Aaron's Dilemma - 2. My 18th Birthday Party!

These past eight weeks have taken a toll on me physically and mentally. My anxiety about moving has morphed into loss of appetite, insomnia, weird dreams, and migraine headaches. I’ve tried everything to change my parents’ mind to let me stay here in South Hill, but I’ve gotten nowhere. It’s left me feeling defeated and miserable. It seems the only time I feel like myself is when I’m with Slade. I only have four weeks left with him, and I’m going to make the most of them.

Today is my 18th birthday. I wake up with a bright smile and a fluttering heart. Slade doesn’t know about the small picnic that I have planned for us tonight at our spot down by the dam, or that I’m telling him I love him for the first time. It also helps that the rest of his family is at his Uncle Nathan’s this weekend, if things were to progress for us tonight.

However, those plans are on hold because my parents are throwing me a huge barbecue. Most of the neighborhood is here to celebrate. I watch everyone. Dad works the grill while he laughs with his friends. Ma makes her way through the crowd to see if everyone is okay. Candace points at boys with her friends. Groups of people are talking, dancing, and swimming in our above ground pool.

Slade and I lock eyes and he gestures towards the house. I nod. We haven’t had time for a proper hello since he arrived an hour ago. He goes in first and I follow a couple minutes later walking directly to the laundry room. Stepping inside, I can’t help smiling at him. I click the lock behind me.

“We only have a few minutes,” I tell him.

“Get that cute ass of yours over here then.” He pulls me to him by my shirt, and I lock my arms around his neck, kissing him with renewed enthusiasm. I lift him up and set him atop the washing machine, and put my head on his shoulder. He sighs quietly, “Happy birthday, baby, you’re officially an old man now.”

Laughing, I take a step back to look at him. “Excuse you. You’re five months older than me, so you’re the old man here, not me.”

“Whatever,” he says; rolling his eyes melodramatically, and drapes his arms over my shoulders. “Bad news. Your gift hasn’t arrived yet, but should sometime this the week, okay?”

I clap my hands together, jump up and down, and ask, “Whatcha get me? Whatcha get me?”

He covers my mouth and laughs. “I’m not telling you. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

I titter softly when he kisses my chin. “I’m so happy you’re here,” I whisper, hugging him, and trying to suppress a yawn.

He glides his hands down my arms, back up to my shoulders, and he looks concerned. “Aar, did you get any sleep last night?”

I press my forehead to his. “About four hours, but I’m fine. You know, this wouldn’t be happening if my folks hadn’t decided to blow my life apart. Can you believe it, I’m officially an adult who has no say in where I live?” I state bitterly.

Slade smiles sympathetically, lightly holding the sides of my neck. “Baby, don’t even think about it. This is your day. Don’t let anything or anyone get you down, okay?”

I nod. “You’re right. You’re right. I’ll let it go. But do me a favor?” His brows furrow questioningly. “Hold me,” I whisper.

Neither of us speaks, as he wraps his arms around me, and I breathe steadily, feeling at peace and content in the arms of the man I love.

<><><><><><>

The music has me in a great mood. I walk over to my mom and pull her amongst the others dancing. She laughs as I twirl her around. We settle into a groove and I’m enjoying myself, until I catch Slade out of the corner of my eye, and it quickly changes my happy mood to a sad one.

“Are you okay, sweetie? You sad ‘cause you’re an old man now?” Ma laughs, giving my chin a soft tap.

I mockingly stick my tongue out at her. “I’m not old. Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“You put that tongue away, young man.” We laugh. She rubs my back. “All kidding aside, you’ve been a little down lately. Talk to me, what’s up?”

I shrug. “I’m fine, Ma.”

“Don’t try to b-s me, Aaron. You can talk to me.”

Letting out a huge sigh, we continue to dance, and I answer, “I don’t want to move and leave everyone.”

“You don’t want to leave everyone or leave Slade?” Ma asks quietly.

Shocked, I lean in. “Why wouldn’t I want to leave Slade?”

She pulls me in close and whispers, “Because I know about the two of you.”

I freeze. My heart beats faster than I'd ever felt it beat before, and the pulse in my neck throbs achingly. She gives my hands a firm squeeze. After a few seconds I finally ask, “What do you know?”

