< Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Kevin dropped Nick off and waited until the blonde disappeared into the house before pulling away from the curb. He didn’t want to go back home, although he knew he should because he really needed to get that packing done. After debating whether or not to go home, he found himself in front of Brian’s house and figured that a short visit wouldn’t hurt. He was halfway up the driveway when he saw his best friend coming out the front door.

"What’s going on Kev?" Brian greeted him with a wave and a smile. Kevin pulled up to where Brian was about to climb into his car.

"Nothing. Just drove Nick home and was wondering what I should do."

"Done packing?"

Kevin growled and Brian laughed.

"You better be ready by Friday morning Kev, we’re going to be at your place early and I’ll be damned if we’re going to be doing all your packing then."

The guys had agreed that rather than Kevin’s parents take him up to the campus and get him moved in, they would make it a boys’ weekend. Joey, Chris, Brian and Kevin were going to take two cars, Kevin’s and Brian’s, pack everything they possibly could and go up to UCLA for the weekend, where Kevin would just stay for school and the others would come back to Middletown, Joey and Brian for high school, and Chris to start college. It would be their last stress free weekend together, where they could spend time together, relax and reassure each other that no matter what happened in the following months, they’d still be as close as always. Nothing like different schools and being in different cities would be able to tear apart a friendship that had lasted them their whole lives thus far.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be done," Kevin didn’t even believe his words, so he knew Brian surely didn’t. Thankfully, the other teen didn’t say anything. "What are you up to?"

"Gonna go pick Joey up from work," Brian shrugged. "Why, you free?" Just then, he remembered that Kevin was supposed to have had plans that night. "Wait, weren’t you doing something with Nick tonight?"

"Uh..." Kevin knew his cheeks had flushed a dark red and he avoided Brian’s gaze. Instead, he looked down at the pavement as if it were the most exciting thing in the world. "We hung out all day, I just thought ..."

Brian laid a hand on Kevin’s arm and smiled. "It’s okay, you don’t need to explain."

The awkwardness between them passed and Kevin looked his friend in the eye. His lips curled into a nervous smile and he shrugged. "Nah, we just ... I can’t ignore everyone else because I’m going to miss him so much. So we spent the afternoon together and I thought I’d spend some time with you guys."

Brian nodded as he pushed Kevin towards his car. "Get in, you can drive. We’ll go get Joey, get some take out and then go down to Parkerson’s Point. It’s a beautiful night and we haven’t gotten together, just the four of us in too long."

Kevin stopped. "Chris."

Brian slid into Kevin’s passenger seat and flipped open his phone. "He mentioned something about having tonight off. Odds are, if you’re not with Nick, then Justin will be, which will leave Chris free." Within seconds, Brian had dialed Chris’ number and was waiting for someone to answer.

"Hello?" A young girl answered. Brian smiled and recognized the voice as Chris’ sister Lauren.

"Hi Lauren, is Chris there?"

"How do you know my name? Is this Brian?" Lauren asked, voice full of curiosity. Brian could just picture her standing in their kitchen with one hand on her hip, the other holding the receiver to her ear.

"Maybe."

"How come you don’t come by anymore? Chris says you’re too good for us now, that you’re a snob and a jerk.." The rest of her sentence was cut off and replaced with bickering.

"Lauren, you’re such a pain!"

"Ow, don’t hit me you big doofus."

Brian heard Chris yelp and figured that Lauren had kicked him, hard by the sounds of it.

"I was talking to Brian."

"Now I am, now go somewhere else." Chris waited and when Lauren didn’t move he rolled his eyes and pushed her towards the kitchen door. "Get out."


"Tell Brian I say good-bye." Lauren waited, and when Chris did no such thing she crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell him or I won’t go."

Chris sighed and stuck his tongue out at her. "Fine, you big baby." He brought the phone up to his ear, "Bri?"

"Yeah?" Brian was laughing so hard he could barely speak.

