What Is True Love Anyway? - 12. Chapter 12

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Part I - Cold, snowy nights can be fun

Valentine's Day that year was on Friday. I drove over to Joe's house for dinner with him and his family. My folks never did anything for Valentine's Day, but it was always a day for gift giving in the Cannady household. Unbeknownst to any of us, snow started to fall shortly after I arrived.

Joe's mom had fixed my favorite dinner - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and peas. I think Joseph asked her to do it for me. After dinner, we exchanged gifts. Joe's mom and dad gave each other something and Joe and I did the same. For Christmas, Joe had given me the complete set of Beethoven's symphonies on 33 1/3 LP's. It was a really neat gift since Beethoven is one of my favorite composers of classical music, but I have to admit I was looking for something a little more personal.

I gave him a really nice gold bracelet, the kind guys wore back then, except I had it engraved on the underneath side rather than on the top. It said to Joseph, my gift from heaven, with love. It didn't have to say who it was from. He knew.

But Joe had been holding out for Valentine's Day, the day for lovers. It was really kind of embarrassing with his mom and dad sitting there. I mean, they knew about us and all, and I was really comfortable snuggling with Joseph in their presence, but this was different.

Joe had gone all over town to find just the right gift, and he had saved up a lot of money from his job at his dad's workplace. The card he gave me was just a handwritten one, not a Hallmark or Helen Steiner Rice. It said simply, Next to God, I love you the most. May he bind us together in love forever. Just as the dove is a sign of God's love for His son, let this dove be a constant reminder of just how much I love you. Only God can love you more.

When I opened his present, I couldn't help crying. Inside this little box was a gold ring with a dove cut clear through it. After I slipped it onto the ring finger of my right hand and found that it fit perfectly, tears ran down my face. Even though his mom and dad were sitting there watching us, I reached out and drew Joseph to me. Laying my face in the crook of his neck, I hugged him tight.

"Oh Joseph. I don't know which means more, the ring or the card. I love you so much, I'm almost afraid."

"Afraid? Afraid of what?"

"Can this last forever? Can life go on after this? If you bring any more joy into my life, I may not be able to handle it. But I know I couldn't handle it without ALL the joy you bring me. Only God could love you more, Joseph."

It was really embarrassing to be crying in front of his parents, but I couldn't help it and didn't even want to try.

We hugged for a long time after that, eventually sliding down to lay beside each other on the couch to listen to our favorite opera. Yeah, that's something else that made Joseph so special. He liked classical music just as much as I did. It didn't make him cry as often as it did me, but he loved it just the same.

Our favorite opera was The Marriage of Figaro, and it has a song in it that was so appropriate for Joseph and me, especially on this day, the day for lovers, Valentine's Day. The song goes like this:

"Tell me what love is, what can it be?
What is this yearning, burning in me?
Can I survive it, will I endure?
This is my sickness; is there a cure?
First this obsession seizing my brain,
Starting in passion, ending in pain.
I start to shiver, then I'm on fire,
Then I'm aquiver with seething desire.
Who knows the secret, who holds the key?
I long for something - what can it be?
My brain is reeling, I wonder why;
And then the feeling I'm going to die.
By day it haunts me, haunts me by night,
This tender torment, tinged with delight!
Tell me what love is, what can it be?
What is this yearning, burning in me?"

(Author's Note: This song is available on You Tube. Just type the title into the 'search' window.)

That song alone said it all. The first time Joseph and I listened to it together, we knew it was our song.

I don't know which of us fell asleep first, but I found out the next morning that just before they were going to wake us up and send me home (remember, we didn't have sleepovers because of Joe's promise), Joe's parents had looked outside. The snow was so deep they called my parents and suggested that it probably wasn't a good idea for me to be driving.

The folks all agreed it would be OK for me to spend the night as long as we were just on the couch and not sharing a bed. Mom Cannady brought out some blankets and laid them over us before she went to bed.

Sometime during the night Joe and I woke up and realized where we were and that we were alone. We got up and walked over to the window to look outside. The snow must have been a foot deep and still falling.

"The folks must have decided it was safer to let you spend the night than drive home," he whispered to me.

"I guess so. Does this mean we can go to bed now?" I answered.

"Better not. I'm sure the fact that we fell asleep on the couch had something to do with their decision. I'll go get us some pillows off my bed and we can sleep on the floor."

When he came back, Joe had stripped down to his t-shirt and undershorts, so I did the same, not giving any thought to what we might do with our morning boners if his folks got up before we did. We laid down on the floor, covered ourselves with the blankets and went back to sleep in each other's arms.

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw was Joseph's face next to mine. His breath was a little yucky, but his face was beautiful. So serene, so angelic, so sweet and loving. I remember thinking to myself, that bracelet I gave you says it all, Joseph. You are a gift from heaven. You are my angel.

But it wasn't until later that morning that life became complete for me. I had been carrying around a persistent fear that something would happen to split Joe and me just as it had me and Sam. I never let it show, but it was always there, eating at me. But when I woke up the second time, with my head on Joe's shoulder, the first thing I saw was him looking at me. He had the most wonderful smile on his face, and he was stroking my hair and cheek so softly. The look of love that I saw in his eyes banished all the fear that had lingered in my soul for all those months. The fact that he could love me in the morning with bad breath, hair messed up, and everything else convinced me that we would be together forever.

Just as I was about to lean up and kiss him, I heard dad Cannady harrumph to get our attention. I didn't like the scowl I saw on his face. I think he thought we had been up to no good. But Joe was able to calm the waters with just a few words.

"Don't worry, dad. Nothing happened. We just slipped out of our shirts and slacks to keep them from getting so wrinkled. Dan didn't have a change of clothes with him."

"Oh. OK, son, no problem."

Still, we had to wait a few minutes for our erections to go down before we were able to crawl out in just our undies and head for the bathroom. Boy! Was his dad ever strict about that promise Joe had made. Geez!

The rest of the school year was about normal for a senior year in high school. I wasn't really prepared for Joe's graduation gift. But I'll save that for last. I promised Joe he could tell the next part of our story.

Part II - The talent show

Hi. It's me again, Joe. As Dan said, the rest is in two parts. I insisted on telling this part because I knew Dan wouldn't do it justice. Sometimes he can be just too, too shy (humble is what I call it, but he prefers shy).

I didn't know it at the time, and in fact didn't find out about it until we were about to graduate, but just after his break up with Sam, he found a song on a record that touched his heart. It seemed to be written specifically to describe that broken relationship. He listened to that song almost every day and soon knew it frontwards and backwards. He wanted to sing it for Sam, but just knew that this would never happen.

However, when his voice finally changed towards the end of the tenth grade, he rejoined the church choir and continued to develop into a pretty nice baritone. He never sang solos because along with the end of puberty, with its whiskers, pubic hair, and voice change had come an overwhelming shyness. No longer did he try out for singing parts in class musicals, preferring speaking parts only or not even being in the plays the school presented.

But his love for this one particular song by Peter Case seemed to drive him to face challenges as nothing else could. He secretly began taking guitar lessons after school every day. This particular piece included guitar, violin and accordion. Obviously he couldn't play all three of these at once, but he couldn't bring himself to seek out others who might play with him when there was only one song he truly wanted to perform.

After watching a performer on TV play the guitar and harmonica at the same time with a device that hung around his neck and held the harmonica, he decided that he could make the song work with just that combination. So he talked his dad into teaching him the fundamentals of playing the harmonica. Mr. Whittington wasn't real good at it, but he knew the basics. Dan never told him what he had in mind, only that he wanted to fiddle around with the instrument for the fun of it.

Finally, in his senior year, the time came to fulfill his dreams. The school talent show was held every year the week before the Jr/Sr prom and two weeks before graduation. Like the class plays, there were two shows, one in the afternoon for the student body and a second at night for parents and anyone else who wanted to buy a ticket.

Dan tried out as a comic act, telling the story of Cinderella by screwing up the first letters or syllables of many of the words. He intended to use the guitar as a prop, pretending that he couldn't play it and adding bad notes and chords as part of the humor of the story. He didn't tell the teacher-sponsor about the song he was planning to sing because he knew she would make him sing it at the rehearsals which would let the cat of the bag because Sam's group was also in the show. He figured she wouldn't let him do it at the evening show, but that didn't matter. The people who counted would all be at the afternoon performance anyway.

When the day of the show finally arrived, Dan found that he was scheduled to perform about half way through the second half of the program. Sam's group was in the first half and would be sitting in the audience by the time Dan's turn came. This suited him just fine. He really didn't want Sam standing back stage or anywhere near the stage when he sang his song. He was nervous enough about it as it was.