Ma holds me tighter. “Aaron, you’ve got nothing to worry about, ‘cause I came to terms with your sexuality, and your relationship with Slade some time ago.”

The jig is up. There’s no way I can talk my way out of this. I barely get out the words. “How long have you known?”

We continue to dance as the song changes to a slower tempo.

“For about a year, I saw you making out in your truck. You were completely oblivious to anyone who might be happening by.”

The thought of my mother seeing us in an intimate moment is shocking. What’s more shocking is her keeping it to herself for a year.

She continues, “I honestly didn’t know how to handle seeing you two together. I wanted to put a stop to it, but I walked away instead. I knew if I had confronted you, I would’ve said something in the heat of the moment that I never would’ve been able to take back.” Ma pauses and sniffles. “I planned on talking to you after I’d calmed down, but I obviously didn't go through with it. Do you know why I didn’t?”

Ma’s eyes glisten in the sunlight and she smiles.

Words fail me. I swallow hard and shake my head.

“A couple days later, I was going out to the freezer, and heard you two out on the back porch. Through the window, I saw you kissing, and I was going out to stop you, when I saw it. It stopped me dead in my tracks. You had and still have this look in your eyes when you look at Slade. A look I’ve seen from your father since we’ve been together - love. You’re in love. I knew then I had to let go of whatever hang up I had and work on accepting the fact you’re gay.”

I whisper, “At accepting me.”

Ma looks almost guilty at hearing me say those words. “Sweetie, you’ve gotta understand. I might not be a Bible thumper who lives a hundred percent by the Book, but the church taught me that homosexuality is wrong. After I prayed, I had my answer. I trust God, ‘cause He doesn’t make mistakes. You are exactly who He wants you to be.”

The tears pool in my eyes. I want to speak, but are unable to.

Rubbing my back, she says, “Nothing can change how much I love you, Aaron. I want you to be happy. After having seen what you look like when you are, what kind of mother would I be to deny you of it?” She pauses. “You’ve been so distant and sad these past few weeks. I knew why and it broke my heart to watch. I couldn’t say anything without giving up that I knew. But watching you just now I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m sorry I took away the chance for you to tell me yourself.”

“That’s okay.” Nearly breaking down in her arms, I whisper, “Are you really okay with me being gay?”

“Yes, I am.”

I look over at Dad joking with his friends. “Does he know?”

Ma follows my gaze. “No, but I’m sure when the time is right, and you tell him, it won’t be an issue,” she tells me confidently.

I avoid her eyes. “It’ll never be the same once he knows.”

“Aaron, look at me. Look at me,” she says firmly, lifting my chin. I see my light brown eyes reflecting back at me. They’re warm and full of love. “If you keep this part of yourself hidden from everyone you love, you'll be miserable. Your dad wants what’s best for you. Don’t underestimate him.”

“What would be best for me is to stay here. Every time I try to even talk to Dad, he shoots me down.”

“There’s a tight bond between the two of you. He’ll never admit it, but he worries about you. Do you know when you were sick I’d find him watching over you while you slept? Do you know he still does sometimes?”

I smile faintly. “He does, really? That’s actually kinda creepy.”

Ma smiles and says, “No, not really. We worry about you ‘cause we could’ve lost you. You and Candy mean the world to us. We want to make sure you’re both safe. We know we can’t protect you from everything, but we try. No matter how old you kids get, we’ll always want to do our best by you. It may not seem like it now, but this move will be good for all of us. We’re not trying to separate you from Slade out of spite, but keep us a full time family for just a little while longer. Things will never be the same once you go to college next year. So, we want to spend as much time as we can with you. Do you think you can be apart from him long enough for us to have this precious time as a family?”

I never thought about the separation factor from my parents’ perspective. I have been selfish by thinking only of what I wanted. I ponder her question. As much as I hate leaving him, I think I need to relent in order to give myself some peace of mind. In the end, maybe, it will all be okay. “Can I come back for Thanksgiving?”

Nodding reassuringly, she smiles and says, “We’ll talk. I’m sure we can make arrangements for you to come down a few times, and for him to visit us too. I love Slade. I especially love you. I think you’re good for one another. Oh, this is gonna have to be the last song for me. My hip’s starting to hurt.”

