Three Hearts - 4. Chapter 4

Three Hearts

By

Andrew Todd

Chapter 4

Brice woke in a cold sweat. The room was dark and quiet except for Milo’s snoring. Brice had given up trying to convince the dog to sleep on the floor. He was now simply trying to get the dog to work on his ‘personal space’ issues, but so far that wasn’t working, so most mornings he woke up with Milo closely pressed up against him.

His mind was going a hundred miles an hour. The dreams were back and stronger than ever. In the last month, he had still been spending time with both Justin and Cody, but the three had started spending more time together as well.

Not much had changed in school. He still spent most of the day with Cody since they had almost all their classes together. He still met up with Justin every afternoon in gym class.

Justin had talked his father into giving Cody a part-time job a couple afternoons a week and on Saturday mornings. On the afternoons Cody worked, Brice would either head home and do homework or hang out with Justin, if Justin didn’t have football practice.

On the days Cody was off, Brice would hang with him and if Justin didn’t have practice the three would hang out together. They had spent a few afternoons at Justin’s grandparents’ riding the horses, but they would mostly hang out at one of their houses and shoot the breeze or play video games.

Brice had thought that the three of them hanging out together and becoming friends would make things easier for him, but it actually had the opposite effect.

When he was alone with Cody or with Justin, they would invariably end up kissing or getting intimate. Brice refused to let it get too far, but his defenses were wearing thin with both boys. When they were all together, Brice found it almost impossible to keep his hormones in check.

What made him feel even worse was that he felt like he was doing the same thing to Cody and Justin that Kevin had done to him. He had given Kevin his heart, and his body. They had started having sex almost from the moment they started dating and he had never denied Kevin, which was why he had had such a hard time reconciling that Kevin had been with so many other guys.

Kevin had begged and pleaded with him to get back together. He had claimed that he loved Brice totally and his ‘extracurricular’ love life had nothing to do with love and was just about the physical pleasures and the needs he had.

Brice had scoffed at Kevin’s excuses. He had loved Kevin and had only been with him. He had never even considered being with another boy when they were together. To him love and sex went hand in hand.

If he was being honest with himself, Brice had to admit that the sex was never as important to him as it had been to Kevin. It was Kevin that initiated their lovemaking at least ninety percent of the time. Most of their friends probably would have been shocked to have known that Kevin was an insatiable bottom and Brice was rarely on the receiving end of things.

To Brice, being in love meant honesty, togetherness, intimacy--not just sex. He was starting to realize that he was indeed in love with both Cody and Justin and he couldn’t see his life without either one.

In the last week, the dreams he had had at the start of the school year had returned in force, but this time instead of dreaming of making love to Cody and then to Justin, the dreams were of the three of them together.

He had never in his life considered the possibility of having two partners. It was amazing that the idea had been Justin’s five-year-old brother’s.

He had contemplated the idea over the past month, but he didn’t see how it could ever work. It was one thing for them to all be friends, but quite another to add a romantic angle to the situation.

Brice was confused by his feelings. He knew he was falling in love with both of his friends and he was having a hard time (in more ways than one) sorting out his feelings. He didn’t want to lose either of them, but he didn’t know how he could stop that inevitability.

He turned to look at the clock on the nightstand. The bright red numbers said 3:27. He knew why he was wide awake today: this was going to be the hardest day of all. Cody’s dad would be dropping him off around eight and then Justin would be coming to pick them both up and they would be headed to Foxboro, Massachusetts and Gillette Stadium to see the New England Patriots play.

When they had started planning for this, Brice had been excited--now he was almost dreading it. What should be a fun-filled day of football and friendship felt like it was going to be torture for him. He had almost bowed out a couple of times in the last week. But he knew that Justin and Cody were both looking forward to today, even more so since they had all started hanging out. If he was honest with himself, he knew that he was excited about today as well.

He thought back to yesterday afternoon. After Cody had finished work, Brice had picked him up and they had gone to the last football game of the season to watch Justin. The home team won, finishing the season with a 7-3 record and just missing out on the playoffs.

After the game, they drove to Justin’s house and from there took Justin’s truck to the local Shaw’s Supermarket to get supplies for the game. They loaded up on soda, bratwursts, hamburger, chips and other snacks. When they got back to Justin’s house they brought the groceries inside and then loaded Justin’s truck with folding chairs, a small awning, two gas grills and various utensils they would need for the tailgating.

