Jay & Miles - 39. Time Is Fleeting

POV: Mikey, Greg

…Michael Rennie was ill The Day The Earth Stood Still…

I was still confused by the encounter in the lobby as we entered the theater and took our seats, having no idea who Brad Majors was, and all Dave and Trebor did was laugh at it when Jay told them. We had watched as other people took their seats, and I would have sat near the middle of the room, but our older friends guided us to a spot three rows from the back—‘for safety’—as Trebor put it. I expected them to sit together, but we ended up sandwiched between them. My apprehension only increased when Dave produced a small bag from under his jacket, and Treb did the same from his seat on Jay’s other side.

“Part of the fun of this movie comes from letting yourself go, and becoming part of the action on the screen…” I frowned when Jay and I were given small baggies of rice. “The first ‘prop’…you’ll know when to throw it around…just have fun with it…everyone else here will be doing the same thing.”

Now it was Treb’s turn to hand out items from his bag. I stared as a plastic squirt gun and a section of newspaper appeared. “Paper or plastic?” he asked with a grin, raising his red eyebrows as he did a fair imitation of a bag-boy at the grocery store. “The paper is for defense, the water pistol for offense. I recommend the paper, unless you want to get soaked?”

I felt a little queasy when I saw Jay’s mischievous grin, and he brandished the squirt gun like a demented John Wayne. I hurriedly grabbed the section of newspaper, hoping it would protect me from his evil intentions. My boyfriend’s smile got wider as he leaned in closer to me. “Relax kæreste, we’re here to have fun.” Somehow, that didn’t make me any calmer.

When the lights dimmed, I felt a hand grasp mine where it lay on the armrest, and I sighed knowing that Jay was next to me, feeling the same intimacy in the darkened theater. I barely paid attention to the giant red lips mouthing the lyrics of the opening song as I felt Jay leaning his shoulder closer to me, and I did the same in return. I was too nervous to try to kiss him, much as I wanted to. I felt a stirring in my briefs thinking of that, but had to remember we’d be able to make out a little once Dave and Trebor fell asleep.

I confess I didn’t get all the science-fiction references in the song, and a quick look at Jay told me he didn’t either…but all that was swept aside when the wedding scene began and lots of the audience members began throwing rice in the air and at other people around them. Jay whooped and joined in, but I waited until Dave nudged me in the side and tossed his own in a wide circle. Jay’s obvious delight was contagious, and I laughed along with him, even dribbling some down the back of his sweatshirt. It wasn’t long before we both had rice down our shirts and in our hair.

My heart sank when the next scene was a rainstorm, and I knew I was in for it; I put my paper in front of my face, only to feel water hit me on the back of my head from the people behind us. “Dammit!” I shouted, and was promptly answered by several choruses of ‘Janet’. When I moved my shield behind my head, I saw Jay smirking as he got me right in the face—Dave handed me his gun, and I nearly emptied it by soaking Jay’s face and shirt front. Jay got in a second shot to my crotch before he was nailed by a guy in front of us. We found out later that some people came armed with spray bottles rather than our small caliber pistols, but the warmth of the room gave me hope that our clothes would dry by the time the film was over. Some lighters appeared as a spooky mansion came into view, though our OSU friends refrained from pulling out theirs. I exchanged glances with Jay, and our hands rejoined to rest on our knees. Dave put his bag away, seemingly out of ‘props’, and I hoped for a more normal evening after the opening frenzy had died down.

I was wrong—things only got weirder from that point on.

From the butler and maid, to the dance scene in the hall, it only got more confusing; about half of the audience stood up to do the ‘Time Warp’ in the aisles, and Jay and I both gasped when a caped figure came in wearing a corset and fishnet stockings—the lack of breasts and the bulge in the panties made it clear this was no girl. Things we’d seen on the news and looking through our friends’ old copy of The Advocate warned us of such things, but this was our first time seeing it on the big screen. For my part, I was in a sort of daze from that point on: the scene of Rocky dancing around in gold shorts was hot, and I could see Jay doing that—but only for me. I lost the thread of things when the biker rode into the laboratory and got killed…and needed Jay’s tentative affirmation when it looked like the mad scientist had fucked both Brad and Janet.

