A Marching Band Story - 5. Chapter 5

As I slowly disentangled myself from the mess Connor and I had made of the sheets, I can only imagine the look of excited contentment mixed with bewildered amazement that crossed my face. Watching my young lover stride ever so confidently toward the hotel bathroom completely naked, preparing to shower with me, was like one of my wildest fantasies come true. And after the rather rousing morning we had filled with kisses, sweat, and cum, a nice hot shower with the boy of my dreams sounded like heaven on earth.

After sorting out the knotted bedsheets, I quickly trotted over to the bathroom where Connor had already started the shower. The shower was rather nice, this being a five-star mountain hotel and all, and it was most certainly big enough for the two of us. Connor had already entered the shower and had begun to lather himself up with the extravagant soap provided by the hotel.

“Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation?”, Connor asked, flashing me his mischievous grin which by this point I had committed to memory.

I smiled back at him facetiously. “Well, excuse me, sir, I was just taking a moment to admire my devastatingly beautiful boyfriend and how impishly cute he looks lathered with soap.”

“You know, I think that was the first time you ever directly referred to me as your boyfriend”, Connor said with a hint of awed satisfaction in his voice.

“Well, what else would I call the boy with whom I just spent the last 15 minutes or so cuddling, making out, and jacking off?”

“I suppose”, Connor conceded, “but we really don’t have a lot of time for admiration, we have to be down by the buses at 10:30, remember?”

I was quick to respond, amused by Connor’s sarcasm. “And I thought I was the responsible one in this relationship, you know, being a section leader and all.”

I then hopped in the shower with my infuriatingly cute boyfriend and shared our first shower together. After the rather eventful morning we had already shared, I thought it best to keep any sexual activity to a minimum in the shower. Besides, Connor was right when he said we didn’t have much time. After our deeply explorative sexual interactions, our hands seemed to know each other’s bodies as well as we knew our own. I slowly caressed Connor’s already soapy torso while he began to lather me up, paying particularly close attention to my cock and balls. We settled into a sort of rhythm, washing each other while simultaneously erotically massaging our most sensitive areas.

After about ten minutes in the shower, we rinsed ourselves off, dried each other with the opulently plush hotel towels, and tried hard not to overexcite our already inflating dicks. Connor had spent the night in my room away from his things, so we shared my toothbrush, deodorant, and cologne in a mad rush to get ready. After exiting the bathroom, I glanced at the clock which read 10:15 AM, giving us 15 minutes to finish getting ready. I rummaged through my suitcase, settling on a pair of dark blue jeans and a simple plain black t-shirt. I realized that Connor also lacked a change of clothes, so after ransacking my suitcase a bit more, I produced my smallest pair of jeans and tightest logo t-shirt for him to wear.

“Sorry”, I apologized, “you are quite a bit smaller than me, so hopefully these will do.”

Connor quickly put on his borrowed clothes which were still slightly too big for him, the jeans fitting better than the shirt. “Well”, he said with optimism, “I don’t mind. Plus, I can wear one of your sweatshirts so that people don’t notice the t-shirt.”

I threw Connor one of my favorite sweatshirts which he promptly pulled over his toned boyish frame. “See, perfect! Now I look like I always do: wearing a slightly too big sweatshirt that accentuates my devilishly cute and wonderfully petite figure”, Connor said posing for me. Connor then took a deep breath, finally exhaling with a grin, “Not to mention the added bonus that this sweatshirt smells intoxicatingly of you!”

“Hmm, I don’t know about ‘devilishly cute’, but you do look good in my clothes”, I jested. “Now, we should probably briefly stop by your room to grab your coat and hiking boots as today we’re supposed to have brunch at Banff National Park.”

Once I had gathered my things for the day ahead, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and escorted my boyfriend out of the room. I looked back wistfully as I closed the door, realizing that in one night my life had completely changed. I was now dating the boy of my dreams, about to spend the rest of a rather lavish vacation with him by my side. After a couple more moments lost in my own thoughts, Connor slipped his hand into mine and we made our way down the hall towards the elevator. After a quick stroll hand-in-hand through the hotel, we arrived at Connor’s room, which was luckily devoid of any roommates that were bound to have asked too many questions. Connor quickly retrieved his stuff and we made our way down to the lobby, grabbing a hasty bite to eat.