When everything was loaded, Brice went to his car and retrieved three bags that he had hidden. He gave one bag apiece to Cody and Justin and kept one for himself.

Cody and Justin opened their bags and were surprised to see that Bryce had gotten them each a new Patriots jersey. For Justin, the quarterback, he had gotten a Tom Brady #12 jersey, for Cody, #81 Aaron Hernandez and for himself he had gotten #87 Rob Gronkowski.

The boys chuckled to themselves thinking of all the off-color jokes that could be made about the quarterback and his two tight ends.

Justin and Cody were both pleased with the gifts as those were some of their favorite players.

Brice lay there thinking about how much he wanted to make both his friends happy; he was torn about what to do, since the idea of the three of them being together was so alien to him.

He turned over on his stomach and buried his head in his pillow. After a few minutes he fell back into a fitful and rest-free sleep.

***

Cody was having an equally restless night. He slept fitfully in his small double bed buffered on either side by his three dogs.

When he met Brice it had been love at first sight for him. Brice’s easygoing personality, vibrant red hair, creamy white skin and emerald-green eyes excited him like no boy he had ever met.

Cody had known he was gay forever, but living in small-town New Hampshire, he thought that being silent about his sexual preference was the safest way to go.

Ironically, the only person before Brice who knew about his sexuality was his brother Ty. While he and Ty fought all the time, they were also each other’s confidante.

Ty would often come to Cody with questions about sex. Neither felt comfortable talking to their parents about the subject and in their rural school district ‘sexual education’ was limited to a stern ‘wait until you’re married’.

Ty had hit puberty before he turned twelve and he had hit it like an out-of-control race car driver hitting a wall. By the time he was thirteen he had grown to over six feet and showed little sign of stopping. No one in his family was quite sure where Ty got his size from. His father was just shy of 5’11” and his mom was a average 5’5”. They couldn’t think of anyone on either side who had exceeded six feet. Some people made jokes to Ty about him being adopted, but one only had to look at their facial features and the brown hair and eyes that they shared with their father to know that Cody and Ty were indeed brothers.

When Ty was about twelve and in junior high, he had come to Cody one night very upset. Along with his increase in height, other parts of his body were getting bigger as well. Cody tried to explain to him that it was normal and since he was experiencing it before his classmates it made sense for them to be curious about him.

Thinking that Cody was not taking him seriously enough, Ty stood up and dropped his shorts and underwear and turned to Cody. “Is this normal?!” he exclaimed as he pointed at his penis.

Cody’s jaw dropped. He was not fond of gym class, but being forced to attend it he had seen his fair share of shapes and sizes in the cock department. What he was looking at attached to his ‘little brother’ was the biggest one he had ever seen.

Cody turned away and ordered Ty to pull his pants back up.

He had Ty sit next to him and gently explained that no, his penis was not ‘normal’--it was indeed bigger than any he had ever seen. Ty started to tear up thinking that something was wrong with him. Cody had hugged his brother to him and explained that it was not something to be embarrassed about. He had been in gym class with seniors who didn’t have what Ty did. Cody assured Ty that if anyone was picking on him it was due to jealousy since most of the kids in his class were still carrying a junior model. This made Ty laugh and feel better. After that night, Ty made frequent nocturnal visits to Cody’s room to talk about sex, girls and other problems puberty brought with it.

About a year ago, a few months into his freshman year, Ty came to Cody’s room. He had gone out with some friends and ended up at a party. He had been introduced to beer that night, something he decided he did not care for. Not wanting to be a ‘wimp’ though, he drank a few and then started dancing with a girl from another school. The girl was a junior and given Ty’s size, she assumed he was at least sixteen or seventeen. As they danced and the girl began to rub against him, Ty could not control himself. The alcohol had lowered his inhibitions and his hormones were raging. Before he knew it the girl had led him to a deserted bedroom, stripped him down and ridden him like a racehorse.

After he had had sex several time with the girl, she asked him for a ride home. It was then he explained to her that he did not have a license. When the girl realized that she had just deflowered a lowly freshman, she stormed out of the room and Ty collected his clothes and headed home.