My head was hurting by the close of the film, and I’d rested it against Jay’s shoulder, and felt his cheek brush my hair softly. At some point my hand had worked its way under his shirt and rested on his abdomen, content just to feel his solid presence. At least our clothes were mostly dry now, though I was sure we were carrying a lot of rice under our shirts and crumbs of toast on our pants from the film’s dinner scene. Jay’s hand moved between two of my shirt buttons and he gently tweaked one of my nipples in the darkened cinema—it seemed he liked that they were almost always hard, and we both enjoyed having our chests rubbed. I think that was the main reason I was having problems following the film’s plot, because I had no clue how the cast members all wound up dressed as transvestites; I did figure out that the two servants were taking the scientist back to their home planet, but had no clue what happened to the blond Rocky he had created.

On the way out to the van, we were stopped by other fans complimenting me on my costume, but at least now I understood who Brad Majors was. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I always dressed like this—and more than one person told my boyfriend that he ought to come dressed as Rocky next time—he smiled, and I could see a slight blush rise on his cheeks at the thought. In the brief time we’d been together, I knew he wasn’t afraid to show off some skin, considering it like the locker room after gym class, so I wondered what was up. When we got into the van and settled back on the mattress for the ride back to the dorm, Jay leaned into me and kissed my cheek. “I couldn’t do that, elskede. I’d be thinking of your eyes on me, and I’d be hard the whole time…” To prove his point, he placed my hand on his jeans and I found him as turned on as I’d ever felt him. I wanted to do more than touch him, but that would have to wait until Dave and Treb were asleep, or until tomorrow at his house—the barn hay mow was still set up as we’d left it a few days ago for Greg and Denny to enjoy.

During the drive back to campus, and the short walk to Taylor Tower, where our friends lived, the movie was our main topic of conversation, with Trebor doing most of the analysis since Dave was behind the wheel. We asked some questions about it, like whether Brad and Janet had been screwed, and whether the biker guy had really been eaten during the dinner scene…but we couldn’t come to a unanimous decision. It was clear to me and Jay that our friends loved the campiness of the film, so I kept my comments as complimentary as I could. I found it confusing and silly, but had to admit that taking part in the action by throwing rice and squirting people with water was fun…so I was genuinely enthusiastic about that part. I was pretty sure Jay felt the same way as I did…and he whispered in my ear that seeing the scientist in drag was a big turn-off for him. “I’m gay because I want to be with another guy, not one dressed like a woman. Jeez, may as well be straight if I wanted that!”

Taylor Tower’s lobby was large, but occupied at this late hour by a single bored attendant at the desk. He’d seen us leave for the movies just after his shift started, so he waved us on with a smile, glad to see that we weren’t drunk or rowdy as many late-comers were at other campus dorms. Taylor was an honors dorm, and partying was less frequent there, though it still happened in a subdued form. Only in the elevator did our friends hold hands, and Jay and I followed suit. Their hallway was deserted, so we kept our hands joined during the short walk to their door. Inside, we put our jackets on the back of the two desk chairs, kicking off our shoes into the corner by the door. Jay had brought a sleeping bag, which was rolled up in the center of the floor along with our clothes for tomorrow. Dave and Trebor grabbed a few things from their bedroom, telling us we could go first in the bathroom. Jay saw my reluctance and told them we could wait. A few seconds later, we heard the shower running, and then some scuffling from the closed door to our left.

