"I hate to interrupt you, but would you happen to know where Marc's Record Alley is located?"

I looked up from my drawing to see a pair of dark, ocean blue eyes and a head of shaggy blonde hair. My breath caught for just a second, “Uh, yeah, it’s not far from here,” I was going to point him in the direction of the store when I remembered that I was meeting Alison there in a few minutes, “Actually, I’m going over there myself. It’s just a few blocks if you don’t mind walking.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he said. I packed up my sketchbook and pencils and stood up from the bench. I was about two inches shorter than he was, “My name’s Aaron by the way.”

“Jake,” I said extending my hand. He had a nice firm grip as we shook. We started walking in the direction of the record store. It was a wonderful day to be outside. School was done only a few days ago so I had plenty of free time and just itching to hit the weight room at West Giliam. I had decided to go out and enjoy the day since I wouldn’t be able to start off season training there for another three weeks. It was a good thing I did, else I would have never met this gorgeous person. His hair came just below his shoulders, his bangs forever in his eyes but they didn’t hamper his sight. He had a build that reminded me of a slightly built skateboarder but with more definition. Not too much bulk to be considered overly muscular, but just enough to make him beautiful in my eyes.

“I hope I wasn’t interrupting a school project or anything,” he said.

“No, you’re fine. School let out a few days ago.”

“That’s good. I guess you’re just out enjoying this nice weather. I’d hate to be cooped up on a day like this,” he said as we came to the corner. I reached out and pressed the signal button.

“Yeah, it sucks that next year I’ll still be in school at this time,” the signal flashed and we made our way across the street.

“Wait, you’re not in high school?”

I shook my head, “Not yet. Just finished middle school,” We walked for a bit in silence. I could tell he was looking me over after that last statement. I’m a bit large for my size. I started weightlifting just a year ago. I guess it shows since I’ve got a good build on me. No one believes me when I tell them I just turned fifteen. We stop at the next corner.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Just turned fifteen a month ago.”

He looked me over steady, “You into weightlifting or something?”

I nodded, “Yeah, I just started last year. I guess it agrees with me.”

He smiled, “It does. I bet no one believes you when you tell them your age.”

“Yep. Even has some younger kids tryin’ to get me to buy ‘em smokes ‘cause they thought I was eighteen.”

“Well you definitely had me fooled. You don’t act like a normal fifteen year old so I can see how people would think you’re older,” he said as we resumed walking. My heart started beating fast. I was beginning to think that he was only going to see me as some kid now, “It’s the same with me. No one believes me when I tell them I’m twenty-two.”

I stopped. He looked like he was eighteen, “Really?”

He smiled again, “Really.”

“Well I guess that means we have something in common.”

“Yes we do.”

I smiled. We continued walking steadily approaching the store. It’s kind of easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. The outside blends in with the façade of the other shops on the street. We were about twenty feet from the entrance when I spotted Alison coming up from the opposite direction. We’ve been best friends since we were toddlers practically. We’d stick up for the other when things were bad. She’s also the only one that knows my secret, that I’m gay.

“Girlfriend?” Aaron asked as we came to stop in front of the store.

I shook my head, “We’ve known each other all our lives basically. She’s pretty much another sister.”

He smiled, but then looked a bit timid all of a sudden. His cheeks were starting to pink.

“What’s wrong?” I asked worried.

“…I…hope you don’t take this the wrong way….but, um…y-you’ve got a beautiful smile.”

I couldn’t help but blush. Yeah, I liked this guy, “Thanks.”

“Oh good. I didn’t want you to freak out and beat me up.”

I laughed, “I wouldn’t do that. You were just being honest, that’s all.”

“Hey Jakie! Who’s your friend?” Alison said coming up to us.

“Hello, I’m Aaron. Aaron Demings,” he said extending his hand.

“Alison Metworth.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Alison.”

She smiled, “Likewise.”

“Your friend here was nice enough to show me where this store was. I believe I passed it twice,” he said looking at the front of it.

“Yeah it’s easy to miss if you’ve never been here before. So, you new here?”

“Yeah, just moved to this city last week. I’m tryin’ to find my way around now that I’ve gotten all the packing sorted.”

“Cool. Well this is the place if you’re lookin’ for music. The big chains don’t carry a good enough selection and you certainly won’t find any vinyl in them.”

“Great.”

“So, are we gonna stand out here all day or go in?” she said taking each of us by the hand and leading us inside. We were greeted by the owner, Marc, and then Alison headed over to the wall of rock shirts leaving us alone again.

“She’s got a lot of energy,” Aaron said following me over to the new releases.

I could feel my cheeks heat up, “Yeah, she’s always like that,” I thumbed through a few CDs when I noticed the Led Zeppelin boxed set. I reached for it and came in contact with his hand. A thrill went through me. I looked into his eyes. He smiled back at me.

“It looks like we have similar taste in music as well.”

“Looks like,” I said, “I’ve been wanting to hear their early stuff, but I don’t own a record player and I’m not interested in spending money on an ipod.”

“I can understand that. Record players are hard to come by these days and those that own working ones aren’t going to part with them unless you’re willing to pay a pretty penny for it.

“That’s for sure.”

“So who else do you like?”

“Jimi Hendrix, The Sex Pistols, Leonard Cohen, The Who, The Ramones, some David Bowie once in a while, and some jazz and blues.”

“Nice list. Any current artists tickle your fancy?”

“Ten years, Joss Stone, Dropkick Murphys, Matisyahu, Sage Francis, Thirty-six Crazyfists, Poe. Some overseas stuff as well.”

“Oh really? Who?”

“There’s a few out of Japan that I like even though I have no clue what they’re saying. There’s X-Japan, Dir-en-Grey, Alice Nine, some female artists, too.

“I’ve heard of those groups before, they’re great. Who are the female artists?”

“Chihiro Onitsuka, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Hikaru Utada. She sings mostly in Japanese even though she was born here.”

“Yes, Ayu and Hikki are the top two female artists in Japan.”

“You like ‘em too?”

“I’ve managed to catch them in concert when I was in Japan a few years ago.”

“That had to be amazing.”

“It was. I had a great time. You mentioned one I don’t think I’ve listened to, Onitsuka Chihiro. What’s her sound like?”

I scratched my head, “It’s kinda hard to say since I don’t speak the language, but there’s this one song that I love. It’s called infection. It’s beautiful, and yet it sounds sad at the same time.”

“I’ll have to download it sometime.”

Before I even realized it I said, “I’ve got a copy at home. My brother got it for me as a birthday present. I…could lend it to you…if you want.”

“Wow,” he said, “We just met and already you want to lend me music,” he then leaned in close to me, “What would you like in exchange?”

My face got hot, “I…um…I…”

“I know, how ‘bout I show you mine if you show me yours…”

“Show you his what?” Alison said from the other side of the new releases stack. My eyes went wide as I felt my face grow hotter.

“Why, music collections, of course,” he said smiling.

Alison looked at him for a second and then to me. She then proceeded to bust out laughing. Aaron thought it was funny as well and joined her. I wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide. They turned a few heads while they were laughing. After a bit they calmed down, “Well if trading music is your thing then I can give you his info.”

“Ali!”
“Jakie stays at thirty-six twenty-one West Monarch Parkway.”

“Ali!”

“His number is-,”

“Alison don’t make me call you out by your government name!” That shut her up. She hates for people to know her full name. I don’t see what’s wrong with it; Alison Melissa Renee Lenore Metworth.

“Oh, I take it it’s an embarrassing one for you?” he asked her.

“It’s…too freakin’ long!” she whined.

“It can’t be that bad.”

“I don’t think it is. It’s-,”

“DON’T YOU DARE JACOB MICHAEL TERVAN!”

That got us stared at by everyone in the store. Marc just shook his head and went back to what he was doing. Some of the other customers chuckled. We were a regular pair in there, guaranteed to give customers a laugh or two. I grabbed the box set and went to the register. Just as I was reaching into my pocket, I caught movement to the left of me. There sat another Zeppelin box set and Aaron handing the cashier a clear piece of plastic with a blue square in the center.

“Both of them please,” he said. The cashier took his plastic and made the transaction. She bagged them separately and sat each one in front of us.

“Thank you for shopping with us,” she said cheerily.

“You’re welcome. Have a good day,” he said putting his card in his pocket and picking up his bag. I was in a state of shock as Aaron headed for the door. This person hardly knew me and right off the bat he was buying things for me. His voice broke me out of my stupor, “You coming, Jacob?”

When he said my name that was it. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I wanted him. I followed him outside blindly, forgetting to grab my bag and checking to see if Alison was behind me or not. He walked down the sidewalk a few feet before stopping to look back at me. He smiled as he waited for me to catch up with him. I didn’t know what to say to him. I just knew that I wanted to be with him. We continued walking side by side until we reached the place where we first took sight of each other. He sat down on the bench and I followed suit.

