Foley-Mashburn Saga #11
College Daze
Story © 2003 Brew Maxwell
brew_drinker23@yahoo.com

        
Chapter 01
        
(Kyle's Perspective)
        "I don't know," I said.
        We were in the den at Kevin and Rick's house. We were talking about college. I was a freshman, but I already had a bunch of credits. I had taken some Dual Enrollment courses in high school, and that meant I was already a second-semester freshman.
        "I say join 'em, man," Justin said.
        They had fraternities on that college campus, and some of my friends from high school wanted me to join one. It wasn't a national one or anything. It was just a local one. Beta Rho, the BR standing for Beach Rat. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Beach Rat Fraternity. A real class act.
        "Goodson, you gotta join," this one boy said to me. He was actually the president of the fraternity.
        "Why?" I asked.
        "Because we like you, and you're one of us, that's why," he said.
        That boy could use the Emerald Beach Grumble just as good as I could. I loved to hear that 'cause then I knew who was who. It was like a secret code or something, almost. I figured in that fraternity they talked like that all the time. It was better than a secret handshake.
        "Yeah, but I'm queer. You know that, don't you?" I said, grumbling back at him.
        "Yeah, everybody knows that. So what? You think you're the only one?" he said. "You're a Beach Rat, and that's what this thing is all about."
        "I'll get back to you, okay?" I said.
        "Okay," he said.
        I called my friend Philip Andrews that night. He and his partner, Ryan Pettis, were freshmen at Florida State in Tallahassee.
        "Kyle, you need to get your ass over here. These parties are un-fucking-believable, man," Philip said.
        "Are y'all having a good time?" I asked.
        "Yeah. We're having a great time. We went to several parties tonight. I'm about half drunk," he said.
        "Half?" I asked.
        He giggled.
        "Well, probably a little bit more than half," he said. "I mean, I got a real good buzz on. What do you want?"
        "I wanted to talk to you about joining a fraternity. You ever heard of Beta Rho?" I asked.
        "Yeah, that's the Beach Rat one. Those boys know how to party, Kyle. Both of my brothers belonged to that one when they went to Emerald Coast. If they're rushing you, you need to join up. That's the best one, man," Philip said.
        "I thought your brothers belonged to that one. They liked it, huh?" I said.
        "They loved it. I tell you what, son. If I was there, I'd join Beta Rho in a heartbeat, and I mean it, Kyle," he said.
        "Why did your brothers go to Emerald Coast, instead of Florida State right away?" I asked.
        "It was all about pussy. They each had a girlfriend they didn't want to leave behind. Neither one of them is with those girls now, but that's what they wanted. My parents wanted them to come over here in the worst way, but they wouldn't hear of it," he said.
        "What are y'all going to pledge?" I asked.
        "Sigma Chi," he said. "That's the one we like the best. Those are the nicest boys we've found, and they're pretty smart, too. Ryan and I are both out to them, and they don't give a fuck. They know we're a gay couple, and they don't care."
        "Congratulations, man. I'm a legacy to Sigma Chi. That was my daddy's fraternity at Florida," I said.
        "I know. He gave me a rec. He gave one to Ryan, too. My daddy was a Sigma Chi at Florida State, so I'm a legacy, too. Ryan's daddy wasn't a frat boy in college. But that's all right," he said. "Kyle, I think you need to join Beta Rho. A good many of those boys are going to spend their lives in Emerald Beach, and you and I are going to need them for business contacts. How many people they got at that college?"
        "It's only about six thousand," I said. "But it's all the same people I've known all my life. I mean, I realize Emerald Coast is a small college and most of the people who go there live here, and all, but I was hoping to broaden my horizons a little," I said.
        "That's a very good point, Kyle," Philip said. "I've only talked to one guy here who grew up in Emerald Beach, and I didn't know him. He went to Crawford High School in town, and he's a sophomore."
        "Where are the rest of them from?" I asked.
        "They're from all over the damn place. From all over the country and all over the world, too. A whole lot are from central and south Florida, but even most of them came from somewhere else. Ryan and I are rare things here since we're both native Florida guys," he said.
        "I probably have ten or twelve people in my classes we went to high school with, but not everybody is somebody I already know. A lot are, though," I said.
        "But you're going to know everybody in the frat, right?" he asked.
        "Pretty much. That's good and bad, though, you know? I mean, a lot of those guys are already my friends, and what you said is true. Most of them are going to be around here the rest of their lives. I don't know what to do," I said.
        "Yeah, but you'll figure something out. Listen, Kyle, I need to piss so bad right now, I'm about to bust. I think we're going to catch a couple more house parties, too, tonight, so I need to run," Philip said.
        "Okay, Bubba. I understand. Good luck in rush," I said.
        "Thanks, but I think it's a piece of cake," he said.
        We told each other goodbye, and I went out into the den. I had been in the study room talking to him.
        "What did Philip say?" Tim asked me when I got out to where they were.
        "He said he thinks I should join Beta Rho," I said.
        "What are your options, Kyle?" Rick asked.
        "What do you mean?"
        "Are other frats wanting you to join?" Rick asked.
        "Not really. I didn't even sign up for rush," I said. "Those Beta Rho guys just spotted me."
        "Do you really want to go Greek?" Kevin asked.
        "Go Greek? What the hell does that mean? Ain't that some kind of pervert stuff?" Justin asked.
        "'Go Greek' means join a fraternity, Bubba," Rick said. "It comes from the Greek letters of their names."
        "Speaking of that, why don't you join with me?" I asked Justin.
        "You're kidding, right?" Justin said.
        "No, I'm not kidding. If I can be in a frat, you can, too. It would be a chance for you to meet some nice guys. They know I'm gay, and they're cool with that. So you being gay ain't going to be a barrier," I said.
        "Jus, you really might enjoy it," Kevin said.
        "Were you and Rick in a fraternity?" Justin asked.
        "I was a GDI," Kevin said.
        "Me, too," Rick said.
        "I never heard of that one," I said. "What do the letters stand for?"
        "God Damn Independent," Rick and Kevin said at the same time.
        We all laughed.
        "A GDI, huh? I think that's what I want to be," Justin said. "But Kyle, I'll think about joining, okay?"
        "Fair enough, Bubba," I said.
        * * *
        I had a little bit of an "encounter" with my parents right before I started college. I had assumed I would work part time, just like Justin and Jeff were doing. I mean, everybody I knew, except my brother, had a part-time job in college, and I thought that's the way it was done. I knew it wasn't required by the college, but I figured that was what you did.
        "Your mama and I hope you'll quit your job when school starts," Daddy said one night in about mid-August. Tim and I were at their house in Destin.
        "Why?" I asked.
        "Because it's too much, that's why," he said.
        "Daddy, I feel like you're firing me, or something," I said. I was really confused, and a little bit hurt, too.
        "I'm not firing you, son. You don't fire good people, and you are definitely good people. We want you to devote your full time and energy to your studies, that's all," he said.
        "I don't get it, Daddy. Everybody I have ever known has worked part time in college, except Clay," I said.
        "Are Philip and Ryan going to work?" he asked.
        "No, sir, but their parents . . .," I said.
        I stopped in mid-sentence because it suddenly became clear to me. They didn't want me to work because it was a social thing for them. Me working sort of implied to the world that I needed the money, and I really didn't. In fact, I got a whole lot of money every month. Much more than I could spend, in fact. I mean, ever since I turned eighteen, I got like a very big salary or something, from my trust fund. That's what that was all about.
        "Finish your statement, son," he said.
        "Daddy, I don't think I have to. I know where you were coming from with that," I said.
        "Their parents are paying for them, son, and your parents are paying for you, too. You don't need a job," he said.
        "But, Daddy, I love to work. I like it a hell of a lot more than I do school," I said.
        "I know you do, but you see where I'm coming from, don't you?" he said.
        "Yes, sir, but this is fuc . . ., er, this is screwed up, don't you think? I mean, I want to work, and you're telling me I can't?"
        "I'm not telling you anything, Kyle. I'm asking you. And I'm not asking you not to work. I'm asking you not to work at a paying job," he said.
        "I don't get what you mean," I said.
        "Volunteer work is real work, Kyle. If you absolutely feel like you have to work, you can do a hell of a lot of good volunteering, son," he said. "Explore some of those avenues. Learn from it. I hope and pray you're going to take over Goodson Enterprises one day, but when you do, you're going to need a variety of experiences to be a really good CEO. Running a business like that is about people, Kyle. That's basically all it is. I've seen you interact with people, and you've got skills and charisma that other people don't have. I want to see you develop those skills, son, and being a bellhop ain't going to do it the way you need for it to be done."
        "What kind of volunteer work could I do?" I asked.
        "There's a whole host of things, son. The elderly. Meals on Wheels. Hospice. The Boys' Club. The hospital. The Boy Scouts. Hell, you'd be a natural in the Boy Scouts," he said.
        "I'm finished with the Boy Scouts," I said. "They don't want me, anyway."
        He sighed deep.
        "I know where you're coming from, Kyle, but that attitude is so wrong," he said.
        "What? My attitude or their attitude?" I asked.
        "Their attitude. Goodson Enterprises doesn't give them a dime anymore," he said. "We used to give a hundred thousand dollars a year to the United Way, designated for the Boy Scouts. Now we give them zero."
        "Who gets it now?" I asked.
        "United Cerebral Palsy, that's who. Guess why," he said.
        I laughed a little.
        "I don't have to guess. I know why," I said.
        "Yeah, I'm sure you do. I'm on their board, too," he said.
        "Gene, what does that mean? To be on an organization's board?" Tim asked.
        "Tim, it varies widely from organization to organization," Dad said. "Typically, it's the Board of Directors. Those are the people who legally control the organization. If the government grants 'tax exempt' status to an organization, they have to have a board of directors who run it. In practice, 99% of the boards I've been on have been rubber stamps for the executives who are in charge of the organizations. They try to get people in the community that they think will either donate money or get their friends to donate money."
        "Are you on a bunch of those?" I asked.
        "Yeah. I don't know the exact count, but it's in the neighborhood of fifteen or so. It's something I've got to do, Kyle, and it's something you'll have to do in the future, too. We're a very big business in Emerald Beach, and it's our moral responsibility to give back to the community. I'm already on about five boards in Destin, too. It doesn't take 'em long to find you," Dad said.
