The Preacher's Kid: High School - 17. Finishing High School is Mostly Woke

Senior year! Damn, I thought we’d never get here!

But before I go into my last year of high school, I should probably fill you in on some of the crazy shit that happened over the summer. There were only a few major events, but they were pretty major—at least in my book.

The first was when Matty and I—after many long talks—made the final decisions on our college plans. Matty accepted the offer from App State and would be a non-scholarship Freshman Quarterback. He was pretty psyched about the whole thing, but I think Haley was the happiest of all. Her only disappointment came when Matty had to tell her he couldn’t live with her since he was required to live in the jock dorm for his first two years.

I totally surprised myself when I finally decided to go into seminary. I kept asking myself if I was sure.

Yeah, I was definitely sure. The whole Donald Harper thing—especially the talk we had—impacted me more than I had thought. It was totally satisfying to see how I could do my part and help change someone’s entire life. From what we’ve heard, Donald was doing great out there in Utah. He has become a peer counselor to several of the kids out there and has moved into a lot of their advanced programs. In the last letter he sent Dad and me, he kept thanking us and talking about how he could never be able to pay us back.

I wrote Donald back and told him that his success in that program was more than enough payback and that I looked forward to sitting with him for a nice, long talk. That was also the letter where I kinda told him that I was thinking of becoming a minister. About a week later, I got a call on my cell phone. He told me he got special permission to make a call.

“Dude, I only have a few minutes, but I had to tell you this in person—not in another letter.”

“Donald? Wow! You’re the last person I ever thought I’d get a call from!”

“I just wanted to talk to you about something you mentioned in your last letter.”

“I think I said a lot, dude. What’s on your mind?”

“That part where you said you were thinking about being a minister?”

“Yeah, I’m still thinking about it.”

“Dude, you gotta do it. Hell, in my mind, you already are a minister. You have the hugest fucking heart—oh, sorry about the f-bomb—you have this thing about you, too. Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned that they call it compassion. Dude—you are the most compassionate fucker I’ve ever known. Fuck! Sorry about my language, man.”

“Don’t worry about the language. My mouth is still pretty fucking bad—just sayin’.”

“Ha! Then you’ll have the most awesome sermons ever! No—but seriously—you—Eddie Hamilton—you changed my life completely. You have done more for me than anyone in my life. More than any parent, relative, minister, counselor, coach—you have an amazing talent—and if you can make a living out of making other people’s lives better—well—all I can say is you gotta do it, man. The world needs a shitload of Eddie Hamiltons—and all we can do is give it to them one Eddie at a time.”

Wow. I was stunned. I was glad Donald couldn’t see the tears falling down my face.

“You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I had no idea. I mean, I wanted to do the right thing by you. And once I understood more about how you ended up feeling the way you were feeling, there was only one thing to do.”

“Eddie, you’re a fucking miracle. I will spend the rest of my life thanking you in my prayers and being grateful to ya.”

“You pray?”

“Yeah, can you believe it? And you are in every single one of them—well, you and your Dad.”

“Thank you, Donald. You have no idea how much this phone call means to me.”

“So you’re gonna do it?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna be a minister. Dad’s gonna fuckin’ shit his pants!”

“Wow! Fucking awesome, man! Hey, they’re telling me I have to wrap this up. Keep me posted—and thanks again for everything. You fucking rock, dude!”

“No, I need to thank you. I am proud of you, Donald. More than you’ll ever know!”

It’s kinda funny how the world sends things your way when you need them most—like that call from Donal Harper. Now, don’t get me wrong! I didn’t do what I did to make myself feel better or anything. Nope! I did what I did because it felt like it was the right thing to do. I mean, most everyone I knew thought I should have wanted them to throw the book at Donald for trying to kill me. But he didn’t kill me—so that’s a good thing!

But looking back, I could have easily been some kind of vengeful dude and tried to ruin his life. Trust me—I totally did consider going that route. And then I would hear Dad’s voice in the back of my head saying it’s not for us to be all vengeful and judgemental. So I figured if I could get to the reasons why he beat the crap out of me, I would better understand what I needed to do.

