Second Semester (#12)

Chapter 01

(Tim's Perspective)
       Kyle woke up Christmas morning with a headache. In the time I had known Kyle, he had never been sick a single day. In fact, he told me he had only missed five days for sickness in the whole time he had been in school. It was five consecutive days when he was in the third grade, and he had had chicken pox.
       "I think you've got a hangover, Babe," I said.
       "I guess I had a lot to drink last night," he said.
       "You had a good bit, Kyle," I said.
       "Did I embarrass you, Babe? I'm so sorry if I did, Tim. Please forgive me," he said.
       "Kyle, you didn't embarrass me one bit. In fact, you didn't even act drunk. I knew you were drunk, but you didn't even slur your words," I said.
       "Tim, I'm not a lush. I don't know what got into me, man. I'm not a drunkard, Tim, so please don't think that I am. I'm not. Okay?"
       I couldn't exactly tell if he was teasing me or not.
       "Kyle, we've been together for almost three years. I know you're not a lush. I know you're not a drunkard. And last night was Christmas Eve. And it was also the rehearsal dinner for our brothers. Don't beat yourself up about this, Babe. Let's get in the shower, and I'll make that headache go away," I said.
       "We know each other pretty good, don't we?" Kyle said.
       "I'd say we do, Kyle," I said.
       "You know me, and you still love me? You still want to be with me?" he asked.
       "Kyle, let me tell you a little secret, okay? I'm never leaving you. In a few years, I expect us to be standing right where those guys will be standing tomorrow, saying the same vows of commitment. And Justin and Brian are going to be at our side, doing the same thing. That's the way it's going to be, Kyle."
       "Tim, if you left me, I would die. I couldn't function. Imagine Jeff losing Clay? They were like us, you know?"
       "I do know. I can't imagine that, Kyle. I refuse to think about it," Tim said. "Let's get in the shower. I want to wash your hair for you and take care of you."
       He took a couple of aspirins from a bottle that was in the bathroom. I knew he wasn't feeling all that bad, but I wanted to treat him like a baby. My baby. I made him sit down on the floor of the shower, and I sat down behind him with my legs straddling him. I pampered him and rubbed him and shampooed his hair. When I was finished doing that, I turned him around and impaled myself on his penis.
       "Oh, Tim. I love you so much," he said directly into my ear. "I could eat you up."
       After a few minutes of gently rocking back and forth, I felt Kyle climax inside me. That usually makes me come, and he usually wants to get out of me right away. I started to get up, but he held me down.
       "Not yet," he said. "Keep rocking," he said, so I did. In another five or six minutes I was as close as I've ever been in my life, but he hadn't pushed me over the edge yet. He put his hand on my penis, though, and that did it for me. He came again at the same instant. That had to rank as one of the truly spectacular orgasms of my life.
       "Was it good, Babe?" he asked.
       "It was unbelievable," I said.
       "For me, too. But get off now, okay?"
       He did the same thing for me that I had done for him, only the second time around we each only came once.
       "Merry Christmas," he said, after we were finished our shower and were getting dressed.
       "That's right. I forgot. Merry Christmas to you, too. Kyle, about what we just did in the shower . . . I don't know that it's ever been any better. Thank you for loving me," I said.
       "I'm the one who's thankful for you," he said. "I definitely got the better half of this bargain."
       We wrapped our arms around each other and kissed long and tenderly.
       "Oh, ain't that sweet, Brian. The two little Christmas love birds."
       It was Justin, of course, and he just barged in because we had forgotten to lock the door. We really don't mind when he and Brian do stuff like that, and we do it to them, too. I think by this point the two couples have seen each other doing just about everything either couple does in bed. Had any of the others done it, it would have been a different story, but with Justin and Brian it really wasn't a problem.
       "Hey. Merry Christmas, guys," Kyle said, and he actually gave each of them a friendly kiss on the lips.
       What the hell, I thought, and I kissed both of them, too. I didn't see any reason not to, and that's certainly how I feel about them.
       "Where's the mistletoe?" Justin asked, looking around for it, to be comical.
       "How you feeling?" Kyle asked him.
       "Tell you the truth, I got me a little headache this morning," Jus said.
       "You want some aspirins? I got some in the bathroom," Kyle said.
       "Yeah. Let me have a couple," he said.
       "Go get 'em. They're on the counter," Kyle said.
       Justin took a couple of aspirins, and the four of us went downstairs. We would be having brunch in the clubhouse later on, but we got cups of coffee and some pastries to tide us over. Craig and Grandpa were in the den, and Grandpa was holding Rob.
       "Where are Grandma and Cherie?" Kyle asked.
       "They went to Mass," Craig said. He wasn't looking too good.
       "Why didn't you go?" Kyle asked him.
       "Because I feel like shit, Kyle. I drank too much last night," Craig said.
       "Did you take some aspirins?"
       "No. I didn't know where they were. Do you have some?"
       "Yeah, there should be a bottle of them in the kitchen. Come on. Let's go," Kyle said.
       He and Craig went out to the kitchen.
       "Merry Christmas, boys," Grandpa said. We wished him Merry Christmas, too.
       "Are all of you feeling okay?"
       Brian and I said we were fine, but Justin kind of moaned. Grandpa grinned at him.
       "You'll learn your limits, Jus," Grandpa said.
       "I dunno. Maybe the Baptists got it right, and you shouldn't drink firewater," Justin said. "It makes you feel good when you're doing it, but the next day . . . Whoa!"
       Grandpa was chuckling at him.
       Craig and Kyle came back into the room, and Kyle got his camera to take pictures of Grandpa and the baby. The baby made a fart, and Kyle giggled at it.
       "Craig," Grandpa said, and sort of reached Rob out to give him to Craig.
       "Shit," Craig said.
       "I'm afraid you're exactly right, Son," Grandpa said, and we all laughed.
       Craig took Rob upstairs to change his diaper, and, of course, Kyle was right behind him with his camera.
       "That's one of the joys of being a grandparent. You can just hand them over to their parents when they're messy," Grandpa said.
       *****
       The rest of the family gradually drifted in, and it got to a point where we decided to go out to the clubhouse so everybody could sit on furniture. The den is big, but it isn't big enough for twenty-some-odd people to sit on furniture. Besides, the playpen for Rob was out there, and they wanted to put him in it.
       We opened gifts, and the big surprise from the grownups was four jet skis for the family. I had ridden on one of those one time in California, and I knew they were fun. I gave Kyle a spear gun for SCUBA diving, and he gave me a new Seiko watch. I had broken my watch about a month before, so that would come in real handy.
       Christmas was kind of upstaged by the wedding the next day, and I had a much better time at that than I thought I would have. The food was excellent, and I danced a good bit, too. Kyle took a lot of pictures, even though they had a professional photographer there doing it, too. After the wedding, we partied some more back at the house, but Kyle and Justin were careful not to drink too much. I don't know how much Sean had to drink, but he didn't act like he was really drunk. It was a busy holiday season, but we had lots of fun.