"Lauren says good-bye."

"Tell her I say good bye, and we’ll be by in ten minutes to see her."

"He says good-bye. He’ll see you in ten minutes." Chris watched as Lauren’s eyes widened and her whole body froze.

"You’re lying!"

"Am not, just watch."

Lauren ran out of the room towards the front porch, waiting, just in case Chris wasn’t lying.

"So was I lying?" Chris asked with a laugh.

"No, we’re on our way over. Your mom home tonight?"

Chris grabbed an apple and walked into the living room where his mother was sitting on the couch with a handful of his sisters at her side, they were watching the Disney Channel in rapture. "Yeah, she’s off. Why? What are we doing?"

"We’re gonna go get Joey from work, and get some food. Go to Parkerson’s Point and just hang out for a bit. It’s a nice night, and we haven’t done anything just the four of us in a long time."

"Yeah, I figure you’re with Kev right now, right? Justin phoned me about ten minutes ago, in a rush, apologizing about how Nick had just called begging him to come over for dinner and a sleep over and could we hang out another night. So I figured that if Justin was with Nick, Kevin wasn’t and he’d be up for something."

Brian snickered as he looked across the car at Kevin. They exchanged a look and Kevin pulled onto Chris’s street. "Yeah, Joey’s off in like, forty minutes. So we’ll make our way over, pick him up and then go, that cool?"

Just as Chris was about to respond, he heard a car pull up in front of his house. All it took was a glance out of the window to see Kevin’s familiar car parking. Lauren’s squeal was the second indicator that they’d shown up. "Come on in, Lauren will let you in."

Kevin shut the engine off and pulled his sunglasses out of the glove compartment. He slid them onto his face and climbed out, following Brian up the small patch of front yard. Chris’ sister was recognizable, sitting excitedly on the front step. "Hey twerp," much to Lauren’s protests, Kevin ruffled her hair.

"Don’t call me twerp," Lauren growled. She then looked at Brian and gave him a wide, toothless grin. "Hi Bri-Bri."

"Hey sugarplum." Brian was expecting Lauren’s next move, so when she stood up and flung herself into his arms, he was prepared. She hugged him tight, pressing her face into his tee shirt covered shoulder. Brian, Kevin and Joey were close with all of Chris’ family, just as they were with each others’, but out of everyone, Lauren had a deeper attachment to Brian. Two summers earlier, when she was just four, she’d managed to wander off of their front lawn and towards the heavily wooded areas across the train tracks. She’d been following a butterfly, and lost track of distance. By the time she’d given up trying to catch the butterfly, she hadn’t a clue as to where she was, or how to get home.

Chris had been the first to notice her absence. He, Brian, Joey and Kevin had all been playing with the sprinklers, keeping the kids occupied and themselves cool on that particularly hot day. He’d gone in to get everyone freezies, and when he’d called her name, she hadn’t come running. After calling it half a dozen times, a feeling of panic had crept into his chest and he’d gone running outside to let the others know she was gone. They’d spent over three hours scouring the neighborhood for her, Chris unable to rest until she was found. He was supposed to be watching her, and although he had only let her out of his sight for less than a minute, he couldn’t live with the knowledge that her disappearance was his fault.

It had been Brian who had stumbled upon Lauren in the woods, curled up against a tree, crying for her mommy. He’d immediately called the house, where Joey had been stationed in case something happened. Within minutes, he’d brought her home, dirty, crying and scared, but she was unhurt. It was nothing that a bath and a popsicle couldn’t fix, and by dinner, she was laughing and playing as if that afternoon had never happened. The only difference was that she wouldn’t leave Brian’s side, he’d captured her heart forever. Brian was her hero. Now, two years later, she still loved him more than ever and was always asking when he would come over to see her again.

"I hear you’ve been missing me," Brian asked as he smoothed down Lauren’s long, dark hair. She pulled away and grinned at him.


