Picture Me And You - 3. Chapter 3

Both Rory and I finished our sandwiches, and then sat there and talked for so long that the manager behind the counter actually started to give us dirty looks. Hehehe, hell, we didn't even really NOTICE it had been almost two whole hours since we sat down with one another. I guess we WERE kinda loitering, weren't we? I told him that we should go, and he looked at his watch. "Omigod! Hehehe, we've wasted half of our date in this one place!"

The sound of it perked my ears up, and I raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Did you say....'date'?" I think that I actually had fooled myself into thinking he was kidding at that point. But, much to my surprise...he wasn't.

"Well...yeah. I mean, if you want it to be." He said with a gentle blush. "I'm having fun. Are....are you?"

I paused for a few seconds. And when I say 'paused'...I mean my heart stop beating, my brain stopped sending out signals, my lungs stopped breathing...I literally PAUSED..body and mind! "I...I uhhh..." All of a sudden, the full fury of his beauty hit me head on, and it shook me to the bone. Boys this gorgeous just...aren't supposed to like me. At ALL! I didn't know how to handle it. "I just...mean...ahem...I mean..well...uh huh!" I think I nodded my head somewhere in all that babbling. Which was thankfully some kind of readable sign as to what I really wanted to say. Because my lips were obviously failing me, BIG time!

"Hahaha! Awww, Kevin, you are so cute!" He said, and I began to quake inside until it almost made me sick inside. "Hey, you wanna go to the mall for a bit? Just to walk around?"

This time, instead of talking, I just nodded my head, and tried to collect enough nervous energy to stand on my own two feet and keep from falling over. This has GOT to be a joke, right? Any second, Jason and Kyle were gonna jump out and laugh at me for thinking for one minute that any of this could be even REMOTELY real. That's gotta be it. They got one of their chosen hotties to come talk to me...and this is all some kind of a game. Something to make them laugh out loud later.

But when he got up and took my tray and his over to the trash for me, and then came back to stand beside me with that heart breaking smile of his...I couldn't help but to be lost in the fantasy of it all. As gay as it sounds....Cinderella had NOTHING on me at that moment! NOTHING!

We left the sandwich shop, and the second the sunlight hit Rory, I found myself falling so deeply in love with him that I could hardly keep myself from whimpering out loud in his presence. I seriously wanted to squirm right out of my clothes! How can anybody be this hot? HOW??? Does he even *KNOW* how amazingly hot he is??? It was intimidating! I would have reached out a hand to touch him just to make sure he was REAL...if only I felt worthy of touching him at all This was so far beyond anything that I had ever expected, that I nearly felt faint at the idea that he was willing to even look me in the eye. The sensations rolling through me weren't even SEXUAL yet! They were still stuck on the beauty I saw in his eyes, lips, and light blond hair, alone A feeling of utter helplessness consumed me as we walked over to the mall, and I was just trying to remember to breathe and keep my sweating to a minimum.

We entered the mall, and every eye was on Rory Girls and boys, teens and adults alike. Hell...I saw a lady pushing a baby in a stroller, and even the BABY seemed fascinated by the way he looked! To be honest, even *I* began to feel self conscious about it, and kept my eyes focused on the floor unless he was talking to me directly. It became hard to concentrate, and I think he noticed me shying away from our conversation. I didn't MEAN to, but...I don't know...it just felt like EVERYBODY was watching us. Like everybody could HEAR us. And I wasn't really used to being on display like this. Not at all.

Rory kinda looked over at me, and a slightly sympathetic expression appeared on his face. Awwww, I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, I just....I didn't know how to....

"Kevin...if you wanna...just go and maybe take thing a bit slower..." He said.

"No...it's ok." I said softly, still afraid to look at him. Ugh! Was I being an asshole, here? What the hell was I doing?

Rory, started to fidget a bit with his hands, and he started looking at the floor too. "Umm...I think...well, I mean...we should maybe get used to...'this' before we try...dating, or whatever." He said quietly. "It bothers you. I can tell."

I had to be honest. It might be the only thing that saves me here. "Rory....it's not that I don't wanna be with you. I just....GOD! I mean...WOW! I feel like such a fucking ugly idiot right now! I can't believe that you're even letting me walk next to you right now."

"Omigod, Kevin...are you SERIOUS! I think your soooo cute! What are you talking about?"

"NO! Please? Don't say I'm cute, because that only makes me feel like I'm going crazy and totally out of touch with reality!" I said, which...after a few seconds of confusion, made Rory giggle out loud. "What?"

"There is no limit to how adorable you are." He said, and I took a peek at his seductively brown eyes. An action I quickly regretted and turned away from him to stare at my shoes again. "Sighhh, I LIKE you, Kevin. Can't we just...spend an afternoon being friends for a while? I won't push for anything else, I just...I don't get to talk to people much without them staring at me." He said. "Online...I have REAL friends, you know. And they don't CARE what I look like, they just want to share a piece of their heart with me, and they allow me to do the same. Believe me...if I could change the way I look, I would. In a heartbeat."

I mumbled under my breath. "I'm soooo sorry. I'll stop being weird. I'm just...I'm trying, ok?"

"I know. And...I'm sooooo flattered that you think I'm...."

"FUCKING GORGEOUS AS HELL???" I said.