I’m glad I made the decision I made. Donald Harper’s life is changing for the better—and if I’m a small part of that, then I know I did the right thing. And for all those people who still think I was stupid—well—fuck ‘em!

By this time, it was close to the end of the school year. The dynamics of our family are about to change yet again. Matty was next door going through stuff and tossing shit he didn’t need. Mom had taken Nate to the mall. That left me alone with Dad.

I knocked on his study door, and he looked up and smiled. I know he’s old and everything, but Dad has this smile that lets me know everything’s good. My stomach was in knots, and of course, Dad could tell.”

“Hey there, Eddie. Come on in. Is something on your mind?”

“Yeah, you might as well have a seat by the sofa. It’s gonna be one of those talks.”

“Ahhh! My favorite kind.” Dad moved over to his chair as I sat on the sofa. “It seems the talks we’ve been having over here have been some of the best ones.”

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. “So—this has been on my mind for a couple of months now, and it’s been kinda hard to make a decision. But—I got a phone call this afternoon from Donal Harper...”

“Oh? Everything good in Utah?”

“Yeah. He sounds great—like a totally different person. But some of the things he told me—well, when I mentioned to him what I’m about to say to you, what he said to me made it pretty clear what I needed to do.”

“Well—I’m all ears, then!”

“I guess I should start at the beginning. When Matty and I went to Boone to check out Appalachian State, I went to the sociology department while he was talking to the coaches. The professor I spoke with was pretty awesome, but he didn’t think I should attend ASU. He gave me a list of schools where he thought I would be a perfect fit—and I’ve chosen one.”

“Oh?”

“I’m going to attend UNCC—here in Charlotte—and major in Religious Studies. Then I’m going to seminary. I’m going to be a minister, Dad. It’s the only answer that comes to me when I question what I’m going to do with my life.”

Whoa! Dad was fucking gobsmacked! He sat across from me with his mouth hanging open. It wasn’t long before tears started welling up and falling down his face. He still didn’t say anything, though. This was getting me nervous.

“Uh—Dad? I hope those tears are at least coming from a little happiness.”

“Oh my God, yes—I—I—I just never imagined that I would hear those words from either of my sons.”

“Well, I seriously doubt you’ll hear those from Nate. He walking trouble, ya know!”

“Yeah, your mother and I both know. But—wait. Are you sure about this? It’s not a decision that’s to be made lightly.”

“Dad—don’t laugh at me, okay? I didn’t make any decision. It was like the decision was made for me. I mean, the more I thought about what I wanted to do with my life, that was the only answer that would come to me.”

“Why aren’t you getting your BA at Appalachian? Don’t you want to be with Matty?”

“Of course I do—more than anything! But he has to live in the athletic dorms for at least two years. We would barely even see each other for half the school year. We talked about how frustrating it would be to be so close and so far apart at the same time. But if I went to school here, we could plan our times together. Besides—Boone is only a couple of hours away. It’s not like we’d be going to schools in completely different parts of the country.”

“Hmmm—that makes sense then. Would you live here at home and commute?”

“I dunno yet—I haven’t gotten that far in my thinking. I still haven’t been accepted to UNCC, ya know.”

“Son—you a going to be graduating near the top—if not the top—of your class. You can get into school pretty much anywhere you want. So why stay here in Charlotte?”

“What? Are you trying to get rid of me or somethin’?”

“No! Not at all. It just seems you would want to go away to college.”

“Well, that’s the second part of what I wanted to talk with you about.”

“I’m all ears!”

“Well—starting next Fall, I was kinda hoping that you would let me work at the church. Kinda like a youth minister or something.”

“You’d want to work with me? That’s really the last thing I ever thought I would hear you say! I’m—well—I’m overwhelmed. I’m sure I could get the board to—yes! Yes! I would love to have you at my side in the church.”

Whoa! Dad was outright crying like a fool now.

“Come here, son. You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet just now!”

I walked over to Dad and ended up getting the best-damned hug I’ve ever had from him.

That night, when I told Matty about the talk Dad and I had, he was pretty stoked that I was going to be a minister. Then he fucked the ever-living shit out of me—making me nut all over the fucking bed. God! I love how that boy can make me nut like that!