"Tons. How come you don’t visit?"

"English child, learn to speak it properly," Chris teased. "It’s not how come you don’t visit, it’s why don’t you visit ...."

"Actually, if you want to be technical about it," Kevin interjected. "Why haven’t you visited, would be better."

Lauren tugged on one of Brian’s curls and blushed. "Yeah, those questions." They all burst into laughter. Moments later, they were joined on the porch by more of Chris’s sisters. Any visitors to the house was always cause for excitement.

"Been busy, Sweetie," Brian apologized.

"Too busy for me?"

Brian kissed her nose playfully. "Never. I’m here now, right?"

"You’re here to pick up Chris," Lauren pouted.

Brian leaned in and kissed her nose playfully. He put his mouth next to her ear and whispered, "That’s what I told him to make him feel better. Really, I came by to see you."

"Cool!" Lauren looked over at Kevin and stuck her tongue out at him. "Do you want to stay for dinner, Brian?"

Brian shook his head, holding back his laughter. "Nah, Sweetie, we have to go pick up Joey. And you know what a bear he can be if we’re not at his beck and call."

"What’s a beckin call?"

"It means Joey’s a princess and needs us to pretend we’re his servants," Chris answered with a snort. He went inside to grab his wallet and let his mother know his plans.

"Is that true?" Lauren asked Brian. She knew that he would never lie to her and that she could trust him.

"Yes, that’s one hundred percent true," Brian assured her. "And, the next time you see him, start calling him princess."

Lauren laughed as if it were the funniest thing she’d ever heard. "But ...he’s a BOY. Boys can’t be princesses!"

Kevin, Chris and Brian all burst into laughter, causing Chris’ sisters who had sat down to join them to laugh hysterically too. The longer the boys laughed, the harder the girls laughed, although they weren’t entirely sure what was so funny.

"That’s what makes it so funny Laur, because Joey IS a boy AND a princess."

Again, Lauren looked at Brian for assurance. When he nodded she grinned. "Okay."

Brian stood up and set Lauren down on the porch. "I hate to leave you, but we need to get going Lauren. I’ll see you soon, okay?"

Lauren’s face was beaming, the pride and excitement clearly displayed on her face. "Okay Bri-Bri." She got down and as she passed by Kevin she glared at him before saying, "later loser."

Kevin’s face was a mask of surprise until he watched her pass Chris and high five him. "Good job Laur. Your payment is in its usual spot."

Kevin’s jaw dropped. "You bribe her to embarrass me?"

Chris shrugged, not at all embarrassed or apologetic. "The look on your face is always worth it." Kevin looked at Brian who was snorting with laughter.


"Just be thankful he doesn’t have her kicking you in the balls or something," Brian commented. They headed down the driveway and climbed into Kevin’s car, listening to him mumble about needing to get new friends while he was away at school.

~*~*~*~*~

"To what do I owe this honour? Not one of the whipped pussy boys, but both of them?" Joey grinned as he exited the pizza parlour that he’d been working at since he turned fourteen and his uncle decided Joey was to go into the family business. Joey usually only answered the phone and did deliveries, but had been steadily learning the ins and outs of the business and was getting ready to possibly take it over after college.

"What the hell does that mean?" Kevin scowled as he high fived Joey and pulled him in for a half hug.

"Exactly what it sounded like. Usually Nick’s got you on a tight leash, and ...well I think it’s Justin wearing the leash in your relationship," Joey turned to Chris and wiggled his eyebrows. "And it hasn’t been too often we’ve seen you around lately." Joey high fived and hugged Chris before they all slid back into Kevin’s car. Brian and Chris slipped into the back seat and Joey took possession of the shotgun position. For some reason, they'd always sat in these seats, only switching it up when Joey wasn’t in the car to have shotgun.

"Somehow I think we should be offended by that," Chris commented, tapping Kevin’s shoulder. Joey’s grin further proved his point.

