing my head to come up off the pillow and watch what he was doing to me. "Oh shit, oh shit," I exclaimed as his tongue traveled around in circles on my sensitive skin. He teased me for a while and just barely touched my opening with the tip of his tongue, and I was begging, in my mind, for him to land on the bull's eye with force. Only a few seconds more and my wish was granted. My head was up, watching him, and his eyes were watching me when he hardened his tongue and pushed up onto my hole. I let out a moan and closed my eyes and let my head fall back on the pillow. As he rimmed me, I let out short moans, only cut off by my having to take in sharp breaths of air. Then other times, I would moan nonstop until I had to breathe. At one point, it was feeling so good; I put my hand on his head and pulled him into me hard. When I did, I screamed, "Oh, fuck. Oh, yeah. Right there, Todd. Yeah." Not once did Todd disappoint me in the pleasure he gave me. After a few minutes, he stopped and grabbed my legs from my hands and twisted them, signaling for me to turn over. When I did, I started to get on my knees, but he pushed my butt back down, saying, "Stay down. Just lay there and relax, baby." I did as was instructed and soon felt him pull my cheeks apart and dive back down to send shivers up my spine and down my legs. I had my arms tucked beneath me and closed my eyes to allow my body to feel every emotion and feeling he gave to me. More moaning came from my body, and soon my ass was moving back against his tongue as I said "right there or oh yeah." It's not that he needed encouraging in any way, but sometimes he would hit a specific spot and it drove me wild. After another long period of sending waves of pleasure through me, he let his tongue travel the rest of the way up my crack until it reached my back. He kissed my cheeks and lower back for a few minutes to allow me to come down from my high before he put his body down on top of mine. "That was the best you've done so far," I said to him with my eyes closed. "I'm glad, baby. Tonight's all about giving you pleasure. That's my goal." "You're succeeding," I said and smiled. Kissing my back again, he whispered to me to grab the lube. "But, I wanna suck you some," I said, disappointed. "Not tonight. Remember, it's about you." "But..." "Blake, please. Let me do this, just tonight, my way. Next time, we'll do it your way, okay?" Even though I wanted to give him a blow job and rim him, it was kinda nice to be the receiver of the pleasure without having to do any of the work. I secretly enjoyed it, but only hoped he got the same pleasure from it too. I felt him get off me and I turned to see what he was doing. He had stood only to remove his clothes. I reached over and retrieved the lube out of the nightstand drawer then looked back at him. "See," he said, looking down, "Giving you pleasure excites me to no end." I looked down and saw that he was, indeed, rock hard. He got back on the bed and took the lube from me and told me to lie back down and relax. When I did, I heard him pop the top, and soon felt his lubed finger touch me again. He rubbed his finger all around my hole, and I gasped as he started to slide it inside me. He lay his body next to mine and let his fingers work to loosen me up. His lips started kissing my back, and I was in heaven. The pleasure he gave me from teasing my entrance and his lips on my skin just about threw me over the edge. When he got his entire finger in me, he started wiggling it around, and soon found my button. My hands flew from under my chest and up under the pillows to grab the edge of the bed, and I let out a shriek at the pleasure of him hitting my prostate. "You okay?" he asked, concerned he had hurt me. "Fuck, yeah," I said and turned my face to look at his and smiled. He continued to move his finger across my sensitive insides, and he watched my face for the pleasure he gave me and for the signal every time he found my prostate. My face would try to lengthen every time he hit it, and my mouth would fall open. A couple times I heard him giggle at the face I made, and I opened my eyes to see what he was doing. He would quickly get his face back to serious and continue my prostate assault. When he started to put a second finger inside me, he leaned over and kissed me to distract me from any pain that might have occurred. Luckily, there wasn't any. He had played for so long with one finger, that I was completely relaxed. Our tongues fought for a while as his fingers worked to loosen me up to take him. At one particular point, he had both fingers rubbing over my prostate and I was moaning in his mouth, then he put them side by side and started alternately flicking them, one by one, on my prostate. This, again, was a new sensation, and I couldn't concentrate on kissing him. My mouth fell open, and my voice couldn't stop putting out gasps and moans for the pleasure that was rocking my world at that moment. After a few more seconds, I begged him to stop, for I couldn't take much more. He had me close just by working my prostate, and I definitely wanted more of the pleasure he wanted to give me. He removed his fingers from me and then moved down and settled on his knees between my legs. I heard the top on the lube again and knew he was about to make love to me. After lubing himself up, he spread my cheeks to line us up, then leaned down, without entering me, and put his hands on either side of my body. Kissing my ear, he slowly started putting force behind his pelvis and I felt him enter me. "Ohhhhh," I said, giving a long moan. "Okay?" Todd asked. "Yeah, keep it up." "Well, I can't very well go in if it wasn't up, now could