School ended, which meant Matty and I started our jobs at Carowinds. Once again, we were costumed characters. I was Charlie Brown, and Matty was Snoopy. We would spend about half our day out in the park, mingling with the kids while we posed for endless pictures. We also performed in two shows, twice a day. Pretty easy job—pretty good money.

I wondered why Matty still decided to work there. It wasn’t like he needed the extra cash. When I asked him why his answer was the best thing a boy in love could hear—“So I can spend more of my summer with you!” How the fuck can you not love a boy like that!?!

There was one afternoon in the park I have to tell you about. Matty and I were doing our rounds with the visitors when a group of teen boys thought it would be fun to harass a couple of cartoon characters. Now, you should know that each character has a handler to help them navigate the park and work the crowds.

That particular afternoon, we were near the park entrance, welcoming people and posing for pics, when the four boys decided to start harassing us. When the handlers politely suggested they move on, they became more belligerent, and one of them thumped the back of my Charlie Brown head—just hard enough to send it flying off my shoulders! I was in total shock as I saw my head rolling down the slight hill that led to the front gates. Before I could do anything, my handler was pushing me to a door that would take us behind a wall. All I could hear was the screaming of young children—young children horrified to see Charlie Brown’s head rolling down the hill!

Well, I got the head back, and the four boys were detained while their parents were called. They were also banned from the park for three years. I became an instant legend at the park with comments like, “Whoa! You were the dude in the Great Charlie Brown Beheading?”

Matty had a good time with it as well. We would be in bed, and he would say something like, “I hear Charlie Brown needs head.” And then he would go down on me in the way only Matty Jordan could!

In the middle of the Summer, towards the end of July, Matty and I both turned 18. Our birthdays were on the 25^th and 26^th, and we were able to get both days off. On the first day, Mom, Dad, and Nate joined the squad and came out at the lake house. Wow! Just between you and me—whenever I just think about the lake house, I pop major wood! I don’t think I have to tell you why!

Mom and Dad fixed a great dinner, and we all had an awesome time. After cake and ice cream, we all sat around in the living room and played charades. None of us is very good—except my theatre-boy-quarterback and Nate’s thinks-he-is-but-isn’t-quite boyfriend, Simon. Luckily they were both on my team, and we ended up killing the others!

After Mom and Dad left with the boys, the rest of us put on our swim trunks and hit the hot tub—only it didn’t last very long since July nights in North Carolina are fucking hot enough! We sent everyone off to the different bedrooms, and it didn’t take long for me to slide my cock into Matty’s magnificent ass and bring both of us to an incredible birthday nut!

As we were chilling and getting ready to fall asleep, Matty hit me with a comment that at first destroyed my world—but ended shaking it up in a good way.

“Babe?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this, and I need to talk to you about it before I tell your parents.”

“What’s up? Should I be concerned?”

“Nope. We’ve kinda talked about this before, but now that I’m eighteen—well, I want to move into the house next door—my house.”

Of course, all I heard was that Matty wanted to move out. I didn’t even think back to our earlier conversations, and it took all of three seconds for the tears to start flowing. I thought I was gonna lose my boy!

“Hey! What’s with the tears? Aren’t you excited?”

I sniffled and answered him as bravely as I could, “If—if that’s what you think you need to do, I can’t stop you.”

“What? You’re coming with me. We talked about this!”

“We did? I mean—I guess we did. But I thought it was just a passing thought when all that inheritance bullshit happened.”

“No, baby. I mean it whenever I tell you that I intend to spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing will keep us apart.”

“Except for college.”

“Yeah? And that’s just a short drive away from each other—doesn’t count.”

“God, I’m a fucking idiot. I thought you wanted to get away from me!”

“Hell-the-fuck no! I think we should tell your parents when we get home. How do you think they’ll take it?”

“Dad will challenge us with a shitload of ‘what-ifs,’ and ‘what-abouts,’ and Mom will probably cry.”

“It’s only next door. They’ll still see us a lot.”

“Well, I guess we’ll talk to them about it tomorrow. That should be fun.”