        "Are Kevin and Rick on any of these boards?" I asked.
        "Oh, yeah. They're both on plenty," he said.
        "I didn't know that. Did you?" I asked Tim.
        "No, I didn't," he said.
        "What kind of boards are you talking about, Daddy?" I asked.
        "It's a whole bunch, Kyle. Red Cross, Salvation Army, Boys' Club, Girls' Club, Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Your mama is actually on that one. YMCA. That kind of stuff. The only one I'm on that I take seriously is the hospital board. I was appointed to that by the governor, and that's important," he said. "That, and the College Foundation board. I take that very seriously, too."
        "I didn't know you were on the hospital board," I said.
        "Yeah. I have been for years. Bob Graham appointed me. Do you know who he is?"
        "Yes, sir. He's the man who got us the tickets to the basketball game in Washington, right? I remember Mr. Bob," I said.
        "Yeah, he got you tickets, Kyle, but I'm hoping and praying and working for him to be the next president of the United States, son. He's a good bit more than a source of basketball tickets," he said.
        "Fellas, I think I'm going to excuse myself and go to bed. I'm exhausted," my mother said.
        We all told her goodnight.
        "Daddy, I think you're making a little bit of fun of me," I said.
        "Come here and sit next to me," he said.
        I got up and sat next to him on the sofa. He put his arm around my shoulder.
        "Kyle, you and Tim are the future of this family. We've built something here that really does have national implications, son, and every bit of this is going to be all yours. Kyle, I really don't know what you know and what you don't know. But I know what you need to know, and I'm teaching you that. And Kevin and Rick are teaching you that, too. Tonight was the first time I've seen you bow up at me in a long, long time, son. Over that issue of working. You understand where I'm coming from, don't you?"
        "Yes, sir. Now I do. Do you think I could volunteer at the United Cerebral Palsy Clinic?"
        "Absolutely, son. I think they would welcome you with open arms," he said.
        "That's what I'm going to do, then," I said.
        We said goodnight, and we all went to bed.
        
(Murray's Perspective)
        I had only been with Kevin and Rick for a few weeks when school started, but I already had a whole different attitude about who I was. When I got there, I knew I was freaky looking. I cultivated that look and that way I acted. I was different because I was gay, and I wanted to be "out" as being different to everybody. I wasn't really ready to be out as gay, so I chose a way of doing it that was ambiguous, at best.
        Nobody at the house in Emerald Beach said anything to me about the way I looked or how I dressed. They took me to a fishing tournament the first night I was there. I mean, that was so not me, but I went because I didn't have a choice. It was a whole different world and social class to me, and I was definitely out of place. I figured I would hang out with Denny and his boyfriend, but I ended up with Tim and Brian, and Kyle and Justin, of course. Thank God it rained that night and we didn't stay there very long.
        And then we went home to their house. We all just stripped down to our underwear in the den. Kevin and Rick had on their clothes, but the other boys just got right down to underwear so the clothes we were wearing could be washed.
        "Come on. Get your clothes off. I need to put all those in the wash," Justin had said to me back at the house.
        I knew he was talking to me, but all I could look at was his crotch. He had on bikini briefs, pure white cotton with a contoured front, and, against his tan, I thought that was just about the sexiest thing I had ever seen. His bulge in those things was huge, and I could clearly see the outline of his penis. It was huge, too. That, coupled with a body out of a muscle magazine and a face off a billboard, made me hard as a rock. I didn't want to take off my pants.
        "Come on, Murray, man. These are your brothers here, dude. Have you got on underwear?" Justin asked.
        I nodded.
        "Come on then, Bubba, let's do it. Brian, help me out here, Little Buddy. Would you please?" Justin said.
        "You don't have to be embarrassed," Brian said. "I'll got upstairs with you to get some more clothes, if you want to."
        "I'm embarrassed," I said.
        "Why? Do you have an erection?" Brian asked. He was so nice.
        "Yes," I whimpered.
        "Are you wearing briefs or boxers?" Brian asked.
        "Boxers," I said.
        "Let's walk back to the laundry room to let it go down, okay? But Murray, I can tell you this on my honor as an Eagle Scout. Nobody around here cares if you have an erection. Nobody but you, that is. Just don't touch it, and nobody will care. Let's go to the laundry room, Bubba," he said.
        It took a few minutes for my erection to go down. We had orange juice in the kitchen while we were waiting.
        "Do you guys think I'm weird because of what just happened?" I asked.
        "What? Getting a hard-on? I'd think you were weird if you didn't get one," Justin said. "I get 'em. We all get 'em now and then. We just ignore them in public like that, though. That's a rule. No playing with Johnny-jump-up."
        Brian and I laughed.
        "He's telling the truth," Brian said. "Nobody cares and nobody plays with them when they happen in public."
        The thought of playing with my erection in public made me want to faint.
        "Thank you for taking care of me. I think I'm ready now," I said.
        The next morning Kyle took me over. Somehow I got a job working with Denny as a pool boy at a hotel. I didn't apply for it or interview for it. Somehow it just happened. When they told me I could keep the money, I liked the idea of working a lot more, but that was all a mystery to me.
        I had taken a shower that morning for the first time in several days and had put on clean clothes, but I felt really dumb in the personnel office. I noticed people smiling and winking at Kyle, and I knew that was about me. When I had gone to high school the year before, I had wanted to be part of the popular crowd. I just couldn't get that to happen, so I joined up with the Goth crowd, instead. I knew Kyle had been part of the popular crowd all his life, and it showed big time that morning.
        "Let's get you home and use all this shit we bought at Walgreen's," he said.
        He had bought me a razor, shave cream, deodorant, and a lot of other stuff. He made me sit down in front of a mirror at the sink so I could watch him shave my face and learn how to do it. Having him do that was way too much for me, and I ejaculated into my pants. I didn't say anything, and I don't think he noticed.
        Then he dyed my hair, and having him touch my head was also too much for me, and I ejaculated again.
        "Take a shower now, and use this antiperspirant when you're finished. Put some aftershave on, too. It'll make you feel way better. Give me your clothes," he said.
        I stuck my arm through the crack in the door to the bathroom and gave him my clothes. I expected him to say something about all the cum that was in my underwear, but he didn't say a word.
        "Hurry up," was all he said.
        I thought about him in the shower. He was absolutely gorgeous to me. He had dark hair, lots of muscle, and a face that was like a model. He had a hairy chest, which was a real plus for me. I jerked off in the shower thinking about Kyle. I wanted him so bad, not that I would have known what to do with him if I got him. He would have taught me, though. I had studied the profile of his dick through his bikini briefs the night before, and I knew it was ample. I wasn't exactly in love, but I was certainly in lust.
        "You ready?" he asked, when he came back up. He handed me some cookies and a coke.
        "Yeah, I guess so," I said.
        "You're looking mighty good, Bubba," he said. " Let's get that hair cut."
        * * *
        "Denny, I hope Kyle likes me," I said that night. We were on the patio, waiting to go out.
        "Of course he likes you. You're his brother now. We all like you," Denny said.
        "No. I mean I hope he likes me. Like a boyfriend," I said.
        Denny laughed.
        "What?" I asked.
        "Kyle's a one-guy man, and that guy is Tim, Bubba," Denny said. "Of course he's going to like you, but don't go there with the boyfriend thing. It's not going to happen."
        "Have I been stupid?" I asked.
        He laughed. "No, you haven't been stupid. I think every guy who has ever been here has had a crush on Kyle. On Justin, too. But I'm telling you. It's useless with both of them. They've got the boys they want," Denny said.
        We were quiet for a few minutes.
        "What made you think Kyle might like you?" Denny asked.
        I got embarrassed.
        "Did he say something or do something to make you think that?"
        "He made me come," I whispered.
        "He made you come? Really? Did he jerk you off?" Denny asked. I could tell he was really surprised.
        "No, he didn't jerk me off. He shaved me and that made me come," I said.
        Denny started laughing.
        "Why is that so funny?" I asked.
        "Were you in the shower together when it happened?" Denny asked.
        "No. I was sitting in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and he was shaving me so I could see how it's done," I said.
        "Murray, Bubba. I did exactly the same thing, only he and I were both in the shower. Naked. I came all over his leg," he said.
        "Oh, God! What did you do?" I asked. "Did he get mad at you?"
        "No, he didn't get mad. I started crying, though," he said.
        "Jesus, Denny. I would have died right there if that had happened to me," I said.
        "Well, Kyle was wonderful about it. He said that your first shave is a pretty strong masculine thing and that he should have shaved me with my clothes on in front of the mirror so I could watch what he was doing," he said. "He made it sound like it was his fault."
        "Did you jerk him off or anything after it happened?" I asked.
        "No, they don't do stuff like that. He wasn't even hard, in fact," Denny said, sort of laughing a little.
        "Have you ever seen him hard?" I asked.
        "Sure. I've seen everybody here hard, except Kevin and Rick. If you get hard, you're supposed to ignore it, and everybody else ignores it, too. And that's the truth," he said.
        I was hard just having that conversation, and I wondered if he was. I didn't dare ask, though.
        In a minute it was time to go back to the fishing tournament, so we left.
        * * *
        The one thing that amazed me was how casual they all were about being gay. I had told my grandmother that I was gay when I was thirteen, and she was very cool about it. I didn't tell anybody else, though, until I moved there. Everybody knew, though, because of how I acted. I mean, it wasn't an act. That's just the way I was, and I couldn't do anything about it. I got picked on a good bit in middle school, but things sort of cooled off on that front in high school, once I became a Goth.
        Everybody in the family was gay, and I expected them to call each other "girlfriend" or "Missy" or "girl" or something, like I had heard gay guys do in movies and on TV. They never did that. They were guys, not girls, and they really didn't even joke about it. They teased each other constantly, especially Kyle, Justin, and Rick, but it was never mean. It was sort of about being gay, but it was really more just about being a guy.
        We watched a lot of baseball, or they did, at least. But they talked constantly while they watched.
        "Damn, look at the nuts on that one," Justin said, referring to the bulge in the crotch of one of the players. Even I had noticed that.