I give her a big hug. “What you said, I needed to hear more than I thought I did. I love you, Ma.”

“That’s what mothers are for. I love you too, sweetie,” she sniffles. We dance to the rest of the song, and I walk her over to an empty seat for her to sit down. As I’m walking away, she calls me back. "There’s just one thing I’m concerned about,” Ma pauses. “Are the two of you safe?”

I feel the heat of embarrassment cover my face at her unexpected question. “What are you asking me?”

“I’m asking if you’re being careful, that’s all.”

I look around us. “Not that I’m comfortable talkin’ to you about this, but we haven’t had sex yet, okay?”

Ma leans in closer, and whispers, “Oral sex is still sex, so be careful, and with actual sex be extra careful by protecting yourself and him. It’s bad enough I worry about your health as it is.”

She gives my hair a slight ruffle.

"Ma, quit it." I walk away quickly before she says anything else.

I can’t believe my mother has known about my carefully guarded secret for a year. I contemplate whether I should tell Slade, or keep him in the dark.

<><><><><><>

Slade’s hanging with a couple of our friends, Randy and Josh. Walking over, I hear the tail end of a story Josh is telling, “…you swallow that thang.”

They erupt in laughter.

I stand next to Randy. “What’s so funny?”

“Josh was telling us a joke he’d heard in some movie,” Slade answers, taking a sip of his root beer.

Randy slaps my back. “Happy birthday, man, I would’ve gotten you something, but I lost my wallet.”

“Thanks, Ran, considering you use that excuse every year, when it comes to anyone’s birthday,” I tell him. Everyone's laughter fills the air.

“You are cheap, man. I remember when you gave Tammy that $50 gift card, and it had about $13 on it. Then you got mad when she gave it back to you with nothing on it,” Josh howls.

Randy puts his hand to his chest and groans. “Aw, man! That gift card was a mistake I gave her the wrong one. I'm not cheap. Can I help it if I lose my wallet all the time?”

"Yeah, sure," I reply, rolling my eyes.

“You can’t consider a wallet lost if you leave it at home,” Slade retorts. He looks at me, licks his lips, and gives me a subtle wink.

My eyes widen slightly. What is he thinking doing that in front of them?

“That’s not cool man,” Randy comments, as he laughs.

“Whatever,” I chuckle. I turn to Slade. “Hey, Jones, I gotta grab some more ice. I need help loading them. I volunteered you.”

“Me? Now? Your dad said the ribs were almost done,” he replies, pointing towards the grill.

“Yeah, now. The sooner we leave, the quicker we get back. Let’s go.” I almost reach for his hand, but shoot down the impulse, and give him a pleading look.

He rolls his eyes with a deep sigh, “Fine, let’s go. See you guys in a few.”

“Yup,” Randy says. He holds up a small tin. “Oh, can you get me some tobacco? I’m runnin’ low.”

I shake my head. “Nope, not gonna have your mama yelling at me for getting you that shit.”

I shudder at the memory of the one and only time I’d tried chewing tobacco. I turned a pale green and vomited the whole day, and vowed never to do it again.

“Don’t be such a goody-two-shoes,” Randy laughs.

“You calling me names ain’t gonna work. Buy it yourself.” I head over to my truck where Slade’s waiting. I pull away from the house, and when we’re a little ways down the road, I say, “I have something to tell you, Jones.”

He surfs through the radio stations. “Oh yeah, what is it?”

I clasp the steering wheel tight and take in a huge gulp of air. “You have to promise not to freak out ‘cause I’m freaking out enough for the both of us, okay?”

I must look like a crazy person because he looks panicked. He smooths my hair back, and his hand rests at my neck. “Baby, what's wrong?”

When we’re further down the road, I blurt it out. “Ma knows about us.”

He gasps and coughs a few times. “Miss Dani knows about us? How?”

I pull to the side of the road. “She saw us making out a year ago.”

He puts his head in his hands. “She’s known about us for a whole fucking year!?”

I hate seeing him so upset. “I didn’t want to tell you, but I thought you should know. Now that Ma knows… maybe we should think about tell…,” I trail off, knowing that telling anyone else is not an option for either of us. When I take his hand, he pulls away, resting it on his lap.