(Kevin's Perspective)
       The day after the wedding we were hanging around the house resting from the incredible pace of the last three days. We had seen my relatives off that morning, and I was sitting quietly, reading a book I had gotten as a Christmas present. Rick was out with the kids checking out the jet skis. My cell phone rang, and I answered it.
       "Hello," I said.
       "Hello. Mr. Foley? or Mr. Mashburn?"
       It was a woman's voice that I didn't recognize.
       "It's Kevin Foley," I said.
       Rick never answers my cell phone. I wondered why she thought I might be him.
       "Mr. Foley, this is Cathy Griffin. You don't know me, but you know my mother, Rose Martinez," she said.
       Rose Martinez? Who the hell was that, I wondered. If I knew her, I didn't know her well.
       "She spent Thanksgiving at your house," she said.
       "Oh! Miss Rose! Of course! Is something the matter with her?" I was kind of worried.
       "Oh, she's fine. But thanks for your concern. I believe she told you about my son? Todd?"
       "Yeah. She did. I thought he was going to call me, but he never did. She said he and his dad don't get along," I said.
       "Well, that's sort of an understatement, but, yes, basically," she said. "Todd's fourteen, and he's a freshman in high school. He came out to us as being gay last August, and it's been very stressful at home ever since. They argue constantly. My husband won't let Todd do anything with his friends because he's afraid Todd is going to find a boyfriend or something. I don't really understand it. He refuses to accept the fact that Todd is gay, and he says that he went through the same phase when he was Todd's age. He insists that Todd will get over it, just as he did."
       "I see."
       I said that because I didn't know what else to say, and she had stopped talking, like it was my turn to say something. I wondered just how "over" being gay Mr. Griffin really was.
       "My mother believes that Todd would be very happy in your home. Yesterday, Todd and Larry--Larry's my husband--got into a huge fight, and I thought there was a real possibility of violence. Todd ran out of the house, and he was gone for five hours. I was worried sick, but my husband wasn't. In fact, he and his two brothers went out and shot pool.
       "Mr. Foley, I love my husband very much. I know that in time he'll accept Todd for who he is, or for who he thinks he is, but in the meantime, we need a break. We have two other children younger than Todd, and the constant bickering and fighting and screaming between Larry and Todd have the two little ones scared to death. Todd is very big for his age. He was an early bloomer, and, frankly, in a fistfight between the two of them, my money would be on Todd. I can't have that happen, Mr. Foley. That would destroy our family."
       "Please call me Kevin," I said. "You're in Texas, right?"
       "We live in Houston, but actually we're in Pensacola right now. Larry and I are both from here, and we came here for Christmas because this is where both our families are," she said. "We're staying at my in-laws' house right now."
       "You could be here pretty quick, couldn't you?"
       "Yes. We could," she said.
       "How does Todd feel about living here?" I asked.
       "He asked me to call you," she said.
       "I feel like Todd is family already," I said. "I think Miss Rose had a good time when she was here, and we certainly consider her extended family. Why don't you bring Todd over. We've got plenty of room for him, and there are some other boys living here who'll take him under their wings."
       "My mother loves you and Rick, and she seems especially to love Kyle and Justin. I'm not sure who they are, but she adores them," she said.
       "They're two of our sons. They're both nineteen, and they have a very special fondness for Miss Rose. One of our other sons, Murray Shultz, is the grandson of your mother's roommate. They've taken Murray to Pensacola several times to see his grandmother, and they always take Miss Rose out for a day on the town with them when they do that," I said.
       "I know. How nice of them! At first I couldn't believe that two young men were willing to do that. It's extraordinary," she said.
       "Yeah, I know. They're incredible, but this is a house full of incredible kids," I said.
       "And incredible adults, as well, it sounds like. What's the fee?" she asked.
       "Fee? There's no fee," I said. I thought for a second. "Yes, on second thought, there is a fee, and here's what it is. You and your husband have to help some kid out, when and if you have the opportunity. And Todd's going to have to help some kid out in his lifetime, when and if he has the chance."
       "We can afford to help out financially, too," she said.
       "What do you and your husband do for a living?" I asked.
       "Jerry's a plastic surgeon, and I'm a pediatrician," she said.
       Oh, shit!! I thought. These people are my parents, and this kid is me! Yes! Oh, yes! Bring his ass on!
       "Well, er, . . ."
       "We can afford to help out, Kevin," she said.
       "Cathy, my. . . my parents are both doctors, and my mom's a pediatrician. My dad's a heart surgeon," I said.
       "You know the type, then, don't you?"
       "Yeah. Pretty much," I said. "My dad's not like that, though."
       "Good," she said, but I detected skepticism in her voice.
       I had trouble believing that my dad could ever be arrogant and overbearing, the way some of his friends and colleagues are.
       "The foster boys get $80 a week in allowance. The State of Florida gives us $500 a month for each foster child we have. You can decide from that what you want to send us, but this isn't a money-making scheme for Rick and me," I said.
       "If I thought it was, I wouldn't be talking to you. We're paying eleven hundred dollars a month in tuition for his school. We'll send that to you, instead. Kevin, I have to be truthful with you. I knew your parents are both doctors. My mother met them, remember? Besides, the name Edward Foley isn't exactly unknown in medical circles in this part of the country. When I told my husband I was calling you and that you are Edward Foley's son, he approved," she said. "Is it a 'go?'" she asked.
       "Absolutely. We'd love to have Todd here, for as long or as short as he needs to be here," I said.
       "Thank you, Kevin. We're in Destin, and we'll be there in about a half hour. Now, where exactly do you live?"
       Whoa! I thought. Give me some advance warning, why don't you?
       "I thought you were in Pensacola," I said.
       "Well, I took a chance," she said. "On my mother's advice."
       I gave her directions to our house. We said our goodbyes.
       Rick was out with the boys playing with the new jet skis. I ran outside to tell him what had just transpired.
       "Hey, Babe. What's up?" he asked when I got to him.
       "Walk over here with me, would you?" We walked away from the kids to talk in private.
       "What's the matter?" He was in a full-body wet suit, and he actually looked very sexy in that thing.
       "Do you remember me telling you about my conversation with Miss Rose about her grandson at Thanksgiving?"
       "Vaguely, but I do remember," he said.
       "Well, he's going to be here in thirty minutes or so," I said.
       "What?" he asked. He was a little surprised, as I had been.
       I told him about my conversation with Cathy Griffin.
       "We need to get the boys out of the water," he said. "By the way, these jet skis are awesome. Justin and Kyle have been playing 'chicken,'" he said. "Look."
       I looked out on the lagoon to see my two oldest sons going into a head-on collision. Justin turned away in the nick of time.
       "Fuck you," Justin screamed at Kyle.
       "Only in your dreams," Kyle screamed back.
       "No. Unh-unh. They can't do that. We can't have that, Rick," I said. "We have to talk to them about that."
       He started laughing.
       "They're not going to crash. They're not stupid, Babe. That one was close, but most of the time they both turn off way before they're going to crash," he said. "They're high-spirited boys, Babe."
       "I don't give a shit how high-spirited they are. They're not doing that. Were you doing that, too?" I asked.
       "Yeah, I was, Kevin, and it's perfectly safe. It's an incredible rush, too," he said.
       "No. Nobody's doing it ever again. I refuse to be worried to death about you or about them when y'all are out here on these things. Rick, this is a bottom-line issue with me, and I mean it," I said.
       "Okay. I hear you. No more 'chicken.' Let me call them in so they can meet their new brother. What's his name, anyway?"
       "Todd. Todd Griffin," I said.
       Rick whistled them in, and they came in right away. I could tell Kyle and Justin both had erections in their wetsuits, and Sean had one, too. Brian was also in a wet suit, but he didn't have an erection.
       "What's up?" Kyle asked when he got on the dock.
       The boys formed a semi-circle around Rick and me. Murray looked so trim and so good that it was absolutely amazing. He and Denny were just in Speedos, and they looked a little blue from the temperature. Their teeth were chattering, in fact. It was about sixty degrees Fahrenheit, but that really isn't warm, especially if you are wet. Tim had on a beach coat, so he didn't look as cold as Denny and Murray did.
       "All right. First of all, no more of this 'chicken' shit. We cannot have that in this house," I said.
       "No more chickenshit? That's it for you, Kyle. Been nice to know you, Bubba. No more chickenshit in the house, though," Justin said.
       All of them laughed, and I knew I had set that up wrong.
       "I'm serious," I said. "No more playing 'chicken' on the jet skis. And Rick and I mean that. No more. That's way too dangerous."
       They were waiting for Rick to say something, and so was I.
       "He's right. It's dangerous," Rick finally said. "No more. I know I did it, but I'm not ever doing it again, and y'all aren't either. That's final."
       Kyle and Justin looked at each other like they were no more going to obey that order than fly. I know both of them have a conscience, though, and I was fully prepared to use every manipulative trick that I had learned in Catholic school to put a guilt trip on them to keep them from doing that. That "chicken" game scares me to death.
       "What about drag racing? I got ole 'Greased Lightning' there, and I'm ready to go," Kyle said.
       "Racing is fine, just no 'chicken' racing," I said. "This 'chicken' stuff almost made me forget why I came out here. Y'all are getting a new brother in about . . . " I looked at my watch. "ten minutes. Get some clothes on and come inside. Everybody."
       "We need showers," Rick said.
       "Where are your clothes?" I asked him.
       "In the locker room, same as them," he said.
       "Hurry up," I said, "and get them to hurry up, too," I said.
       "Babe, did you expect a new boy for Christmas?" Rick said.
       "No, but I guess he's our New Year's Baby. He's only fourteen. I hope this isn't another Sean," I said.
       "Me, too, but Sean seems to be doing so well," Rick said.
       "Go get your shower. Now," I snapped.
       "Are you pissed off at me, Kevin?" Rick asked.
       "I'm a little rattled right now. Seeing them playing 'chicken' scared me to death, and we've got this new kid showing up virtually unannounced. I'm sorry I was short with you," I said.
       "And I'm sorry I didn't use better judgment about the game. Will you forgive me?" Rick asked.
       He knows I can never stay angry at him for very long.
       "Only if you'll forgive me," I said.
       "Then it's a done deal," he said, and he gave me a sweet kiss, one I was only too happy to return.