        "Those ain't his nuts. That's his cup, dumbass," Kyle said.
        "What do you mean? His cup?"
        "They wear high-impact plastic cups in their jockstraps to keep from getting injured," Kyle said. "Shit, I thought everybody knew that."
        "I ain't played much ball, Kyle, and you know it," Justin said.
        "Shit, you've been playing with balls all your life," Kyle said.
        "He got you last, Bubba," Rick said.
        "I know, but that was a real cheap one," Justin said. "He'd have been playing with his, too, if he had any. He always played with marbles."
        "The balls were always in good shape, Bubba. I've just always rather play with the bat than the balls," Kyle said.
        "Yeah, I've noticed all that resin build-up," Justin said.
        Even Kyle laughed on that one.
        "I need it for a good grip," Kyle said.
        "Y'all are embarrassing me in front of Murray," Brian said.
        I didn't think Brian or the others were paying one bit of attention to what they were saying, and I was sort of surprised he said that.
        "Are we embarrassing you, Murray?" Kyle asked.
        "No," I said.
        "Are we making you hard?" Justin said.
        I had felt a twinge or two down there, but nothing major. I just thought it was funny.
        "Justin!" Kevin said, sort of in a warning tone of voice.
        "I was teasing him, Kevin. Don't get on me. We're just having fun," Justin said.
        "I know you are, Bubba, but let's don't get too personal, okay?" Kevin said.
        "Okay. I'm sorry I said that, Murray," Justin said. "Who wants to go for a swim?"
        Surprisingly, they all said they did. The dogs must have understood that because they got all excited and went over to the back doors that led to the patio. Even though I had been working on the beach for a couple of days, I hadn't yet been swimming since I was there. I like swimming, and I wanted to go. I expected everyone to go upstairs and change into bathing suits, but they didn't. Then I thought maybe they kept their suits in the locker room in the clubhouse, and that's where they were going to change. I went toward the stairs.
        "You don't need a suit, Murray," Brian said. "We swim nude."
        I liked all of them, but Brian was the kindest one, I thought. I mean, they were all kind to me, but he seemed to go out of his way--he and Tim--to make sure I didn't feel left out or confused or anything.
        "But what if I . . . "
        "Remember what Justin and I told you the other night? If you get an erection, nobody's going to tease you about it. We all get them from time to time, and it's okay. What I do is just stay in the water when that happens. Of course, if you want to wear your suit, you can. In fact, I'll even wear one, too, so you won't be the only one," he said.
        I thought that was awfully nice of him, but I also thought it might be fun to go skinny dipping.
        "That's okay, Brian. I'll just watch for a little while, though, if that's all right," I said.
        "Sure it's all right," Brian said.
        "You just want to eyeball some dick, don't you?" Justin said.
        I knew he was just teasing me because he was wearing a full-face grin. And he didn't say it mean, at all. He was also right.
        "Buddy, don't tease him like that," Brian said. "He's brand new."
        "I think he's tough. I think he can take it," Justin said.
        "Justin's right, Brian. I am tougher than I look, and I can take it. And I do want to eyeball some dick," I said.
        That made both of them laugh.
        "See. This boy's already fitting in," Justin said. "Come on, Bubba. Let's go outside so I can show you some real dick."
        Justin went outside ahead of us.
        "God, he's soooooo cute," I said to Brian.
        "Yeah, he is, and he's mine."
        Brian didn't say that mean or anything like that, but he made it very clear how things stood.
        "I know, damn it," I said, and Brian laughed.
        It was still light out when they got in the pool, and I really did have a chance to see what there was to see. Tim and Kevin were both uncircumcised, which I found very interesting to see. The rest were circumcised, like I was, and they were all different. I was very surprised to see that Brian was as big as he was. I figured Kyle, Justin, and Rick would be big, and they were, but I think sweet, meek Brian had the biggest one. Denny was small, but that didn't stop him from stripping right down and diving in. I figured I probably fit somewhere in the middle in the size department, and that was a comfortable place for me to be.
        They looked like they were having such a good time. The dogs were in and out of the pool, and they actually seemed to be playing a game with Trixie. She was a sweet dog and not nearly as rambunctious as Krewe. They wanted to play volleyball, and they asked me to come in to make even teams.
        "Okay," I said. They all cheered, and that made me feel ten feet tall.
        I got undressed and turned to face my brothers for the first time. That was the first time in my life I had ever been outside naked, and it felt good. It felt natural, in fact. I thought they might have a comment or a whistle or something to tease me, but it was like I was fully clothed. I'm not sure they all even looked at me. At any rate, I got in the pool and paddled out to where they were.
        Kyle and Rick were the captains, and they were busy choosing up sides. I was on Kyle's side, and, for once in my life, I wasn't the last one chosen. Kevin was.
        That game was a real revelation to me. I sucked, of course, but so did Denny. The thing was, nobody got on to us when we missed a volley. Then I realized what was going on. They were playing to have fun, not to win or be macho or anything like that. When I realized that, it was like a ton of pressure had been taken off me. It didn't matter if I missed the ball. It did matter if I tried for it, though. They praised as many of my misses as they did the few times I got it over the net, but all they seemed to care about was that I tried.
        Our team was Kyle, Kevin, Brian, and me. The other team was Rick, Justin, Denny, and Tim. After we had been playing for awhile, four guys came out on the patio. They were grown-ups, but they were all young and very good looking.
        "Hey! Look what the cat drug in," Kyle said.
        A couple of those guys were drinking beers, and they were all grinning.
        "Y'all come in and meet your new brother," Rick said.
        They all stripped down to skin and started getting in the pool.
        "Murray, these guys are your brothers, too. This is Jeff Martin, his partner Tyler Jones, Chuck Jackson, and his partner Tony Miller. Guys, this is Murray Schultz," Kevin said.
        I shook hands with each of them, and they all seemed like really nice guys. Since they were introduced as partners, I figured they were gay, and I looked hard to see if any of them would be like me. But they weren't. But it didn't seem to matter to them that I was effeminate, and it was beginning to be less and less a concern to me, too.
        They wanted to know how old I was, where I was from, what grade I was in, what I liked to do for fun.
        "I don't know if y'all noticed or not, but y'all interrupted a game. I say we either finish the game or get out and get drunk," Kyle said.
        They all laughed.
        "Why don't we do both," one of the new guys said.
        "That's what I say, too," Kyle said. "Chuck and Ty, y'all be on my team. Jeff and Tony, y'all are on Rick's team. Are you cool with that?" Kyle said to Rick.
        "Hell, yeah. Let's play," Rick said.
        We played some more, but the game definitely changed with those new guys added. It got a lot more serious with the new ones. I noticed they didn't hit the ball to Denny and me nearly as much as they had before. I fact, I'm not sure I ever touched it once the new guys joined. We had notched up the athletics quite a bit. They still weren't mean about it when somebody missed a volley, but they kept it away from the ones they knew sucked. I, for one, appreciated that because that ball was coming over the net a lot faster and a lot harder than it had been coming before.
        I've always thought of a sport played in the water as sweat free. That night, I perspired in the water for the first time in my life. I got out of breath a little bit, too, but I noticed the rest of them didn't. I knew I was overweight, and I thought they might be able to help me with that. Being fat was just another reason to have people pick on me, and I thought that maybe they could help me lose some pounds.
        The best part of that evening happened after the volleyball was finished. I expected them to get out and get dressed, but they didn't. We just sat around on the patio naked, talking. The older guys, except Rick, drank beer, and Kyle brought out a couple of trays of food for us to nibble on. It wasn't really a party, but it kind of was.
        Some of them played a game where one guy put his palms up and the other guy put his palms down on the first guy's palms. The one on the bottom was supposed to try to slap the hand of the guy who had his on top, but the guy on top was supposed to try to avoid being hit by pulling his hands away real fast. It really looked like fun.
        "Goddamn it! You just broke my fucking hand," Justin shouted. He and Kyle were playing.
        "If you don't want your hand broke, then move it," Kyle said.
        "Now I can barely feel it, much less move it," Justin said.
        "Tough shit. My go again," Kyle said.
        If the bottom hands hit the top hands, he went again. If he missed, the turn changed.
        "If you hit me again that hard, Kyle, I'm going to kill you," Justin said.
        We all laughed.
        "Let's make it more interesting. A nickel a slap," Rick said.
        "What do you mean?" Justin asked.
        "Well, for every slap, you pay him a nickel. We'll each start with twenty nickels, and the man with the most at the end wins," Rick said.
        "Hey, that's a good idea. I like that," Kyle said. "Only trouble is, I don't have any money on me."
        "No? I think I just found me two," Justin said. He had reached down and had grabbed Kyle's scrotum.
        "Get your fucking hand off of that. That ain't nickels. That's what the bunny brought me for Easter," Kyle said. Everybody laughed.
        "I've got some rolled nickels. Let me go get them," Rick said. When he came back, he gave each of us twenty nickels.
        "Let's pair up. When the nickels are gone, you're out, and somebody else who still has nickels can take over your spot," Rick said.
        I paired up with Denny.
        "Don't hurt me, okay?" Denny said.
        "I don't think there's much chance of that happening," I said. "You don't hurt me."
        We had a great time playing that silly game. There was so much laughing and screaming and carrying on, I thought the neighbors would call the cops. But they didn't. We had a great time that night, and every one of us was stark naked.
        * * *
        That's the way it was for the two weeks before school began. I called my grandmother regularly, and I told her about how much fun I was having with those boys.
        "Oh, Murray, I'm so happy for my boy," she said.
        "Thanks, Nana. I miss you very badly, but I don't think I could have found a better place than this," I said.
        "I've been praying for you, Murray," she said.
        "And I've been praying for you, too, Nana. Do you think God hears Catholic prayers? Because that's what they are here. Catholics. At least most of them," I said.
        "Is the mensch a Catholic?"
        "Kyle? Yeah, he's a Catholic," I said.
        "God always hears the prayers of a mensch. You are on the road to becoming a mensch, and you must continue on that road, Murray."
        "I will, Nana. Now that I know what one is like. I will."

Chapter 02
        
(Justin's Perspective)
        I'm starting my second year of college, right? I'm still scared to death of it, right? Only this time, my buddy Kyle is coming with me.
