KKirk

Preliminaries The preliminary heats were scheduled for Friday morning at 10:00 after a warmup period earlier. The races were held every 15 minutes with diving prelims happening between the races at a different pool next door. It was busy and intense, but we were finished by 12:30. Mom and Dad and Eileen rooted for all the CHS swimmers and made me feel very well-supported. This is Mike’s yearbook photo of me entering the pool for the final lap of the relay in which I gained 1.21 se

Practice Day After a day of practice sessions in Round Rock, we ate an early dinner at a Chili’s and then went to a park along the river where we strolled around a bit just to enjoy the trees and other foliage, something we don’t have a lot of in the West Texas plains. Mike, in his role as the official Mustang Yearbook photographer snapped several photos of us hanging out at the park to balance the ones of us at the Round Rock pool. I guess as a swimmer you really can’t be shy about

Regional Championship In early February we had our regional meet at the Texas Tech University Natatorium here in Lubbock. That was cool because my whole family and Melody and her dad were in the stands to root me on. Being one of the local high schools, many students, faculty, and family members attended, too. The community support probably helped us do our best. Unbelievably, I beat Randy in the 200-yard freestyle and set a regional record at 1:37:11, just a fraction of a second ab

This story is about some hot times I had as a high school senior about five years ago. I grew up in the main city of the Texas Panhandle, Lubbock, home of Texas Tech University and the National Wind Power Center and about 250,000 sunbaked and windblown residents. It’s not a particularly exciting city compared to places like Austin and Dallas, but it was a safe and mostly pleasant place to grow up. My name is Richard Griffin but my friends call me Rick. I turned 18 in the fall of my senio

Three high school seniors. Three best friends. Three good swimmers. Three horny teenagers. The plot is pretty obvious, but the twists and turns will sometimes surprise you and sometimes delight you. Join Rick, Randy, and Mike as they grow closer than ever before in the last months of senior year as they learn things about themselves that shock them, excite them, and drive them forward into manhood. This is a coming of age story that is shared by all three friends.

First Date Jordan stood as I crossed Kelly’s patio towards him. My heart skipped a beat as I took in his simple black button-down collared shirt topped with a tan corduroy sport jacket. Below the jacket I could see tight black Wrangler jeans and ornate tan cowboy boots. To set off his look, his hair was clean and coiffed a bit and he wore a mask made from red bandana fabric. Jordan extended his hand toward me and I took it when I reached him. He gripped my hand tightly and held it

Awakening I think I was sprawled out on my back in the deepest part of my sleep cycle when my bed shook a little. I’m not quite sure if that movement woke me or if it was the warm body that rolled up against my side, the granite-like erection that thumped against my hip, or the arm that crossed my belly as its hand grasped my pectoral muscle. But I did slowly come up from that place of pure nothingness to a fairly alert awareness of the presence of another. For a moment, I thought it was

New Truths We were very quiet as we showered for real this time, washing off the debris of our hot sexual escapade. Afterwards, we dried off and went to our separate quarters to dress. When I had pulled on a tank top and pair of Calvin Klein boxer briefs, I called out, “Alan?” There was silence. I knew he was in his sleeping area so I walked the few feet to his curtained entry. The curtain was open and I saw him sitting on the side of his bed, leaning over with his head in his hand

Afternoon Delight After my exciting talk with Jordan, the walk home seemed to happen in no time. I couldn’t believe I had actually suggested we should go out together and he had agreed. I have a date with a man! I guess you could say I’ve had a bunch of dates with Alan over the past couple of months, but somehow this date with Jordan felt very, very different, even more exciting in some ways. And, we’ve not even come out to each other. What if, God forbid, Jordan is just a really nice

Adios, Daddio I had to skip my English Lit Zoom class in order to have breakfast with Dad, but it was well worth it. I had baked some simple sausages and biscuits in the oven while I scrambled some cheesy eggs on the stove. We enjoyed the hot meal and the last few minutes of Dad’s visit. I carried a plate in for Alan as he was viewing a Physics lecture and Dad and I sat at our little dining table. “Thank you so much for making the trip up here to see me, Dad. I needed so badly to

Afternoon Delights About 3 p.m., Dad left to go to his motel to check in and rest a bit before dinner. We decided to meet at 6:30 at O’Neill’s Irish Pub, which had reopened its nice outdoor seating area recently. Dad asked me to invite Alan to join us and promised that he would not make Alan uncomfortable. After Dad left, I found myself almost bubbly with excitement and relief that Dad had responded so positively to my coming out, my relationship with Alan, and the modeling opportunity.

Some Deep Sharing Dad held me against his shoulder for as long as I needed until I was ready to share some more. When I sat up, pulling away from him in the process, he said, “Are you okay, Cal?” I grinned at him, “I’m great, Dad, really great.” “So am I, son.” “It’s such a relief to have that off my chest.” “I can’t quite imagine, I suppose, but I know it always seems less stressful when you aren’t hiding anything from those around you.” “Yes,” I nodded. “May

@drsawzall, there is more to come from Daddy's visit. It might take a couple of additional chapters. I would not have gotten it posted for another week if I had gone on. But I do have a lot of ideas for what happens next!