(Rick's Perspective)
       When I went into that shower room, it was like going into that pool of seals at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. They were slipping and sliding everywhere. One would go down on the floor, and two more would jump on him. They were having fun, and I was tempted to get into it with them. But the new boy was going to be here in a few minutes, and I knew we all had to be in the house when he got here.
       I learned to whistle through two fingers when I was a little kid. I know Kyle can do it, too, and he has used it more than once to get everyone's attention. I used it then.
       "Everybody shut up," I said.
       Justin and Kyle were still laughing and poking each other.
       "I said, shut the fuck up!"
       They got quiet.
       "You've basically got five minutes to get finished in here and to get into that house to meet your new brother. No talking whatsoever. Let's go," I said.
       I don't know how well they washed themselves, but they were out of there in about two minutes. There are only four shower heads, so they couldn't have washed very well, considering there were eight of us in there. Not one of them said a word, though. In five minutes they were all in the den.
       "So where the hell is he?" Kyle asked.
       "He probably stopped to jerk off," Justin said.
       "I know I would," Kyle said.
       They all laughed at their foolishness.
       "Are all gay guys as funny as these two?" Sean asked.
       "It depends on how you define 'funny,'" Justin said. Then he grabbed Sean in a headlock-hug.
       We all laughed. Everybody was in a great mood, but I felt bad about letting the kids play 'chicken.' I should have known that would scare Kevin.
       "What kind of refreshments do we have in the house?" I asked.
       "We've got a ton of stuff from the wedding," Kyle said. "You want me to make something up? Some trays?"
       "Yeah. Just a couple. One sweet and one non-sweet," I said.
       "Gotcha. Come help me, Tim," Kyle said.
       Kyle no more needed Tim's help than the man in the moon, but Kyle never wants to do anything by himself. If he had had to make those trays alone, it would have been at least ten or fifteen minutes that he was without human company. That much time alone is unacceptable to Kyle. He brought those trays out seconds before the new boy and his mother rang the doorbell.
       Kevin and I answered the door together. When we opened the door, I wasn't expecting anything like what I saw. Todd was a good six feet tall, blond hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. He had shoulders about three feet across, and his face should have been on the cover of XY Magazine. His body was a perfect inverted pyramid, and his waist couldn't have been more than about twenty-eight inches. I thought he was a god off Mt. Olympus.
       "Hi. You must be Cathy, and you must be Todd," Kevin said. "This is Rick Mashburn, my partner, and I'm Kevin Foley."
       We all shook hands.
       "Come on in. Your new brothers are in here waiting for you, Todd," Kevin said.
       "Thanks," Todd said. "This is a nice place. Thanks for having me."
       I could not believe that kid was fourteen years old. No way. That boy was self-confident and very poised. Kyle was like that when we met him, but Kyle had been sixteen, not fourteen. I wondered if Kyle had been like that at fourteen.
       Todd met the boys, and it took about thirty seconds for them to warm up to him. He was very masculine and attractive. It was like he had been there for months.
       "Come and see the clubhouse, and all the other stuff we got here," Kyle said.
       They dragged him outside, him petting the dogs all the while. I knew that boy was going to fit in. That one was an alpha male in the making, and I knew it instinctively.
       "Well, he seems to have hit it off well initially with the other boys," Cathy said.
       "Yeah. We've got some incredible kids here, Cathy. Todd is going to do just fine. Just looking at him, I figure he doesn't have any problems fitting in at school," Kevin said.
       "Well, yes and no," she said. "He's bigger, and he looks older, than other freshmen, so he didn't have many friends in his class. But he had friends. Juniors and seniors, mostly. My husband just wouldn't let him do anything with them."
       "He's got seven boys here who are already his friends," I said. "This is truly a remarkable group of guys."
       "I can see that," Cathy said. "Thank you so much."
       "Cathy, the way we look at it is every new boy is a gift to our family. We might be a little bit different from the family he came from, but we're a real family."
       "I know," Cathy said. "My mother has been lobbying for Todd to come here since Thanksgiving. It's difficult, though, you know," she said, and she teared up a little.
       "Think of it as Todd going to boarding school," Kevin said.
       "I know. I have thought of that," she said. "In fact, I have thought of actually sending him to boarding school. This will be better, though, I think."
       "We're going to need some documents," Kevin said. "Like his birth certificate and power of attorney so we can act in loco parentis."
       "Yes. I have a power of attorney document right here," she said, opening her purse. "My brother-in-law drew it up for us this morning, and my husband and I both signed it. My brother-in-law is a lawyer, so it should be good."
       She handed it to me, and I scanned it. It looked just like the one we have for Sean. I gave it to Kevin, and he looked at it, too.
       "I can fax his birth certificate to you as soon as we get home," she said. "I guess you'll need his school records, too."
       "The school can request those. How are his grades?" Kevin asked.
       "He does well in school. Todd is a good kid, guys. The conflict with his father is pretty much all my husband's making. Todd has a touch of the normal adolescent rebelliousness, but it's not severe at all. He'll do just fine," she said.
       The kids came back inside, and Todd appeared to be quite excited.
       "Mom, you should see this place. They have a boat and four jet skis, and there's a pool table in the clubhouse. And they even have a weight room," Todd said.
       "Good," Cathy said. "It sounds like just the ticket for you."
       "Yeah, and you know what the best thing is? Every one of these guys is gay. Just like me," he said.
       "I know, Son. Grammy told me," Cathy said.
       "Can I offer anybody coffee or a coke or anything?" Kyle asked.
       "I'll have a coke," Justin said.
       "Get it yourself. I meant the company, not you," Kyle said.
       "No, thank you," Cathy said. "In fact, I really need to get back on the road."
       "You've got all of our phone numbers, right?" Kevin asked, as we were showing Cathy out.
       "Yes," she said.
       "Todd will have a cell phone of his own in a few days," I said. "Make sure your mother knows your number, when you get it," I said to Todd.
       "Okay," he said.
       Cathy and Todd walked out to her car. Kevin and I shut the front door to give them some privacy, and we went back into the den with the other guys.
       "Whoa! That boy's a stud. He said he's only fourteen years old," Justin said.
       "He's taller than I am," Brian said.
       "Do you fellows like him?" Kevin asked.
       "He seems real nice," Tim said. "He's going to fit right in."
       "Good. Thanks for opening your hearts, guys. I know it isn't easy having a steady stream of new boys in the house, but you know Rick and I love all of you. And we're going to love this boy, too," Kevin said.
       "I'm already in love with him," Sean said.
       We all laughed, but I wondered if Todd would become the object of someone's affections.

(Todd's Perspective)
       My mom and I both cried when we said goodbye in their driveway, but she and I both knew my moving away for a while was the best thing that could happen. I know my dad is a smart man, and all, but he absolutely will not accept the fact that I'm gay. At first he wanted me to see a psychologist, but he couldn't find anybody that he considered qualified who was willing to try to convert me to being straight. So his way of dealing with my situation was to basically put me under house arrest. Other than going to school, I could do absolutely nothing, not even Youth Group at church.
       I have known I'm gay since I was ten years old. That's when puberty started, and that's when I had my first crush on a guy. He was my best friend, and I was totally in love with him. I wanted to spend every minute with him. We never did anything sexual, and I wasn't even sure back then what "sexual" meant. He moved when I was eleven, though, and we lost track of each other.