"Hahaha! Whatever. The POINT is...you're one of the only people who was willing to love something else about me besides just my looks. You weren't some weird groupie that turned their infatuation into an obsession. You sat down and you 'talked' to me like what I thought and felt really mattered. You listened to my problems, Kevin. And even when you saw my old pic and thought that I was just 'average'...you still liked me enough to be a real friend to me. And that's just...not something I'm used to. You know? The internet is the only place where I feel...loved, you know? Everything else feels so fake to me at this point. I just wanted somebody 'real'. That's why I didn't tell you."

"It's....it's ok..." I said, my voice squeaking for the first time since puberty first took over.

"I'm nervous TOO, you know? Really! Just....just pretend we're on the phone again. Like we were last night. K?" He said, a hopeful look in his eyes. And with a bit of a puppyish whine, I agreed.

We continued to walk in silence for a few minutes, and I just couldn't force myself back into the illusion that Rory was....'normal'. Well, I mean...he WAS normal, but...arrrgh! Oh, I don't know! Something about him made me feel sooooo inferior in his presence. I half expected the other people in the mall to be laughing at me for even walking with him by my side. Ugh! He should be carrying me along on a freakin' LEASH or something!

I think he could see me sinking deeper into my own self-conscious thoughts again. And it was then that Rory got an idea, and looked over at me with a crooked and devious smile. "Spiderman?" He said.

I was almost too scared to play at first, but I was so thankful for the opening that I forced myself to take the opening icebreaker. Ready for another game, I said, "Venom..."

"Green Goblin..."

"HOBGOBLIN...." I said with a smile.

"Mysterio..."

"Scorpion..."

"Sandman..." He added.

"Electro..."

"Rhino..."

"Vulture..." And then I watched him stumble for a moment.

"Ummm....CARNAGE! Hehehe!" He giggled.

"Doctor Octopus..."

Rory struggled for a few moments more. "Uhhhh..hold on, wait...hehehe...ummm..."

"RNNNNTTT!!! Time's up! Another point goes to the comic book kid!" I grinned.

"Sighhh...Kevin, you suck!"

"Quite the contrary, I think I'm doing rather well. Better than SOME people, anyway." I laughed, almost immune to his looks, if only for a few seconds. "For future reference, you should have gone with Kraven The Hunter. Most people miss that one. Hehehe!"

Rory looked over at me again, just briefly, and the most heartwarming smile broke out on his face. A smile of comfort and adoration. It was the kind of look that would make you so weak inside that you would lose your equilibrium at the sight of it. It was the way I should be looking at him instead. The way MOST people should be looking at him. If any of us had the guts to. And then, out of the blue, he said, "You know..when you said...what you said on the phone last night..." He stopped, his face turning 'tickle me' pink as his single dimple displayed itself in the corner of his smile. "...I meant what I said. I think I am too." He searched my eyes as I continued to stare at him. "You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Huh?" I said. GOD, he was beautiful. It was almost painful to look at him directly. "Hehehe, I'm sorry. I'm...I'm listening. I swear. What I said last night...um..." I tried to concentrate, and suddenly felt a violent tremor of fear and joy rip through me simultaneously like twin earthquakes at full potency. "...OH...you mean the....the...falling....the uhhh...."

"Hehehe, yeah." He giggled, bashfully. "I think...I'm falling in love with you too, Kevin. And...I dunno...I kinda like it." I don't know what kind of frightened look I must have had on my face, but it must have been pretty damn obvious that having somebody THIS gorgeous say something like that to me was just...a TERRIFYING experience for me!!!! Something my heart just couldn't accept without being braced for it MONTHS in advance! "Umm...that's ok, isn't it?" He asked, concerned by my awkward reaction. "I mean...I don't wanna sound like I'm...I just...I don't wanna freak you out or anything..."

I couldn't speak. Hell, I could hardly breathe. "Uhhhh...do you mind if we just...stop for a second? I think I need to sit down." Rory looked worried, and sat down next to me on the side of one of the mall fountains while I tried to fully absorb what was really happening here. I bent over a bit, my elbows on my knees, as I tried to get my lung to inflate the way they were supposed to.

"I'm sorry." Rory said. And all of the comfort that he had mustered up sitting with me in that sandwich shop, had suddenly been drained from the sparkle in his eyes. I didn't want to lose it. Not for a minute. I just didn't know what to do with myself.

"Why?" It was the only word that came to mind at that moment. It was the only vocabulary I had to work with.

"Why what?"

"Why....would someone like you EVER think that you were falling in love with someone like me?"

He seemed so perplexed by the question. I don't know why he couldn't understand. But he eventually told me, "Why not you?" And it was my turn to be confused this time. "Kevin....there aren't any 'people like me'. Just people. I'm looking for the same love and affection that you are. I mean, yeah...there are a lot of shallow people out there who only care about looks and nothing else, but..I wanted something more engaging. And...thanks to you, I found it."

I squirmed a bit more, feeling like I wanted to CRY. "Please don't compliment me, Rory, you're giving me a boner!" Omigod...did I actually say that out loud??? I mean...it was TRUE, but....ARRRRGHHHHH!!!

He giggled a bit, and said, "Really? Can I see?" AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I almost came in my pants when he said that! And had to squeeze my thighs together to keep from falling back into the fountain! Only making him laugh even more. And then...all of the sudden...right there in the mall...he quickly leaned over and kissed me on the cheek! I FROZE! My face turning the deepest shade of red that it has ever experienced before in my 17 years of life! And he said, "Hehehe, sorry. Couldn't help myself. You were being...sighhhh...cute."