        "What are you going to do when class is over?" I asked.
        "I don't know. Jerk off, I guess," he said.
        Everybody at the breakfast table laughed.
        "Is that all you know how to do?" I asked.
        I was using what they called the Emerald Beach Grumble, and I loved it. I had needed to have me that kind of talk all my life because that's the kind of guy I was.
        "No. I know how to be a bellboy, but that option has been ripped from my grasp," he said.
        "'Ripped from your grasp?' That sounds like you're some kind of poet or something," Justin said.
        "Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Write poems and jerk off," he said.
        "I thought you were going to call UCP about volunteering," Rick said.
        "I did call them, and I have an interview for that on Thursday. The earliest I can start is next Monday. What am I going to do in the meantime?" Kyle said.
        "Why don't you get ahead in your classes. Read your textbooks," Tim said.
        "I reckon I could do that. Tim, I've got some meetings at night for Beta Rho, too," he said.
        "I figured you would. Go. Just come home to me, okay?"
        God, Tim and Kyle were a cute couple, and everybody in that house knew that Kyle wasn't going anywhere but Tim's bed. Those two were rock solid. No question about that. It was the same way with me and Brian, and with Kevin and Rick, too. Shit, I couldn't even imagine those two dating somebody else, much less fucking 'em.
        I had been working full time at the hotel during the summer, but I was taking twelve hours that semester and needed time to study. I wasn't a quick study like Brian was. For one thing, I didn't read very fast, and it took me much longer to read something than it took him. I read pretty good, though. I mean, I knew most of the words, and all, and I could usually figure out what the hard ones meant if I didn't already know them. I had been reading a lot since we got back from Disney World, and Brian kept a steady stream of books coming my way.
        One day at work right after school started, Mr. Gene came to see Mr. Rooney. He stopped at the desk to visit with me a little while.
        "How's it going at school, Bubba?" he asked me.
        "It's going good, so far. I had a quiz already in math, and I got a hundred on it. I'm thinking I might be better at math than I thought I was," I said.
        "That's good, but I think math is way overrated," he said.
        "What do you mean?" I asked.
        "Well, I don't know. I had to take all that algebra shit, and trig, and even calculus in college. You know how much I use any of that to run my business?" he asked.
        "No, sir, I don't," I said.
        "Not a goddamn bit, Justin," he said. "Now, don't get me wrong. I think people like Tim and Brian are going to need it when they become doctors, but guys like us don't need to use that shit. Justin, I ain't never, ever had to find x. You know why?"
        "No, sir. Why?"
        "I ain't never lost x, that's why," he said.
        I thought that was pretty funny, and he loved it that I laughed at his joke. He was the master of the grumble, and he was using it big that morning.
        "Mr. Gene, I haven't said this to you yet, but I want to thank you for taking such good care of me in giving me a job, and all," I said.
        "Forget about it, son. I need good people, and Kyle's going to need a good right-hand man someday. I consider all four of you boys my sons, and I plan to use your ass in the management of my businesses, just as soon as y'all move back here," he said.
        "Yes, sir," I said, "as long as that's the only way you want to use it."
        I saw on his face that he was thinking for a split second.
        "Oh, damn, Justin! You got me last hard that time, boy," he said. He and I both laughed.
        "Let me ask you something. Have you ever done any hunting?" he said.
        "Just that one time when we went," I said.
        "Did you like it?" he asked.
        "Yes, sir. I loved it," I said.
        "Well, let's do us some hunting this fall, okay? Mack Mixon tells me we've got us a first class bird dog in ole Trixie, and he says Krewe is coming along pretty good, too. It would be cruel not to use those two dogs to hunt. That's what they were born to do, and your boy's trained 'em up real good," he said.
        "I'm ready any time you are," I said.
        "You know, last year Kyle always had all that shit he had to do at school, and it was hard to find a weekend when we could get away. Don't misunderstand me. I was proud as I could be of what he did, but all of that was time consuming. I started my boys hunting when they were five years old, and it's been a way of life for us since then. We need to get back to that," he said.
        "Kyle told me one time he has this deep need to put food on the table that he caught himself. That's why he wanted to catch them crabs so bad. Now it's the lobsters. Those things are delicious, but you can buy 'em, can't you?" I said.
        "Yeah, you can, but I know where Kyle's coming from, Jus. I'm sort of the same way. I guess he got that from me. There's just something about sitting down to a meal that you're responsible for getting from the wild that's really satisfying," he said. "Maybe you'll get that same feeling one day. I hope so, anyway. Well, look, Jus. I came to see Jack Rooney. I need a favor from him, so let me go talk to him."
        "Okay. I'm ready to hunt whenever you are," I said.
        "I hear you," he said.
        He went off into Mr. Rooney's office. Stephen was loitering around us behind the desk.
        "Okay. So who was that hunk? Are you seeing him?" he asked.
        "Am I seeing him? What the hell do you mean?" I asked.
        "Oh, please, Justin. You know exactly what I mean. Are you fucking him?" he said.
        "No, I ain't fucking him. That's Gene Goodson. That's Kyle's daddy," I said.
        "Oh, my God! I was in the presence of greatness, and I didn't even know it," he said.
        I laughed, and he laughed, too.
        "I guess the two of you must be pretty good friends, in that case," he said.
        "Who? Me and Kyle?"
        "No, not you two. I know you guys are best friends. I meant you and Mr. Goodson," he said.
        "Well, he just told me he thinks of me as his son. Does that count?" I said.
        "Sweet Jesus! I can't believe your luck," he said.
        "If you knew the whole story, which you won't ever know, you'd know what an understatement of the year that was," I said.
        "Are they as rich as everybody says they are?" he asked.
        "I have no idea. We don't ever talk about that," I said.
        "You don't? Really?" he asked.
        "No, we really don't. I know they're rich, and I know Kyle's rich in his own right, too, but he never says a word about that. He's my best friend, and I love him almost as much as I love Brian. And I know he loves me almost as much as he loves Tim, too. But I'll never go there with him, and he'll never let me, either. And I know what you're thinking, and, no, there is no sex between me and Kyle," I said.
        "Amazing. I get hard just thinking about him," he said.
        "I know. I've noticed," I said.
        He was grinning, and I was, too.
        "You like me, don't you?" he said.
        "I do. I like you very much. I'm not attracted sexually to femme guys, okay, but I consider you one of my best friends," I said.
        He got a kind of sad look for a second, and then he broke into a big grin.
        "The same here. On both counts, goddamn it!"
        We cracked up.
        I don't know when Gene left because I didn't see him go out. I might have been busy in the back or something. In about an hour Mr. Rooney called me into his office. He had only done that two or three times since I worked there, and every time my bowels turned to pure water. It was all I could do to keep from gagging and throwing up, I was so scared.
        "Sit down, Justin," he said.
        I took a seat, all the while hoping my ass wasn't leaking a mess on his chair.
        "Yes, sir," I said.
        "Mr. Goodson wanted to talk to me about you," he said.
        God, please no, I thought. At that instant I wanted me a cigarette so bad I was about to scream. I hadn't had one yet that day, but that was all I could think about. That, and being fired. I'm sure I showed it in my face, too.
        "Justin, calm down, son. Are you okay?" he asked.
        "I'm fine," I said.
        "You don't look fine," he said. "You look terrified."
        Come on. Just tell me what the fuck you got to tell me and get it over with, I thought.
        "No, sir. I'm okay," I said, lying through my teeth. I took a couple of deep breaths, and that seemed to help.
        "Justin, Mr. Goodson and I talked about the fact that you're in college full time now. We agreed you need time to go to classes and study. You can't work here full time anymore. You're going to continue to work here part time, but at full-time pay," he said.
        He said that mighty fast, and I had a hard time processing it. I didn't know what he meant, exactly.
        "Would you mind saying that again?" I asked.
        He grinned a little bit.
        "You're going to work here part time and get full-time pay for it," he said.
        That time I understood what he meant.
        "I can't take full-time pay for that," I said.
        "Jus, you know Jeff Martin, don't you?" he asked.
        "Oh course I know Jeff. He's one of my brothers," I said.
        "Jeff doesn't work here at all when he's in school, and he gets full pay. That's the way Mr. Goodson wants it. Jeff also gets a company car. You'll get full pay when you're in college away from here and can't work. You guys are very special to Gene Goodson," he said. "I wouldn't ask any questions, if I were you. I'd just take the money and run."
        "Yes, sir," I said. "Is that all?"
        "That's all, Jus. And, by the way, you do a hell of a job for us," he said. "Keep this to yourself around here, okay?"
        "Yes, sir," I said. "I will."
        When I left his office, I was so excited I was about to bust. I was aching to tell somebody, but the only one of us working there right then was Chuck.
        "Knock, knock," I said, at Chuck's cubicle entrance.
        "Hey, Jus. What's up, Bubba?" he said. He was all smiles and happy and shit, like he was glad to see me.
        "I just got a promotion, I think," I said.
        "All right!" he said.
        He took me out to lunch to celebrate, and we didn't eat in the employees' cafeteria, either. We went to Applebee's, and we had us a nice lunch. I didn't tell him the details because I had promised not to, but he guessed it. He and Tony were Jeff and Tyler's roommates, and they knew the score with them. I guess that was the way Mr. Gene did it with Kyle's brothers.
        
(Kevin's Perspective)
        Like much of Florida, Emerald Beach was a growing community. Every year hundreds of people moved to our town. The growth was putting a strain on our infrastructure, and they were building new roads, new schools, new housing developments as fast as they could to keep up with the influx of new residents.
        We lived in a relatively upscale neighborhood. The houses on our side of the street were on waterfront property, and the cost of that automatically dictated both the kind of houses that would be built there and the relative affluence of the people who bought those houses. In the house immediately to the west of us was the Crawford family, and their sons, Morgan and Blake, were regular fixtures in our home. We were all pretty sure the boys were straight, but nobody had a definitive read on that. Morgan and Blake, and Blake's best friend, Riley, were always there with us. The boys assured us they knew we were all gay, and if that didn't matter to them, it certainly didn't matter to us that they were straight.