“Don’t worry about it! They know we’re good boys. And then—when you start college, you can stay in the house—it’ll kinda be like you’re going off to college, too.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Mom’s gonna have to teach us how to cook something besides spaghetti, though.”

“Yeah, she’ll love it!”

“Kiss me?”

So he did, and that led to hard cocks—and Matty fucking me this time. Damn! I thought for sure my boy would have been tired, but he fucking pummeled my ass! I’m glad the master bedroom is at the other end of the house, but we were so loud for that second round, I’m sure everyone heard us. We’ll find out in the morning, I guess.

At about 8:00 in the morning, we woke up to the smell of bacon frying. I swear—bacon is the best alarm clock on the planet! Matty and I put on our bathrobes and made our way into the kitchen. Eric was at the stove, cooking away.

“Jesus Christ, boys! Do you fuck that loud in your parents’ house?”

“Sorry dude! Eddie and I get a little carried away sometimes!”

“Nah, it’s all good. Kinda hot, really. I was strokin’ off a nut with you guys both times!”

“Ha! I guess it’s kinda like having a three-way without the guilt or awkwardness.” Shit! Where do I come up with that garbage?

One by one, the rest of the squad made it into the kitchen and did their best to try and embarrass us—and they were pretty successful. But I can tell you I will never have a single regret when it comes to making love with my boy! Zero!

After breakfast, we all took the boat out onto the lake and spent a couple of hours water-skiing. We had a great time and followed it by laying out on the deck and working on our tans. We cleaned up the house and stopped at TGIFriday’s on the way back into the city. We all decided that our Senior year was going to be one for the ages!

We got back home later that afternoon, and Mom had made a pan of lasagna. She used some of the ideas she got from that restaurant in New York, and I’ll be damned if she did the impossible—Mom perfected perfection!

After dinner, I asked Nate if he wouldn’t mind going up and playing some video games so Matty and I could talk with Mom and Dad. After assuring him that he wasn’t in trouble (I think he was still afraid we were gonna out Simon and him), he agreed. Matty and I did the dishes and later met Mom and Dad in the living room.

“Hello, boys! Thank you for doing the dishes—and sending Nathan upstairs. Your father and I don’t get a lot of alone time anymore.”

“Funny you should say that—you see, that’s kinda what Matty and I want to talk with you about.”

“What’s up, son? Was there a problem at the lake house this weekend?”

“Oh, definitely not! That place is so wonderful. I don’t think it’s even possible for trouble to make an appearance out there. Mom really knew what she was doing when she convinced Dad to buy that place.”

We just sat and stared at each other until I couldn’t help it any longer—and snorted my way into a laughing fit.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Usually, when Matty and I need to talk with you guys, we rehearse and go over what we want to say. We didn’t this time, and we don’t know who’s supposed to start!”

“No worries, Eddie—I’ll start.”

Matty took a deep breath and looked at my parents. “I want you to know that for the rest of my life, I’ll be grateful for the love and sacrifice you’ve given for me to stay here with Eddie. To say that it changed my life would probably be the biggest understatement in the history of the human race.”

“Matthew, you don’t have to thank us for that. You’ve always been like a son to Clay and me, so bringing you into our home was not just the easiest thing but also the only logical thing we could do. The entire family loves you! I do hope you know that.”

“I do—and I don’t want you to think that what I’m going to say has anything to do with my love for you two. But—(deep breath)—now that I’m eighteen, I would like to move into the house next door—and I want Eddie to move in with me now that he’s also eighteen.”

Fuck! Mom’s tears started in less than three seconds while Dad sat back on the sofa and pulled her into his side. “Eddie? What do you have to say about this?”

“I’ve had some pretty incredible things happen in my life—especially in the last year. Most people my age would have probably imploded with all the stress and pressure that came with that stuff. But they didn’t have what I had—you guys and Matty. Between the three of you, I was able to keep my feet on the ground. For the most part, Matty and I are good kids. And that’s because of you.”

“It’s only next door. We’ll still come over a lot. Heck, you’re Eddie’s family—mine too, now. We just want to have some time to ourselves before we are split up for four years.”

“How are you boys going to survive? Eddie can’t make spaghetti for every meal!”