He sits there silently before saying, “I don’t know what you want me to say, Aaron. I can’t deal with this right now. We gotta get the ice and get back to the party.”

Saddened, I mutter, “I lied about the ice. I needed to get you alone so I could tell you about Ma.”

Slade turns to stare out the window. “Get the ice anyway, so we cover why we left.”

Having not resolved the reason for us being here, I’m reluctant to pull off, but I do. We drive in silence. I try to take his hand a couple of times but he won’t let me. When we reach the store, he refuses to look in my direction. I let the engine idle, and run inside to grab the ice. He helps load the truck, while still not looking or talking to me. We arrive back at the party; he quickly gets out the truck leaving me alone.

I want to cry, but don’t. I have to pretend everything’s okay, and be a good host to everyone else here celebrating my birthday. I do try to talk to him several times, but he either walks away, or ignores me. After an hour, I give up exasperated with the whole ordeal. Now, both my head and heart are hurting.

Sometime later, I see him walk over to my mother, and take her off to the side. There is a lot of head and hand gestures. Then they hug. Ma cups his face in her hands. She says something and he smiles nodding repeatedly. He kisses her cheek and walks away. I know he sees me walking into the house, and I wait. A minute later, he walks in to find me sitting on the stairs.

“I thought you’d be in the laundry room,” he says softly, closing the door behind him.

“Didn’t feel like going in there,” I state coolly, pushing my unruly blond hair back from my eyes. I turn the varsity ring on my finger repeatedly. “What were you two talking about?”

“You and me,” he answers timidly, kneeling while trying to get me to look at him.

I clasp my hands tight, resting my elbows on my knees, and I look in his eyes. “What about you and me?”

He rubs my forearms. “We talked about a few things but mainly about the move and I understand now why they want you with them. She apologized for her first reaction to us ‘cause she likes us together.”

I ignore the familiar touch of his hands. “So, what, you’re okay with her knowing about us?”

“Not really,” he says, taking my hands in his, and kisses them. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

All the hurt I’m feeling is close to breaking free. My voice trembles, “Yeah, well, you did.”

“Aar, I…,” he starts, but the sound of footsteps and laughter interrupt him. He quickly snatches his hands away, stands up, and takes several steps back, as the door opens.

Candace and her friend walk inside. She smiles, walking towards the kitchen, and says, “Hey, guys. I guess you had the same idea to beat the heat.”

Smiling at both girls, I say, “Yeah, squirt, I guess we did.” I stand up and say to Slade, “We’ll talk later.”

I sidestep him when he reaches for me and walk out the front door.

<><><><><><>

Dad turns off the music and announces, “Everybody, y’all gather ‘round. It’s time for cake and presents.”

Thank, God! People should start leaving within an hour of me opening my gifts. I only have to save face for a little while longer. I stand by the designated cake table and wait for my tone-deaf family and friends to sing a crazy remix version of ‘Happy Birthday’. They finish singing; I pause to make my wish:

When we lose our way, let Slade and me always find our way back to each other

I blow out the candles and smile faintly as applause erupt around me.

I get a butt load of great gifts. Some of them involving Boston but overall it’s a good haul. I bring them inside and pack them away. I sit at my window and stare down at everyone. I see Slade sitting with his feet dangling in the pool. His eyes drift up towards my window, and we lock eyes. I know he wants to come up but I can’t. Instead, I back away from the window, and head back to the party.

I’m making a plate of food for myself, when I hear, “Aar, can we talk?” he asks softly, shielding the sun from his eyes.

Shaking my head, I take a bite of chicken. "I don’t want to talk to you until after the party, Jones.”

He takes a step closer and whispers, “Baby, please?”

Scoffing, I angrily hiss, “No! I tried to talk to you earlier. Do you remember what you did? Here. Let me remind you.”

Turning around, I walk over to Josh, and we talk about the baseball season so far. The plans I had for tonight are officially on hold, and I don’t know if I’ll get another chance, or if I want one.

<><><><><><>

The party breaks up slowly but surely. By 7pm, it's just me, my family and Slade left cleaning. We finish a majority of the heavy moving and trash removal in an hour. I use the bathroom, and come back out to find Slade with Candace at the pool; she’s giggling about something.

“What’s goin’ on?” I ask, climbing the stairs.