       I decided to come out to my parents last summer. I was getting ready to go to high school, and I figured I would probably meet guys that I wanted to date. I had never had any idea that either one of my parents might be homophobic, and, in some ways, I really don't think they are. At least, not in general. My dad just doesn't want me to be gay, but that isn't something I have any control over. My dad harped on the fact that he had gone through the same kind of phase when he was my age. Well, maybe he did, but I didn't think it was a phase, in my case.
       My dad and I argued a lot about his "phase theory." One time I even asked him how he knew it had been just a phase for him. I mean, I had read about gay guys who got married and had kids and all. He got so mad when I said that, I thought he was going to punch me. I never went there again.
       "Todd, let us show you where your room is," Kevin said. We had been eating snacks from a couple of platters they had out.
       "Okay," I said.
       I got my suitcase. My mom was going to send the rest of my clothes and stuff when they got home.
       "This is a really big house," I said.
       "Yeah, but there are quite a few people living here. You're number ten," Kevin said.
       He and Rick took me to my bedroom on the third floor. What was really cool about it was I had my own bathroom. It didn't have a tub in it, but it had a humongous shower, and it even had a urinal. Wow! I had never seen a urinal in a house before, but I knew that was going to be convenient when I woke up hard and had to pee.
       "We'll leave you to put away your clothes," Rick said. "You might want some quiet time, too."
       "Yeah. I'd appreciate that," I said.
       "Okay, Bubba. We'll be downstairs," Kevin said. "Holler if you can't find what you need."
       "Thank you for taking me in," I said.
       "We're glad to do it," Rick said. "See you later."
       "Okay."
       It didn't take me long to put my clothes away, and I put my toilet kit away in the bathroom, too. I didn't take my clothes off, but I stretched out on the bed to think about what was happening. I was only lying there about five minutes when there was a knock on the door.
       "Come in," I said, sitting up.
       "Hi, Todd. Are you busy?"
       "No. Come on in," I said. He was a really good-looking kid.
       "Do you remember my name? Sean?"
       "Sorry. I haven't learned all the names yet," I said.
       "It'll take you a few days to get to know us and all about us," he said. "I just came here in early September, so I remember how it was."
       "Cool. Are you from around here?" I asked.
       "No. I'm from Virginia," he said.
       "Do you remember Rose Martinez? She was here for Thanksgiving."
       "Miss Rose? Yeah, I remember her, and Miss Sarah, too."
       "Miss Rose, as you call her, is my grandmother. I don't call her that, though. I call her Grammy. Anyway, she told me about this place because I was having a lot of problems with my dad. We all thought it might be a good idea for me to come here for awhile so maybe he can get used to the idea that I'm gay," I said.
       "He doesn't like gay people, I take it," he said.
       "I don't think he cares if other people are gay. He just refuses to accept the fact that I am," I said.
       "He sounds like both of my parents. I was dating an older guy, and they got a restraining order to keep him away from me," he said. "When I found out about this place on the Internet, I ran away from home to come here."
       "Do your parents know where you are?" I asked.
       "Oh, yeah. They had to give their permission for me to stay here. I talked to them on the phone Christmas day," he said.
       "They said I was going to get a cell phone. Do you have one?"
       "We all do, and they expect us to use them to let them know where we are," he said.
       "Is it really strict here?" I asked.
       "Not really. The pets help Kevin and Rick keep us in line," he said.
       "They use the dogs on the kids?" That was a little scary to me, but he laughed hard.
       "Not the dogs. The four pets I'm talking about are Kyle, Tim, Justin, and Brian," he said.
       "Why do you call them the pets?" I asked.
       "Kevin and Rick treat everybody the same, more or less, but I can tell they love those boys a little more than they do the rest of us. That's all I meant by that," he said.
       "Are those four guys nice?" I asked.
       "They're very nice. I used to think Justin and Brian didn't like me, but I don't think that anymore. I think they like me now," he said.
       "Why did that change?" I asked.
       "Basically because I cleaned up my act," he said. "I was doing a lot of stupid shit, and it got me into trouble when we were on a trip. I'm seeing a counselor now, and I'm taking medicine, too. I'm much better. I feel a lot better, and I'm much nicer than I used to be."
       "I know everybody here is gay. Do any of the kids have, like, boyfriends?" I asked.
       "Kyle and Tim are boyfriends, and so are Justin and Brian. I have a boyfriend named Scott Michaels, and Denny is dating a guy named John something. I can't remember John's last name, though. You'll be going to Beachside High School, and it's a pretty cool school. Kyle's in college now, but when he was a senior, he was president of the Student Government Association, and he was out to everybody before he was elected. That was before I got here, though."
       "That's cool that they elected a gay guy," I said. "So I guess it's not really homophobic there."
       "Oh, it has its share of assholes, don't think it doesn't," he said, "but, for the most part, they don't mess with the out kids. It's kind of like the way it works here. The atmosphere is such that it would be way uncool to be homophobic, just like it would be way uncool to break rules around here."
       "What are the rules?"
       "Basically, no sex in public, or talking about sex in public, and no forced sex."
       "That's it? Those are the only rules?" That sounded too good to be true.
       "Those are the main ones, or, really, just the ones about sex. You can also talk about sex in public, just not what you and your partner do in private. And, really, we tease one another about sex a lot. It's just that Kevin and Rick don't want to know the details of our sex lives, I guess you could say," he said.
       "I've never had sex," I said.
       "You're not the only one," I said. "Murray hasn't had sex yet, either. I assume Denny and his boy have sex, but he's never said, and I've never asked."
       "I wouldn't mind having sex," I said.
       "With me?" he replied, somewhat surprised or shocked or something.
       "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant in general," I said. "The idea of anal sex doesn't interest me, though."
       "I'm dying to try it, but my boyfriend won't let me," he said.
       "Try what? Anal sex?"
       "Yeah. I'd like to fuck him," he said.
       "Would you let him, uh, like, uh, fuck you?" I asked. That was the first time I had ever said the F-word aloud.
       "Hell, no," he said. "That's probably why he won't let me fuck him. I guess fucking is a two-way street."
       There was a knock on the door.
       "Come in," I said.
       "Hi, guys. What are y'all doing? Todd, I'm Kyle and this is Tim, just in case you didn't remember," he said.
       "We're just talking," Sean said.
       "You're not putting the make on him already, are you?" Kyle asked.
       "I told you the other day that I don't do that anymore," Sean said. "The only person I'm having sex with now is Scott. Don't you remember?"
       "I remember. I'm just pulling your dick a little bit," Kyle said.
       "What were you guys talking about?" Tim asked.
       "Sex," Sean said.
       "I figured that," Kyle said. He had sort of a strange way of talking sometimes. Kind of gruff, almost. "Todd, if you have questions about sex, don't be afraid to ask, you hear? We don't know much about pussy, but we know a lot about dick. No question is too dumb, either. Kevin and Rick won't ever bring it up, usually, but we've had some great talks about sex. And about being gay, too."
       "Okay. Just so you'll know, I'm a virgin," I said. I wanted to get that out in the open.
       "That's cool. I used to be one, too," Kyle said. "Y'all probably didn't cover this with all the sex talk, but we tease each other a good bit around here. But it's all in fun. We try never to hurt anybody's feelings with teasing. You're the masculine type, but if you weren't, like ole Murray, we wouldn't tease you about that, either. If there's something you don't want to be teased about, say so. By the way, it's okay to smoke cigarettes in the house, but that's all. No drugs." He looked at Sean when he said that.
       "I'm clean now, Bubba. It's been over a month since I smoked weed," Sean said.
       Wow! I thought. He's a toughie. He's cute, though, and he seems pretty smart, too.
       "We came up to see if y'all want to shoot some pool," Kyle said.
       "Sure," I said. And that's how we spent the afternoon and evening.