“You forgot something,” he said. I looked at him in confusion before it hit me that he was talking about the Zeppelin box set that he just bought me. He chuckled as he watched my reaction. He leaned in to me again, “Don’t worry, I’m sure Alison will bring it with her when she gets here.”

Then I realized that I forgot Alison as well, “Shit. What was I thinking?”

“That makes two of us,” he said.

I blushed.

“Do you have something I can write on?”

I reached into my bag and tore out a piece of paper from my sketchbook. He took a pen from his shirt pocket and wrote down some things before handing it to me. I looked down at the piece of paper and saw his address and phone number written down. I looked back at him.

“So you can bring over that Onitsuka Chihiro CD for me to listen to,” he said then got up from the bench, “I hope to see you soon.”

I could only stare as I watched him walk towards the line of parked cars and stopped at a dark green Cadillac convertible. I didn’t even notice Alison coming up until I felt something hitting me in my chest. It was my box set. I looked at it for a second then to Alison. She had a smirk on her face, “You did it, didn’t you.”

“Did…what…”

“Fell for him."

“Wh-what are you talkin’ about Ali?”

“You want him. It was obvious when I saw you two outside of Marc’s. You don’t smile around guys that much unless you like them…and I’m not talking about as a friend either.”

I blushed. There wasn’t anyone around us to overhear the conversation thankfully. My parents would freak out if they knew I was gay. I remember my mom talking to my older brother Andrew about it when there was a report on the news about a prank that took place at West Giliam last year. Some students were photographed in suggestive poses. They were guys. “You better not be associating yourself with those filthy creatures Andrew. They are a disgrace and that will not be allowed in this home!” My mom doesn’t know that I heard that. It was around the time that I was going to tell her what I was feeling, but hearing that squashed that idea completely. She would throw me out if I told her, I know it.

“Um hello, Jakie? Jay-dog? You in there?” Alison said. I blinked a few times then met her topaz stare. She shook her head and smiled, “Yes you are definitely having a Zepp title moment.”

“And which one would that be?”
“Dazed and confused,” she said sitting down beside me, “So, are you gonna see him again? What am I sayin’, of course you’re gonna see him.”

“And how do you know that?”

“’Cause if you don’t, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“Like you could win.”

“Of course I could, I know your weaknesses,” she said laughing. If I were straight, I would absolutely want to date her. She’s beautiful. Long fire colored hair and the most unique colored eyes I’ve ever seen; a light fiery brown that was like a shinning topaz. Alison’s got legs for days, she’s about four inches taller than me. Thankfully I’ve got another growth spurt coming soon I hope. She likes to pick on me since I’m shorter. She’s also into judo. I go to as many of her competitions that I can. She moves so fluidly it’s unbelievable. Guys will definitely be lining up when we get to high school. Too bad she won’t give them the time of day since she’s a lesbian.

We came out to each other last summer. We were at her house in the back yard beneath a huge maple tree taking a break from helping her mother with some pottery that she had taken out of the kiln. Her mom went inside to fix us a snack while we relaxed at the base of the tree. She was sitting there with a perplexed look on her face when I asked her what was wrong. That’s when she kissed me. Technically it was my first kiss, but I make the exception since she told me that it didn’t feel right when we finished. I told her it was because we’re friends and she shook her head saying that it was because I was a guy. She then told me about a girl she was competing with at a competition out of town that had kissed her in the bathroom and she felt fluttery and light and that she liked it. They kissed a few more times before they competed against each other and she thought it might be wrong. Alison won by the way. She didn’t know any boys that she wanted to kiss to see of there was a difference so she chose me. When she saw girls that she liked she felt the same feeling, but never with any guys. That’s when she came out. I smiled and gave her a hug, then whispered in her ear that I didn’t enjoy the kiss either because I liked guys. She pulled back a bit and looked at me with surprise. I had known for a while that I wasn’t interested in females sexually, but never had the courage to tell anyone, even her. I told her about the muscle magazines that I was reading since I had started weightlifting not too long before then and noticed that I felt different when I saw the guys in flexed poses and when I’d look at women I didn’t get that feeling. I even went into my brother’s room and looked through his stash of porn and still felt noting about them, just the guys that were in the pictures with them. She asked me if I ever kissed a guy before and I shook my head and told her I never kissed anyone before. She then went on to apologize for giving me my first kiss, she looked like she was about to cry. I told her it was ok since it wasn’t with the right sex. We laughed.

“So what do you want to do now?” she asked.

“I guess we could go to the arcade and blow some time. I don’t have to be home until five and it’s only two thirty.”

“Cool, I can kick your ass in pinball.”

I shook my head, “I still can’t believe you like that.”

Alison shrugged her shoulders, “I’m ol’ school like that. Come on.”

The next few days I was stuck doing yard work with my dad so I wasn’t able to get in touch with Aaron. The whole time I kept thinking about him. I wanted to know more about the person I had met and in such a short time desired to be with. Was this how love started? At times I felt a bit scared. I’ve never been in love before so I have no clue what to do. I can’t talk to my parents about this because they’ll think I’m talking about a girl and start preaching to me about how relationships are things that should be left alone ‘til I got older or some crap like that. I know what I feel, I have an attraction to guys and I want to be with the guy that bought me the Led Zeppelin box set, even though he hardly knew me, and told me I had a beautiful smile.

It had started raining when I called him. He said that he would be home all day and that I could come over anytime. I wasn’t old enough to drive yet and didn’t feel like walking in the rain to the bus stop so I asked my brother to take me downtown a few blocks from his place to a bookstore that had an extensive collection of erotica as well as the largest selection of muscle magazines that I knew of. I told him I’d take the bus home when I was done so he didn’t have to wait for me. It’s not like I was lying to him. The new issues came out today and I was going to check them out and some truck books as well since we were nearing the finishing stages with my truck. It’s a black ’77 Silverado. When I told Alison what I was going to be driving she squealed like a girl meeting a rock star. She has a thing for ‘old school’ things as she calls them.

I walked into the bookstore and shook my umbrella dry before placing it in the holder next to the door. I smiled at the guy behind the register before making my way towards the back where the magazines and sitting area were located. I was walking down the main aisle when another employee came into view with a cart of books and stopped in the segway in front of me. I turned right and went down the next aisle not really noticing anything on the shelves until I saw the title The Joy of Sex to my left at eye level. I stopped and looked at it. I then looked at the surrounding books and discovered that I was in the infamous erotica section. I had heard stories from other guys about the selection they carried, but never really bothered to look into it myself. I’ll admit, I was a little embarrassed, but my curiosity got the better of me as I looked around at the titles, picking up a few and thumbing through the pages. I then came across books with well-developed men on the covers. My heartbeat picked up. I looked in both directions to see if anyone else was in my view before I nervously picked up one. It was a collection of short stories involving men. I stopped at a story and started reading, turning my back to the front of the store. I was so intrigued by the story I didn’t hear the footsteps coming down the aisle in my direction, nor did I notice the footsteps stopping right behind me.

“That’s a good book, you should buy it,” came the voice from behind me. I jerked and dropped the book. I turned around and saw Aaron smiling at me. I felt my cheeks flame up quickly as he bent down and picked up the book. His shoulder brushed against my side as he came up with the book.

“Wh-what are y-you doing here? I th-thought you said y-you were going to be at h-home?” I stuttered.

“I was just stopping in to get a copy of the journal. My next issue won’t be arriving at my place until tomorrow.”

“The…journal?”

“The Wall Street Journal.”

“Oh.”

“So what brings you here on this nice soggy day?”

“I-I was just stoppin’ in to check out the new issue of Muscle Fitness before I came over.”

His smile never left as we walked down the aisle to the magazines and newspapers. I grabbed the new issue and waited for him to get his newspaper. We walked back the same way when he leaned down to whisper, “You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s just literature after all.”

“I-I’m not. It’s just that I didn’t expect to see you. You startled me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head, my face back to normal, “It’s ok.”

We walked to the counter and made our purchases. We went out of the store and Aaron led me over to his car. The rain had let up for a brief moment so I didn’t have to open my umbrella as I got in on the passenger side. We drove to a renovated ten story building in the warehouse district. We got out and made it inside just as the rain started up again. The interior was almost a complete opposite from the exterior of the building with polished granite corridor to the elevators.

“So have you been enjoying the set?” he asked.