It was a great show with lots of comic routines, singing, and dancing. Sam's group was great and received a long round of applause. When it finally came time for Dan to perform, he set up his tall stool, fussed around with his guitar a bit and then told his Cinderella story. Those of us in the audience loved it, and we laughed ourselves silly.

As we applauded at the end, Dan slipped his harmonica out of his pocket, unfolded the gizmo that held it and slipped it around his neck. When the applause died away, he spoke into the microphone.

"I have a song I'd like to sing. I didn't tell Mrs. A I was going to do this, so I guess I better apologize right away. Next, I'd like to thank my dad for getting me started on the harmonica. He can't be here until tonight, so he probably won't even get to hear this. Finally, the song I'm going to sing is a tune by Peter Case entitled Hidden Love. It's dedicated to some people who are here today. They'll know who they are."

As I sat there wondering if I were one of the ones to whom he was referring, he began:

****** If you haven't listened to the song I attached in the Story Note, now is the time to do so.*****

"Far from the dreams, the bright lights and the boulevards,
In this empty room a guitar makes a band.
Our last conversation still echoes on bare walls,
Like a child's painting of everything we planned.
Across the brown fields and through the frozen meadows,
All around that place we called our own,
We both have to live here in each other's shadow,
Hoping that someday we get home.

Refrain: We kept a secret hidden deep inside,
Hidden love, unbidden love through all the tears we cried,
Though I loved you for a long time, it can't be denied,
Someone sees the dreams we hide.

I woke up in the night, my covers on the floor,
Stripped of all my dreams and all my pride.
The vast black night that conquered me kept coming back for more,
Until I woke and found an angel by my side.

Refrain: We keep a secret hidden deep inside,
Hidden love, unbidden love and all the tears we cry,
Though I've loved you but a short time, it can't be denied,
Someone sees the dreams we hide.
Someone sees the dreams we hide,
The dreams we hide."

Obviously the first two verses and refrain were for Sam, but the third verse and last refrain were for me. I sat there and cried silently, seated next to Kathy, my hand in hers, squeezing so hard she winced with pain. As I heard these words for the first time, knowing full well who each of the verses applied to, I just felt so lucky that the last verse and refrain was for me. Daniel had just called me his angel.

He told me later that the opening instrumental and lyrics of the song only lasted about three minutes, but the instrumental portion at the end added another two minutes as played on the record. But as he finished the lyrics, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his system, and it seemed to build as he got into the combined guitar and harmonica bit.

As he continued to play, the emotion of the words combined with the beauty of the written tune to produce a result that had the audience somewhat mesmerized. At times we sat silently in awe of what we could see and hear happening to Dan. At other times we clapped in rhythm with the music. Dan continued to play the closing instrumental section over and over again with slight variations, apparently improvising as he went along. He played as though possessed - not by demons, but by angels. He told me later that in his own mind he almost felt like God was using this song to tell him that life goes on despite the pains we suffer.

When he finally stopped playing, he had actually added only about three minutes to the total length of the song. But it seemed longer than that. At first there was complete silence. But as the audience began to applaud, Dan finally opened his eyes and stared at the crowd as though he had just become aware of our presence. Tears were streaming from his eyes as the audience gave him a standing ovation, many of us weeping softly with him.

I was standing backstage when the show was over, and watched as the performers that finished out the program immediately sought out Mrs. A who had pulled Dan aside and was talking with him about what he had done. She had been moved by his performance but was also irritated that he had added something to the program for which she hadn't been prepared. She was about to tell him to choose between the story or the song when the other kids found them.

I listened as their request caught her by surprise. They wanted Dan to do both parts of his act, but they wanted him moved to the end of the program. One of the girls spoke for the group.

"Mrs. A, you have to let him do both parts. The story is just too funny to leave out, and the song just has to be left in. Especially since his dad's going to be here tonight. You just have to let him do his entire act. We just want him moved to the end of the program."

Mrs. A and Dan both stared with surprised and confused expressions on their faces. Seeing their confusion, the girl explained.

"Dan's was a tough act to follow. But more importantly, his provides an emotional high point that would be a perfect ending to the whole show. Plus, if he's at the end, it won't be such a big deal if he gets all wrapped up in that music thing like he did this afternoon and forgets when to stop."

Mrs. A finally gave in and moved Dan to the end of the bill for the evening performance.

Soon thereafter, I was finally able to pull Daniel into a darkened classroom. I looked around the hall quickly just as I shut the door behind us. Then I turned, and taking Daniel's face in my hands, I looked deeply into his eyes in the dim light that seeped in from the hallway. He tilted his head slightly to the side, a questioning look coming over his face.

"Daniel, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. If it hadn't been for the fact that half the kids in the audience were in tears, our story would be out in the open. My own tears would have told the world that I knew you were singing to me. I know the first verses were for Sam, but I noticed how you changed the words in the second refrain, and I knew it was for me."

Tears started to fall from my eyes and roll down my cheeks as my love for Daniel gushed forth from deep within me.

"Oh, Daniel, I love you so much," I said. "I just wanted to stand up and shout That song's for ME!!!"

And then I kissed him, a deep, soul wrenching, soul searching kiss that left us both gasping for breath, and hard as rocks of course. Fortunately we both wore briefs, not boxers, so our erections weren't obvious in our somewhat loose fitting slacks. We soon left the room after carefully checking the hallway and made our way back to the school's main entrance where we mingled with the crowd that was just leaving the building.

The performance that night was, if possible, even better. A lot of kids had come back for the evening performance, but I'm sure it wasn't just for Dan. Most of the acts were really good.

I don't know if it was the way I kissed him after the first performance or what, but the song meant even more to me the second time I heard it. And I think he actually played longer at the evening performance than he had in the afternoon. I guess it was a good idea to move him to the end of the program, too, because when he finally finished, the applause was thunderous.

The audience was on its feet with many of them screaming for an encore. After a few minutes, Dan looked up with tears streaming down his face, again. As the noise died out, he spoke softly into the mic.

"I don't know anything else. That's the only song I've learned. It's the only one I've ever wanted to sing."

Then Sam jumped up and yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Play it again, Dan!"

I looked over and saw him looking right at me, a knowing smile on his face. Then I noticed Dan's dad who was standing with Mrs. Whittington and the Russell's. I don't think I've ever seen more pride on one person's face than I saw at that moment. To this day I don't know how that man could control his emotions so tightly. I knew he'd never cry real tears, but I could see how hard he was struggling, so I cried for him.

The audience started stomping their feet and chanting, "play it again, play it again," until Dan finally looked off stage to where Mrs. A must have been standing. She obviously gave him the OK because he performed it again. I could tell that the audience was listening closely to the words, but I was surprised by their response when he finished. After the applause died out, someone yelled, "Who was the song for, Dan?"

Others took up the chant. "Who's it for, who's it for, who's it for?"

Some of the kids sitting around us thought it was for Kathy and were trying to get her to stand up. I wanted so much to jump up onto the chair I had been sitting in and yell at the top of my voice, "THAT SONG WAS FOR ME!!!"

But thoughts of the Uncle I never knew surged through my head and kept me rooted to my seat. That and Kathy's hand holding mine in a death grip. As we sat there listening to the applause, tears running down both our faces, Dan quietly left the stage, allowing the chanting to die away slowly. It was at that exact moment that I knew what I wanted to give Daniel for graduation. But there was one pretty big hurdle I was going to have to deal with to do it.

Part II - A Rite of Passage

My turn again. I told Joseph this is my story and I'm going to finish it. It's funny how Joe and I are ending up telling each other's story, but maybe that's just a sign of how much we have in common. We'd both rather talk about the other guy than ourselves. I only learned a lot of this after graduation when Joe finally told me the details of what happened.

It seems Joe's promise to his dad was just that - to his dad. He just assumed that his mother knew all about it, when in fact she thought Joe had simply promised not to have anal sex until after graduation. She didn't know about the ban on oral sex, too. I think she wouldn't have been as strict about that, but maybe that's because she's a woman. Anyway, she's the one Joe went to with his idea of a graduation gift for me. He needed her help to get over that hurdle he mentioned. I'm just going to tell you the conversation as Joe described it to me.

Joe and his mom were working in the kitchen getting dinner ready one day before his dad got home from work. Yeah, his mom was still teaching him how to cook.

"Mom?"

"Yes Joe?"

"I need to ask you for a big favor."

"OK, Joe. What is it?"

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing. I don't really know how to ask this without offending you."

"Joseph Cannady, I'm your mother. You're a homosexual. I love you as the precious gift of God that you are. You'd probably be surprised at how hard it would be for you to offend me. So just say what's on your mind."

Joe's mom was sort of like Kathy; she was always open and frank, just said what was on her mind and expected others to do the same.