“I was thinking that as long as there’s no late afternoon stuff, I could come over while you’re fixing dinner and have you teach me how to cook?”

“I think we can arrange that!”

“Matty?”

“I think I’m going to let Eddie learn how to cook. I like cleaning and organizing.”

Dad cleared his throat and looked at Matty—and then at me. “Well—I realize you are both eighteen, and while your mother and I can’t stop you from moving next door, I know we would like to have you go with a few simple agreements.”

“But I don’t want them to go!” Shit! Mom was whining now, and Dad was laughing at her!

“Mom! That’s not fair!”

“Believe it or not, your mother and I have talked about this happening, and I can say we’re not completely surprised. Now, while you are both eighteen and can legally live wherever you like, we will give you our complete support on a couple of conditions.”

“Can I change my mind?” Mom was still sniffling—geez!

“No, Mags, We can make this work for all of us. Now—even though you are both of legal age, you are still in high school. We would like you to have the same school-night curfews that you have here. What you do on non-school nights, we can leave that to your better judgment.”

“That’s probably a good idea. You okay with that, Eddie?”

“Yeah. We don’t want to go messing up our Senior year.”

“Excellent. Because it is your Senior year, your grades must be kept up. If your grades fall after the first semester, you might be asked to move back into this house for your last semester.”

“No problem, Dad. I have a pretty easy schedule next year. Grades won’t be a problem at all for me—and they never are a problem for Matty, right?”

“Can I add something, dear?”

“Sure thing, Mags. Boys, watch out—this might be brutal!”

Mom slapped Dad on the chest and told him to hush. I hope Matty and I love each other like that when we get old! “Boys—I want you to plan on having your evening meals with us—at least until the end of the summer. That way, Eddie can learn to cook, and I’ll rest knowing that the two of you are getting at least one good meal a day.”

Matty loved that idea! “That’s perfect! I love your food, and if Eddie’s gonna learn to cook from anyone, it’s awesome that it’s going to be from you!”

And just like that, it was settled. Matty and I spent the next week moving our shit over to his—I mean our—new home. We probably could have made the move in a couple of nights, but Matty insisted that we fuck in every room of the house before we moved in. Hell, it was exhausting—but soooo much fucking fun!

Before we knew it, the first day of school came around. As soon as we were in homeroom, I was called to the new principal’s office. Dr. Weathers was a kind, sincere, and super-smart lady. She told me she saw all the hoopla on GMA and was excited when she learned she was coming to this school.

Just then, the door knocked, and she called for the others—Shelby Cooper and Harrison Proctor—to come into the office.

“Shelby, Harrison—please have a seat. The reason I called the three of you in this morning is to let you know that the three of you are neck-and-neck in the valedictorian race. Only four points are separating first and third place. Your grades this year will make the difference between who gets to give a speech during the ceremony, who gets to say the invocation, and who gets to listen to the other two.”

I could feel Harry and Shelby’s eyes on me—and it didn’t feel all that great. I mean, I’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with me being a jock—or gay. They looked down on pretty much everyone in the school. And I don’t know of anyone who wanted to hang with the two most boring people on the planet.

I don’t really give a flying fuck about being valedictorian. Still, I have to admit there would be a great pleasure in being the one to give the speech at graduation—especially if I could look down at my classmates and show them that I genuinely cared about them and their futures. Shelby and Harry would just give one of those boring “we’re at the crossroads of our lives” kind of speeches.

It was a blast going to the football games this year. Seeing my boy make all the plays he needed to make sure we stayed at the top of the conference standings was incredible. Even more incredible was the post-game sex adventures in our house! Damn, Matty Jordan could fuck forever after the high of a game—and I happily took every pounding thrust he had to give!

I was doing pretty well with my last year of soccer as well—and I fucked the shit outta my quarterback after every one of my matches. God, I loved having sex in our own place! We were loud and totally dirty pretty much every time!

By the time November rolled around, I was pretty much cooking most of the meals over at Mom and Dad’s. I have to say, I was pretty good at it—and had a blast coming up with new things to cook. I made up what turned out to be Matty’s favorite meal, too. I called it Mexican Lasagna. Instead of noodles, I used tortillas. I used chicken, jalapenos, onions, and queso for the sauce and sprinkled a little cilantro on top after it came out of the oven. It was fucking amazing!