“Yeah. I haven’t really had a lot of time to just sit and listen since my dad wanted me to help with yard work over the weekend. What I have heard is awesome.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

We got in the elevator and he pressed the ‘8’ and up we went. The doors parted and we made our way down the hall and stopped at a door with ‘808’ in silver on it. He unlocked the door and went inside. For a second, I felt a shimmer of fear run through me. Was this right? I looked into his blue eyes and instantly felt calm again as he smiled at me, “Come on in, I won’t bite.”

I walked in and took in the surroundings. It wasn’t the typical bachelor pad. There was rich fabric adorning the living room set in a deep smoky gray color in the middle of the room facing an entertainment center. Artwork hung tastefully on navy blue walls and silver hanging fixtures that gave the room a dark appearance as they lit up certain areas of the room in muted light. In the corner was a computer with three active screens with real-time charts flowing as numbers changed from red to green and some back to red again.

“So, what do you do for a living?” I asked as I wandered over to the computer.
“Oh, this and that,” he replied setting his bag on a cherry end table by the sofa.

I looked over at him, “This and that meaning…”

“Stocks and investments. It’s something that I picked up from my father. He thought I had a talent for it so he kept asking me to do things for him like research companies or new products that would make an impact in the world, stuff like that. I guess I just stuck with it. It’s not that hard really if you know what you’re doing.”

“So you just sit around all day watching the stock ticker basically.”

“It’s not a bad thing really,” he said coming over to me, “I mean, I get to lounge around in my boxers and watch the numbers rise and fall and make money no matter which way the market goes. I could teach you a few things if ya want.”

“I’ll pass. I’ve never really had an interest in that kind of stuff anyway.”

He sat down in the chair at the desk and typed in a few sequences as I pulled the strap of my bag over my head and sat it down beside the desk. I looked on as the numbers changed and I came across the amount he had in the balance and blinked, it was six figures.

“Is that how much you’ve invested?” I asked pointing at the amount in the bottom right hand corner of the middle screen.

“That’s how much…I’ve made so far today.”

My eyes went wide, “Are you serious?”

He nodded, “I’ve been doing this for a while.”

“How long is a while?”

He blushed, “…Since I was your age.”

“…You’re shittin’ me…”

“Nope. The downside is that I can’t touch any of it ‘til I’m twenty-seven.”

“Why?”

He turned to face me, “My father’s a jackass of massive proportions. Fortunately my mother left me a bit of money so I invest that to live off of since he can’t control that, but he’s tried. The court wouldn’t let him contest her will since I’m technically his stepson, but he’s still fighting it.”

“So why bother with his money then if you’ve got your own?”

“’Cause my mother wanted to make sure he took care of me when she died. We…weren’t exactly close. I think he just tolerated me because of her. There’s a clause in her will that states he has to provide for me until my thirtieth birthday. He didn’t like that so I made a compromise with him. I’d continue working his investments for him as long as I can receive the interest gained from them when I turn twenty-seven. Then he will never have to deal with me again and he wouldn’t have to worry about going against mom’s wishes. He really loved her.”

I looked at him for a minute, “Why do I get the feeling that the interest will be a lot more that what you’re making him.”

“Actually it won’t be. Not by a long shot, but it’ll be enough for me to work with.”

“…So what happened…to your birth father?”

“He died just before I was born. My parents were hit by someone not paying attention to where they were going and ran a light. They hit his side while he was taking her to the hospital to give birth to me. She said he died at the scene.”

Tears started falling from his eyes and I immediately hugged him to me, cradling his head against my chest, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.” His arms went around my waist holding me tight as we stayed like that.

After some time he relaxed his hold on me. I leaned back to look at him, “…Are…are you ok?”

He looked up and nodded, “Yeah, I’m ok now. Thanks.”

“If I knew….I wouldn’t…I mean…”

He gave me a squeeze, “You don’t have to apologize, really. I’ve never really had anyone to talk to about it. My mother would tell me stories about my father when I was younger. I don’t think Paul liked that, but he never said anything about it, at least not when I was around.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you keep apologizing I’m gonna spank you,” he said, a smile finally coming back to his face.

“I’m-,”

Then I felt a quick pop to my butt. I jumped a bit, he chuckled, “I warned you.”

I smiled, “Ok, no more apologies.”

“Good. How ‘bout we listen to that Onitsuka Chihiro CD now, hm?”

I nodded. I turned and reached down for my bag. I heard his chair moving and then Aaron letting out a low whistle. I stopped.

“Nice view,” he said. My face went hot again. Here I am bending over right in front of this guy. Very smart move. I quickly brought myself upright with my bag in my hand. I pulled out the CD, turned and handed it to him. He had a small pout to his lips. I blushed harder. He took the CD and stood up. I was trying to will my face back to its original color. He looked up from the cover, concern in his eyes, “Jake…am I making things…uncomfortable for you? Tell me, please.”

I blinked and then shook my head, “No…no, you’re fine. I…just really haven’t…had a guy complement me…on my ass before…” my face still red.

His eyes softened. He put an arm around my shoulders with a small squeeze, “Let me know if I go too far, ok? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable around me.”

I smiled, “I doubt I could be.”

When his arm left me I felt a loss at the warmth. I wanted him near me again. He walked over to the entertainment center to put the CD in while I walked over to the sofa. By reflex, I took off my shoes and curled up on one end of the sofa facing the door, my knees bent as if I were getting read to pull my sketchbook out and draw like I normally do when I’m listening to music. I sat there with my arms clasped loosely around my legs as he pressed buttons and then came to sit beside me, remote in hand. He smiled at me and I realized that I was acting like I was at my own home. I went to sit proper when his hand came to rest on my knee.

“You’re fine just like that. Remember I want you to feel at ease with me,” he said. The first song started playing, “I put it on shuffle, is that ok?”

“That’s fine,” I responded. The song that came on was Arrow of Pain. We listened in silence as her words flowed around us.

“I liked that last line, Doushite atashi no kata ga itakute naite shimatta no darou.”

I gave him a blank look. He smiled, “It means, ‘Why is it that it’s me who’s hurt and crying so completely’. I’m guessing she wanted her lover to understand the pain that she was feeling, but in the end she was the one feeling as if she were struck by the arrow.”

I nodded, absorbing the information when the next song came on, it was infection. I watched as he closed his eyes, taking in the lyrics. He leaned against my legs, his left arm coming around to rest on my thighs while his head was on my knees. For something that was beautiful and sad to me, I felt the most calm whenever I heard this song. While we listened, my hand found its way to his head, stroking the soft locks of hair. I then just let my hand rest within those tresses feeling his warmth. When the song ended, he pressed pause on the remote.

“Something had taken hold but it went unnoticed for a time. It wasn’t until things went or felt wrong that it truly made it’s presence known, like an infection,” he said lifting his head from my knees to look at me, “Still there is the need to go on despite it and she’s saying in the last line of the chorus, Itsu no ma ni watashi wa konna ni yowakunatta no darou, ‘I wonder when did I become this weak’. Probably meaning why wasn’t she able to recognize what was happening sooner, before it came to this.”

“Wow, that’s a lot more than I would have been able to come up with.”

“Well, it’s kind of difficult. Japanese doesn’t always translate well into English since there are so many things that make up a sentence in Japanese that you wouldn’t necessarily have to say in English. It does make translating things like songs kind of hard. I’m just guessing, but I’m pretty sure it’s something along those lines. It is a beautiful and sad song, just like you said.”

“Thanks. When I first heard it, that’s what I felt. The sound of her voice is wonderful in this song, but I felt that she was sad. The song felt…calming to me even with the sadness. I wouldn’t have known where to start if I wanted to understand this song. I know I can just look it up online, but I don’t think I would have really caught on to the meaning. And plus, there are some people out there that aren’t as good a translator as they think they are.”

“That is true. It does help to study the language to at least understand the structuring of sentences. Then you’d have to pick your way through the kanji to find the right meaning, and each kanji has about three meanings a piece.”

“What’s kan..gee?”

“It’s those characters you see people getting tattoos of. You know, like the one for love, or power ones like that,” he got up and went over to his computer and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and came back to me. I shifted my left leg off the side of the sofa and leaned against the back while he sat and started drawing, or I should say writing something that I was guessing was kanji. He then showed it to me, “This is the kanji for ‘love’. Many chicks that want an asian tattoo usually get this one.”

“It looks like a tiny picture. And they write with these?”

He nodded, “There are something like five thousand of them.”

“Are you serious? Five thousand?”

“Yup. And kanji is mixed in with two other forms of writing in Japanese.”

“So…there’s like three alphabets they use?”

“Something like that. In Chinese, it’s all kanji.”

“That’s gotta be hard to learn.”

“Its does take a while to get the hang of it. Since the characters like what we’re used to seeing with like Spanish, French, or Italian, it makes learning a bit difficult. I think of it as learning a secret code that much of the world wouldn’t dare try to understand.”

“So, besides Japanese, what other languages do you speak?”