Feeling to giddy to hold it back, I began to giggle uncontrollably, almost causing him to lean over and do it again. But I pushed him away. I don't know why I did, when I should have tackled him on the floor and stuck my tongue as far down his throat as I possibly could. But the overwhelming joy of it all just kept me at arm's length for the time being

He looked at me for a moment, and he said, "You are too awesome for me, you know that?"

And I looked at my shoes, saying, "No...I'm not."

"No really. I've never been so lucky. I'm really glad you wanted to meet today. I was too scared to say anything myself."

I fought the urge to avoid his eyes, and smiled at him. "Really? Because I kind of expected you to turn me down."

"You? Not a chance." He said.

"Hehehe....um...cool." I said, and found myself so locked in a whirlwind of infatuation that I felt like I was 'collapsing' inside. "I...." The words got stuck in my throat...but it had to be now. I HAD to say it. Or lose this opportunity forever. "I...like you too, Rory. I mean...I fell in love with you a long time ago. I just..didn't know how to tell you." Omigod, I was trembling sooooo bad when I said it. But thank GOD I got it out in the open.

Rory reached out, and held my hand. "Me too." He said, and a nervous giggle escaped those incredibly pretty lips of his. "So...I mean, you wanna like...try being...'together'...or...?"

"Yes!" I blurted out! "Yes, yes, yes! I DEFINITELY wanna try being...you know..'together'." I said, and we both giggled at the idea..his hand holding mine...his eyes hypnotizing me into a state of bliss that was almost orgasmic to me in every possible way. "This isn't one of those things that you're...like...gonna laugh at me later for, is it?"

"We'll see how I feel." He said, and as a small group of 7th graders walked by us and gave us a strange look, we let go of each other's hand and attempted to keep our romantic displays to a minimum. At least for now.

The next twenty minutes seemed like such a surreal blur to me. I hope that I was being somewhat entertaining to him during that time, because I have no idea what I said or did or even where I WAS during that twenty minute period. I was just running off of pure emotion at that point, and I didn't even fully realize what I had just done until after I had already said yes. Did I just get myself a boyfriend? Like...a real life BOYFRIEND? Isn't this what I've always wanted? Someone who's sweet, and funny, and extremely cute? Someone that I could hold and cuddle and call my own? Someone that I could talk to, and share my love with? I mean...this is my dream come true. My own personal fantasy in the flesh. So...

Why am I so TERRIFIED that I just made the biggest mistake of my life?

I hadn't even thought about what being boyfriends with Rory meant. Thoughts of kissing his lips and suddenly cumming all over myself entered my mind. I never thought there would be such a thing as 'TOO beautiful'...but he was rapidly proving me wrong. What happens when I see him naked for the first time? I can't handle that. I'll be one of the first 17 year olds to have a heart attack from lust alone. In fact, I can't even IMAGINE what he must look like without clothes on. It's like...trying to stare directly at the SUN for ten minutes! How can I possibly bring someone this beautiful around my friends? What the hell are THEY gonna say? And how am I gonna buy a weapon strong enough to keep other boys and girls from tackling him in the streets??? This is the kind of boy that people would be willing to STAB me for!

Maybe I'm just being weird. At least...I hope I'm just being weird. But, as hard as I try to calm down...I feel like I've just been given the task of landing a 747 jet at the airport without a LICK of training or a moment's practice! And I couldn't stop shivering until Rory said that he had to be going soon. Ugh, I hope that wasn't his way of politely telling me that I was being a total spaz. I'm trying, Rory...I swear I am.

"Are...are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. My mom kinda wants me to come home and help her clean up a little bit before dinner. The neighbors are coming over to barbecue, so..." He gave me the cutest shrug of his shoulders, and the love inside made my heart swell to the point where it was pushing the air right out of my lungs.

"Hehehe...um...ok." I said, biting my bottom lip as I tried to keep from bouncing on the balls of my feet.

But then...Rory got quiet for a moment, and looked down at his feet. "Umm...Kev? If I ask you something...do you promise to be honest with me?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

It almost looked like he was afraid to ask me, but after a few seconds of awkward hesitation, he said, "You're not gonna, like...'vanish' on me or anything, are you? After today?"

"Wha...? Omigod, no! No, I'm not gonna...'vanish', or whatever. I PROMISE!"

"Because, you know...I'm scared too. I just...I want you to like me"

"I DO!!!" I said loudly. "Hehehe, I do. I just...I do, Rory! God! Seriously!"

"Hehehe! OK OK! I believe you!" He giggled, blushing hard in front of me. "It's just...sighhh..."

"What? Just what?" I asked.

"The boys who really like me for me...they tend not to stay around once they meet me. And the ones who do stay around...they don't really like me for me. So...I was kinda hoping that you would be the first who could be....a little of both. You know?" Then he grinned sheepishly. "But...I don't wanna be silly."

There it was again. That hint of loneliness that you would never expect a boy like Rory to have as a part of his life. Something most people wouldn't notice while staring at him. But I could see it. This longing for a companion. Something real. He must get soooo much attention everywhere he goes, but it was times like this that I realized how little it mattered without a real synergy with the folks crowding around him. At the end of the day...he was having just as much trouble finding 'true' love as I was.