"Well, mom, you know I made that promise to dad a long time ago to wait until after graduation, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I really want to do something special for Daniel. After the song he sang in the talent show, I decided what I wanted to do."

His mom just looked at him, thinking he was suggesting that he and Dan wanted to have anal intercourse. After all, that's what she thought the promise was all about. If he needed a favor, it must have something to do with not waiting until after graduation. Graduation's only two weeks away, she thought to herself. What could be so important they can't wait that long?

"So?"

"I want to get together with Daniel after the Jr/Sr prom - someplace really private. You know, someplace other than here."

"So?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could get a hotel room downtown, across from the civic center where the dance is going to be held. But I'll need your help with something."

It was at this point that the conversation really got interesting. I actually giggled when Joseph told me about it. Evidently mom Cannady jumped to a conclusion and spoke before she should have.

"So what are you saying, Joe? You want me to go to the drug store and buy the lubricant for you? Is that it? You think the druggist won't sell it to you without asking a bunch of questions?"

"Huh? Lubricant? What lubricant?"

"Joe, I realize this is going to be the first time for both of you, but surely you realize that you can't expect to put things into your rectum without something to smooth the way."

Joe was so embarrassed, he almost pissed himself, right there in the kitchen. I wish I could have been there to see his face. I laughed myself silly when he was telling me about this.

"MOM!! GEEZ! NO! That's not what I'm talking about! God, that's embarrassing."

"Don't use God's name that way, Joseph. And if that's not what you're talking about, what is it you want? What other promise is there?"

"Don't you know? Oral, mom."

"You mean you and Dan haven't had oral sex either? All these months I've just assumed you were sharing that with him, and you haven't done that yet?"

"No, mom. I promised dad we wouldn't have oral or anal sex until after graduation. I thought you knew that."

"No, I thought it was just a ban on anal sex. Boy! This is certainly a surprise. What's the matter, Joe? Am I embarrassing you?"

Joe had evidently turned about eleventy-seven shades of red by this time. His mom wasn't offended, but Joe was certainly embarrassed. By this time, they had both stopped preparing dinner and were sitting at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, mom, you are. I mean, it isn't every day that a guy talks with his mom about doing that with a girlfriend, much less with another guy. I'm surprised at your reaction, too."

"OK, Joe. We won't get into details. Just tell me what this big favor is, now that I've obviously jumped to an incorrect conclusion."

"I need you to help me convince dad to ease up on that promise. You know how strict he is when it comes to principles. I'm just afraid he'll insist we wait another week until after graduation. But the night of the prom would be so much better. I've got it all worked out in my head. Dan and me and Kathy and Sam and Pam can all go to the prom as a group. Dan and Kathy and I have been sort of a threesome for so long, the kids won't think anything about it. Then when the prom is over, instead of coming home, Dan and I could just walk over to the hotel."

"You'd need someone to arrange for the room, too, though. Two young guys trying to book a room together would raise an awful fuss."

"Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought of that. But I have the money to pay for the room. I don't want you and dad paying for it."

Joe said his mom just sat there and looked at him for the longest time. At one point he thought she was going to start crying which made him start. He and I are so much alike that way, tearing up at the drop of a hat. Well, when he started, she started, and soon he was wrapped in her arms, and they were crying on each other's shoulder.

"Oh, Joseph, my son. You are growing up so fast. I am so proud of you for sticking to that promise. A lot of kids would have slipped off somewhere and experimented long before now. And I know Dan has already experienced that with Sam, so it must have been really hard for the two of you. I imagine he must have put some pressure on you from time to time."

"Yeah, he did at first. But when he realized how important my promise was to me, he stopped asking for it. Aw, mom, I love him so much. It's been really hard for him, and I want to do this as a surprise. It'll be so much more special to be able to give him that part of me a week early. Even just a week will tell him how much he means to me, how much his love means to me."

Pushing her 18-year-old son away from her, mom Cannady looked him in the eye, holding onto his biceps.

"I'll set things right with your dad, Joe. Just give it some time, and I'll let you know when he's OK with it."

"Thanks, mom. Think we ought to finish getting dinner ready before dad gets home?"

According to Joe, his mom didn't waste any time bringing up the subject with his dad. Joe didn't mean to eavesdrop on them, but he couldn't help hearing his name as he walked quietly past his parents' bedroom on his way back from the bathroom that night. Here's what he remembered of their conversation. He had obviously gotten to their room just as his mom was pouring on the heat.

"Charley, I can't believe you're being so obstinate about this. After all, the boys have abstained for almost eighteen months when they could have been sneaking around and doing this without our even knowing it. And it's only a week to ten days early anyway."

"Helen, it's the principle of the thing. Joe made a promise, and he needs to keep it. If it's only a week to ten days, it shouldn't be so difficult. Besides, we wouldn't let his sister do something like this. Why should we let him? They're no different."

"No, Charley, you're right there. There's no difference between them. They both love boys!"

Joe said there was about two minutes of silence before his mom spoke again.

"But their similarity is what makes Joe different. Don't you see? If you keep pushing on this, you could push him away. And he's always leaned on you to support him, Charley. And you've always been there for him. It can't be easy being a homosexual, having to hide his true feelings for Dan from just about everyone. And this is something he really wants to do, something to show Dan how much he loves him."

Joe suffered in silence again, wanting so badly to peek into the room but knowing he couldn't take the risk. Eventually his mother spoke again.

"Look at me Charley. Why... you're crying aren't you? (Pause) I think I understand, Charley. You're afraid of losing him aren't you? Joe is growing up and getting ready to go off to college and now he's about to do something that will tie him even more strongly to Dan. And you're afraid he won't be your little boy any more. That's it, isn't it?"

Joe heard his dad sniff and could barely hear his whispered "Yes, I guess that's it."

"Well, Charley, you're right that he won't be your little boy anymore, but he'll always be your son. He'll always love and respect you, even if you insist on saying no to him now. But do you really want to hurt him that badly?"

"No! I don't want to hurt him at all. It's just an awful big step for me, to know that he wants to have sex and have to say it's OK. I always figured they'd just do it when the time was right and not have to get us involved."

"Well, it is a little embarrassing, but it's kind of neat, too, in a way. At least we will both know what he's feeling. I mean, I'll know what he's experiencing when he does it to Dan and you'll know what he's feeling when Dan does it to him. We can't say that about his sister, now can we."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Helen. I can't believe you said that."

"But it got you to thinking didn't it. I can see John Thomas starting to come to life. Now tell me that you'll give Joe your permission tomorrow and let's have a little fun of our own."

At that point, Joe hurried as quietly as he could to his room. One thing he didn't want to hear was his folks having sex, oral or otherwise.

The next day, Joe's dad called him aside after supper.

"Joe, your mom has told me what you would like to do for Dan's graduation present. I admit that at first I was against it. After all, a promise is a promise and promises are NOT meant to be broken. But considering the fact that you haven't broken your promise for the past eighteen months or so, and the fact that you only have a week or two to go, and it would be a really special way to show Dan how much you love him, I've decided to cut those last two weeks off the time frame. You're free to do as you planned."

At first, Joe just sat there and looked at his dad, the expressions on each of their faces changing several times, from sternness and apprehension (dad and Joe) to acceptance and joy (dad and Joe) to love (both) with a few tears thrown in for good measure. Joe gave his dad a huge hug and wet the collar of his shirt a little with his tears of joy and love.

"Thanks, dad. I really appreciate this more than I can say. I love you."

"I love you, too, son. Now tell me how we can help set all this up."

"Well, mom's already pointed out that you guys will probably have to make the hotel reservations. But I was thinking last night that since the hotel has a nightclub with its own outside entrance, Dan and I can go in that way, take the stairs up to our room and never have to go past the front desk. I'll just have to figure out how to pay for it."

"Don't worry about that, Joe. I'm sure we can come up with a plan. What else?"

"I figure the five of us will go to the prom as a group. Dan, me, and Kathy with Sam and Pam. Kathy and Dan and I have been running around together so much this year, no one is really sure who Kathy's dating, so there shouldn't be a problem. She can dance with both of us and Pam has already said she wants to dance with us, too. Sam's OK with that, and I'm sure there will be other kids there without dates, so Dan and I can dance with other girls, too.

Sam's dad has already said he could drive that night, so we plan to park the car in the hotel parking lot and walk to the dance. That way it won't seem strange when we head back that way afterwards, because there will be the five of us. Dan and I can just spin off from the rest when we get to the car."

"Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this already. I guess you have everything just about set up, huh?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm so happy you said yes. It would have been a really big disappointment otherwise."

So, everybody did their part, and everything happened without a hitch. Me? I was kept completely in the dark. Joe didn't tell me anything. But his folks talked to my folks and told them about Joe's plan. My folks didn't really want to know anything about the details, but they went along with it. They accepted me for what I was sexually, but they weren't very comfortable talking about it.