“Slade was telling me about Richmond, when y’all got sushi, and you throw up. You’re such a dork,” Candace replies, laughing and pointing at me.

"Well, it takes one to know one, squirt.” I pick her up off the lounge chair, drop her in the pool, and jump in to dunk her several more times.

“Asshole,” she sputters, breaking the surface. She swims to the side of the pool and flips me off. She climbs the ladder, but I pull her off, and get out ahead of her. I look down at her wet blonde hair plastered to her face and can’t help laughing.

At fifteen-years-old, Candace is your typical run-of-the-mill, pain in the ass younger sibling, but she is also the best, and I adore her.

We look so much alike people think we’re twins. The only difference, she has dad’s hazel eyes, while I have mom’s light brown. She’s still getting use to her tall stature after having grown from 5’5" to 5’10" in a year and a half. I was protective of her before, but now, I’m even more so. She hasn’t realize how beautiful she is. My friends have taken notice though, which had me putting them on notice, if they even thought about touching her. The girls at school tease her because boys like her more than them, but it doesn’t faze her. Her confidence is unparalleled and something I wish I had in myself.

Candace is unbelievably smart too, and excels in all her classes. I’m not above asking her for help if I need it, and she never holds it over my head when I do. She’ll probably end up winning a Nobel Prize in science or mathematics.

I’ve thought about telling her I’m gay many times. Out of my entire my family I know she’d be the one to champion me without hesitating, but I didn’t want to put that on her. However, what harm would it cause to tell her now? Ma knows. Nevertheless, I don’t think I can handle someone else knowing right now. Her time will come; it’s just a matter of when.

I smirk down at her. “You look good, squirt. You should keep that look.”

“Buzz off, moron,” she says, hauling herself out the pool.

“Love ya, too, Can.” I push her back in and motion for him to follow me. All I hear as we walk away is a slew of mumbled obscenities.

“Aaron, Candy, your dad and me are going to Smiths to unwind. We’ll be back by midnight. Y'all be good, okay?” Ma tells us, stopping at the passenger side of her car.

“Yes, ma’am,” we answer. Slade looks uneasy and waves. Ma smiles, gets in the car, and they drive off.

“I’m going to B.J.’s. Pick me up later?” Candace asks, throwing her clothes on over her wet bikini.

I cross my arms and nod. “Sure. Just give me a call when you’re ready, ‘kay?”

She hops on her bike. “You’re awesome, big bro. Oh hey, Slade! Thanks for the sushi story,” she cackles taking off.

“You tell anyone about that and you’re dead. Do you hear me, squirt?” I reach for her.

“Oh, I’m so scared. And stop callin’ me ‘squirt’,” she says over her shoulder, pedaling faster.

I turn around, and before I ask, he answers, “She mentioned seeing sushi on some cooking show. Before I knew it, I was telling her about Richmond.”

Now that we’re alone, we can clear the air without interruptions. “Forget about it. Let’s go inside.”

Walking into the house, I close the door behind us, and Slade promptly stands in front of me. He looks so sad. I can only imagine how I must look.

“I’m sorry,” we say together.

I open my mouth, but Slade places a finger to my lips. “Aaron, I, uh... when you told me about your mom, I acted like a douche towards you, and there was no need for it. I don’t know what else to say, baby, except, I’m sorry.”

Nodding, I say, “I’m sorry too for blindsiding you the way I did, and for how I acted after. I should’ve talked to you when you asked, but by then, I was so hurt that I wanted to hurt you back.” I look sadly into his piercing blue eyes. “You made me feel like shit, Jones. How could you do that to me?”

The tears roll down my cheeks. He wipes them away with the swipe of his thumbs, and his eyes water too. “Aar, hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do. I knew we had to talk, but I was too ashamed,” he says, the last words are barely a whisper, as he looks away.

Curious and taken aback, I get eye level with him. “I’m your boyfriend. Today affected both of us, and you were too ashamed to talk to me?”

He shrugs, shaking his head, “Baby, I know it sounds crazy, but I couldn’t look at you without seeing your mom. We’ve spent a lot of time in your room. It upset me to think what she must’ve thought we were doing this past year.”