"You're not being silly. You're amazing." It caused me to quake slightly inside to say it out loud, and even then I kinda mumbled it under my breath. But I know he heard me, because he practically melted right in front of me.

"Ok...so..." He said.

"Yeah..." I answered. "...Me too." Implying that this was the part where we had to say 'so long'. At least for today.

We were walking out to the front of the mall, where his bus was going to come and pick him up. And he said, "So can I..like...see you again? Like, maybe next weekend?"

"Definitely. We'll get together early. We can spend the whole day together."

He shivered a bit. "Cool. I'd like that." Wow...was this really happening? Was I really doing this?

"K..." I said, and Rory looked around for a second...and then moved forward to give me a kiss on the cheek. I think it made him blush harder than I did. And I was left speechless as he stood there nervously, his eyes looking at the ground. Arrrgh! If only I had the guts to give him a kiss of my own. But when it comes to those first awkward feelings of love, a moment's hesitation can erase even the greatest opportunities.

"My bus is coming." He said, and I was almost hurt by the site of it rolling around the corner.

"Ok. I'll...I'll see you next week."

"Yeah. And I'll write you."

"And I'll call you." I said.

"Then we'll make plans for the weekend." He replied.

"Great!" I giggled, hopping from one foot to the other as the bus came to a stop beside us.

"Well...bye." He said with a sigh. Just looking at that amazing boy...that intimidating beauty...it made me feel like I was dying inside to see him go. My eyes and my heart continued to battle for what was more alluring about him...but both sides remained locked in an emotional stalemate that simultaneously weakened and strengthened me in every possible way.

"Bye..." I said, afraid to take my eyes off of him. Afraid that the dream would fade, and I'd wake up to a reality where this unbelievable person couldn't exist outside of my own mind.

I watched him put his card in to pay for his ride, and then our eyes remained connected through the windows as he walked all the way to the back of the bus. And then beyond that, as the bus began to take off...pulling my fantasy boy out of my presence faster than I could follow. And even though I felt this creeping emptiness begin to invade the very center of me, I couldn't stop smiling. I just...couldn't. Do you have any idea how WEIGHTLESS love makes you feel? I'm surprised that I didn't literally cancel Earth's gravity entirely and just float home. I think this might have just been the greatest day of my life. And it was sooooo worth waiting for.

By the time I had gotten home and had eaten dinner, Rory had already sent me an email to tell me that he had an awesome time today. I couldn't even believe that I was reading it...and matching those words to the kissable lips and angelic voice of the boy I had just seen a few hours ago. He told me that I was everything that he hoped I would be, and that he couldn't wait to see me again. I didn't realize how much I was squirming around until I heard the chair squeaking from the movements. And that only made me smile twice as wide as I did before.

I quickly wrote him an email back. "Rory...you are sooooo sweet! Thank you! I had an awesome time too. You certainly surprised me today, but I'm glad you did." I almost didn't type it, but sometimes you can say things in an email that you can't always say in real life. "If I had known...I mean about the picture...I might have been too scared to talk to you. And even if I had worked up the nerve to talk, I probably would have fallen in love with you for all the wrong reasons. Um...'temporary' reasons. You know what I mean?" Does that sound like I'm being a perv? I'm being a perv, aren't I? I hope he doesn't take that to mean that I just wanna have sex with him. Oh God, I hope he doesn't take that to mean that I DON'T wanna have sex with him! Because I DO! I really REALLY DO! Maybe I should put that in the email. Wait...NO! No, that would be dirty and dumb. Forget that. I'll just say...um....I'll say...."I'm glad I got to fall for what really matters about you. And you're the most undeniably beautiful person in the world to me, Rory. And I can't wait to see you again either." I thought it might be a bit too early to actually say the WORDS 'I love you' at the end of the email. Even the safety barrier of online communications has it's limits. So instead, I just typed in a 'Kiss', and hit send.

I sat back and waited for a reply, my stomach twisting and turning inside until I almost couldn't stand the ticking of my wall clock any longer. But after five minutes without a reply, I figured he wasn't online. So I turned off the computer and just tried to start killing time until the next time I got to hear from my...wow....from my boyfriend.

How long will it be before I get used to saying THAT???

Sunday morning, I woke up to the smell of a fully cooked pancake breakfast, and my stomach started rumbling the second I opened my eyes. And yet, thoughts of Rory rushed into my brain, and I found myself laying in bed for just a few minutes longer. The sunlight was shining soooo bright through my bedroom window..it reminded me of the golden color of his soft blond hair. I rolled over on my side, feeling the tingles tickling me until I was smiling all over again. Oh God, please tell me that yesterday was real. Please. I don't think I can go back to a normal life without this...this 'feeling' bouncing around in my ribs. It's the most soothing sensation I've ever felt. And whenever I thought back to Rory's sweet little peck on the cheek...it intensified itself until I was almost ready to moan from the overwhelming vibration.

I hopped out of bed, and hurried over to boot up my computer to see if he sent me an answer. And the second I got into my email...I saw three spam messages, a message from Kyle asking me to come over to hang out today, some hot pictures from Jason of boys that he took on the beach yesterday...and then one from RORY! Sure enough! There it was, the first one on the list! I skipped over everything else and opened it right away, holding my breath.