As we left the breakfast area, it was clear that Connor had become increasingly more nervous. Once we spotted one of our fellow band members, he abruptly jerked his hand out of mine. For a moment, I was hurt. I mean, I had just experienced the best night of my life with Connor, and now he was so quick to pull away like all of that meant nothing. But, I suppose part of me expected this. I was the second person to whom Connor came out, the first who accepted him with open arms. While he might have the courage and bravery to be himself in the presence of someone who he knows loves him unconditionally, it is a completely different matter when he is faced with his friends from whom he has hidden for so long.

I gave Connor my best look of encouragement, ever so lightly squeezing his shoulder. Unfortunately, I had the feeling this would be the last moment of intimate contact we would have for a while. Even though Connor was still a ball of nerves, we continued forward towards the main lobby doors, saying hello to our friends and trying our best to mingle with the crowd.

Thankfully, Kyle was nowhere to be seen, but I could tell Connor was searching the crowd, waiting for that problem to rear its ugly head.

As we exited the hotel into the cold morning mountain air, I pulled Connor aside. “Hey, I know Kyle is probably the last thing you want to talk about right now, but you do ride the same bus as him….”

“Oh shit! I-I-I totally f-f-forgot!”, Connor lapsed back into his stuttered speech. “W-w-what am I g-g-going to do?!? I c-c-can’t face him r-r-right now!”

“Hey hey hey hey hey, it’s going to be okay”, I said in a calming whisper. “I think I have an idea.”

At that moment the director Mr. Erickson appeared, ready to rally the band and shepherd the large group of bleary-eyed teenagers onto the buses. I quickly made my way over to him, surprised at my sense of purpose. For those of you who don’t know a ton about band, usually, the students who are the best players, have been section leaders for a long time, and are generally really responsible tend to get their way with the band directors.

“Good morning Mr. Erickson!”, I said with maybe a bit too much cheerfulness in my voice. “How are you this fine morning?”

Mr. Erickson looked slightly startled at my enthusiasm. “Oh, um, hello Jarrod, it’s, ah, good to see you so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.”

“Yeah, I had, um, a restful night. Anyways, I was hoping to discuss with you a matter of relative importance.”

“I always have time for our most valuable player”, Mr. Erickson stated matter-of-factly. “So, what can I do for you?”

I grinned ever so slightly, proud of my ingenuity. "Well, unfortunately, it appears that two of the band members have gotten into a sort of fight. It’s kind of difficult to explain, and I don’t know if I even fully understand it myself, but Kyle and Connor aren’t doing so well. I think it would be best if they rode on separate buses for the time being.”

Mr. Erickson grimaced with a look of I-am-so-tired-of-dealing-with-petty-teenagers crossing his face. “Well, I trust your judgment Jarrod, so if you think separating them is the best course of action, then it probably is.”

“Awesome!”, I said again with a bit too much enthusiasm, causing Mr. Erickson to give me quite the confused look. “Uh, well, what I mean, of course, is, ah, that I am glad I was able to help. How about I change buses with Connor to bus three and see if I can’t help resolve things.”

Mr. Erickson still had a bewildered look on his face. “Well, if you think that’ll help, then by all means go ahead. Now, I have to make sure everyone else is ready to go.”

Mr. Erickson walked away, mumbling something about kids these days, moving towards the center of the cluster of band kids to make his announcements. I quickly made my way over to Connor who looked like he was trying to hide behind one of the bushes that ornamented the front doorway.

I must have been grinning like a fool because Connor smiled back at me rather curiously. “So, if I am reading that ridiculous face of yours correctly, I’m guessing your plan worked?”

I gasped playfully, the fake hurt clear on my face. “Of course my plan worked, o ye of little faith, my plans always work.”

“So, what exactly did you do?”, Connor asked wistfully.

“Well, my young padawan”, I said while grinning triumphantly, “you see, when you are as responsible and as good a player as I am, you can basically get anything you want from the director. So, I was able to move both of us to bus three, the least crowded bus, away from Kyle, your friends, and my friends!”

A look of amazement mixed with relief washed over Connor. “Seriously?!? Jarrod, that’s wonderful! I never doubted you for a second!”

“No, no, of course you didn’t. Well, I think it’s time we headed over to bus three, don’t you?”