When he got home, Ty rushed to Cody’s room in a flurry of embarrassment and excitement. He told Cody everything that had happened. Cody’s immediate reaction was irritation that his younger brother had dropped his cherry before he had, but he also knew that given the way Ty looked and the way Cody looked it was to be expected.

Cody asked Ty if he had used protection. Ty assured Cody that the girl had had a supply of condoms and they had used up a few of them.

The brother’s stayed up most of the night, Ty telling Cody all about his experience and Cody warning Ty to be careful he didn’t get a reputation in school.

As they were about to head off to sleep, Ty asked Cody how far he had ever been with a girl. The tone in Ty’s voice was not one of one-upmanship but one of concern that his brother experience what he had.

It was then Cody told Ty the truth that he had never done anything with a girl and he probably never would since he was gay.

Ty smiled at Cody and hugged his older brother. He assured Cody that he would accept him and love him no matter what.

Over the next year, the two brothers would talk occasionally about finding Cody a boyfriend. Ty had no shortage of girlfriends, but he had kept it in his pants since that night.

When Cody met Brice, the first person he told of his feelings was Ty. Ty was happy that Cody had found someone he liked and after meeting Brice, Ty wholeheartedly agreed he would be a great match for Cody.

At first, Cody thought that Brice liked him as well. They had kissed a few times, but Brice always held back. Brice had explained that he had been through a bad break-up and wanted to take things slow so neither of them got hurt, but Cody felt there was something more.

Then when he spent the afternoon with Brice and Justin riding horses at Justin’s grandparents’ he realized what that something, or someone, else was. He could see the looks between Justin and Brice. He knew that they had feelings for each other. At first Cody had been determined to fight for his man. Whenever he spent time alone with Brice, he would do whatever he could to subtly show Brice that they should be more than friends.

Over the course of the last month, as he spent more time with Brice and Justin, Cody started to see what Brice saw in Justin. He was becoming attracted to the big blond as well. He probably didn’t feel as strongly for Justin as he did for Brice, but the feelings were there. Once he stopped thinking of Justin as the class jock and started seeing him as the caring, funny person he was, Cody started falling for him.

So here he was in, lying in bed, in the middle of the night, wide awake because every time he shut his eyes he dreamed of being with Brice and Justin. It just wasn’t right. He had only wanted a boyfriend. He had wanted Brice, so why couldn’t he get thoughts of Justin out of his head?

***

Justin woke up to the sun beaming through his bedroom window. He sat up and tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head.

Today was the big day. He, Brice and Cody were heading to Foxboro to spend the day at Gillette and watch the Pats crush the Jets.

Justin was excited, but not for the reasons he should be. Of course, he had the usual thrill he got whenever he had a chance to see a live football game, but he was more excited about spending the day with Brice, and strangely he was excited to be spending time with Cody as well.

Justin had never given Cody much thought in all the years he had known him. He was just another boy in his classes and they gravitated to different circles.

What Justin had come to realize in the last month since he had started hanging out with Cody and Brice is that he was just as attracted to Cody as he was to Brice.

Justin had accepted his sexuality when he was fourteen. He had come out to his parents about two years ago. His mom had accepted things right away, while his father had taken some time to come around. His grandparents took a bit of time, like his dad did, but they eventually accepted him as he was.

Other than his immediate family, Justin told no one about his sexuality. It was hard being the quarterback on the varsity team and not having a girlfriend, but his friends seemed to accept that he was not a ‘relationship person’ as he would tell them. Probably deep down some of them suspected the truth, but it was not something anyone would verbally question.

When he met Brice, Justin was immediately smitten. From the first day when they showered together after gym class and he casually made sure that Brice had gotten an eyeful he was hot for the redheaded newcomer.

He and Brice had made out a few times, but Brice had explained about his old boyfriend and how he was a bit gun-shy about a new relationship. Justin tried to be patient and understanding, but he wanted Brice in the worst way.

When Brice had first mentioned Cody, Justin was annoyed. Cody was a clown and not someone he thought that Brice should hang around with. But after that day at his grandparents’, Justin completely changed his opinion of Cody. He still saw Cody as a ‘clown’, but not in a negative way. He also saw him as a sensitive, caring and compassionate boy. He also started to feel an attraction to him.