It read, "Omigod, Kevin...." There was a paragraph space, and I was quick to scroll down to make sure I hadn't fucked everything up already! "...I have to be honest, I was sooooo worried that you'd get frightened off and not wanna talk anymore. I know you said that you wouldn't disappear, but..I could hardly sleep last night, thinking about it. Thank you! Thank you for being so damn cool, Kevin!" He was thanking me? Really? Geez! Then he said, "I'm glad you were honest with me, and I promise to be honest with you too from now on. I swear." There was a clickable link on the bottom of his email, and he wrote, "As long as we're starting fresh and honest...I thought I'd send you a picture that was a little more 'recent'. Hehehe! So here ya go! And I'll see you this weekend!" And then he sent me a 'Kiss' as well. Awwww, it looked the same as mine, and spelled the same way, and written with the same black text on the same white screen....but....awwwwwww! It looked so CUTE when he did it! It made me feel all...cuddly inside, you know?

I clicked on the link he sent, and found myself leaning so close to the screen that my nose was almost touching the glass. It was a recent pic of Rory sitting on the edge of his bed, and he was smiling and hugging a white teddy bear with a single rose in its hand. It was ADORABLE! He was snuggling the bear up against his cute face, and his big brown eyes were sooooo cheerful, and it was just...the most kissable most boyishly charming picture ever taken! Ahhhhhh!!!! I rushed to save it in a place where I could keep it FOREVER! And spent another few minutes staring at it in awe before my mom called me to breakfast and I had to shut it down. Omigod! OMIGOD! That's my boyfriend! He's like...MINE! Ahhhh! I'm gonna scream! Wait...wait, I can't scream! But I WANNA scream! I just....

I WANNA *SCREAM*!!!!!!!!!!!!

I giggled as I washed up for breakfast. I giggled all the way through breakfast. I giggled AFTER breakfast. And then I giggled all the way over to Kyle's house that afternoon. Life is HILARIOUS once the 'am I gonna be alone forever' question is solved.

"Dude, did you see the pictures that Jason got from the beach yesterday?" Was one of Kyle's first questions to me when I walked through the door.

"Yeah. Nice." And they WERE nice Really cute guys dressed in almost nothing at all. Normally, it would have been something worth drooling over. But it's funny how every other guy in the world has suddenly fallen to second place since I've been talking to Rory the last few weeks. And not even a CLOSE second place, either. But waaaaaaay down on my list of priorities. I liked that feeling.

Jason was already in Kyle's room, searching the computer for what might be his next big pursuit. Kyle scooted him aside, and Jason came over to sit behind me. "Kevin, you should have come to the beach with me, man! The boys there were SO hot! There was this one guy, with curly blond hair...totally wearing a speedo...and he had, like, an Australian accent! WOW!!! I was like, in LOVE! Like, instantly!!!" He said. "I was too nervous to even take his picture, but...he was sooooooooo delicious! I would suck the SKIN right off of him if he gave me just five minutes! Unh Unh Unh Unh Unh!" He said, starting to hump Kyle's pillow wildly in his lust filled frenzy.

"Hey! Gimmee that! I've gotta sleep on that, dork!" Kyle giggled, snatching the pillow from him. "I was thinking about going to the beach with 'Squirty Magee' over here next week. What do you think, Kev? You wanna come with us? Maybe we can go 'early bird' and catch a few worms. Hehehe!"

I think I was staring off into space when he said it, and once I heard the silence, I tried to recollect the last few minutes so I knew what the heck he was talking about. "Oh...the beach? Ummm...no. No thanks. You know, I've kinda got...'plans'." I told him, and Jason and Kyle looked at each other slyly for a moment.

"Plans?" Kyle asked me. "What KIND of plans?"

The question alone made those sweet and tingly jitters rise up in me again, and I began to giggle a bit to myself. It was involuntary, I swear! I just...I instantly thought back to Rory's lips touching my cheek, and I couldn't contain the joy for a moment longer. It seeped out of me in sickening buckets of mush...and the more I tried to control it, the faster it rushed to the surface.

Kyle perked up instantly. "Holy SHIT!!!! What the hell was THAT??? Hey, Jason..I think our buddy has something important to spill!"

"Hehehe, no...no I don't. Not really." I said.

"Omigod, look! He's BLUSHING!!! Oh, HELL no! You've totally gotta tell us now! What's going on with you?" Jason shouted, bouncing on the bed.

The emotions inside were literally BURSTING at this point, and with a hopelessly infatuated smirk, I said, "Well.....I think I might have...'somebody' special. That's all. Hehehe!"

I think Jason and Kyle both gasped at the same time, and I was thrown back as Kyle jumped up from his chair and tackled me back on the bed in a fit of laughter. "Omigod, are you SERIOUS??? Jesus! It's about TIME!!!!" He yelled, and I felt Jason pile on as well as we all giggled and rolled around for a minute or two. Kyle got up, and Jason got a few 'humps' on my butt before Kyle was able to calm him down again. "So? Details! What's going on, and why the hell are you keeping secrets from us??? Who is he? Where'd you meet him?"

I sat up again, and said, "You KNOW him already."

"I do??? Wait you're not fucking Robin are you?" Kyle asked, and Jason looked at me as though I had just stolen his mother's purse.

"No! It's not Robin...is it? That's so fucking FOUL, dude!" Jason pouted.