Chapter 02

(Kyle's Perspective)
       It took a few weeks, but I finally closed on my rental property right after Christmas. I ended up buying three three-bedroom condos in a high rise and two houses. Both of the houses are old, and one of them needs to be painted, inside and out. Thanks to Mr. Cliff, Mr. Emery, and Mr. Dan, my little rental empire is underway. Now I just have to hope and pray the damn things will rent.
       Tim and I really like Todd, the new boy. He is very handsome, but mostly he's just plain nice. He's also a very good athlete.
       "Are you going to play sports for school?" Tim asked him a couple of days after he got there.
       "I'd like to play baseball," he said. "Is there a freshman team?"
       "Only in football," Tim said. "It's just JV and varsity in the other sports. I tried out for JV when I was a freshman, but I didn't make it."
       "Did you try out again as a sophomore?" Todd asked.
       "No. I started working the summer after my freshman year, and I didn't play summer ball. Kyle and I worked together as the pool boy and the beach boy at a motel," Tim said.
       "Is that how y'all met?" he asked.
       "No. We had started dating in January. In about two weeks, it's going to be three years for us. Did you realize that, Babe?" I said.
       "You guys have been dating for three years?" Todd asked. He sounded a little surprised.
       "Well, I don't call the way we are now dating. We figure this is it for us. We live together. We're a couple, man," I said.
       "That's amazing. You guys are high school sweethearts," he said.
       "Exactly. You don't know that you won't find you a young boy that you'll fall head over heels in love with when school starts back. There's a lot of fish in that big, gay sea out there. Sort of like rainbow trout, you know?"
       He and Tim laughed.
       "Kyle, you said I could ask questions about sex," Todd said.
       "Sure. What's on your mind?" I asked.
       "How long do most guys date before they have sex?" Todd asked.
       "That's a very good question, but I don't think there's a single answer for it. I can tell you about us. It was about two months. Ain't that right, Babe?"
       Tim nodded.
       "But I know some guys think dating and having sex are the same thing. I mean, first time out, there they both come," I said. "It depends on what you're comfortable with."
       "Do you guys have anal sex?" he asked.
       "Yeah, now we do, but it was a long time before we started doing that. Anal sex is a big hang-up for a lot of guys, Todd. We don't do it like that every time, by any means. But it doesn't hurt us anymore. In fact, it never did hurt all that much. Maybe the first couple or three times, and then only at the start of it," I said.
       "Do you guys use condoms?" he asked.
       "No, we don't, and here's why. Neither one of us has ever had anal sex or oral sex with another guy. So, we practice safe sex, but we do it through total monogamy. Justin and Brian do use condoms, even though Justin's been tested for HIV five times, and he turns up negative every time. But Justin's had unprotected sex. It was a few years ago, but he doesn't want to take any chances. That's good sense, to me. A young boy like you starting out, and the two of you both virgins, you don't need a condom. But if you don't know he's a virgin 100% positive, y'all wrap 'em up," I said.
       "Justin told me one time that he plans to get tested for HIV every six months for ten years," Tim said.
       "Are they a monogamous couple?" Todd asked.
       "Oh, yeah. So are Kevin and Rick. I don't want to go into too much of Justin's background, but he was severely sexually abused for about three years. Until we found him that summer we worked at the motel. That was two and a half years ago. That's how long the three of us have been friends. Brian came at the end of October that fall, and he and Justin became a couple around my birthday, wasn't it?" I said.
       "Yeah. They just had their two-year. Don't you remember they had that big deal about who was going to take out who?" Tim asked.
       "Yeah, I remember that now," I said.
       "So who took out who?" Todd asked.
       "They couldn't ever decide, so they did it Dutch treat. Tim and I went with them. You have to know something about the four of us. We're tight. Best friends all around. We love those boys, and they love us, too," I said.
       "It's pretty obvious you guys are very close friends," Todd said. "I know a lot of people, but I don't know if they're real friends. I went to public school until this school year, and all the people I knew there have sort of vanished from my life. My dad didn't let me do anything with friends after I came out last August, so I wasn't able to have any real friendships with the kids at the private school I went to this last semester"
       "Do you have any brothers and sisters?" I asked.
       "Two sisters, ages eleven and eight. Not much companionship there. I mean, we get along okay and all, but they're girls, you know? They're not interested in doing what I'm interested in doing. They know I'm gay and all, if they even know what that means. How could they not know it? My dad and I have had so many arguments about it," Todd said.
       "Is your mom okay with you being gay? She seemed to be," Tim asked.
       "She's wonderful, and so is my grammy. It's just him," he said.
       "Around here, if you say you're gay, you're gay. Can't nobody know that but you. It's the same with our gay friends, too," I said.
       "Do you have a lot of gay friends?" he asked.
       "Quite a few," I said. "There are four next door, for instance. And the Townhouse Boys, of course, plus a lot more."
       "Who are the Townhouse Boys?" he asked.
       "They're your four older brothers. They just got married December 26th. They're on their honeymoon right now," I said.
       "Really? They got married?" he asked.
       "Well, not legally. You can't do that here. It was a commitment ceremony, really. Two couples. Not all four of them together. We consider that marriage, though. We had it at a hotel, and our priest said the ceremony," I said.
       "Are you guys Episcopalians? That's what I am, too," he said.
       "We're Catholics. Well, most of us, anyway. Kevin, Rick, Kyle, Brian and I. Justin's taking instructions to become one right now. Sean's an agnostic, Murray's a Jew, and I don't know what Denny is. Maybe nothing. I just don't know. They all go to Mass with us, though, only the ones who aren't Catholic don't receive communion," Tim said.
       "Our parish in Houston is very High Church," Todd said.
       "What does that mean?" I asked.
       "Among Episcopalians, if you're High Church, that means the services and beliefs are very similar to Catholics. Low Church is more similar to Protestants, like the Methodists," he said.
       "Before I became a Catholic, I was a Presbyterian. My daddy says wine might be a sacrament in the Catholic Church, but the Presbyterians are the only ones that have a whiskey drink named after them," I said. "He orders 'em, too. Doesn't he, Tim? It's not a bad drink, either."
       My cell rang just then.
       "Hello," I said.
       "Hey. What are you doing?"
       "Tim's sucking my cock. Make it quick," I said.
       Ole Todd's eyes got as big around as dinner plates when he heard me say that.
       "For real?"
       "No, not for real, asshole. Although that ain't a bad idea," I said.
       "That must be Philip," Tim said.
       "Yeah, it is," I said.
       "What?" Philip asked.
       "Tim just said 'That must be Philip,' and I said, 'Yeah, it is.' So when are you and Ryan getting your sorry asses over here, huh? I figured y'all had family stuff before now. We damn sure did," I said.
       "I was just calling to see if you were home. We're coming right now. I'll see your ugly face in ten minutes," he said.
       "Oh, so you heard about the disfiguring scars I got in the accident?" I said.
       "What? What the fuck are you talking about?"
       "They kept it out of the paper and off the TV, so it's no wonder your daddy didn't tell you about it. He doesn't know," I said.
       "We're on our way. Bye," he said.
       "Bye."
       Tim and Todd were both laughing hard.
       "Who was that?" Todd asked.
       "That's an ole boy I've been best friends with all my life. Turns out he's gay, too. His partner is Ryan Pettis, another boy I've been friends with since forever. The three of us wasted a lot of our youth being scared to tell each other we were gay," I said.
       Tim explained Got You Last to Todd.
       "You're a rat, Kyle. I mean, seriously," Todd said, but he was laughing.
       "He said he'd see my ugly face in ten minutes. I couldn't resist," I said.
       "Isn't he going to be mad at you?" Todd asked.
       "Maybe, maybe not. If he is mad, it wouldn't be the first time, that's for sure," I said.
       I learned that day that Philip Andrews, my best friend for all these years, is nothing but a miserable shithead asshole. We were in the clubhouse, and I was in a chair with my back to the door. He and Ryan snuck in with a goddamn paper bag from the grocery store. Tim and Todd had to have cooperated on this. That's the only way I figure it could have happened. Philip got up behind me and dropped that paper bag over my head.
       "I can't see the scars," he said real loud.
       Scared the fucking shit out of me! I didn't know what the fuck had happened.
       "Goddamn it, Philip!" I screamed.
       He and Ryan and Tim and Todd were laughing so hard I thought they were going to piss their pants.
       "Got ya last," Philip said, laughing and grinning his fool face off, after I ripped that damn bag off my head. He started tickling me.
       "Get off me, Andrews. You fag. Cut it out," I screamed.
       "You tried to set me up for Got You Last, didn't you? I knew there hadn't been any fucking accident, you dumb shit. You saw my daddy yesterday, Kyle. Remember? You had to sign some papers? I swear to God, Kyle. You take the fucking cake," Philip said.
       "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," I said.
       "At least give me a hug, you dumb fuck," Philip said, and we hugged big time. I hugged Ryan, too, and they both hugged Tim.
       "So who's this?" Philip asked, meaning Todd. "Aren't you going to introduce us? Huh? Is this what you're thinking with right now." He pulled on my dick when he said that.
       "Give me time, Philip. First you scare me nearly to death. I mean, I'm surprised I ain't dead on this floor right now. Then you start molesting me. And then . . . "
       I couldn't even get it all out, I was laughing so hard.
       "Tim, I feel sorry for you. To be linked up with this one? Bless your heart, Bubba," Philip said.
       "I know. We never have any fun," Tim said.
       "Anyway, Philip and Ryan, this is our new brother, Todd . . . what?"
       "Todd Griffin," Todd said.
       "Pleased to meet you, Todd. Son, you have come into the Slough of Despond. This fucker don't even know your name. You call me when you need help, okay? I can tame this beast," Philip said.
       "Is it like this all the time?" Todd asked.
       "Yeah. Pretty much, with these two," Ryan said.
       "Have you checked the family Web site lately? I just put up some pictures of you diving. Have you seen 'em?" I asked.
       "Kyle, I've been so damn busy, I haven't taken a shit in three days," Philip said.
       "I believe you. I can smell it from here," I said.
       Ole Todd was laughing his ass off. I guess he came from a pretty up-tight family where there wasn't a lot of laughter.
       "Would y'all like something to drink? A coke or a beer? Whiskey?" I asked.
       "I'll have a beer," Philip said.
       "Me, too," Ryan said.
       "What about you, Todd? A beer? I know you want a coke," I said to Tim.
       "I've never had a beer," Todd said.
       "Have you ever tasted beer?" I asked.
       "I've tasted wine at church, but I've never tasted any other alcohol," Todd said.
       "You ought to taste a beer," I said. "Even if you don't finish it. It's a cultural thing," I said.
       "Okay," he said. "I'll have a beer, too."
       Philip walked into the kitchen with me to get the drinks.
       "What's up with him? He's never even tasted beer?" Philip asked.
       "He's only fourteen," I said. "I know you and I had drunk plenty of beer by the time we were fourteen, but this boy's been sheltered. His daddy wouldn't let him go out with his friends."
       "He's only fourteen? Jesus, I thought he was our age," Philip said. "I wish I had looked that good and that old at fourteen."
       "You don't look that good or that old now," I said.
       "I knew you were going to say that, Kyle," Philip said. "You'd have ruined my day, if you hadn't."
       I laughed.
       "Did y'all have a good Christmas?" I asked.
       "It was all right. One of the things you're going to find out when you and Tim move away from here is when you come home you got to split your time. That's why we weren't over here any sooner. You got your grandmas, your grandpas, your aunts, your uncles. Man, that's a lot of people you got to spend time with. And it's on two sides, too. They about wore my ass out," he said.
       Philip lit up a cigarette, and he offered me his pack.
       "Thanks, but I don't really use 'em that much anymore," I said.
       "I never did think of you as a regular smoker," he said.
       "I used to be. I smoked every day," I said.
       "Yeah, two or three," he said.
       "How much do you smoke?" I asked.
       "I'm up to about a half a pack a day now. Ryan, too," he said.
       "That still ain't that much, you know," I said.
       "I know, and that's where I want to keep it, too. I think my daddy smokes about two packs a day," he said.
       "That's a lot. That's an expensive habit, too," I said.
       "You telling me? I paid five bucks for a pack of cigarettes the other night," he said. "Of course, it was at a club, and they kind of had me held hostage, as far as cigarettes were concerned."
       "I'd rather smoke other things," I said.
       "Are you smoking weed, Kyle?"
       "I haven't done that shit since that night you and I swore off. Have you broken your word on that, Philip?"
       "No, sir, I have not. Have you?"
       "No. I just told you that," I said.
       "Kyle, you said you'd rather smoke other things? What the hell you been smoking? Crack?"
       "I was talking about smoking dick, asshole," I said.
       "You shithead. I hate you, Kyle," Philip said.
       "I hear those exact words from Justin Davis five, six times a day," I said.
       "Where is that stud, anyway? Why ain't he here?"
       "I think he and Brian took the dogs out to the woods. They're probably hunting. My daddy got a lease this year, and we've been hunting some," I said.
       "Deer or bird?"
       "Bird. Those are bird dogs," I said.
       "Kyle, you couldn't pick up the fucking phone and call your oldest friend in the whole fucking world and say, 'Hey, Philip. We're going huntin' on my daddy's lease. You want to go?' Huh?"
       "If I called you once, I called you ten times about that, Philip. Do you ever listen to your fucking messages? Huh?"
       "No. Don't get mad, dude," he said.
       "Me get mad? You're the one screaming down my neck, man. Do you read your email?"
       "No," he said.
       "The only things I know to do is to call you and to send you email. If you don't check your messages and you don't read your email, how are we supposed to communicate? Huh?" I was mad a little bit.
       "You could send me snail mail," he said.
       "Do you even know where your snail mailbox is?"
       "No, but Ryan does. He'd get it for me," Philip said.
       "Philip, you know what?"
       "What?" he asked.
       "You are pathetic. But you know what else?"
       "What?" he asked again.
       "You're still my best friend, and I still love you. And I always will," I said.
       I grabbed him up in a big hug. I started getting hard, and so did he, but we didn't have a sexual thing between us.
       "What the hell's going on in here?" Ryan demanded. He, Tim, and Todd were at the door of the kitchen.
       "It's just two old friends who love each other dearly getting reacquainted," Philip said.
       "Reacquainted, my ass. We heard every word y'all said. Or screamed, more like it. Come on. I'm parched. I need a beer to quench my thirst," Ryan said.