Justin had never really noticed before, but he definitely had a ‘type’ and both Cody and Brice fit the mold. Brice was slender, not overly muscled or too big and Cody was downright skinny, but very cute. Justin realized that he was attracted to boys who were smaller than him, at least in musculature and stature.

He had started to fantasize about both boys and that bothered him.

He had ‘chosen’ Brice, but there was something about Cody that got to him as well.

Justin was not a religious person, in spite of his parents dragging him to mass every Sunday. The teachings of the Catholic Church were a joke as far as he was concerned, but he was a spiritual person believing in an afterlife and spirits or angels. He believed that his Uncle Denny watched over him and that Denny had influenced Jet to accept Cody so that the three boys would become friends.

He wasn’t sure if Denny’s intent was more than friendship, but he knew with all his heart that his uncle would have done anything to make sure he was happy.

***

Brice was just finishing getting dressed when he heard the doorbell ring.

He ran downstairs with Milo at his heels. When he pulled open the front door, Cody was standing there beaming his toothy grin. He had a backpack over his shoulder and an overnight bag in his hand. Since they were getting home late and they had the day off from school tomorrow, Cody and Justin were spending the night at Brice’s.

“Hey, Code,” Brice greeted him. “C’mon in, I’m just finishing getting dressed.”

Cody followed Brice back up the stairs to his room.

“Just throw your bag in the corner over there,” Brice instructed. “How many layers are you wearing?” he asked.

“Well, I got my thermals on under my jeans and I have my ski pants in my backpack. I’ve got two t-shirts on under my jersey and I packed an extra sweatshirt and a hoodie.”

“Shit!! That many?”

Cody laughed. “Justin says the seats are in the third level. With wind-chill it will be at least twenty degrees colder up there than it is in the parking lot, probably more.” Cody watched Brice wince. “Be glad it’s still early November. Another month and it would be really bad.”

“You’re kidding.”

Cody grinned and shook his head. “Nope, my dad went one year the day after Christmas. It sleeted and rained the whole time they were tailgating. By the time they got to their seats, there was an inch of ice on them. They smashed the ice, but the plastic seats were so cold, even with all their layers on, when my dad got home he was under the hot shower for almost an hour and he said it took him days to thaw out.”

“And you guys think this is fun?” Brice asked incredulously.

“Anything for the Pats,” Cody said seriously.

“Well, I’ve got thermals on and these jeans are pretty heavy,” Brice said. “I have a t-shirt and a turtle neck on under my jersey. I’ll pack a couple of sweatshirts too.”

Cody looked at Brice’s feet. “Wear your hiking boots,” he instructed. “Those sneakers will not keep your feet warm enough. And make sure you have gloves and a hat.” Brice grabbed his Patriots ball cap. “No, a ski cap to keep your ears warm.”

Brice looked around the room. “I don’t have one.”

Cody pulled out his phone and hit one of the speed-dial buttons. “Hey, Jus, do you have an extra ski hat for Brice?…cool…see ya in a few.” He hung up. “Justin’s gonna bring you one.”

Brice raised his eyebrows. “You have Justin in your speed dials?”

Cody laughed, “Yup. We’re together so much now, it just made sense.”

Brice just nodded and grinned trying to keep the jealousy monster in its cage.

Brice and Cody were waiting on the front porch when Justin drove up.

Justin hopped out of the truck. “Hey, guys, ready to roll?” he laughed. He opened the fiberglass tonneau cover that was over the bed of the truck.

Brice and Cody walked over and handed Justin their backpacks. Justin took an overnight bag from the truck bed and handed it to Brice who ran over to the house and put the bag inside the front door.

“Milo!!” Brice called to his dog. The pit came running around from behind the house. Brice knelt down and petted the dog. “Ok, you be a good boy,” he said as the dog wagged his tail. The three boys had built a doggie door into the barn door a few weeks earlier and Milo could come and go as he pleased.

The three boys loaded into the truck and headed off towards Foxboro.

They arrived at the stadium mid-morning and were happy to be early enough to get a parking space relatively close to the stadium.

Brice was in awe of the stadium and the surrounding area. He had never been to a live game and Gillette was one of the best stadiums in the league.

The three boys quickly got to work setting up. They first set up the awning to give them some protection from the elements and then opened up their chairs and set the grills out on the truck’s tailgate. Since they had several hours to relax and enjoy the tailgating ‘experience’, they decided to hold off on the cooking for a while and just sit back and watch the people coming into the parking area.