"God, no! It's..." I hesitated for a second, but then just came right out and told them, "It's Rory. You know...Rory?"

And Jason was like, "Oh...him? Really?" The intensity was significantly less than it was before. I could tell.

Even in Kyle, who said, "Wow...well, damn dude. Good for you. He seems really cool. You guys are gonna have a lot of fun together."

But Jason, always the unintentional asshole, said, "Yeah, I guess he's a good 'starter', you know. Hehehe, training wheels and all."

Kyle elbowed him, but I could see a tiny smirk on his face too. They had no idea. And I had no intentions of telling them either. "Don't pay the spud any attention, Kev. He's awesome! So what happened, how did it go?"

"It was magic. The whole DAY was magic."

"Awwww, look at you! I'm so happy for ya, man." Kyle said with a playful shove. "I'll just be damned. Soon you'll be getting cuties two by two like me and Jason here."

"Nah...I think I'm gonna keep this one." I said, staring at the ceiling with a smile.

"Keep him? Like...keep him keep him?" Jason sounded so...confused by the concept.

"Yeah. I like him."

"You're not supposed to keep the first one, dude." Jason giggled. "You're supposed to be having fun."

"I'm having plenty fun, believe me." I told him. "We both are. We really like each other."

Kyle's eyes got even wider. "Whoah! Are we talking BOYFRIEND material here? Do you have a 'boyf', Kevin? And actual 'boyf'???"

"Hehehe, yeah. A real life 'boyf'. Just for me." I blushed.

"Wow..my little Kevvy is all grown up." Kyle faked some tears and gave me a hug.

But Jason shrugged his shoulders, "I still think you could have gotten yourself a 'nine' if not a perfect 'ten'. But you know..as long as you're happy."

Kyle and I knew Jason's uncontrollable habit of saying things before thinking them out fully, but he probably won't understand what it's like to really feel something for somebody until he gets his heart broken somewhere along the way. And worse than just being pushed aside by that 'Robin' guy.

"You know what, Jason?" I said. "This may be hard to believe, but looks had nothing to do with it. Not that Rory has anything to worry about."

"I know. Like I said, he's a solid six. Better than most."

"SEVEN!" Kyle added.

"Will you guys STOP with the numbers already??? I told you, the looks don't matter."

"Sure. That's what everybody says, until you get an ugly one." Jason said, and got a harsh elbow in the side from Kyle that did a bit more damage than he was expecting. He held his side, and said, "WHAT? It's TRUE! Everybody says, 'oh I'll love you no matter what you look like', and then it's like 'I'm not shallow, it's all about their heart and personality', and then they hook up with someone they're not attracted to and it's a mad scramble to find an excuse to run for the hills. I'm just saying."

"Maybe for YOU, Jason..." Kyle said. "...And maybe sometimes for me too. But Kevin here is different. And if he says it doesn't matter to him, then I believe him. Hell, if I had talked to him a bit longer, I might have fallen for Rory myself. So, I salute you, dude. Go get him, tiger Hehehe!"

Jason still seemed unenthusiastic about it, but he finally conceded. "Yeah, don't worry about it. He seems cool, so just...yeah...I wish you guys the best."

"That makes my day, Jason, thanks." I said sarcastically. "Hmmm...hey Kyle...what number do you think Robin gave Jason? A 'five'? 'Four' maybe? Hehehe!"

Jason's mouth dropped a bit as the shot was delivered and received, with Kyle already laughing at his expression. "Probably a 'TWO', dude! Hahaha!"

"Har dee har! Whatever. Robin was a punk anyway. I hope his new 'power top' hook up breaks him in half." Jason said, and was quick to change the subject before he got it any worse. Kyle made sure to rub the top of the youngster's head to show him there was no harm in our teasing, and the subject pleasantly shifted to friendlier terms. But Rory stayed on my mind.

I came home later to see another message from Rory, saying, "Is it weird that I miss you already and wanna see you again?"

Sighhh...he has NO idea how awesome he makes me feel with words like that. I got on the phone and called him up...turning my Sunday night into a three hour long conversation that was difficult to break once our parents started bugging us both about going to bed for school tomorrow. But there was hardly a moment of silence between us. And in the few times that there was...the infatuated tension it caused was powerful enough to leave me curled up on the floor, trying to keep from imploding on the spot. There was so much that I wanted to say, so much that I couldn't say. Holding it back was driving me crazy. And yet the giggles continued.

Then, as we were talking about movies, Rory said, "Yeah, I was gonna check out that new vampire flick today, but I got caught up in something else so...I dunno, do you wanna go or something?"

"Omigod, hell yeah! I'm all for it. You wanna go tomorrow?" I said eagerly.

"Hehehe, well I was thinking more along the lines of Saturday...but, hey, why not?" He said. "Let's do it. I can come by your house after school, and we can catch the bus together. K?"

"It's a date." I think I said it without really meaning it in that context. But once the words left my mouth, I started to get the wiggles something awful.

"Hehehehe...cool." He said. And just before hanging up, Rory said, "Sweet dreams, Kevin. Ummm...love you, bye" It was quick and nervously rattled off as though he wanted to be able to deny saying it if I asked him about it. But greater words were never spoken. And time stood still...as thoughts of that simple kiss ran through my mind once again. On repeat. I'm totally gonna kiss him tomorrow.