I groan. “C’mon, it’s not like we had sex. Yeah, we did things, and slept in the same bed, but that’s it. If Ma were really worried, she would’ve kept us apart somehow, but she didn’t.” I run my hands through my hair, and mutter, “I just wish you would’ve talked to me right then, Jones. I really needed you today.”

Slade leans in. His voice trembles, "Aar, I’m more ashamed for walking away from you the way I did. I dropped the ball. It’ll never happen again." He looks up at me, cups my cheek in his right hand, and strokes it with his thumb; he places his other hand over my heart.

Staring into each other’s eyes, I cover the hand he has over my heart with my own, and I lean my cheek into his other hand, and kiss his wrist. I suck briefly on my bottom lip before taking him in my arms. Though I’m still upset, I have to try to let it go, or it will ruin the time we have left. I whisper in his ear, “Please, don’t freeze me out like that again.”

“I won’t. Promise,” he says, holding me tighter, and plants a kiss to my neck.

With my own thoughts running wild, I decide to go for broke, and ask quietly, “Are we breaking up when I move?”

The abruptness of my question catches him off guard. His body tenses and stammers incoherently. Walking over to the stairs, he sits with a grunt. "It’s hard dating now, and you're a fifteen minute drive away. Boston is a helluva lot farther than that."

I search for something, anything from him as I close the distance between us, and ask again, “Jones, are we?”

“Aar, we have four weeks. Let’s worry about it when we have to,” he says, standing on the first step. He peppers my cheeks and lips with soft, unhurried kisses.

There he goes again trying to evade answering the question. Since finding out about Boston, I’ve asked him once a week if we’re breaking up, and I get the same response. It’s nerve wracking not knowing if he wants to keep being my boyfriend when I move.

I take a step back, shake my head, and cross my arms. “Why won’t you answer me? It's always, 'let's worry about it when we have to'. Well, I’m worried, and telling you I don’t wanna breakup, do you?”

Holding my breath, I await his answer. My heart beats with a nervous flutter. He has the power to either crush my world or make me the happiest man on Earth.

Slade cups my face tenderly, presses his forehead to mine, and sighs. It feels as though hours pass, but it’s only been seconds, when he says, “This is hard for me, Aar. But, I don’t want you to worry any more, ‘cause I don’t wanna breakup. So, I guess you’re stuck with me, baby.”

I exhale a sigh of relief before I kiss him long, deep, and hard. The feeling of the last remaining tension dissipating between is welcoming. His warm breath caresses my skin when he moves to nuzzle my neck. I smile rubbing my cheek against his. Normally, the feel of his facial hair bothers me, but not now, I couldn’t care less.

His warm hands travel down my back to squeeze my ass. He rubs his nose against mine several times. The touch of his lips is tantalizingly warm and sweet as they graze against mine. He runs his hands through my hair making me purr happily into the kiss. He takes a step up the stairs eliciting a deep growl from me. I wrap my arms around his waist to keep him from pulling away. He locks his arms and his legs around me. Palming his luscious backside, I carefully climb the stairs. I walk quickly down the hall to my room and kick the door shut.

I sit on the bed with him straddling my lap. His hands and mouth are everywhere while he rolls his hips tortuously atop me. He pushes against my shoulders until I’m flat on my back. Hovering over me, he turns my head to the side, and begins kissing and licking my ear. I’m so distracted I don’t realize his hand is inside my shorts until I feel it wrap around my cock. His lips find his favorite spot on my neck. I bite my lower lip and moan deeply when he sucks hard. I gasp feeling him lick over the spot repeatedly.

My body warms all over as Slade slowly moves down and licks my nipples. His tongue runs incessantly over the now hard, sensitive nubs. He grunts when I pull a surprise reversal with him now under me.

When I glide my finger over his lips, he licks it and then sucks it into his mouth. I feel my stiff cock jerk inside my shorts. Kissing his neck, I move towards his ear, and he moans when I lick and blow on it softly. Grinding my hips against him allows our moans to intermingle as he writhes beneath me.

Latching onto my favorite spot on his neck, he buries his hands in my hair holding me to him, which only makes me suck harder. He tries to minimize my attack, but I know he likes it, because the harder I suck, the louder he moans. He gently rubs my swollen cock through my shorts.

I lick and kiss my way down his heated flesh until I reach his taut nipples, sucking and biting each until he pulls me to him for a kiss.