“I’ve studied French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and a bit of Russian.”

“So it would be wise to have you should I ever feel the need to travel abroad, huh.”

“Don’t worry,” he said sitting closer to me, bringing his arm around my right leg, “I’d keep you out of trouble. Shall we continue?”

I smiled, “Sure.”

We listened to the rest of the CD, Aaron giving me a translation of what she was saying, all the while staying close to me. I loved the feel of his hand as it rested on my shin, on occasion stroking my skin. After it finished we listened to some more music, talking intermittently about the songs we liked. I don’t know really when it happened, but as we were listening to a second CD of Miles Davis, we both began to drift off. I was relaxed and had my head resting on the corner of the sofa, Aaron was leaning against my leg a bit more. I opened my eyes enough to see him nodding off. I sat up some and pulled him against me and leaned back against the arm of the sofa. He moved his left arm into a more comfortable position in between the cushions, bringing his body flush on mine, his head at my heart, right arm tucked against my side, fingers taking hold of my shirt. I sighed and brought my arms around him drifting off to sleep with a smile on my face.

I was brought out of my sleep by the muffled sound of Disturbed’s Stricken. My phone was ringing. I moved to sit up then realized that I had a sleeping Aaron on top of me. I slid my hand into the bottom pocket of my cargo shorts and grabbed my phone. It was Andrew calling.

“Hello?” I said sleepily.

“Where are you? It’s like eleven thirty and the last bus that stops near the house went by a half hour ago. Are you at a friend’s? Mom’s gettin’ ready to blow a gasket.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry. I met a friend while I was at the bookstore and went over to his place. I guess I fell asleep or somethin’. My bad. I’m on my way now,” I said gently shaking Aaron, who only clung to me.

“See if your friend’s parents can give you a lift, if not call me and I’ll come get you, ok?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll tell mom you’re on your way. Later.”

“Later,” I said and hung up. I applied a bit more pressure in waking Aaron, which in turn caused him to cling to me tighter and start mumbling about his pillow not supposed to be moving. I chuckled, “Hey, sleepyhead wake up. I’ve gotta get home before my mom loses it.”

“Mmm…pillows don’t talk….shut up…bad pillow...” he mumbled.

“Aaron, wake up. I’ve gotta get home. I’ve already missed the last bus. I don’t want to be grounded. Aaron, wake up, please,” I said shaking him more.

“Hm? What?” he said finally looking up at me through sleep-hazed eyes, “Oh Jake, what are you still doin’ here? I thought you went home.”

“I’ve been your pillow for the last,” I looked over at the clock at the entertainment center, “four hours. I need to get home. My mom’s gonna go ballistic.”

“Damn, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” he said sitting up and stretching.

“I just woke up myself when my phone rang.”

“Well, you could just call them back and tell them you’re staying with a friend tonight.”

“That would have worked about five hours ago. It’s too late now.”

“It’s too late to be out either,” he said grinning.

“As much as I’d like to, I really can’t afford to get grounded. Not before off season training starts anyway.”

“For football?” he said standing up and looking around for his keys.

“No, I’m on the track and field team. Coach Morgansen recruited me during my last year in middle school. I get to participate in off season training and work out at their gym before school starts,” I said putting on my shoes.

“What events do you do?”

”Shot put and discus. I was ranked number one in the state junior competition for shot put.”

“Wow. Are you thinking about going pro?”

“It’s a possibility. I’ll have to see how high school goes first,” I said walking over and grabbing my bag, “Let’s go before my mom blows a gasket.”

When we pull into the driveway I saw my mom standing at the front window in the living room.

“I hope she doesn’t go too hard on you. You can tell her that we fell asleep watching movies or something like that.”

I was about to open my mouth when the door opened and she came out onto the porch. I opened the door and proceeded to get out when she spoke, “Tell your friend to come inside as well. I’ll talk to you both,” she said then went back inside.

“I guess that means you’re in trouble, huh,” Aaron said. I shrugged. With my mom, that could mean anything. I was hoping she didn’t ground me.

We got out and went inside. Aaron followed me into the living room to stand before my mom who stood in the middle of the room. I took a deep breath, “Mom I’m-,”

“Do you have any idea what time it is young man?” she said. This could turn out bad. She looked at Aaron, “I’ve never met you before, are you one of Jacob’s friends?”

“Yes ma’am. My name is Aaron Demings. I just moved here not too long ago. Jake was nice enough to show me around last week and I invited him over to my place to hang out when I saw him at the bookstore today. We fell asleep watching movies. It was my fault. I’m sorry.”

My mom looked him over with her editor’s eye, “How old are you?”

“I turn nineteen in three months, ma’am,” he said. I kept my cool on that one. I figured he realized that she’d have a meltdown if she knew his real age.

“You do realize that Jacob’s only fifteen right?”

“Yes ma’am. At first I thought he was about eighteen. He’s really mature for his age, and not just physically either.”

“Yes, he does look the part, and for the most part, acts as such. So, what do your parents do?”

“My father’s a stock broker. My mother…passed away two years ago.”

I looked at him from the corner of my eye before looking at my mom’s reaction.

“I’m sorry to hear that Aaron. Did your father know that you had company over today?”

“Yes ma’am. Actually he was the one who suggested that I invite someone over since he had to go out of town unexpectedly yesterday.”

“Oh. When will he be back?”

“The earliest, at the end of the week, the latest by next Tuesday.”

“I see,” she said. I could tell she was weighing his answers in her head. She turned to look at me, “The next time you meet up with your friends Jacob, I’d appreciate it if you call and let us know that you were with someone. With it being this late at night I would have just told you to stay there…had you called.”

“It was my fault Mrs. Tervan,” Aaron spoke up, “I normally don’t have people over when my father goes away on business, but since we’re new here my father felt it’d be best if I had someone to keep me company. And when I saw him at the bookstore near my house, I thought I’d invite him over as a way to say thanks for showing me around last week.”

“How long have you been here?”

“We came here almost a month ago. After I finished high school.”

“Will you be going to one of the universities?”

“Yes ma’am. There’s been a delay with my transcripts, so I’ll be starting Hyde in the spring instead of this coming fall.”

“A delay? How so?”

“Well, my transcripts were sent out of the country to a university in Germany. One of the secretaries got a digit wrong on my social and it went as another student’s than mine.”

“Doesn’t the school keep backups?”

“They do…or did. My school caught on fire not too long after it happened and there was a lot of damage done to the records. The school is having to go through and re-create everyone’s records via their social and my last two digits are nine-nine, so it’s gonna be a while. Fortunately the admin office at Hyde understood what was going on and they are allowing me to enroll in the spring to give them time to get things together.”

“I see. Couldn’t the university in Germany just fax them to Hyde?”

“The councilors aren’t sure who was going there. From what I was told, there were at least five students planning on attending school in Germany and about twelve doing some kind of study abroad before they attended school here in the states. It’s all a bit of a clutter at the moment.”

“I see. What are you going to major in?”

“Business finance and languages.”

“Oh, what languages are you planning on studying?”

“Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Russian.”

“That’s a challenge you’ve got ahead.”

“I like to keep myself challenged. It keeps me active and I find it’ll help in the business world.”

“Uh, mom, don’t you think it’s kinda late for this conversation?” I spoke before she could interrogate him further, “I’m sure Aaron’s tired.”

Mom looked over at the clock. It was closing in on one in the morning, “Yes, you are right about that. Since it’s so late, you’ll stay the night. I’ll not have you out this late.”

“Yes ma’am, thank you.”

“Jacob, see to your friend. I’ve got to be at work early. Good night,” she said and left us standing in the living room.

I sighed and sat down in the chair next to me. When she left, I had no energy whatsoever. She was giving him the third degree like she was scolding one of us. She just met him! Aaron chuckled, “That was interesting.”

I looked up at him, “That was being lucky that she has to be at work early tomorrow…er, today. Come on, I’ll show you my room.”

I got up and we went upstairs. I could still hear mom moving around their bedroom as I opened the door to mine. I flipped on the light as saw that my younger sister Amber had came into my room and crawled into my bed.

“Aw, how cute,” Aaron whispered in my ear. I sighed and went to pick Amber up.

“She must have heard mom havin’ a fit,” I said quietly, “She’ll come get in my bed when she hears one of the parents getting loud downstairs or if she has a bad dream. She used to go to Andrew’s room, but since he’s moved out she chose me as the alternative to letting the parents know she was awake,” I said as I walked across the hall to her room. After tucking her in, I went back to my room and found Aaron looking over my collection. I had started to smile, but it became a yawn. I took off my shoes and pulled my shirt over my head. My eyelids were getting heavy again. I unbuttoned my shorts and let them fall as I walked out of them and to the bed, momentarily forgetting that Aaron was still here.