        In February of that year, they had started building a house on the lot immediately to our east. There were huge oak trees on that lot, and the developer had made it a point of preserving as many of them as he could. When they started building the house, we would sometimes go over there and scope it out. It was going to be a two story, and it appeared that there were four bedrooms and two baths upstairs and a master suite downstairs. It was going to be a very nice house.
        "They started moving in today," Kyle said one night.
        "How do you know? Did you see 'em?" Justin asked.
        "Yeah. I was out back reading, and I heard a big truck pull up. I got on some shorts, and I went to check 'em out," Kyle said.
        "So, what did you see?" Tim asked.
        "I saw a moving van and some movers," Kyle said.
        "Did you see the people?" Tim asked.
        "Yeah. I saw two boys and two men. They looked like the ones who were moving in," he said.
        That was a Wednesday of the last week of August. Our boys were already back in school, and I wondered if those boys moving in next door were school kids.
        "How old were the boys, Kyle?" I asked.
        "I don't know. They could have been any age. They were teenagers, I think. I don't know," he said.
        "Were they cute?" Justin asked.
        Kyle grinned. "Yeah, they were, actually. No erections in sight, though," he said.
        "What'd you do? Get out binoculars?" Justin asked.
        "Yeah, I did. So what?" Kyle said.
        We all laughed.
        "I knew it. You scoped those boys out, didn't you?"
        "Yeah, I did, Justin. So fucking what, man?" Kyle asked.
        "So fucking nothing, Kyle. I'd have done the same thing, and you know it," Justin said.
        "I know. So why are you getting on to me?" Kyle asked.
        "Kyle, shut up. You always want to argue with me, even when we hold the same point," Justin said.
        Kyle just grinned. Sparring with Justin was one of Kyle's many hobbies, and we all knew it.
        On Friday night, Kyle said, "I'm making coffeecake for the new neighbors for tomorrow morning. I skipped the jamboree tonight to do it."
        Tim, Brian, Denny, and Murray hadn't skipped the jamboree, and Justin and Kyle were the only boys home that night.
        "Come give me a hand, Davis," Kyle called from the kitchen.
        "I guess I'm fixing to get a lesson in how to make a coffeecake," Jus said, as he left the room. "You can buy those, you know," he said.
        Rick and I laughed at him. Justin was the pragmatist of the crowd. If you could buy it, why make it or catch it yourself? Kyle was the opposite. If you can buy it, you can also make it or catch it yourself. Kyle wasn't above buying prepared food, by any means, but he seemed to have a code of rules about what you could buy and what you had to make yourself. I basically agreed with Justin, but I wasn't a cook. Rick basically agreed with Kyle, and Rick had been a cook in a restaurant.
        "Kyle doesn't really need any help," Rick said.
        "But he wants company, don't you think?" I said.
        "Yeah, and they're probably slurping beers back there, too," Rick said.
        "Is that so bad?" I asked.
        "No. Of course not. Would you like a beer or a drink?" he asked.
        "A beer might be nice," I said.
        He got up and got me one.
        "Yep, they were drinking beer," Rick said. "But they're baking, too. I think we're going to have several coffeecakes tomorrow morning. And they're playing, too. Justin had flour all over his face. They're having a great time."
        "Have you ever known those two not to have a great time, no matter what they did?" I asked.
        "No, not really," Rick said.
        * * *
        The next morning we were all in the den, as usual for a weekend morning.
        "I've got some nice coffeecakes in there for the new neighbors. Let's take 'em over to 'em," Kyle said.
        It was about ten o'clock, and that was late enough to go calling, I thought. Denny had plans to hang out with some of his debate friends, and Murray was going with him. They were supposed to go to the main branch of the public library in town to do some research, and there was an Internet cafe/coffee shop they wanted to check out, too. There were a bunch of very interesting shops and galleries in the so-called "arts district" downtown, and Denny and Murray and their friends wanted to investigate those, too. One of the older boys was picking them up, so they couldn't go meet the new neighbors.
        "Look at you, Bubba," Kyle said to Murray. "You're looking mighty good in those new clothes."
        Murray blushed a little, but he beamed at the compliment.
        "Let me get some pictures of you," Kyle said.
        Kyle kept his camera bag as close to him as he kept his scrotum, and he was always ready to pull a camera out in an instant. He had upgraded to a really fine digital camera, and the quality of his pictures had increased in proportion. He had discovered a company that specialized in printing digital photographs, and he was getting some unbelievably good pictures back in the mail. He emailed the company the file, after he had worked on it using his digital picture editing software, and a few days later poster-size photographs would arrive in tubes in the mail.
        "I want you to look pissed off in this one," Kyle said.
        "But I'm not pissed off," Murray said.
        "GODDAMNIT! I SAID LOOK PISSED OFF, YOU LITTLE FAG," he screamed.
        Murray's face went through a hundred different expression in a matter of seconds, and Kyle was snapping pictures as fast as he could. Murray finally realized what he had just done, and he calmed down.
        "You're not really mad at me, are you?" Murray asked him.
        "Of course I'm not really mad at you, but it worked, didn't it?" Kyle said.
        "Kyle, that sucks, man. I was fixing to call you out over that," Justin said. "Why'd you hurt his feelings like that? That ain't like you, man."
        "Did I hurt your feelings, Murray?" Kyle asked.
        "No, but you pissed me off," Murray said.
        "And what did I ask you to do?" Kyle asked.
        "Look pissed off," Murray said. "Did it work?"
        "It worked big time, Bubba, and it pissed him off, too, didn't it, Justin?"
        "Yeah. Did you get some of me?" Justin asked.
        "Yes, I did," Kyle said. "Watermelon Seed."
        "Are you talking about that picture of me with that seed on my dick?" Justin asked.
        "What the hell else you think I'm talking about. That one sold, by the way," Kyle said.
        "Really? Who bought it?" Justin asked.
        "How would I know? I just know there are guys jerking off to that picture every night, all over the world," Kyle said.
        "Goodson, you are so full of shit, I can smell it from here," Justin said.
        "Did you just figure that out?" Kyle asked. He and Jus were grinning and laughing.
        "No. I've known it a long time," Jus said. He grabbed Kyle in a headlock.
        "Get off me. You're going to fuck up my camera," Kyle said. Justin turned him loose. "Let's get the baked goods next door before somebody gets into a fist fight here."
        "I know the kind of fist fighting you're interested in," Justin said, laughing.
        "Yeah? Like you ain't?" Kyle replied. They both laughed some more.
        * * *
        There were six of us in the pastry delivery squad, and each of us had a coffeecake. The one I had was still warm, so I assumed Kyle had baked it that morning. The aroma in the house that morning was unbelievably good, and he had put out two warm ones for us to eat. One that we ate was cinnamon flavored with a really thick glaze on top, and the other one had dried fruit in it, also with a thick glaze. They were delicious.
        We pressed the doorbell and heard it ring inside. We had the dogs with us, but we were prepared to send them home if our new neighbors appeared not to want canine visitors in their new home.
        The one who answered the door was one of the boys, and he was stunning to look at. He had deep blond hair, blue eyes, and a face I knew Kyle would want to photograph. He was about our height--5'10" or so--and he was very well defined in the muscle department. He had on shorts, and that was all.
        "Hi. We're your neighbors from next door, and we brought you some goodies to say welcome to the neighborhood," I said.
        "Hi," he said. "Come on in."
        He opened the door wide for us to go in.
        The dogs were hanging back, not wanting to go in.
        "Will the dogs come in?" he asked.
        "Yeah. Come on, girls," Brian said, and the dogs followed us in very calmly.
        "I'm Wade Spencer," the boy said.
        We all introduced ourselves. Wade's eyes were as big for us as ours were for him. He was a real specimen of boy, but we were packing our share, as well.
        "Dad, Jimmy, Reid!" he called out. "We've got company! It's the neighbors," he called out.
        I heard somebody thundering down the stairs, and it was another boy. He was shirtless in just shorts, too, and he was just as good looking as Wade was. He had dark hair, though, and it was pretty obvious he hadn't shaved in a day or two. He had some hair on his chest, and I could see the top of a very nice treasure trail down into his shorts. Neither boy fit the "muscular" description, really, like Justin did, but both of them were toned and very well defined.
        "This is Reid Kenner," Wade said.
        Again, we shook hands and introduced ourselves.
        "Where do you live?" Reid asked.
        "Right next door," Kyle said. "That way." He pointed in the direction of our house. I noticed there wasn't a trace of the Emerald Beach accent in Kyle's voice. I wondered how he did that.
        "That's a nice place," Wade said. "We noticed it already."
        "Thanks," Rick said.
        Two men came into the foyer just then. They appeared to be in their mid- to late-thirties. Maybe early forties. They both wore smiles.
        "Dad. Jimmy. These are our neighbors," Wade said.
        We shook hands and introduced ourselves. "Dad's" name was David Spencer, and Jimmy introduced himself as Jimmy Spencer, too. I figured they were brothers, although they didn't really look alike. I wondered if Reid's last name was Kenner, or if that was his middle name and he used both.
        "We brought you some coffeecakes," Kyle said. The accent was back.
        "Oh, wow. These look wonderful," David said. "Please come in, have some coffee, and help us eat some of these."
        Their house was really nice. They had an enormous room that was a combination family room, dining room, breakfast room, and kitchen. It was all open and light. I judged it had twelve-foot ceilings, and there was glass all across the back of the house to take advantage of their view of the lagoon. We took seats, and the dogs flopped down near Brian.
        "These dogs are very well behaved," Jimmy said.
        Krewe barked a bit when he said that, and Brian told her to hush. She did.
        "They're well trained, too," Jimmy said. "Did you do that?"
        "This is the dog man, right here," Justin said, indicating Brian.
        "Are you and David brothers?" Rick asked.
        I was curious about that, too. They had the same last name, but the boys, their sons, apparently didn't. Jimmy and David each wore wedding bands that were identical to the plain gold bands that Rick and I wore. I wondered if they were in the same kind of relationship that Rick and I were in.
        "Er, no," Jimmy said.
        David came back in with a platter of coffeecake cut into individual servings, and one of the boys was with him with a tray of coffee cups and cream and sugar. David set the food down and went to get a pot of coffee.