I actually found myself RUSHING home after school that day. The bus couldn't move fast enough for me at all. I had been a nervous, giggly wreck through every class, and by the time it came to the last few ticking minutes on that damn clock, I had almost driven myself completely INSANE with the excitement of seeing my sweetheart again. I didn't even know what I should expect from this little outing, but any time spent at Rory's side was a full body orgasm that lifted my spirits to heights that I had never been to before. I couldn't tell you why I feel so fast, and so hard for him. I couldn't tell you why I didn't try to slow down or exercise caution, when I had only known Rory for all of a month and a half, if that. And I had only met him in person once. But my God...my GOD...was I ever in love.

I raced in through the front door, and took a very quick shower, trying to smell as good as possible for my 'date'. I thought about blowing my hair dry, but was worried that I might not hear the doorbell when it rang. So instead I dried it like a madman with a towel, and turned the fan on high while I was doing it Sure, I might have been catching pneumonia at that very moment...but I'll deal with that later. Right now, I just wanna look pretty for my dream boy.

I got dressed, used some sexy body spray, stared at myself in the mirror for ten minutes without blinking once. Hoping that I'd look as good as I felt when Rory first laid his eyes on me. And then...the doorbell chimes sent an electric shock don my spine, and I had to fight to keep from squealing like a piglet as I hurried to the door in my sock feet.

Mmmmm...and there he stood. Rory was already smiling, and it froze me in my tracks. I think I actually held my breath for a second, as I had almost forgotten how stunning he was in the flesh. "Hey." He said, and I mumbled something through a childish grin, stepping aside to let him in. "Wow...you smell good." He said.

"Really? Thanks. It was nothing." I said. "You wanna see my room?"

"Can I? Sure!" He said, and then...believe it or not...he actually reached for my hand! Like...my HAND! I blushed as I took a hold of his long and delicate fingers, feeling the exquisite softness of his palm on mine...and turned at an angle to try to walk straight, despite the growing erection in my pants. It had sprung to life all by itself the second he touched me, and the intimacy of just holding his hand with a smile was enough to nearly make me explode.

I took him into my room and showed him around. But my eyes were mostly focused on him the whole time. Especially when he looked at the DVD movies on my bookshelf. He's really slim and sexy, you know? And the skin on his cheeks is soooo smooth. And his lips are like...perfect. PERFECT! I like his neck too. And the way his light blond hair touches the edges of his eyes. And he has a cute nose, and cute fingers, and a cute voice...and soft shoulders...and long sexy legs...and a really nice butt, even though I couldn't really see much of it. His shirt was hanging a bit low on him. And he smelled really sweet to me. Almost like that fragrance you smell when you open a fresh bag of powdered doughnuts. His clothes hung on him in such a delicately amazing way. Like they were tailor made JUST for his body alone.

And I like his ears too.

And he has nice sneakers. Probably has cute feet too.

He's cute when he blinks. Something about his lashes and his soft brown bedroom eyes..they make his blinks so adorable.

I wonder what his belly button looks like. I'll bet it's like, the hottest belly button ever.

"Not a bad collection." He smiled. "Nothing like mine though. If you saw my room, I'd be ashamed of how many movies I have."

"Hehehe, really? Big movie buff, huh?" I said, still staring at his every movement.

"Definitely. Can't help it. It's like...living a thousand different lives through each one, you know? I dunno...I guess it's always been a bit of an escape for me, you know?"

Sighhh...his 'thoughts' are cute.

"Yeah..." I whispered.

"So you wanna head out? The next showing is at..." He started, but he was so close, and he was being so cute, and I was right there....ugh! I couldn't stand it anymore, and before he could finish his sentence, I jumped forward and kissed him on the cheek before he could stop me. If I had delayed it for one second longer...I would have literally fallen apart.

Rory turned bright red, and gently bit his bottom lip as he looked down at the floor and giggled bashfully to himself. "I'm sorry." I said. "I've been wanting to do that since Saturday."

"Hehehe, it's ok. I wish I was prepared for it a little better."

With a tremble in my voice, I said..."I can...um...do it again if...if you want."

And that was the magic moment. When time came to a screeching halt, and both of our smiles morphed into something much more intimate. More needy. And the second I saw Rory take a step towards me, I just tried to brace myself for what was coming next. Shivering like a cold wet puppy as his arms reached out for my waist, and mine reached out for his. My bottom lip quivered as I saw him tilt his head to the side...and I made sure to do the same. Our lips finally touching with the most amazingly tender collision. All of the breath rushed out of my lungs at once, and I experienced my first kiss with a boy that easily surpassed every fantasy and wet dream I had ever had. The utter disbelief involved in touching my lips to his was mind-blowing. I almost couldn't find the will to submerge myself in the surreal moment, for fear that I'd screw it up somehow. But that changed the second Rory's warm wet tongue touched the tip of my own...and our kiss became more passionate.

A small whimper escaped from the back of his throat as I accepted him inside my mouth, and our tongues slid against one another with a slow and rhythmic wiggle. Our arms tightened around each other, and I moved one hand up to his blond hair to pull him tight against my kiss. Wow....his hair was like strands of fine silk, lighter than the golden rays of afternoon sunshine pouring in through my bedroom window.

And then...the doorbell.