At noon, Justin pulled out an old boom box and turned it on to the local sports station so they could listen to the Patriot’s pre-game and get the scores from the first slate of games.

While he was up, Justin turned on the two gas grills to get them warmed up.

The boys had been drinking sodas, munching on chips and shooting the breeze. Once he had the grills going, Justin went to sit back down.

“Cody, have you ever been in ‘The Hall’?” he asked.

Cody shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I really want to, though.”

“What’s ‘The Hall’?” Brice asked.

“The Patriots Hall of Fame and museum,” Justin answered. “It’s so awesome. Can’t do it today, but in the spring we can come down one day and do it.”

“That would be so cool,” Cody said excitedly. “Since it’s not a game day, we could bring Ty and Bray too.”

Brice was more surprised that Cody was including his brother than he was that he was including Justin’s. Brice had come to realize that Cody and Ty had a relationship he would never understand since he was an only child. They fought all the time, but Brice often got the feeling that they were a lot closer than Cody would ever admit. For all the joking around that Cody did about selling or trading Ty, he was often the first person to tell you what a great hockey player or student Ty was.

“That would be fun,” Justin agreed. “We could make a whole day of it. I know Bray would love it.”

Brice stood up and stretched.

“Hey, I’m gonna go check out the Pro Shop before it gets crazy,” he announced. “You guys wanna go?”

Justin shook his head. “I’m gonna get started on the food.”

Cody stood up. “I’ll stay and help Justin.”

“Ok, I’ll be back in a few,” Brice said as he walked away.

Brice went into the Pro Shop; it was already crowded and would only get worse as game time approached. There was a sign on the door stating that the shop would close at 3:30 and re-open after the game. Brice couldn’t imagine what a zoo it would be after the game.

He grabbed a basket and went right over to the jersey display. He picked up a Vince Wilfork jersey for Ty and found a kid-sized Tom Brady jersey for Bray. He knew that Bray idolized his big brother and wanted to be a quarterback like him.

He wandered through the shop throwing items into his basket. He got some pennants, a parking sign, some ball caps for all five of them and some signs to stick on his car. He wanted to get something for his dad. He looked through the different clothing displays and finally decided to get him a gray hoodie sweatshirt like the ones that Bill Belichik, the Patriots Head Coach, always wore on the sidelines. He grabbed a few t-shirts and tossed them in the basket and then went to the check-out.

He knew he should feel a little guilty about giving his credit card this kind of workout, but he never used it that much even when his dad encouraged him to. He simply didn’t have the ‘shopping gene’ that was supposed to be present in most gay guys. He used his credit card and cash for necessities and rarely splurged. The jerseys he had bought for Cody and Justin were the first ‘fun’ purchases he had made in almost a year, so he really didn’t feel so much as a twinge of guilt about the $500 or so dollars he was blowing right now.

Brice carried his bags across the parking lot; the tailgating was in full-swing now. He passed people who were setting up elaborate meals and those who were simply grilling the basics so they could eat enough to balance all the alcohol they were consuming.

When he got back to the truck, Cody and Justin were joking around and had their food cooking on the two small grills. Justin was grilling the brats and burgers, while Cody had one pan on his grill filled with slices of onions and green peppers and a second filled with sliced potatoes.

“Hey, guys,” Brice called as he entered their space.

Both boys turned around.

“What did you do, buy out the store?” Cody laughed.

“Almost,” Brice answered.

“I got some stuff to decorate my room and my car,” he said. “I got my dad a hoodie and I got Ty and Bray jerseys.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Justin admonished.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I kinda feel bad that they couldn’t come with us today, so I figured souvenirs would be in order,” Brice said. “Oh, and I got some caps for us, too.”

“You spent too much,” Justin accused.

“Justin, my dad is after me all the time to use my credit cards. Ever since my mom left he has tried to spoil me and I usually resist. I’ve had these things forever and I rarely use them except for necessities. He won’t care that I used them for this stuff; actually, he’ll be happy that I spent some money to treat me and my friends. I’m very careful not to take advantage of him and he knows that so he trusts me.”

“Ok,” Justin said reluctantly. “I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Brice grinned and nodded.