I sat in the single armchair as Jay pulled towels out of our bag, wrapping our change of clothes in them before coming to sit on the couch next to my chair. The room held a small TV stand in addition to the furniture, along with a cube-shaped fridge with a toaster oven on top. A big window on the wall opposite the entry door was covered by a set of burgundy curtains, and a few framed posters dotted the walls—a frazzle-haired Einstein, and a weird perspective sketch of stairs by M.C. Escher. Trebor’s famed tape collection sat next to an old tape deck under the window. Earlier, we’d seen the bedroom to the right of the entry contained two tall wardrobes at either end of a single dresser and a pair of twin beds. Dave had told us that they often shared one, though it was a tight fit, and we were welcome to take the other one tonight. Jay had bounced on it a few times, grinning madly, and pulled me down next to him—it was more than a tight fit—it was positively cramped, and the only way it worked for me was that Jay was shorter than me and I could hold him in my arms so he didn’t roll off onto the floor. Jay had grabbed my hand and placed it on his dick to show how much he enjoyed me pressed into his butt due to the narrow bed, and that had sent images into my head of our friends doing the same thing during the night, and I told them we’d be happy with the sleeping bag.

My reverie was broken when our friends came out of the bath wearing only thin running shorts and rubbing their hair with towels. Dave’s coppery skin was smooth and slightly muscled beneath his shoulder-length black hair, while Treb’s was pale to go with his bright red wavy locks. “You’re up, guys,” he said with a grin for our stares. Neither boy showed any self-consciousness about being nearly naked—I was the odd one out here, having never experienced gym showers. Jay pulled me into the steamy bathroom and shut the door behind us.

We piled our clothes in a corner and were both blushing as we stripped; despite all the times we’d been intimate, this was our first joint shower, and for some reason we tried not to stare too much or to touch each other with our friends in the next room. It was a lost cause with the tight confines of the shower stall, and we both got hard-ons as the soap made our bodies slick. I felt Jay’s hands as they lathered my chest before slipping down to my pubes, and when his fingers gripped me, I was so hot that I shot my load into his hand. I kissed him deeply as my own hands soaped his chest and snaked around to his back, pulling him against me. The suds gave him a slippery ride as he pushed his dick into mine, and it wasn’t long before I felt his juices shoot onto my abs before being washed down the drain with the soapy water. We leaned into each other for support, and made quick work of washing our hair as the temperature of the water began to cool. Jay handed me a towel and we dried one another off, stealing a few kisses as we did so. My back was turned to him when he handed me my night clothes, and I was dismayed to discover he’d only brought in a pair of my purple briefs. “We’re with friends, Mikey…I’m not ashamed for them to see us. You are my handsome elskede—I’m certainly not ashamed of you.”

I gave Jay another soft kiss before we left the bath, towels around our necks and holding hands. The room was warm, and our friends didn’t say anything about our attire, which went a long way to reassure me. Our friends were seated on the small sofa, their bodies leaning comfortably against each other, and I knew this was a favored position for them. While we had been in the shower, Dave had rolled out our sleeping bag and piled a couple blankets on top. Treb had his wooden box out for rolling a joint, and raised an eyebrow at us.

“Jay…” I was going to say I was willing if he was, but the moment I looked into his deep blue eyes, I knew this wasn’t the right time; sure, we had the time to recover before we left for home tomorrow morning, but this was a big deal for him, and we should discuss it before trying it. His hand reached out for mine, and he kissed it gently. The twining of our fingers told me he wanted this to be one of the things we would do together in private, like our other firsts. “It’s not the right time for us yet, guys…” I said with a soft smile. “You go ahead, and we’ll turn in for the night—it is almost four.”

Trebor grinned and handed Dave the unlit joint and their silver zippo lighter. For some reason, I blushed under his gaze, and Jay pulled me closer into his side on the floor. “Like we said last time, it’s cool. We’ll only smoke half of it, and you can see the proper way to do it. If you try it like a cigarette, you’re going to cough your guts out, and that will ruin it for you when you finally toke.” Dave lit the white rolled paper, easing it into red life with a gentle hiss of indrawn breath. I saw Jay watching with fascination, but so far, this wasn’t that different from my old days of sneaking cigarettes with my neighbor.

Dave leaned in, facing his boyfriend on the couch, their faces so close I thought they’d kiss…then the whole dynamic changed. Almost simultaneously Dave inhaled, removed the joint from between his lips, and Trebor closed the gap between them, opening his own lips against Dave’s as the Indian breathed the held smoke into his mate’s mouth. Trebor held the smoke in before passing it back, and this time they did kiss, seemingly pushing the pot smoke into one another with their tongues. When they parted, almost no smoke was left to join the charged air in the room.