(Todd's Perspective)
       I had never been around guys like Kyle and Philip. Before I came here, I had no gay friends whatsoever, at least that I knew of, and being around those guys was a total eye-opener for me. First of all, they were incredibly funny. That business with the paper bag was hilarious. But they just seemed so normal. The thing that had scared me the most about being gay was that I thought I wasn't going to be a normal guy, who liked normal "guy" things. But those guys are normal, everyday guys who just happen to be gay.
       "Who wants to shoot pool?" Philip asked.
       "I do," Kyle said.
       "I don't," Tim said. "I'm going to read and maybe have a little nap. Have fun with your friends, Babe."
       They kissed, and that was so awesome to me. I had never seen two guys kiss before. Wow!
       "If we go out later to eat, do you want to go?" Kyle asked him.
       "Why don't you rustle up some leftovers for us later?" he said. "There's a ton of food, isn't there?"
       "Okay, I will. That's a good idea," Kyle said. "I'll get you up, if you're asleep."
       "Okay," Tim said. He yawned, and then he left.
       "Strip pool. Same rules," Kyle said. "Count what you got on. I'm wearing underwear, jeans, tee shirt, and two shoes, so five pieces for me. Except you can keep your shoes. You need those for traction."
       "I got the same," Philip said
       "The same here, too, except I've got on socks," Ryan said.
       "Take 'em off. What about you?" Kyle asked me.
       "The same, except I've got on a tee shirt and this top shirt. And socks, too.
       "Take off the socks and the top shirt. Everybody starts even. If you scratch, you strip, one piece of clothes at a time," Kyle said. "Eight Ball, deuces wild."
       "What the hell does that mean?" Ryan asked.
       "It doesn't mean anything. That's just some of his bullshit," Philip said. "We're playing Eight Ball."
       "Are we going to lag for break?" Ryan asked.
       I wasn't sure what that meant. In fact, I had never heard that before.
       "No. We're going to break by age. You're the oldest, Philip. You're a month older than me," Kyle said. "I'm second. Ryan, you're third, and, Todd, you're last."
       We shot pool, and those boys were intense. They were good, too. I knew I was out of my league. But it didn't matter if you won or lost when it came to losing clothes. It was just if you scratched. They all got a second beer, but I didn't really like the way mine tasted, so I got a coke on the second round.
       Philip scratched first, and he took off his shirt.
       "Whoa. Look at that stuff. Does that make you hard, Todd?" Kyle said.
       I was laughing too hard to reply.
       "Nobody gets hard looking at somebody's chest, dumbass," Philip said.
       "Oh, yeah? Tell that to the straight boys looking at the girls," Kyle said. "Hell, I got half hard right before Thanksgiving when we were playing strip pool with some girls."
       "I forgot about the straight boys looking at girls' tits. But they wouldn't get hard looking at this chest," he said, rubbing his belly.
       Maybe the straight boys wouldn't, but the gay boys would. In fact, I was, watching him do that. He had a tattoo on the top of his arm, and I thought that was really hot.
       "Who's next? Take your shot," Kyle said. "I think that's you, Todd. Take your shot."
       I took my shot, and I scratched, too. I had to take my shirt off.
       Kyle was the big loser that afternoon. At the beginning of the third game, before anybody had sunk a ball, Kyle scratched. He had to take off his bikini briefs. He had a little tattoo of a monkey right about his briefs, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.
       "I don't care. Philip and Ryan, y'all have seen it all a thousand times before, and you've touched it a few times, too. Do I need to name and point out the parts to you?"
       "No, Kyle. You're right. We have seen all of that a million times before, and it's the same as everybody else's," Philip said. "Let me take my shot."
       "Wait a minute. Let's put some money on this game, Philip. How about twenty bucks? If I win, you pay me twenty. If you win, I pay you twenty. If one of these guys wins, the bet's off," Kyle said.
       "You're on, Kyle," Philip said.
       I had never shot pool with a naked guy before, and I had never shot with guys who bet on the game. In fact, I had only gotten glimpses of naked guys in the shower room at school. I was learning so much.
       Philip didn't scratch, and Kyle moved around the table like he wasn't really naked. He had a very large penis, and it stayed soft the entire game. Mine would have been hard the whole time.
       Kyle won, though. I mean he won the game and won the money. Philip flipped out his wallet and paid Kyle off.
       "There goes my Christmas," Philip said. "That was my Christmas present, Kyle."
       "I hate it. You should have played better pool."
       "I know," Philip said.
       "His real gift was his new Corolla. His Andrews grandmother gave him fifty dollars, Kyle, along with the ten thousand she put away for him. She gave me ten grand, too, only I got to have mine right away. She's a fucking millionaire," Ryan said.
       "I know she is. You got a new car? Let's go look at it," Kyle said.
       "It's at the house. We were at Ryan's, so we came here in his car," Philip said.
       "Is it nice?" Kyle asked.
       "Yeah. It's real nice. Dark blue. Kind of navy blue," Philip said. "It's got a great stereo in it, too."
       "I think Toyota makes the best cars," Kyle said. "I love my Land Cruiser. I used to want a Jeep like Tim's got, but not anymore. It's fun to drive his, but it's not very practical."
       "Is your car a lease?" Philip asked.
       "Yeah. That's the only way my daddy buys cars," Kyle said.
       "Mine, too," Philip said. "Technically, the company owns the lease, and I just drive it."
       "Same here," Kyle and Ryan both said.
       "I meant to ask you. What kind of business did you have with my daddy?" Philip asked.
       "I bought some houses," Kyle said. "Actually, three condos and two houses. Rentals."
       "How'd you pay for those? Did your daddy give you the money?" Ryan asked.
       "Indirectly, yeah, but I bought 'em with the money I get every month from my trust fund," Kyle said.
       "You get money every month? Shit, mine's all tied up until I turn twenty-one," Philip said. "That's why I didn't even see the ten thousand I got from my grandma for Christmas. I hate trust funds."
       "Mine, too," Ryan added. "True, I got the ten grand from Philip's grandma, but I didn't get a dime in cash from my family. It all got sucked into the trust fund."
       I couldn't believe these guys. Trust funds?! Wow! I knew there was money around because of the house we lived in and all, but I thought Kyle was poor, just like the others in the family. Most of them, anyway. I knew he had a nice car, but I figured he was paying for that every month, like most people do.
       "I started getting paid every month when I turned eighteen," Kyle said. "But I don't want to talk about that. Let's go scare up some leftovers or something. Are y'all hungry?"
       It was about five o'clock in the afternoon, and I definitely was feeling a little hungry.
       "Where did all these leftovers come from?" Philip asked. "Did y'all have a big party or something?"
       "Well, of course we did. Jeff and them's wedding," Kyle said.
       "Oh, that's right. My mama said it was real nice," Philip said. "I'm sorry we couldn't be here for it. Now she's starting to put the pressure on me and Ryan to do the same thing."
       "We're going to do it, eventually," Kyle said.
       "We will, too. I want something small, though. Nothing like what they had," Philip said.
       "That big thing was my mama's doings," Kyle said. "Of course, I planned it, so I guess it was my doings, too."
       "My parents had a good time at it," Ryan said. "They said the food was awesome. They said you and your daddy slow danced. Is that right?"
       "Yeah, we did. It was fun, too," Kyle said. "A lot of men were slow dancing together."
       I couldn't imagine my father ever dancing with me. Or hugging me, for that matter.
       "Did Mr. Gene pop a woody?" Philip asked.
       "Naw, I told him not to," Kyle said. He and Ryan laughed hard at that.
       "What's going on out here?" Justin bellowed. "What's all this racket?"
       He and Brian came into the kitchen of the clubhouse where we were getting the leftovers ready.
       "Hey, Bubba!" Philip and Ryan said in unison. Then the four guys hugged each other.
       "Have you guys been hunting?" Philip asked.
       "Yeah," Justin said.
       "Did you do any good?"
       "The dogs flushed two small coveys, and we hit a few. We put 'em in the freezer in the house. We played with the dogs more than we hunted," Justin said.
       "Where's the lease?" Philip asked.
       "It's up in Washington County, near Vernon," Kyle said. "If you got any time, we can go. Do you hunt, Todd?"
       "I've never been hunting. I've never fired a gun, either," I said.
       "We'll teach you," Ryan said. "Do you like being outdoors?"
       "Yeah," I said.
       "Well, it's a lot of fun, especially with these two," Justin said, pointing to the dogs. "Brian's got 'em trained so good."
       "Did my daddy go with y'all?" Kyle asked.
       "Yeah. He was up there," Brian said. "Him and another man. Mr. Stout. He's from Destin. We didn't ride together, and we didn't know they were going to be there, either."
       "The man's name was Mr. Stout?" Kyle asked. "Fat chance."
       "Ugh, that was bad, Kyle. It's going to stink into next week," Philip said.
       "So, are we going hunting or not, Philip?" Kyle asked.
       "Yeah. I reckon we could go tomorrow. Can you go tomorrow?"
       "Yeah, I can go tomorrow. Let me go inside and get Tim and the rest of them," Kyle said.
       *****
       "So, where you from, Todd?" Philip asked after Kyle left the room.
       "I'm from Texas. Houston," I said.
       "Are you gay?" Ryan asked. "All the rest of 'em around here are gay."
       "Yes," I said. "Two days ago I would have told you 'no,' but here it seems so natural."
       "Ryan and I go to FSU in Tallahassee, and we don't hesitate to come out to people, if the subject comes up, which it really doesn't very often. I think more and more, people just don't give a shit. Except the closet cases who are scared to be gay. Some of 'em even marry women," Philip said.
       "So I take it you're not out," Ryan said.
       "Only to my parents, grandmother, and two little sisters. Well, and to all of you now. I came out at home last August, and it's been pretty rough since then at home with my dad. My grandmother knows Kevin and Rick and the guys, and she's the one who suggested I might be better off living here for a while," I said. "So far it's been fantastic."
       "You won't find better people than the people in this house," Philip said. "Have you met Kyle's parents yet?"
       "They're in New York," Brian said.
       "Oh, that's right. They always go on a trip after Christmas. They just about raised me," Philip said. "They're some of the greatest people on this earth. They had another son, Clay, who died. He was also a very good friend. I still think about him a good bit."
       "Kyle does, too," Justin said. "Hey, do you fellows want a drink before we eat?"
       "That sounds good," Ryan said. "What you got? We've been drinking beer, but I'm ready to switch to whiskey."
       "What you want? I think we got just about every kind of liquor there is," Justin said.
       "Do you think you could make a Presbyterian? Kyle was talking about that before," I asked.
       "A what?"
       "Presbyterian. I've heard of that. That's what Kyle's daddy drinks," Philip said.
       "I'll get a recipe," Brian said.
       He went to the computer in the main room of the clubhouse and came back with a printed recipe in a couple of minutes.
       "Here it is," he said, handing the sheet of paper to Justin. Justin read it aloud.