Anyway, the big night came, and we all dressed up fit to kill. Now days guys rent tuxedos and limos but back then we just dressed up in our Sunday suits and drove ourselves. Even the idea of going to a hotel was unusual, but then, so were we. Joe and I danced with Pam and Kathy and several other girls. I really enjoyed slow dances while Joe was great at the fast ones. That is one nice thing about girls. They are fun to hold and dance with. Of course, I would like to have danced the slow ones with Joe, but that obviously was NOT going to happen.

Pam and Kathy ganged up on me and drug me out onto the dance floor for a couple of fast dances, and that led to even more. It turned out that once I got started I became more self-confident and was able to do a half-ways decent job with the jitterbug. Needless to say, by the time the prom was over, Joe and I were both pretty sweaty, along with everybody else, of course.

We were among the last to leave the auditorium. Joe had planned this part, too. The other members of our group were aware of his plan, and they had decided that the fewer people still around when we left, the less chance that Joe and I might be seen going into the nightclub together.

When we got to the car, I opened the door to let Kathy into the back seat. I figured Joe would go around to the other side and I'd get in after Kathy. But Kathy stopped to give me a kiss (on the lips, no less) and by the time she was finished, Sam already had his door shut (he had a two-door car). I guess in the back of my mind I figured I'd get in behind Kathy and Joe would get in behind me. But as she climbed into the back seat, she reached out and grabbed the door and pulled it out of my hand.

"Hey! What's going on Kath? You going to make us walk home?" I said, laughing.

"You aren't going home. Look behind you."

I turned around and saw Joseph standing there with this silly-ass grin on his face, holding a room key in his hand with the big hotel thingie dangling from it. I looked at him, then back at Kathy, then back at Joe, then at Sam and Pam who were both looking out Pam's open window. As a tear of joy leaked from my eye, I heard the others giving us their best wishes.

"You guys have a good time. You deserve it." Kathy said.

"Yeah, enjoy yourselves," Sam added. "Wish it were me."

"O hush, Sam. You'll get yours eventually," Pam said with a laugh. Then she added, "I hope this night will be really special for you both. We love you guys."

I think Joe was about to cry, and he was probably worried about me doing the same thing, because he just waved to them and pushed me towards the entrance of the nightclub.

"Let's get out of here before the water works get started."

We looked around really quickly and didn't see anybody about. Then we trotted over to the entrance, went straight to the stairwell (didn't want to chance the elevator) and went up two flights to the floor our room was on. When we opened the door, the room was dark except for one dim light over in the far corner. As soon as the door had closed behind us, Joe turned to face me, pressed his body against mine so that I was up against the wall, took my face in his hands and kissed me. A long, tantalizing kiss that went from chaste to passionate, closed-lipped to open mouth. By the time our tongues had finished their mutual dance of pleasure, we were both panting and stiff.

We moved into the room and saw a double bed with the covers turned back, two chairs, a small table, and a low chest of drawers with a TV on it. Next to that was an ice chest. Joe turned on one of the wall lamps over the bed as I walked over and opened the ice chest.

"Joe!" I said in an awed whisper. "Come look at this!"

Joe stepped up to my side and slipped his arm around my waist as we stared down at ice, soft drinks, orange juice and a bottle of Champagne. Lying on top, enclosed in a clear plastic bag, was a card. We took it out and opened it together, our hands fumbling with each other.

"Happy upcoming graduation, boys. Your willingness to live up to Joe's promise (and yours, too, Dan) deserves a reward. Now that you are in for the night, go ahead and try the Champagne. Just be careful where you point the bottle when you release the cork. There are sweet rolls in the drawer under the TV to go with the orange juice for breakfast. Checkout time is 11:00am. We'll be there at 10:45 to help load this stuff in the car and check out for you at the front desk. Use the clock you'll find on the bedside table as your alarm. Leaving a wake-up call at the front desk probably is not a good idea.

We love you, boys, and care for you both very much. Be good to each other. Be careful. And may this night be all you hope it will be and one you'll remember always."

It was signed by mom and dad Cannady. By the time we had finished reading the card, Joseph and I were both crying. What neat parents he had, and how thoughtful they had been to set this all up for us. I turned to Joseph and saw the tears slipping down his cheeks. Then I leaned up and licked them from his face, drawing in a deep breath to inhale his aroma and his after shave.

"Joseph, does this mean what I think it means?" I whispered tearfully. I was so overcome that I just couldn't control myself.

"What do you think it means?" he asked back.

"Does this mean we get to make love tonight? Is the waiting period over? Am I finally going to get to make love to you, Joseph?"

"Yeah. And I get to make love to you, too! I've waited so long for this."

I saw he was still crying, too, and wondered why. So I asked him.

"Why are you crying, Joseph?"

"Oh, Daniel. I love you so much, and I've wanted to do this for so long, but I don't know what I'm doing. I've never made love before and I'm kind of nervous. I don't want to get it wrong."

I just stood there looking up at my love, studying his face, seeing the anxiety in his eyes, feeling his love for me spill out and surround me like a blanket. This evening was going to last me a lifetime. This evening my boyfriend was going to become my lover. My tears dried up and I melted against him, my arms circling his waist and drawing him to me. The atmosphere of love that surrounded us seemed to make loud conversation inappropriate. So I just continued to whisper.

"Don't worry, Joseph. You can't get it wrong. I'm not going to be judging you or comparing you to anybody else. Just love me, Joseph, and let me love you. This night has already been special, and it's about to become even more special. Don't let fear or worry take away from that."

I slid my arms under his and around his back, laid my cheek against his collar bone and hugged him. Joseph's arms wrapped around my back and drew me to him in such a gentle, warm and loving embrace, I thought we could stand there all night. But after a few minutes, we separated.

"After all that dancing and sweating, I'd kind of like to take a shower. How about you, Daniel?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Joseph. Let me help you out of those clothes."

He had already taken off his suit coat and laid it on the bed, so I untied his tie and drew it slowly from around his neck. Then I slowly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the tail out of his pants. I was already getting hard, just thinking about what I was about to see. I pushed the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms and tossed it over to the corner. Then I tugged his t-shirt out of his pants and pulled it over his head. He lifted his arms over his head and bent forward to help me. Tossing that aside, I immediately moved in and started licking his chest, paying particular attention to his nipples. Soon, they were both standing up like hard little rivets. I tickled his belly with my tongue as I kissed my way down to the waistband of his slacks. By this time, I was on my knees, my hands cupping his buttocks and massaging those sweet globes. I could tell he was hard already when I laid my face against his crotch. The bulge of his boyhood pressed into my cheek for the first time, and
I was so aroused by that contact that I heard myself gasp a deep breath, even as my hands clenched on his butt cheeks and pulled his boyhood more firmly against me. I took several deep breaths through my nose, trying to catch the aroma of his maleness, but nothing was coming through the material of his suit pants.

"Come on, Daniel. Hurry up. I want to undress you, too. If you don't hurry, I'm gonna cum in my underwear."

"Ok, Joseph, OK. I'm hurrying. But I'm gettin' kinda light-headed from the excitement. And we haven't even popped the cork on the Champagne."

With that, I slid my hands around his hips and onto the bulge that was his hard penis. I pressed my palm against it and rubbed slowly up and down a few times before unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning his pants and sliding down the zipper. Then I slid my hands into his pants, around to his butt cheeks and pushed his slacks down to the floor. Joseph helped by stepping out of them, and I hand them to him so he could fold them and lay them on the bed.

As Joseph folded his pants, I pressed my nose into his underwear, just to the side of his bulging penis, and breathed deeply. God! That smell was like an aphrodisiac to me. The musky odor of his maleness filled my nostrils and went immediately to my brain and my crotch. Eighteen months we had been boyfriends, and because of that promise we had never gotten this close to each other. I was so glad we had waited. That long wait made this moment ever so much more wonderful. Just writing about it brings tears to my eyes. Without conscious thought, I opened my mouth wide and laid it upon Joseph's throbbing erection, only the cotton of his briefs separating my tongue from his gorgeous boyhood.

But before I could go any further, Joseph grabbed me by the arms and pulled me to my feet.

"No fair! This is MY surprise. Now let me get you out of these clothes."

And he kissed me. Oh God! Can he kiss. It started out so gentle. In fact, he started out with little butterfly kisses. You know, the kind where you just bat your eyelashes against your lover's cheek? My eyes were closed and my penis was threatening to tear a hole in my underwear, but I just stood there and let him do that. Then he replaced his eyelashes with his lips and began giving me tender little kisses all over my face, my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, and finally my lips.