"Of course you should be," Brian said. "But he’s just as bad so you know that there’s no point in getting upset."

"I’m serious though," Joey turned to Kevin and Chris. "It’s really great to see you. It feels that we’ve all been so busy this summer with a hundred different things, and even when we are all together, there’s just so much going on."

"It has been a while since the four of us got together," Kevin’s voice had a soft note of sadness in it. As much as he was going to miss Nick, he was going to miss his three best friends just as much, if not more. They had been his life line for so long, their friendship the one constant thing throughout his entire life. He’d never done anything truly on his own, and he was admittedly a little afraid to start now.

"Where do we want to eat?" Chris asked, rubbing his stomach.

"Not pizza," Joey burped. "I’ve eaten more than enough of that lately. I thought that the longer I worked at the restaurant, I’d eat less and less, but it’s the opposite."


Kevin snorted as he pulled into their favourite take out restaurant. "I don’t know why we pretend to think about anywhere else. We always spend so much time arguing about where to go, then we always end up here anyway."


"I think we just like to fight," Brian answered. They headed into the large diner, immediately recognizing the woman behind the counter.

"Well boys, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you all in here."

Brian leaned in, hugging the woman and sweetly kissing her on the cheek. His actions were followed by Joey, Chris and finally Kevin.

"Mrs. McLean, how have you been? You’re looking well," Chris complimented her as he sat down on one of the swiveling stools. The other three followed suit, making themselves comfortable. Where they could almost always be found eating at the Shake Shack, when it came to take out, Olympic 76 was their first option. It had a more extensive menu, and almost always, no matter how different everyone’s tastes were, there was something on the menu to make everyone happy.

"I’ve been well, and you boys?" Denise turned to Kevin and smiled fondly at the young man. "And Kevin, I can’t believe you’re off to UCLA next week. You’re all growing up so fast."

Kevin blushed and nodded. "Yes ma’am. It should be interesting."

"I’m sure it will." Her focus then turned to Chris. "And I hear you’re going to be taking a course at State, is that right?"

Chris blushed, wondering if AJ had told his mother what he was going to be taking. "Uh, yes. I’m going to be staying at home and go to state."

"But I hear that there are a few record companies that are interested in your band, so that will be good right?"

"Oh, totally. But I can’t put my hopes just on that, so I’m going to school as a back up."

"Well, I’m glad to hear that everything’s going so well with you guys." Just as she handed them all menus, AJ came out of the back to make another run for dishes.

"Alex, your friends are here," Denise said warmly. She knew that when everyone had gone to high school, leaving him behind, the group that had been inseparable since kindergarten had drifted. Kevin, Brian, Joey and Chris had gone in one direction, while AJ and Josh had remained friends. While she was glad that Alex still had Josh, she knew how much the two missed their best friends. It had taken three freshmen boys that year to rebuild the friendship that had gone astray over the past few years and things were finally being set straight again.

AJ looked over to see Brian, Kevin, Joey and Chris sitting at the counter. He gave them a polite smile and drove his cart to a vacant corner before heading over. "What’s up guys?"

"Nothing much, just getting some dinner," Joey smiled.

AJ looked at Kevin and Chris and scrunched up his nose. "What’s going on? You’re not with Nick or Justin?"

Joey and Brian burst into laughter while Kevin and Chris flicked their ears roughly. "Shut up," Kevin said to his two best friends. Turning to AJ he shrugged. "Nick’s having a barbeque and a sleep over, so they’re there."

AJ figured that if Nick and Justin were at Nick’s house, Lance would probably be there too. He wasn’t off until eleven and was going to call his boyfriend when he got home, but now he assumed he’d be going home to a message on their voice mail of Lance telling him he was at Nick’s. As if Chris could read AJ’s mind he nodded.

"Lance is there too."

"Figures," AJ laughed.