“Are those things about ready?” Cody asked. “Cuz the home fries and veggies are.” He was carefully scooping the home fries out of the pan and onto a paper-towel-covered paper plate.

Justin nodded. “Yep, they’re just about done.” He grabbed the rolls that he had prepared and laid them on the grill to toast. As soon as the rolls were finished, he would place a burger or a brat on the roll and line them up on the platter he had beside him.

Brice refilled everyone’s drinks while the other two boys finished cooking. Within minutes the boys were munching away on their food. They listened to the pre-game show and cheered as the Patriots’ main rivals, the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos, were both losing their games.

When they had finished stuffing themselves, the boys worked diligently to clean up their site. It was nearing three o’clock and they wanted to get into the stadium and to their seats.

“Do we really need to go in so early?” Brice asked as they walked to the gate.

“Oh, yeah,” Justin answered as they looked at the swelling crowd waiting to get in. “It’s bad now and will only get worse, plus it’s a bit of a hike up to our seats.”

Brice looked up at the stadium. “Where are we?”

Cody laughed and pointed. “All the way up in the third level. See that little white room?” Brice nodded. “We are about five rows in front of that.”

Brice shielded his eyes and looked. “Can you even see anything from there?”

Justin nodded. “Those are awesome seats. Right on the fifty and high enough that you can see the whole field laid out in front of you.”

Since the boys weren’t carrying any backpacks or bags they sailed through security and quickly made it into the gate.

Cody and Justin grinned at Brice as he stood in the shadow of the giant stadium and stared up slack-jawed. Gillette was one of the newest and best stadiums in the NFL and it showed.

Cody and Justin maneuvered behind Brice and pushed him towards the ramps.

The three took their time walking up the ramps. Brice would stop them all at every level to take in the view.

When they finally reached the top level, Justin suggested they all make a pit stop, pointing out that this would be the only time they could use the facilities without missing at least half a quarter.

After they had all taken care of business, they walked along the concourse, checking out the vendors and food counters.

Even though they had just eaten, they decided to grab some snacks for later so they wouldn’t have to come down during the game. Justin warned them that halftime was a bad time to try to get anything from the concessions.

The three friends loaded up with popcorn, pretzels, candy and sodas. Brice was amazed that the stadium even had a McDonalds.

Once they were all laden down with goodies, Cody and Brice followed Justin to the entrance for section 331. The usher checked their tickets and waved them through. Cody walked into Brice who had stopped to gawk at the view of the field.

“Sorry,” Brice said sheepishly. “I’ve just never seen anything like this before. It’s incredible.”

Cody slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I know what you mean; the first time I came here I was just as slack-jawed as you are now. I still get goose bumps when I come here. It’s wicked cool.”

The two followed Justin up the steep steps to their seats. Justin had been right when he had told Brice they were ‘five rows from heaven’. Brice was stunned by how clearly he could see the whole field.

Since they were seated on the Visitor’s side, they could look across and see the members of the home team warming up and lining the benches.

The boys settled in and waited for the game to start.

The game started like most divisional games. The first several minutes were hard fought with the Jets scoring the first touchdown and going up 7-0. After their first score, the Jets reverted to the poor playing also-ran they had been most of the season. By the end of the first half the Patriots were ahead 35-7. Hernandez and Gronkowski had each accounted for two touchdowns and the defense had scored by running in one of Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez’s four turnovers.

As the teams went into the locker room, Cody started laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Brice asked.

“I knew Sanchez was bad, but shit…” Cody laughed harder and Justin joined in.

“Unless they have another quarterback in there that no one knows about, this game is over,” Justin said. “If the score holds, we’ll make a run for it about five minutes or so into the fourth, that way we can beat some of the crowd.”

Brice nodded. “Whatever you guys want to do,” he said. “This is all new for me.”

“It’s fun though, isn’t it?” Cody asked.

Brice grinned and nodded. “I can see why some people prefer to watch it at home, but there’s something about being here that is such a different experience. The energy of the crowd and everything. I don’t know if I could do this eight or more times a year, but a few times I could. Next time we’ll have to see if we can bring Bray and Ty--they’d love it.”

Justin nodded. “Bray loves it; we just need to get a one o’clock game so we don’t get home too late.”

“I know Ty would like it; he was jealous as hell that I was coming to this game,” Cody smirked.