“That’s a nice view as well,” Aaron said as I was bent over the bed moving the pillow that Amber had cuddled against. I turned around to find him closing the door to my room, “So is there any place you want me to sleep in particular or…”

I pulled back the covers, “Seeing how you were thinking I was your pillow a couple of hours ago I doubt you’d want to sleep on the floor. I know I don’t. Besides, it’s a full sized bed. There’s enough room for two.”

“Well, if you insist.” He said as he bent down to remove his shoes. I got into bed and made myself comfortable on the far side. I looked over at Aaron to find him pulling his shirt over his head. I laid there and watched him as he undressed, enjoying the sight of his muscles swell and ebb in his movements with my sleepy eyes. When he had stripped down to his boxers he turned to look at me, “Did you enjoy the show?”

I smile as he chuckled and walked over to turn to lights off. I closed my eyes when I felt the bed dip and then his warmth beside me, “Hey Aaron?”

“Hm?”

“Did you really make all of that up?” I whisper, knowing he was right there beside me.

“Most of it. The part about my mother and the school and my transcripts are true, but my school brunt down almost thee years ago and my transcripts ended up in Vancouver and not Germany. I went there for about a little while then Paul felt that I didn’t need to go to college. I already made him around ten million while I was in high school. He thought it would just get in the way. He only sent me there to please my mother. She wanted me to go to college. When she died he pulled me out telling the school that I was in a deep depression over losing her and that he was getting me help,” he whispered back.

I turned on my side and gave him a hug. I could feel that his breath was shaky, like he was about to cry again. His arm went around me as he turned to face me, our foreheads touching, “I’m sorry.”

“…It’s ok,” he said. Then I felt his hand slide down my back to pinch my right butt cheek, “Didn’t I say no more apologizing? You couldn’t have had any control over what happened in my life, ok? So stop.”
I smile again, “Ok,” his hand stayed on my butt as I still held him, “Good night Aaron.”

“Good night Jake,” he responded softly, giving me a little squeeze.

I heard the sound of footsteps walking to my door and the door opening. During the rest of the night I managed to shift to sleep with my back to Aaron like I normally do due to the window sending in evil rays of morning light trying to wake me. I heard Amber make her way over to my bed and stop. Normally she’d just jump on the bed and start shaking me. She was silent for a time then I felt Aaron shift beside me.

“…Are you a friend of Jakie’s?”

“Yes I am. My name is Aaron, what’s yours?”

“My name is Amber. Amber Elizabeth Tervan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Amber Elizabeth.”

“You can call me Amber, everyone does.”

“Amber it is then.”

“…Is Jakie still sleep?”

“I believe he is. Is something wrong?”

“I’m hungry and I can’t reach the cereal. Will you help me?”

“I believe I can help you with that.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Let’s get you that cereal and let your big brother sleep some more.”

“He’s not a morning person when we don’t have to go to school.”

“Really…”

“Yeah, he gets really grumpy when I try to wake him. Shaking him doesn’t work all the time so I go over to his stereo and turn it up really loud then run out of the room. He doesn’t like it, but at least he wakes up.”

I heard Aaron laugh softly at that, “I can imagine.”

The bed shifted again and his warmth was gone from my back. I sigh quietly at the loss as I hear a rustling of clothes and then the two walking down the hall to the stairs. That’s when I registered the ritual morning wood. I listen for sounds coming from the kitchen before I reach down to relieve the pressure. I pull myself out and touch my head gently and shiver at the feeling. I then wrap my hand around my shaft and ran my thumb over my slit a few times before traveling the length of my cock with my hand. I brought my hand back up and squeezed my head. I instinctively thrust into my hand a few times before I go along my shaft again. I close my eyes and think about Aaron sleeping on me again, but this time naked. I loved the feel of him against me while we slept at his apartment and my body took note of it. I bury my face in my pillow as I stroke myself faster to muffle my moans when I remembered his hand on my ass right before I drifted off. I wanted his hand to be doing more to me, like stroking me instead of me having to take care of this. I wanted to know what his lips would feel like against mine, how they would feel on my skin. I wanted to know what his tongue would feel like as he licked my shaft before taking me in his mouth. I let out a groan as I grip myself tighter feeling my precum wet on my hand as it coated my shaft in a thin film of lube as I stroke. I wanted to touch him, I wanted to hear him moan and call out my name. I wanted to have him beneath me, begging me for more, “Aaron,” I moan as I felt myself coming closer to the edge. My cock was swelling more, letting me know that I was going to blow at any moment. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as I felt my stomach tighten like a coil, my balls were shifting. I grip my head and pump vigorously, I was so close. My back shot straight and my head went back as I came, emptying into the confines of my dark blue sheets, wishing it was Aaron that I was releasing into. I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my jaw trying in vain to hold back the pleasured sounds of my release. I was calling Aaron’s name.

It felt like I laid there for an eternity trying to come down from the bliss. My breathing was heavy since I’m pretty sure I held my breath the entire time I was shooting my load into my sheets. I manage to open my eyes and was staring at the wall. I roll onto my back and take a deep breath. I listened for sounds coming from the kitchen. The sounds of bowls clinking and water running let me know they were still in the kitchen. I was safe. I got up and went to the bathroom for a quick shower, then dressed and went down to join them.

I came into the welcome sight of Amber sitting at the table chatting away with Aaron as he was cleaning up. He looked up and smiled as I sat down beside Amber.

“You’re awake! And I didn’t have to shake you!” Amber said.

“I can wake up just fine on my own,” I say.

“No you can’t. If your friend wasn’t here I’d be turning up your radio right about now instead of finishing breakfast.”

“Anyway, what do you have planned today shrimp?”

“I’m not a shrimp!” she squeals. I hate it when she does that. But then again, I start it, “I’ve got swim club, then I’m off to Uncle Fred and Aunt Rita’s for the rest of the week to help watch Mrs. Venable’s quads.”

“Does she still have all those animals?”

“Oh yes. I’d rather watch babies crawl around then have to deal with all of them. I mean, why does a person need to have five dogs, three horses, and two dozen sheep anyway? And they keep getting more!”

“Oh my, sheep, too?” Aaron spoke as he sat down beside me.

“Yeah, they’ve got like a billion acres of land,” Amber said, “It’s really nice out there, too. Just don’t care for the animals.”

“I real city girl,” I say.

“Hey, it’s what I’m used to Jakie, ya can’t blame me for not likin’ them too much.”

“So, who’s comin’ to get ya?”

“Andy’s off today so he’ll take me to swim club. I think Aunt Rita’s coming later on in the day to take me to Mrs. Venable’s place.”

“Cool, I don’t have to worry about you wakin’ me up the rest of the week.”

“I’ll just have to call you then,” she said grinning. The front door opened and the sounds of footsteps walking in the living room.

“Hey, anyone here?”

It was Andrew. People say we could pass for twins if we were the same height. I think that made me want to get into weightlifting. I didn’t want to be thought of as just Andrew’s younger brother that looks like him. I mean he’s six nine, I doubt I’ll be that tall. He’s got a build on him that almost makes him look like a lean muscled giant. Guys don’t mess with him, chicks think he’s hot. Go figure.

“In the kitchen,” I call out. Andrew comes in and stands at the doorway.

“Hey there,” he said nodding his head at Aaron.

“This is my friend Aaron. Aaron, this is our older brother Andrew.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to see you’ve got other friends besides Ali,” he joked.

“Ha, ha. At least my friends aren’t all cops.”

“It happens when you’re a detective.”

“Looks like I’ll have to be on my best behavior then,” Aaron said grinning.

“That should be easy if you’re friends with this guy. He hardly does anything wrong.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be taking Amber to swim club or something,” I say fighting off a blush.

“Yeah. So did mom go off on you last night?”

“Not really. She gave Aaron here the third though.”

“Why, is he way older than you or something? Nah, he can’t be. If that were the case he wouldn’t be here right now.”
“He’s not that much older than me. Geez, why do people have a problem with me hanging out with older people? Hell, people don’t even believe me when I tell them I’m fifteen.”

“Aw, poor Jakie, can’t catch a break,” Amber said giggling.

“Stuff it shrimp.”

“I am not-,”
“Yo, take it down a thousand Amber,” Andrew said glaring at her, “Come on before you’re late. You know that’s ten laps after practice.”

“Ok ok,” she said getting up and heading up the stairs.

Andrew turns his attention to Aaron, “I haven’t seen you around before. You new here?”

“Yes. I just move here not too long ago. I met Jake in the city park near Streetshops Row one day when I was trying to find Marc’s Record Alley. We’ve got the same tastes in music as it turns out.”

Andrew smiled, “I bet.”