I was getting hard watching our two foxy friends kiss, and I was grateful when Jay pulled the blanket over our laps. “Damn, that’s hot,” he whispered, and I knew he was just as hard as I was. The smoke from the joint wasn’t nearly as harsh as the cigarette fumes I remembered. It was almost sweet. Neither of our friends had coughed, and certainly seemed to enjoy swapping the smoke, but I reminded myself that they had had a lot more experience with it. Still, some of my reservations had been put to rest, and I think Jay was feeling a little more confident about it too—especially if it came combined with some kissing.

“That’s called a ‘shotgun’, and is the best way to try pot the first time…” Dave said, putting out the half-smoked reefer. Trebor put it back in his box, and snaked his arm around his lover. “It’s also a hell of a way to get a kiss…as long as you know the other guy is gay too!”

We giggled at the awful joke, and watched as Trebor pulled Dave to his feet for the short trip to their bedroom. Both were obviously sporting wood, and I wondered how long it would take them to fall asleep. Just before their door closed, Dave told us to help ourselves to the snacks and drinks in the little fridge, giving us a broad wink as he was pulled into the room. I settled down next to Jay, and we spent some time kissing and stroking one another before we heard ‘sshh-ing’ noises from our friends’ room. Rustling blankets could be heard, then the faint squeaking of bedsprings. More shushing noises joined some moans, and we didn’t have to strain too hard to figure out what the sighs, ‘yesses’ and ‘harder’ were from: our friends were making love.

My eyes locked on Jay’s. I wanted so badly to do what our friends were sharing with one another, I’d been dreaming of it for at least a year…and had tried using a finger on myself before getting that wake-up call from Greg. More than the pot smoking, I knew this would be the biggest and most intimate first Jay and I would ever share, and it had to be right. Even so, there was an almost palpable ache in me as I yearned to feel my kæreste inside me. I bit my lip and Jay’s hand brushed my hair back from my forehead. He put my glasses aside out of the way and his lips found mine for a tender kiss.

“We’ll get there, elskede. They’ve got eight months on us. We’ll know when the time is right.” His hand cupped our two pendants on their chains around our necks. “To sjæle, én tanke. Two souls, one thought” he whispered in my ear.

Under our blanket, we wrapped our arms around one another and I felt a sense of peace enfold me, caused by the soft whispering of Jay’s breathing next to my ear. This was one of our favorite positions, with Jay’s head resting in the crook of my neck, his chest pulled into my side by my arm, and one of his legs resting between mine. By morning, we’d end up with our roles reversed, or me behind him with my front following the curve of his back, like spoons in a drawer. I wondered if my boyfriend found it as hard to sleep alone as I did—I never wanted to be away from him, but for now we had to live in separate houses. I sighed thinking of the time we’d have together once we went off to college... we’d never sleep apart once we were in the real world.

* * * * * * * * * *

When we left Pizza Hut, I wasn’t sure what Denny had planned, but as we got into his Corvair, it felt like it was too early to head home. Cal and Benny had told us they were going shopping, and I turned to grin at my Yank. “Benny has no idea about clothes—I feel sorry for Calvin if he’s depending on him to make any choices. It’d be a hoot to follow them and see what they end up with.”

Denny snickered. “I thought they were your friends? You’d really let them pick out bad clothes?” The twinkle in his eyes betrayed him…he thought it would be a hilarious adventure too, so I pointed for him to follow Benny’s purple Barracuda.

“Damn straight, Yankee,” I grinned, letting out with my best Rebel yell. “We’ll say we decided to shop too, and hang out with them.” It wasn’t long before we were following our friends south on Hamilton Road headed for Eastland Mall, and I grinned as Benny pulled up close to the Sears entrance. “He’s off to a good start—heading right for the cheapest store in the whole mall.”

I laughed at Denny’s puzzled expression, and explained. “Sears is good for school clothes, but to look really good, you have to hit Lazarus or The Gap. Mom’s buy their little kids stuff at Sears.”