           Ingredients:

           1 oz Blended Whiskey
           Coca-Cola
           Ginger ale
           1 slice Lemon

           Mixing instructions:

           Pour blended whiskey into a highball glass filled with ice cubes.
           Fill with equal parts of cola and ginger ale and stir well.
           Add the slice of lemon and serve.

       "Does anybody know what blended whiskey is?" Justin asked.
       "Yeah, I do. Let me find a bottle of it," Philip said.
       He went to a cabinet that was crammed full of liquor of all kinds. He came back with a bottle.
       "Use this, Jus. This'll be good. I hope y'all got ginger ale and a lemon," he said.
       "Yeah, we got that."
       Justin and Philip made the drinks, and Justin handed me one. I tasted it, and it was very good. It was much better than that beer had been.
       "This ain't a bad drink," Justin said.
       "Let me taste it, Buddy," Brian said, and he took a taste.
       "You're right. It's real sweet, but it's sort of lemony at the same time," Brian said.
       "You want one?" Justin asked.
       "Naw. I just wanted to taste yours," he said.
       "This is a day of firsts for me. First beer, first game of strip pool, first taste of whiskey, first time I've seen guys bet on a pool game. It's so ironic. I'm in a totally gay environment, and I feel more like a real man than I ever have in my life," I said.
       "How about the first cigarette? Have you had one yet?" Justin asked.
       "No," I said.
       "Here, have one of mine," Justin said.
       I knew it was totally stupid of me, but I had wanted to try smoking a cigarette for a long time. I knew there were freshmen at my old school who smoked, but I had never been in a situation before where I had the opportunity. I took one of Justin's cigarettes. He showed me how to light it and how to smoke it. Needless to say, I coughed my head off. They all laughed, but I knew it was because it was funny and not because they were making fun of me.
       "You sucked the smoke in too deep, Todd. Just a little until you get used to it," Ryan said.
       I tried it again, and that time I didn't cough. In a couple of seconds, I got this full-body tingle, and my head got a little light. I didn't like that feeling, although it wasn't really unpleasant. I took another puff, and that one was much easier. I was getting more lightheaded, though. I went ahead and put it out.
       "Now, see. You've smoked a cigarette. You don't ever have to do that again, if you don't want to, but you've done it," Justin said. "Now we just need to get you laid and tattooed, and you'll be just like the rest of us."
       "Do you have a tattoo?" I asked.
       "Yeah. Right down here," he said, pointing to the same general area as Kyle's tattoo. "Brian's got one, too, and both of them's got 'em," he said, pointing to Philip and Ryan.
       "I think tattoos are really cool," I said.
       "We do, too. But not too many. I might get one on my arm where theirs are, but that would be it for me. What about you, Little Buddy?" Justin asked Brian.
       "Yeah, I could stand one on my arm, but it would have to be high up, like Philip's and Ryan's," Brian said. "I might get one when I graduate from medical school. I want it to mean something. The one I have means I'm in love with Justin. But just random stuff on my body? Naw."
       "Do you want to go to medical school?"
       "Yeah. Tim does, too. We want to go to Tulane University and then Tulane Medical School," Brian said.
       "Cool. My parents are both doctors," I said.
       "Kevin's parents are both doctors, and Tim's dad is an oral surgeon. He's a dentist, though, not an M.D.," Brian said.
       Every little bit like that I picked up sort of changed my perception of where I was, and maybe who I was. I had already figured out that the kids in the house were basically pretty smart, although the grammar of Justin and Kyle, and to a lesser extent, Rick, wasn't very good.
       We had studied a unit on the theme of illusion versus reality in literature in my English class first semester, and I now wondered if that was what I was caught up in. I made a mental list.
       Illusion Reality
       All gay guys are effeminate little fairies that don't like sports and like to shop all the time. The gay guys in the house are very masculine, or most of them, anyway, and they like to hunt and shoot pool. And drink, of course.
       All gay guys are depressed and isolated from the people around them. The gay guys in the house are happy and have tons of friends.
       Almost no one is gay. Tons of people are gay.
       All gay guys are on the outs with their families. Most of the gay guys in the house who have families have great relationships with their families.
       All fathers of gay guys hate their sons. The father of at least one gay guy in the house did a slow dance with his son in public.
       All gay guys are promiscuous and can't commit to a life partner. Six gay guys in the house are in committed, long-term relationships, and four gay guys associated with the house have just made a public commitment to their partners.
       All gay guys love cats. The gay guys in the house love dogs. Hunting dogs.
       The parents of all gay guys hate their sons' boyfriends. The parents of Philip and Ryan are putting pressure on them to make a public declaration of their love for each other.
       I had read on the "Car Talk" Web site that the Volkswagen Jetta is the ultimate "gay" car. The guys I met drive Jeeps and pickup trucks and Toyota Land Cruisers and Mazdas and Suburbans and Celicas and Corollas.
       All gay guys want to be hairdressers or interior decorators. Brian and Tim want to be doctors.
       My mind was being blown by the minute.
       The rest of the guys came into the clubhouse just then.
       "Is the food ready?" Kyle asked, rather loudly, to be heard.
       "What have you been doing, Kyle? It doesn't take forty-five minutes to wake somebody up," Phillip said.
       "None of your business, that's what," Kyle said. "Are we ready to eat?"
       "The food's all out. Have at it. I'm having another drink, though, first. We're drinking Presbyterians, and that's a good drink," Justin said.
       "Oh, yeah? You figured out how to make 'em?"
       "Brian got the recipe from the Internet. Do you want me to make you one?" Justin asked.
       "Yeah, please. I know it's a good drink. I've tasted 'em before," Kyle said.
       Kevin and Rick hugged up Philip and Ryan big time when they came into the room. It was obvious they were friends. Philip and Ryan shook hands with Denny like they knew him, and Kevin introduced Murray and Sean to them.
       Justin made drinks for Kyle, Sean, and Kevin, but he gave cokes to the other boys. Kyle went over to the thermostat and adjusted it. Then he went outside and brought in an armload of logs for the fireplace. He lit a fire, and we all sort of gathered around it.
       One by one we went into the kitchen and fixed our plates. The fire was our focus, and we talked of this and that. Florida State was going to play in the Fiesta Bowl that was coming up in a few days, and that got a lot of attention. I'm more of an Oklahoma fan than a Florida State fan, but I kept my mouth shut. I was in Florida, in the home of two Florida State graduates, so I didn't dare voice my support for Oklahoma.
       As the evening was winding down, Kyle said,
       "Eagles, stand up."
       I wasn't sure I knew what he was talking about.
       "Hands up, Eagles," and Philip, Ryan, Tim, Brian, and Kyle raised their fists above their heads. They were all standing up.
       "Round about the council fireside," Kyle intoned. He seemed to have the perfect pitch of that song.
       I knew that song. I jumped to my feet and raised my fist. I'm an Eagle Scout, and I knew what that meant. I was the youngest Eagle in my troop, but my brothers were here with me. Tears were streaming down my face. I was so happy.
       "We have met in comradeship tonight," I sang.
       We finished that song, and all of us were crying.
       Then Kyle started singing Taps. He sang it by himself.

           Taps

           Day is done, gone the sun,
           From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
           All is well, safely rest,
           God is nigh.

           Fading light, dims the sight,
           And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
           From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.
           Thanks and praise, for our days,
           'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, 'neath the sky;
           As we go, this we know,
           God is nigh.

           Sun has set, shadows come,
           Time has fled, Scouts must go to their beds
           Always true to the promise that they made.
           While the light fades from sight,
           And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
           To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.

       "That was fucking beautiful, Kyle," Philip said, and he kissed Kyle on the forehead. "When you started singing 'Round About,' that was our whole childhood, man. And when you made the Eagles stand up, that was more than I could handle. I'm too emotional right now. And Todd stood up with us. He's an Eagle, too. He knew."
       "Kyle, I'm a fucking basket case," Ryan said. "All the years of friendship and fun kind of came together for me tonight. I love you, Kyle."
       I noticed Kevin and Rick, and Denny, Murray, and Sean slip out. It was as though they were leaving the Scouts alone in the clubhouse. Justin isn't an Eagle Scout, evidently, but he stayed with Brian, who is. I had a couple of more Presbyterians that night, and we all slept in the clubhouse, mostly on the floor. I knew I had truly come to where I belonged.