For Thanksgiving, Matty and I invited the family out to the lake house. I started watching every cooking show I could and was pretty confident I knew how to fix up a turkey. Mom made pumpkin pies, but I made the rest of the dinner. I got up at 5:00 in the morning to get started, and by 9:00, the bird was in the oven. All the side dishes were made and in the fridge, so I could put them in the oven while the turkey was finishing.

I injected the turkey with Cajun seasoning before putting it in the oven, and the flavor ended up being incredible. I knew it was good when Mom asked me what I did to make the turkey taste so good! I also made the traditional green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes, a sausage and almond dressing, and one of my new favorite dishes—Brussel sprouts au gratin. It was amazing!

That night Matty and I made love long and slow. We flip-flopped and ended with me shooting a gigantic nut deep inside my boy—the boy I loved more than life itself. I had so many things to be thankful for—and Matty was a huge part of every one of them.

Towards the end of the semester, the football team ended up in the state championship game but lost in the final moments. While I was sad for the team, Matty was pleased with how well he had played—and I was pleased with how well I was fucked that night!

The soccer team ended up with a winning record (barely), which was pretty good for us. But the biggest surprise came when Shelly, Harry, and I were called into the office to learn that I was now at the top of the class. Shelby was just two points behind me, and Harry had fallen pretty far out of the picture.

Harry was bitter, and it showed when he blurted out to Dr. Weathers, “Surely you don’t intend to allow a—a—homosexual jock to represent the entire class during the graduation ceremony!

“Young man, you and I both know that the only requirement for Valedictorian is the top GPA in the class. You might want to think about your behavior right now because you are getting very close to violating the school’s policy on non-discrimination and bullying.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be—”

“Don’t test me, Harry! You will lose! Eddie, I’m sorry you had to hear those comments.”

“That’s okay, Dr. Weathers. I’ve heard a lot worse—from people who actually have personalities. Sorry—I shouldn’t have said that.”

When we got out of the office, Harry stormed off to his next class. Shelby walked with me to the cafeteria. “You know something, Hamilton? In some ways, I hope you are the one to give the speech. You have a lot more to say than I do—and it would be a blast to see the administrators’ faces when you say what I know you will say.”

“Thanks, Shelby. You’re alright, ya know.”

“You too, Hamilton. Sorry about Harry. He’s a total ass. He’s been a whiney dick ever since I told him I wouldn’t let him sleep with me. Yuck! Could you imagine?”

“Actually, I could—and the reaction I’m having is pretty much the same as yours!”

Shelby howled as we walked down the hallway. From that moment on, She and I became good friends. Matty and I had her over to the house a few times to work on a project they were working on in AP English Lit.

After the Christmas break, things started to get super crazy. Matty started working on the Spring Musical, which was Hairspray. He was cast as Link, the teen heartthrob who stole Tracy’s heart—and the show, as far as I’m concerned!

Baseball was okay. We didn’t make it into the playoffs this year, which was a good thing since everything else was insane.

This time, I was the one to give Matty the promposal—and I made sure nothing was filmed. It involved a path of rose petals that led to me sitting naked on the bed, slowly stroking my hard cock. When Matty walked into the room, I asked him if he would like to play with my cock after prom this year? Luckily he said yes—and then he blew me until I nutted down his throat!

Prom was something else! Matty and I danced together, just like any other couple. We both danced with some of the girls but always came back to each other. The coolest part was that Matty and I were both named Prom Kings! When it was time for our dance, the deejay played a country oldie—“Could I Have This Dance”—and I have to tell you I cried all the way through the song the first time Anne Murray sang the words “for the rest of my life.” When Matty and I get married, I want that song for our first dance!

I don’t think I have to tell you what the after-prom was like! Matty got us a luxury suite at the Drury Hotel—this beautiful old hotel with four-poster beds and overstuffed furniture. I don’t think I have to tell you what two horny teen gay boys can do with a four-poster bed and neckties—which Matty happened to pack, like any good boy scout!