Denny’s laughter joined mine as we found a parking spot a few away from our friends’. I gave his hand a squeeze before climbing out, and we ambled down to where Cal and Benny were just locking their doors. The shock on their faces was priceless when Denny said since we had no plans, we’d decided to shop too. Calvin nodded, but my neighbour gave me a hard look. He wasn’t sure enough to question what my boyfriend had said, but he knew my sense of humor pretty well. “So what are you getting?” he asked suspiciously.

“Shirts.”…. “Underwear,” we said simultaneously, giving each other sheepish grins at our mismatched answers. Benny scowled and shook his head, warning us not to get too carried away, or we’d regret it. He made a feint for my head, and I ducked, knowing his punishment was always a very thorough noogie.

We were all laughing and giving one another playful shoves as we neared Sears’ futuristic entrance. Calvin explained that his grandmother had given him some money for new clothes, and Benny added that his mom had gotten him a charge card for the store as a birthday present—but he was told to keep the monthly bill down under seventy-five dollars. I whistled to myself at his disclosure—it sure didn’t hurt to come from a family with fewer children…that was just under half my clothes budget for the entire school year.

The store wasn’t as dead as I thought it might be on a Friday afternoon, but then I remembered it was Good Friday, and schools let out early so moms could have extra time for errands before needing to think about dinner for their families. The men’s department was practically deserted, and we drew some stares from the clerks as we passed them. There was a section along the wall which passed for a teen section, given over to jeans, casual shirts, and a few accessories. Spring and Summer fashions were taking the place of heavier Winter wear, and there were even some shorts scattered among the jeans.

Calvin headed for the baggier sizes of shirts, but Benny cut him off. “Nope—no more hiding. Your grandma told me to get you things that fit and looked nice.” The taller wrestler eyed the blond critically. “I’d say extra-large will be about right,” and he began going through the sections on the metal rails which held shirts that size. I watched him pull out three shirts, but I stopped him as he was about to hand them over to his fair-haired boyfriend. They weren’t as bad as I’d imagined, but still not quite right for a boy with blond hair and green eyes. I put the yellow one back, but kept the medium green and another in red. I found two more in light blue, and black, and then gave all four to Calvin, pushing him toward the changing rooms.

There were three on either side of a short hallway, with a couple chairs facing them for customers to relax in. I motioned for my neighbour to sit down, before positioning myself outside Cal’s dressing room. “Try each one on, then come out so we can see how it looks…just pile the clothes you’re wearing on the bench inside.” We could hear rustling fabric as Cal undressed, before he stepped out in the red shirt and his old Army trousers.

I could hear Benny’s in-drawn breath, but I scowled. “Those pants are ruining it—take them off, and we’ll get you some new jeans while you try the shirts on.” I heard a clinking of Cal’s belt, then he poked his head out through the curtain. “What size pants do you wear?” I asked. His answer was quick. No way was he a size 40!

Benny got out of his chair as I pulled the curtain open to see his boyfriend’s body. “Hey!” he protested.

Ignoring him, I took in the sight of Calvin in his olive drab boxers and new shirt, and shook my head. “Just as I thought…you’re really a size 34—36 at most.” I looked him up and down before closing the curtain. “We need to buy you socks and underwear too. Me and Denny will grab some jeans while you parade the shirts for Benny.”

I told my big neighbour to keep an eye on his boyfriend while we hunted for jeans, and I snickered at his foolish grin. That was a job I knew he’d enjoy to the fullest. Yank and I spent about ten minutes going through jeans, returning with two pairs of black, two medium blue, and two pairs of cut-offs in light blue. We hadn’t had any luck with underwear, but came back with a pack of long grey tube socks, and two pairs of dress ones in black. Denny had grabbed a couple tee-shirts in bright green and red, and I nodded with a smile when I saw they were larges—they’d be a tighter fit than the other shirts, but Calvin had the muscles to pull that off, and I knew Benny would approve. I decided some of Calvin’s grandmother’s money would go for underwear and a couple shirts from Lazarus at the far end of the mall. I wanted him to look his best for my oldest friend.