Remembering Sixth Grade Trauma Frankly, even though I slept well in Alan’s embrace on Saturday night, when I awoke a bit early on Sunday morning, I was unsettled. I was a little nervous and anxious about speaking with Dad about the modeling work and possibly coming out to him, too. It was a lot, but I was convinced I could not go forward with the modeling without talking it all out with Dad. After becoming conscious, I lay against Alan for as long as I could before I had to get out o

Saturday Afternoon Alan and I got home from Trevor’s around 12:30 following my photo shoot. It had been fun, tiring, a bit scary, and very sensual being so underdressed while this very handsome man told me how to position myself and make facial expressions that are sexy. I kelp telling myself to remember this information for later. As soon as we had the door to the loft closed, Alan said, “Put down that duffel bag, strip, and get on the bed.” As I looked across the sleeping ar

@Steve Farner, @Tonyr, @drsawzall. @long1jo, @RJRBD100, @VBlew, @pvtguy, and @JCtoGO2, You are the best damn readers of them all. Thank you so much for taking the whole journey with Art and Mike. Obviously you cared about them. I'm glad you shared in the joy of discovery in the beginning and the joy of belonging and a lifetime of caring between them at the end. I found this relationship to be always changing and growing as these men encouraged each other to be their best selves. I love how they embraced Kathy and George who completed their special friend's life. Thank you for sharing your kind words with me about this story. As I shared in the prelude, this is based on a true incident. There was a hustler at the Capitol. There was an elderly aunt who invited me to dinner near the Capitol. There was a simple room in a broken-down hotel. We did go to coffee a few times. He was trying to get home to Utah. And I did drive him there in order to help him and to see the beautiful country between Denver and Salt Lake. Unfortunately, the rest of the story -- the lifelong friendship -- is how I wish it had happened, but it did not. If my "Hustler-with-a-heart-of-gold" sees this and remembers that crazy kid who drove you to Utah, please send me a note. I've wished I could connect again for decades. I hope you had a good life and your dreams really did come true! Thanks again for sharing this fictionalized "true" story and for expressing that you liked it. Love you guys! Ken

Anticipation During the week after Alan’s photo shoot, I found myself waffling back and forth about my own photo shoot scheduled for Saturday morning. I would worry the whole idea was just a little too out there. What if someone from the family were to see some of the photos? What if Jordan or Johnny or Luis or someone else from the Landscaping Department saw the photos? Would the existence of such photos haunt me throughout my life? But I surely could use the extra income. And the id

Dreams that Live Mike did go to Los Angeles in the fall of 1980, where he became a successful model. I’ll never forget the thrill I got the first time I saw him, in this pink suit in an add in Gentlemen’s Quarterly. I laughed that he didn’t look terribly hetero in this photo. He had several print ad campaigns and made some national commercials for a couple of years before finally snagging a role as a newbie fire-fighter in a TV series called California Burning. The show lasted two seas

More like a very active fantasy life, @RJRBD100!!

@pvtguy, thank you so much for sharing a bit of your story. What I love about the Gay Authors site is making these connections. Maybe we will always be strangers in the world, but you have touched me for this moment with your wise acceptance of who you are and how your very specific journey has brought you to this moment in life. How wonderful to have a wonderful son, be comfortable in your own skin, and have no regrets. You must be a peaceful dude!

Going Home 1 We only drove a couple of miles out of Green River on I-70 before taking the US-6 exit for Price and Provo. The drive was easy on a less-traveled 2-lane road through the desert mountains of central Utah. Several clean and neat small towns broke up the two and a half-hour drive and we stopped in Provo near the BYU campus for lunch. On the way, Mike educated me in the Mormon beliefs and culture, including the polygamy which was rampant in the nineteenth century and is stil

Once we had our camp set up, we gathered our supplies and walked down to the camp rest room to take showers before dinner. Only one guy was inside at the time, but he was definitely worth seeing as he dried off before dressing and heading out. Mike was able to carry on a coherent conversation with this hunk of muscle, but I was deathly afraid that he would understand my attraction if I tried to interact, so I just said hello and went on into the shower. He and Mike chatted for a few

Thank you for the feedback, @JLynch. I got a little carried away on this chapter. I need to watch it more in the future.

Welcome aboard, @RichardWrites. I love New Mexico and enjoy writing anything set in that glorious state. It might be better to start late as you won't be waiting for new chapters for a while. It's pretty close to completion (I think) but I'm struggling to get the time I need for writing. I look forward to your feedback! Ken

I picked Mike up at the Capitol Arms a few minutes after 9 o’clock on Saturday morning. He had his jacket on and had packed all his belongings in a large Army duffel bag and a smaller bag. He let me snap a souvenir photo and then we loaded into my car for our journey across the mountains into Utah. Without a backward glance, Mike grinned widely, slapped me on the knee, and practically shouted, “Let’s get the hell out of town, brother!” In only a few minutes we were up onto the