At that moment, Mr. Erickson had finished his rousing rendition of the morning announcements and the herd of adolescents had begun to disperse. Connor and I walked hurriedly to bus three, and by some act of God, we didn’t even see Kyle. We made it safely onto the bus, which, as expected, was full of rookies. The back of the bus was all but deserted, so Connor and I settled into the very last seat.

I could tell Connor was still hesitant, so I ever so deftly slipped my hand into his. “Everything is fine: we haven’t run into Kyle, and we’re on a bus where no one knows who we are.”

Connor still looked uncomfortable. “I know Jarrod, it’s just that I don’t know if I’m ready for this. Everything feels so right when I’m with you, but I am terrified to be out here”, he gestured vaguely, “in public. I guess I’m just not comfortable enough with myself.”

Despite Connor’s fear, I wrapped him in a quick hug, continuing to discreetly hold his hand. “I completely understand. The last thing I want to do is move too fast and push you away, especially when we only have a week or so together before this trip is done. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to”, I said while letting go of his hand, “but what really matters is that I’m not going anywhere. If you’re uncomfortable with public displays of, well, anything, then we can just be friends in public, lovers in private. Two guys hanging out together who are friendly enough isn’t anything surprising. If we play our cards right, no one will be the wiser.”

“I mean, I don’t know,” the skepticism was grudgingly clear, “I guess it could work”.

“How many times have you seen me hang out with boys in the past and just assumed we were friends?”, I asked quickly. “The only reason you might expect something now is that you know I’m gay.”

“Well, that doesn’t necessarily mean that people won’t suspect us….”

“Connor, do you trust me?”, I asked earnestly, trying to convey all of my unending love in a single gaze.

Connor looked back at me, his face an indiscernible amalgamation of emotions. “I…. I trust you, Jarrod”.

I met Connor with a reassuring smile as the rumble of the bus’s engine reverberated throughout the vehicle. We were finally off on our journey. It would take an hour to reach our destination, so we had quite a bit of time on our hands. After such an eventful night, Connor and I were more than content to sit in silence together, taking in the ethereal scenes of nature that passed us by as we descended from the mountains into the city.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity of peaceful silence, I endeavored to learn more about the cute boy sitting next to me. “Hey, so, I know we’ve been moving at what feels like lightspeed, but we still don’t actually know a lot about each other”.

Connor looked back at me pensively, “Yeah, I guess so, I mean, when you think about it, we’ve really only been a “we” for a couple of hours. So, what do you want to know?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “Well, umm, I don’t know, how about…. what defines your life right now?”

“Wow, straight to the hard questions, huh”, Connor remarked with a grin. “Umm, well, band is obviously a big part of my life. Besides marching band, I’m in concert band in which I play the bassoon”.

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a second, you play the bassoon?!?”

Connor stifled a giggle. “Yeah, bassoon is actually my main instrument, but since I can’t play that in marching band, I decided to join the drumline as it is one of the easier things to learn from scratch”.

“It’s a good thing you did”, I jested, “because otherwise I wouldn’t have had anyone to fuck on this trip”.

This time Connor let out a full-blown laugh. “Well, I’m glad I could be here to offer you a nice piece of ass on your last trip. But, getting back to your original question, other than band I guess boy scouts has a super huge influence on my life, for better or for worse. Apart from that, I mean, my family is super important to me, and I guess my friends, like Ky–”

Connor faltered for a moment, and I was quick to respond. “Hey, it’s okay. One of the things about being gay in this stupidly heteronormative world is that you quickly find out who your friends are and who they are not. I know the loss of Kyle is going to be hard, probably one of the hardest things you’ve ever done, but I promise it will get better. Although you might lose some friends, you will find even better ones that will accept you who you are”.

Connor took a moment before he responded, his eyes touched with the slightest glistening of tears. “Friends like you”.

“Yeah”, I flashed him yet another reassuring smile as I wiped the tears from his eyes, “friends like me”.

Connor gathered his composure, taking my hand in his. “Well, what about you? What influences your life right now?”