Our lips parted softly, and we looked at one another for a second to grin widely at our first big smooch. Rory leaned forward, to rub noses with me in the most adorable way, and after a short giggle, we began to fall into another embrace, our lips meeting with even more of a heated fever than the first time. But the doorbell repeated it's annoying song, interrupting the moment.

"I can...ignore it..." I said.

"Umm...hehehe, it's up to you. I mean...if you want..."

"Hey Kev! It's me, dude! Open up!" Came Kyle's voice from outside my window. What the hell is he DOING here?

"Shit..." I sighed.

"Go ahead. It's ok. We should get going soon anyway." Rory said, with a shrug of his shoulder. His shoulder shrugs are cute. Ugh! I've gotta stop doing that!

I went to the back door, and saw Kyle and Jason outside with their bikes. I peeked my head out, and Kyle looked surprised when I didn't just let them right in the house like I usually did. "What's up?" I asked, and they looked at me like I was crazy.

"Um...nothing." Kyle said with a smirk. "Me and the spud were gonna ride over to the rec center and see who's over there. Just kick it for a while, you know? You wanna join us?"

"I can't." I said quickly. "Actually, I've got...you know...plans."

"Again with the 'plans'." Kyle said, and then he tried to look around me as I stood in the doorway. "What do you got going on in there?"

"Hehehe, nothing!" I said. "Aren't you and Jason gonna be late, or something?"

"Late? To the PARK? I don't think so." Kyle started to almost force his way in, but Rory stepped around the corner and gave him a smile.

"Hey, Kyle."

You would have thought I had the boogeyman himself standing behind me the way Kyle nearly passed out at the sight of him. He actually stepped back from the door with his hand over his mouth, and when Jason craned his neck to see what he was looking at...I swear he got an instant boner and had to hide it as best as he could with his bike seat.

It took them a moment to stop staring, and once he got the ability to speak back, Kyle said, "Um...hey. I mean...like...HEY! Do I know you?"

Rory giggled sweetly. "Hehehe, Kyle, dude...it's ME. Rory, remember?"

Kyle gasped out loud, and I heard Jason blurt out, "Jesus CHRIST, you're hot!"

"Hehehe, thanks. Jason right?" Rory knew exactly what he was doing, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. "I've heard a lot about you. It's good to finally meet you, Kyle. It's been a while since we talked."

"Yeah....a while..." Kyle said, no longer able to blink in my boyfriend's presence.

Rory allowed a bit of an uncomfortable silence fall over them both before we both giggled out loud, and he turned to me to say, "You ready to go?"

"Sure thing." I smiled proudly. "Me and Rory were going to catch a movie together tonight. So...you two are on you own." I gave Rory a kiss on the cheek right in front of them, and started to put my shoes on.

Rory looked at Kyle and said, "So...how's your dad doing? Recovering quickly, I hope?" Omigod, I LOVE this boy!

"He's...he's all better. Yeah. All better." Kyle said, and Jason just stood there quiet, his boyish little tent stuck in a permanent state of arousal. Attempting to muster up some basic level of 'cool' again, Kyle leaned against the side of my house and looked Rory right in the eye. "So....you guys are thinking about catching that movie, huh? Hopefully not too distracting. Remember?"

"Yeah. I remember." Rory nodded. "But that's alright. My boyfriend is just the kind of distraction I was looking for." Wow...did he cal himself my boyfriend? Ugh! Does this get any better?

"That's cool. Very cool." Kyle said. "You have certainly...grown into a beautiful person, you know that?" I finally tied up my second shoe, and moved towards the door to cut Kyle off before he tried anything funny.

"Gotta run. Later fellas." I told them, taking Rory's hand as we started to walk away from them.

"Sure thing, bud. I'll see you later. Oh...hey Rory! One of these days maybe all of us can hang out somewhere. Maybe party together or something?" Omigod, he did NOT just do that right in front of me!

But before I could even get angry at him for the obvious offense, Rory turned to him and mimicked a phrase from Kyle's own playbook. "Sure. Who knows...maybe I'll write you some time." And he with a firm hold on my hand, we both walked away from them to go on our date.

Hahaha, I wanted to look back over my shoulder to see the astonished look on their faces...but I think their deafening silence was reward enough. By the time we had gotten half way around my house, Rory had leaned over and kissed me on the lips again, giving me the most enchanting smile. "That looked like it felt good." I told him.

"Hehehe, yeah, it did! It felt GREAT, in fact!"

With another kiss, I said, "You know...they're both gonna fall madly in love with you now that the know you're..."

"...EXTREMELY fucking HOT?" He laughed, teasing me a bit by mocking my voice. "So what? It doesn't count for shit, so who cares?"

"Doesn't count for shit? What about MY love, then? Hopefully that counts." I said.

"That's different."

"How is that different?"

Rory came close, and this time let his kiss linger for a few moments longer before answering me. "They like what they see, and that's...flattering and all, but like I said...it doesn't last for very long."

"Well, I think you're beautiful too, so...don't go thinking I don't notice. Hehehe!" Rory lightly held on to both sides of my face, looking me directly in the eye.

"Yeah..but you didn't love me because you thought I was beautiful. You thought I was beautiful because you loved me. That's the difference." We exchanged another kiss, and smiled like a couple of kids on a sugar high as we practically skipped our way to the bus stop. Just when I thought I had experienced the best day of my life....

I find another day twice as special. As well as the hope for better days to come.