He grabs my hand placing it to his turgid thickness. “You’ve got me so hard, baby,” he whispers, breathlessly in my ear. I lean back, and in one swift motion, pull his shorts off. All seven uncut inches of him lays hard against his stomach. Pre-cum drips onto his stomach invitingly. I lick it up with enthusiasm. Not wanting to be greedy, I let him taste himself on my tongue while I stroke his hefty erection.

When he tries to roll me back over, I shake my head and move his hands behind his head. I place random kisses and licks down his chest. Nuzzling my nose in his soft patch of pubic hair, I breathe in his musky and sweaty scent, moan deeply, and kiss his full length before swallowing him whole. He tweaks his nipples, pinching and pulling on them as he fucks my mouth with slow, shallow thrusts. Pulling back, I stroke him, as I lick and suck his balls, paying close attention to massage his taint. his moans get steadily louder as he gets close, but I don’t him to come just yet, and pause making him groan in frustration. I know I’m being a little vindictive because of earlier, but I love hearing him whimper. It makes me harder just hearing him.

I purposely take him to the brink and stop a couple times until he finally begs me. His eyes are barely slits looking down at me, when he says, “Baby, please, I wanna come.”

My windows are open, so I cover his mouth, and gingerly sink my teeth into his neck. He bucks hard in my hand, matching each of my strokes with an erotic sway of his hips. He lets out a loud whine before gushing his release all over his stomach and my hand. He convulses repeatedly, and his stifled moans fill the room.

When he stops, I lick his cum from my hand, and kiss him. He moans, playfully nips my bottom lip, and looks at me with hazy sapphire eyes. He covers the hand I have on his chest with his own and says, “Damn, baby.”

Feeling accomplished, I smile with a cock of an eyebrow. “Yeah, you know it!”

Slade’s eyes fix on me lustfully. “You’re about to know it, too. Get ready to blow your load, birthday boy.”

With cat like moves, he straddles me and ferociously attacks my lips. My head spins as he kisses me breathless. Before I know it, I’m on my back and he’s pulling off my shorts. My own stiff uncut seven inches begs him to swallow it whole. There’s no hesitation as he does just that.

Still feeling superior for getting him to beg, I prop myself up with a smirk and say, “What no foreplay?” However, the smirk disappears, when I feel the back of his throat, and collapse back on the bed. “Fuck foreplay.”

There’s no way I’m going to last at the rate he’s going. He’s working me into a frenzy with his hands and mouth. With every thrust, I feel him swallow. My moans come out strangled with beads of sweat covering my face. My nails dig in his shoulders. Soon, I feel the tingling at the base of my spine signaling my impending orgasm. I close my eyes knowing I can’t hold back. He grabs my hips to hold me still. With one more of his intense swallows, I announce, “Fuck, I’m gonna come.”

I erupt filling his mouth; the vibration from his moans has me gripping his hair tight. I look down to see him eyeing me. He moves slowly until he’s atop me, massaging my chest and neck with deft attention, while rolling his hips. He gasps, when I hold his hips, and grind repeatedly against him.

Grabbing the sides of his neck, I pull him down for a mind-melting kiss. He stretches his body out over mine, breaks the kiss, and smiles at me. I grab a handful of his hair, pull his neck back, and inspect my mark. It’s already a dark purple. He shudders when I run my tongue over it. When I release him, he nestles himself between my legs, and places his head on my shoulder.

We lay together in our post-orgasmic bliss, giving each other lazy kisses and caresses. My kiss-swollen lips are in need of relief. I lean over to grab the medicated lip stuff.

<><><><><><>

We're in the shower under the hot spray, washing and kissing until the water turns cold. After we dry off, I ask Slade to sit on the counter. He looks at me curiously but complies. I fill the sink with warm water, and break out my razor. With his face covered in shaving cream, I carefully ease the blade across his face. Every time the razor touches him, his breath hitches, and licks his lips. It’s wildly erotic. I can’t believe how turned on I am. About five minutes later I'm done. Wiping his face, I apply the aftershave.

He pulls me in, grazes his cheek against mine, and whispers in my ear, “Is that better?”

“Oh, yeah, much better,” I chuckle softly.