Andrew had the smile that said, ‘I have a feeling about you and since I have the tools available I’ll be checking up on you’. I hope he doesn’t start digging. If he finds out that Aaron’s seven years older than me I’m sure he’ll tell mom and that will be the end of it. I don’t see what the big deal is. I don’t act my age and neither does he. People look at us and think we’re two high school kids.

“I’m ready Andy,” Amber yells as she comes down the stairs.

“Amber, please, you don’t have to be that loud,” Andrew said, “I’m right here.”

“Ok yeah, whatever. Let’s go before I’m late,” she said grabbing his arm.

“It was nice meeting you Aaron,” he said as he was lead away by our younger sister. The door soon opened and closed and we were alone at last.

“You have a nice family,” Aaron said.

“They make things interesting to say the least.”

I looked at him clad in his jeans and nothing else. I felt myself stir at the sight, “You like what you see?”

I blush and look at the counter. He placed his hand on my thigh, “I’m not overstepping, am I?”

I chuckle, “I was your pillow yesterday, remember?”

“Mmmm, yes I do. A very nice one at that,” he leaned in so our foreheads touched again, “Do you have any plans today?”

“Not since Amber’s gonna be out of town. I was supposed to watch her while the folks are at work, but since I don’t have to I’m free.”

“…Would you like to hang out with me today? I mean, if it’s ok with your mom?”

I smile, “Sure. I’ll call and let her know this time.”

Mom was busy so I called dad and told him what I was doing for the day. Mom had filled him in on me coming in late last night and told me to be home at a reasonable hour and to make sure I called them if something came up. He said he would call her later to let her know and then hung up. Aaron came back downstairs fully dressed and smiled at me. I was pouting a little at the lack of visible skin.

“Is she ok with it?” he asked.

“Mom was busy so I called dad. He’s gonna call her later and let her know,” I respond as we head out the door.

We go back to his apartment. He told me to make myself comfortable while he went to take a shower. I spent a few minutes trying to calm down my lower half at the thought of him in the shower. I got up from the sofa and went over to his entertainment center to check out his stacks of CDs. Flipping through them was supposed to be more of a way for me to stop thinking about the water flowing over his naked body, his hands moving over his flesh, touching all of his intimate places…

“Shit,” I say aloud as I stop looking at the CDs. My shorts were beginning to tighten. I had to get rid of this before he came back. I started thinking of total opposites, baseball, cars, the sky, but nothing was helping. I look at the CD that I stopped on and it was a picture of a woman lounging on the cover. I began thinking about women, their curves, they way they talk, the little bits of cloth they call bikinis they wear at the beach. That did it. I sigh and go back to the sofa, resting my head against the back and closing my eyes. I don’t want Aaron to think that I’m out to jump his bones…well…yeah I am, but I want to know him first. I want to love him, and not just physically. That will come soon enough. That is, if he doesn’t reject me. I don’t even know if he’s gay. He could just be really friendly and just have a flirtatious nature. Alison’s like that around guys. I’m surprised that they can’t see that it’s all an act, but I guess when you look like she does and she’s talkin’ to you the proper brain isn’t working. I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it if he is straight. It would probably get to the point where I would have to tell him my feelings for him and then he’d stop being in my life anymore. That bit of doubt occupied me enough to not hear him come back into the living room. When I felt a presence over my head I opened my eyes to see his blue ones looking back at me.

“You still tired? We don’t have to do anything like go out somewhere, we can stay here.”

“No, I’m fine.”

A rumbling of thunder echoed through the air. Aaron turned to look out the window while still over me. I wanted so badly to kiss his cheek, I had to close my eyes to stop myself.

“Was it supposed to rain again today?” I hear him say. I open my eyes to see the ceiling as he moved over to his computer. I turn my head to watch as he pulls up the weather channel’s site to look over the day’s forecast, “There’s a ninety-five percent chance of heavy storm activity all day. I guess we’ll have to make it another day inside, if that’s ok with you.”

“That’s fine. We can listen to music or watch movies. Whatever.”

“That’s good. I like having you as my pillow,” He said getting up from the desk and walking over to the sofa. He picks up the remote from the table and sits down close to me. I blush a little, “You do that a lot. Are you easily embarrassed or something?”

I shake my head, “I…I guess it’s due to not being used to…this.”

“…Being this close to another guy?”
“…It is kind a new to me. I mean, I don’t really hang out much with other people unless I’m in season. I’m normally around Ali and in the summertime I’m usually watching after Amber or workin’ on my truck.”

“I don’t want to be uncomfortable or anything like that.”

I shake my head, “You’re not…I think it’s…just…”

“If I tell you something, would you promise not to be upset with me?” he asked softly. I looked at him carefully. The doubt I was thinking earlier starting to sink in.

“…I promise.”

“I don’t know if you’re realized it yet…but…I’m gay. When I first saw you in the park I swear my heart skipped a beat. I was hoping that I could talk to you and it happened that I was looking for that store so I thought it would be a good reason to start a conversation with you. You’re gorgeous.”

I sat there. ‘So he is gay,’ I thought. Whoopee!

“I…tried to make my actions seem like I was a very friendly person. The causal touches and things like that. I just wanted to come off playful and stuff. I…don’t want you to be upset with me.”

I smile at him, “You’re just being honest with me. Why would I be upset with that?”

He let out a breath, “Oh good. I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to hit on you all the time. You’re…ok with me being gay, right? I’ve had people say they were ok with it but…”

“Of course I’m fine with it. I’m gay myself,” I say looking into his beautiful eyes.

He smiled, “I thought so. Normally guys wouldn’t let other guys use them as a pillow unless they were both passed out drunk or something. And it didn’t bother you when I pinched your nice tight ass either,” My face heated up. He laughed and leaned his shoulder against mine, “So what shall we do for the rest of the day? Music, movies, or video games?”

“You play video games?”

“I can’t watch tickers and charts all the time.”

“What games do you have?”

We played games for a couple of hours until the lights began to flicker. The storm outside was starting to get heavy, the sounds of thunder making loud popping noises more than the traditional booming, “You better call your parents and let them know you’ll be late. I don’t think driving would be a good thing to do right now,” Aaron said as he was stopping the game. Just then my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Jake, its mom. The storm will be getting heavier before it lets up so stay at your friend’s place tonight and come home in the morning. I’m sure he won’t mind the company.”

“Ok,” I say trying hard to keep myself from smiling.

“And mind your manners. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Your father will be off tomorrow so he’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yes ma’am. Love you mom.”

“I love you too. Bye, bye.”

“So you’re staying the night?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll get to use you properly then.”

“Properly?”

“It wouldn’t have looked good if someone walked in and I was sleeping on you. Your sister might not have thought much about it but you mom would have been a different story.”

“That’s true. So you like me being your pillow, huh?”

“With a chest like that, who wouldn’t?” He said. I grinned shaking my head, “Besides, you’re only fifteen, you’ve still got some growing to do so I’m sure it’ll get even better.”

We munched on junk food and listened to music until the lights went out. I got up from the sofa and went over to the window. Rain was coming down in heavy sheets as lightning raced in the clouds. I yawned as I felt Aaron come to stand beside me. Something about rain always makes me sleepy, “Come on, let’s go to sleep,” he says slipping his arm around my waist. He leads me down the hall past the kitchen to his bedroom. The flashes of lightning illuminate the room enough for me to see a king size bed in cream colors with a dark cover folded at the foot of the bed. I place my hand on the sheets and marvel at the texture.

“I’ve never felt material like this,” I say running my hand slowly over the spread.

“It’s Egyptian cotton, twelve hundred thread. It feels great against your skin,” Aaron says as his fingers inch their way up the underside of my shirt, “Strip and get in, you’ll see.”

I stand up and take off my shirt, feeling his eyes roaming over my body as the lightning dances. Soon enough I was down to my boxers and wanting to feel more of the sheets. I got in and lay on my back. Immediately my eyes fell closed and a small moan passed my lips, the sheets feel exquisite. I didn’t bother opening my eyes as I know Aaron is smiling at my expression. I almost wanted to be naked in this bed, but I had to keep some sense of modesty about myself. I am a guest in his home after all. I hear the sounds of his clothes dropping to the floor between rumbles of thunder. I open my eyes half way to see him slightly bent over taking down his boxers. I close my eyes quickly, my body stirring at that sight. He’s got a delicious ass. I know that if I kept looking, I’d soon have those firm globes in my hands and that would lead to more. I took a breath as a shock of thunder snapped me from my thoughts.

“…I hope you don’t mind…I like to sleep in the nude,” he says sitting down on the bed.