At first, he just rested his lips against mine, not moving, not pressing down, just a gentle touch. When I tried to move forward to apply more pressure, he just moved back, keeping control of our contact. When I thought I was going to die from anticipation, he pressed in a little harder and began to move his head a little bit, letting our lips slide against each other. Then I felt the tip of his tongue slip out and touch my lips, gently, almost like a snake's tongue, flicking tenderly and quickly against my lips.

When I started to open my mouth to take him in, he just grunted, "Huh-uh!" He wanted me to wait. So I did, and let him lead the way. By this time, I was almost ready to faint from the sensations he was causing. My entire being was so filled with love, my love for him and his love for me, that I think I would have passed out except for the subconscious thought that I might miss something if I did.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only two or three minutes, I felt Joseph's tongue pressing directly on the center of my lips. When I didn't respond, waiting for him to let me know for sure what he wanted, he pushed even harder. I let my lips open slightly and his tongue came into my mouth.

It was like we had never kissed before. Everything seemed new and different. Once again I thought how wonderful it was that we had waited all those months to be alone together, to do whatever it was we were going to do tonight. Obviously mutual masturbation wasn't going to be the sole expression of our love for each other as it had been for so long now.

Our tongues began that slow, erotic dance that leads to so much more. I tasted his spit and rolled my tongue all over the inside of his mouth, across his teeth, along the roof and down the cheeks, under his tongue to tickle that little thingie that holds it down, and then did it again. At the same time, his tongue was doing the same things to me. From time to time one of us would suck on the other's tongue almost to the point of pain. And all the time, our hands were roaming over backs and down to hips, and our erections were pressing against each other with more and more force.

Finally, as breathing became more and more labored, Joseph pushed me away and began undressing me. I remember standing there shivering as he lovingly removed my clothes, piece by piece. I wasn't cold. I didn't understand where the shivers were coming from.

As I stood up straight after he removed my t-shirt, he went straight for my arm pit. I was glad that I had used deodorant and that my body odor was never very strong as his tongue began to tickle the few hairs that had only recently appeared there. Then he slid his wet tongue down my side and across my lower tummy, pausing to make love to my navel, then on up the other side to my other armpit. From there he moved to my nipples, first one, and then the other, leaving them as hard as nails.

My eyes were closed during all this, but as I felt him unbuckling my belt, I opened my eyes and looked down. I wanted to watch him expose me as I had exposed him. I wanted to see him do it, participate in the joy I knew he would receive, just as I had. As he slid my suit pants down off my hips, exposing my hardon bulging against my briefs, I could see his eyes widen and hear his breath quicken. He was as excited as I had been in that same position.

As I folded my pants, Joseph cupped my hard boyhood in his hand and squeezed it gently. I almost came on the spot and didn't need him to tell me that I was leaking precum more than I ever had before. But he said it anyway.

"Wow, Daniel, you're really leaking down here. This wet spot is really a big one."

I couldn't even respond. He moved his face forward and pressed his lips against the top of my penis, kissing me there for the first time in our lives. I started to cry again. The love that he put into that kiss, that brief oral caress, made my heart beat even faster than it had been.

He must have sensed how close I was getting, because he stood up and stepped back just a little bit. We just stood there for about two minutes looking at each other, our eyes traveling up and down each other's body, from eyes to crotch and back. After just a couple of those trips, however, they became locked on the bulges in our crotches. I know he was thinking the same thing I was, waiting, enjoying the anticipation of seeing each other naked and hard. Like I said, it was almost as though this was the first time we had seen each other this way. We didn't have to hurry. We didn't have to stop short of where we truly wanted to go. So we took our time and approached it as though we were the virgins that only Joseph really was. He made me feel like him, like I was a virgin too, like I had never been with anyone else this way.

In unison, we reached out and slid our hands into the waistband of the other's undershorts and pushed them down. As our teenage erections popped forth, we stopped to compare. They were essentially the same size - barely six inches long and 1 inch in diameter. But his stuck straight out perpendicular to his body while mine had a definite curve to the left. His was the same color from base to beautiful circumcised head, while mine was fleshy colored about three fourths of the way up and redder the rest of the way. My mushroom head was a little bit bigger and a bit more defined than his. His nuts were bigger than mine, but he had hardly any hair on his scrotum, while my sac was covered in light-colored, soft, short, sparse downy hair. All in all, his was the most beautiful thing I think I had ever seen or have ever seen since. As we stood there staring at each other, afraid to touch for fear of causing a climax before either of us was ready, we each saw precum drip from the other's penis..

We each reached out and caught the other's fluid on our finger tips and drew it to our lips. I watched Joseph carefully for any sign of hesitation. He got this really cute grin on his face as he felt rather than tasted that part of me for the first time.

"Daniel, do you want to take a shower right away, or should we watch some TV and sip some Champagne while we cool off a little first?"

"Let's calm down some first. It's only 11:30, and I don't expect to get much sleep tonight, so we should have plenty of time."

We hung up our slacks and suit coats, tossed our dirty t-shirts, socks, and underwear into one of the drawers under the TV, where we found clean stuff that Joe's mom and dad had thoughtfully provided, and also hung up our shirts. All this time our erections had continued to bounce along in front of us. Every once in a while I noticed Joe grab his and squeeze out a little more precum and lick it off his fingers, so I did the same. Eventually our penises softened to something more closely resembling their normal condition.

I grabbed the glasses from the bathroom and tore off the protective wrap as Joseph opened the Champagne. I had never heard a cork pop in real life, so I was startled when it flew out and bounced around the room. I almost jumped Joseph's bones when he bent over on hands and knees to retrieve it from under the table.

We took our glasses over to the bed and laid down. When we moved the pillows to prop them against the headboard, we found another surprise from his folks. Lying between the pillows was a tube of something called KY jelly and two singly wrapped rubbers. Under them was another note from Joseph's mother. Even before we read her note, I think we were both embarrassed beyond words.

“I know you said you wouldn't need this, but I got it just in case. I don't know anything about that kind of sex (your dad and I never did that), but it just seems to me that the condoms would be a good idea. It must be kind of dirty in there. If you use them, flush them down the commode. Don't throw them in the trash where a cleaning lady might see them.”

Joe and I just looked at each other for a minute. Then we burst out laughing. We must have laughed and made ribald jokes for ten or fifteen minutes, before we finally calmed down and turned on the TV. The Tonight show was on, so we watched that. Well, we looked at it anyway. I don't think either of us was paying any attention however. I kept looking at Joseph's penis lying there in his lap, resting against his hairless balls. And I noticed him doing the same thing. Pretty soon we were getting hard again. It was fun watching his penis fill with blood and start to throb there in his lap.

Pretty soon we each reached over and began gently fondling the other's erection. I scooted over even closer to Joseph so our bodies were touching from hip to ankle. With our arms crossing each other's, our hands fondled penis and ball sac, stroking gently, cupping from time to time, grasping and holding, but always cautious not to go too far. After all, we hadn't even showered yet.

I remember wondering how many times a guy could cum in one night. I found out later that Joseph was thinking the same thing.

After only two glasses of Champagne, however, I was feeling a little giddy, and I don't think Joseph was far behind. So I grabbed his cock and led him to the bathroom. When the water was comfortable, we grabbed wash cloths and soap and stepped into the tub, pulling the shower curtain closed behind us. I had also grabbed a bottle of shampoo the hotel had set out on the counter.

We took turns getting wet, and then Joe took a position under the shower head facing the rear of the enclosure. I stood in front of him, with my back to him. As I soaped up my washcloth and started to wash my face and upper body, Joseph began shampooing my hair. Pretty soon what he was doing was feeling better than what I was doing so I stopped and just enjoyed it. I was surprised at how good it felt to have someone else massaging my scalp with soapy hands.

I had closed my eyes to keep the shampoo out so I was blind when Joseph stepped close and wrapped his arms around me. With his penis pressed against the crack of my butt, he turned us around so that I was under the shower. In this position, he rinsed my hair real good. Then he reversed our positions again and washed my hair a second time. This time, however, he didn't move away from me. As I felt his penis harden against me, mine stiffened also.

Pretty soon, my boner was throbbing in front of me, aching for Joseph's hands to touch it. He must have been looking at it, because I had no sooner grabbed myself than he whispered in my ear.

"No fair touching yourself! That part's mine, too. Just leave it alone. I'll get to it soon enough."

"But at least yours is pressing against something," I said. "I gotta have some release of this tension!"

With that, Joseph slid his soapy hands down my body and grasped my erection in one hand, my nutsac in the other. God it felt so good. I didn't remember his touch ever feeling that good before. I trembled as he squeezed my penis and bent it slightly, providing just enough pressure to relieve the tension. Then he went back to massaging my scalp.