"Do you boys know what you want?" Denise came back with her note pad in her hand. All four teens ordered their dinner to go, and talked to AJ as they waited for the cook to make their food. Fifteen minutes later, they bid AJ and Denise a good bye and promised that they'd talk to AJ soon. There was going to be a big going away party the night before Kevin had to go up to school, and he would definitely be invited.

A few hours later, the sun was setting and the four friends were still at Parkerson’s Point, enjoying the late August warmth. Every single possible topic of discussion had been exhausted and Kevin couldn’t have been happier that he and Nick had agreed to take a break that night. What he really had needed was to reconnect with his friends. There were a few things he needed to talk about, but he didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up with Joey or Brian and knew that only Chris would really understand. So with that, he knew that when they dropped Joey and Brian off, he would ask if Chris had time to talk.

"I hate to be a kill joy," Joey said, standing up and stretching, but the Drive In should be opening and starting soon, and I still need to get home to pick up my car." Joey wanted to surprise Mandy, who had gotten a summer job at the Drive In, and possibly see if he could sneak her away for a movie. Usually, while the movie was playing, the concession stand was dead, so he would park right in front of it and they would sit in his car, watching the movie or sometimes they would make out, and that way if it got too busy, she could sneak back in and get back to work.

"Yeah, and I told Rachel that I’d stop by to see her before bed tonight," Brian added. Both of them laughed as Kevin and Chris exchanged knowing smiles.

"And we’re the ones that are pussy whipped?" Chris argued. "I don’t think so."

"Shut up," Joey teased. They cleaned up their mess, making sure that there wasn’t any stray food lying around and Kevin drove them first to Joey’s, and then dropped Brian off at his house. With promises to talk the next day, Kevin drove off in the direction of his house.

"I don’t know if you remember, but I live that way," Chris pointed in the opposite direction.

"I know where you live, I just ...are you in a rush to go home?"

Chris watched his best friend cautiously. He recognized that look on Kevin’s face, it was the same one that he wore constantly when trying to figure out what to do about Nick. It was confusion mixed with excitement, with a touch of fear. "Not at all, what do you want to do?"

"I thought we’d go to my house. Mom and dad will be out until late and ...I thought that maybe we could talk."

"Sure. Can we swim?"

Kevin grinned, nodding his head. "You hungry again?"

Chris patted his stomach, he could always eat. "Little."

Within seconds, Kevin pulled into the McDonalds they were driving up towards and drove up to the Drive-Thru. Two combos and a 20 piece McNugget order later, they were back on the road, driving towards Kevin’s house. Chris tried to give Kevin money, who simply shrugged it off. "Mom left me money for dinner and other incidentals. She’s been slipping me money like mad all summer, so it’s on her."


Chris grinned and popped a few fries in his mouth. He wasn’t going to argue with that. The night was clear and beautiful. Chris changed into the bathing suit he always left at Kevin's and was eating on the patio when Kevin came in. They ate, carefully avoiding the fact that Kevin still hadn’t brought up why Kevin was so tense and nervous.

"So are you going to tell me what’s going on?" Chris asked, floating on a rubber tire.

"How ...how far have you and Justin gone?" Kevin’s face heated up just asking and he could see Chris’ face go red. "I mean ...just ...if you want to tell me.."

"Did something happen?" Chris asked, wide eyed. "Did you guys have sex?"

Kevin slipped through his own rubber tire and sank under water for a few seconds. He needed to cool his over heated face and give himself time to compose himself. When he resurfaced he shook his head. "No." Kevin swam to the edge of the pool and sat up, dangling his feet in the water. Chris paddled his way over, remaining in the water but next to Kevin. "We didn’t have sex. Have you and Justin?"