He hops off the counter; I give his ass a smack, and he smiles, waving my toothbrush. “I’m using it.”

“Go ahead. I know where your mouth has been,” I laugh.

He shakes his head but he laughs along. “Aar, you’re such a cheeseball.”

“You should talk. You’re cheesier than me, and you know it,” I say, walking up behind him, wrap my arms around his waist, and kiss the back of his neck. “I’m gonna change, okay?”

He winks at me in the mirror. “I’ll be right there.”

Kissing his neck one more time, I head to my room, and dress. Seconds later, Slade walks in and I fight the urge to go for round two. He takes the clothes I hand him and dresses in five seconds. Everyone says and I agree that there’s nothing sexier than seeing your significant other wearing your clothes.

“Aar, I asked if you were hungry ‘cause I am,” he says breaking through my thoughts.

I laugh. “You’re always hungry.”

“Whatever. C’mon, I could go for some ribs.” He holds out his hand, I take it and we head downstairs.

While he piles his plate high with food, I make a small one for myself. We watch TV in my room, fall asleep, and wake-up a little after 11pm when my phone goes off. It’s Candace.

“What up, squirt?” I ask, kissing the top of his head.

“I’m ready,” she states.

“Okay, I’m on my way.” The call ends.

Slade stretches out and groans. “I’m goin’ home. Gotta get some sleep I work the late shift tomorrow.”

I stuff my feet in my sneakers. “Stay the night.”

“I would but I’m still a little weirded out about your mom. Besides, Jessica’s picking me up tomorrow.”

“Alright, I’ll drop you home after I get Can.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll walk,” he says nonchalantly.

Surprised, I say, “Are you high? That’s almost a forty-minute walk by foot. Let me drive you home.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, you don’t have to.”

I fold my arms. “Jones, why won’t you take the ride?”

He shrugs. “It was an emotional day. I need to clear my head. This is the perfect way for me to do that. If I cut through the field, it’ll shave off ten minutes. Besides, Candace is in the opposite direction.”

“Jones, if this is about earl…,” I start but he interjects.

“Baby, it’s not a big deal, okay? I swear there’s nothing wrong. I just feel like walking home, is all,” he says, standing in front of me. “Aar, I’ll be fine.”

South Hill maybe dull, but anything can happen, and I don't want it happening to him. Also knowing he won’t give in, I let it go. “Please be careful?”

Slade locks his arms around my waist. "I’m always careful."

I wiggle my finger playfully at him. “There are only a couple of rules: no accepting rides or candy from strangers. Do you hear me, young man?”

He pouts playfully. “Not even if it’s James Franco with a Butterfinger?”

I don’t see the appeal in his celebrity crush but to each his own. “Especially, if it’s James Franco with a Butterfinger, he’s not good enough for you.”

He rises on his toes to nibble my ear. “Do you know someone who is good enough for me?”

I chuckle and bite back a moan. “As a matter-of-fact I do, and you’re gonna make him nut, if you keep kissing his ear like that.”

He buries his face in my neck and laughs. “You’re such an idiot. Let’s go.”

We head downstairs. I secure the house before heading to the front where Slade’s waiting. I turn the nob; he flattens a hand against the door, when I turn around, he kisses me softly. When he pulls back, he brushes the hair from my eyes, and says, “Happy birthday, Aaron.”

I rub my nose against his and say, “Thank you, Jones. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Do you want pizza?”

He nods. “Yeah, sounds good."

My phone buzzes. It’s Candace again. “I’m leaving now, squirt. I couldn’t find my keys. I’ll be right there.” I hang up. Before I open the door, I look in his eyes, and say, "Promise me that if anything seems sketchy that you’ll call me, and I’ll come get you, okay?"

He nods. With one last kiss and a long hug, we part, and he whispers, “Night, baby.”

“Night, Jones.”

We walk outside. He gives my hand a firm squeeze, walks down the stairs, and disappears into the darkness. I climb in my truck, and think back over the stress called my birthday.

I thought today would be memorable for me professing my love to Slade. Instead, it was because my mother outed herself about knowing about my relationship with him. The two of us should be together right now at the dam, kissing under the stars, but we’re not. I just wish I knew what was in store for us these next four weeks, because I don’t think I can handle anything as stressful as today.