Matty tied my arms and legs to the posts. It wasn’t too tight. He wanted to see me squirm as he tortured my entire body with this magical tongue. But when he put the pillow under my as and fucked me while I was all tied up—holy shit! I don’t think I’ve ever had a more intense hands-free nut in my life! I seriously doubt I’ll ever have one like that again!

Later that night, I did a slight role reversal and gave Matty the same treatment. The only difference was he kept talking dirty to me the whole time. He would say shit like, “You wanna fuck my tight hole, daddy?” Well—I was an entire day older than he was! He would tell me where he wanted my tongue next.

Just before I put the pillow under his ass, I stuffed my underwear in his mouth. Oh my God! You should have seen the surprised look in his eyes! I fingered his hole while my tongue worked his taint. I could feel him tighten up after a few minutes, so I had to stop. Oh man! I fucked a giant hands-free load out of him—just like he had done to me!

After we had calmed down, he said he knew what he was getting us for Christmas. I kissed him and said, “Please let it be a four-poster bed!” He just smiled—and I knew!

And yes—for Christmas, Matty and I replaced the king-sized bed in the master suite with a queen-sized four-poster beauty. Now—you need to get your dirty mind out of the gutter! We didn’t tie each other up all the time—not even once a week. We saved that for special occasions—and those times were always mind-blowing!

About three weeks before the end of the school year, Dr. Weathers called me back into the office. Yeah, my stomach got a little tied up, figuring that this was the big announcement.

When I knocked on the door, Dr. Weathers called out for me to come in. I was surprised to see Mom and Dad there and sat between them.

“Reverend and Mrs. Hamilton, Eddie—the reason I have called the three of you here is to let you know that Eddie has been named Valedictorian this year. He will be addressing the entire class at the graduation ceremony.

“Oh! Wow! Thank you, Dr. Weathers! This is—wow!”

I got a hug and kiss on the cheek from Mom. I got a hug and kiss on top of the head from Dad. This made them happy. That makes me happy. I looked up at a smiling principal. “Is there a special theme? Anything you want me to say? Anything you want me not to say?”

“There are really no requirements. I would suggest, however, that you look back on your years as a student here. Perhaps talk about what the future may or may not hold for you and your fellow classmates. Eddie, you are the smartest student in your class. I trust that. You will know what to say.”

“I’ll have it ready for you to look over in a week.”

“Not necessary. You are well-spoken and very bright. I’m sure you will put together a delightful speech. Now—if Harry or Shelby were to be the speaker, then I would have insisted on looking then. And then I would hand them a revised Valedictorian speech that the school would never forget!

* * * * *

Who would’ve thought? I mean, really now! Who would’ve thought that Eddie Hamilton, an openly gay high school jock, would be standing in this very spot at this very moment addressing the Senior class of Ardrey Kell High School? Well, it happened—and here I am!

For most of us, the past four years have been pretty crazy. There were the teachers we liked—some even became role models. There were even some teachers we weren’t too crazy about—but we still learned from them.

As we moved in and out of friendships, we found ourselves growing up and laying the foundation for the people we would become. As we grew and matured, it became clear what we hope to achieve in our post-high school years. For many of us, we’ll be off to colleges and universities across the United States. For many others, we will begin our careers in areas as varied as the people themselves.

For me, I’ll be attending college here in Charlotte and work towards becoming a minister. Who would’ve thought? Me? A minister? But hey—it was one of those things that seemed to find me—it wasn’t really something I sought out.

Who would’ve thought that it would be a former classmate that convinced me to follow that path? You see, this former classmate literally tried to kill me for the mere fact that he didn’t like that I was gay.

At the trial, my father and I convinced the judge and prosecutors to allow this boy to be sent to a place where he could fix his life. A place where he could become the amazing, positive, generous young man we knew was inside his tortured soul.

Most of you remember Donald. For those of you who don’t, it’s okay. He returned to Charlotte last week. He’s here tonight. He’ll be graduating with all of us, although school policy won’t allow him to walk the stage with the rest of us.

Donald turned his life completely around—not because he had to—but because he chose to. We stayed in touch while he was in Utah, and—who would’ve thought?—the dude who tried to kill me has become a wonderful, dear friend. Donald Harper will be attending UNCC with me in the fall and plans to attend seminary with me. Who would’ve thought?