        "We're not brothers," David said. "We're partners."
        He and Jimmy had rather apprehensive looks on their faces, waiting for our reactions. The boys were looking at our boys for their reactions, too.
        "So are we," Rick said.
        "You mean . . . " David started to say.
        "He means we're gay, and Rick and I are partners for life," I said.
        The four new neighbors lit up in big grins.
        "Us, too," Kyle said, indicating him and Tim.
        "Same with us," Brian said of him and Justin.
        "My God, this is uncanny," Jimmy said. "I mean, what are the odds that we'd move in next door to a gay couple in a place like Emerald Beach? And with gay kids, too."
        "Gay family," I said. "We have three foster sons who are gay, and these three guys," indicating Kyle, Tim, and Justin, "are honorary foster sons."
        "Reid and I are a couple, too," Wade said.
        "No shit?" Justin asked.
        "No shit," Wade said.
        "I want to hear this story," Justin said.
        Jimmy and David chuckled.
        "It's not too complicated," Jimmy began. "Dave and I both got married very young and our sons were born within a month of each other. I knew I had a strong attraction to men from the time I was a young teenager, but I thought I could beat it. You've heard that story a million times, probably. Well, I couldn't. After about three months of marriage, sex with my wife got to be more and more of a chore, one that I finally stopped doing altogether after a year. She confronted me about our relationship, and I came clean. It was a very amicable parting of the ways. Fortunately, I was able to stay in college, and then law school, and my parents paid child support on my behalf."
        "My story is about the same," Dave said. "Only, I didn't get to finish college. Not then, anyway. I did eventually, though."
        "How old is everybody?" Kyle asked.
        Ordinarily, I thought that question would have been rather impertinent, but, under the circumstances, it seemed natural.
        "Dave and I are thirty-six," Jimmy said, "and the boys are seventeen."
        We all told our ages, too.
        "We've been together for sixteen years," Dave said.
        "And we've been together since June," Wade said.
        We all told how long we had been together, too.
        "Wade and I have known each other a long time, but we just recently came out to each other," Reid said. "We were both living with our moms, but now we're going to live here with our dads."
        "Cool," Kyle said.
        "Are you guys seniors?" Tim asked.
        They said they were. They had actually already started school at Beachside, but they had taken Thursday and Friday off to help with the move.
        "I think you're in one of our classes," Wade said. "Do you take AP English?"
        "Yeah, I do," Tim said. "Cool."
        We spent a couple of hours getting acquainted with our new neighbors. We told them the saga of the Foley-Mashburn Clan and about our jobs. Jimmy was a lawyer and Dave was a CPA.
        Our four kids and their two kids seemed to hit it off immediately and very well. Wade and Reid both had an athletic inclination, but neither of them played sports for school. They had been there all summer, visiting their dads. They had worked at a fast food place in town, and they had finally acted on the strong attraction they had had for each other since puberty.
        "Are you each other's first boyfriend?" Kyle asked.
        "Yeah," they said, grinning at each other.
        They were really cute kids, and I knew they'd be at our house a lot.
        * * *
        "Those were nice guys, weren't they?" Rick said, once we were all back at home.
        Kyle was in the kitchen making lunch for us, although I had eaten so much coffeecake I wasn't sure how much lunch I really wanted. He called us into the breakfast room. He had set out cold cuts, lettuce, tomato, pickles, chips, condiments, and sliced bread for us to make sandwiches. We all got busy fixing our plates.
        "I think it's going to be fun having those guys next door," Kyle said.
        "Yeah, I guess it will. They're both real cute, aren't they?" Justin observed.
        We all agreed they were.
        "Cut or uncut?" Kyle asked. "I definitely think uncut."
        "I don't know, Bubba. They sort of acted cut to me," Justin said.
        "Acted cut? Do you think circumcision has an effect on personality?" I asked.
        "Yeah," Justin and Kyle said in unison.
        They sometimes startled me with some of their ideas, and that was definitely one of those times.
        "I'd like to hear more about this," I said.
        Tim, the only other uncircumcised one there, said, "Yeah. Me, too."
        "It's nothing bad. It's just a feeling I get, that's all," Kyle said. "Sort of like gaydar, although I don't have much of that. I didn't know they were all gay until they said it."
        "I didn't either," Justin said. "I'll bet these two knew, though," meaning Tim and Brian.
        "I suspected it right away," Brian said. "And it's nothing I can put my finger on. Did you know, Tim?"
        "I suspected it, too. More about the two boys than the two dads, though," Tim said.
        "Me, too, Tim," I said. "I noticed the way Wade looked at the four of you when he opened the door. That's what tipped me off. That, and the eye contact he used."
        "Do people think that about us?" Justin asked.
        "Do you care if they do?" Kyle countered.
        "Not especially. I'm just curious, is all," Jus said.
        "I don't think they do, Jus. At least, I've never noticed anybody getting that 'ah, hah!' look on their faces when they see you for the first time," Rick said. "And I've watched for it, too."
        "That gaydar is a curious thing to me," Kyle said. "I can see how it would be real useful if you were out looking to pick up somebody. It might save you a broken jaw or something."
        "I've done some reading about gaydar," I said. "One theory is it grows out of the basic human need for association."
        "What does that mean?" Kyle asked.
        "Well, everybody wants to be associated with other people. You know, to have friends and all. It's no different for us. And most people prefer to hang out with people who are like them in some significant way. Like your fraternity, Kyle. All the beach guys want to associate with one another, so they started Beta Rho," I said. "I love our straight friends to death, but I feel a lot more relaxed and comfortable when we're with our gay friends."
        "So it's like guys develop gaydar unconsciously as a way of knowing who potential friends are?" Brian said.
        "Yeah, something like that. I naturally assume that a stranger is straight, unless he says or does something to make me think otherwise," Rick said. "I don't necessarily mean act effeminate, because none of those guys next door act that way. But, did you notice Jimmy and Dave both wore wedding rings but there weren't any women around? That tipped me off right away, and the same last name."
        "Yeah, what is that about?" Kyle asked.
        "Some gay couples do that," I said. "Some use hyphenated last names, too. That's probably more common, though."
        "My daddy would have a fit if I changed my name," Kyle said.
        "Yeah, I really don't recommend it, Bubba," I said. "There are too many buildings around here with the name Goodson on them. Think of all the new signs that would have to be made."
        Kyle chuckled, and the others smiled.
        "I read about electronic gaydar, too," I said, getting us back to the subject.
        "What's that?" Justin asked.
        "It's a little thing you put on your key chain, kind of like a remote car-door opener," I said. "It sends out a radio signal, and somebody else in the room who has one, too, can pick it up. I think it's sort of a novelty item, really. Those things could be potentially dangerous, I think."
        "Why dangerous? I would think they would come in handy for somebody who wants to score a date," Brian said.
        "Well, think about it, guys. Let's say you're a gay basher and you want to practice your hobby. That would be a great way to identify gay men in an otherwise straight location, don't you think?" I said.
        "Good point," Brian said. "I guess I won't get me one after all."
        "What do you mean, get you one?" Justin demanded. There was a slight edge to his voice.
        "Don't get mad. I was just teasing," Brian said.
        "I know you were, but I don't like for you to tease me about stuff like that, Little Buddy," he said.
        "I'm sorry," Brian said. "I won't do it anymore. I love you, Justin."
        "And I love you, too, Brian," Justin said.
        "Oh, my God! My gaydar's going off big time right now," Kyle said.
        "Shut up, Kyle," Justin said, but he laughed along with the rest of us.
        "Does anybody want to water ski?" Kyle asked.
        "Let's ask Wade and Reid if they want to ski, too," Tim suggested.
        "Good idea," Kyle said. "They might be busy unpacking, though, but we can try."
        It turned out Wade and Reid were unpacking, but their dads let them ski with their new friends. I was really looking forward to getting to know our new neighbors.
        
Chapter 03
        
(Kyle's Perspective)
        It wasn't even Labor Day, and we had already been back in school for a solid week. My classes didn't seem like they were going to be super hard, and I was pretty excited about an art course I was taking. It was in photography.
        "Mr. Goodson, would you see me after class, please?" the professor said the first day.
        "Shit, what did you do?" Justin asked.
        I had really encouraged him to take that class with me. I loved taking pictures and working with them almost as much as I liked having sex, and I was hoping I could turn my brother and best friend on to photography, too.
        "I didn't do anything. He probably knows my daddy or some shit like that," I said.
        I went up to him after class.
        "Sir, I'm Kyle Goodson. You wanted to see me?" I said.
        "Ah, yes. Kyle. I'm Harry Potter," he said, sticking out his hand to shake mine.
        "For real?" I said.
        "Yes! For real. It's actually 'Henry,' but I've gone by 'Harry' all my life. Now those wretched books and movies have come out, and I've taken a huge amount of ribbing for my name," he said.
        If that man didn't play for my team, nobody else in that college did, either.
        "Kyle, I wanted to talk to you because I understand you're quite a photographer," he said.
        "Yes, sir. I don't know if I'm quite a photographer, but I love it. And I take a lot of pictures, too," I said.
        "Well, the word around here is that you're a professional," he said.
        "No, sir. I worked at a hotel all summer," I said.
        "Have you ever made any money off your pictures?" he asked.
        "Well, yeah, from the gallery. And the book, too, I guess," I said. "But I don't do, like, weddings and stuff like that."
        "The gallery and the book? Where is this gallery?" he asked.
        He was trembling a little bit, and I thought the man was fixing to be sick on me.
        "Don't worry. It's not here. It's in New York City," I said.
        "You're in a gallery in New York City? Oh, my God! I knew about the book, and I even have a copy of it. But I didn't know about the gallery. You're every teacher's worst nightmare, Kyle," he said.
        I was totally befuddled. I hadn't always paid the best attention in class, but it had been many years since I had been sent to the office for misbehaving. In fact, I got all the way through middle school and high school without a single discipline referral, and I was proud of that. I was always very respectful of my teachers, too. I was raised to be a good kid, and I resented the fact that he thought I was his worst nightmare. Besides, I figured if he dreamed about me at all, it was going to be a wet dream, not a nightmare.
        "Kyle, I can see by the look on your face that I've offended you, and that was the last thing I intended to do. I'm sorry," he said.