"I’d have definitely told you if we did," Chris said, assuring Kevin. As close as Chris was with Kevin, Joey and Brian, there were things that he told Kevin that he didn’t tell the other two. Those things were mainly issues dealing with his relationship with Justin, but it was more because he didn’t think Joey and Brian would understand like Kevin did. They were straight, and Chris didn’t feel comfortable sharing that side of him so explicitly with them. Not to mention that Chris still hadn’t forgiven Brian one hundred percent for how suspicious he always was of Justin’s intentions. Kevin, on the other hand, would understand, did understand, and Chris never hesitated in talking to him about anything that had to do with Justin.

A silent pause fell over them and Chris gently touched Kevin’s knee with his foot. "Is everything okay? I thought that you and Nick were better than ever."

Kevin looked up, face serious. "Oh, everything’s great. I’m sad to leave him, but we both have agreed that we’re going to work on things while I'm gone. That we’re not going to let the distance come between us."

"Then?"

"Well ...today ...." Kevin paused and took a deep breath. "You didn’t answer my question, how far have you and Justin gone?"

Chris shrugged. "I don’t want to pressure him. Plus I’m really not ...I don’t know how ready I am. I know you’ve had sex before, you and Gretch did it, and you did a lot of messing around even before you two had sex. I haven’t had that much experience, and I know he expects me to be.."

"He expects you to be yourself Chris," Kevin assured him. "He won’t mind if you’re less than perfect."

"I know, but he looks at me with these wide eyes, wanting me to be the confident one. And the truth is ..."

"Yeah?" Kevin wasn’t sure where Chris was going with this. He knew how much Chris loved Justin, how much Justin had changed his life. "And?"

"I don’t know if I’m ready for anything like ...sex."

"He’s fifteen Chris, I doubt he’s ready."

"I know, but I’m seventeen, going to be eighteen. How many other eighteen year old virgins do you know? Justin was ...I’d barely even made out with girls before Justin. I don’t even know what to do..."

Kevin gave Chris a comforting smile and shook his head. "That doesn’t matter. You know that Gretch and I just had sex the first time last year right? It wasn’t like we’ve been doing it for years and you need to catch up. Hell it doesn’t even matter what anyone else has done, you’re not ready. You don’t have to be ashamed of that. And you don’t have to be strong for him, he worships you, he doesn’t care about anything but you. And I’ve never heard him complain about how you kiss. In fact, he’s always going on to Nick about how good it is."

Chris sighed. He knew this was true, but at the same time, he felt as if he couldn't be everything that Justin needed. He was as inexperienced as Justin was, and that embarrassed him, just because he knew that being three years older, he was supposed to be the mature one. Kevin’s laughter interrupted his thoughts. "What’s so funny?"

"Nick’s constantly worried that he’s going to do something wrong, that I’m not going to be satisfied with him because I’ve already had sex. He’s always so self conscious and timid and sometimes I think that my sexual past, as limited as it was, hurts him. And here you are wishing you had one. If you had other girls or guys, Justin would feel intimidated, I think he’s probably relieved that you aren’t experienced, so he won’t mess up and look stupid."


Chris had never thought about it that way. Kevin was making sense, and he’d been so worried about making a fool of himself in front of Justin, he hadn’t thought about Nick being worried about making a fool of himself in front of Kevin. And consequently, Justin worried about making a fool of himself in front of Chris. "I didn’t think about it like that."

"Of course not," Kevin said warmly. "But you know, there are eighteen year old virgins out there. Not everyone has sex early."

"Do you regret sleeping with Gretch?" Chris asked, honestly. He always teased Kevin about how horrible she’d been, and he could do better, but Chris knew that in a way, they were great for each other. They understood each other like no one else could, they both had the same pressures and expectations put upon them and it wasn’t her fault that their parents had forced them together and nearly ruined their lives. Gretchen was a lot stronger than Chris had ever given her credit for and he felt that maybe he should tell Kevin that. He would, after.

Kevin thought about the question seriously and finally shook his head. "No. I love her, she’s beautiful, smart and so generous. You all saw the worst of her, but I will admit that a lot of that was my own doing. I would provoke her, instigate things to upset her and make her lash out at me. It let me rationalize my hating the relationship by convincing myself she was horrible. I gave to her as good as I got, and she was an innocent victim in everything.