Donald is sitting with my family tonight. He won’t get any recognition tonight. But of all the people in this amazing class, I feel he deserves it more than any of us. Donald Harper chose to—and succeeded in—turning his life completely around. That deserves recognition!

I looked over to my family and saw Donald’s face in his hands. His shoulders were moving up and down with each sob as the entire class—and most everyone else—stood and cheered.

Who would’ve thought that I would have completely rewritten my speech? I was initially going to speak on how we should be the people we are—and be proud of that. But after sitting with Donald and talking with him over a long—VERY long lunch, I knew that my speech needed to be about the choice we have to become the people we NEED to be—and how powerful that decision can be.

You see, of all people—it was actually Donald Harper who convinced me that I needed to pursue the ministry. Who would’ve thought? I mean, really??

Yeah, I’m grateful for the wonderful friendship I now have with Donald. But at the same time, I’m so very grateful for the 1,238 of you sitting here in front of me. I know every person who has ever stood in this spot and spoken to their classmates has said something like, “you guys are the best class to ever graduate from AKHS.” Well—let me tell you, from my personal experience—you truly ARE the best class to ever graduate from this school. Later tonight, when you all leave and go your separate ways, there will be a huge hole and a sense of loss felt at this school.

You see, when things started going badly in my life, it was you—this amazing group of Seniors—that stood behind me. YOU supported me. YOU prayed for my recovery. Yeah, some of you had some smart-ass things to say about me, but those were just words from a few people. The power of this amazing group of people standing behind me is way more powerful than a few disparaging comments.

The insanity of last Spring’s Good Morning America fiasco was worth it all when Matty and I got back to school and felt the excitement—and acceptance—in the air. Who would’ve thought?

But—holy cow! Who EVER would’ve thought that you guys would vote Matty and me prom kings? What the heck were you thinking? Didn’t you realize that you guys would forever be known as the very first AKHS class to elect a couple of dudes to reign over prom? But I have to admit, the moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life was the standing ovation you guys gave us when we did that dance—all by ourselves—in the middle of the ballroom. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my entire life—and then I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of my fellow classmates in my entire life.

Jeez! Who would’ve thought that I would get distracted and veer a bit off-topic? Welcome to my Matty’s world!

So I was talking about becoming the person we choose to be in our lives. I can personally attest to the value of those words.

You see, when I was a Sophomore, I began having strange feelings about the person who was my best friend for my entire life. We grew up together literally from the day we were brought home from the hospital. We had an amazing closeness that I would venture to say rarely happens between two people. Early in my Junior year, that friend lost his mother. I was there for him—just as any close friend would be. But the more I was there for him, the more I began to realize my feelings for him were growing in a way I really didn’t want them to.

I mean—who would’ve thought that the preacher’s kid—the jock—would be gay? I definitely didn’t want to believe that—let alone actually BE that! Why would I want to be someone people hated? Why would I want to be someone family members might be ashamed of? Why would I want to be someone who would have to fight for the same basic rights “normal” people have without even trying?

Who would’ve thought that a few months later, I would find out that my dear friend was trying to hide the same feelings? Who would’ve thought that we would finally talk about it and discover that there might be a surprise in store when you choose to let your heart love the person you are supposed to love? Who would’ve thought that your family—including your preacher father—would love and accept you AND your boyfriend as if there was absolutely nothing unusual about it?

Who would’ve thought that your classmates would accept you as if there was absolutely nothing different about who you are? And trust me—I never would’ve believed how complete I would feel when I truly allowed myself to be the person I was meant to be.

So to my fellow classmates, I say this—if you find that you are suppressing feelings because you might think they aren’t “normal,” give yourself a chance. Those suppressed feelings and emotions might just be the foundation for the person you are meant to be. And I am here to say, with the utmost confidence—if each and every one of us allow ourselves to be the people we are meant to be—the world will be a so much better place to live—and this WILL be the most amazing class to ever graduate from Ardrey Kell High School.

Thank you. And God bless each and every one of us as we begin our new journeys.