        "How come I'm every teacher's worst nightmare? I'm always respectful. I don't argue. I do what I'm told," I said.
        "Kyle, that was a terrible choice of words, and I didn't mean it that way. I take that back, and I wish I had never said it. What I meant was, your accomplishments in photography already so far outstrip mine that I'm afraid you won't learn anything in this course," he said. "Have you ever studied photography? I mean as an art form?"
        "No, sir. I worked with a local photographer to learn darkroom, but that's all," I said.
        "I know you have. He's a very close friend of mine, and he's the one who alerted me to you. He's thrilled about your book, by the way. Thanks for acknowledging him," he said.
        I had said "thank you" to a bunch of people in the front part of the book, him included. I was glad I had done that, now.
        "He deserves more than that," I said.
        "I agree, but back to my point. I'll be able to teach you some basic principles of composition, and I might be able to help you out with PhotoShop, if you need it. But I really don't think I'm on your level, son," he said. "I think you should drop the course."
        "Are you telling me I'm not going to pass it?" I asked.
        I didn't know what the hell he was really getting at.
        "Oh, absolutely not. I'm ready to give you an A right now, but I want you to know going in that you probably won't learn much," he said.
        "I want to stay in. I'll learn more than you think I will. Plus, my best friend is in here with me, and I want to encourage him to take pictures, too," I said.
        "Is he one of the boys in the book?" he asked.
        "Do you remember a picture of a naked boy with a watermelon seed stuck to his penis? That's him," I said. "That's Justin Davis, and he's in this class."
        "Oh, my," he said, and he sat down like he was weak or something.
        "Justin's in the book a bunch of times," I said.
        "I know," he said.
        "Mr. Potter, I need to go, okay?" I said.
        "I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't think about the fact that you probably have another class. You're certainly welcome to stay in the course, and so is Justin. I'll see you Thursday," he said.
        "Yes, sir. Bye, and thank you," I said.
        I didn't have another class, but I had to piss so bad it was about to start leaking down my leg. Now wouldn't that have been a fine sight?! I found the nearest men's room, and I had my dick out as I was charging in. There was another guy in there standing at a urinal, but he didn't even look at me. I didn't care one bit. God, that was sweet relief.
        * * *
        Later that week the new people moved in next door. You only usually have two next-door neighbors, and I thought getting new ones was pretty exciting. I had seen them when the big truck drove up on Wednesday, and I had scoped them out from a distance. It was two boys and two men. I didn't know if there were ladies who would come later, or not.
        One of the things we always do in the South--although they probably do it everywhere else, too--is take food to people in some kind of turmoil. When somebody in a family dies, you load 'em up. Meat. Vegetables. Rice. Potatoes. Salad. That kind of stuff. When somebody new moves in, though, you go lighter. Nobody in our house said squat about getting them up something, so I did it Friday night.
        I had sort of mixed feelings about that, too. I mean, that was the night of the football jamboree, and that was something I loved every year when I was in high school. I knew a bunch of the alumni from my class were going to be there, but I didn't want to look like the kind who can't get enough of high school, even after they graduated. If one of my brothers was playing, I would have been there with bells on. But the fact was, they weren't. And I really did feel like we needed to be hospitable to our new neighbors. So, I decided to stay home and make coffeecakes.
        I actually had a good time making those things, too. I got Justin to come in the kitchen with me, and he and I drank beer while we worked. We didn't usually do that, but we were both college boys. I felt like we deserved a couple of beers. I mean, we were at home, not driving or anything, Friday night, and we knew Kevin and Rick didn't care. I guess legally we were drunk, but just barely. It was fun.
        The next day we took the cakes to the new neighbors and visited with them awhile. It turned out they were all gay. Go figure that! Somebody even said something about that. Gay or not, they were really nice guys, and I knew they were going to be our friends.
        "Jerry wants us to go to Mass tomorrow night, instead of tonight," Kevin said, as we were finishing up lunch. "Vince is going to be here, and he and Jerry are going to concelebrate."
        I wasn't real sure what that meant, but it was fine with me. I liked Vince a lot, and I loved Jerry to death.
        "Who wants to go skiing this afternoon?" I asked.
        Justin, Brian, and Tim said they wanted to, but Kevin and Rick had other things to do.
        "Let's ask Wade and Reid if they want to ski," Tim said.
        I had gotten their phone number while we were over there, so I called them. Wade answered.
        "Hey, it's Kyle," I said, after he had said hello.
        "Hi, Kyle. That coffee bread was really good, man. What's going on?" he said.
        "Thanks. We're going water skiing this afternoon. Do you and Reid want to go?" I asked.
        "Sure, but let me see if we can," he said.
        I could hear mumbled conversation. Reid's voice was pretty plain, and he definitely wanted to go. The two dads were mulling it over, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.
        "Yeah, we can go," Wade said.
        "Cool. Come on over," I said.
        "Okay. Give us a minute to put on bathing suits, and we'll be right there," Wade said.
        "Okay, but don't drag ass," I said.
        "We won't. Later," he said.
        They were at our backdoor in ten minutes, suited up. They were both wearing trunks that looked a lot like board shorts but weren't. I wondered if they surfed.
        We went down and got on the boat. Trixie and Krewe were right there with us like they wanted to go.
        "Stay, Trixie," Brian said, and she sat down on the dock. "Come on, Krewe," and she jumped on the boat.
        "You've got this ass backwards, Brian. Krewe needs to stay and Trixie can come with us. This dog is going to jump in the water every time somebody goes down," I said.
        "Kyle, I can't train her not to do that unless she goes out with us," Brian said. "That's how I trained Trixie. It's their instinct to go after things that go down, Kyle. The only way I can train Krewe not to do that is to have her out skiing with us," Brian said.
        "They go after things that go down?" Justin asked.
        "Yeah," Brian said.
        "Go down on what?" Justin asked.
        I thought that was pretty funny, and I started laughing. Reid and Wade looked at each other, like "Can we laugh at this? Is he making a pun or what?" When Brian started laughing, they did, too.
        "Not that," Brian said.
        "Oh, so we're both safe from the dogs," Justin said.
        "I am," Brian said. "I'm their master, you know," he said.
        "I know. That kind of creeps me out sometimes, too," Justin said.
        "I think this gives a whole new meaning to a boy dogging you, Justin," I said.
        They all laughed.
        We skied our asses off that afternoon. There wasn't any teaching those boys. They were both expert skiers, and all they did was slalom, like us. By the end of the afternoon, they were doing tricks on the ski, just like we did.
        Krewe got a lot of good instruction that day, too. I'm glad I let Brian bring her. Oh, she went in the first two or three times somebody went down, but by the end of the day she wasn't doing it anymore. I didn't know if that would stick, but I hoped it did. Getting a fifty pound dog out of the water wasn't easy. Brian was amazing with those dogs, that's for sure.
        We didn't get home till six o'clock, and Jimmy and Dave were on the patio with Kevin and Rick when we got there. They were having drinks, and I saw a party developing.
        "Do you guys want a drink?" I asked Wade and Reid. "Liquor, I mean. Or something else."
        "I'd love a drink," Wade said, and Reid seconded him.
        "What do you like? Bourbon and coke?" I asked.
        "Yeah. That's excellent," Reid said.
        Justin made the drinks, and I suddenly realized we were going to need food. Hell, it was six o'clock, and everybody was needing to eat. What was I going to serve? Hot dogs? I didn't think so. I raced into the kitchen to see what I could thaw real quick. There, on the counter, was a package from the really good deli in town. I ripped it open, and there were twenty prime filets. Really big ones, too. I opened the oven, and there was a whole sheet of twice-baked potatoes in there. I smiled. In the 'frige was a huge bowl of salad, and in the bottom oven was an asparagus casserole just waiting to be heated. There was a carrot cake and a lemon meringue pie on the counter. It looked like somebody had finally planned a party around this place, besides me.
        I had noticed they had some hors d'ouevres trays out already, so I went back out to socialize. Jeff, Tyler, Chuck, and Tony came in right about then, and we all hugged our brothers and introduced them to the new neighbors. I figured that Wade and Reid, as a new couple, were pretty much blown away, but they'd just have to get used to it.
        The newcomers got drinks--all beers, I think--but before long Tyler said, "Let's swim!" I loved Tyler to death because he was Jeff's partner, and I knew Jeff loved him. Plus, he was just a great, likeable guy.
        But that dude was a jock. Make no mistake about that. He loved sports better than anything. Well, maybe not anything, but you know what I'm saying. He was always ready to play some kind of sport, and he was good at it.
        When he said that, he started stripping off. He was naked in a minute, and the rest of his guys got naked, too.
        "Come on, let's go," I said, and I shimmied out of my Speedo and fluffed up my wee-wee a little bit. Everybody did that. Justin, Tim, and Brian stripped down, too. Denny and Murray, who had both spent the day with their intellectual friends, got naked, also.
        "Do we have to get naked?" Wade asked.
        "Only if you want to," I said. "Suits optional in this pool."
        Wade and Reid looked at each other and grinned. They had their trunks off in an instant, and I could tell they loved the feeling of being naked outdoors. I checked them out, of course, before they jumped in, but you know what? If you've seen one, you've pretty much seem 'em all. They were totally average in size. I did notice they didn't bother to trim up their pubic hair, but that was okay, too. They were just basically good, nice boys, and I was glad they were going to be our friends.
        "See that? They're cut. Both of them," Justin said.
        "I know. I'm glad we didn't bet on it, 'cause I would have lost," I said.
        "Kyle, you've got to re-think your view of the world, man," Justin said. He was grinning.
        "I know. I've got to re-think cut versus uncut, straight versus gay. All that stuff," I said.
        "Just don't re-think being you 'cause you're the best the way you are," he said.
        "Thank you for saying that. That means a whole lot to me, especially coming from you," I said.
        "If you're fixing to cry, forget it. I ain't making you no ice cream," he said.
        "Can I have a hug, at least?" I said.
        "Yeah, come here. Here's your hug."