"You both were," Chris admitted. He couldn’t help but tell Kevin everything he’d just been thinking about Gretchen, getting a lot of old baggage of off his chest. He stopped when Kevin’s lips curled into a grin and there was dampness at the corners of his eyes.

"Thank you. I really appreciate you admitting to all of that," Kevin said softly. It felt good to know that he wasn’t alone through everything.

"We should have been more supportive and trusted you."

"No, you saw what I wanted you to see. You’d see her reacting to things I’d done to her. I would have thought the same thing if I were in your position."

"Well, you know you can always come to me and tell me anything," Chris reassured Kevin gently. He knew that there was something brewing behind Kevin’s eyes and hoped that Kevin would trust him enough to tell him what was going on. "But ...we haven’t really done too much. Justin and I."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what not too much included.

"Just kissing and grinding and stuff. I haven’t really ...I don’t want to push him to go further than he’s ready for."

"Like what? Getting off?"

Chris nodded. I usually wait until he goes home and then I get myself off. He’s so beautiful, and his skin is so soft. He always smells so good and we’ll be making out and I want to get off, but I don’t want to freak him out."

"I don’t know if he’d be freaked out Chris, whenever he’s out with Nick and me, he’s always talking about making out and how sexy he thinks you are. How he loves your mouth and that snarl."


Chris grinned, looking off at something in the distance. He felt butterflies in his stomach and when he’d gotten them under control he focused on Kevin again. "We’ve done under the clothes, above the waist touching. God, I sound like them ...so young and innocent. We’ve gotten to like ..second base I guess."

Kevin grinned, he’d rounded third and was very content in spending a lot of time enjoying it there. "That’s good, right?"

"I need to get onto third base."

"Need?" Kevin asked questioningly. Chris shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Want. I want to get to third base."

"Does he know?"

Chris shook his head. "I’ve never even tried."

"You should, "Kevin suggested. "If only so that he knows you’re interested. He’s a strong kid, not easily pressured. If he doesn’t want to do something, he’ll tell you. But I can guarantee that he’s not going to push for it, he’s going to wait for you to instigate it."

Chris nodded, therein was part of the problem. He wasn’t sure how to instigate it. He would think about doing that, but then his mind would tell him to back off and he would just get frustrated at all the different messages his body was sending him and end up pulling away completely. There was nothing he loved more than kissing and spending time with Justin, lying around and exploring his body, having his own body explored in return. "So?"

"Third base," Kevin knew exactly what Chris was asking. He expected the reaction he received. Chris rolled off of the rubber tire into the pool with a soft splash. When Chris resurfaced his eyes revealed how surprised he was.

"THIRD? That’s ..."

"I know."

"You or him?"

"Receiving or giving?" Kevin thought about that afternoon and realized it didn’t matter, the answer was both. "Oh wait ...both. Doesn’t matter."

"Mouth?"

"Hand."

"Both of you?"

Kevin nodded.

"Holy shit."

Kevin knew by Chris’ silence that he was expected to explain further. So he proceeded to tell his best friend the accounts of his day with Nick, from the moment he picked Nick up, to when he dropped him off with a kiss and a promise that they’d see each other tomorrow.

"So he gave you a hand job, pants down and everything." Chris was awed and was thankful for the slightly cool water as he felt his own groin tightening. Kevin nodded and Chris grinned. "That’s so fucking cool."

"I know."

"How did it feel?"

Kevin sighed and felt the butterflies return to his stomach. "So damn good Chris. You have no idea .."

"Damn right I don’t."

"I’m serious Chris, let him know what you want. The worst he can do is tell you that he’s not ready. We were making out and Nick wanted to make me come. He was willing to do anything, or at least he said he was. I think had I asked him to blow me, he would have said no, but ....he was so hot, kneeling over me and jerking me off."