“Hmm, well, band is, of course, a huge influence. I am in literally every band imaginable and then some, plus my band directors back at my school have been major role models for me. School is also super important to me. I don’t really like drawing attention to myself, but I am a straight-A student who has secured a full ride to a four-year private college. Umm, well, like you, I also really care about my family, though I am not out to them yet. Surprisingly, my faith is also an integral part of my identity. My church has been nothing but accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, which has been extremely helpful for my self-acceptance. Last but certainly not least, slowly but surely being gay has become a part of my identity. When I was younger, I couldn’t even bear the thought of being gay, but now I guess I’ve come to accept it as part of my core identity”.

Connor looked at me with wonder and astonishment. “Wow…. I mean, just wow. I know everyone is a complex three-dimensional human being, but I get the feeling you have a lot of complexities. And the fact that you chose me, of all people, to love…. I am at a loss for words”.

“Hey now, don’t sell yourself short!” I gazed lovingly into my boyfriend’s eyes. “You are amazing, and I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you”.

Connor’s mischievous grin returned to his face. “We could argue forever about who is more undeserving, but tell me more about college”.

I gazed into the distance, my mind suddenly somewhere far off and distant. “College is, well, terrifyingly exciting. I’ll finally start my journey to become a teacher, but that also means I’m one step closer to the adult world”.

“It’s going to be okay, Jarrod”, Connor said, the concern clear in his face. “You still have a whole summer before college, and I know you are going to be just fine”.

“How can you be so sure?”, I asked apprehensively.

It was now Connor’s turn to give me a reassuring grin. “I just am”.

After that, Connor and I continued to talk about nothing in particular, slowly becoming more comfortable with each other. Soon we arrived at our destination, that day’s main event: Banff National Park. For those of you unfamiliar with Banff, it is essentially a national park whose main attractions include majestic mountains and otherworldly forests, commonly viewed and explored from one of the taller mountains after taking a wonderfully magnificent gondola ride up the mountain. Our particular group had reserved a mountainside brunch, which promised to be nothing short of romantic.

We began to file out of the bus, jittery with excitement for the impending experience. The brisk morning air made me thankful to be wearing a sweatshirt along with my plush winter coat. Connor and I trudged along, side by side, stopping by a parent chaperone to receive our tickets. We both remained hyper-vigilant, constantly looking for a surprise Kyle sighting. I was also painfully aware of the physical distance Connor was putting between us, but I had to keep reminding myself that this is what Connor needed at the moment to feel comfortable.

Connor and I made it safely to the loading dock, and miraculously we were able to commandeer a gondola to share all by ourselves. The ride was absolutely enchanting. The views were stunning, and the late morning sun painted the scenery in tints of yellow, orange, and gold. The mountains, with their icy white caps juxtaposed against the dark powerful rock, offered protection to the dense forests of evergreen, a safe haven of nature in all its splendor. After staring out at the breathtaking surroundings, Connor began to fidget nervously.

“What’s the matter?”, I asked inquisitively.

Connor looked surprised at the question. “Well, umm, I was just thinking that we haven’t even taken a picture together yet, and, well, this would be a good time to, you know, do that”.

I smiled appreciatively at my young lover. “That, babe, is a great idea!”

“You really think so? It’s not, like, super corny?”, Connor asked hesitantly.

“No, it’s just the right amount of corny. Now, come here and let’s take our first picture together as a couple”.

I wrapped Connor in a loving embrace while I pulled out my phone. After framing us in the viewing window just right, all the majesty and glory of the natural world teeming with light and beauty behind us, I was ready to take the picture. Just as I pressed the button, for the first time ever capturing our relationship, Connor leaned over and kissed me, our lips locked in a passionate yet gentle caress.

“That was unexpectedly wonderful”, I sighed contentedly.

Connor smirked mischievously back at me, “Yes, yes it was”.

We continued our gondola ride in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms. I was beginning to wonder if maybe this could work, you know, after this whole trip. Maybe Connor and I could actually become a long-term, long-distance relationship. I know I was probably getting ahead of myself, daring to hope for more, but at that moment I truly loved him.

As our gondola settled into the loading dock with a bit of jostling and rumbling, Connor and I disentangled ourselves, ready for what lay ahead. We exited the gondola, happier and closer than we ever had been before, but that was about to change. We rounded the corner into the dining hall, and we were met face to face by none other than Kyle.

“Hey Connor”, Kyle stated flatly, “I think we need to talk”.