Pretty soon he turned us around again and rinsed my hair a second time. As I was wiping the water from my face so I could open my eyes, I felt Joseph reach around me and tilt the shower head down as far as it would go. Then I felt him move away from me.

"Turn around, Daniel, and let me finish washing you," he said in almost a whisper.

When I turned around, I was surprised by the look on his face. He looked like he was looking at a piece of art or a new-born baby, or something. He seemed mesmerized as his eyes traveled up and down my body, lingering on my genitals. It felt like he was worshiping my body, which I couldn't understand. Sure, it was easy for me to worship his. His body was beautiful. He had good muscle tone without being jockish about it, wonderful skin color, just the right amount of pubic hair at the top of his gorgeous penis, but naked and smooth in the creases, good calf muscles, a completely hairless chest, and just a little peach fuzz on his legs. I mean he was beautiful.

But me? I was skinny. I guess I had some pretty good muscles for my age and size, but they didn't show all that much. My ribs showed more than his, my skin was whiter than his, and my hardon was curved to the side. But I could tell by the look on his face that to him, I was just as beautiful as he was to me. God! How I loved him!

He took the wash cloth from me and soaped it up real good. Then he started washing me from the neck down, even the parts I had already done. He did my shoulders, chest, neck and arms. Then he raised my arms, one at a time, and did my pits. I started to turn around so he could wash my back, but he stopped me.

"No," he whispered. "Don't move. Just stand right there where I can see you and feel you and make love to you with my hands and my eyes."

Then he stepped up real close. Our erections pressed against each other causing us each to gasp aloud. Hugging me to him, he moved the wash cloth up and down my back, washing me with oh so gentle caresses. The hand without a cloth moved smoothly over my skin as well. Soon, he was washing the globes of my butt. As I leaned against him, panting for breath, my cheek resting on his chest, arms wrapped around his waist and hands resting on his buttocks, feeling the pressure building in my loins, he slid his bare hand into the crack of my butt, washing me in that secret place with his bare fingers.

I gasped and spasmed as his fingers toyed with the opening. I had never touched myself there and was surprised at how exciting it felt when he did it. My penis throbbed with every stroke. Then the wash cloth followed his fingers and he scrubbed my crack and my hole gently but thoroughly. I immediately wondered what he had in mind for later, even as I became eager to return the favor of washing him the same way.

When he finished with my butt, he began to kneel down and I had to let go. My hands finally came to rest on his shoulders for support, even as his hands began washing my legs. He continued to use the wash cloth in one hand as well as his other, bare, hand. The combination of these two different sensations kept me on an erotic roller coaster. For the most part, I kept my eyes closed, simply reveling in the feelings I was experiencing. But occasionally I opened my eyes to look down at my hardon throbbing in front of my lover's face or resting in his hair as he bent his head down to wash my feet.

He was spending so much time washing me, I wondered what time we'd have left for other things. But I couldn't bring myself to ask him to hurry. When he finished with each leg, he started on my feet. He lifted my right foot and washed it first with the wash cloth. Then he set the cloth aside and rubbed my foot lovingly with both bare hands, smearing the soap all over it, his fingers gliding smoothly over every inch of my foot and between the toes. Then he did the same thing with my left foot.

But when he finished washing my left foot, he gently pushed it behind me so that the water from the shower head could hit it. Of course I had to lean heavily on his shoulders to keep from falling over. This placed my hard penis against the side of his face and I gasped as he slid his cheek back and forth against it. When my foot was thoroughly rinsed, he brought it back to his lap and rubbed the sole of it across the head of his erection. By this time, I had my eyes open, watching everything he did. As my toes got to the beautiful mushroom head of his penis, I curled them around the head. I heard him gasp as I did that and knew it had felt good to him.

What he did next, though, really surprised me. As he looked up at me with the most loving expression on his face, he lifted my foot to his mouth and began licking it. He ran his tongue along the bottom of my foot, from heel to toes, then between each of my toes. Finally he took the toes into his mouth and sucked on them. I began to cry, reminded of the icy experience with Sam, and knowing that Joe was expressing his love for me in a powerful and wonderful way. Would I diminish his expression of love if I copied him when it was my turn? I could only guess at that point.

By this time, my love for him had totally wiped me out emotionally. I slowly collapsed onto my knees, falling into his arms, lavishing gentle but passionate kisses all over his face, ears, neck, and shoulders. I knew if I didn't get release pretty soon, I was going to have one giant case of lover's nuts.

As though he had been reading my mind, Joe made me stand up again. As my penis came even with his face, almost brushing against his nose, he cupped my balls in one hand and wrapped his other hand around my hardon and stroked it about a dozen times. My climax was earth shattering. Semen flew out all over his chest and shoulders. Some even shot past him to land on his back as gravity pulled it towards the bottom of the tub. I could only hope there was no one in the room next door, for the noise I made was completely uncontrollable. I almost screamed in ecstacy.

Once again I collapsed onto my knees, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him to me tightly. As I did, I heard him whisper into my ear.

"Now maybe you can last a little longer when we get to step 2."

"I may need a heart transplant if there's going to be a step 2. Do you suppose your folks thought to order up some oxygen bottles for us?"

I was panting harder than I ever had before following an orgasm. And I think Joseph was gasping almost as rapidly as I was. But I wanted to return the favor and didn't know how long the hot water would last, so as soon as I had my breathing under control, I leaned back and looked at all the cum running down his chest.

"Now it's my turn," I said lovingly, as I wiped up some cum from where it had dripped down to his pubic bush and rinsed it off in the shower.

I stood up and helped Joe to stand. Then I stepped under the shower facing the back of the tub with Joe in front of me. By moving to the side a little bit, I could let the water from the shower head hit his chest, and I used that to help rinse away my cum. Then, since Joe had no soap on him yet, I decided to wash him first with my tongue. So I stepped forward and pressed my face in that little hollow place just beneath his Adam's apple. I licked all around that spot and then moved up across his Adam's apple to his chin. From there I moved all over his upper body, licking every square inch. I tongued his shoulders, his pecs, his nipples (for a long time), his ribcage, and his arm pits. He didn't have much hair there, either, which was kinda nice, I guess.

From his pits, I moved down to his tummy and made mad passionate love to his navel with my tongue. He giggled a little when I did this, but it must have felt good, too, because his penis was throbbing up and down with those involuntary muscle contractions we all get when we're hot. I slid my tongue down from his navel to just the top of his pubic bush and then moved from side to side, his erection brushing my own Adam's apple as I did so. That felt so good I moved down a little further and rubbed my cheek against his penis, cuddling it between my cheek and my shoulder. I wanted so much to kiss it and make love to it, but I forced myself to wait. I knew Joseph had something special in mind.

I worked my way slowly back up his body until I was standing again. Then I took the wash cloth and lathered it up real good and washed his body the same way he had washed mine. But I did it in two steps. I first washed everything, including his butt crack with the wash cloth. Then I tossed that aside and washed everything again with just my hands.

I slid my soapy hands over every inch of his body except his hair, worshiping him the way I had wanted to for months. Facing him with my arms around him, my front washed his front even as my hands washed his back and bottom. As my hands encompassed those beautifully small and tight globes of his butt, I pulled his crotch against my own, our penises pressing hard against each other.

Then as I moved my hips like a belly dancer, brushing my erection against his penis and his nutsac, my hands massaged his butt. I let my fingers slide into the crack of his ass to toy with the rosebud opening. Neither of us had any hair around that opening yet. Joseph gasped the same way I did when he fingered my hole and thrust his hips against me involuntarily as I slid my finger in to the first knuckle.

After massaging and washing that area, I knelt down and washed his legs, running my hands up the insides to his balls and then back down the outsides several times. All the time I was washing his legs, my eyes were locked on his beautiful penis. Have I told you how amazingly wonderful it was? I've seen a lot of pictures of naked guys with and without erections, and I've never seen one more mesmerizing or more beautiful. The head alone was a work of art. I couldn't help leaning forward and placing my lips right on the tip. I could see and feel his precum, and I so wanted to suck him dry, but once again I resisted.

Joe was starting to whimper from the sexual tension that had been building so I finally moved my hands up to his crotch, grasping his boyhood in one hand and cupping his nutsac in the other. As I gently massaged his scrotum and nuts, I stroked his penis lovingly, just as he had done for me. In no more time than it had taken me, he shot his load. It hit my chest with enough force that I could feel it. I wondered for an instant how something that always just seemed to be a somewhat smelly mess when I did it alone could hold such beauty and joy in a moment like this. Is this what true love is? I wondered silently as I continued to stroke him gently, squeezing out the last few drops of his cum as he leaned against me, his hands on my shoulders, his breathing labored and erratic.