We weren’t too surprised to find Benny standing at the entrance to Cal’s dressing room, the curtain partially open as they chatted. To keep up appearances, he hadn’t gone in, but his eyes most assuredly had taken in every detail of his boyfriend as he tried on the shirts we’d picked out. I saw he was rubbing his crotch as I came up behind him, and prodded him in the butt with one of the hangers holding the jeans I was carrying. He flushed and whirled around, and I put the new jeans in his arms. “Give these to Calvin so he can model them for us.”

It was funny watching Benny’s face go slack when Calvin would step out into the short hall to show us how the jeans fit, and I think he was starting to like showing off for my friend—he’d take a little longer turning so we could see the clothes from all sides, and several times he came out without a shirt, much to Benny’s delight. More than once I heard him let out a faint whistle and mutter ‘hot.’ Ten minutes later we were headed toward Lazarus, despite Benny’s protests, having put the Sears bags in his car.

I noticed that my Yank’s clothes had more in common with the upscale store’s wares than those in Sears, and I began to worry that he’d think I was a bit out of fashion for him since I could only shop here once in a while. As we passed through the open space at the store’s mall entrance, I felt his hand brush mine and grasp it gently for a few seconds. It dawned on me that he could read me like a book. “I’m in love with you—not your clothes,” he whispered.

I relaxed at that, and returned the hand-squeeze before releasing him. We passed the displays of men’s clothing and found the section for teens like us—it was a lot bigger than the one belonging to their main rival’s at the other end of the mall. Only when I saw the pair of leather pants did I remember Jay and Mikey telling us about them. Denny smiled and shook his head—neither of us had the balls to try fitting into them. I headed for the underwear section, and Denny was right behind, saying he should buy some too…if I wanted to help him pick them out. I could feel my dick hardening at the thought, and was glad that my ‘treatments’ from Jay’s hayloft were beginning to show results. It was a good sign Denny was starting to put his traumatic experiences at the boarding school in Maine, behind him.

Calvin trailed us, clearly wondering what we were here for, and we spent about a quarter of an hour picking out packages of stylish briefs in various colors for him, as well as a couple packs for me and Denny. I found a three-pack of muscle-tees and added them to Calvin’s stack. I had a couple of them at home, and I saw my Yank grab a pack of his own. That was when I noticed that the other member of our foursome had vanished. How could Cal have lost his big hunk wrestler?

I spotted him at last at one of the other registers, taking a bag from the clerk before heading for us. He refused all inquiries as to the bag’s contents, only saying it was a surprise, and we could see it had been stapled shut by the salesman before he handed it over. When Benny saw the assortment of shorts and tees in our hands, he grabbed a few packs of his own while blushing, and muttering that he’d managed to tear some of them while working out. We paid for our stuff and headed back out into the mall, heading for our cars near the other end.

We were all shocked to see the sun was far to the west when we left the building, and that it was almost supper time. Back at our cars, we leaned on the hood of Benny’s Barracuda, trying to decide if we wanted to grab burgers before going home. Calvin said his grandmother would be expecting him, so that left only me and Denny. We waved our two friends off as we put our purchases in the back seat of the Corvair. “Want to come over for dinner?” I asked him.

He handed me the keys, and took the passenger seat, leaving me to sit behind the wheel. “Sure—my parents are off for some benefit in Cleveland for the weekend—they do it every Easter.”

I checked the mirrors and adjusted the seat, and froze with a silly grin on my face when his words sank in. He was free for the whole weekend? Hot Damn! I found my heart hammering in my chest, and my voice quivered a bit as my next words tumbled out.

“Want to spend the night?” I wondered if that was too soon for him, and almost took the words back, but I hurriedly added “—we don’t have to do anything but cuddle.” My stomach and spirits sank when he shook his head ‘no.’ I knew it had been too early, and was kicking myself mentally when he put a hand on mine before I could turn the key in the ignition. It took me a minute to meet his grey eyes.

His words came out almost inaudibly, and I had to strain to hear them at all, despite the quiet in the car. He swallowed once or twice before getting them out, and I was afraid he was going to say he ought to go home after all.

“Do you…want to spend the night at my house instead?”