I?" I had to laugh at that. "It might be tough, but I think we could do it. Anyway, keep going." My smile soon turned to pure ecstasy as he slowly entered me, inch by inch. The thickness of his dick was making me feel full and it felt like he was about to split me open, but that was the pleasure for me. The fullness and the friction made sex with Todd outstanding and something I wanted to last forever. I knew in my heart, body and mind that he did this because he loved me and wanted to give me all the pleasure my body needed. After he was all the way in, he slowly pulled out, letting the little friction that was there, tease my hole. I closed my eyes and bit the pillow with the pleasure running up and down my body. Slowly, Todd reinserted himself, and I let another low moan escape my lips. When his pelvis was pushed against my butt, he lowered himself down on top of me and put one hand on my shoulder and the other on my hip. "Oh, I love when you lay on me," I said, through the pleasure he was giving me. "If I'm too heavy, let me know." "Oh, no, you're perfect." He licked my ear and started to rock up and down my body causing his penis to slide in and out, but only slightly, while the rocking motion caused it to move to different angles hitting more pleasure zones inside me. After he got into a regular rhythm, he moved his hand from my hip and slid it under my body and across my stomach and slipped his other arm under my armpit to grab my shoulder. "Oh my God, that feels amazing, Todd. Yeah, keep doing that," I instructed. His lips and tongue coursed over my neck and shoulders while he kept moving his body, now slick with our sweat, against my own, allowing deep penetration within me. He changed up on me a couple times and brought me even more pleasure. He pulled himself up my body as far as possible, causing his dick to point down towards my prostate. Holding himself like that, he started to move only his hips. On each downward stroke, he hit my prostate causing me to see stars. "Kiss me, baby," he whispered in my ear. I turned my head and our lips barely met, but enough for our tongues to touch. I only broke the kiss when he came down into me with more force leaving his dick in contact with my prostate. "Oh, fuck," I breathed heavily. "Oh my God that feels great." I could hear the smile in his voice when he breathed. He knew he was giving me pleasure from the constant moan escaping my lips. He moved back down my body and began his back and forth rocking motion to allow his penis to make the different angles again and moved his hand down and cupped my balls and dick in his hand. "Oh, Todd," I said as I felt him wrap his hand around me. While he had me in his hand, he used my precum as lubricant and slowly moved his thumb over the head of my dick. I wanted the pleasure to continue, but he was slowly moving me past the point of no return. "Stop, baby, stop," I breathed. "I'm about to cum." Todd stopped moving his thumb and fell still on top of me, lowering himself down until his lips were kissing my shoulder. "How does it feel, baby?" he softly asked me. "I don't want it to ever end," I said, keeping my eyes closed concentrating on feeling him inside me. "It doesn't ever have to," he said to me. "Well, uh, mom and dad will be back soon," I said, giggling. "Don't want them to catch us like this." "You butt. That's not what I mean," he said, laughing causing his dick to move inside. "Remember the ring," he said more seriously. "It's a promise I'm making to you. Only you will know this pleasure from me. No one else, forever." "What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't ever want to be with anyone else. I only want you. I love you and don't ever want to let you go." Lifting up on my right arm, Todd lifted himself to allow me to lift my left shoulder to get a better look at him. "You are the only one I ever want to give me this pleasure, puppy." Putting my left arm around his neck, I said, "I love you too," then pulled him down to meet my lips. After a few seconds of kissing, he started to move his hips again which caused me to moan into his mouth. As he picked up the pace slightly, I needed to lie back down and got back in my original position. Only a few more minutes passed before he pushed himself up and pulled out of me. When I looked back over my shoulder, he told me to spread my legs and then he got between them. Grabbing my left leg, he bent it at the knee and told me to turn on my right side. When I did, he moved back up and inserted himself once again. "Man, Todd, that feels great," I said, having him try this new position. His dick was nowhere near my prostate making the pleasure really last as long as he could hold out. After a few thrusts, he stopped and lifted his right leg to put my right leg between his legs. Then he grabbed my left leg and pulled it up against his stomach and chest and held onto it as he continued his thrusts. "Oh, yeah," I said with a big smile. "I like this position." Todd laughed a little and continued his thrusts. We stared, deep into each other's eyes. I saw the look of rapture he had on his face with the feelings I was giving him with my body. Sweat dripping off his head, onto my body with our love making; something came over me, and I reached down and swiped the small puddle of sweat off my side with my fingers and brought them to my lips. I sucked my fingers tasting the salty flavor of the water dripping off him. With me sucking my fingers, Todd grew a smile and gave a look of surprise. "A little salty," I said, smiling at him. "Damn, boy," he said to me. "That was kinda hot!" I reached up to my forehead and swiped my finger across the skin and picked