“I’m fine with it,” I say opening my eyes locking on his in the intermittened light. He smiles again and comes to rest beside me like before. I turn on my side to face him, my eyes becoming heavy with sleep. Damn this rain, I want to take in the sight of him beside me like this. The sheets weren’t helping either, caressing my skin so wonderfully. I bring my arm about his waist and bring our foreheads together, “Goodnight Aaron.”

His arm goes about my waist, hand coming to rest on the curve of my butt, “Goodnight Jake.”

Aaron’s POV:

I love the sound of his heart. It beats strong, it lets me know that he’s a person that can handle himself and is willing to help others. I love that sound. It amazes me that this sound beats within the body of a fifteen year old. I was shocked when he told me his age. I was expecting him to say a number older than mine with the way he handles himself. He absolutely does not look like someone that’s been on this planet for only fifteen years. I am glad my eyes fell on him that day. I was getting frustrated with not being able to find that store. Since it was a nice day out I parked and figured I’d just ask someone. It just happened to be him, and I’m glad. My heart did skip a beat when I saw him, his head bent down slightly as he was sketching. It was a sight that I didn’t foresee myself coming across, a nice built man like that sitting on a bench in the park drawing. His curly hair ruffled slightly by the breeze. I wanted to run my fingers through that hair. When he looked up from his work I know my heart stopped, his eyes, a gorgeous chocolate brown and positively dreamy. When he first smiled at me I knew I wanted him. The only problem was that I didn’t know if he was gay. When we came upon the store and I saw his leggy redheaded friend I immediately thought ‘girlfriend’. She was stunning and I could easily picture them together. I felt a burst of joy within me when he said that she was more a sister than anything else. There might still be a chance. He wasn’t bothered with my touching him and he was so adorable when he blushed, it made me want to hug him.

I liked that we have things in common besides the fact that no one believes us when we tell our ages. His taste in music is wide and he doesn’t let language get in the way a group or artist sounds. I like that. I was surprised when he mentioned Onitsuka Chihiro. I listen to a lot of Japanese music but never came across her works like the other two artists he mentioned. I couldn’t help but jump at the chance to hear her work when he said his brother had bought him a copy. It also would give me a chance to see him again as well. I don’t really know what propelled me to buy the box set for him. Maybe it was because I wanted to be near him, I don’t know. I found it interesting that he left the store without it and his friend just to follow me when I asked. The look on his face was priceless when it caught up to him what he did. I wanted to kiss him right then and there.

When he called me yesterday it was the best thing that happened to me that day. I had just gotten off the phone with Paul. I really don’t know why he bothers to call if all he was going to do was talk down to me. It’s not my fault my mother wanted him to take care of me. I tried to get along with him, but I could tell that he wanted nothing to do with me. When he caught on to my understanding of the market he used it to his advantage and took all the credit. I let him. He did use his new gains to take my mother on wonderful trips and buy her incredible gifts. He loved doting on her, he loved her. I was just excess baggage that he took on so he could be with her. I had often wondered if she knew how he really treated me, if she ever caught the cold glances out of the corner of her eye he’d give me when she was looking elsewhere. I knew she was happy with him so I chose not to interfere. I wanted her to be happy. She had struggled raising me before meeting Paul, not giving herself a chance to love another after dad was taken away from us. When she found someone it was the happiest I had ever seen her be around anyone else. I liked seeing that side of her. It was a shock when Paul looked at me with distaste for the first time, I was only seven at the time, but seeing her smile was worth it. I made up my mind soon after that he didn’t have to love me, only her because she deserved it. Maybe now was my chance to have someone to love me. I hope that it will be with Jake.

I don’t remember falling asleep on Jake, maybe he thought I would be more comfortable sleeping against his chest than his knee. Either way, I’m glad that’s where I woke. I got nervous when his mother wanted to speak with me when I brought him home last night. I didn’t want to lie to her, she had never met me, but I had a feeling that if she knew how old I was she wouldn’t trust me being around her son. Now I’ll have to enroll in college again. Oh well, it’s not like it’s a bad thing. My transcripts are valid and I was only a few courses shy of getting my degree in business finance anyway. It will give me something to focus on so I’m not spending all my time thinking about this stunning creature beneath me. I like that he sleeps on his back, it makes it easier for me to use him as my pillow. I love his arms around me. I wish we could have slept like that at his house, but who knows what would have happened if his mother came in and saw in that state. I’m sure she wouldn’t have allowed me to see him again. I also have a feeling if she knew my sexual preference that would be the case as well. I’m glad that his parents feel he’s a responsible person. I guess it’s like his brother said that he hardly gets into trouble. With a mother like that, I’d try my best not to either. Does she grill people like that all the time? I can understand being upset, but damn, needing to know everything about me in one night? It’s a good thing that Jake broke in when he did, I don’t think I had any more patience with her line of questioning. I thought that was his brother’s line of work, drilling me like that. At least she was cordial enough to let me stay the night and I got to sleep beside him. I don’t think I can sleep without him now. It’s crazy, I’ve known him for less than a week and I don’t want to be without him now.

Then again there is the question of his brother. He’s a detective and I know he was chomping at the bit to question me further had it not been for their sister. My state of dress didn’t help matters much as well. No doubt he’ll do some checking on me. He doesn’t seem to be like their mother, but I know he won’t like the fact that I lied to her. I’ll have to talk to him before it gets to that. I don’t want to cause problems for Jake. It’s obvious that he loves his family. But…I love him too. Since he’s told me he’s gay, it confirms my belief that his mother doesn’t know about his preference. I doubt the rest of his family knows as well. I can already hear that conversation in my head. His parents will probably not believe him at first, and when it sinks in, they will have nothing to do with him. It will hurt him tremendously, I know it. I’m not sure how his siblings will take the news, so that will make approaching Andrew a bit difficult. I hope Jake has the courage to tell him at least, maybe before he tells their parents. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I need to know how he feels about me first; else all of this will be unnecessary, if he doesn’t want to be with me.

Jake’s POV:

Morning arrived with the sound of bass in various tones as a new song started playing just as I open my eyes. A woman’s voice appears over the tones along with a guitar. I close my eyes again and register the warmth of Aaron’s body against mine, his head resting on my chest. I listen to Dido’s lyrics while absently running my fingers through Aaron’s shaggy blonde hair. ‘I don’t want to call my friends, for they might wake me from this dream…’ I thought about that line as I still my hand in his locks and rest my other hand on his right shoulder. I hear him sigh as he snuggles closer to me, his right hand caresses my hip and his leg is resting over mine. It felt like it could be a dream, but I knew that he was right there beside me. And I know he is gay. Maybe there will be something between us. I’ve never been in love before, but when I first saw him, I knew I didn’t want anyone else. I…can not be without this man beside me. Is this what love feels like? My chest felt heavy with the possibility that he would not want to be with me; especially if he knew my parents views on homosexuality. I know they will hate me because of it. They will throw my out and I’ll never be able to see my little sister ever again. Would Andrew be the same? Would he be disgusted with me as well? I don’t know where he stands on the issue and I never thought to bring it up with him after overhearing that conversation. I should probably talk to him first. I know I’ll have to since he believes Aaron’s closer to my age. I know he’ll check up on him, and that he’ll talk to mom. My chest began feeling even tighter at the notion of not being allowed to see Aaron again. I love the way he feels against me. Wait a minute…love? Did I just think that? Do I...love him? I’ve known him for less than a week, how can that be possible? Is it because…I love him that my chest hurts like this at the thought of not being able to be with him? I fight back the tears that want to spill and try to keep my breathing normal so I don’t wake him and he sees me like this. After a minute, I shift to let him know that I’m awake and he hugs me before looking at me with those striking ocean blues.

“Morning,” he says before resting his chin on my chest.

“Morning,” I answer hoping that my voice didn’t sound as pained as I felt.

“Would you like some breakfast before I take you home?”

“Sure, that’ll be nice.”

He snuggled into my chest for a brief moment before sitting up, “You can use the bathroom in here and I’ll use the one in the hall and go make breakfast. How do you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled’s fine.”

“Scrambled it is. Toast? Coffee?”

“Toast is good. I’ll pass on the coffee though, got any o.j.?”

“Yes I do. I’ll see you in a few,” he says and gets up.

I sigh in relief that he didn’t notice something wrong with me. I get up and go into the bathroom. I take care of business then stand to look at myself in front of the mirror above the sink. I know I don’t look my age, but for some reason I felt a lot older that I should feel. I turn on the faucet and splash cold water on my face. I grab a hand towel and dry my face then look at myself in the mirror again. I rub the spot on my chest where I felt the pain, it was right over my heart. It is the same spot where Aaron rests his head. I close my eyes as tears trail down my cheeks. I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. How do people handle this feeling? Would I understand this feeling more if I were older? How would Aaron react if I were to just come out and tell him that…I love him.