They continued to chat through the halftime activities and then focused on the field for the second half of the game.

The third quarter opened with Sanchez turning the ball over for the fifth time with his fourth interception. The Patriots took over on the Jets’ thirty yard line and pounded it into the end zone. While the crowd was cheering the Patriots along, the boys were all secretly wishing they had come to a more hard fought game.

As they were walking down the ramps, along with the crowds of people who all had the same ‘great’ idea about getting a head start on their exit, Justin said, “Next time, we’ll have to see if we can get the Broncos or the Ravens so at least the game is a little more exciting.”

Cody nodded. “Well. It was exciting if you like seeing our guys score,” he laughed.

The others laughed in agreement.

The game was in the last few minutes when they reached Justin’s truck. They piled in and Justin turned the radio on to the local sports station. As they crept towards the parking lot exit, they listened to the waning minutes of the game.

Brice looked up into the lit stadium as they drove by; it was about three-quarters empty since the score had been so lopsided.

“What happens when it’s a close game?” he asked.

Justin laughed. “Depends on how close. If it’s an overtime game, most people will stay or start crawling down the ramps and stop every level to watch. If it’s a touchdown or so, people will do what we did, just not as early.”

Getting out of Foxboro was slow going, but as soon as they hit the highway, Justin gunned the truck and they were sailing towards the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

Although they had been eating all day, all three of the boys were hungry, so Justin pulled off the highway in Salem and took the boys to a 99 Restaurant.

After dinner, they headed to Brice’s house, arriving about nine-thirty.

Milo came shooting out of the barn to greet the boys.

Brice knelt down to pet his dog. Then the three boys went into the house followed by Milo.

Justin and Cody followed Brice up the stairs to his room. They each had an overnight bag with them and tossed them in the corner of the room.

“Movies or video games?” Brice asked as he stood in front of the television.

“Movie,” Cody answered.

“Sounds good to me,” Justin said.

“Ok, you to decide on something,” Brice said. “I’m gonna make sure Milo’s food is all set and everything is locked up downstairs.” He left the room with Milo on his heels.

Cody and Justin thumbed through Brice’s Blu-Ray collection and decided since they had all night and all Monday they would watch ‘The Dark Knight’ movies.

Cody loaded the first movie into the player. He turned and was a little surprised to see Justin standing there in his jockeys.

Justin grinned. “We might as well get comfortable since it’s just gonna be the three of us,” he said.

Cody nodded silently and quickly stripped to his boxer briefs. Justin went to Brice’s closet and grabbed some extra pillows and threw them on the bed.

Justin dove on the bed and got comfortable. Cody moved a little slower. He was still caught up in how sexy Justin looked in his black briefs. He couldn’t believe he had known Justin all his life and had never noticed how incredibly sexy he was. He shook his head to try and banish those thoughts. He wanted Brice; he was in love with Brice. He shouldn’t be thinking about Justin this way.

Justin watched Cody slowly lay on the bed. Seeing Cody in nothing but the grey Hanes boxer briefs, he knew his realization was right on target. He definitely had a ‘thing’ for smaller boys, but more than that he was developing feelings for Cody.

Justin’s hand crept towards Cody’s almost by itself. When he felt Justin’s fingers wrap around his hand, Cody flinched. It was like an electric current was racing through his body. He turned and looked into Justin’s sea-blue eyes. Why did he feel this way? He had wanted Brice since the moment he had met him--he had known Justin his whole life and had never been the least bit attracted to him; but the pull he was feeling now was unmistakable.

Justin felt himself sinking into Cody’s chocolate-brown eyes. He couldn’t stop himself. He leaned forward and gently kissed Cody’s full lips. Cody stiffened for a moment and then relaxed and responded in kind.

Cody wrapped his arms around Justin’s powerful torso and the world fell away as the two kissed passionately.

Brice stood in the doorway watching Cody and Justin. When he first saw his two friends, there was a spark of jealousy. Then his pants started to get tighter and he realized that this might be the answer to his dilemma. He silently watched as the two boys kissed and caressed, the way he had with both of them.

He braced himself and coughed into his hand.

Cody and Justin jumped apart as if both had been burned. Both looked to see a grinning Brice standing in the doorway.

“Hey, guys,” Brice said. “I think we need to talk.”