Chapter 03

(Jeff's Perspective)
       Our wedding was unbelievable. Ty actually got some of the food, and he said it was delicious. I was too nervous to eat, plus I really didn't have time because of all the people there were to greet. Ty and I danced the traditional first dance as a married couple, but I danced a bunch after that. I slow danced with Rita and Sonya and Beth and Cherie, and I fast danced with my brothers, too. I danced with them both individually and collectively.
       "Rita, this is the nicest party I've ever been to, and I've been to some really nice ones. Mostly at your house and Beth's house," I said. "Thank you for doing this for us."
       "Gene and I are happy to do this, Jeff. You're like our son, you know," Rita said.
       "Yes, and I consider myself very fortunate to have the two of you," I said.
       "I'm glad your brother and his partner could be here. It's too bad your parents couldn't make it," she said.
       "Yeah, well . . . "
       "I saw that their names were on the invitation list. Did they respond in any way?" she asked.
       "No, and I really didn't expect them to. The same with Tony's parents," I said. "It's too bad all parents of gay men can't be like you, the Murphys, the Foleys, and the Joneses."
       "You're right. Jeff, it's their loss, not yours. I mean, I don't know your parents, but I just don't understand how they could cut off both of their children, as your parents have done. By the way, the Joneses are delightful people. Of course, I'm not surprised, knowing Tyler," she said.
       "Yeah, they're pretty neat people. I wish they lived closer so we could see more of them," I said.
       "Maybe they'll wise up and retire here to Emerald Beach. Surely living in Minnesota must be difficult in the winter," she said.
       "They've actually talked about it, and it's a definite possibility," I said. "Ty and I definitely won't be moving to Minnesota."
       "Jeff, changing the subject . . . when are you going to graduate?" she asked.
       "In May. Ty has another year to go after this one, and then he'll be finished, too," I said.
       "That's marvelous. I know Kevin or Rick will have something lined up for you in the business. They'd better, anyway, or Gene will have a fit," she said.
       "I think we'll be well taken care of," I said.
       "Any thoughts on graduate school? Gene says you don't need an M.B.A. to run a hotel, but they seem to be so popular these days," she said.
       "That's a possibility down the line, I guess, but not right away," I said.
       "Mama, come dance with me," Kyle said as he came up to us.
       "Kyle, I'm talking to Jeff, Son," she said."
       Oh, sorry," Kyle said.
       "That's all right, Rita," I said. "There are still quite a few people I haven't spoken with yet, so I should probably circulate."
       "Yes, you should, Son," she said, and she and Kyle went off to dance.
       "So, Babe, what do you think?" Ty asked me when Rita left.
       "This is the happiest day of my life," I said.
       "Mine, too," he replied. "Jeff, I can't believe how lucky I am to have found you. And on the Internet, too. It's remarkable, isn't it?"
       "Do you remember our first date?" I asked.
       "Yeah. I was so nervous I could barely keep from trembling. I got a hard-on as soon as I saw you, and I was scared to death you'd notice it," Ty said.
       "I did notice it, and I had one, too," I said.
       "I remember thinking about it later and realizing that a hard-on under those circumstances is a pretty big compliment, and I noticed yours, too," Ty said. "Thank God these pants we're wearing are as baggy as they are."
       "I know; me, too. Do you want to dance?" I asked.
       "Are you kidding? If we did that, we'd flood the dance floor," he said.
       I chuckled. "You're right. Maybe we'd better go off in different directions for right now."
       "Okay," he said, and we kissed and split up.
       * * *
       One aspect of the wedding that took me by surprise was the number of gifts we received. Rita had insisted that each couple pick out sterling sliver flatware, china, and crystal patterns, as well as everyday tableware.
       "What are we going to do with this crap, if anybody gives any of it to us?" Tony had said when we were picking it out.
       "Use it, I guess," Chuck said. "But I doubt that we'll get much of it. This shit is expensive."
       "Yeah, but one day you'll be glad you have it," Kevin said. "We're sure glad we have our stuff."
       "Who gave it to you?" I asked. "Since you didn't have a big wedding and all?"
       "I actually inherited it from my grandmother on my father's side. Really, my dad inherited it, and he gave it to me," Kevin said.
       "Did Craig get some, too?" I asked.
       "Oh, yeah. There was a ton of it," Kevin said.
       "Is Ed an only child?" I asked.
       "No, he wasn't. He had a brother, but he was killed in Vietnam. His brother wasn't married, so my dad was the sole heir of his parents' estate. His father was a doctor, too. Did you know that?" Kevin said.
       "No, I didn't," I said. "Do you think we're going to get any of this stuff?"
       "Probably. Some of the people on that guest list are pretty high rollers, so y'all might end up with quite a bit," Kevin said.
       Kevin's prediction turned out to be quite accurate, and both couples got a lot of the things we had picked out. Since every bit of it was "open stock," we could fill in whatever we didn't get at some point in the future. We got other things, too, of course, but we each got enough tableware to host a very elegant dinner party.
       Another thing that surprised me was how highly organized the "wedding industry" is. About 99.9% of the stuff you can buy is all about "the bride," but we bought some of it and used it anyway. For example, we each bought a set of file cards so we could record the name and address of the people we invited, on individual cards. There is a place to write in what the gift is from the people whose names are on the card, and a place to check when you send the "thank you" note. Then, for added convenience, there is a place to check when you send a Christmas card every year. I had never seen anything like that before, but it looked like it would be really useful for the wedding and in the future, too. The directions that came with that recommend you write it all in pencil, so it can be erased when addresses, and names, too, change.
       Something else that was news to me was the number of parties that were given in our honor before the wedding itself. Rita and Gene are members of "high society," if you can even call it that in Emerald Beach, and they have entertained in honor of many couples through the years. Rita did something pretty damn clever, I think, to make sure her friends knew just what was going on. She personally sent out "save the date" cards.
       This was something none of the four of us had ever heard of, but apparently it's done all the time. Right after we decided on a date for the wedding, she had these cards printed up saying that her "honorary son, Mr. Jeffrey Martin" would be getting married on December 26th, and the people who got cards knew they would be invited to the wedding. It amounted to putting the good citizens of Emerald Beach on notice that it was time to start reciprocating for all the parties she and Gene had been giving for so long. And it worked. There were four large dinner parties and three cocktail parties in our honor, and there was a brunch for out-of-town guests the morning of the wedding. These were each hosted by as many as eight couples. We were writing "thank you" notes fast and furiously, but that's just the way it was done.
       * * *
       The reception was supposed to be over at 8:30, so the four grooms left at eight o'clock. We were staying in the hotel that night and would be leaving from there the next morning to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, where we would meet our cruise ship.
       As soon as the four of us got on the elevator, Tony grabbed Chuck and laid a major lip lock on him. Tyler, not to be outdone, did the same to me, and we rode up to the tenth floor in one continuous kiss. Quite naturally, all four of us got super turned on.
       We were staying in the Presidential Suite. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a large sitting room. The furnishings in that place were unbelievable. As soon as we got inside, each couple went to their bedroom. I don't know what Tony and Chuck did, but Ty and I were all over each other in an instant. He and I made the most intense, the most passionate love of our lives that night. Several times.
       Two hours later, we were thoroughly drained, literally and figuratively.
       "Jeff, I don't know how many times we've done this since we've been together, but it's never been as good for me as it was tonight," Ty said.
       "I know. For me, too. God, I love you, Mr. Jones."
       "And I love you, Mr. Martin," he said.
       I got up to peek into the living room, and Tony and Chuck were in there opening a bottle of champagne. Chuck saw me.
       "Come on out and let's drink a toast," he said. "If you can still walk, that is."
       I laughed.
       "Did you hear him?" I asked Ty.
       "No. What did he say?"
       "They want us to drink a toast," I said.
       "Okay," Ty said.
       Ty got out of bed and reached for one of the terrycloth robes that came with the room.
       "They're not wearing anything," I said.
       "In that case, I won't, either," he said, and we joined our friends, naked as the day we were born.
       Tony handed each of us a glass of champagne.
       "Here's to love, commitment, fidelity, and undying friendship," he said.
       We all said "here, here."
       We took a sip of the wine, and each couple kissed.
       When we broke our kisses, after several minutes, Tony stepped away from Chuck with a semi-erection. The rest of us were as limp as cooked spaghetti.
       "Look at him. Can you believe this shit?" Chuck said, flipping Tony's penis up and down. "You might as well take a cold shower because I can't do it again tonight."
       We all laughed.
       "I can't help it if you turn me on, Baby," Tony said. He was cute in the way he said it.
       "Baby, I'm flattered, and maybe a little later, okay, but I'm exhausted right now," Chuck said.
       "I know. I am, too. I honestly don't know where this came from. Besides, it's at ease now," he said, and his penis was totally flaccid.
       "Guys, this whole thing has been un-fucking-believable to me," Ty said. "I have never in my life even imagined feeling the way I do right now. I never, ever thought I'd be this happy or have friends that I love as much as I do you guys. We've got it good, don't we?"
       "I'll say. When my mom died and our house burned down, I thought that was the end of my life," Chuck said. "But you know what? I wouldn't have what I have right now if that hadn't happened. I doubt that I would have ever come out or dated guys, as long as she was alive."
       "Was your mom homophobic?" I asked. I had a hard time believing she would have been.
       "Oh, no. Not at all. I was just terribly ashamed of being gay, and I could never have admitted that to her. Or to anyone, really, if it weren't for the time I spent with Kevin and Rick. They're fucking miracle workers. You know that?"
       "I know they worked one on me. Probably more than one, if the truth were known. Them and Kyle," I said.
       "Did you notice him tonight? He was having a good time, that's for sure. Those four boys are like us, you know? I hope all five couples can stay together and stay close," Tony said.
       "I don't see any reason we won't," I said. "Eventually, we might each want our own place, but I see us living in houses next door to one another when that happens. I see us working together, going on vacations together, hanging out and partying together. I think we're in for some very happy lives, guys."
       The four of us settled into a companionable silence. I was thinking about how incredibly lucky I am and about how much I love Tyler. It had been an exhausting five or six days, and we were tired. Tony was the first one to nod off to sleep, and his empty champagne glass slipped from his fingers onto the thick carpet, with a gentle 'plunk.' Chuck noticed, woke him up, and led him off to bed. Ty and I went to bed, too, then, and we drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

(Tony's Perspective)
       When we first started making honeymoon plans, nobody could agree on where we should go. Since we hadn't had to put out a dime for any aspect of the wedding, we knew we could afford pretty much anything we wanted to do. Not only that, but Kevin and Rick's gift to each couple was a check for $5,000, and we could have a grand honeymoon with that.
       Tyler had suggested we go to Vermont and have a Civil Union ceremony as part of our honeymoon. I liked that idea, but Chuck and Jeff both thought that going to Vermont in December and early January is crazy.
       Chuck thought a trip to Europe would be fun. Jeff loved that idea, but Ty reminded us that he and Jeff had to start the second semester shortly after New Year's. Ty thought the trip was a great idea, but he wanted to postpone it until we had more time.
       "I've never been on a cruise. Have any of you guys?" I asked.
       They hadn't.
       "I hear those things are fabulous, especially in the winter. I wouldn't mind going on a Caribbean cruise," I said.
       They all liked that idea, and, since it was my idea, I was charged with the responsibility of getting that organized. The next day I gave my secretary the assignment of getting information about Caribbean cruises.
       They say an executive, if that's really what I am, is only as good as his secretary, and I have one who is fantastic. By the end of the day, she had a packet of information that she printed off the Internet that was a good half inch thick. She gave it to me in a manila envelope as I was leaving for the day.
       "I put those in what I thought might be priority order, with the best ones first," she said.
       "Thank you so much," I said.
       "No problem. I think what you guys are doing is so incredibly romantic. If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to ask me," she said. "And I don't mean just during the work day, okay, Tony?"
       "Thank you, sweetie. I wish you were a guy," I said.
       She giggled.
       "Get out of here. Go home to that stud of yours," she said.
       "Yes, ma'am," I said, and I left.
       After we ate, we cleared off the coffee table and I spread out the packets in the order that she had put them in. The first one was a seven-night cruise of the eastern Caribbean on the Celebrity Millennium, a ship that had gone into service on July 1, 2000. The dates of the cruise were perfect for our schedule, and it sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale. It was about $1,500 per person, which was well within our budget, and, maybe best of all, it was being billed as "all gay."
       "Whoa! Listen to this," Jeff said.
       We had each picked up one of the first four, and he had happened to get number one. He read from the printout all about the luxury of the ship, the itinerary, and all about the activities that were available.
       "Here's the schedule," he said. "December 28th: Leave Ft. Lauderdale at 4:00 PM. December 29th: At sea. December 30th: San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1:00 PM till 2:00 AM. December 31st: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 8:00 AM till 6:00 PM; special New Year's Eve party on ship. January 1st: Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic, 8:00 AM till 6:00 PM. January 2nd: Labadee (private island), 9:00 AM till 6:00 PM. January 3rd: At sea. January 4th: Ft. Lauderdale, 8:00 AM."
       "Damn! That sounds like a perfect schedule for us. Our second semester starts on Monday, January 11th. Guys, this is too good," Ty said.
       "I kind of like the fact that it's 'gay only,'" I said. "I mean, I know we can all hang out with straight people all day long, but, guys, this is our honeymoon. There probably won't be any kids on it, for one thing, and I think I'd just feel more comfortable in that kind of environment. This one gets my vote."
       "Mine, too," they all said in unison.
       "It's seven nights on the ship. I guess that's when they do most of the sailing. At night. There's nothing bad about this," Chuck said. "And there's a hell of a lot good about it."
       "Do you think we can get a flight from here to Ft. Lauderdale?" I asked.
       "No. I know we can't. I mean, I'm sure we can, but it would be through Atlanta or Memphis, probably, which is bullshit. We'd have to drive, which would take us what? Eleven or twelve hours? That's not bad, considering. And it doesn't leave until the twenty-eighth. We've got the twenty-seventh to get there. Coming back, we can take our time. We can even stop off in Orlando for a day, do the Magic Kingdom. Or whatever. You know what I mean?" Chuck said.
       "Do you guys want me to get Sheila to book it tomorrow?" I asked.
       They all said they did.
       "And have her book a couple of nights in Orlando at the ass end of it, too," Chuck said. "It's been a hell of a long time since I've been there, and I'd like to do Disney World again."
       "I've never been there," I said.
       "Me, either," Tyler added.