"You look like something’s wrong though, that you regret it or something."

Kevin leaned back to rest on his hands. He looked up to the sky as if searching for answers in the vast darkness. "I don’t know. I’ve never been this happy in my life. Like, we were making out forever, and then we made each other come, and we slept for like, two hours. I had set the alarm, but we laid there for another hour, just looking at each other. He was playing with my hair and I was just memorizing everything I could about him. I don’t want to leave him, but at the same time, I know I can’t stay."

"It’ll work out Kevin, you both have discussed it."

"What if he regrets it? What if he got home and thought about it and thought I was using him? That I was taking advantage of him?"

"He didn’t. Trust me. If he did, you’d have heard about it by now."

Kevin cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Chris continued.

"Lance and Justin have been over there since dinner. He’s for sure told them about this by now ..." The look of horror on Kevin’s face caused for Chris to stop. "What?"

"You think he’s telling them?"

"Of course. I mean, why wouldn’t he? You’re telling me."

Kevin still wasn’t sure how he felt about Nick telling Justin and Lance about their afternoon.

"So he’s probably already told them, and if Justin at any point thought you’d compromised Nick’s virtue, well he’d have been over here already kicking your ass."

Kevin had to agree, Chris had a point.

"And if not Justin, then Lance. And although he’s quiet, I’ve seen him get mad. It’s always the quiet ones you have to worry about. Justin would probably try to beat you to a pulp, but Lance ...he’s a clever kid. Smarter than he seems. He’d probably ruin you, but with more subtlety. You wouldn’t know what was happening until he’d already done it." Chris pulled himself out of the pool and sat beside Kevin, throwing his arm around his friend. "So don’t worry about it. My guess is that Nick’s there telling them about tonight, they’re all getting off on it, and then tomorrow, Nick will have been thinking about it so much, he’s going to attack you and be all over you, wanting you to touch his dick again."

Kevin nodded, a small grin appearing on his face. "Yeah."


Chris sighed and looked into the water. "So ...just ...ask him to jerk me off?"

Kevin snorted and pushed at Chris. "Not like, ‘hey, pass me the ketchup, oh and could you put your hand on my cock."

Chris blushed and forced himself to look at his best friend. He could see slight humour mixed with the understanding in his eyes.

"Just ...do you want to do it to him, or just have him do it to you?"

"Both," Chris admitted. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t been embarrassed to tell Justin some of his wildest and kinkiest fantasies, but this was bringing him near mortification. It just didn’t make sense.


"So propose that you do it to him, and then if he’s cool with returning it, he’ll let you know. Or just talk to him about it. Tell him you’ve been thinking about it and get his opinion on it, but if you don’t bring it up, he won’t. And then you’ll be stuck sitting on second base forever."

Chris gave Kevin a grateful smile and took a deep breath before exhaling it. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. "Thank you," he said softly.


"For what?"

"For not making fun of me. For.."

"I would never make fun of you Chris, not for something like this. And I know you don’t believe me, but I felt the same way you do. Still do sometimes. I don’t want to push him, or influence him, but there are some times when I just want him to do things and I know that if I gave him the suggestion, he’d do it just because I’m asking. And it worries me that I might be taking advantage of that."

"What do you do?" Chris’ eyes were wide, his lip caught between his teeth.

"I just remember that Nick is a strong person. He knows what he’s doing and that’s one of the reasons I love him. I wouldn’t want to be with him if he didn’t have his own ideas or opinions. He will never truly do anything he doesn’t feel comfortable with, and that makes me feel better. I wasn’t sure if he’d want to do it today, but he came to me, he let me suggest something and we went from there." Kevin patted Chris’ shoulder gently and nodded his head. " It’s true."


They sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the weight of their conversation sink in. It was Chris who broke the silence. "So, party here on Thursday night?"


Kevin grinned. "Damn right."

End Chapter 6


Chapter 7 >