up some of my own sweat. Moving it to his lips, he took my finger in his mouth and sucked it, tasting my sweat on his tongue. As I was pulling my finger back, he grabbed my hand and held it there, sucking my finger even longer. Todd slowly pulled my finger from his lips, and keeping my leg across his body, leaned down, put his hand behind my head, and pulled his lips to mine. My legs felt like a wishbone, and I hoped it didn't break because I didn't know who was making the wish. We kissed passionately for a long while as he kept thrusting into me as far as possible. When I felt my leg was starting to cramp, I told him we needed to change positions. He sat up and removed himself from me, and I turned on my back and put my legs up in the air. He crawled up and lined himself up and looked into my eyes. As he entered, my mouth fell open, and when he was balls deep, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the bed, lifting my shoulders off the mattress. "Oh God," I exclaimed. With my legs in the air, he lifted my butt off the bed slightly and touched my prostate. "Oh, fuck!!" I yelled. "Oh, yeah, that's it," I said to him. While holding onto my hip with one hand, he reached down and grabbed my hard cock in the other and started stroking it. Immediately, my hand flew to his to stop the extra delight he was feeding me. "Oh, no. I'm so close as it is. Please," I begged. "Just a little longer." "Anything for you, baby." He smiled down at me, and my eyes weren't able to remain open with the stabbing he was giving my prostate. "Oh God yes, baby. Just a little harder," I asked. He removed his hand from my genitals and placed it back on my hip to pull me onto him as he continued his thrusts into me. "Oh, yeah," I said. My arms were bent at the elbows, with my hands grabbing the sheets next to my head. "Oh yeah, baby. Just like that." My moaning was growing louder with each hit he gave my prostate, for he and I both knew I was about to pass that no turning back barrier. He moved his hips slightly faster and told me he was very close. "Hit my prostate as you cum," I told him and reached back to grab his legs to pull him into me harder. Only a few more thrusts were all he could manage before he pushed with all his might against my button and let loose. Throwing his head back, he grunted and yelped as each shot soared from his dick into me. He forced his eyes open to look at me as the remaining shots flew from his body. Hitting my prostate one last hard time, without hands anywhere in sight, I came. The first blast of cum flew over my stomach and chest and hit my chin and lower lip. I closed my eyes with the unexpected feel of the milky substance hitting my face. The next spurt was just as powerful and went just as far. I lifted my chin, slightly, and it landed on my neck. Each shot thereafter landed where it may, covering my chest and stomach. Without realizing I did it, I stuck out my tongue and tasted the cum which had landed on my lip. "Oh fuck," Todd yelled and threw his head back as I felt his dick jump against my prostate again. "Holy shit," I said. "Are you cumming again?" He couldn't answer; only thrust himself as far into me as possible with his second orgasm within a minute's time. After his body relaxed, he lowered his head to look at me and smiled as he breathed heavily. "Did you cum again?" "Fuck yeah," he said and gave me his sexiest smile. "How the hell did you do that?" "I didn't," he said, shaking his head back and forth. "You did it to me." "How?" I asked. "I was just about done with my first orgasm when I saw you lick your lips and taste your own cum, and it threw me over the edge again. That was fucking hot." "Seeing me taste my own cum set you off?" "Hell yeah," he said. "Well, okay then. I didn't even realize I did it." Todd leaned down and, before kissing my lips, licked my chest then looked at me and licked his lips. "Just as sweet as I remember," he said, winking at me. "Whatever," I said, giving him a goofy grin. "C'mere, you," he said, and moved up further and kissed me. A few seconds later, his limp penis slipped out of me, and he jumped with the sensitivity and broke the kiss. "You know, one day I'm gonna torture you with your own sensitive dick." "How," he asked. "That's for me to know and you not to find out until it's too late," I said, smiling big. "I think I just heard someone ask to be tickled." "No, I didn't!" I screamed, bringing my hands up to grab his wrists. "Oh, I think I heard it." "No, puppy, please. I was kidding. I won't torture you." Looking out of the side of his eyes, like he was thinking about it, he looked back and said, "I think I can actually believe that you are lying to me now, and you will one day." Without another word, his wrists were snatched from my grasps and attacked my sides. "No!!!" I screamed while laughing. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and he pounced on me anyway. We laughed for about ten minutes before we became exhausted. He lay down, half on me and half on the bed and leaned over and kissed me. "Remember, forever and always." "I know, baby," I said, putting my hand on his cheek. "I know. You're in my heart forever." "C'mon, let's get a shower. You smell like cum, sex, and passion." "Just remember, mister, you made me do it," I said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "But you asked for it," he said, smiling. "True," I said, nodding my head to make the point. He pulled me in the shower and washed me from head to toe, and I did the same to him. When we were done, we got in the bed and turned out the lights just as we heard mom and dad drive up. To be continued... Emails welcomed at dsc110875@hotmail.com