"Geez, Daniel, I don't think it's ever felt that way before."

"I love you, Joseph."

What else was there to say?

From there, we made quick work of shampooing each other's hair. By the time we were done with that, however, we were both hard and ready to go again, because all the time one wash washing hair, the other was also washing hair - short hair.

We stepped from the shower and toweled each other dry, again paying particular attention to our favorite parts. It was so great. When Joe was kneeling at my feet drying my legs, I looked down past the erection bobbing at my crotch and saw him looking up at me, a look of total adoration on his face as he gently cupped the towel around my balls and penis. I didn't cry this time, but I almost fainted from the sudden rush of blood to my head resulting from that overwhelming feeling of being loved so totally, so absolutely, so completely.

We moved back into the main room and settled once again on the bed. Fortunately, Joe had put the Champagne bottle back in the ice chest so it was still cold. We poured about half a glass a piece and took them to bed with us. I settled back against the headboard, propped up by both pillows while Joseph laid down against me, his head on my chest, my arm around his shoulders, petting his damp hair and rubbing his back. As we watched whatever was on TV and sipped our wine, Joe's free hand roamed all over my chest and stomach. He didn't even ignore my penis, but instead rubbed it gently from time to time, squeezing it on occasion and lifting my nutsac away from my perineum and rolling the balls gently between his fingers.

I could feel his erection throbbing against my leg, almost in time with my own. I started moving that leg back and forth, rubbing it against his hardon. Eventually we turned off the TV and I slid down onto the bed so that I was prone with my lover. We just laid there for several minutes staring into each others eyes as we played with each other gently. After a few minutes, Joe moved closer and began kissing me. He started with my eyes, then my nose, then my cheeks, then my ears which he gave a tongue bath. All the time he was kissing me with his lips, he was wetting me with his tongue. I had these little happy trails all over my face that just made me feel soooo good.

When he got to my lips, I was ready for him. I slipped one arm under his neck and the other over his shoulder and pulled him to me, trapping his free hand between our stiff penises. Of course, he could have removed it, but he didn't. He just kept playing with me and therefore with himself while our lips and tongues did battle. And oh what a sweet battle it was, too, neither side wanting to win, both sides preferring to lose. I just wanted to lose myself in my lover, and I was sure Joseph felt the same way.

Pretty soon we were both breathing heavily and thrusting our hips at each other. Fearful that things would progress too far too rapidly, Joseph moved back. Then he spoke.

"Daniel?"

"Yes Joseph?"

"May I make love to you?"

"I dunno. Is there anything else to do?"

"Oh, Daniel, quit kidding. I'm trying to be serious here."

"I'm sorry Joseph. I'm just a little nervous. It's our first time, and I feel like it's my first time, too, even though we both know it isn't."

"That's OK, Daniel. I'm nervous, too. After all it is my first time."

"You want me to go first? Show you how it's done?"

"No. Not really. This is my graduation present to you, Daniel. I'd like to be first. I just hope I don't screw it up."

"Joseph, there's only two rules to keep in mind: watch your teeth, and watch your gag reflex."

With that, Joseph kissed me again on the lips and then began moving down my body. I think he was really excited and wanted to get started, because he didn't spend much time getting to my crotch. But once he was there, he stopped and looked at me - my toys, I mean. I was watching him, and it looked like he was studying me, examining my penis and scrotum in minute detail. His hand on my boyhood moved it around, twisted it from side to side, and stroked it slowly up and down. He watched as the skin slid along the shaft. My skin was fairly tight when I was hard, so it didn't go very far. It just bunched up a little at the rim of the head.

Then he stuck his nose right at the base of my penis, where my nutsac was pulled up tight and took a deep breath. He had his eyes open all this time, and I could see the same look of adoration I had seen earlier. He actually seemed to be worshiping my equipment, penis and balls. Then, hesitantly, he stuck out his tongue and licked me. He started down deep, behind my scrotum and drew his wet tongue up over the tight sac to the base of my penis. He evidently liked it because he went ahead and washed my nutsac all over with his tongue. I don't remember ever feeling the way I did at that moment.

He'd lick awhile, then he'd take my entire sac into his mouth and roll my little balls around with his tongue. I could feel his spit dripping down my perineum to the crack of my butt. All the while, he was holding onto my penis, grasping it gently in one hand, rubbing his thumb over the head, smearing my precum around that super sensitive area on the underside, just below the glans.

Just as I thought I was going to have to ask him to move on, he moved his lips from my sac to the shaft of my hardon. He wet his lips ahead of time and slid them the length of my shaft, his tongue sliding along that hard ridge on the underneath side. When he got to the head, his tongue flicked out to lap up the precum that was there. I almost shot my load right then, but he moved back down to the base. Then he paused.

"Geez, Daniel, if I could have guessed how wonderful you taste and how great this is making me feel, I probably couldn't have kept my promise all these months. How did you do it?"

"Oh Joseph, it was just something my brother said to me one time. After that it wasn't so difficult."

I was still watching him, my head propped up on the pillows. It had been so long since Sam and I had done this, it was almost like I had never done it before. I wanted to see everything. Sam and I had thought we were in love, and I'm sure we were, to some degree. But what I felt for Joseph right then went far beyond the feelings I had had with Sam.

I watched as Joseph licked his tongue wetly up the length of my shaft. When he got to the top, he paused only briefly to see if I was still watching him. His eyes locked on mine as he lowered his mouth gently and warmly around the head of my penis, his lips making wet contact all the way around the glans. His tongue did a little dance on the head of my boyhood that had me writhing in ecstacy before he slid down the shaft, taking almost all of my erection into his warm, wet cavity. I could feel the head sliding along the roof of his mouth.

Joseph must have been practicing on his finger or something, because he never once scraped me with his teeth. And when my mushroom head reached the back of his mouth, he stopped without gagging, almost as if he had prepared himself for it. Then he just laid there, sucking gently on my penis, rolling his tongue back and forth on the underneath side of it. After a minute or two, he drew back until just the head and about one inch of the shaft were still encased in his mouth. Then he really started a sucking motion. If I'd been an ice cream soda, he could have sucked the cherry right up the straw of my dick. I had never felt the sensation he was providing me.

His tongue kept up a steady circling motion, even as he began bobbing his head up and down on my penis, pulling back until just the tip was at his lips and then dropping back down to engulf as much as he could. He didn't try to deep throat me, but I didn't care. My lover was making love to me for the first time. The emotional high was better than the physical one. The sight of him making love to me with his mouth drove me wild. Faster and faster, his head moved up and down in my crotch.

All too soon, as far as I was concerned, I felt my orgasm approaching. I should have warned him earlier so he could slow down or stop, but it felt toooooo good. Finally I did warn him.

"I'm gonna cum, Joseph. You better pull off!"

He just moaned a negative response and clasped my penis more firmly between his lips. If anything, he began to suck even harder than before, and soon I was blowing semen all over the inside of his mouth. Thank goodness we had made each other cum in the shower, because I would have surely drowned him otherwise. Even so, it felt like I pumped as much in that one orgasm as I usually did after abstaining a week. Needless to say, I was once again hopeful that the room next door was empty. I won't even try to repeat all the sounds and words that escaped my mouth. The sound of the bedsprings alone would have awakened the dead as my body convulsed up and down, thrusting my penis in and out of my lover's mouth.

Eventually I collapsed in exhaustion and just lay there gasping for breath. Joseph kept my penis in his mouth, gently licking it and sucking on it as I softened and shrunk to my normal three inches. I was in heaven. Would he never stop making love to me? As I lay there reveling in the euphoric afterglow of the most powerful orgasm of my life and the feelings Joseph was giving me as he continued to love my softened boyhood, the words of our song kept running through my head.

I think both of us must have fallen asleep for a few minutes. But when I awoke, I found Joseph asleep with his head in my lap, my penis still in his mouth. I stared at him for just a few minutes, tears once again seeping from my eyes as I marveled at his beauty and his love for me. My penis in his mouth wasn't vulgar. It was a beautiful expression of his love, and it made him even more beautiful to me. Yeah, beautiful, that's a good word, even a manly word in the right context.

But I still had not made love to my one and only, and I would not sleep again until I had done so. I moved my hips back gently, pulling my penis from Joseph's mouth. Then I moved down so that our faces were together and began kissing him as he had kissed me, all over his sweet face. It didn't take long for him to wake up, and soon thereafter his boyhood began to awake also.

I continued to kiss his face, licking every inch of it with my tongue and leaving wet happy trails all over him. When I got to his sweet lips, I lingered and we got into another dance of the devilish tongues. When I finally moved on down his chin and along his throat towards his chest, we were both breathing heavily. Joseph had already given me two of the greatest orgasms of my young life, and I wanted so much to return the love he had shown me and the pleasure he had given me.