        We had fun with the new neighbors. There were sixteen of us, and we got up a game of pool volleyball. It was pretty much old against young, with eight on a side. I insisted that Denny be on Rick's team, and I took Murray. I never waited until last to choose them, though, and neither did Rick. That business of saving the worst for last is bullshit, and it only hurts a guy's feelings for him not to be picked sooner than last. Even in school, at PE, I would do that if I was captain. I took some minor grief for it a few times from assholes who thought winning a game of shirts against skins in PE was the same thing as winning a medal at the Olympics, but it never bothered me.
        Wade and Reid were pretty good. I could tell that wasn't their first game of volleyball. They were both on my team, and one time Reid got really pissed off because Murray missed a hit. The first time it happened, he just made some stupid remark about him having elastic wrists or something like that. The second time, though, he screamed at Murray. I could tell he hurt Murray's feelings, too.
        I was next to Reid on the last row. I wasn't going to let him talk to Murray like that. I talked low so nobody could hear what I said, especially Murray.
        "Hey, buddy. Lighten up on him, okay? He can't help it," I said.
        "But he should have had that one, and the one before it, too. They're hitting it to him because they know he can't handle it," Reid said.
        "Yeah, and you or I would have gotten it. Maybe. Look, the boy's queer, he's an orphan, and he's sissified. Please don't make it any worse for him. We don't play like that here," I said.
        He pinched his nose with the thumb and index finger on his left hand, like maybe he was thinking or processing what I had said.
        "Okay," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I won't do it anymore."
        "Good. You'll have a lot more fun, and so will Murray. Now let's play," I said.
        To show him I didn't have any hard feelings, I jumped on him. We were treading water, and I dunked him.
        "Asshole," he said when he came up, but he was grinning. I grinned back.
        After we ate, we shifted into the clubhouse for pool and the other stuff we had in there.
        "Damn, this is nice," Wade said.
        We showed them around the kitchen, the weight room, the locker room, and, of course, the main room.
        "We call this the clubhouse, and you guys are welcome to come over any time to use it," Kevin said. "We entertain a good bit, and this place is perfect for that."
        "I can imagine," Jimmy said. "This must be like paradise for the boys."
        "It is," Rick said. "We've got five ten-top round tables, fifty chairs, and all the tableware you would need to feed fifty people a really nice dinner. We do that quite a bit."
        I noticed Reid talking to Murray, and then they shook hands. I figured Reid was apologizing, and I knew that boy must have character, if that's what he was doing. Kevin was eyeing the two of them, too, and he smiled when they shook.
        "Did you get onto Reid in the pool?" Kevin asked me in private.
        "I told him that's not the way we do it here. I think ole Reid must be a really good kid," I said.
        "Well, I'm glad you didn't embarrass Reid by fussing at him in front of everybody, but I was getting pretty damn pissed off at the way he was acting," Kevin said. "And his dad was embarrassed, too."
        "It looks to me like they made up," I said.
        "Yeah."
        
(Reid's Perspective)
        Things had not been good at home since just before the holidays. My step-dad came home from work on December 23rd with a pink slip in his hand, and that really put a damper on Christmas. He was an engineer for a major aircraft manufacturer, and the threat of a layoff had been looming large on the horizon ever since the September 11th terrorist attacks. People just weren't flying as much as they used to, and the aircraft industry took a major hit. What everybody had feared had finally happened, though, and my step-dad was out of work.
        I was expecting a new car for my seventeenth birthday in January, but that didn't look real promising after the layoff. The car I drove was a fifteen-year-old hand-me-down, and it was being held together by duct tape and baling wire. Randy, my step-dad, and I had spent countless hours working on it to keep that thing running, but it needed a new transmission in the worst way.
        In fact, I didn't get the new car for my birthday. That was okay, and I understood. The family was having a tough time financially, and my mother's teaching job brought in enough money for us to live on, but that was all. No extras, like a new car for the kid.
        Then, in early February, the transmission on my car finally gave it up, and I was back on my bike. I mean, they let me use my mom's car for outings with my friends and all, but I was back on the damn school bus every day that I couldn't ride my bike to school because of the weather. How humiliating!
        My step-dad kept getting his hopes raised that his company would call him back, but it never happened. He got a job at a computer repair shop, but he didn't make anywhere close to what he made as a senior project engineer with a huge company. I never did know why they didn't demote him and let some of the more junior engineers go, but they didn't. They laid off his entire department. I guess his skills were highly specialized, and they just didn't need him anymore.
        Things got to be pretty depressed around the house. My step-father was a fine man, and I really loved him, but not having a professional-level job really hit him hard. He would go for long periods without talking, and I'd hear him and my mom both crying late at night after everybody had gone to bed. Mom had to be "up" for her students, and all, but that was more or less just an act. She was just as depressed as Randy was.
        "How's it going, Reid?" my real dad asked me on the phone one day.
        "It's bad," I said. "Randy and Mom are both real depressed all the time, and it's starting to really get to me."
        "How's Jamison holding up?" he asked.
        Jamison was my younger half-sister. She was twelve years old, and I heard her crying in her room now and then, too.
        "I don't know. She's pretty sad, too," I said.
        "Are things really tight financially?" he asked. "I can send more child support, if they need me to."
        "Dad, I've thought about this a lot, and I really don't think it's about money all that much. Sure, things are tight, but they're not going to lose the house or anything. I think it's really about Randy feeling flattened by a force he can't control. He's even said that. He told me he feels like his balls have been cut off," I said.
        "Ouch," Dad said.
        I laughed a little.
        "I know. That would definitely hurt, wouldn't it?" I said.
        "Yeah, it would, but that's not what I meant. You and I have talked a bunch of times about the fact that Randy is a very decent guy, and I just hate it that he feels that way psychologically," he said. "For him to say that means he feels some fundamental change has occurred in his life, a change that cuts to the core of who he is."
        "I know," I said.
        My dad was gay, and I had known that for years, but that didn't make him any less my dad or any less the greatest guy I knew. I had had a sense that I was different from other guys for a long, long time, but when I started changing sexually and thinking about sex all the time when I was around twelve or thirteen, one day it suddenly occurred to me that I was gay, just like my dad. My initial reaction was panic. I didn't want to be gay. I wanted to be straight, like Randy, and I wanted to grow up and get married and have a family.
        I stewed about that a long time, but I never told anybody what I was thinking. I spent a month every summer with my dad and his partner, Dave, in Florida. My dad was a lawyer and Dave did taxes, or something like that. Dave had a son, too, and he would usually be there the same time I was. His name was Wade, and he and I hit it off so well, you wouldn't believe it. Wade was smart, good looking, athletic, kind, fun-loving. Everything.
        Wade and I both had computers, and we would swap emails and chat on Instant Messenger when we weren't together. I was aching to tell Wade that I thought I was gay, but I knew he wasn't. He would write to me and chat to me about the girls he dated. He never told me he had sex with his girlfriends, and I never asked. I assumed he had, though.
        The summer before Randy lost his job, I came out to my dad. I just flat out told him: "Dad, I'm gay."
        "A chip off the old block, huh?" he said.
        "You're not upset or disappointed or anything?" I asked.
        "Why would I be, Reid? It's just one more bit of evidence that homosexuality is genetic, the way I see it. Besides, why would it matter to me? I'm very happy as a gay man, and I know you will be, too, son. Have you told your mother?" he asked.
        "No. I'm not ready to do that yet," I said.
        "She's going to be fine with it," he said. "But you have to find your own place and your own time to come out to her."
        "I know," I said.
        I went to see Dad and Dave during Spring Break after the layoff. Wade's Spring Break came at a different time than mine did, so he wasn't there. It was just Dad and Dave and me. We talked a lot about what was going on at home for me, and, gradually, over the course of the week I was there, we hit on a plan for me to move in with them. I sort of hated the idea of missing my senior year at home, but it was getting harder and harder for me to take the darkness and the depression all the time. It was starting to make me depressed, and it didn't seem to be getting any better.
        "Let's call your mom and see what she thinks about your moving down here to live with us," Dad said one day.
        "Okay," I said.
        By that point, I really didn't think she'd care. I mean, I knew she and Randy loved me, but they were so wrapped up in their personal problems that I would be just one less thing they had to deal with. And I was right. Mom even said she had already thought about calling to see if I could stay, and that's what I did.
        I didn't even go home after Spring Break. They packed up my stuff (although they missed quite a few CD's and other things) and sent it down to me. My mother had no idea--at least from me--that I was gay, and I was going to get to live with the two happiest people I had ever been around.
        Dad and Dave were living in town--east of the bridge, as they said--but they were building a house on a magnificent lot on a lagoon on the beach proper. I enrolled in Crawford High School and finished out my junior year, but the next year we would be in the new house and I would be going to Beachside High School.
        * * *
        About a week after I was there, Wade's mother called. Dave spoke to Wade all the time, but he didn't usually speak to Wade's mom.
        "What did she want?" Dad asked Dave as soon as he got off the phone.
        "You're not going to believe this. She wanted to know if I'd 'take' Wade." He did his fingers in little quotation marks in the air when he said the word "take."
        "What?"
        "Yeah. Apparently her company wants her to relocate to England, and she's going to be traveling all over the damn place from there. She thinks he needs more stability than she can give him, so now it's time for him to live with his father," Dave said.
        "I hope you said 'yes,'" Dad said.
        "Of course I said 'yes,'" Dave said.
        "All right!" I said, enthusiastically.
        "He'll be here just as soon as school is out," Dave said. "It looks like our boys are going to be with us full time from now on."
        "That's wonderful," Dad said.
        "Oh, in other news, Wade came out to her as a 'homosexualist.' Her word. Honest to God," Dave said.
        "'Homosexualist?'" Dad asked.
        "Don't ask me where she got it. Maybe she just can't bring herself to say 'homosexual,' or 'gay,' or even 'queer.' Wade's not like you and me, Babe. He's a homosexualist, according to his mother," Dave said.
        Dad and Dave laughed a little bit.
        When Dave said Wade had come out, I got hard instantly. I was juicing out pre-cum in about three heartbeats, and I was grinning my fool ass off. They noticed. The grin, anyway.
        "You like Wade, don't you?" Dave asked.
        "Yeah, I like Wade. Of course, I like Wade. Wade's a great guy," I said.
        They smiled at each other, and I figured they were thinking, "Yeah, he