I clean myself up and go back into the bedroom. I can hear the shower running in the hall as I pull on my clothes. I get up from the bed as I’m pulling my shorts on when I hear something that didn’t sound like music. At first I shrug and blow it off until I hear it again. It sounds like…moaning, and it wasn’t a part of the song that was playing. There’s no moaning in The Warmth. I button my shorts and walk slowly to the door when I hear another moan. There’s no mistaking that. It’s Aaron taking care of…things. I blush at the fact that I’m listening to another guy take care of his morning wood. I start to walk down the hall to the living room to give him some privacy when I hear something that stops me in my tracks. It’s my name pouring from his lips in the most sensuous way. And he wasn’t calling me Jake either he was calling me Jacob. It is the most erotic sound I’ve ever heard and my body loved it. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this hard this fast. I went back into the bedroom and headed straight to the bathroom and closed the door. I sat down on the toilet and tried to breathe deeply. I couldn’t get that sound out of my head. My brain didn’t want to let it go. My body didn’t want to let it go either as I feel my cock throbbing almost painfully. I had no choice. I turn on the shower and let it heat to my liking. A cold shower would have been useless, I’ve tried that before. It only succeeded in making me sick. I strip and step in. I let the water cascade over my body a minute before I took my raging hard-on in my hand. I lean against the wall facing the mirror at the sink. The water is hitting my chest as I stroke myself slowly closing my eyes and thinking only of my name as Aaron spoke it. The water hitting the tip of my cock only served to make my hand move faster along my length. I lean my head back against the wall as I picture Aaron stroking himself, head bent and panting. I let his name fall from my lips as I reach down with my free hand to cup my balls. My moans gain volume as I run my finger over my slit, feeling my pre-cum mix with the warm water. I feel my stomach tighten as my climax approaches. I stroke my cock with both hands, not caring if he hears me. I don’t admit it to anyone, but I’ve got a big one. My length fits in both hands and is thick. It was something that I didn’t expect when I hit puberty. I didn’t even shower with the rest of the guys in the main shower room in middle school because of it. That’s something I don’t want to hear people talking about. My orgasm hits me like lightning as all I see are white spots behind my eyelids as I feel each pulse of seed leave my body. When my orgasm finally subsides, I slide down the wall to the floor of the shower. I’m drained. I never came that hard before. I never heard my name sound like that before. His voice was filled with passion and desire.

After some time I manage to get up and out of the shower. I dry off slowly as I’m still a bit shaky. I hope that Aaron was done taking care of himself even though I doubt I would have had the energy to get it up again. I pull my clothes on again and make my way through the bedroom. I smell coffee brewing and was glad that Aaron was in the kitchen. I walked down the hall and peaked into the kitchen area to see his back to me at the stove shuffling eggs around in a frying pan. I took a seat on a stool at the island and watched him work. I noticed that he was wearing a pair of jeans and then blush faintly as I know he heard me in the shower. He soon finished and turned around to face me as he portioned out fluffy yellow eggs onto two plates. The toast popped up in the toaster and he reached over to grab it as he placed the pan in the sink. He then turned back to me and placed the bread on the plates. He placed a plate in front of me and smiled, “Here ya go.”

“Thanks,” I say as I pick up the nearby fork. The eggs are delicious, just the right amount of salt and pepper with a touch of cayenne pepper for a kick. We eat in silence, enjoying the sounds of The Black Mighty Orchestra doing a version of Henry Mancini’s Ocean Beach. It wasn’t an awkward silence either, just peaceful. We both knew what took place earlier so there was no need to say it out loud. I picked up the tumbler of orange juice when I met those ocean blues.

“…Do you want to talk about it or let it sink in for a few days,” he says as I take a sip. Just then Finger Eleven’s Paralyzer started up. I blush as I catch words in the lyrics describing the mood that was in the kitchen then. I sat the glass back down. He smiles at me.

“I…need to…let it sink in,” I say slowly, “I mean-,”

“You don’t have to explain to me now Jacob. Give yourself some time to get used to it. I have a feeling this is the first time you’ve ever felt this way about someone. Am I right?” I lower my eyes and nod my head in confirmation, I couldn’t meet his eyes at that moment. I then feel the warmth of his hand over mine which was still holding the glass, “There’s no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed about it. It happens to people. It’s a part of life. I’m gonna finish getting dressed.”

I continue looking at the table as he gets up and makes his way to his bedroom. I still felt scared. I still didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to think about it at the moment so I got up and cleared the table. I was wiping down the table after I loaded the dishwasher and turned it on when he came back into the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he says coming to the island.
“That’s ok. I mean, you did it at my house, so I the least I could do is return the favor.”

“Thank you. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. I may have some yard work to do depending on the storm last night, might as well get it over with.”

We arrived at my house and as I guessed, there were leaves and limbs littering the yard. My dad was already working on it when we pulled in the drive, “Do you need any help?” Aaron asks as he stops behind my truck.

“If you want to. There’s a lot of yard to cover and I’m pretty sure Andrew will have a mess at his house as well,” I say as I open the door. Aaron turns off the engine and gets out. We walk over to my dad who is happy to see me.

“I was wondering when you were gonna get here,” he says smiling at us. It was the ‘oh good, you brought a friend to help’ smile.

“Dad, this is Aaron. Aaron, my dad Robert.”

“Nice to meet you sir,” Aaron said extending his hand. They shook, dad was still smiling.

“So you willing to give us a hand here?”

“Sure.”

“Good. There are gloves on the porch beside the trash bags.”

We spent the next three and a half hours cleaning up the front and back yards. There wasn’t as much damage as I thought, mostly leaves and dead limbs that was shaken from the trees. There was no need to cut down any tree branches or anything like that. Mom wasn’t going to be thrilled about her rhododendron bushes at the corner of the front side of the house; dad had to cut them short since heavier limbs damaged many of the branches. I asked about Andrew’s place a dad said that he was working today but he would work on it tomorrow and the next since he had the next few days off. I let out a sigh of relief. Andrew and more yard space at his house and even if he had the same amount of damage done it would take longer. Especially since his back yard was huge. He lives in Magnolia Park and there are a lot of trees where he lives. One of the first things he bought when he moved in there was a riding lawnmower so I know it was going to take a bit more time to clean up. We relaxed on the front porch as there was a gentle but steady breeze blowing all the while we worked. Dad had made some lemonade before he started working and by the time we were finished it was chilled to perfection.

“So,” dad starts, “Katlin tells me you’ll be starting Hyde in the spring.”
“Yes sir. There were some problems with my transcripts.”

“I hear. That’s a terrible thing that happened to your school by the way.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe someone would actually do that. I mean, I know there were times I wish it did burn down, but to know that someone actually did it. It feels…surreal in a sense. I was vacationing with my dad when I heard about it and I saw the footage online and couldn’t believe my eyes.”

“I can imagine. So what made your father decide on moving here?”

Aaron shrugged, “I guess he wanted a change in scenery. He likes living in the city, but he wasn’t too keen on large metropolises. This place seemed to be the right size for him. I think it’s nice here too.”

“So did your father buy a house? Are you renting?”

“Oh no, he bought a condo in the warehouse district, I guess that’s what people around here call it.”

“Yeah,” dad said pausing to take a drink, “Most of the buildings on that side of town were used to be for industrial purposes decades ago. Now that most of those jobs have been shipped overseas or to more rural areas to promote growth, the buildings were left. I’m surprised that they weren’t all torn down.”

“I hear there was a historical society that fought to keep the buildings. From what I read, most of the buildings were very sound for being close to seventy years old.”

“Yeah, they really knew how to build things back in those days.”

Aaron looked at his watch and then stood, “Well, I hate to bring and end to this conversation, but I’ve got a few errands to run. My father called yesterday and said he would be returning home earlier and I plan on surprising him with dinner so I must do some shopping.”

Dad stood as well and shook his hand, “It was nice to meet you Aaron. You and your father should come over some time and have dinner. I’m sure Katlin would like to meet him.”

“Thank you sir. I’ll let him know. Have a good rest of the day.”

As Aaron walked to his car I could feel my chest tightening again. The whole time I was able to not think about our conversation or the semi mutual masturbation that happened prior. As I watched him get into his car and back down the drive I knew I had some thinking to do.
“He seems like a nice young man. Did your mom give him a hard time the other night?”

“Not any more than what she normally does,” I say absently rubbing my chest over my heart.

“What’s wrong son? Did you strain yourself?”

“Huh, what?” I realized that I was rubbing my chest and stopped, “No, I probably just slept funny or somethin’.”

“Well you don’t want to be hurting yourself before you get the chance to show Coach Morgansen what you’re made of. Take it easy ok?”

“Yeah dad.”

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