I had never said anything to Joe or anyone else, but as graduation drew nearer, I had begun wondering what anal intercourse might feel like. Emotionally, the thought of it was almost overwhelming. But from a sexual thrill standpoint, I still wondered what it was all about. So I had begun experimenting with myself in the bathtub when I knew I was home alone.

The first time I tried anything, I scrubbed myself really clean and then played with my dick until I was really hot. Then I tried sticking my finger up my butt. Soap didn't seem to help much, so I rinsed off, emptied the tub and went to the kitchen for some cooking oil. Getting back in the tub, I rubbed oil all over my dick and balls and let it run down the crack of my butt. Geez, that felt really hot! As I stroked myself with one hand, I reached down and tried putting my finger in again. This time, it slipped right in.

Well, to make a long story short, I wiggled my finger around a little, slipped it in and out a few times, and all of a sudden I touched something that sent chills all over my body. I mean, IT WAS GREAT! It only took a minute or two to find out just where to touch whatever it was in there, and then I was rubbing that spot and beating off at the same time. That was one of the best jerk off sessions I'd ever had up to that point. I did it a few more times just to make sure I could find that spot again, and pretty soon I could hit it on the first try.

Soooo, tonight I decided I was going to do the same thing for Joseph. I continued to move down his chest, pausing at each of his nipples to suck them to hardness and then lick them until he was gasping for breath. And my hands weren't idle, either. All the time I was tongue bathing him, my hands were running softly over everything I could reach. I didn't even ignore his crotch. I'm not sure I could have even if I'd wanted to. I was so in love with him and everything about him, that I couldn't keep my hands off of his beautiful penis and nutsac.

When I finally reached his pubic bush, I moved so I was lying between his legs, my feet hanging off the end of the bed. His penis was as hard as I had ever seen it, the skin on the shaft so smooth and utterly hairless, the mushroom head leaking copious amounts of precum that dripped slowly down from the eye in that beautiful mushroom head, and his nutsac pulled up so tight I wondered if his balls hurt. I just paused and stared at it. I had wanted to be in this position for so long that I wanted to savor the moment, feast my eyes on his beauty and listen to my heart beat out its rhythm of love for my angel.

I must have waited too long, though, because Joseph reached down and cupped his sac in one hand and grabbed his erection with the other. I looked up and saw that his eyes were still closed, so I gently removed his hands and replaced them with my own. I decided right then not to take the time to lick his hairless thighs or play with his legs in any way.

I slipped my hands under his thighs and back up to that white area of his groin where the sun never shone. Lifting up gently with my forearms, I raised his buttocks a little so I could nuzzle my nose into the crease between his tight nutsac and his thigh. I drew several deep breaths to taste the flavor of his aroma and then began to lick that area with a tongue wet with saliva. First one crease, then the other. His penis rubbed and bounced against the sides and top of my head, and I new I was making him feel good by his moans and groans.

Soon he was running his fingers through my hair, grabbing it like you'd grab the mane of a horse. I moved over to his scrotum which just had short little peach-fuzz hair on it and licked it like an ice cream cone. After a few licks I closed my lips around it and sucked it gently, pressing my tongue against the firmness of his nuts. It was a mouthful, but it felt so good to have him in my mouth, my nose nestled against the base of his penis. Some of his precum actually dribbled down the shaft and onto my nose, so I let go of his nutsac and lapped up the juice.

But then, instead of attacking his penis, I used my arms to raise his hips even further in the air, exposing the avenue to his secret spot. I licked him from his sac to the puckered opening and back again several times. His moans were getting louder, and I opened my eyes to find him staring down at me, watching what he could. As I looked up at his face, I swelled with excitement at the sight of his balls and penis resting in his crotch and on his belly in a way that they only would in this particular position.

Then I moved down to his rosebud hole, sniffing gently to reassure myself that he was still clean. All I could smell was soap and a little sweat, so I gingerly began licking all around his opening. I thought he was going to start calling on whatever neighbors we had. He became really vocal in his moans and groans, saying all sorts of things about how wonderful it felt and how he couldn't believe I was doing this, and on and on.

I didn't try sticking my tongue in his butt, but I got him really wet and could feel the muscles there moving in an open and close motion. When he grabbed his penis again, I let him down some and moved back to my favorite toys. I could tell by the way he was thrusting his hips up and down off of the bed that he was well on his way to nirvana, so I moved directly to his boyhood. I laid my lips around the underneath side at the base and slid them wetly up the length of his shaft to the head, flicking my tongue back and forth rapidly as I went.

When I got to the head, I moved over it, never removing my lips from his penis, and slipped my mouth down onto him until I reached the pubic bush at the bottom. I went slowly so I didn't gag. I wasn't sure how well he would fit, but with just a little effort, I was able to accept the head resting against the back of my mouth, against that little hangsy-downsy thing at the back. I rested there for a minute, tonguing his rigidity and massaging his balls with my fingers, then pulled back to a more comfortable position.

As I began moving up and down on him, I purposely let saliva drip from my mouth and run down his shaft. With one hand, I moved the gathering spit down to his puckered hole. When it was good and wet and my finger was well lubed, I gently began inserting that finger into his rectum. I moved slowly to allow his body the time to adjust to this invasion, but he was easily able to accept my slender digit. With the practicing I had done at home, I soon found his secret spot. He jumped so vigorously when I touched it I almost choked on his penis.

Once he settled down a little I began to match the rhythm of my rubbing on his secret spot to the up and down motion of my mouth on his erection. His groans and moans became even more profuse.

"Oh my God, Daniel. What are you doing to me? I can't believe how good that feels. What's going on down there?"

He just kept mumbling stuff like that for the next few minutes. I knew he was getting ready to cum when I felt his rod swell even larger in my mouth and his hips began thrusting his anus up and down on my finger. I really was afraid he was going to wake everybody else on the floor until he grabbed a pillow and shoved it onto his face.

Then he exploded. I had just enough warning to pull back to where his penis was about halfway to the back of my mouth. By moving my head in time with his hips, I was able to keep his penis in that particular spot for the first shot or two of his rich and creamy cum. The feel of it flowing rapidly across my tongue and splashing off the back of my mouth was incredible. And the taste was more than I could have ever expected. Maybe it was the Champagne, maybe it was just his natural flavor, I don't know. All I can say is that I knew at that moment that I'd never get enough of him. I would never ever tire of making love to my angel and eating his cum.

Just as he had with me, I kept his penis in my mouth as he finally relaxed. His orgasm had been everything I had hoped for. I knew that from the way his body moved, what he said, and how much he had cum. I continued to make love to him with my mouth as he softened and became limp. I caressed his nuts gingerly and lovingly with one hand and rubbed his tummy with my other.

Eventually he reached down and pulled me up to lay on top of him, our penises nestled together, our faces even with each other. I saw that he was crying, or had been anyway. Tears were resting on his lower eyelashes and his cheeks were wet where they had run down to the pillow under his head. I kissed them all away, savoring the salty taste of him.

"Oh Daniel, I love you so much. I never thought it could be this good. Can we do this forever? I don't know what to say or how to say it."

"Just kiss me, Joseph. Just be mine forever and love me forever. Just hold me, please."

We fell asleep like that and awoke with me lying half on him and half off. Before morning we made love again, using the 69 position. I won't go into detail here, but it was almost as good as doing it one at a time. In some ways it was even better. Then when the alarm went off at 8:30, we played with each other and masturbated each other to mutual climaxes. Our cum shot out onto our bellies in little puddles, obviously in significantly less volume than earlier. We left it there as we ate the sweet rolls and drank the orange juice that mom Cannady had provided. Before we got up to shower, I licked Joe's belly clean and he did the same for me.

That night was truly the beginning of a lifetime of love. We went to the same college and ended up teaching in the same school system. I became the band director while Joe taught English. Life has been good.

What is true love, anyway? Or, in the words of our song, "Tell me what love is." I knew what it was for me. It was Joseph. True love was that love which allowed somebody else to be the most important thing in your life. It was being willing to die for someone. It was thinking of the other person first, building them up, supporting them. It was being willing to wait until the right time to have sex. It was feeling overwhelmed just with another person's presence, not having to say anything or even touch each other. It was being blind to everything around you, seeing only that person who meant more than life itself. True love was my angel, my Joseph. Only God's love could be greater than that.

And before you ask, yes we tried anal sex a couple of times, but my penis is too sensitive. I came after just a few strokes, way before Joe was even close. So we mainly made love to each other with our mouths, and massaging each other's prostate with our fingers. And THAT AIN'T ALL BAD!

The end? Or just the beginning?